A new program

Since my anniversary trip, I've pretty much been a complete workout slacker. But, to my credit, my DH and I did join a rock climbing gym and have been going for about an hour 3 or more times per week. So that counts, right? Haha. Mixed in with the rock climbing have been a few sessions on the cardio machines at work and one weight session. But today, I've decided to stop making excuses. So what if I'm supposed to be moving and have packed up my entire house? My weights and shoes are still accessible, and now there's more space to workout that before I packed everything up. So basically, there's no reason to be such a slacker.

I've decided to follow the plan from The Body Sculpting Bible for Women. It's basically 3 total body workouts per week and 3 cardio/abs sessions per week. Every 2 weeks, the program changes a bit, progressing from traditional reps and sets to super and then giant sets in the last 2 weeks. I'm going to do it for at least the 6 week timeframe, and may do it twice, depending on how it's working at the end of the 6 weeks. (Probably, Cathe's new releases, will affect the 2nd round as well). Plus, we're going to climb 3 days a week, too. But that won't count as my actual workout for the day.

Eatingwise, I've also been a slacker, though lunches and snacks have been pretty good. I've just been taking a lot of cheat days, going out for dinner more than my alloted 2 times per week. I'm going to focus on getting back on track with eating, but I'm not stressing out about it until we've actually gotten moved into the new place and have all the appliances hooked up and kitchen unpacked. But within the next two weeks, eating should be easy to be back 100% on track. :)

Chocolate Protein Cereal

I've been eating this for breakfast a lot. It's a lot yummier than it seems. It looks funny, though, so no pic.

Chocolate Almond Protein Cereal
301Cal, 8g fat, 30g carbs (4g fiber), 29g protein

1/3c dry old fashioned oatmeal
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 T almond meal
1/2t cocoa powder (not hot chocolate mix!)
1t splenda
1/2c milk

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a cereal bowl. Add the milk, stir well, and gobble it up. There are obviously a lot of variations that could be done with this. Changing the flavor of protein powder, using other nuts or ground flax seeds, adding dried or fresh fruit....

Before and After

This is my before/after comparison for p90x. It's subtle, but I know there's a difference. You can see tons more ripple in my upper back, and my hips are a lot narrower. And my face us more chiseled. Plus, I know you can't see in the pic, but with more side lighting, I really do have a baby six pack :)

So far, after 8 days of August, I've lost 2 points in my challenge. One for only doing half my planned workout, and one for eating an extra cheat meal. But that extra Diddy Reise ice cream sandwich was totally worth it :D

I'm going on vacation for 4 days over the weekend to celebrate my anniversary. I'm sure I'll lose a bunch of points for that, but I'm ok with it. My goal for this challenge is to earn an A- or better, and I think I can still do this, even if I'm bad on the vacation days. Hmmm...maybe that means it's not really much of a challenge then? :)

I'm really liking Slim Series still. It's completely different from p90x in that it's totally coreographed and there is little room for personalization. You do the same number of reps as Debbie (if you can!) and really only choose between 3 and 5 lb dumbbells. It's kind of surprising to me that after doing something like p90x, I can still be challenged with little 3lb dumbbells. But Debbie has you to like 50 reps with those tiny things and by the end, my shoulders want to die. I'm really curious to see what kind of results all this extremely low weight/ high rep stuff will give my body, since I am one of those women who put on muscle mass relatively easily.

Just checking in

Today's workout: Firm it Up + 20 minute mall walk

Foods: 1636 Cals, 42/35/23
b- Special K Low Carb Lifestyle + milk
l- leftover turkey meatloaf + 3 everyday chocolate muffins w/ 1tsp pb
s2- 1/4c cottage cheese, 3/4c vanilla yogurt, 2T lowfat ganola, 1/2c raspberries
s2- 3 more choc muffinsw/ 2/3tsp pb
d- TJ's Mahi Mahi, 1 grilled zucchini, 2 small ww rolls, salad w/ Just 2 good honey dijon
s3- 1/2 Dreyer's light choc brownie


100 Challenge
Deductions: -0
Score: 100

Day 1 of the 100 Challenge

I joined Pink Dumbbells, a fitness community for women who lift weights today. I signed up for the August Challenge/check in to keep me honest. There's something about having to tell other people about what I'm doing that makes me stay more honest.

Today was a great day of new recipes. I've been lurking on some Nutrisystem forums and have found some interesting recipes that fit into my eating plan. I tried this bread pudding recipe this morning with my protein pumpkin bread. Yummy!!

And for dessert, I made up a batch of vanilla protein ice cream. It came out a bit lumpy, but I think more mixing before the freezing step would help. Here's the info:

Protein Vanilla Ice Cream
4c skim milk
3 scoops vanilla protein powder
1/2 packet of unflavored gelatine (that's 0.125oz)
1 egg white
1t vanilla extract
3/4 c splenda

Heat 1 c of the milk in a sauce pan until just boiling. Add the gelatine and mix until it dissolves. Mix in (well!) the protein powder. (This is the step that needs work: I'm going to use the immersion blender next time) Add the egg white and mix again. Add this to the remaining 3 cups of milk, vanilla, and splenda. Chill until very cold. Pour into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions. This makes 4 VERY generous servings. 175 Cal, 2g fat, 15g carbs (og fiber), 24g protein.

August 100 Challenge
Deductions: -0
Score: 100

Workout: Shape it up!

Foods: 1512Cal, 44/38/18
b- protein pumpkin bread pudding
s1- 1c yogurt, 1/2c raspberries, 2T TJs low fat granola
l- sbd frozen pizza
s2- protein frappachino shake + 1oz pita chips
d- pork tenderloin, 1/2 sweet potato, 1c broccoli
s3-protein vanilla ice cream

Hamburger Dinner

This whole meal came straight from the freezer, and was on the table 10 minutes after I started cooking. Plus, it's yummy, too.

I used the frozen hamburger patties available in the bulk section: 93% lean, 7% fat. According the the package, each 4oz patty has 8g of fat, but I read a study that says you reduce the fat content by about a gram if you blot the meat with a paper towel before eating. So, I count each patty as only having 7g of fat. Still a little high, but ok if you keep the rest of the day low. I feet my DH 2 patties and a larger portion of corn so his calories are much higher.

Totals for this meal were: 301 Cals, 8 g fat, 33g carbs (9 g fiber), 29g protein

Salad Dressing Chicken Dinner

This dinner came out really yummy. You could make lots of variations on it by using different salad dressings. I just marinated some chicken breasts in a gallon sized ziploc bag in enough salad dressing to coat them for a few hours. This one was Catalina dressing, which is why it's so orangey-pink. Then I grilled it on medium heat for 5 minutes per side. The chicken comes out really moist and juicy and yummy. This meal, with grilled zucchini and balsamic vinegar-dressed green beans came out to be 316 Cals, 5g fat, 23g carbs, and 48g protein. I used a 6oz chicken breast.

Protein Frappuchino Recipe

This is really yummy, especially when it's like 100 degrees in your house and the A/C only cools the 3 feet directly in front of the unit. You need to plan ahead a little to make the iced coffee, but it's worth it!

• 1c STRONG coffee, pre-brewed and iced (I think instant would also work well here)


• 1/4 c milk


• 1/2 c ice


• 1t Splenda


• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Pour everything into your blender and whirl it long enough to crush up the ice and blend it all together. Pour into a big glass and enjoy. (It tastes better with a straw!)
Nutrition info: 138 Cal, 2g fat, 8g carbs (0 fiber), 22g protein

Copying Maggie again

After reading Maggie Wang's Blog again and seeing her take on a new challenge and start posting a lot, it's getting me inspired again.

I've finished P90x and now am moving on to basically the complete opposite: Slim Series. This is a very low weight, very high rep weight training system. I'm following the slim training rotation, which means I'm working light weights 6 days a week, mostly total body workouts, and taking a rest day on the 7th day. A lot of people say slim series is extremely boring, so I went into it with very low expectations. Surprisingly, not only did I not mind it, I actually like the workouts. They don't seem as repetative as people claim. Maybe it's because I am used to doing the same set of workouts for weeks on end. I prefer to stick with one instructor or one set per rotation. I like that kind of consistency. Plus, Debbie Siebers reminds me of Jennifer Garner. I think they look almost identical at times. And Sydney Bristow is so badass, how could you not want to work out with her doppelganger? :)

So I've decided to copy another Maggie Wang-inspired challenge. My August challenge is the 100 points challenge. Basically, I start out August 1st with 100 points, and every time I don't meet one of my fitness/food goals, I lose a point. Obviously, the idea is to maintain 100 points, or as close as possible, through the end of August.

So here are my goals:

• Follow the Slim Training Rotation using Slim Series


• Add in extra cardio 3 days a week (this can be as simple as a 20 minute walk)


• eat 6 meals a day, maintaining a daily ratio of 40-50% carbs, 30-40% protein, and 20-30% fat


• maintain daily calories between 1400-1700


• allow 2 cheat meals/week

P90X is amazing

I've been a complete blog slacker. It's mostly because I have gotten the buy-a-new-house-bug and spend all my computer time searching the MLS for new listings and driving by homes for sale. We put our house on the market two days ago, so it's really real, now.

As far as food and workouts, i've been ok, but not perfect :( I've decided to stop my challenge and save it for another time when I am more focused on it. I know I can do it, and I'm not saying that I haven't been eating well and working out, but I don't have the time to log every single food and stuff right now, withh all the house stuff. So, after this house thing is done, I'll be back for a new challenge.

DH bought his own set of power blocks that are much heavier than mine. It's nice to have the option to go heavier now if I want it. And for him, it's essential if he wants to really bulk up. I love power blocks I try to convince everyone I know that uses weights to get them. If you're reading this, you should get some :)

Though I'm not quite finished with P90x yet, I have like 2 more workouts and then a rest weeek, so I feel safe making these observations. I have NEVER even been close to this fit in my life. I weigh less now than I did when I was in high school. I have nicely defined muscles and am really strong [for a girl ;) ]. I know much of it is because not only did I start lifting REALLY heavy, but because I started really caring about what I ate. I hate it when people say I'm on a "diet" because I'm not: I have changed my eating habits for good. For a long time, I used to think that eating healthy was ok, but I'd never be obsessed about it because I enjoy too many "bad" foods. But I've realized that healthy foods can actually be extremely yummy. Like yummier than bad foods usually. And I sill allow myself little treast now and then, but it's a lot more in moderation that I used to be. It makes me really enjoy treats now instead of taking them for granted. So basically, doing p90x has made me realize a lot more of my potential than I ever thought possible. Who knew I'd weigh 117 AND be able to do 5 pullups? This is awesome! I will definitely be keeping p90x around and using it a lot.

Shocking

I'm visiting some old friends today and tomorrow, and of course, that means dining out and stuff. For dinner, everyone wanted Chinese food (haha, remember my Panda Express sentiments?). I chose mu shu chicken, thinking it was less bad than most other stuff on the menu, and resisted the egg rolls everyone else ordered. Then, after dinner, we had a little chocolate treat, and I thought to myself, well, it is a special occasion, so I won't worry about cheating. Not to mention that lunch was out today at Souplantation with DH. But guess what?? After everything was input into FitDay, it still met my goals! Woo-hoo. I can't believe it. Resisting that second muffin at Souplantation and only eating half my order at dinner really did help. It's basically like a miracle that I get to count today as perfect, but I'm definitely not complaining. :D

Challenge
Workout: Baptiste Journey Into Power Yoga 2
Food: 2002 Cal, 47/29/24
Consecutive Perfect Days: 3
Total Perfect days: 11/39

Being a picky eater sucks

I don't mean picky like I was when I was a kid, but picky like particular about what kind of fuel I will give my body. DH and I went shopping today and of course, I didn't bring a snack with and got ravenously hungry while we were out. We were at the mall, and they have a food court, but there was absolutely nothing that I was willing to eat. I couldn't find a single choice that had protein without gobs of fat and sugar attached to it. The old me would have just gotten some mandarin chicken from Panda Express and been happy, but the new me is all, "hmm...it's coated in corn starch, fried in oil and then dipped in sugar. Is that even close to being worth it?" I think not. So, instead, sweet hubby that he is, cut our trip short and drove me home so I could have a nice, healthy snack.

Going out to eat used to be one of my favorite things to do. Now, it's a chore. It's so much easier to eat at home, where I don't have to guess what I'm eating. :(

Challenge
Yesterday's workouts: TJ Cardio Party 2 (am), Legs & Backless, Ab Ripper X (pm)
Yesterday's food:1248 Cal, 38/36/28 (hehe, sounds like measurements)

Today's workout: Cathe's Cardio Kicks
Today's food: 1458 Cal, 40/34/26

Consecutive Perfect Days: 2
Total Perfect Days: 10/39

Back to zero

Well, I guess I had it coming with all that talk about being perfect. I had my cheat meal yesterday, and it wasn't that bad, but usually I try to keep my meals really good the rest of the day before I cheat. However, yesterday was just okay, not great (before the cheat) and then we went to Pat and Oscars. But it was so worth it! I love those breadsticks and I haven't had real pizza in a long time. Yummy! So, my consecutive count is back to zero. But I'll be good from now on, I promise ;) I have always said that it's only worth doing if it doesn't make you miserable doing it. That's why I allow myself cheat days in the first place: if I really want something, then I should be allowed to have it. Just use moderation!

Challenge:
Thursday's workout: Shoulders & Arms, TJ Cardio Party Remix, Ab Jam
Thursday's food: 1649 Cals, 47/36/18

Friday's workout: rest day
Friday's food: 2383 Cals, 43/23/34

Consecutive Perfect Days: 0
Total Perfect Days: 8

A perfect week

There's something really personally motivating to me to have a challenge to meet. I have had no problems meeting my goals at all for the past 7 days. If I get tempted to skip my workout because it's so freaking hot, I just think about how I don't really want to mess up all the great work I've done so far and I just suck it up and do it. I think it's kind of like grades in school. I always wanted to be the best. Not really because I enjoyed learning (I did, but that wasn't it), just because I wanted to get the highest score. This challenge is like that for me. As long as there is a "perfect score" I'll do my best to earn it.

So I did Low Max yesterday instead of Plyo. I've never done that workout in its entirety before. It's a real leg killer and I have never been so sweaty in my life during a workout. Part of it is because I refused to close all the windows and turn on the a/c, but also, it's a very tough workout. I'm surprised my legs aren't sore this morning, since you do about 500 squats and lunges during the blasts. Anyway, it's an excellent sub for Plyo since it has all that leg intensive stuff.

Challenge
Workout: Low Max Blasts 1-6 (avg hr 133, max hr 165, 573 Cal)
Food: 1648 Cal, 42/36/22
Consecutive Perfect Days: 7
Total Perfect Days: 7/39

So I've been finishing a side table/cabinet that I started building last spring break. It was in the garage for like a year. And it was practically finished. I have no idea why my momentum in working on it tailed off. I think spring break ended. So, I've just about finished it now. I added trim along the bottom edge and made the doors. I put one coat of stain on it and will do the others tomorrow. I also put one coat of stain splotches on my right leg, but not my left. Weird. I'm so excited to be finished with it. I know it's silly, but I feel like I made a big accomplishment. It's going to be a nice piece of furniture to add to my house and hopefully something that people will say, "You made that??" when they see it. It's meant to match the desk that DH and I built for our den. (Well, the desk was made to match this, but the desk got finished first.)

I'll post a pic when it's all finished.

Challenge
Yesterday:
Workout: rest day
Food: 1514 Cals, 40/35/25

Today:
Workout: TJ Fat Blaster (am) / Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X (pm)
Food: 1392 Cals, 47/33/20

Consecutive Perfect Days: 6
Total Perfect Days: 6/39

A feast

My friends W and E came over for dinner tonight, and we literally had a grilled feast. They brought eggplant, onion, mushrooms, asparagus, and red bell peppers and we had NY strips and zucchinis. We had to grill everything in 3 shifts, even though our grill is a decent size. It as one of the yummiest meals I've had in a while. And really great for me, too. I love our grill. It's so easy to use and cooking with it is always delicious. It's healthy, easy to clean, and fun.

Today was my last day of my recovery week before starting into phase 3 of P90X. I can't believe how fast this is going. I'm really happy that I decided to do this program. DH and I were discussing how much we really think it's worth, especially compared to other things people pay for fitness-wise. It cost just under $110 with discounts, and we both agree that it is worth much more to us than the $600 bowflex sitting in our garage gathering dust. It's certainly more convenient than schlepping to the gym and back and definitely costs a lot less than membership fees. We agree that, knowing what we know now, we would not hesitate to spend $400-500 on it. But would we have been willing to spend that much without knowing? I guess that's the dilemma that companies like beachbody have to balance out. Once you've already bought into the program, it's easy to say it's worth so much, but people in general are not likely to spend more than $150ish on an infomercial product, no matter how many excellent reviews and before/afters they show you.

Challenge
Today:
Workout: Baptiste's Journey into Power 2 (yoga)
Food: 1607 cals, 37/37/26

Yesterday:
Workout: Core Synergistics
Food: 1634 cals, 44/30/26

Consecutive perfect days: 4
Total perfect days: 4/39

Cheating

Ok, not really. I still fell within my goals, but I did have a planned cheat meal at my favorite cookie 'n' ice cream place: Diddy Riese. Fresh cinnamon sugar cookies wrapped around butter pecan ice cream. Yum! This was after being extremely good at the Olive Garden, where I had scoped out ahead of time and ordered the Apricot Chicken. I highly recommend this dish. It's low fat/high protein and is yum yum yummy! I had half, and DH had half, but did we just order one and share? Of course not. So now we both have lunches in the fridge. We're so cute, all the same but different.

Challenge
Workout: rest day
Food: 1752 cals, 39/30/31
Consecutive perfect days: 2/2
Total perfect days: 2/39

I'm a copycat

So when DH and I started P90X, we found Maggie Wang's Blog. I've been reading it periodically, and the other day I came across a thread she had started on another fitness board that was a motivational check in. Instead of checking in to list all the things they did wrong, she made it a challenge to list your goals and then rack up as many perfect days of meeting them as possible. I love this idea, so I'm copying it. Here are my goals, and I'm going to count consecutive perfect days and total perfect days out of the 39 remaining days of P90X. I'll post a daily accounting of how I'm doing.


Workouts:

• complete the rest of this P90X rotation in its entirety, including doubles workouts
• ok to sub other steady state cardio for KenpoX, other power yoga workouts for Yoga X, and Cathe Imaxes for Plyo

Food:

• maintain daily macronutrient ratio of 40-50% carbs/30-40% protein/20-30% fat
• keep daily caloric intake between 1400-1700 calories, cheat days may go up to 2000
• eat 5-6 meals/day
• allowed 2 cheat meals/week

Misc

• no buying new workouts until the end of this rotation
• no eating just because I'm bored while being off for the summer

So, for today:
workout: Turbo Jam Kick, Punch, & Jam (instead of Kenpo X)
food: 1405Cal, 43/35/22
number of consecutive perfect days: 1
total perfect days: 1/39

Soft Dinner

My friend Pablo just got braces, so he can't eat a lot of foods. Since he's coming over for dinner, I had to think of something "soft" to feed him. Here's what we're having:

Simple Chili
2lbs ground beef, extra lean
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, diced
1 c good quality wine (I used white zin from my wedding)
1/2 c Heinz 57 sauce
1/3 c chili powder
2 T cumin
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t salt

Brown the ground beef and onions, then rinse off the fat. Add all remaining ingredients and stir. Cover and simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. This would also work well in a slow cooker.

Top with plain yogurt and grated low fat cheddar cheese. Yummy!

Sweet Corn Muffins
1/2 c applesauce (unsweetened)
1/4 c splenda brown sugar blend
1/2 c egg substitute
1 15oz corn, drained
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c cornmeal
2t baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 can diced green chilis (optional)

Preheat oven to 300F. Mix all ingredients until well-combined. Grease or line with papers 12 muffin tins. Fill tins 2/3 full of batter and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.


Today's workout
AM: Turbo Jam Fat Blaster (30min, avg hr 121, peak hr 161, 267Cal)
PM: Yoga X (Standing asanas only)
Fat blaster was fun, but I have definitely realized that Chalene is a bad cuer. She usually shouts out the next move as she does it. I guess that's one reason predicable, repetative workouts are ok from her :) I like fat blaster, but it's too short for a real workout. Pairing it with a Cardio Party would make a nice, hour-long workout for a true cardio day. On its own, it's ok for an add on, but I'd rather have a 45min session. I've decided that I'm only going to keep the Turbo Jam maximum results workouts, and sell all the others. They're fun, but they will not become one of my workout staples, unless I suddenly stop working out and lose all by strength and cardio capacity. Maybe a good set to use during pregnancy.

I realize that it's summer and that it is getting really really hot these days, but while I did Yoga today, I felt sweat dripping down my torso. ???I didn't feel like I was working that hard??? I was finally able to do the right angle pose and the twisting triangle pose without falling over and feeling like my chest was going to split in half. Woo-hoo. I did pushups between each up dog/down dog transition. I think this yoga workout is growing on me. I can tell that it's a really great sequence and very thorough now that I can compare it to Baron Baptiste's Journey into Power 2 that I've been using sometimes. I like Tony's workout much better, but I wish it were just a little shorter.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins

More like a muffin than a cookie, but still yummy. Makes 6 servings.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins
Per Muffin: 251 Cal, 8.8g fat, 27g carbs (3g fiber), 15g protein
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c almond meal
3 scoops protein powder (I used vanilla)
1/2t baking soda
1/4c + 2 T splenda brown sugar blend
1/2 c applesauce (unsweetened)
1/4c egg substitute
1t vanilla
1/2 c chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325F. Blend everything but the chocolate chips in a mixer until well-combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir. Pour into 6 greased muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the centers are set.

2nd Recovery Week

Well, I've already made it through 7 weeks of P90X. That is 49 days of hardcore pull ups, push ups, heavy weight lifting, and crazy jumping around. This week I'm starting my second recovery week, which means I'm almost 2/3 of the way through this program. I'm surprised at how fast it seems to be going. But I'm already itching to do something different: my short attention span is getting to me. I'm cheating it a little by subbing in some other, equivalent workouts sometimes. The strength work is all Tony Horton and I'd never sub for that, but I have subbed Cathe's Imaxes for plyo a few times, and I always skip kenpo and do either Cathe step or recently turbo jam. But I'm still doing the spirit of the P90X workouts, right? :)

Plus, I bought Slim Series from a fellow Ya Ya and should be getting it in the mail in the next few days. I'm on a BeachBody binge, I guess. I'm so happy that I found some other advanced workouts that are as fun for me, and as challenging, as Cathe. Not that I'll ever leave Cathe, it's just nice to have variety. But I really shouldn't be ordering new workouts in the middle of a rotation like this. It just tempts me even more to stop and try the new stuff. But I will resist! I read about a fun sounding rotation of the beachbody forums: SSXy rotation (haha, get it?). It mixes up Slim Series and P90x. Sounds like fun, can't wait to try it. But there's this other Cathe Get Ready For Summer Rotation that looks fun too. Ack. Too many decisions. I'd better just stick with my remaining 6 weeks of P90X.

Today's Workout: rest day

Protein Pumpkin Bread

I adapted this recipe from Carolyn's protein banana bread. The original banana bread has become a staple, but I don't want myself or my DH to get burned out on it, thus, the pumpkin version. Enjoy!!


Protein Pumpkin Bread
per slice: 168.5 Cals, 2.7g fat (.6g sat), 21.1 g carbs (2.2g fiber), 13.2g protein

1/2 c apple sauce
1/2 c egg substitute (or 4 egg whites)
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c canned pure pumpkin (not pie filling!)
1/2 c splenda brown sugar blend

1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c almond meal (you can grind your own in a food processor)
5 scoops protein powder (I use vanilla flavored)
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 325F. Combine the first group in a bowl and mix until blended. Combine the second group in another bowl and blend. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix thoroughly. Pour into a greased 9"x4" loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan before removing. Makes 10 servings.


Today's workout: Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3
(48 min, avg hr 127, peak hr 153, 423 cal)
This workout is (IMO) almost identical to the other Cardio Parties. The warm up is exactly the same, the cool down and stretch is exactly the same. This on has one more segment than CP 1, making it about 5 minutes longer. The songs are different. I don't really see a place in my collection for more than one or two of these workouts. I guess the "mix" in the title really does mean that. It's basically the same workout with a slightly different order and soundtrack. I'll probably keep CP2 and 3 and sell CP1 and Remix. I do think this is a fun workout, though, I just don't need 4 copies of essentially the same one taking up space on my workout shelf. Hopefully, Kick, Punch, and Jam is different enough to warrant keeping it.

"Healthy" Blondies

I'm obsessed with desserts. I'm also obsessed with being healthy. Obviously, the two don't mix well. Here's one attempt:

Blondies
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c splenda brown sugar for baking blend
1/4 c egg substitute
1t vanilla
1/2 whole wheat flour
1/4 c almond meal (you can grind your own in a food processor)
1 scoop (1/3 cup) vanilla protein powder

Mix all ingredients until moistened. Spray an 8x8 square pan with non-stick spray. Bake at 325F for about 18 min. Cut into 9 squares.

Nutriton info: 119cal, 2g fat, 18g carbs, 1g fiber, 6g protein.