It’s probably some form of blasphemy in the eyes of my ancestors, but I’ve started using oatmeal in much the same way that I used to use rice because it poofs up so much better. I mix in fat-free veggie and chicken stir fries with a nice, fluffy serving of plain old fashioned oatmeal, I use it as a side dish carb to go with my spicy sauteed fish filets, and I more or less treat it like I would a bowl of rice congee.

Don’t get me wrong–I do love my oats and raisins in the morning, but it’s amazing how good the stuff tastes with super hot Szechuan shrimp with Chinese vegetables, too.

:eat:

Speaking of which, someone remind me to post the Szechuan shrimp recipe I used this week. It is quite tasty for those of you who enjoy (painfully spicy) healthy Chinese recipes. My nose is still running from my lunch serving, woohoo!

Today is my mother’s 56th birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!). I’m taking her out to dinner at the restaurant of her choice, and it will almost assuredly be a Chinese buffet establishment where I will only be able to partake of some sauceless cocktail shrimp, a big dry salad, and a side of fresh fruit, but hey, it’s only food, right?

========================================================
2/27 Report
(*Diet and workout details omitted by agreement with trainer)
==========
Nutrition:

Meals - On plan
Water - 14 cups
Supplements - On plan

Regular (Non-Plan) Daily Supplements - multivitamin with iron, calcium 600 + D

19 days down, 65 more to go!

===========
Workout:

Weights - Done
Cardio - 10 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes run, 15 minutes incline walk - Done

===========
The Awful Truth:
1. Nothing!

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Restocked necessary groceries and kitty litter.
2. Cooked cauliflower.
3. Posted guidelines for challenge with my sister on Pink Dumbbells.
4. Found great b-day present for Mom during lunch break.

===========
Short-term Goals:
1. Work on paper doll sketches.
2. Fix remaining issues with Joomla migration at Pinkdumbbells.com.
3. Locate new Events module for PDB.
4. Upgrade Community Builder component at PDB.
5. Set up archived version of The Training Journal forum at PDB from Hershey Girl’s backup.
6. Upgrade Wordpress to 2.0.
7. Transplant two tomato vines and plant Swiss Chard.
8. Stay on track during Mom’s birthday dinner.
9. Clear out mail inbox at home.
10. Finish taxes.
11. File receipts and statements.
12. Organize office.

Well, I got some new cardio and nutrition changes from Kim this Saturday. He seemed pretty happy with my progress and actually estimated my body fat% based on my photos at 16-17% rather than the 19% reported by my Omron. I think that 17% is optimistic, personally, but it was nice of him to say so. He also thought I had broadened around the shoulders and back and put on some additional muscle in my upper body, which is always great to hear.

Anyhow, I now have an additional day of cardio tacked onto my original program, and sessions have been increased by a few minutes each. Calories have been cut a bit (mostly by reducing certain carb and fat portions) and protein intake is going up slightly. My program is shifting noticeably to fat loss now.

My sister and I are going to start up a separate challenge thread at Pink Dumbbells to keep tabs on each other’s progress through March. We both have wedding events to attend in April, so we are going to really bring on the discipline, sweat, and clean eating for the entire month of March with no cheats.

Yes, it is Progress and Perfection time again!

I went to the Orlando Megacon Sunday afternoon and was so sad to see how out of shape the majority of attendees were–in and out of costume. Bear in mind that this was a comic book/anime/gaming convention, so the bulk of the of the attendees were probably between 13-20, ages at which parental control of food, health care, and exercise still exist. These teens should be enjoying the benefits of supersonic metabolisms and rapid growth spurts that burn away the last vestiges of baby fat. Instead, the girls in particular were schlepping around with cellulite and rolls hanging out all over the place.

Perhaps my memory is altered by the rose-tinted glasses of time, but I really don’t remember that many overweight girls in the hallways when I was in high school from 1989-1993. Seriously, at 5′6″ and pattern size 12, I was probably one of the bulkier girls in my class. If you discount the skeletal Gothic Lolita girls at Megacon yesterday, my amateur seamstress’s eye would put most of the girls walking around the convention hall at pattern size 16 and above, easy.

Even more disturbing, there was a junior cheerleading conference in the next convention hall, and let me tell you, I have never seen that many 9-15 year old girls with flabby bellies hanging out of their cropped tops and pleated skirts before.

If even the cheerleaders are getting fluffy, something is just not right with our country’s eating patterns and lifestyles.

On the positive side, I did find two great t-shirts for myself, one for my sister, and two blocks of geeky 6-sided Chessex die for Chris to use for Shadowrun. I met up with my friend, artist Joe Pekar, at his table, and tried to track down Mr. Tracer, but didn’t see anyone at the Across The Pond Comics table.

========================================================

2/26 Report
(*Diet and workout details omitted by agreement with trainer)
==========
Nutrition:

Meals - On plan
Water - 15 cups
Supplements - On plan

Regular (Non-Plan) Daily Supplements - multivitamin with iron, calcium 600 + D

18 days down, 66 more to go!

===========
Workout:

Weights - Rest
Cardio - Treadmill HIIT Run @ 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 mph - Done

===========
The Awful Truth:
1. Swapped order of meals 3 and 4 around since I was walking around at Megacon.

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Did the dishes and washed sheets.
2. Stayed on plan at the convention.
3. Didn’t have a single breadstick at Olive Garden.
4. Revised Palm desktop calendar and Excel nutrition spreadsheet with Kim’s new nutrition and cardio instructions.

===========
Short-term Goals:
1. Work on paper doll sketches.
2. Fix remaining issues with Joomla migration at Pinkdumbbells.com.
3. Locate new Events module for PDB.
4. Upgrade Community Builder component at PDB.
5. Set up archived version of The Training Journal forum at PDB from Hershey Girl’s backup.
6. Upgrade Wordpress to 2.0.
7. Transplant two tomato vines and plant Swiss Chard.
8. Post guidelines for challenge with my sister on Pink Dumbbells.

It’s official–I do run better in the evenings after a few meals than I do in the mornings on an empty stomach. I ran again last night after work for cardio, and it was so very easy to just jog slowly along at 6.2 mph for 35 minutes while watching the Olympics that I nearly fainted from shock when the time was up. I am apparently rather sensitive to the glycogen levels in my muscles when it comes to cardio.

Also, I am fairly creaky and stiff in the mornings, so the bouncy running motion is not exactly appealing at that time of day.

I must give special mention to the poor woman who was on the treadmill in front of mine. She was a 40′ish tanning booth junkie type with a big pile of overprocessed red hair clipped onto the top of her head. She was pretty small–maybe only 5′1″ or so–with matchstick legs and arms but absolutely out-sized breast implants that had to be a minimum DD cup in size. And she was bouncing along at 5.2 mph like a crippled chihuahua…in a spaghetti tank top with what appeared to be a string halter bikini top underneath.

I realize that her frontage was fake, but still…Doesn’t that HURT?

Many props to her for gamely sticking to her run, but owie! :ouch:

Chest/tris are done for today, and I plan to do a bit of YF tonight for fun, unless Chris decides to hang out at home and monopolize the TV instead of doing his usual Friday night card game with his friends.

Tomorrow is my last cardio session for this week, my second phone consultation with Kim and a day at the Orlando Megacon convention. I’ll be hanging out with some artist friends there and maybe meeting Tracer from Muscletank.net at his booth. If you see any pics from Megacon on the web, you can recognize me by my dorky red insulated lunch bag full of on-plan meals and the orange Nalgene water bottle hooked to the handle.

========================================================

2/23 Report
(*Diet and workout details omitted by agreement with trainer)
==========
Nutrition:

Meals - On plan
Water - 15 cups
Supplements - On plan

Regular (Non-Plan) Daily Supplements - multivitamin with iron, calcium 600 + D

15 days down, 69 more to go!

===========
Workout:

Weights - Shoulders/Abs - Done
Cardio - Treadmill Run - Done

===========
The Awful Truth:
1. Nothing!

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Did the laundry.
2. Ran for over 20 minutes and didn’t feel like quitting.
3. Cleaned the house.

===========
Short-term Goals:
1. Work on paper doll sketches.
2. Fix remaining issues with Joomla migration at Pinkdumbbells.com.
3. Locate new Events module for PDB.
4. Upgrade Community Builder component at PDB.
5. Set up archived version of The Training Journal forum at PDB from Hershey Girl’s backup.
6. Upgrade Wordpress to 2.0.
7. Upload progress pics.
8. Check veggie garden and plant new stuff.

I took my 2 week progress pics this morning as well as some measurements. I’m seeing the most fat loss from my upper body (specifically in my chest, heh) and waist area, but my legs seem to be tightening up pretty quickly, too. My fat loss pattern is, if nothing else, utterly predictable at this point.

It’s funny, but I always look a lot leaner from the front and side than I do from the back. My abs, quads, and delts come in much sooner (17-18%) than anything on the rear view of my pics. I kind of feel like most of my fat storage is on the dorsal side of my body–back of the arms, back of the torso, back of the legs. One day I’d really like to have some visible hamstring and back definition, but, as is the case with abs for many other people, I think that will only happen if I get down to sub 13% body fat. According to several scientific studies, Asians tend to have more subcutaneous fat in their upper bodies at the same height and weight as their Caucasian counterparts, so I guess I am simply battling a genetic disposition toward this.

I chose to do Rodney Yee’s Yoga Conditioning for Athletes last night instead of the P90X Yoga X DVD. The Rodney Yee workout is only around 45 minutes long, and really stretches out the hip flexors, hamstrings, and calves, and, since all three of those parts were screaming with DOMS yesterday, I decided it would be a better choice than the endless sun salutations, vinyasas, push-ups, and warrior poses in YX. The only disruption occurred when Neville Longbottom came around while I was in downward dog pose and played London Bridge under me.

I love the bit at the end when you just lie there and breathe–I almost fell asleep on the living room carpet.

Measurements for 2/23/06:
Height: 5′6″
Weight: 136.4 lbs
BF%: 19.0%
Chest: 34
Waist: 26
Abdomen: 27
Hip: 37.75
Thigh: 22
Arm: 11.75

========================================================

2/22 Report
(*Diet and workout details omitted by agreement with trainer)
==========
Nutrition:

Meals - On plan
Water - 16 cups
Supplements - On plan

Regular (Non-Plan) Daily Supplements - multivitamin with iron, calcium 600 + D

14 days down, 70 more to go!

===========
Workout:

Weights - Rest
Cardio - Done x 2 (Regular scheduled cardio + make up session)

===========
The Awful Truth:
1. Nothing!

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Did some extra yoga after Project Runway.
2. Took pics and measurements.

===========
Short-term Goals:
1. Work on paper doll sketches.
2. Fix remaining issues with Joomla migration at Pinkdumbbells.com.
3. Locate new Events module for PDB.
4. Upgrade Community Builder component at PDB.
5. Set up archived version of The Training Journal forum at PDB from Hershey Girl’s backup.
6. Upgrade Wordpress to 2.0.
7. Upload progress pics.

Day 14 on my current program with Kim. As of yesterday, I have been spot on with my diet for 13 days straight, checked off every scheduled workout in my printed booklet, and am getting pretty consistent losses in body fat as a result.

Start (2/8/06): 140.0 lbs, 21.5% bf
Week 1 (2/15/06): 137.4 lbs, 20.5% bf
Week 2 (2/21/06): 136.4 lbs, 19.0% bf

I think it’s time to switch from chicken to some of the approved seafood I bought this weekend, however, as I’m starting to feel some hankering for foods outside of the 4 planned meals I bring to work every day. A preemptive injection of dietary variety is in order.

My legs are very tired today. My hamstrings are killing me already from yesterday’s workout, and this morning’s cardio completely wasted them. I’m going to dust off the Yoga X dvd tonight and try to stretch my muscles out a little.

Tomorrow I have to take progress photos and measurements and email them to Kim so he can make program adjustments if necessary. Fortunately, Chris will still be out of town in the morning, so I can take my usual 3 dozen or so test pics in the living room unobserved, LOL.

Robo-Maggie is definitely back in terms of commitment to diet and exercise.

========================================================

2/21 Report
(*Diet and workout details omitted by agreement with trainer)
==========
Nutrition:

Meals - On plan
Water - 16 cups
Supplements - On plan

Regular (Non-Plan) Daily Supplements - multivitamin with iron, calcium 600 + D

13 days down, 71 more to go!

===========
Workout:

Weights - Done
Cardio - Done

===========
The Awful Truth:
1. Was too tired last night to make up the cardio session I had to skip Monday night.

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Made up Monday cardio session this morning.
2. Down another pound this week.

===========
Short-term Goals:
1. Work on paper doll sketches.
2. Fix remaining issues with Joomla migration at Pinkdumbbells.com.
3. Locate new Events module for PDB.
4. Upgrade Community Builder component at PDB.
5. Set up archived version of The Training Journal forum at PDB from Hershey Girl’s backup.
6. Upgrade Wordpress to 2.0.
7. Do a bit more cooking.

I found the original Key lime cheesecake recipe upon which this one was based through Google while searching for some way to use up 2 cups of yogurt cheese. I’ve substituted some of the ingredients with my own in order to cut down on the sugar and fat content a bit.

If you don’t mind bumping up the carbs and fat a bit, you can bake this in a purchased graham cracker crust. Add another half portion of protein, and you have a BFL meal, graham cracker crumbs and all.

===============================
Title: KEY LIME PIE CHEESECAKE
Categories: Desserts
Yield: 8 servings

32 oz. Yogurt, fat free plain (Organic brands without gelatin or pectin work best)
1/2 c. Splenda
2 T. Cornstarch
2 T. Key lime juice
4 Egg whites; lightly beaten
1/2 T. Vanilla extract

OPTIONAL:
1 Prepared graham cracker crust (I used the cheap $0.98 Wal-Mart Great Value brand)

DIRECTIONS:
Yogurt Cheese Preparation–Drain the yogurt to make yogurt cheese. This is done by placing a
clean piece of cheesecloth or muslin in a colander or large funnel, then
spooning the yogurt into the cloth. Place colander over a bowl, then
place in refrigerator overnight. The whey will drain from the
yogurt, leaving the yogurt cheese in the cloth. (If you enjoy yogurt cheese, which can be substituted for cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese in many recipes, you might want to invest in the Donvier Yogurt Cheese Maker from Amazon.com. This gadget greatly simplifies yochee making.)

Baking Instructions-
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Lightly grease an 8-inch pie pan or 7-inch springform pan. (You may skip this step if you are using a prepared pie crust.)
3. Place yogurt cheese in a medium-size bowl.
4. Add Splenda, vanilla extract, cornstarch, and lime juice, mixing gently with a fork or wire whisk until well blended.
5. Stir in the eggs.
6. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
7. Bake until center is set: 25 to 30 minutes for a pie pan, or 55 to 60 minutes for a springform pan. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Refrigerate until chilled.

MAGGIE’S NOTE: I had to bake my cheesecake for close to 50 minutes in the pie shell before the enter was set, not the 25-30 minutes recommended in the recipe. Your baking time may vary.

Nutrition Info:

Without Crust, 1/8th of pie–67 calories, 9.2 g carb, 6.8 g protein, 0.11 g fat, 0.033 g fiber

With Crust, 1/8th of pie–177 calories, 23.17 g carb, 7.8 g protein, 5.11 g fat, 0.66 g fiber

I did a bit of self-evaluation last night while working late and figured out why I’m suddenly possessed by the uncontrollable urge to cook, bake, and prepare so many healthy recipes I can’t even eat while on Kim’s plan: I’m using both Chris and my co-workers as my surrogate stomachs.

Somehow by feeding them the stuff I’d sort of like to have (and it isn’t even evil stuff–if I were doing BFL or another more laid back plan I could go ahead and have most of the meals I’ve been cooking for everyone else), I am getting a vicarious satisfaction that is almost as good as chowing down on the food myself.

I even bought Chris a sampler of Ferrero Rocher chocolates in a heart-shaped box ($2.50 on clearance next to the $3.99/lb Alaskan King crab legs at Winn-Dixie). This was partly because I do love him madly and think it’s unfair that only women usually receive chocolate in mid-February, but also because the little part of me that would kind of like one of those gold foil-wrapped balls o’ sugar and fat actually shuts up when my designated surrogate stomach (aka Chris) enjoys the treat instead.

I took the modified Key Lime Pie Cheesecake I baked the other night to work this morning for the same reason. If I can’t have any dairy-based foods under my current nutrition plan, and Chris was going to be out of town on business until Thursday night, I simply had to find some other remote tummies to do my eating for me.

Fortunately, the recipe doesn’t taste at all like a healthy dessert, so it has gone over quite well at work.

========================================================

2/20 Report
(*Diet and workout details omitted by agreement with trainer)
==========
Nutrition:

Meals - On plan
Water - 16 cups
Supplements - On plan

Regular (Non-Plan) Daily Supplements - multivitamin with iron, calcium 600 + D

12 days down, 72 more to go!

===========
Workout:

Weights - Done
Cardio - Rest

===========
The Awful Truth:
1. Worked until 10 pm last night and couldn’t get to gym in time for evening cardio. Make up session on Wednesday or Saturday.

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Brought key lime pie cheesecake to work to feed the co-workers.
2. Transferred current nutrition plan to Excel for easier tracking.
3. Increased weights on all leg exercises this morning.

===========
Short-term Goals:
1. Work on paper doll sketches.
2. Fix remaining issues with Joomla migration at Pinkdumbbells.com.
3. Locate new Events module for PDB.
4. Upgrade Community Builder component at PDB.
5. Set up archived version of The Training Journal forum at PDB from Hershey Girl’s backup.
6. Upgrade Wordpress to 2.0.
7. Do a bit more cooking.

Weights are done for today, and cardio will be knocked out immediately after work at the gym. I’ve been having issues figuring out how to navigate through the menus of my Sandisk digital audio player since I switched from MP3 mode to FM tuner mode last week to listen to the CSI episode at the gym, so I finally went to the Sandisk web site this morning to check out the owner’s manual online after pressing every button combination known to man on the little player and getting absolutely nothing in return except six random voice recorder recordings of myself cursing like a sailor.

When this player finally dies, I am just going to suck up the extra cost and get an iPod of some kind.

I went a little nuts at the grocery store(s) last night (we have four different ones within 2 miles of my house), but I bought enough food to last through the next 2-3 weeks. I splurged a bit on seafood this time around because dear Christopher is getting a little bit tired of sharing my (many) chicken meals. Alaskan King crab leg clusters were $3.99/lb at Winn-Dixie with a $25 grocery purchase, so I went ahead and got some for a big cheat meal sometime in the future. I also stocked up on shrimp, seafood mix (shrimp, squid, octopus, and other wiggly sea critters, YUM), salmon on-a-stick, frozen and fresh veggies, apples, strawberries, and some staples like olive oil and balsamic vinegar that were running low.

My big food experiments last night were Chinese beef noodles with skinless chicken legs subbed in for the usual beef, spaghetti sauce with 1 lb of lean ground beef and a cup of textured veggie protein (shhh…don’t tell my boyfriend), and a baked key lime cheesecake in a graham cracker crust made with yogurt cheese. The chicken legs turned out really well–slow cooking them for a few hours really allowed the broth to soak into the meat–and the stats are nearly identical to the original recipe, but quite a bit cheaper. Totally droolworthy, with or without the Chinese flat noodles.

Of course, I can’t have any of the above right now, but at least *someone* in the house will be in healthy ethnic gourmet heaven.

Speaking of food…believe it or not I was a good girl at the John Stone Fitness annual cheat meal at the Roadhouse Grill Saturday night. Besides guava’s girls, I may have been the only person at the table without a slab of something that used to answer to the name of “Bessie” on my plate. I got some blackened grilled mahi mahi on a lovely dry salad instead.

I didn’t take any pics at the dinner, but plenty of other folks did. If you are interested, you can check them out here:
2006 JSF Annual Cheat Meal Photos

========================================================

2/15-2/19 Report
(*Diet and workout details omitted by agreement with trainer)
==========
Nutrition:

2/15
Meals - On plan
Water - 16 cups

2/16
Meals - On plan
Water - 17 cups

2/17
Meals - On plan
Water - 16 cups

2/18
Meals - On plan
Water - 15 cups

2/19
Meals - On plan
Water - 10 cups

Regular (Non-Plan) Daily Supplements - multivitamin with iron, calcium 600 + D

11 days down, 73 more to go!

===========
Workout:

2/15
Weights - Rest
Cardio - Done

2/16
Weights - Done
Cardio - Done

2/17
Weights - Done
Cardio - Rest

2/18
Weights - Rest
Cardio - Rest

2/19
Weights - None
Cardio - YF Flexibility workout (45 minutes)
===========
The Awful Truth:
1. Nothing!

===========
Brownie Points:
1. Stuck with my program during the JSF Cheat Meal at Roadhouse Grill Saturday night.
2. Reorganized the pantry and fridge.
3. Cooked a ton of food last night.
4. Went grocery shopping.
5. Worked on flexibility.
6. Didn’t eat any Rice Krispy treats from the batch I made for my co-workers.

===========
Short-term Goals:
1. Work on paper doll sketches.
2. Fix remaining issues with Joomla migration at Pinkdumbbells.com.
3. Locate new Events module for PDB.
4. Upgrade Community Builder component at PDB.
5. Set up archived version of The Training Journal forum at PDB from Hershey Girl’s backup.
6. Upgrade Wordpress to 2.0.
7. Do a bit more cooking.