<p>I’ve just about recovered from the overdose of BBQ last weekend. We’re going to be drinking wine in CA next weekend… Sigh.</p>
<p>Pizza, the way I see it regarding pasta is that you have to decide what you like about past and create a few food rules about it.</p>
<p>Choice 1: I want a big bowl of pasta from time to time - so make a rule how often - only on birthdays, only on weekends, only when I go to my favorite restaurant, once a month, whatever you think you can live with.</p>
<p>Choice 2 (the one I follow): I like pasta, but I’m happy to have just a taste, so I get it as part of the food bar at my local grocery store - they make great lasagna, or I steal a couple of my son’s mac and cheese when we have BBQ. Or I order lobster ravioli appetizers. That’s really all that I need to not miss it.</p>
<p>Choice 3: Try some of the pasta substitutes and see if they are satisfying.</p>
<p>Little light weights workout earlier this afternoon. 3.57 mile walk this evening. Cool evening out there. Long sleeve Under Armour shirt was perfect…</p>
<p>Back from Canadian wedding and weight is stable (somehow.) Managed to avoid most bread and take just a few mouthfuls of cake. It helped that dinner was healthy, and that I’d brought traveling snacks to avoid hunger-dictated fast food moves on the road. Also helped that for the next days brunch I stuck with omlette. Also helped that my mother wasn’t there Likely also helped that there were some energetic Scots in kilts to motivate people on the dancefloor …in all, a good getaway with no weight souvenir!</p>
<p>Not sure these strategies for success will work during a ten day debauch next month in St. John’s Newfoundland unless I just eat lobster every day and avoid the pubs of George Street My girlfriend and imminent host sent me a text the other day showing three desserts in front of her at her fav cafe…saying she was looking forward to my visit…she’s a foodie but not a fat foodie so I’ll just have to swim a thousand laps with her every morning or something to keep up with it all :)</p>
<p>Ok, this is weird, but I had worked out in the morning, went to see an outdoor play that was in the same town as where my hot yoga is, so I had an hour to kill mid afternoon. I was really hungry and decided to stop by the Whole Foods in that area. In the past, I would have gone straight to the sweets, gotten a few of them and some milk, and carbed away. Instead, I got in there, looked around the deli section --and got half a pound of Brussels sprouts. And really enjoyed them! Lol. Yes, they undoubtedly had oil in them, but far better for me than the brownies or cakes I would have normally inhaled!</p>
<p>Congrats to all - everyone is so inspirational!</p>
<p>PG, I love Brussels sprouts prepared that way; even though you don’t cook, they are very easy to do at home and a great snack. Sounds perfectly legit to me!</p>
<p>Yesterday’s hike is probably my favorite ever. Gorgeous views galore almost the entire way. Alpine lake, wild flowers, a little snow still on the trail, blue skies, sunshine. I have done this one twice before. The first time I was way less fit and having a bad day and really struggled on some sections. The last time was fine, as was this time. Only problem was the IT band on the way down, but just when the trail had a specific grade, felt fine uphill, on the flat and on most of the downhill. It was all about the angle. I was able to deal with it by walking sideways (looked like an idiot but didn’t encounter anyone). Today a little sore in the glutes, but feel fine. Going to make it a rest day.</p>
<p>7 miles roundtrip in just under 3 hours with a stop for a snack at the top.
Elevation: 2100 to 7000 feet.</p>
<p>Love the hike, CJane! I really need to get over to the Smokies and do some hikes. Never seems to be enough time…</p>
<p>Yay for 5 pound parties.</p>
<p>My weight was nicely low this morning despite what I thought was a solid week of bad eating. I had the grocery carts of junk food here at work, the running club picnic with tons of desserts and beer, Friday dinner consisting of beers after work with a friend (and hummus), and a few other slips. I wasn’t dehydrated- 3 miles in 59 degrees this morning. The whole scale thing seems like a crapshoot sometimes.</p>
<p>Walked 14 miles w/ DH over the weekend.
Ran 4.2 this a.m. The county worker gave me a hard look when I went around the roadblock by my house. What’s a little sink hole anyway? There’s plenty of room to go around it. After run…push-ups, plank, ladder climb, jumping jacks, resistance bands and feeble attempt at the SLDL.</p>
<p>Walked 1.5 miles outside this morning. Took S2 to the gym in the afternoon, where I ran 3.5 miles at a leisurely pace on a smooth, glide-y feeling treadmill; followed up with shoulder, chest, and back weights plus a bit of core. </p>
<p>Nice mileage, PackMom! As long as the sinkhole doesn’t swallow you (or your house) up. We have a state forest we like to hike in with a sinkhole you can climb down in–it’s stable, trees growing out of it. Unfortunately, we have too many randomly opening in local neighborhoods. Scary–the sinkholes and the resulting consequences on the homeowner’s insurance costs.</p>
<p>CJane, that looks like an amazing view and an amazing hike. One of those views that’s worth every bit of effort to get! Thanks for sharing it with us. </p>
<p>Happy to have a rest day today as the fronts of my thighs are killing me (are those my quads?) thanks to some hills yesterday. Weight is at an all time low and I have definitely been eating more carbs than usual of late. I’d like to lose 12.4 pounds more (ha, can you tell I’m counting ounces!) for a total of 60 pounds and I’d be at my all-time low since around 1994 or so. It’s fine if it doesn’t happen, though, I’m still pretty happy with where I’m at now. I’ve been allowing myself a “free eat” day once a week where I eat what I want, for the most part. On a positive note, I no longer want to eat donuts and the like. Can’t think of the last piece of candy I had.</p>
<p>Second day of my newly designed workout. Still have a lot of room to grow but form is getting much better.
Warm up- elliptical 5 minutes
Ramp exercises about 10 minutes
Core
2 x 30 second planks
1 set of 12 spiderman planks </p>
<p>Power
box jump 2x6 going to sets of 18 then will raise the platform from 15" to 18" goal is 24"
elevated explosive push ups 2x6 going to sets of 8/10</p>
<p>Strength
Front squats 2x6 goal is to 2x10. I am working on form so using very light weight now</p>
<p>Push ups 2x15 have to decide if I want to increase or add difficulty
Single Leg DB incline 2x9 45&50lb db. Goal is 2x12 not sure if I will increase the weight</p>
<p>Supported single leg squat 1 set each leg 6 reps form is getting better going to 10 reps</p>
<p>Romanian deadlift 2x8 goal is 12 and need to increase the weight. Form is getting better</p>
<p>Pullups 2x6 weight assisted goal is 2x10 with less weight assist until I do 2x10 with no help
Lat Pulldown 2x10 at 130/140 goal is 2x12 will need to increase the weight</p>
<p>Split squat 2x15 body weight each leg- will keep this.
elevated split squat 2x15</p>
<p>Combo
squat and press 2x8 @ 25/30lbs will need to add weight goal is 2x10reps</p>
<p>Kettlebell 35@ 20seconds rest 40 seconds for 5 minutes. Goal is 10 minutes.</p>
<p>Total workout took a little less than an hour but as I add weight to the squats and deadlifts and increase the reps I will need to rest slightly longer.</p>
<p>I felt this workout at times but got through it okay. I still have some form corrections and need to get set on weight levels.</p>
<p>Lots of walking this weekend. In the Shedding for the Wedding mode and getting ready for walking in Europe. Just going to have to deal with the pain and swelling of the knee. 3 miles today.</p>
<p>NM, I wish your knee wasn’t still causing you so many problems. Do they have any idea why you’re still having so much pain and swelling? What kind of surface are you walking on? Maybe you should get on the Alter-G! </p>
Likely also helped that there were some energetic Scots in kilts to motivate people on the dancefloor 
North Cascades, I assume?</p>![http://www.ram.org/pictures/sights/maple_pass_jul2005/imgp0369.jpg[/url]](http://www.ram.org/pictures/sights/maple_pass_jul2005/imgp0369.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
