So I did spend the rest of the day outside kind of puttering around the yard. It would be so nice if we had some consistent summer. Some of the pots are starting to look really nice so I should remember to take a few pictures. That was it for the rest of the day really.

Food for the day:

Total: 2409 (35% fat, 31% carbs, 33% protein)

Breakfast: egg/egg white omelet with cheese, pecan raisin bread, jam, grapefruit (488)
AM Snack: almonds (164)
PWO: protein shake with frozen cherries (233)
Lunch: whole wheat tortilla, BBQ pork, cheese, apple (439)
PM Snack: soy nuts, protein shake (269)
Dinner: corned beef, cabbage with tomato, butter, salad w/dressing (494)
Late Snack: cherries, protein shake (323)

I started with 10-mins on the treadmill and then did:

A: One-armed Dumbbell Snatch - 32e/6, 32e/6, 35e/6
B1: Dumbbell Single-leg Romanian Deadlift - 25e/6, 25e/6, 25e/6
B2: Barbell Bent-over Row - 90t/6, 90t/6, 95t/6
C1: Dumbbell Single-arm Overhead Squat - 20&10/6, 20&10/6, 25&12/6
C2: Dumbbell Incline Bench Press - 27.5e/6, 27.5e/6, 30e/6
D1: Plank - 90sec (45-degree), 45+45sec (on floor), 45+45 (on floor)
D2: Reverse Wood Chop (on floor) - 32t/6, 32t/6, 35t/6
Bodyweight Matrix (modified): 96 squats, 48 lunges (each leg)

HRM: 90mins, 642 cals, Max: 154 (87%), Avg: 127 (71%)

I definitely don’t think I had the enthusiasm for this today, but I pushed through and did it anyway. I even managed to do a couple of squat jumps (we’re talking 3 or 4 here). I really love the one-armed dumbbell snatch though, I’m going to miss it as I move on to Stage 4. I most definitely will not miss the planks! I’m starting to have troubles getting the dumbbells into position for the incline bench press. As I don’t have a bench I’m getting the incline using a swiss ball against the couch. I really don’t have a problem pressing the 30-lb dumbbells, but getting to the starting position is a royal pain. 

Anyway, time to go think about making lunch. Then a few outdoors chores, some watering, and a swim. Thankfully the weather is nice enough to do those today.

Well, the rest of the day was quiet.  I broke down and took the time to colour my hair.  I also did the usual - watered a few plants, had a swim, made dinner, etc.  The bad weather that was threatening never came so that was nice.

Food for the day:

Total: 2165 (28% fat, 29% carbs, 42% protein)

Breakfast: pecan raisin bread, jam, grapefruit (260)
AM Snack: protein shake (180)
Lunch: baked egg/egg white dish with cheese and turkey sausage, cracked wheat oatmeal bread, apple (534)
PM Snack: soy nuts, protein shake (269)
Dinner: sirloin steak, asparagus, butter, salad w/dressing (600)
Late Snack: cherries, protein shake (323)

This morning I chased away not one, but two squirrels. They were doing their best to break the cherry laden branches off the one tree. There are actually two trees growing side by side. So I stripped off the remaining cherries from the one tree and cut a huge piece of netting and tied up the other cherries. It likely won’t keep them off completely, but will hopefully slow them down a bit. So these are about a week or so from being fully ripe, but they are still lovely and sweet.

This is about a quarter of what was on the tree. From weighing out last night’s fruit I’d say this is probably about 3 or 4lbs worth of fruit. Some we’ve eaten, some we’ve given away. More than half fell to birds and squirrels. Next year I will be more prepared. The trees need a lot of trimming back though so next year’s yield may be low. The good new is that the boysenberries and the raspberries are starting to show colour!

Today’s weigh-in brings me to 292.8 which is 2.6 pounds less than last week.  I’m counting yesterday as on plan even though I didn’t hit my protein number.  I don’t do cheat days as some people do, so we’ll consider the protein percentage being low as my cheat.  I was still within the calorie numbers.  Anyway, since I started keeping track this is day 171 on plan with food.

So last night about 4:30 am we had the loudest thunderstorm in a while. Either that, or it just seemed louder because it was in the middle of the night. Both cats came looking for (?) protection I suppose. It had cleared up fairly well by the morning so I did my walking outside in circles around the pool. I also changed over the pool blanket. This is not something I really enjoy doing (such a pain), but the one we bought last fall was poorly made and started to separate so it was replaced. It’s a messy, wet job, but it’s done - will just have to trim the blanket to a better fit over the next few days.

And then I went just a little off plan. Not a big slip, but I gave in to the carby goodness of our almost ripe cherries. I say almost ripe since they aren’t dark red yet, but they are still quite sweet. The birds are not so afraid of the counter measures and something pulled off one of the lower branches last night. So I picked about a pound of cherries in the late afternoon and weighed out half a pound. I took a few in the afternoon but the rest of them will be for tonight’s snack. It really only puts me off on my ratio a bit today, not out of the calorie range. It only worked out because I was so busy in the morning that I forgot the protein shake I was supposed to have. Tomorrow is enough of a high protein day that it won’t be an issue. So over the next week or so we’ll eat the cherries before the birds finish them off. 

From the HR monitor:

Food for the day:

Total: 2398 (30% fat, 39% carbs, 27% protein)

Breakfast: cracked wheat oatmeal bread, peanut butter, jam, grapefruit (324)
AM Snack: almonds (164)
Lunch: sausage and lentil soup, grapes (466)
PM Snack: cherries, soy nuts, protein shake (343)
Dinner: spicy meatloaf with roasted potatoes and onions, snow peas, butter, salad w/dressing (733)
Late Snack: cherries, protein shake (368)

Finished up the day with a little more laundry, some work outside and a nice swim. After dinner spent at least half an hour chatting with one of the neighbours and walking about the garden. I have to admit that I was quite dead by then. Tomorrow is cardio day plus a couple of tasks that can’t wait.

Food for the day:

Total: 2397 (25% fat, 40% carbs, 32% protein)

Breakfast: egg/egg white scramble, cracked wheat oatmeal bread, grapefruit (341)
AM Snack: grapes, protein shake (276)
Lunch: chickpea veggie salad, apple (346)
PM Snack: cherries, soy nuts, protein shake (298)
Dinner: hamburgers(2), roll(1), condiments, salad w/dressing (826)
Late Snack: two cherry yogurt sorbet, protein shake (310)

I warmed up with a 10-min walk on the treadmill. Then I did:

A: Barbell Romanian Deadlift/Bent-over Row - 90t/6, 90t/6, 95t/6
B1: Partial Single-leg Squat - 6, 6, 6
B1(+): Squats - 12, 12, 12
B2: Wide-grip Lat Pulldown (Pullover) - 30e/6, 30e/6, 32e/6
C1: Back Extension (Good Mornings) - 55t/6, 55t/6, 60t/6
C2: YTWL - 5e/6, 5e/6, 7e/6
D1: Swiss Ball Crunch (Long-arm) - 6, 6, 6
D2: Prone Jackknife - 6, 6, 6
D3: Lateral Flexion (Hannah side 2) - 6, 6, 6
E: Prone Cobra - 90sec, 90sec, 90sec

And then I did the HIIT. I obviously cut down on some of the rest periods (in the D exercises I’m sure), so I was about 9 mins short. So silly me I just kept going on the treadmill (not HIIT though). Finished up with a total session of 90mins.

HRM: 608cals, Max: 176 (99%), Avg: 120 (67%)

I still like the A exercises better although I do like the good mornings. I’m getting a little tired of the pullovers because I’m just about at my max with them. My left wrist seems to twinge with the higher weights. I’m substituting them for any of the pulldowns and I suspect the best I can hope for is to improve how they feel, not raise the weight anymore. I also realised today when looking at my sheets that I’m two exercises behind where I expected to be. Last week I ditched because of the barbecue and this week because I was feeling crappy. I need to watch that I don’t make a habit of that. 

So based on that there will be no rest period between Stage 3 and 4. I’ve got one more set of both workouts left so I will start Stage 4 next Friday.

Still working on the music mix. If it rains on Sunday I’m going to go through the 600+ songs and try and pull out the ones I’m not getting into. Or at least dividing them into workout mixes.

Well, just adding the food for the day really. The afternoon was spent doing more laundry and a few other tasks. I didn’t get the to nap. Oh well, such is life. Tomorrow morning will be B2 of stage 3, with that damn HIIT at the end. Need to get lots of sleep tonight.

Food for the day:

Total: 2155 (23% fat, 41% carbs, 32% protein)

Breakfast: two scrambled eggs, cracked wheat oatmeal bread, grapefruit (352)
AM Snack: cherries, protein shake (164)
Lunch: pasta salad with veggies and chick peas, apple (454)
PM Snack: soy nuts, protein shake (269)
Dinner: lasagne, snow peas, butter, salad w/dressing (651)
Late Snack: two cherry yogurt sorbet, protein shake (265)

I haven’t done much today, but sometimes that’s nice. Slept late, did some watering, had a swim, made some salad dressings. Now I’m doing laundry and wondering if I can sneak in a nap.

I decided to get a little more organized with the salad dressings. I’ve labeled each one and made a few minor changes as I made them. This way when I find one that I’m not as fond of I can decide if I’m going to modify it next time. Or stop making it. I found one last time that I wasn’t quite so fond of, but I’m not entirely sure which one it was! This way I can retype some of the recipes to how I’m actually making it.