A Big Day at the Lewis House & What I Ate Wednesday

Today is a HUGE day at the Lewis house, but more on that later....

Let's talk food!

I've decided to hop on the "What I Ate" bandwagon.  I get a lot of questions about what I eat, what I don't eat and how much.  I'm certainly not going to post what I eat every single day, but I think showing you what I ate once a week would be kind of fun and will answer some questions.

I follow Tiffany at Love, Sweat and Beers and she's been doing the What I Ate Wednesday thing for awhile, so I decided to go along for the ride. Here's the cute button for July.





 It comes from Jenn at Peas and Crayons. She comes up with little monthly themes to mix it up, like "Love Your Veggies Month" or "Sensible Snacking" you can follow, or not.  I mean, she's not going to send the blog police after me if I eat a cookie.  At least, I don't think so. This month's theme is "Fun, Food and Fitness" (which, I guess you already know, since it's actually written on the button...bare with me folks, I'm no brainiac" . This is right up my ally, since my blog is largely about food and fitness.  And I am beyond fun...right?

1) Post workout Protein shake- for some reason I didn't take a pic after I added the whey, chia seeds and water. (192 cal)
2) Vans waffle plus cottage cheese (1/4 c) plus raspberries (147)
3) 0% Greek yogurt (1/3 c) raspberries plus 1/4 c homemade muesli, drizzle organic honey (198)
4) Tuna salad (made with chia seeds, Greek yogurt, garlic aioli, spices and sun-dried tomatoes) in an Arnold Italian pocket with baby lettuces. Sides of red bell pepper and raspberries (285)
5) Baby bell lite cheese round (50) No pic.
6) 2 Egg Muffins/Egg Cups (one turkey sausage, spinach & feta, one Canadian bacon, sun dried tomato and smoked Gouda)(164)
7) 2 Buffalo wild wings buffalitos (mild sauce), no cheese no sour cream.  Chips replaced with carrot/celery boat (325)- no picture.
8) Short's Brewery Soft Parade beer- "tall". (390)

Apx 1700 calories.  I burned 300 working out so it's a net of 1400.  A little high, would've been perfect but for the beer- but it was worth it!

Overall nutrients: 32 g fat, 390 Cholesterol, 2925 Sodium, 157 Carbs, 36 fiber, 42 sugar, 136 protein,
I technically had too much Cholesterol, Sodium and sugar, but everything else was great. I'm not too worried about the cholesterol, since I know most of it came from good sources (tuna, whey, egg) and as much as I sweat in workouts.  The sodium is a bit high, the buffalitos had 1240 mg!
I was starving all day.  I think it's because I did endurance spin workouts both Sunday and Monday night.  Today I feel much, much better. Speaking of working out......

Workout Update:

I'm working on a post about my vacation workouts, hopefully I will get that up Thursday, but here's what's going on now: 

Sunday I had a treat!  I was off of work so I was able to do a class at GoCycle that I've been wanting to try since it started, "GoRehab".  It's 45 min of GoChubChub (hard to say with a straight face, btw) and 30 minutes of outdoor yoga.  I guess I should also explain GoChubChub- my new obsession.

This is not the official description, just my best attempt to explain it.  Basically, the goal is to burn fat. Studies show that when you do a ton of sprints or work at a high heart rate, you burn less fat and while you burn more calories overall, many of them come from muscle, not fat.  However, working at a somewhat lower, yet still challenging intensity for an extended period of time will burn more fat calories and this is how you get rid of that stubborn midsection (in combination with eating clean and healthy).

Class is mostly keeping your RPM at 90 while your resistance is challenging.  The goal is to be in control, breathing in through your nose.  There are some intervals where you might go to 100 rpm, or increase resistance for a short time, but in general, it's a consistent ride- in the seat.

It's tough, mentally and physically.  There are no breaks (though you are encouraged to take a drink or regroup if needed).  The first time I went to the class, it kicked my butt.  I was swimming in sweat and wiped out. For days.  It's funny, you don't get sore from this class, you get fatigued.  I take the Monday night class and turn around and come back Tuesday at 5:15 to lift, and I am a mess!

I was skeptical about the class, but it seems to be working.  I had been at a plateau for months and after 2 weeks of GoChubChub, I dropped my first pound in probably 2 months.  I took a week off for vacation, where I gained a lb.  I've been home 4 days and after 2 Chub Chub classes, that lb is gone. I also feel so much stronger physically and mentally.  Finally, I can see much more definition in my midsection, which really is my goal!

Anyway, GoRehab is a chub chub followed by yoga.  I loved the instructor.  She teaches people who are rehabilitating from injury or surgery and she gives off more of a "coach" vibe than a typical yogi vibe.  I felt I learned more in that 30 minutes than all of the classes I've taken over who knows how many years.

After GoRehab, I continued the workout fest with a GoBarbell.  It was great to get back to lifting!
Daily Total Calories Burned: 794.

Monday was my usual GoChubChub, 500 calories
Tuesday, GoBarbell: 300
Wednesday morning: Regular old spin class- 550.  

I had to work today, so I couldn't take my usual Go60 class, but instead had to take a regular spin at 6. This leads me to the exciting and wonderful part of today...Tommy is 4!!!

When I got home from class, he and Mack hadn't been up long and everyone was in my room. Tommy saw me and told me that Frank must have known he was 4 because Frank gave him "extra long birthday cuddles" and "even let me kiss him!".

There he is in his new birthday shirt, his new birthday Angry Birds hooded blanket and his present from us...."fighting toys".  Yup, he wanted what he calls "fighting toys", specifically, Power Rangers.  I'm not thrilled, but I do think it's a pretty natural thing at his age.

On the way to daycare, I asked him if he felt older.  He said he did and I asked "in what way".  "I think I'm faster now".  I'm sure he is!

Tonight we are meeting friends at the Detroit Zoo for a Wild Summer Nights concert.  It should be a blast.  Hopefully I'll have more birthday photos to share tomorrow! That said, I better run!

Happy Birthday Tommy.  And here's to the best 4 years of MY life..so far!

Olympic Fever and Big Time Game Planning!

I love Track and Field.

Seriously, I really, really love Track and Field.

I am sitting here with goosebumps despite the 80 degree weather.  I've been watching the Olympic Trials events I missed this weekend and I am getting SUPER excited for the Olympics!  The end all be all of Track and Field is just 40 days away!

I'll be wrapping up a trip to Lake Michigan the day the running events start (Aug 3), so while everyone is out on the water, I'll probably be a stones throw of the tv.

All this T&F made me think about how little I have been running.  And when I say little, I mean- not at all!

I have two races on the books- a 5K on July 4th and the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon on Oct. 21st.  I'm not too worried about the 5k.  While I have not been running much, I have been spinning, so hopefully that helps.  I plan to run with the Royal Oak Area Runners on Tuesday and that's a pretty fast run for me.  I'll  finally try out my new Garmin!

Now, I am starting to worry about the half marathon.  I ran it last year- or I should say I completed it last year, as I did do some walking, for sure.  My time completely sucked and I was sore for days!  This is probably because I didn't train much.  I started training, it was going great, I increased mileage and that plus a improperly fitted shoe (yes- I did get fitted at a running store and they gave me a shoe a full size too small), I ended up with a stress fracture in my foot.

I had to take 16 weeks off.  I did, and never really got myself back on track.  Before the race, my longest training run had been 5 miles.

This year I not only want to destroy my time, I want it to be, well..kind of easy. I don't want to suffer and struggle for 13.1 miles.  Yes, I expect to be uncomfortable, but I don't want to be miserable. I also don't want another injury.

I am injury prone, I always have been.  When I ran years ago, it seemed that the only way to get better at distance, was to run, run and then go run some more. That always led to injury.

I have felt that there has to be a way to train less, yet get faster and stronger.  I stumbled upon Run Less Run Faster .  In a nutshell, you run 3 times a week plus cross train two other days.  I saw that and was intrigued.

I looked to see what other bloggers had written about the book, read reviews and finally decided to buy it.  It was less than $10.00 on Kindle, so I gave it a shot.  I just started it, but I think it's going to work out perfectly!  There is a 16 week half marathon schedule, so I officially start training Sunday July 16!

Anyone want to join me?

On to my fitness plans for this week:
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Spin- "GoChubChub"
Tuesday: Go Barbell AND ROAR 3 miles
Wednesday: Go 60
Thursday: Go60
Friday: GoBarbell and GoCycle Abs
Saturday: Spin
Sunday: Peanutbutter Finger's 1000 Rep Workout

If you are wondering what these new "Go" workouts are, there are classes at GoCycle.  I bought a summer unlimited pass, so I'm working out there a lot! I plan to describe these classes more on Tuesday.

Speaking of the upcoming week, the blog plan is:
Monday: New Egg Cups and Muesli recipes
Tuesday: Planning my vacation workouts and talking about the new classes I'm taking
Wednesday: Craft Room Reveal and some talk about getting our house ready to sell
Thursday: How to pack for vacation and house hunting
Friday: Swimsuit shopping. What a difference a year makes.
Saturday: Book Review: End of an Affair; Race Music; New books (new to me): Fit to Fat to Fit and Skinny Rules


Have a great week and see you tomorrow!

Getting out the door is the first step

Lately I am having a hard time getting myself to work out.  Once I start, I'm usually great, but getting moving has been a challenge.  I really don't know why.  Is it that the weather's been colder than it had been lately? Because I have so many crafty things I want to do at home? Because I am getting so close to my goal weight? I think I'm going to have to figure this out.


To get through times like this, I try to employ the "fifteen minute rule". I tell myself, "just start, and if you want to quit after 15 minutes, you can". I've never quit once I started.


It took me over an hour to get myself out the door this past Sunday, but after about five minutes, I was fine.  I've been spending my Sunday mornings going on a nice easy longish run. My "Easy Like Sunday Morning Run"  I run around downtown Royal Oak and through some of my favorite neighborhoods. I particularly enjoy window shopping. I saw this cute BlueQ tote in the window at Shine.  I have to go back and grab it.  

Sunday was a 50 minute easy run, which only burned 350 calories.  I cannot remember the exact route I took (I always do a different route on Sundays), but I think it was about 4.5 miles.  It's a little too easy and next week I need to step it up a bit.  I think the problem was that I was listening to The Hunger Games on Audible.  I was so into it I was barely moving. 

I was running late and had not prepared breakfast.  I decided I'd try a Subway breakfast after the morning rush was done at work.  At about 10 am, things slowed down, so I ran to Subway.  I had never had their breakfast, so it was all new to me.  I liked it, but it was too much food.  I got a 6 in flat bread.  Next time I will get the English muffin or breakfast size flat bread. 

The size didn't stop me from eating it all.  I got the egg white, ham, turkey, salt, pepper, olives, spinach, tomato, banana pepper, cucumbers, bell peppers, light onion and provolone.  It was really good, but sat like a rock in my stomach.  Still, according to the website, it was just 350 calories.  I certainly will be getting breakfast there again. 

While I was disappointed in my super lazy run, my muscles were still fresh and ready for GoBarbell.   One of the owners, Jimmy, was the instructor. He usually does not teach the GoBarbell classes that I go to, so I was interested in how it would go. I have only been to his spin classes, and they are my favorite- so I expected this class would be good.  He did not disappoint.  One of the reasons I like his classes so much is he does NOT do the workout with you.  He will show you what to do, but he focuses on watching and teaching.  You can also hear him because he's not short of breath because he's trying to get his workout in too. I have some hearing loss, so I really appreciate being able to hear the instructor.

I know some people feel the opposite.  They don't respect the instructor if they are not doing the workout too.  Not an issue for me.  I figure, I'm paying you to train and teach me, work out on your own time. That sounds harsh.  I don't mean it to.  I have great classes when the instructor does the work out too, I just prefer it when they focus mostly on the student.  Anyway, it was a fun class. Two of my friends from work were there, I felt great and did well. It was April 1st and at one point Jimmy says, "50 push-ups- not on your knees". I'm like "what?".  I waited for the "April Fools". It never came.

He said we could take breaks if needed. I was surprised that I did 25, then 20, then the last 5.  Three months ago I could not do a single real push up. It feels really good to be where I am.  And I look forward to being able to do all 50 without a break.

GoBarbell burned 300 calories and the run was 350, so I had 650 for the day. 

I swung into Holiday Market for my usual Sunday Salad, but I felt like something else.  I ended up with Sunday Shrimp.  No, I did not chose it for the "S", but I do like getting shrimp when I am away from my kids.  Mack is allergic to shellfish so I don't eat it when he is at all near. I ordered grilled pesto shrimp with sides of asparagus and garlic string beans.  Very good.  And expensive.  Over $10.00.  Not sure if it's worth it or not.  I could have sworn I took a picture of it, but I don't see one.  Sorry. He's a picture of one of my crazy kids jumping on the sofa instead. Delish!

I was sore Monday, which was a good thing.  I took an easy 3 mile run for 250 calories and did some stretching.  Again, it was another super slow run while trying to finish up the Hunger Games.

Tuesday brought me back to GoBarbell's 5 am class. Lisa, the other owner, taught it and wow!  I knew from Sunday's class that I needed to increase my barbell weight.  I had used two tens and Tuesday I added a 2.5 to each side for a 5 lb increase.  The increased weight was tough and Lisa was super tough.  We went non-stop for 45 minutes.  No breaks.  300 calories burned, though I am sure my muscles kept burning for awhile.  

That afternoon I went to the gym and did my mile repeat workout.  I tweaked it so that each mile is done in under 8 minutes.  This kicked my butt, but I loved it.  I did a half mile warm up and half mile cool down, then four 1 mile repeats, with apx 3 min of walking in between.  Burned 540 calories. 

I've posted the workout on it's own post, right after this, so that it's easier to get to and pull up on a smart phone. 

I think I am going to quit listening to anything during my runs.  Books distract me and while music helps (I LOVE running to The Like), the headphones, cords, iPhone armband and all that drives me nuts! I'm constantly annoyed by a cord pulling or poking or getting in my way.  The benefit from the music just does not outweigh the annoyance.  Unless I can figure something else out, I'm done with it. 

Do you listen to anything when you work out?

Music or books?

How do you deal with the cords?

How many push ups can you do? 

Do your kids jump on your sofa too? How do you get them to stop, when it seems to fun? 

Week One Wrap Up

Week One Wrap Up

Friday: I was supposed to meet Krista at the gym for a 60 minute interval/circuit workout, but I was super late and we only did about 35 minutes for 300 calories burned. Even though I was late and the workout was cut short, I really enjoyed it.  It was our first go at this new workout and it went pretty well.  We are doing it again on Tuesday, so I will post that complete workout later.


Saturday: Went to "The Class".  Not good.  It was the first time I had ever been to a class in which the owner taught and I was so disappointed.  I was there for 55 minutes and only burned 400 calories.  This is with me increasing the speeds on my own.  The cardio bouts were the problem- he would have us sprint then drop to a walk. Then he'd forget about us! We'd be walking at a 4.0 for half of the rotation. Not Happy. I imagine this was just a bad day, since a lot of people rave about him. Still, I won't take his class again.


Sunday: I had to make up for Friday and Saturday so I had to step up my workout on Sunday.  On my lunch hour (yes, I actually have work on Sunday's), I went to GoCycle for the GoBarbell class.  This was March 11th.  This was in Michigan.  This was OUTSIDE! And it was amazing.  What a gorgeous day and a fantastic workout!  I was late to class (not a good week for me being on time), so I missed a round of walking lunges. I'm sure my calorie burn would have exceeded 300 had I been on time, but as it was, I burned 250 in 35 minutes.


After work I decided to take advantage of the fact that I work in a 12 story building and I ran the stairs.  I ran up and then took the elevator down.  I did this 5 times = 60 flights of stairs.  I can't say I ran it all, it was hard!  I would run 6 flights, walk one, run 3, walk one, finish and head down; or sometimes I'd run the steps and walk the landings in between each set. I burned 250 calories in 25 minutes.


I'm really happy with this Sunday work out and think I will do it every Sunday.


And finally- Sunday is Weigh In Day- I lost 1.5 lbs. I'm thrilled with this.


Here's a picture of my boys, enjoying the weather

Week One, part 2.

I'm sorry I am just returning! I feel weird saying sorry, because that would mean someone is out there- and it tuns out, someone is.;  I actually got some "views".  No comments though, which I think is a good thing!I'm not ready to fully accept that others read this!!


It's now Friday and things are going pretty well. Let's recap my week so far:


Monday,  I headed to the gym.  I didn't have as much time there as I had wanted.  This is sad, since I had three hours of free time, yet spent only 1 hour working out.  The other two were spent watching Justified.  I am watching it via Netflix and just finished Season 1.  I love it- but that's a whole other blog (not really, I barely do this one!).


As I was saying, I worked out for an hour Monday.  It wasn't one of my better workouts.  I planned to do a 10000 meter interval workout on the rowing machine and was aiming for 600 calories.  I did row a 10K, I did do it in under an hour and I did intervals but I just couldn't get my heart rate up.  The strap on my left foot kept coming off, weird men kept coming near me and I just could not get in the groove, so to speak (as if I speak like that, oh well).  I burned 450 calories in 50 minutes.  If I had more time, I would have gone on the elliptical or ran for a bit, but I promised my my husband I'd go get the kids.


(Which reminds me, don't I need to come up with some clever and endearing nicknames for said husband and kids? Yeah, good luck with that...)


It wasn't a terrible workout, but  I certainly felt like I had more in me, I just couldn't get there with the rowing machine.  I'm not giving up on it though.  I think next Monday I will start with a 1.5 mile run on the treadmill to get warmed up and get my heart rate up, then try to row 700 meters in 40 min.  Well see what kind of "burn" that gets me. I will take some notes and come up with a share-able workout.


On a good note, I liked my new gloves.  A few days prior I had done 5000 on the rowing machine and been rewarded with some pretty nasty blisters.  I covered them with New Skin and picked up some gloves. This time went much better- no new blisters.


Tuesday was much, much better.  I started with a 5:15 am strength training class. It was great.  The instructor found that perfect balance- she kept our heart rates up high enough to burn calories, yet not so high that we had to reduce weights or had crappy form.  My HRM said that I burned 430 calories in 45 minutes.  I have to be a little suspect of that, as it seems so high.  Then again, my HRM is not known for being too high- so I'm taking the 430!  Later that day I took the kids to the gym.  I put them in the kid care and headed for the treadmills.


I had a rocky start, as my HRM was going crazy! It kept saying my heart rate was like 220, before I started.  Initially I was up front.  I get there, wipe down the machine (I finally realized that wiping down the machine after I work out only protects those who use it after me. It does nothing for ME! Now I wipe it down before AND after! Genius, I know.). I set down my water bottle.  I adjust my ipod, arm strap and earbuds. My towel is just so.  I begin. And then I see 220.  What the....


I begin reaching up my shirt, trying to adjust the chest strap without flashing my raisin like midriff at my fellow gym goers.  I think it's all set.  I start again. Re-adjust my ear buds.  Start running and BAM 230.
I fidget, push buttons, adjust straps and so on.  No luck.


I become convinced that it interference with from the tv right above me.  I get all of my crap and head to the opposite corner.  I start my rituals all over and sure enough- 220.  Are.You. Kidding. Me?


I stop and approach one of the staff members, who looks at me like I am crazy. No, no one has ever complained of interference with their HRM.  Really. No one? Ever? Now, I don't believe this, though I do find some solace in the fact that she looks me up and down and says, "no, your heart rate is not 220 (see , I can't be completely crazy)  Could it be from someone else?".


Of course I had considered this from the start, but had quickly dismissed it.  I humored her. We looked around at the other four people there.  Now let me say, I have no issue with older people and I love seeing them at the gym, but I have to say the other four people at the Y that Tuesday morning at 10 am were all, yes, ALL over 70 and I don't think any had broken a sweat.


"Yeah, maybe" was my response.  Internally I cursed her, then I cursed Polar and vowed to buy a Garmin.  I accepted that I'd have to rely on the unreliable results from the machine and if my HRM was junk, I may as well move back to where I started.


I gather my stuff and perform my rituals again (though I skip wiping down the machine this time, screw germs!). I have now managed to waste about 20 minutes and everyone in the place thinks I am certifiable.  At least I still had 90 minutes till the child care people came looking for me to force my kids back on me.


Turns out, I didn't need 90 minutes, just 50.  I had a great run.  I did 5.5 miles. Yes, that statement deserves it very own sentence. Be glad I didn't give each word it's own sentence.  It's a really big deal for me.  The first 3.5 were classic intervals with incline for most of it (2-3)( I'll try to insert a chart later.)  Then I eliminated the incline for the last 1.5 miles and worked on endurance speed by going between 7 and 8.3 (ok, it wasn't really speedy, but it was fast for me).


I felt great and probably could have gone another couple of miles, but that's how I usually end up getting injured, so I stopped it there.  I burned apx 600 calories, which sounded about right when you take into account that most of it was done on an incline.


So- Tuesday was a success- over 1000 calories!


Wednesday was pretty good.  I went to "the Class" at 6 am and burned 450 calories.  That was with increased speeds and weights.  I think my body is getting too comfortable with this workout.  I used to burn 500-550 calories just a few weeks ago.  I'm really beginning to think that the price increase is a blessing.


Although I had an extra 450 calories to eat and ate pretty well during the day, I ended up going over by about 400 calories! I had dinner and drinks at a friend's and one piece of pizza and one bread stick were 420 calories.  Add my drinks and there you have it.  I just cannot get over how many calories were in that small piece of pizza and tiny bread stick.  I used to eat 3 x that in one sitting- that would exceed my base calories for the entire day!  I love pizza, but I'm not sure it's worth it.  I think I'm going to have to work on a home made version....


Thursday was exciting. Myself and a few girlfriends hired a personal trainer to do a "bootcamp" at our houses.  Our first bootcamp was Thursday afternoon.  I was a bit worried that I would not burn enough calories, being that we'd probably waste a lot of time getting to know eachother and figuring things out- and this turned out to be the case.  Fortunately I went to the gym that morning and tested out some of my interval workout plan.  At they gym, I ran 5 miles and burned 450 calories.  Good thing, since I only burned 150 with the trainer. 


I not only wanted to burn off some of the calories from the day before, but we go to a local Brewery every Thursday.  This means I needed a cushion so I could have a couple of beers.  While I didn't make much of a dent in Wednesday's calorie deficit, I didn't go over on Thursday.  That includes the TWO mini cupcakes I had for my son's "pretend Birthday" at preschool. Unlike the pizza the day before, these were worth it.  They were from a cupcake bakery in my town called cup.cake.  I don't know if you say "cup cake" or "cup dot cake". I forgot to ask. It really doesn't matter- however you say it, they are amazing.We got these one's and chocolate ones. 

This brings me to today, which is Friday.  I have been fighting a cold for a few days and this morning I was feeling pretty crummy.  I also had a crummy day at work.  In the past, this would mean I'd go home and sleep- or go shop (it is payday, after all). I might take a little nap or I might run to the store, but I WILL workout.


Now I have to decide what kind of workout to do. This is the plan: 20 minute interval workout on the elliptical and then 40 on the treadmill.  I know if I start on the treadmill, I won't ever switch to the elliptical (I don't like it very much) and my legs really don't need 60 minutes of running.