Week of May 26 - 30 (first week back from yet another weekend of gluttony)

• Tuesday, 5/26
  Exercise: Sprinted 1 mile in 9:41 minutes. Worked out on exercise bike for 30 minutes, targeting 123 - 153 heart rate (10.7 miles)
  Diet: Breakfast: small cup of coffee, Luna bar. Late Lunch: 1/2 turkey & swiss sandwich on multi-grain bread. Late afternoon snack: 1/4 turkey & swiss sandwich, South Beach snack bar. Dinner: leftover pasta salad, two mini cucumbers, a banana, and a few pieces of beef jerky
  The " scientific metrics":
  Weight: 141.6 lbs
  Waist: 31 inches
  Hips: 36.5 inches
• Wednesday, 5/27
  Exercise: Lifted upper body free weights (Duration: 35 minutes)
  - 6 sets x 20 reps bicep curls (8 lbs, one arm each: 2 lower, 2 upper, 2 full)
  - 4 sets x 20 reps tricep extensions (8 lbs, both arms together)
  - 4 sets x 20 reps tricep extensions (16 lbs, both arms together)
  - 10 sets x 20 reps crunches
  Diet: Breakfast: Luna bar. Lunch: 1/2 turkey & swiss sandwich on multi-grain bread. Afternoon snack: 1/4 turkey & swiss sandwich. Late afternoon snack: South Beach snack bar. Dinner: one spicy tuna roll, one salmon roll, edamame, two glasses of Michelob Ultra. Late evening snack: a few pieces of beef jerky
• Thursday, 5/28
  Exercise: none
  Diet: Late breakfast: a banana. Pre-lunch snack: another banana. Lunch: South Beach snack bar. Late lunch snack: Luna bar. Pre-dinner snack: leftover pasta salad. Dinner: seared Ahi tuna salad, chips & salsa, ... and a drink or five... =)
• Friday, 5/29
  Exercise: none
  Diet: Late breakfast: Vitamin water. Lunch: vegetable soup and Baked Lays. Early afternoon snack: Luna bar. Late afternoon snack: uncooked ramen noodles. Dinner: Phara's Lamb La Zeez (grilled lamb, basmati rice, with roasted habanero garlic sauce), hummus, pita bread
• Saturday, 5/30
  Exercise: Ran 3.02 miles, 39:44 minutes (13:09 min/mile)
  Diet: Breakfast: none. Lunch: a small bowl of fried rice with low-fat Chinese sausage and lean flank steak, baby bok choy soup, with pickled baby eggplants
  

Memorial Day Weekend log

• Thursday, 5/21
  Exercise: Worked out on elliptical trainer for 60 minutes (4.84 miles).
  Lifted weights for upper-arm toning.
  - Tricep Press Machine - 3 sets x 15 reps (50 lbs, both arms together)
  - Bicep Curl Machine - 3 sets x 15 reps (20 lbs, both arms together)
  Diet: Breakfast: skipped(bad). Lunch: light creamy potato & sausage soup, salad with Italian dressing, 2 breadsticks. Dinner: lean pocket, 5 lychee jellies, Bueno hazelnut chocolate wafer bar (a Spanish version Kit Kat), half a bag of uncooked instant ramen noodles (God, it gets worse and worse...), a few (like, 4) kettle-cooked jalapeno potato chips, unsalted almonds, dried cranberries
• Friday, 5/22
  Exercise: none
  Diet: Breakfast: none. lunch: grilled chicken southwest salad with 1/2 packet of creamy spicy dressing. Afternoon snack: half a grilled chicken wrap, a third of a fried (damnit!) chicken sandwich. Dinner: a little bit of hummus, a spring salad with Italian dressing, two plates of spaghetti & meat sauce (eek!), 3 slices of french baguettes, 3 of Sarah's famous "low fat" cranberry & white chocolate oatmeal cookies, and half a slice of a fruit cream tart. .... oh, and a couple of bottles of Dos Equis beer (but, it was so worth it)
• Saturday, 5/23
  Exercise: Worked out on elliptical trainer for 60 minutes (4.98 miles)
  Diet: Breakfast: a bottle of water (so, none, again). Lunch: asiago bagel with reduced fat sun-dried tomato cream cheese, a bowl of vegetarian vegetable soup, a piece of french baguette. Dinner: (... what's the point...) lots and lots of eggrolls (I probably ate about a dozen), beef fajitas, beef jerky, two of Sarah's famous "low fat" cranberry & white chocolate oatmeal cookies, and half a slice of Oreo cheesecake.
  The "scientific metrics":
  Weight: 140.0 lbs
  Waist: 30 inches (hm... am I measuring myself correctly)
  Hips: 36.25 inches
• Sunday, 5/24
  Exercise: Ran 3.02 miles, 39:29 minutes (13:04 min/mile... arg, so slow! even though it was my first time running .. in THREE months... I thought I could have done better)
  Diet: Late breakfast: eggs, 3 pieces of turkey sausage, a couple pieces of bacon, hashbrowns, tortilla. Lunch: one bratwurst, one hotdog, German potato salad, baked beans. Afternoon "happy hour": 4 glasses of Moscato =) Dinner: grilled chicken breast, pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil
• Monday, 5/25
  Exercise: Walked for 35 minutes
  Diet: Breakfast: 2.5 breakfast tacos, 2 waffles (no syrup). Pre-lunch snack: two of Sarah's famous "low fat" cranberry & white chocolate oatmeal cookies. Pre-lunch snack part 2: a few pieces of dried squid. Late lunch: pho with lean tai meat, small bowl of rice with braised lean pork and quail eggs. Dinner: pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil

So, the net of this Memorial Day weekend is: A LOT of eating... but I was able to fit in some kind of work-out between meals - not that it negates all the eating, but I would still consider this a success (especially if you know how the Dangs eat...)

My Goals

I don't necessarily believe in tracking progress through weight (much less on the freakin' internet), but I'm recording it here for some level of "scientific" measurement and objectivity...

• Starting Weight: 141.6 lbs
• Starting Waist: 32 inches
• Starting Hips: 36.5 inches

....... but you know what, damnit? Today, my form-fitting shirt and slacks fit quite nicely, and cross my heart, I honestly felt I looked slimmer in them. I also could feel my hip bone under a noticeably thinner layer of skin/fat, and my stomach didn't seem to bulge out as much as it usually does.

Whatever. For the sake of science and objectivity, here are my goals:

• Lose 5 lbs before Boston trip.
• Lose 2 inches in waist.
• Lose 2 inches in hips.

Can I do it????

Monday 5/11
Elliptical Trainer - 60 min (4.8 miles)

Tuesday, 5/12
Upper body weight training
- 6 sets x 20 reps bicep curls (8 lbs, one arm each: 2 lower, 2 upper, 2 full)
- 8 sets x 20 reps tricep extensions (8 lbs, both arms together)
- 10 sets x 20 reps crunches
(Duration: 30 min)

Thursday, 5/14
NYC! A lot of walking =) .... but a lot of eating =(

Friday, 5/15
NYC! A lot of walking =) .... but a lot of eating =(

Saturday, 5/16
NYC! A lot of walking =) .... but a lot of eating =(

Sunday, 5/17
NYC! A lot of walking =) .... but a lot of eating =(

Wowzas!! It's been over 2 months since I've worked out! .... But then again, I haven't been recording that month of Bikram yoga (hot yoga in a room heated to over 100 degrees)!!! But still. Need to get back into shape. This is getting ridiculous.

Goal: Look good at Vince and Trimi's Boston wedding in June... Hmm... I should define a more specific goal, something with metrics, like with inches or pounds. TBD.

Monday, 5/4
Elliptical Trainer - 60 min (4.79 miles)

Thursday, 5/7
Elliptical Trainer - 60 min (4.80 miles)

Saturday, 5/9
Elliptical Trainer - 60 min (4.97 miles)

One month to get back into shape before Boston trip....

Getting back to running

Saturday, 2/21

• 3.02 miles - 38:13 minutes
• Average pace: 12:39 min/mile
  

February 12 - 17

• 2 days in Vancouver - BEAUTIFUL CITY

Vancouver is a BEAUTIFUL city. I think it a good balance of city and nature. I'm not much of a shopper, and even I could appreciate all the shopping options in the city. (I've never seen so many shoe stores on one street in my life.) It's nice shopping in downtown Vancouver, and looking up to see the snow-capped peaks of the mountains in the distance. You never see that in Texas.

• 3 days of snowboarding in Whistler

It was probably a really bad idea to do so much shopping and sightseeing in Vancouver because on the morning of our snowboarding trip, I woke up feeling really sore. That was not a good sign. But I still had a really good time the first couple of days, especially when you don't get to see this every day:

This picture doesn't really capture it. Whistler is really beautiful. There were many points where I just needed to stop and sit down off the side of the trail just to check out the scene.

Here I am with some random snowboarder. Just kidding. It's David hidden under that gear. (Or Vince, who knows)


This is me, defeated. On the final day, I went down one trail by myself (my fellow beginner partner had already gone home). I admitted defeat as I tumbled down the mountain, but came out a winner after deciding to get lunch, a bloody Mary, and 5 beers. It was excellent.

So, it was an amazing trip. I really want to go again, maybe again next year - after my muscles recover and my finances replenish. Not the cheapest of vacations, but worth it =)