day 84: butter

So my week 12 check in is coming up, putting me exactly halfway to my bikini birthday on July 27th. I’m going to warn you that if my weigh in is anything like what I saw on the scale this morning then it’s gonna look a lot like I’ve wasted 3 months.

But, I took some progress pictures last night (which I probably won’t post) and now that I’m comparing them with my original pictures (which I never posted either) I think I see some improvements in my muscle tone which is EXACTLY what I was hoping for!

After yesterday’s workout my upper body was exhausted during my morning run but I feel much better tonight. That could possibly be because my legs are so sore from today’s lower body workout! Ahhh, I’m loving my new routine already:

Lower Body

Stiff Legged Deadlift –                                           4 sets of 8
Barbell Lunges –                                                     4 sets of 10
Vertical Hack Press –                                           4 sets of 10
Barbell Squats with knees & feet together -4 sets of 10
Seated Leg Curl –                                                    4 sets of 10
One-legged Deadlift –                                           3 sets of 8
Glute-Ham Raise –                                                 3 sets of 8
Weighted V-ups –                                                   3 sets of 12
Leg raises on the Roman Chair –                      3 sets of 12

Today at the gym I overheard a girl talking to her trainer about grocery shopping. She said:

“I needed butter, but I bought that Becel instead.”

To which the trainer replied:

“Good!!”

Really?? What’s wrong with good old fashioned butter? Okay, so I know that butter is higher in calories and fat than margarine. But, is it just me, or wouldn’t you rather use a little bit of rich-tasting butter made with cream and salt than a food-product that tastes like plastic and is made with chemicals you can’t even pronounce?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

So inspired by this conversation, my hankering for lamb, and Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food I made Herb-Butter Lamb Loin Chops for dinner with a side of Minted Peas that I cooked in (you guessed it) butter.

day 27: lamb stew

Had I known I was going to wake up to 3” of snow and that Canada was going to lose the hockey game to the US, I probably would have made a warm, comforting bowl of oatmeal instead of the muesli I whipped up last night in anticipation of this morning’s breakfast. Nevertheless, my Gingerbread Muesli turned out pretty tasty and I tried to savour it slowly the same way I savour my hot oatmeal.

Gingerbread Muesli

Ingredients:
• 1/3 c. quick oats
• 1/3 c. plain yoghurt
• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp of peanuts chopped fine
• 1 Medjool date
• 1/2 tsp molasses
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground cloves

Directions:
Mix it all up and leave in the fridge overnight for the next morning’s breakfast to soften the oats.

After work, I was more in the mood to go home and cuddle up with a book than to go to the gym, but I made I forced myself to go anyway to do some upper body training and a 40 minute interval run.
I’m on to week 5 of my new training program. The plan is: decrease the reps to no less than 6 and no more than 8 so I can increase the weight. I found it really difficult to find the right sized barbells and dumbbells to use for smaller muscle groups (biceps and triceps) since I can’t increase the weight by much. I tried a 50lb barbell for skullcrushers but could only push out 5 reps, but when I dropped down to a 45lb barbell I was more than maxing out my repetitions.

I think I need a workout partner to spot me on my upper body days. Twice a week after work for a couple of hours. Any takers?

Matt is tutoring again tonight so I’m happy to be making him a hearty and tasty (hopefully) dinner. It’s a one pot supper– Lamb and Winter Vegetable Stew. I have lamb, parsnips, sweet potato, squash, celery and onions stewing away with red wine, beef bouillon, and thyme as we speak. I love the taste of lamb, but I also love sheep. They’re my favourite animal. I try not to associate the two or I would never eat lamb again.

Matt just walked in the door. Dinner time!