<p>Eddie, I have been keeping a jar of Nutella in the house. I toast a piece of whole grain bread (the kind you can see the grains and seeds in) and then spread a scant teaspoon on the bread when it’s still hot. Seems to keep the chocolate urges at bay for a while.</p>
<p>You must have one hell of a metabolism, MiamiDAP.</p>
<p>Eddie and other chocolate lovers: I love it, too, and I also don’t believe in complete deprivation. Trader Joe’s has the most delicious semi-sweet chocolate chips. One tablespoon is just 80 calories, and I find that little treat enough to satisfy my chocolate craving. Not the same as a large slice of flourless chocolate cake, but sufficient.</p>
<p>My motivation as I brace for today’s ipod nazi workout is stepping on the scales this morning. Seven pounds! And, that’s after making myself hungry writing to eddieodessa last night about avoiding snacks and splurging on half a bag of microwave popcorn. Oh well, I’m going to look at that as a win; it wasn’t a bag of sour gummy worms.</p>
<p>Glancing over the workout for today, it looks like a repeat of the Day One workout, so I think I can do that. The only one that drives me nuts are the lunges. I seem to be wired digitally on going to one knee – I’m either up or I’m down, with nothing in between. It’ll probably get a little better with time, a little less mass, and a little more muscle tone.</p>
<p>^ 2 hours of exercise /day every day will do it! No effect of chocolate consumption whatsoever, the same goes fo honey, nuts, prunes, dates, tons of fruits, sweet potatoes. Not much of other staff in my diet, sometime I would have beef, chicken, fish, salad, - relatevely rare, not a big fan and do not like to cook either.</p>
<p>…forgot to mention that a tablespoon (not teaspoon, not mistake) of powder baking Ghirardelli chocolate is only 15 calories (not mistake, took it from label). I have to watch it because of caffeing (very sensitive), but I add it to a lot of staff: plain yougurt (with honey, of course), coffee. It is yummy! Not a fan of lots of sugar in my chocolate, sugar kills bitter taste of chocolate that I love.</p>
<p>OK…TJs also has DARK CHOCOLATE NIBS. I tried nibs before and was NOT impressed but these little guys are covered in dark choc. And only 1 calorie per nib!</p>
<p>Miami- 2 hours…wow. I can manage that on the weekend when it’s warm out but I’d have to get up at 5 to fit that in during the day. Unless you consider making dinner and vacuuming exercise! Plus I’m not sure what I would do with all this snow outside. I can barely manage 45 minutes on the dreaded machines! I did the “Three Machine Workout” again today…thank god I have my ipod. This is getting VERY old.</p>
<p>Ooh, I’m going to look for the dark chocolate nibs at TJ’s. There’s something satisfying about eating little pieces of chocolate; that’s why I love the chocolate chips.</p>
<p>I do not cook dinner and I do not clean, I do not think those are exercise. I do get up at 5:30am, there is no point to stay in bed, I wake up without alrm clock, I sleep only about 5 hours - very good night, and often only 3 hours. that is the way I am and nothing could be done. Advantages - plenty of time, working 6:30am - 3:30am, 2 hours of exercise, then having fun with other staff like pottery (love it!), no house chores, except for laundry once in 2 weeks and ironning about once in 2 months, both of which I actually like doing. I love to spend at least 1 hour outside every day walking / rollerblading / swimming depending on season.</p>
<p>Right now, I know that I cannot keep chocolate in the house. I did have Reese’s PB cup
a couple of weeks ago. It was yummy. It’s just best for me to purchase 1 candy bar, and enjoy it. Cannot keep a bag of chocolate in the house.</p>
<p>I could just see my husband’s face if I told him that I wouldn’t cook or clean because it “wasn’t exercise”. lol He would tell me that he was no longer going to his job because it “wasn’t exercise either”.</p>
<p>For chocolate rewards and snacks, try TJ’s dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds - yummm!! Just the right combo of crunch, chocolate, sand weet and sour tastes.</p>
<p>^^Sounds like you’re getting results from your plan, eddie. We all get there differently. I find I need that small chocolate “fix” each day.</p>
<p>I do not think of cooking as exercise, but I definitely enjoy it. I’m looking forward to having the voraciously hungry male child come home for spring break, but I know that means more cooking, and not all of it diet-friendly. My problem is that if I cook or bake it, I’m damn well going to eat it. Portion control, portion control!</p>
<p>BB – I love the pomegranate seeds, and I adore TJ’s chocolate-covered dried blueberries, but somehow I have a harder time limiting quantities with those than with the straight-up chocolate chips.</p>
<p>wjb, the seeds are sold in a small container of only 3 servings! So if you buy just one, you are not going to OD on them :)</p>
<p>And if you eat the whole little can of NIBS, it’s only 140 calories.</p>
<p>Miami…I hope you know how fortunate you are to be doing outside activities year-round. I’ll need to figure out how to get out of this climate as I get older. Or get snowshoes…maybe THAT would be fun…gym machines are NOT. </p>
<p>Regarding sleep. Wow - 3 hours. I need 8 or I’m dysfunctional. Just more evidence that we are all REALLY different. (Note…I saw a special on PBS that talked about how most folks need between 7 and 8 hours…but those who get less think they’re fine. Until they’re tested. Then the sleep deprivation shows up (slower response time, etc). Not saying that’s you…just thought it was interesting.) Sleep is also tied to weight…sleep deprivation can be a hidden cause of weight gain per recent research. </p>
<p>Anyway, back to our regular program…</p>
<p>ID, congrats on your seven pounds. That is wonderful motivation indeed. I think lunges are killers for anybody. It takes a lot of muscle.</p>
<p>I managed to hit GOAL this week. Yahoo. It doesn’t mean anything changes in terms of diet and exercise, but it does mean most of my clothes finally fit again and I feel good. Maintenance is always tough because I sometimes think this little bit here or that little bit there is OK now. But, in fact, not so much. </p>
<p>Eddie, I try to keep all red flag foods out of the house as well. Peanut butter and cheese are the two real problem foods for me. I can walk right by chocolate, although I love those Reeces thanks to the PB hit. I can eat a pound of cheese without even noticing if we bring out cheese and crackers. I won’t buy Brie anymore except for a super special event and then only in a small size, but I do keep a huge chunk of Feta to crumble on my salad at lunch. That is my daily splurge–salty and just makes the rest of the salad worth eating.</p>
<p>So are these little containers of Nibs and pom seeds in the front of the store? I think all the choices in the candy section (at my TJ’s – sample of one) are in larger packages. Boy howdy, can I tear through one of those plastic containers of dark chocolate-covered blueberries in a hurry.</p>
<p>Yeah, the nibs are in the front of the store, in little yellow metal cans with an orange lid. I keep it in my purse for sweet attacks on the road. 5-10 usually do the trick…without much calorie damage at all. They are not real sweet…but I like it that way.
Yeah, I avoid the dark choc covered almonds AND peanut butter cups. Deadly. Can’t stop eating them. That goes for lots of their crackers too.</p>
<p>Way to go, Analyst, on reaching goal. Good for you!</p>
<p>Workout # 3 kicked my butt.</p>
<p>5 minutes bike warmup (cardio for me)
6 minutes exercise circuit
5 minutes interval on the bike 10 sec hard 50 sec easy
6 minutes repeat exercise circuit
5 minutes repeat intervals on bike
5 minute cool down on bike (cardio for me)</p>
<p>The exercise circuits kill me. I’m getting stronger at the exercises but I end up panting like a dog. So, again today, I threw in extra 2 minute breaks to get the breathing and heart rate back down.</p>
<p>Finished strong and actually found myself speeding up on the bike during the 5 minute cooldown at the end. I’m hopeful that the breathing and heartrate endurance starts to improve over time. I do notice that recovery is getting faster.</p>
<p>Anyway, that’s Week One in the books. Three workouts plus a fourth day with easy cardio on the bike.</p>
<p>idad, So, is this ipod workout geared for working out in a gym? It might be just the thing for me. I am really getting bored. I need something to kick my butt.</p>