Exercise: 90 mins treadmill, 30 mins strength training

Water: 20 cups

Food: 2585 calories (28% fat, 39% carbs, 30% protein)

Breakfast: egg white omelet with cheese, 12-grain toast, jam, 3 clementines (445)

AM Snack: almonds (164)

Lunch: lentil soup, smoked ham, apple (471)

PM Snack: protein shake, soy nuts, fruit salad (375)

Dinner: white chili with cauliflower, smoked chicken and turkey sausages(2), salad w/dressing (679)

Late Snack: protein shake, fruit salad, biscotti, cheese spread and rice crisps (451)

I still feel like I should add more weight faster on the deadlift. However, I’m trying to remind myself that I’m not as fit as I think I am. We’ll see how I feel in the morning. The other weights feel hard enough that I’m pushing it, especially the pullover. Of course it could just be that the deadlift is first, when I’m not so tired. I made a point to try hitting 2600 calories today, and came pretty close. It’s harder than you might think. I’ve worked hard on making lower calorie meals for months and staying away from snack food. Now I’m trying to find high protein additions/snacks, as well as using up meals / soups already made.

I popped outside this afternoon to, well, build a bird nest. It’s less complicated than it sounds. For the last few years we’ve had mourning doves nesting in or around our yard. Mostly they use an old platform feeder in the back yard, which they carry bits and pieces of light debris onto to make rather sad looking nests. We usually get two or three sets of chicks in the year. The last year one of them made a nest in one of the hanging baskets by the front walkway. She even let me water the plant, but it’s really not the best spot. This morning we watched two doves inspecting one of the hanging pots that we didn’t bring in. So I thought I’d throw some nesting material on the platform feeder, hoping they’ll pick it instead. It’s a little early for nesting, but who knows. The first dove who nested here used to let me hold the camera up to the edge of the nest and let me take lots of pictures. Others have been a little more skittish. You can usually tell how tolerant they are of people. I found some of the pictures. You can click on them to see larger versions.

The morning was 2 x 30-min sessions on the treadmill. In the afternoon I did a 15-min warm-up on the treadmill, followed by:

Where there is a single number that confirms that I did the number of reps called for. Where there are two numbers the first is the amount of weight I used, followed by reps.

And I followed with another 15 mins on the treadmill.

The 25 pounds for the deadlift I’m starting to feel a bit, as well as the 20 pounds for the shoulder press, but both aren’t too bad. I’m struggling with the weight on the pullovers, so although they’ll go up the next time, maybe just not too much. I find the lunges awkward and I’m probably not getting low enough, but the weights are light while I work on the form. I still don’t like the ball much.

Deb - I haven’t had lamb in years and really can’t figure out why. I really enjoyed it last night. This is good since we bought half a freakin’ lamb!