A.L.O.E. 04.08.12

Happy Easter to all who celebrate and a happy Passover to my Hebrew friends.  I enjoyed a great weekend in Maryland with my family.  It was all that a holiday weekend should be.  Time with those you love, good healthy food, some exercise with my family in tow and best of all, relaxation.  Since this is Sunday, I welcome you to A.L.O.E. (A Little Of Everything): tidbits of info, too small for a full day's blog post.

False Perceptions Can Be a Good Thing
I discovered something yesterday that I had suspected for a while now.   The pedometer watch that I have been using is off a bit.  My first doubts came after walking around the lake by my house only to discover it was much shorter than I had clocked in my car.  But since there were one way streets I couldn't drive on to get an exact measurement, I went with the pedometer.  How off is it?  My test this weekend showed it is off by exactly 10%.  So, the weeks I have walked 10 miles were actually 11.  My 2.5 mile walk in the woods with the dogs, 2.75, etc.  It's nice knowing that I went beyond what I thought I was capable of.  This is a lesson that can be applied to other areas of life as well.  Remember Gilligan flying until the Skipper told him he couldn't?  No worries.  I'll keep my feet on the ground.

Hotel Mirrors
Hotel rooms are certainly not lacking in opportunities to see yourself in all your glory.  There are mirrors galore in these rooms.  My house doesn't have full length mirrors that show me my naked, deflating self, getting in and out of the shower.  I was half expecting a Green Peace representative to rush in and ask if I needed assistance getting back to the pod.  I despise pictures of myself, let alone an unclothed live version staring back at me.  There are two ways one can react to this scary reality;  be motivated to fix it, or just let it beat you into giving up.  I choose to banish the fat guy in the mirror.

Poker Night
Whenever I head to Maryland, my brother throws together a poker night for me.  His 'Bilgata' tournaments generally get anywhere from 12 to 32 competitors.  Of course, with that goes plenty of chips, dip, beer, and Bill's chili dogs.  I'm a sucker for hot dogs and chili, both.  Put them together on a potato roll and it is like crack to me.  So, full disclosure is needed here.  I did not participate in the chips, dip, beer (I did have 2 O'Douls), or hot dogs.  I did, however, have a small bowl of chili w/some pasta  shells and too many pistachio nuts for my liking.  If I had to guess, the until now, unreported intake was probably around 500 calories.  I did also enjoy the scotch and cigar for which I had promised you I would indulge in.  I always like to give you the full story on what I eat.  There ya go.

Delayed Weigh-In
I intended to bring my scale with me so that I could do my Monday weigh-in, as usual.  OOPS!  I forgot it.  As a result, I will weigh in on Tuesday morning instead.  I will only weigh myself first thing in the morning and I will be traveling until mid-afternoon.

Cya Monday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Grapenuts cereal w/1 banana and unsweetened almond milk

Lunch ~ Leftover tilapia w/spinach and white beans, some brown rice on the side

Snack ~ A few carrots w/hummus

Dinner ~ A very nice melon salad with a spicy lime mint vinaigrette, grilled chicken breast w/Dijon rosemary glaze, a lightened up mushroom risotto of my own design, Brussels spouts w/pecans and craisins and grilled asparagus. 1 good size glass of Shiraz.

Dessert ~ Fresh fruit salad w/ a fat free Greek yogurt sauce.

Exercise ~ After being on my feet cooking for two hours and eating the meal above, I walked 1.5 miles with my family...even Mom came along for some.  Way to go Mom!  I have to admit, it kicked my ass.  It's a hilly walk, but after the time on my feet cooking, I was hurtin'.