Leg Workout + Another Running Urge + New shrimp Recipe + Books are In (!) + August Assessment + September Goals

Thank you guys SO MUCH for your sweet, supportive comments on my first blogiversary. Way to make a girl feel special! (and hot - you guys rock! j/k haha). I really appreciate it you guys.... I still can't believe it's been a YEAR! How long have all of you been blogging? How long do you think you will blog?! here goes this monster of a post... I’m a little behind , friends but I promise - highlights only! Tuesday I walked 3.5 miles during lunch and 1 mile after work + this leg workout – good stuff!

I also ran a mile… I felt the urge and said I’d run ½ mile… but I was feeling great so I went for the whole thing taking my total to 5.5 miles. I had a yummy pasta for lunch.


I got home and had yummy quinoa w/sauted veggies and sun-dried tomato/feta stuffed chicken. Nom nom nom. We did watch the season finale of Weeds – CRAZY ending, very good! I ended up at 1,739 calories, 217 carbs, 58 fat grams and 98 protein grams. Not bad – a little high on fat though. Here’s what I ate.

Wednesday my tummy was upset and I was SUPER sore. Work was crazy so I worked through lunch, then headed straight home. Boo. I did make a yummy dinner, a new one a tiny bit off meal plan, Cookinglight.com’s Shrimp Arrabbiata. Here is the recipe for two servings.

Close up...

Full serving on small square plate (salad plate!)

4 oz. linguine

1 tbsp olive oil, divided

6 oz. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/8 tsp salt

¼ cup onion, chopped

1 tsp bottled minced garlic

¼ tsp dried basil

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

1 tbsp tomato paste

½ (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 tbsp fresh parsley

Cook pasta according to package (10 minutes), and drain and keep warm. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and add to pan, cooking for 2 minutes on each side until shrimp are done. Transfer to plate. Heat remaining tsp of olive oil. Add onion, garlic, basil and red pepper; sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and tomatoes; bring to boil. Cook for 3 minutes until sauce thickens. Return shrimp to pan and mix with tomato mixture for 1 minute until heated. Add parsley to pan, stir well, then serve over pasta. Nutritional Information: 392 calories, 54 carbs, 9 fat grams and 25 protein grams. We REALLY liked it – those red pepper flakes made such a difference as did the fresh parsley. I was definitely a fan – it was SO filling. After dinner we just hung out with the Reuben puppy and watched TV – standard! I will say that my books came in – YESSSSSS.

I ended the day at 1,812 calories, 282 carbs, 36 fat grams and 86 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Today I woke up feeling hungover (for no reason) – headache, sinuses, sneezing – mess. My power strip wasn’t working so my computer was dead... I had to drive in to the office to Desktop support in the rain to get a charger then back. That took 1.5 hours (heavy traffic at 8:15 a.m.). Reuben went with me so that was fun, and I’m now, thanks to that commute, on the last of 7 CDs of At First Sight – love it! Then I just cooked lunch, dinner and lunch/dinner for tomorrow (all on meal plan – yay!), and me and Austin locked down which Auburn games we would attend and let our buddies know – YAY!!

Dinner... creamy chicken tostdos... YUM They would probably look more appetizing but I used fat-free cheese and that stuff just doesn't melt like "normal" cheese

Now I’m settled into the Sex and the City Movie but still don’t feel well and yes, skipped another day at the gym. I hope I feel better tomorrow – I have 5.5 miles + back + biceps planned! I’m done eating fo sho, so I ended up at 1,690 calories, 254 carbs, 32 fat grams and 107 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Time for my Twelfth Month: August 2009 Monthly Assessment

By the Numbers
Pounds Lost: -2.5 (gain) (114.5 to 117)
Highest Weight: 119
Lowest Weight: 115
Pounds left to Lose: 4 (would like to be at 113)
Posts: 20
Days Worked out: 23
Miles of cardio: 84.5
Injuries: none! A little pain in my foot though after running…. Little….
New Recipes Cooked: 14

Interesting Charts

Click on charts to make them larger!

A Look Back: August Goals

1. Keep calories under 1,850 on days when I work out and 2,300 when I drink (1 day a week; 2 at most). Not done… I had 13 days over limit. Only 3 of these days were days I didn’t work out, but I’m still snacking when I’m not hungry with the whole “but I worked out it’s cool” mentality. This mentality would be fine if I was at 113 – but I’m not! So I need to work on this…

2. Walk 84 miles. DONE.

3. Do strength training 3 days/week. DONE – went well!!!

4. Do abs 3 days/week. Not done… I think this is too aggressive for me right now. I’m going to go for 2 days/week in September!

5. Decide whether or not to hire the trainer. I didn’t decide… but will move this over for September goal to hire him or move on my own route!

6. Introduce 10 new recipes. DONE… did a few extras, too, but mostly because of the shower!

7. Update the home blog 2 days/week AND fitting back in 5 days/week. DONE. Did much better at updating!

8. Read 2 books. DONE. Actually read 3!

9. Get dining room painted; install lights in hallway upstairs. DONE this was a great month for the house – we knocked off a ton of To-Dos!!

10. Develop 2 new weeks of Strength Training Routines. DONE me and Stacy are racing through them! I’m enjoying it so much and have SO many more exercises to try!

All in all I’m really proud of this month! I feel like I got a lot done on a lot of fronts, but am definitely going to try to tackle this calorie thing in September!!

September Goals:

1. Keep calories under 1,850 on days when I work out and 2,300 when I drink (1 day a week; 2 at most). TRACK AHEAD.

2. Walk 84 miles.

3. Do strength training 3 days/week and Abs 2 days/week.

4. Decide whether or not to hire the trainer.

5. Introduce 10 new recipes.

6. Read 4 books (including audio!).

7. Have canvas put on backers for green guest room, install shelf/hooks in hall closet and research stainless steel appliances (pricing, brands, etc.)

8. Develop 2 new weeks of Strength Training Routines.

9. Develop a meal plan for each week – STICK WITH IT!

10. Get down to 115.

I feel good about these goals! I think the walking, strength training, cooking and reading is kind of under control and has become a habit over the last year (which is so exciting!). So the biggie for me is going to be REALLY getting better at the calories (which the meal plans will help I hope!) and not forgetting to do abs… this tends to happen even though I’ve identified it as one of my problem areas! Also, i'm a little nervous about saying I want to lose 2 pounds this week but I can do it.... right?! Eek! Wish me luck on a whole new year of tracking – WOO!! (and no more starting my posts with days…. I’m oughta that business!)