A Tuesday like a Monday and GNC $100 Gift Card Winner Announced

For breakfast this morning I had a piece of light toast with PB and a sliced banana along with a glass of milk for 5 points.

I was really surprised that I wasn’t sore at all from yesterday’s 24.8 mile bike ride or the 3.8 ride we went on a little later. That’s a good sign!

After hubby left, I decided to get my workout out of the way right away because it was going to be a long day at work and I knew I wouldn’t feel like working out afterwards. I did level 1 of Jillian’s Shred-It with Weights workout. It was a good workout and I got in some strength moves. I burned 167 calories in 28:23. The workout is supposed to be done with a kettle bell—but you can use a single hand weight also, which is what I did.

Before signing in to work, I made an Iced Latte for 1 point.

On my first break, I ate a peach and a light cheese stick for 1 point.

These peaches are SOOO good. They’re finally affordable in the stores too!

For lunch, I had a salad made with leftover BBQ beef. I added tomato, mushrooms, feta cheese and flax seeds for a total of 7 points.

For a little sweet treat, I had 2 small pieces of dark chocolate for 2 points.

For my last break, I whipped up a smoothie. It’s been too long since I made one of these. I forgot how delicious they are! This one was strawberry blueberry. 1 Point.

I added a little Truvia to this and it was really strange because it got SUPER thick. So much so that I couldn’t finish it because it was just a weird consistency—almost like Jell-O. Anyone else experience this?

For supper, I had Schwan’s Boneless Skinless Teriyaki Chicken Wings with cottage cheese, green beans and a slice of homemade bread that I ended up topping with a little whipped cream cheese for 11 points total.

Dessert was my current favorite—a banana sundae. 2 points.

And then I headed outside to work in my flower beds. I planted some more flowers and I think they’re just about done! Once they’re blooming a little more I’ll take some pictures. I should have worn my HR monitor—I usually burn quite a few calories working in the flower beds!

I have 3 points left for the day, so today was an on target day. I’m concerned about tomorrow’s WI. All week, my weight has been down and then this morning it shot up—I’m hoping it was due to the intense bike ride yesterday and all of it was water weight that will be gone in the morning. But we’ll see!

And now for the winner of the $100 GNC gift card…

Congratulations to Vegan Chick Pea for winning this giveaway!!! Happy shopping!

Memorial Day Long Bike Ride

Hubby and I headed out to a local bike trail for bike ride on this beautiful Memorial Day. It was in the 80’s and windy—but it felt great to have the breeze because this was a pretty tough ride! There were a lot more hills this time and it was a great workout! Kind of fun going down the big hills too- at one point I was going over 21 mph! Total workout time was 3 hours and 37 minutes. I burned 1415 calories. We have to stop now and then to rest—and of course so I can take pictures to share with all of you. We had a great time!

Since we had to travel a little ways to get to the trail, I had to use one of these—I HATE these. But they’re a little bit of a lifesaver.

What can I say, I live in Iowa…

We discovered new things about the area we live—there are some lakes we never knew existed!

Just a couple of miles into our ride:

There was a lot of art like this:

Hubby:

Tired out me with a helmet mark on my head, lol:

Taking a rest:

The trail:

At one point there was a big bridge crossing the river- it was very pretty!

This was an area that was hit very badly during the floods of 2008. I believe this bridge was  closed because the water was over top of it, can you imagine!?

The bike bridge was easy to go down but it was pretty tough when we came back!

There were lots of signs like this along the route:

We had planned on making a loop but once we got to one park it was closed because of flooding. That was pretty disappointing at 16 miles into the ride and having to turn back around!

I have a liking for bridges and bodies of water- so that’s why I’m always taking picture of them. They’re picture worthy to me, I guess. lol

Pretty flowers:

Part of the trail went into a Prairie Preserve—there were lots of hiking trails that we want to try out sometime!

Me biking. Like I said in my post about being a slow runner, I often feel a little embarrassed amongst the super athletic people on these trails—but I wanted to show you wonderful readers that if I can do this- so can you!! Let’s not let our size keep us back from being active and having fun!

I’ve also always been too embarrassed to wear tank tops in public—but I do on these rides because they’re so much cooler! No more worrying about what other people might think—besides, who is really looking at my arms? lol

And the traditional “finished” picture:

I have to say that this ride wore me out a lot more than the last one. I don’t think I was hydrated enough before starting—but we did pack a lot to drink and we went through it all! But I felt a lot better after we ate lunch.

The stats:

We got lots of sun and the tan line from my HR monitor is getting whiter and whiter—lol. Oh well! I’d rather know how many calories I’ve burned!

I hope that you’re all having a wonderful long weekend—to those of you in the US!

I also want to express my gratitude for those who gave their lives for the freedom of our country and to those who have ever served. Thank you.

Banana Sundae- 2 Points Plus- Recipe Week 19

Ingredients:

• 1 peeled banana
• 1 Tbs. caramel syrup
• 1 Tbs. chocolate syrup
• 1 Tbs. Cool Whip Free
• 1 Maraschino cherry

Directions:

1. Place banana on a plate and drizzle with chocolate syrup and caramel syrup. Top with whipped cream and cherry.

This is just as satisfying as an ice cream sundae and for much fewer points—this is only 2 Points Plus. I do not enter the banana into the recipe builder as I count all fruits free. Enjoy!

To Slow Runners

I’m a slow runner. Honestly, I don’t even know if I could call myself a runner. More of a jogger—or a slogger! I move at an accelerated speed from my normal walking speed at a little over 4 mph—comfortably. Sure, I can run faster than that—but my endurance runs out pretty quick! I can “run” a 5k from start to finish and finish faster than if I had walked it—but hands down, I’m pretty darn slow.

Lately, I have just been beating myself up about it. Why can’t I run faster? Why does this have to be so hard for me? It’s so embarrassing! I bet everyone is staring at me and wondering why I’m so red faced and out of breath when I’m barely moving faster than a turtle. In other words, NOT a good dialogue to have going on in my head when I’m attempting to run.

But I started thinking about it and you know what? Two years ago, running for 30 seconds was a challenge and many times, I couldn’t even do it. And look at me now, I could run for an hour and be tired, but I bet I could keep going if I wanted to. So there is improvement. I must not be discouraged. After all, I’m still running and that gets me a whole lot farther than sitting on the couch! Maybe I’m not as faithful in running as often as I should, or want to—lately, mostly because I have felt so ashamed of my running ability—but being more dedicated to it would really help me improve.

But you know what? At over 200 lbs. I’m probably not going to be running 10 minute miles for a while. Is it possible? Probably. But the impact on my knees and hips can be pretty high—and taking it slow is probably the best thing for me right now. And that’s OK.

Remember him?

He ran a 5k. He was overweight. If he can do it, so can I—and so can you! I often think  when other people see me running, they probably make fun of me or laugh at me. But you know what, when I saw Michael run that 5k, or if I see other overweight people running, I am inspired. I respect them because of the effort they are putting forth. There’s no shame in running slow—at least we’re running!!

There’s nothing wrong with your best. If your best is slogging along at a snails pace—who cares! You’re not racing against anyone but yourself. Giving your best means winning Every.Single.Time. Being the first one to the finish line is remarkable, but so is just getting there—giving it your best, and not giving up.

No more shame in being a slow runner. Just give what you’ve got to give—and it’s always enough as long as it’s your best!

Finally Friday with a Long Weekend Ahead!

I was happy to see that my weight went down again this morning!! I hope it continues.

For breakfast, I had oatmeal and finished up the blueberries. I also had a glass of milk for 7 points total.

Before signing in to work, I made an iced Latte. I tried to add cinnamon, but I really need a cinnamon shaker because I over did it accidently! And then it didn’t mix in very well- so I’ll need to work on this one! But it was still good and it gave it an extra kick. 1 point.

For my first break I ate a banana for 0 points.

I also brought back a cup of grapes to my desk to snack on for 0 points.

For lunch, I had breaded shrimp with a side salad topped with light Italian for 7 points.

SO GOOD! This was another one of those meals from cleaning out the freezer.

For dessert, I had a strawberry lemonade cupcake for 4 points.

On my last break, I had a Trader Joe’s Apple Strawberry fruit wrap for 1 point. Thanks Angie!

I have 13 points left for the day. Hubby and I plan on going to Panera for supper- YUM! I might just have a bowl of soup and a bagel, only 1/2 if I’m not hungry- but it just sounds so good on this cold day. It would cost me a few weekly points- but I just might do it because I haven’t had a real bagel in FOREVER! Otherwise, I will order a You Pick Two salad with soup. We’ll see how I feel when I get there- but I’ve calculated the points for both.

We have to get groceries and Hubby said I could do a little shopping. I don’t know about you other married women out there, but I have the opportunity to shop whenever I want- but I feel a lot less guilty when hubby tells me that he doesn’t care. lol Whoohoo!

I hope you have a great holiday weekend to those of you in the U.S. and a great weekend to everyone else too!! Any big plans?

Hubby and I plan on getting another long bike ride in! Can’t wait!