Day 16 - Gaining Ground

Motivational Quote: You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. ~Michael Jordan

Last night as I was writing in my blog, it came time to state what I am doing better today. I hesitated. I didn't want to write preplanning. I knew what that meant - I would have to walk the talk. Honestly, I was tired and I didn't want to preplan. I thought about writing something easy and wouldn't take much effort. Then I asked myself, why am I not pushing past those barriers? I know when I encounter something I don't want to do that it means I should be doing it. For some reason I have a bad habit of doing this. My kitchen counter is a prime example. Everything I will eventually get to, hangs out there until I decide to get to it. But I never WANT to. This is part of what I am trying to overcome - procrastination. Reluctantly, I wrote down preplan and grudgingly went about making coffee, laying out my workout clothes, planning my workout and setting up the weight room. I gave in and didn't cut up my vegetables for this morning. It didn't set me too far behind but I didn't buy any time either. I sure could have used a few extra minutes this morning!

I am happy to say I met and won my mental challenge yesterday. I slept like a rock last night and when the alarm went off, I wanted to sleep some more! All my preplanning helped in making sure I didn't run too late. For some reason, my workout took 10 minutes longer than anticipated. I started my workout 5 minutes later than I wanted and ended up 15 minutes behind! Ahhhh.

Funny thing is people are starting to notice little stuff. I have the Bright Start program for Ian and Debbie comes over twice a month. Today, she asked if I was going somewhere because I was dressed, the dishes were done and it appeared I had done my hair and makeup. Hmmm, I guess I did. I hadn't really noticed, but I have enjoyed more energy lately and doing these little things hasn't taken much extra effort. That is sad that before it was bad enough for people to notice! AAHHHH. In case you weren't aware, I am perfect or I tried hard to make people think that! Ha ha ha. Now, I make sure I get done what needs to get done. This is a change from only doing what I wanted to do, to hell with the other stuff, I would get to it later.

Today was upper body:

CHEST: Chest Press first five, Push Up last one.

SHOULDERS: Barbell Shoulder Press first five, Side Raises last one.

BACK: Pulldown first five, Back Rows last one.

TRICEPS: Pushdowns first five, Extensions last one.

BICEPS: Dumbbell curls first five, Hammer curls last one.

This morning breakfast was egg whites (real ones), onions and bell peppers with roti bread (Indian tortillas made from whole wheat bread and water with a tiny bit of oil) my good friend Dhara made me. They tasted awesome and were very small in size so we each had two. This with coffee was delicious.

Mid morning snack at 10:00 vanilla shake with two strawberries.

Lunch was left over salmon over greens and drizzled with balsamic vinegar and one roti tortilla.

Mid afternoon snack at 3:30 was vanilla shake and two strawberries.

Dinner was another Carey Concoction: Marsala Pork Tenderloin over Rice

I love it when I create something from nothing and it actually tasted good!

1 pork tenderloin, sliced in ½ inch pieces

Seasonings:

            ½ tsp Garlic Pepper

            ½ tsp Thyme

            ½ tsp Marjoram

            ½ tsp Salt

½ onion chopped

6 garlic cloves, roasted

¾ cup Marsala wine

1 package frozen brussel sprouts

Brown rice cooked according to directions on package

Smash tenderloin pieces until about ¼ inch thick and season both sides with seasoning mix.

Heat pan and lightly spray with oil. Pan fry the tenderloin and reapply spray pan when adding a new batch. When finished, set aside.

Do not clean the pan! Add onions and sauté in the drippings for a few minutes, add garlic, wine and brussel sprouts. Cover and cook until sprouts no longer frozen and cut them in half. Return pork to pan and allow to heat through. Serve over rice and be sure and spoon the extra pan juices overtop for added flavor.

Marsala wine is a cooking wine and has a unique flavor. It keeps for months if you store in the refrigerator. I probably would have added 1 cup but I only had ¾ cup left in the bottle.

Three things I did well today:

1.      Gave my all in my exercise today, nothing like gritting my teeth and grunting my way through it!

2.      Drank my 10 glasses; and

3.      Worked through my procrastination tendencies.

One thing I am doing better tomorrow:

1.      Preplanning breakfast.