Substitute Hill Workout and Low Carb Day 2

I slept until almost 8:00 which is something I never do, so I must have been tired from running around three different states in the last two weeks.

I sweet talked mrC into going to a gym since it was raining after his work meeting. We ended up at Best Fitness in East Longmeadow after Western New England University (where several of mrC's family members have gone/currently go) insisted that a member be with us in the gym. Well, that doesn't work.

Best Fitness not only accommodated us with a two day pass, but also did so at no charge! We were obviously thrilled and even more thrilled by the facilities. It was huge!

I thought I'd be brave and try to do the sprint workout on the treadmill. My knee did not like even one 10 second sprint. Instead I cranked the incline to the max and alternated every 30 seconds for 10 minutes for a serious hill walking workout. In the future I will stick to the elliptical or bike for sprints.

What I ate on low carb day #2

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs without milk and black coffee

My mother-in-law made them and is such a sweetie for trying to understand what I'm up to.

Lunch: Honey turkey breast slices, celery sticks, classic hummus, and half of a Berried Up To Here smoothie. 

We got the smoothie from My Main Squeeze, a popular juicery and smoothie shop in East Longmeadow. It wasn't my favorite, but I think that was because I used pea protein (to stay dairy free) and I'm used to whey. Ingredients: blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, almond milk, spinach, kale, chia seeds, hemp seeds, pea protein.

Dinner: salmon, asparagus, and baked beans

The best part was that my sister-in-law and niece who are also doing the program joined us for dinner. 

The goal on low carb days is to stay under 50 grams. I was over. Although, if I figure the net carbs, I might have been under 50. It was the fruit smoothie. I guess I will be saving those for other days. 

I'm still learning my way around MFP and I have a lot to learn. For example, I don't understand my macro percentages based on my grams consumed. 

Time to enjoy feast day! I hope I can eat all the calories :)

Speed Workout, Low Carbs, and A Dog

I've started a carb cycling, intermittent fasting program and yesterday was a low carb day.

First, I put on some workout clothes and did the scheduled workout: 10 minutes speed work followed by 30 minutes low intensity. I chose to do mine on the elliptical, but part way through I was worried that I was doing it wrong. There are just too many options on those machines and sometimes it feels like I'm not working hard enough. Side note: I tested my new "indoor only" workout shoes that I bought for China. They were a hit even without socks!

We had to say goodbye to the girls, but only for 95 days! Then we will be back for our Cape Cod vacation.

Here's what I ate on my first low carb day:

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs, no milk and one cup of black coffee. 

That wasn't too bad.

Lunch: garden salad and Cajun chicken breast, raspberry vinaigrette, water

I've always been a Ranch dressing kind of girl, but the raspberry vinaigrette was tasty

Dinner: salad, balsamic vinaigrette, cauliflower, grilled salmon, and water 

I really wanted to, but I did not eat the extremely yummy looking mashed potatoes!

I'm using My Fitness Pal to track my foods and have my calorie goal set at 1370 since I want lose one pound per week. I was under my goal, but my macros were on target for low carb day.

Yesterday was visit the dog day and it was the best. Booney is still my little lover boy. I loved that we were able to hang out with him and go for a walk. Hard to believe that he has been in my life for 13 years!

What's your favourite low carb food?

Sweet Sunday

We walked to morning Mass. I love when we are able to attend when we are traveling. This church was absolutely stunning inside. If I lived in Portsmouth, I would really enjoy services here.

We were given a walking tour from missD. We saw her office, Prescott Park, and most of downtown. 11,000 steps. 5+ miles. 

She took us to Popovers for lunch (great gluten free options there) and then showed me her favorite place to get essential oils.

I picked up some sport spray for my fitness equipment and peppermint oil. I read a comment from an ultra runner that peppermint oil helps with tendinitis. 

We ordered dinners from the Juicery. The girls and I all got acai bowls. It was my first one. Why haven't I tried these before???

We finished the evening with a trip to UNH to see missG's dorm room (I can't believe she is almost finished with the first year of college!!) and watch her soccer game.

Today we are saying goodbye to girls and then we are visiting some friends before heading back to Springfield. I'm looking forward to seeing this guy the most.

Have a great day!

A Day in Kennebunkport

One perk to traveling is the hotel breakfast. It's a quick and easy way to fuel up for a day of adventure. I'm a big fan of scrambled eggs.

We rounded up the girls and their buds, and headed up the coast to Kennebunkport to show them the summer home of our 41st POTUS. 

Our first stop was to view Walker's Point. According to the locals, George H. W. is a pretty good neighbor. The Mrs. is often spotted walking on the beach with her walker. There's always a flag flying when they're in residence, but not today.

Then we took some pictures.

We headed back to town and had lunch at Ports of Italy. We were all stuffed so afterwards we walked around and enjoyed the downtown area. We all agreed it was like a small Newport, RI.

The cloudy skies never seemed to break and while the kids got some Ben & Jerry's, mrC and I opted for some hot chocolate.

It was another great day with the girls. 

Don't forget to check out my book giveaway here.  

Never Give Up GIVEAWAY!!!

Life is good. 

We drove to New Hampshire this morning for our weekend with the girls. First we stopped to see Dr Bri. I was lucky enough to get an appointment at the last minute so he could assess my heel issue. Basically I have achiles tendinitis. After some Gratson and ART, he applied an anti-inflammatory patch with directions to let it rest. 

I hadn't seen Dr. Bri since finishing my menisectomy rehab and moving to China a year ago, so we talked about my knee issues and not running. He knows my history and basically said that I will eventually have a knee replacement. He also said that I don't need to give up on fitness, and that yoga, hiking, and biking are all very good options for me.

This made me think about the book that I just finished, In Her Eyes. The main character lives 100% behind the mantra never give up. In his story he risks a lot to go after his dreams. 

The author of the book, Wesley Banks, has generously offered to let me give away a free digital copy of his book so you can read for yourself what happens to a Ben as he chases his dream. 

To enter, leave a comment telling me one of your dreams/goals that you hope to never give up.

I will pick a random winner and announce on the blog on Monday, April 25, 2016. To receive the digital copy, I will need your email address.

We headed to Portsmouth after having some lunch and hung out with the girls on the decks. It is such an amazing thing to see them in their adult lives. We are so proud of them.

Tomorrow we are all going on a road trip up to Maine.

I can't wait to spend the whole day with them!