Not much new since the weekend, other than feeling really good about my working out and eating habits lately.
On the "Shrink for Good" challenge, I'm happy to have added back the missing half of can #3 and to have found a new friend to add to the stack:
Meanwhile, the other two cans seem to have gone on a little beach vacation. (Although I'd be much more convinced of this, had they used proper photo editing software.)
I'll be coaxing those sassy cans back into the stack....
In other news, I tried to make a parsnip and carrot mash last night (Inspired by Debby!). Except our bag of baby carrots had expired...which I hadn't realized until I reached in and grabbed a handful. Ew! After washing off the carrot mucus, I dug out some fennel to try instead. (Had bought some because Thing 1 had tried it and liked it on a recent field trip. It's pretty good on salad, too.) I chopped up a bit of the root to boil with the parsnips (which I did peel, although it probably would have been more nutritious unpeeled). I blended them with a dash of 1/2&1/2 and some butter/canola oil spread. (No additional salt or spices.) It was one of those times when I wish we had the blending stick thing, because the blender kept stalling out. But I got it mostly mashed. If you like the taste of fennel, you'd probably like this; the fennel added a nice sweetness to the dish. I couldn't go crazy with it, though, because the parsnips have a lot of carbs (1/2 cup cooked has about 13 grams carbs, but 3 grams fiber). I ate half of what I'd made, and then reluctantly packed up the rest, but it will make a nice lunch side dish for today.
OH yeah! And then there's this leeeetle event called the "See Jane Tri" coming up in...*gulp*...10 DAYS!!! So, here's a question for the triathletes out there: any last-minute advice? Did you taper for your sprint tri? By how much? I was planning to do my usual things, but at lower intensity, next week.
Progress last week
7-day blood glucose average: 103 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 106 (met goal of less than 120)
Ah, looking much better on these numbers!
Weight goal: -1.8 on the week-to-week, -4.4 since the start of the challenge. (That's with a little birthday cake & pizza, too, but more days of sticking to my food plan and not going crazy with the nuts.) Still 4.5 away from breaking into the 170s.
Food goals:
- Got in 8 meatless meals and 1 fish meal.
(Fewer leftovers led to lunching at Whole Foods and trying some new vegetarian things. I'd never tried tempeh, and it was tasty with peanut sauce. Friendly on the blood glucose levels, too.)
- Getting there with fiber; at least 4/7 days were over 30.
Exercise goals: Only one strength and no swim this past week, but I felt really good about my workouts this week.
- Wednesday: 30 minute run in the a.m.
- Thursday: 20 minute walk at lunch + 20 minute walk in the evening
- Friday: 40 minutes on the stationary bike at home
- Saturday: Nothing
- Sunday: Nothing
- Monday: Gym - 40 minutes running/walking and 20 minutes arm exercises with weights. I tried the treadmill's 5K setting; next time, I will start with it set on a more comfortable pace and work up, rather than starting fast and having to take walking breaks. Or I'll try the speed interval setting. I felt really slow.
- Tuesday: Brick @ gym - 55 minutes spin class, 15 minutes run on treadmill
Goals for this week
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.
Food goals:
- Keep tracking.
- 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals.
- Track fiber. Minimum 30 grams fiber/day. (Include both insoluble and soluble sources.)
Exercise goals:
Minimum of 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.
Misc. goals:
- 7 or more hours sleep/night.
14 comments:
Yes - taper, taper, taper! It's so important.
The week before my triathlon I did this:
- no weight lifting at all
- no speed work with running
- 2 light jogs of 2 to 3 miles
- light bike riding (easy pace) 2 day. Short distance
I did some walking each day to keep limbered up.
It will drive you crazy, but I will say that my legs were incredibly fresh for the triathlon and it was a wonderful feeling!
YAYYYY YAYYYY YAYYY! OK hilarious pictures. love the life you've given your cans, you crack me up!!!
I tapered just a little the last week for the first tri. for the second, i followed a different plan that still gave me 4 workouts the week before, even a short one the DAY before and I don't think i will do that next time. I couldn't help but try to kick ass on that last workout and I think I'd have been better off resting. Up to you though and depending on your plan. For the next one, I'll probably get a last long ride in on Sunday, then do workouts Monday, Weds and Fri and rest on Saturday. The common thinking though is that if you have been doing your training, killing yourself the last week won't really help you anyway, it's all the work you've put in to it in previous weeks. oh, i'm getting all teary eyed now, you're almost there! i'm so proud of you, did you know that???? what are you wearing??? i'm curious! and what are you eating on race day?? i still haven't mastered that art yet either. i have a checklist if you want it! Congrats to you on all your hard work!!!!
good for you! you've got a lot to keep up with and you seem to be doing a great job of it.
congrats on the loss
Great job on eating and exercising.
I have a friend with Type II diabetes and she said her blood sugar is averaging 220! I thought that was high. She says she always eats a big bowl of cheerios with milk before bed, is that bad?? Can that elevate her bs??
Congrats on your loss!! I, too, love the life your cans have, although I hope they come back and join the others soon :)
GOOD LUCK on your tri!! I'm so excited for you, and can't wait to hear all about it. Love the name of it, too - See Jane Tri. GREAT!!
Thanks, everybody! :-)
Lori & Christie: Thanks for the tri advice! :-) I'll taper, although you're right, Lori, it will probably drive me nuts a little bit to do it.
Jenn: I emailed you, but figured I'd put it here, too--I'm worried about your friend. She needs to see a doctor. I'm not a doctor or a medical professional, but from what I've learned, 220 is WAY too high of an average, that would be an a1c of 8.5%. According to the Mayo Clinic website, doctors will generally change treatment if one's a1c is 7% or higher. Also, I would have her ask her doctor to refer her to a diabetes educator and nutritionist, who can help her tailor her diet to her blood glucose levels through the day. The links on my "Favorite Links" sidebar may also be helpful if she does not have access to a diabetes educator--especially the UCSF online education link and the "How to Lower Your Blood Sugar Level via Diet" link. Some in the diabetes community do not feel like most doctors or diabetes educators recommend the most rigorous dietary controls, but sometimes people find it less daunting to at least aim for a less demanding goal at first. (Me, I panicked and went full-bore. ;-) Please let me know how she does. One really can't mess around with diabetes. (Also, if she's having an evening snack to counter the "dawn phenomena," she might try an evening snack that's lighter on the carbs and higher on the fat/protein, such as a slice of low carb bread/toast with 2T peanut butter, which will last longer through the night than Cheerios and milk. Otherwise, she might not need the evening snack at all.)
sent a little bloggy love to you at my blog! fyi.
Hope Jenn came back to read your answer--I second the recommendation for contacting a diabetic educator--I believe it saved my father's life.
You are very funny--the cans at the beach was hilarious.
I've never tried fennel. Maybe I'll try that next! I just mashed the veggies with a hand potato masher--that's why they looked kind of clumpy. Hey, that vegetable paprikash froze great! I never know whether it will work to freeze pasta and vegetables. Had it at work today and it was as good as fresh!
I am also trying to get in between 30 and 45 grams of fiber. You really have to do a bit of thinking and figuring to get that much in. The green smoothies in the morning really help. Do you like edemame?
Ooh fennel and parsnip. I never would have thought of that, but it sounds yummy! I discovered fennel a few years ago and love it on salads.
PS Your cans are hysterical. I love the non-professional photoshopping.
Christie O: Aww, that's so sweet! Thanks!!!
Debbie: It was a little crazy-making at first, trying to get that much fiber, but now it's gotten to be more of a habit. I already eat a lot of veggies, but there are some other good sources to bump up the numbers. Low carb tortillas are made with a boatload of fiber (20 grams in the big ones!); I use them for pizza crust, or sometimes I toast them with peanut butter and sugar-free jam. And yes, I love edamame; I found some dry-roasted wasabi ones (at Whole Foods, but Amazon.com has them, too) that are 7 grams fiber for 1/4 cup. I'm also a big fan of chia seeds and flax seed meal. Oh, and I use inulin powder in my coffee some mornings.
FYI, fennel tastes a little like anise or licorice. It is a little sweet, which is why I thought of it in lieu of the carrots in the parsnip mash.
Juice: Yep, I thought the choppy photo editing (because I don't have Photoshop) added a certain, "je ne sais quois" to it. ;-)
Wow-another bay area fitness bloggers. I did not know! Nice to meet you (through MizFit's blog). The parsnip mash sounds good- but too many carbs for me at the moment for a dinner meal.
For your tri-yes, taper and rest the couple days before.
Good luck you your goals and your tri.
Amazing! Really great job on the healthy eating and weightloss. I love that you are okay with a little birthday cake once in awhile. A healthy perspective!
So exciting about the tri! GOOD LUCK!!
The mashed parsnips sound quite tasty. Not realizing carrots are really old is horrible *shudder*
Hey, just came your way via your comment on MizFit! Nice to meet a fellow D - I've been type 1 since second grade. :)
Looking forward to following your journey!
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