<p>Thanks, idad and CF! The Trek FX series looks promising. Because H and I plan on mountain biking as well as bike path rides, I want a bike as that’s as lightweight as possible and which will suit both purposes. I should probably clarify that H and I have done quite a bit of mountain biking since we moved back to the States, but I ride my D’s full-suspension mountain bike. H also has a full-suspension Trek mountain bike. Since I’m older and not as agile anymore, I prefer to buy a bike for myself that’s lighter and easier to handle than my D’s mountain bike. </p>
<p>I don’t think the comfort bikes would work for mountain biking, although the comfort seat certainly looks appealing!</p>
<p>That’s why I don’t enter 5K’s even those that welcome walkers. I don’t fit in anywhere. If I get behind the “slow” runners, I am faster than they are, but I don’t want to hold up runners who are faster than me. Sigh. So other than one 5K that raises money in honor of a close friend for the Livestrong Foundation, I travel for actual racewalk events. </p>
<p>Great job BC! Sounds like a well organized race.</p>
<p>And to those of you preparing for other competitions - hang in there - you will have a great time!</p>
<p>CBBBlinker…Hooray! Good for you on your run! I admire you for doing the C25K program…something I would never attempt! I hold runners in high esteem! I bet you get that 2 miles in this coming week!</p>
<p>Went to my nutrition class last night. It was interesting but nothing startling or different. One bit of info that we were told was not to cook with EVOO! Use canola oil to cook with for stir fry, sautee, grill. I had no clue that EVOO turned to the bad fats when heated! Said it was great to have in salads. Another little bit of info passed on is that they are finding more and more people who are gluten intolerant. Said to try and cut out gluten and see if that helps with weight loss. Guess it causes inflammation and many people don’t know about it…only the ones with severe reactions are usually diagnosed. These nutritionists also advocate eating tons of protein…especially in the morning. They really pushed adding whey protein powder to your diet. Asked my question about adding back calories burned and they said to definitely add back to get to calorie amount to lose no more than 2 pounds a week. Otherwise the body will kick in to starvation mode and hold on to everything. I was probably one of the thinnest people at the seminar and the trainers were advocating the low intensity fat burn HR zone for everyone. They were surprised when I brought up the HIIT question! So far I have found the $25 well spent to do this challenge.</p>
<p>My legs were tired today! I did 65 minutes on the bike keeping my HR around 70% with just small bursts around 80-85%. Lifted weights afterwards. I will be off tomorrow as we will have overnight guests. Will see if I can stick to my plans of a day off!</p>
<p>Northminn… I had to google EVOO to know what you were talking about :)</p>
<p>Very interesting. Never heard of that but no problem switching to canola for cooking.
I also made the switch to ECO pans a while back. Regular non-stick pans don’t add calories but THEY do leech nasty chemicals. No thanks. My new pans are a bit stickier but not a problem usually. </p>
<p>BC…sounds like a great race. Good for you and great that your son could join you! I’m envious…would LOVE to be able to run again but I trust my doc that it’s not a good idea…even if I start real slow.</p>
<p>toneranger – not a Rachel Ray fan? LOL! (RR is the one who popularized the whole EVOO thing, I think.) D bought me a RR cookbook a couple of years ago, but I’ve never watched her show. Apparently cooking shows were all the rage for D & her friends at school… Anyway, I’m not sure I knew that about EVOO, so thanks for the info, NMinn.</p>
<p>oops, cross-posted with NMinn. I seem to be doing a fair amount of this (cross-posting) lately.</p>
<p>No, don’t watch cooking shows…and I only catch up on pop culture at my hairdressers when I page through People Mag! I do read recipe books (usually not celebrity chef ones though) and cooking mags. I like to get ideas and then use them in my cooking…I’m not crazy about following recipes to the letter. </p>
<p>Anyway, one of my friends told me to cook with coconut oil. Haven’t researched it but she says it’s real good fat for cooking.</p>
<p>I think the flaxseed oil is what is highly ranked by the health people. After some research it looks like the EVOO thing has supporters on both sides. I thought coconut oil wasn’t good for you??? So confusing!</p>
<p>I don’t understand this whole protein powder thing. Makes no sense to me. I have absolutely no trouble getting enough protein in my diet: rib eye steak, filet mignon, pork chops, baby back ribs, hamburgers, salmon, haddock, scallops, shrimp, lobster, bacon, sausage, lamb chops, chicken, duck, eggs, I could go on and on. Why would I want to eat whey powder? By what stretch of the imagination does that contribute to a satisfying, well-balanced, diet?</p>
<p>Some people don’t eat all of the meat that you do. I know I don’t eat any red meat or pork. I do eat chicken and some turkey. Also some fish but then there’s the mercury thing. There was an explanation about how the soil is not like it was and now has all the chemicals. There were a couple of studies cited but I don’t remember them. Like I said there is always someone for and against. Who knows what is the right thing!?</p>
<p>Trying my own version of stuffed peppers tonight. Mixed ground turkey with onion and portabella mushrooms, garlic and Italian seasonings, some egg white, some milk and just a tiny bit of bread crumbs. Stuffed the mixture in to a red pepper and poured low sugar tomato sauce on top. Garnished with some parmesan reggiano. Will let you know if it’s any good!</p>
<p>I have a hard time believing that artificial protein powder is really “healthier” than real food.</p>
<hr>
<p>Staggering off the Airdyne at the end of the iPod workout and Mike Boyle intervals again.</p>
<p>Big boy pushups felt good today. Three sets of 12. The first stet I even got my nose down to the floor. Not so much on the second and third sets.</p>
<p>Made it for 45 seconds on all six of the big boy side planks except for the third set on side, where I bailed at 45 seconds.</p>
<p>Eight intervals on the bike, fifteen seconds as hard as I could pedal, rest until heart rate is back down to 70% of max. Repeat.</p>
<p>The race had 5,300 that finished but over 6,000 registrations. I spoke
to our coordinator and he heard that some companies registered their
entire companies. Obviously most people won’t show up unless the
company is very small. I was looking at the math for this: say you have
a company of 200 people - that’s $3,000 in registration fees and maybe
a few hundred for renting a canopy, a few tables and a few chairs to
hand out t-shirts and packets.</p>
<p>You get advertising - your employees go out in their regular lives
wearing the t-shirt from time to time and your company logo is on
their backs. Your employees get the t-shirt to wear. There’s the
freebies at the end. You get some team-building in. And if one person
starts a fitness program, you’ve probably made your money back in
future healthcare costs for that employee for the health problems that
they will avoid in the future.</p>
<p>We have so many people in our company that run or can run. Some with
very fast times. We used to field a competitive womens team but all
of them are busy with stuff. August is time for back-to-school prep
and some parents are quite busy with that.</p>
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<p>I did my six miles today at a 10:30 pace and I figure that the walkers
cost me something over a minute and probably some energy. This is the
first time in a long time so it was a learning experience. Basically
my speed will improve as I lose weight.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>I think that’s excellent. A ten-minute mile is pretty fast for this
kind of program. I would guess that you could do the two miles with
little difficulty if you slowed down to eleven-minute-miles. If you
can manage the tens though, I don’t see why you can’t do two soon.</p>
<p>Weigh in for the week showed a 1.5 pound drop. I’m now one pound away
from my summer goal. I wanted to play tennis tonight but couldn’t
find anyone to hit with on short notice. Trying to decide between
going to the Y for weights or doing stretching in the basement.</p>
<p>My family LOVED my crazy concoction of stuffed peppers! Have to admit it was very good! H said he would love to have it again. Yay!:)</p>
<p>Have been reading about the whey protein powder. Guess it has been around for a long time and has been mainly used by bodybuilders and athletes. Supposed to help with developing lean muscle. Sounds interesting but I don’t know if I could choke it down. </p>
<p>NM - you can also try adding shredded cabbage or rice to the meat stuffing for your peppers. One pepper is a large meal for me I usually mix a cup of partially cooked rice with a cup of ground meat (uncooked), add finely chopped veggies to the mix, season, then stuff peppers with the mix, put peppers vertically into a large pot, add spaghetti sauce and water mix (1:1) so it gets almost to the top of the peppers but doesn’t cover them completely, cover, bring to a boil and let simmer until the meat mix inside the peppers is cooked through. Yummy.</p>
<p>That protein powder stuff is pretty expensive too. I’ve never bought them but I do see them at Trader Joes. I don’t have any desire to really bulk up.</p>
<p>The protein bars that I like typically have about 30-40 milligrams of protein which I guess is considered a lot but looks like nothing compared to those huge tins of whey powder.</p>
<p>My dad was on whey powder when he had cancer to help him gain weight and strength.
I think it’s pretty good stuff but I don’t consider it normal food. </p>
<p>Ohhh Bunsen…shredded cabbage would be great to mix in with it! I was trying to avoid the rice/couscous in the mix. I remember stuffed cabbage leaves from my German Grandma! Yum! I’m really trying to find some different, healthy new foods for us. I baked them but your way sounds good too.</p>
</p>
I usually mix a cup of partially cooked rice with a cup of ground meat (uncooked), add finely chopped veggies to the mix, season, then stuff peppers with the mix, put peppers vertically into a large pot, add spaghetti sauce and water mix (1:1) so it gets almost to the top of the peppers but doesn’t cover them completely, cover, bring to a boil and let simmer until the meat mix inside the peppers is cooked through. Yummy.</p>