Day 31

DVD - Core Cardio and Balance

Did I mention how much the hip flexor segment hurts like a bitch?

Oh, right, I did.

I don't have much new to say about this workout at the moment, so let's talk about food.

I get smoothies in the morning sometimes for the 1st meal, and I've stopped making them with skim or almond milk to which I add protein like the food guide suggests. Instead, I've discovered something called Muscle Milk Light. You can get it at GNC, and I've also seen it at Walgreens. An 8.5 oz serving contains 100 calories, 15 g of protein, and 20% of most daily of the nutrients your body needs. If I combine skim milk and whey protein, it's 170 calories and 26 g of protein. This way, I can add more fruit to the smoothie and still come in under the 300 calorie per meal total. The biggest thing I like about Muscle Milk Light is that it comes in chocolate. Chocolate muscle milk + 1/2 banana + 4 medium strawberries + ice = very happy Nikole_P.


Walking from BART to the office this morning, I caught the whiff of red meat cooking. That is not an unusual occurance, but there are certain times of the month when the scent of red meat cooking sets off a powerful craving. For me, it's a specific craving: I crave a burger. And you know? Sometimes a girl needs her burger. So after a full month of being almost entirely good with the diet plan, I made the decision to get myself that burger. With fries. From Seller's Market (good place - if you live in SF and are ever downtown, try it). Damn fine burger. Craving successfully fulfilled. I can't tell you how thankful I am it lived up to the craving. Don't you hate it when you give into a craving and it's not as good as you hoped? Me too.

To limit the damage, I'd skipped my mid-morning and late-afternoon feedings. I figure since the workouts this week are less strenuous, it's OK if I deviate from the 5-300 calorie meal plan, as long as I try to stay at or below 1,500 calories. For dinner I had an egg white scramble with shallots and spinach, a whole grain english muffin and some melon. I'm sure I came in over 1,500 calories, but I know at least the whole day wasn't a caloric catastrophe.