flashback friday: st. patrick’s day.

hi friends! IT IS FRIDAY! WAHOO!!!

last night marshall and i made the brownies that zesty dubbed “the brownie that will change your life”.. they were really fun and easy to make.  i highly suggest you give the recipe a whirl.

i took the brownies to the office today because it happened to be national chocolate with caramel day and i am a sucker for celebrating national food holidays.

   

everyone said the brownies were incredible.  truth be told, i didn’t have one.  i had a small nibble (not even a whole bite. more like a crumb) of marshall’s last night while they were still hot, but i am trying to do this body for life thing the right way, so i am sticking to my guns.

let’s talk about what i DID eat, shall we?

meal 1: green monster RAWR. @ 8:30 AM

• 1 serving tera’s whey blueberry protein powder (new product alert!!)
• 10 blueberries
• 1/2 banana
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 2 cups spinach
• ice
• xanthan & guar gums

i was craving one of these this morning even though i woke up to snow (!!!) and drinking smoothies makes me seventeen times colder.. i dealt with it.

and i loved every last drop.

my thoughts on tera’s whey blueberry protein?

HOLY GEEZ! I LOVE THIS STUFF! i can’t wait to go spend my life savings on a canister of it! if you have the funds, go buy it.. NOW. it is pricey but it is SO. GOOD.

302 calories, 6g fat, 33g carbs, 30g protein

the morning flew by for some reason. i love it when that happens!  lunch time came before i knew it and i actually wasn’t even hungry yet.  i kept it light and had something i used to eat ALL the time but totally forgot about until today…

meal 2: wasa crackers+avocado+turkey+cottage cheese @ 12:00 PM

 

dude. this is one of my favorite things to eat when doing body for life.  can’t believe i went so long without it! you will see many more of these cracker stacks in  my future.

250 calories, 8g fat, 24g carbs, 23g protein

i was hoping that the afternoon would whiz by the same way the morning did, but it was quite the opposite.  i found myself watching the clock, counting down the minutes until i could bail.  luckily my afternoon snack took my attention away from the clock-watching for a bit.

meal 3: PB mousse + cranbran vitatop @ 3:00 PM

 

bad photo, sorry.

the peanut butter mousse was made with 1 cup oikos plain yogurt and 2 TB of PB2, which, for you new readers, is powdered peanut butter.  i don’t buy PB2 in stores (i wish i could!) but i think it is totally worth ordering online and paying the shipping.  i buy mine from bellplantation.com.  check it out.

284 calories, 4g fat, 35g carbs, 30g protein

i was feeling lethargic when i got off work around 4 PM and instead of heading straight to the gym like i usually do, i went home to cuddle up with the dogs for a bit.  i figured that since it is friday i could go to the gym later on without it being a total madhouse like all the other week nights.

i am glad i waited because once i got home i saw some fun mail waiting for me and i wanted to use it in today’s workout!  more on that in my next post (read: sh!tload of product reviews coming up)

 

today was a HIIT day at the gym and my ankles are still really sore.  i think the problem is that my running shoes aren’t built for my feet.

the running shoes i’ve been using are a pair of pumas marshall got me for christmas.  i am an overpronator and these shoes are not made for me.  i love the shoes and i love that marshall was thoughtful enough to get them for me, but i just don’t think i should run in them anymore.

my last pair of running shoes were perfect for me.  i bought them because i went to a running store, ran on a treadmill where they filmed the way i run, and the associate told me what shoes would be good for me.  and they were!  unfortunately i ran those shoes ragged and now if i run in them my knees ache.  yes, this girl has got some problems!!

SO.. to not make a long story even longer, i haven’t been running this week (aside from monday) and i have been trying to find alternate methods to get my HIIT in.  i really don’t get the same intense workout when i use any other cardio equipment aside from the treadmill, which is a bummer, so i need to invest in some new running shoes NOW.

anyway. here is my workout:

 elliptical.

minute #	speed range (MPH)	resistance level
0-2	8.5-9.0 (warm up)	10
2-3	9.0-9.5	10
3-4	9.5-10.0	10
4-5	10.0-10.5	10
5-6	10.5-11.0	10
6-7	9.0-9.5	10
7-8	9.5-10.0	10
8-9	10.0-10.5	10
9-10	10.5-11.0	10
10-11	9.0-9.5	10
11-12	9.5-10.0	10
12-13	10.0-10.5	10
13-14	10.5-11.0	10
14-15	9.0-9.5	10
15-16	9.5-10.0	10
16-17	10.0-10.5	10
17-18	10.5-11.0	10
18-19	13.0-14.0 (high point)	10
19-20	6.0-7.0 (cool down)	0

 

total distance: 3.2 miles (!) max HR 178, ave HR 151 note: i am no longer posting calories burned because i don’t care.

holy crap! this was actually a killer workout. i am glad i opted for the elliptical over the stairmill (like i did on wednesday) because i was actually able to get my heart rate up into the zones i prefer when doing HIIT.  when i do HIIT on the stairmill, my max HR is only around 150 and my average is at a low 120. i just don’t think my little (short, not skinny :P) legs can go fast enough on the stairmill to get my heart rate up in the higher zones. i was glad the elliptical was able to kick my ass today.

i came home and it was past 7:30 PM!  since i hadn’t eaten anything since 3 PM my appetite was raging.  that will teach me to change up my gym scheduling, eh?

naw, it wasn’t so bad. i needed the rest time after work and i am glad i still made it to the gym tonight.  i was also really excited to eat dinner but wasn’t sure what to make.

i opened up my fridge and started pulling ingredients out and ended up making the best freaking sandwich ever.

serious.

meal 4: turkey sandwich from heaven @ 8:15 PM

a few things i use to make this bad boy:

yes i finally broke out the nayonaise! at 10 calories and 0g fat per tablespoon, it is an epic alternative to mayo. and i love it. you should buy it.. that is, if you don’t spend all your money on tera’s whey blueberry protein powder.

i also used some new-to-me mustard, which is delicious:

the bread i used is one of my favorites. i love that it is low calorie but NOT “diet bread”!

all natural, no fat, all yum.

for the protein, i used columbus brand low sodium turkey breast. you may recall when i picked it up at costco the other day.

i also added some lettuce, tomato and a laughing cow wedge to the sandwich. viola!

i always cut my sandwiches on a diagonal.

growing up, i remember my best friend’s family (hi pat & melina!) would cut their sandwiches straight down the middle and i always thought it was the craziest thing!!  i was always a diagonal sandwich cutter/eater.. still am.

check out that stacked glory!

262 calories, 4g fat, 27g carbs, 27g protein

i just finished eating it and i wish i had another one, it was SO good. i love the nayonaise, columbus turkey and honey dijon mustard.  pretty stoked on all the new-to-me product successes today!!

*****************************************************************

time for flashback friday!

since st. patrick’s day was just last wednesday, i decided to flash back to a few photos of past celebrations!

i don’t seem to have photos from 2009 OR 2008. i know last year i didn’t do a dang thing on st. patty’s day.. but in 2008 i know we did something.. just not sure where the photos are from that day! oh well. i will start with 2007:

it was right after breaking my arm and we went to the bohemian (same place i went this year) and had green beer.  i didn’t have any green beer THIS year.. but i did have some in 2007. i was also extremely overweight. eep.

 

my friend, allie, who you see on here often, was a waitress at the bohemian~ way back when.

 

in 2006 we all went to a bar called cabana club~ we used to go there all. the. time. oh, bar days.. i don’t miss you..

looks like i have only a couple photos from 2005.. i was so young and my hair was so long!

and there you have it. flashback friday, green style.

did you participate is flashback friday??? please let me know and i will link back in my next post!  i know ildie did!

****************************************************************

well, i am off to see what shenanigans this weekend has to offer.  although i am so beat and i would really like to just join these two:

but i really want to see my friends :)

hope you all have a fun filled weekend and eat lots of yummy food! don’t forget to hit the gym if you have time!

Qs~

1. what kind of runner are you: pronate, regular, supinate? any suggestions for shoes that are good for an over pronator like moi?

2. are you a diagonal sandwich cutter or a straight sandwich cutter? or do you think i am crazy for having a preference?!

xo. janetha b.

p.s. I AM SO JEALOUS OF ALL YOU LADIES AT FIT BLOGGIN’! wish i could be there :(