So I have modified my workout slightly, but let me tell you, the ten minutes on the elliptical went MUCH smoother today than last time.  I was still struggling the last 2 minutes, but this time I went to 8 minutes without losing my stride.  It was very gratifying!  (It also helped that the World Series of Poker was on the television and not the All Star Game!)

The stationary bike was even smoother, even the cool down wasn’t awful.

The biggest change to the evening was lowering the reps of my weight lifting and adding a new machine to the list.  I did 100 reps starting at 20 pounds, increasing to 60, then dropping to 40 and finally back down to 20 pounds on the curls, triceps, and lateral presses.  I also added lateral raises to the set.  I feel ok, some twinges in my legs and knees but overall a much better experience than the first time.

I hit my target of one hour for the evening.  I will weigh in next time and use that as my starting weight.

Take a look at this delicious burger and check out the  and fries and drink. This might be the only size that will not effect my new way of eating. It looks so tiny and delicious. You can check out more about this little work of art at Rank Funny.

I just thought I had to share this little tidbit. But honestly I am researching so alternatives that I can make at home that will be hot and juicy. As you can see From Calorie King - The BK Wopper is over 600 Calories and 39grams of Fat.  I found this on Food Network as a Tasty Alternative to the high fat of a regular burger. With only 10grams of Fat and 300 Calories. It is a tasty Turkey Burger. I was looking for something that would have a good taste and easy to make. This really fits the bill. These are really good when you want a burger without all the fat and calories.

Man, talk about a sharp learning curve!  The HARDEST part of the workout was the elliptical!  I thought I could put in a 30 minute stint on the thing right out of the gate.

Wrong answer, thanks for playing.  Ten minutes and my shins felt like they were separating from the rest of my body.  By the time I walked it off and tried to start again NO GO.  I was able to put 15 minutes on the stationary bicycle, but that was it for my legs.  The next day my legs were sore, but not like my arms!

I started my shoulder and arm training with 120 reps of curls, 120 reps of triceps (anti-curls), and 120 machine seated bench presses.  I started at 40 pounds, then 30, and finally at 20.  Big mistake.  I should have started at 20, then 60, then 40.  I was aching all weekend.

The entire workout was about 45 minutes.  I need to make it an hour so I will be adding some warmup stretching for my legs and quads, and some cool down for my arms.  I don’t want to feel like this after every workout.

I am also going to try to add much more water during the day, everyday.  I don’t drink nearly enough.  That will be the only real modification to my diet for now.  My thinking is that I have been on diet after diet after diet and my will power was powerless.  By changing my physical activity I notice I don’t eat nearly as much, the more active I am the less I tend to eat (even at night).

This week was a challenge - I didn’t get to exercise as much as I really wanted to - I twisted my ankle on Sunday - Making it really hard to walk and move around as much as I liked. Sunday Night dinner wise was a challenge - I went out to Bahama Breeze - And it was tough to figure out what would be the healthier options on the menu. I opted for the Portabella Mushroom Sandwitch on Cuban Bread. - I took half home with me. This dinner included a fresh cut fruit salad. That was really good. This kept me pretty full and I didn’t feel like I was missing anything at all - **NOTE** I wish Bahama Breeze would put their Nutritonal information on their website. This made it hard to calculate what I ate. I didn’t know where we were going to dinner before hand or I would have tried to look on the site first.

The rest of the week - I took my breakfast to work and lunches. My breakfast consists of a fat free Yoplait 6oz Yogurt and 1 cup of Special K red Berries - I mix the two together and it really is a yummy and cruchy start of the day.  I also took with me daily 1 or 2 pieces of fruit and sometime a hard boiled egg. My lunch varied this week - I either took a salad (Mixed Spring Leaves 3 oz) and some homemade dressing (1 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 2 Tbl Spoons of Balsimic Vinegar)

For Dinner I fell in love with the simplicity of cooking skinless boneless chicken breasts. I take a 4oz breast and put in on a tin foil lined baking pan. Lightly spray the bottom or the pan with the Misto Oil Sprayer. Then put in some chopped up onions over the breast and around it. Then throw in several strips of green pepper. I then sprinkled it with Franks Red Hot (Great if you love it hot and spicy) or some Chicken Spices from the spice aisle (I will look for the name of them) - You can also add some Frozen Corn or Frozen Peas to this for variety. - Cook for about 25 to 35 Minutes or until the chicken is over 160 Degrees inside. The Oven temp is set to 425 Degrees. The Onion will keep the breast moist and juicy and the spices and franks will keep it flavorful. This added with a small side dish and a small salad is a great dinner in my opinion.

Well that is my week in review. - Please leave some comments and suggestions - I would love to hear what you have to say or suggest.

Thanks

Merlin

It was recommended to me to invest in a Misto - Oil Mister - I was not sure if this would help or not - But I have to agree with them - This allows you to cut down on the amount of oil you use. Instead of putting in a tablespoon of oil in the pan and swirling it around and trying to get even coverage - You can spray on an even coating and it is a considerably less amount of oil saving you calories and fat intake.

Hint: if you purchase one - First - Only fill it half way - Need the other half for Air - 2nd Only Pump it 15 to 20 times. AND Very Important - Release the air after you are done using it. - This will help prolong the life of the misto.

Just my 2 cents on how to help make things lower in fat and calories