My Routine

Whether it's been inbred in me all along, or happened because my kids do better with routine, I've got quite a bit of a regular routine most mornings. Apparently, it's so much so that I feel a little thrown off when we get messed up.

I've eluded a few times to my "rules," which aren't hard core, but I do try to follow them most of the time. I'm not claiming this to be this great thing that you all should follow. It just works for me, that's all. So, if you're curious enough, read on. If not, see you next post!

It all started sometime last spring when J and I began to basically feel fat and lazy. Both of us had worked out, at least somewhat regularly, at different times in our lives, but had pretty much stopped once the kids came along. To add insult to injury, we didn't exactly eat well either.

We committed to doing our interpretation of the Body for Life diet (we didn't do the supplements, protein shakes etc.) together for 13 weeks to see if we could whip ourselves into shape. The gist of this diet is to eat better (watching the carb intake, cutting out a lot of sweets) and exercise six days a week. Day seven is a free day. You can eat whatever you want. We lived for day seven. We came close to licking the countertops in desperation for something sweet or another portion of dinner...but stopped short (most days anyways), knowing we just had to make it to day seven.

Well, something worked. We both managed to lose some weight, start eating better, and exercising regularly. It's been a tremendous help that we've done this together and it's actually been kind of fun competing with each other!

So, the routine has stuck, though some aspects have loosened up now that we're just in weight maintenance mode. I still work out six days a week - most mornings it's the elliptical (in the basement) at about 6:15 for 30 minutes. When the weather is bearable, I try to get a 3-4 mile run in outside about once a week. I actually hate missing my workout, which is hard for me to believe about myself considering I happily did not work out for years.
**Updated...barbell strength training twice a week, run 13-15 miles a week, swim once a week, spinning once a week if I can!***

We also try to eat relatively healthy about five days a week - moving to kind of a "free weekend" schedule. Which means we eat healthy dinners and not to do too many sweets during the week (J can't stay away from his ice cream, but he does do Edy's Slow Churned now).

All that baking I do? Well, most of that is done on the weekend. If I do it during the week, I typically pop it in the freezer to eat another time. I also try to give some of it away so that we don't have such a massive quantity here.

Once Friday night comes, we might have a dessert. Saturday and Sunday we often eat maybe one healthy meal, one sort of healthy meal (maybe adding chips to our sandwich or something), and one not healthy meal (take out or something ooey-gooey here).

So, that's it. Fascinating, huh?

Motha Vivi finally got herself a little ipod shuffle to workout to. It's all about a good beat for me (and no hard rock...like Metallica). If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Some of my favorite tunes? My eclectic list includes anything by Queen, "Since you Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson, "So What" by Pink, "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi, "Hey Ya" Outcast, "Verb: That's What's Happening" by Moby, "Hard Sun" by Eddie Vedder, "American Girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and "Little Red Corvette" by Prince .

Banany helping me make my standard breakfast


I eat this, or something very similar, almost every day.
2 muffins and some fat-free cottage cheese

And I actually don't get sick of it.

Low Fat Apple Muffins

adapted from Allrecipes.com

Set your expectations...these are not very sweet muffins. There is only a little bit of sugar in them, so they don't taste like bakery muffins. I like them because they satisfy my need for bready carbs in a healthier way.

1/8 cup wheat germ

1 1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 cups whole wheat flour or 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup oats

1/8 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 egg whites
1/2 apple, grated

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease muffin pan, or use paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar and baking soda. Stir in wheat germ, buttermilk, and egg whites. Fold in grated apple. Divide batter into 12 muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven for 16 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.