<p>I can’t. Paul Prudhomme’s recipes are insanely complicated and detailed. Cook some of the veggies til they stick, then add some more and cook those for so long, then, add some more and 9/16ths of the seasoning mix. And, besides, I didn’t completely folllow his recipe anyway.</p>
<p>It’s from his terrific book, Seasoned America, where he gives his take on regional specialties from all fifty states – like the best New England clam chowder I’ve ever eaten. This is a west Texas chili, which I change up a little bit (adding beans, etc.)</p>
<p>He starts by grinding whole dried chilis to for the chili powder, so it’s a pretty involved deal. I ended up with a lot more quanity than the recipe, so I had to wing a bit on the seasoning. I just kept adding more fresh ground ancho chile and canned chipotle chiles until it was about right.</p>
<p>Generally speaking: </p>
<p>1 pound of bacon diced and browned
5 pounds of beef top round, one half inch dice
6 cups diced onion
6 cups diced green pepper
3 cups diced celery
2 cans plum tomatos, crushed
2 cans kidney beans</p>
<p>5 or 6 cups of beef stock/water.</p>
<p>1/2 cup masa harina corn flour, toasted and added to the saute veggies as a thickener. </p>
<p>I think maintenance is hard. Hard to stay motivated to eat properly and exercise just to see no change! I allow myself about 3 pound swing - but if I get 4 pounds over my target I treat it like 10 and go into my attack mode. Often most of the gain can be attributed to eating a salty meal, so it drops pretty quickly, which is gratifying. I think it is a good idea to stick to a structured plan for awhile. </p>
<p>I have not been doing my low heart rate training lately. Those sessions are longer and I just haven’t been able to fit them in. What I have found is that my BP has gone up and I think I really need those long distances to relax my breathing. I am determined to schedule on in before Monday. I will report back!</p>
<p>The National Geological Survey gets seismic readings on the richter scale when I have tried jogging. I just don’t do it. I must say that all the split squat jumps are making me a little lighter on my feet, though.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, the jury is still out on whether or not my tweaked back will be happy with me. I’m actually not injured, I just am quick to say “no mas” when it comes to any tightness in my upper back. One bout of that a few years back was enough to make me very careful. It may be totally unrelated to exercise. I’ve had a stiff neck before. Lasts for a few days, regardless of what I do.</p>
<p>alias, I try to eat about 1400 calories a day during the week and I don’t have huge hunger problems. I often don’t have a morning snack, but usually do get hungry before dh gets home for dinner</p>
<p>Typically this is what I eat: </p>
<p>Breakfast
1 egg, 1/2 whole wheat muffin with 1 tsp jam or ca. 1 cup fruit, coffee milk (1 slice bacon 1x per week)
or
1/2 cup of greek yogurt with 1/4 cup low fat granola and ca. 1 cup fruit
or
1 serving steel cut oatmeal, 1 cup fruit, 1 tsp brown sugar
or
(Saturday only) waffles/pancakes with 1 cup fruit , 1 slice bacon</p>
<p>Snack
more coffee with milk
something 100 calorie-ish if I am hungry - 1/2 banana with a little peanut butter, low cal granola bar, yogurt, carrots with a tofu dip, fruit or a few nuts</p>
<p>**Lunch **
3-4 oz protein
1 cup cooked vegetable
1 cup or more of raw vegetable (aka salad)</p>
<p>Afternoon snack
same as morning snack</p>
<p>Dinner
same as lunch</p>
<p>Evening Snack
1 tsp or so of chocolate chips, 1 truffle, 1 cookie or other evil treat
decaf coffee or tea</p>
<p>Actually, P. Prudhomme’s recipe call for corn meal. Masa Harina is Mexican “instant” corn tortilla mix. It’s corn that has been ground into fine corn flour (after being treated with a lime soak and dry sequence that gives it a unique “Mex” flavor). It worked great as a thickener in this recipe. Essentially, he’s using the corn meal or flour to thicken in the same way that you would use regular flour to thicken a stew. Corn is just the more tex-mex appropriate flavor for chili. You could omit the thickener. </p>
<p>Actually, I got the idea to start using it from another riff off a Prudhomme recipe. His preferred coating for fried oysters (as in fried oyster po boy) or fried catfish is:</p>
<p>Yeah, 1500 is not an unusual fat-loss target for women. Best advice I’ve seen is:</p>
<p>a) cut out the processed sugar foods and if that’s not enough go to Step B)</p>
<p>b) cut out the grains, rice, and flour and if that’s not enough go to Step C)</p>
<p>c) start counting calories and cutting portion sizes</p>
<p>I suspect that b) is a hurdle for a lot of people who eat granola and other “healthy” cereals, not to mention the breads and pastas. That stuff adds up really fast.</p>
<p>OK, on treadmill training, I’ve got an answer about inclines. Mike Boyle uses treadmills a lot for intervals with his athletes (NFL, NHL, BU hockey) during the NE winters. He gives them a workout at 10% incline and 10 mph pace. Boyle is a stickler for not injuring athletes while training them, so I think it’s safe to assume that 10% grade is not inherently risky. 10 mph on a 10% grade **is ** inherently brutal!</p>
<p>Hey all…wow, everyone here is really keeping it going! Awesome! Came back to read a few pages and get inspired to ramp up my fitness routine. Still walking and doing some yoga…but not enough…new job is getting in the way for sure. But I’m adjusting so I’m now ready to join a club near my office for the cold winter months. </p>
<p>Anyway, at least I’m maintaining good eating habits. Have lost 3 more pounds without even trying…so feel good about my trip to the islands coming up this January! I agree about increasing protein in the diet - but I also think increasing fiber works. I have a terrific high fiber cereal every morning with fruit walnuts and milk, and it keeps me going for a LONG time. Now I just need to figure out how to fit in some more exercise!</p>
<p>CHINTZY!!! You go girl! How great is that! So very happy for you. Thanks for the inspiring news! I am stuck stuck stuck right now. Not losing but not gaining. Have to get my head around this predicament and buckle down. Being sick and then lots of holiday parties for H’s work has really thrown me off track. Thanks again for allowing us to share your happiness and success!</p>
<p>Yay chintzy!! I’m still figuring out the maintenance eating. Once I reached my goal weight I had to add back a lot of calories to keep from losing more weight. The livestrong site says I need around 1800 calories per day, but I really need about 2000.</p>
<p>Almost empty gym this morning when I arrived at 7:15 (it opens at 7:00) – except for the crazies in the Spinning Class. Had a great workout to a great classic rock & roll mix, and did the weight machines to Christmas Carols. Excellent way to start the day.</p>
<p>Did my first low heart rate “run”. 4.3 miles averaging 13:48. First mile (slight downhill grade) was the best. It seemed like a crawl, but I think it is a good plan for now. It is SO hard to hold myself back. HR spike at the end was the upgrade and the wall of wind I hit.</p>
<p>Interval 1 Mi 12:03.98 12:03.98 12:04 131 138<br>
Interval 1 Mi 13:26.58 25:30.56 13:27 134 140<br>
Interval 1 Mi 14:27.56 39:58.12 14:28 135 141<br>
Interval 1 Mi 15:03.68 55:01.80 15:04 135 141<br>
Interval 0.3 Mi 4:15.79 59:17.59 14:13 135 148</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone! Amesie–I don’t weight 116; I lost 116. I weigh 127.4 at 5’3". That’s about the midrange of the height weight chart for a medium build. My percent of body fat and BMI are about where they should be, and my new jeans are my “thermometer jeans”. I’ve been overweight my entire adult life. Until now, that is!</p>
<p>I just had to see that again. That’s so awesome. </p>
<p>And, I know it’s not just the weight loss. You also have to be the most fit you’ve ever been, above and beyond the impact of the weight loss – just from the training you’ve been doing.</p>
<p>idad, I am definitely the most fit and have tons of energy. I did 30 pushups today at the gym today! I know you played tennis and stuff in the past, but you must be feeling incredibly fit right now, too. I thought you might be nearing maintenance since you started to refer to yourself as an ol’ (formerly) fat guy!</p>
<p>NorthMinn, plateaus are so tough! “When you’re going through hell, keep going.” Don’t get discouraged, keep plugging away, and don’t try anything crazy. Hang in there!</p>
<p>blankmind, Livestrong says I only need 1675 calories/day, not counting any exercise I do. Short women “of a certain age” just don’t need a lot to stay alive, apparently. It’s early going, so I’ll see how things go and make adjustments.</p>
<p>iDad- I have done max stress tests and my max hasn’t changed much over the last 10 years or so. It’s about 185-187. I’ve hit it near the end of some shorter races. My resting HR is around 50-52 (I don’t do the sleep with the heart rate monitor thing and don’t even turn over in bed before checking…). The MAF formula for low heart rate training (which not everyone agrees with at all) is basically 1. Subtract your age from 180.
2. Modify this number by selecting among the following categories the one that best matches your fitness and health profile:
a. If you have or are recovering from a major illness (heart disease, any operation or hospital stay, etc.) or are on any regular medication, subtract an additional 10.
b. If you are injured, have regressed in training or competition, get more than two colds or bouts of flu per year, have allergies or asthma, or if you have been inconsistent or are just getting back into training, subtract an additional 5.
c. If you have been training consistently (at least four times weekly) for up to two years without any of the problems just mentioned, keep the number (180–age) the same.
d. If you have been training for more than two years without any of the problems listed above, and have made progress in competition without injury, add 5.</p>
<p>For example, if you are thirty years old and fit into category (b), you get the following:
180–30=150. Then 150–5=145 beats per minute (bpm).</p>
<p>For over mid 50s you get to add 5 or 10 beats.</p>