Monday - post work

So, after leaving work around 445 I got home at 515 or so....
For some reason, I was starving! Perhaps it was that I only had tomato soup and crackers for lunch (a slight lack of protein in that meal!)

Anyhow - I knew that if I was going to get to the gym I'd have to make myself a quick snack. Here's what I settled on:

Yeah, I know. The picture doesn't look too appetizing. But it was great - and it got me through my Monday gym workout. It was a wrap with fat free string cheese melted, half a roma tomato sliced up and some roasted red pepper hummus on top. I'm glad I had it around 5:30 this afternoon, because Ben and I didn't end up eating until 8:30 tonight.

So, like I said - I did manage to get to the gym today. I don't know about you, but I usually take it easy at the gym on Mondays. It's almost like rewarding myself for getting to the gym on the first day of the work week - because that is super hard for me to do.

I did a combo on the treadmill tonight by walking, jogging and running 2.2 miles in 28 minutes. Combined with my high energy walk this afternoon, that added up to nearly an hour of cardio. On days like that when I don't get quite as much of a work out in, I always remind myself that I take the stairs at work instead of using the elevator ☺

After the treadmill I did a really quick weight work out. I did 2 sets (15 reps each) on the calf rotary machine - it was a killer today for some reason! And then I did my arm weights (biceps) with 12 pounds each arm, 2 sets at 20 reps each. The weights went by quickly, and before I knew it I was done with my Monday gym workout and it was the best feeling ever!

I got home around 7:30 and started my tofu delight dinner! I've mentioned it before on the blog, and I can't take any credit for it because I saw it on http://eatliverun.com but it is my favorite tofu recipe and I make it every other week now, sometimes more often!

Tonight I also made broccoli and brown rice to go with the tofu. Even Ben ate it, and I'm not sure he would normally eat tofu for dinner.... bravo Ben!

Here is what my plate looked like before I started chowing on dinner...














Ok, well it's been sort of a long day. It's 10:30 PM and I'm going to head for bed to do some reading and hopefully fall asleep soon!
See you all tomorrow.

Saturday

Wow - I am so excited about this weekend! Ben and I were planning to head up to New Hampshire to go hiking and camping.... however the weather allowed us to stay home and relax for the first weekend in months! We've had a busy summer and beginning of fall, so I am actually sort of thrilled to be home and relax.

I'm so glad to report that I made it to the gym three days during the week... Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Wednesday was a successful shopping trip to the Natick Collection, where Becky found a cute suit at J. Crew.

Yesterday it was raining cats & dogs when I got home, and after walking and taking the bus and train to get to and from work, there was no way I was going outside again. Ben saved the day by going out for a bottle of Mark West (one of our favorite pinot noir wines) and making dinner. It was a great night for comfort food as the storm continued outside.

Ben made a great whole wheat pasta, roma tomato sauce and turkey meat balls. He had also surprised me by going to Whole Foods and picking up an amazing focaccia bread. We enjoyed dinner while watching the Presidential Debate between Obama and McCain....

Anyhow, today we're enjoying a day at home. It's raining yet again, perhaps due to the Tropical Storm Kyle.

I'm going to sign off for now so that I can get ready to head to the gym before the storm gets really bad. I love my Saturday and Sunday gym work outs because I'm not exhausted from a long day of commuting and working... I can spend a lot more time at the gym, and usually have a lot more energy to accomplish everything I set out to do. Today I'll be doing some cardio (running and biking perhaps?) and some weights. If you're trying to lose weight - you need to remember that weight training is absolutely essential to your workout. If you build up mussle mass, you will burn more calories when you are "resting" because muscle mass burns more calories than fat.

To better explain my point, see this brief explanation from the website: http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk

1) Build Muscle

Increase the amount of muscle in your body. For every extra pound of muscle you put on, your body uses around 50 extra calories a day. In a recent study, researchers found that regular weight training boosts basal metabolic rate by about 15%. This is because muscle is ‘metabolically active’ and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you’re not moving.

Training with weights just 3 times a week for around 20 minutes is enough to build muscle. Not only will you be burning more calories, you’ll look better – whatever your weight.

There is my inspiration for getting to the gym this afternoon! I'm totally excited about the dinner I'll be making for myself later, too.... I'm taking Jenna's recipe again for Baked Tofu... if you haven't seen the recipe yet, check out Jenna's blog: http://eatliverun.com/

And here is a link to the baked tofu recipe: http://eatliverun.com/?p=2901

Catch you later - I'm off to exercise.