Friday the 13th, yard sale tomorrow.

September 13, 2013
I made an appointment today to see Ken next week to get a better judge of where I am body wise. I feel great and have been working on tweaking my diet. I am finding it a bit tough to do the long elliptical work outs since summer, so I need to find a way to get back doing more cardio. I managed to get it in today by doing 2 x 20 minutes and then 10 minutes.
I am also going to keep a food diary for the next week and see where that leaves me.
I feel tired and tomorrow hasn't started yet, I guess its all the prep leading up to the yard sale tomorrow. My neighbor is going to add a few things as well, and my other neighbor that I walk her dog on Wednesday's is going to come and give me a hand.
My poor hubby is working all weekend so he will have his own fatigue. I'll let you know how the yard sale went, I am even putting a couple of paintings in it for sale.
Today's Quote:

Fall is coming

September 12, 2013
I was back at the gym again today, 3 days in a row, I did my weight routine today along with some cardio, yesterday was just a cardio day. My weight seems to be staying the same. I think I will look at my meals and see if I can tweak things just a little bit.
I came across this article on a friends website, she is a Nutritionist in Australia. Its about increasing protein during weight loss.
Consuming twice the recommended daily allowance of protein while adhering to a diet and exercise plan prevents the loss of muscle loss and promotes fat loss, scientists from the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine have found.
However, the research, which was published in the September 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, showed that tripling the recommended daily intake of protein failed to provide additional benefits.
Study method
Researchers assigned 39 young men and women controlled diets for 31 days. The diets provided protein at three different levels: the US RDA, twice the US RDA and three times the US RDA.
Participants were given adequate total calories to maintain constant body weight for the first 10 days to allow their metabolism to adapt to the dietary protein level, and then for the following three weeks, weight loss was induced by restricting the total calories and increasing daily exercise sufficiently to elicit an average two-pound weight loss per week. Body composition and measurements of muscle protein metabolism were performed at the end of both the stable weight maintenance and weight loss phases of the study.
The study participants lost body weight during the weight loss phase of the research, regardless of their protein intake. Researchers found the proportion of weight loss due to restriction in fat-free mass was lower and the loss of fat mass was higher in those receiving twice the RDA and three times the RDA compared with those who were eating the RDA.
The anabolic muscle response to a protein-rich meal during the weight loss phase was not different from the stable weight phase for both participants eating twice the protein RDA and three times the RDA. Participants eating the protein RDA, however, exhibited muscle loss during the weight loss phase. The researchers said these results, in which there were no difference between muscle loss for those eating twice and three times the RDA, showed that there were limits to the protective effect of extra protein.
“This study essentially confirms what body builders have shown us for a long time – a high protein diet helps prevent muscle loss when trying to lose fat,” said Gerald Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. “Although eating a well balanced diet is still necessary for health and weight maintenance, upping one’s protein intake when dieting might be a useful tool in the short term,” he said.
Researchers said they hoped the findings would be part of any discussion by the Institute of Medicine for the updated Dietary Reference Intakes on protein.
“We believe that the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein should be based on a level to optimise health, as well as prevent deficiencies, and our data demonstrate a potential inadequacy in the current RDA for sparing muscle mass during weight loss, which may affect a significant portion of the population,” said Stefan M. Pasiakos, Ph. D, a researcher involved in the work from the Military Nutrition Division at the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.
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Remembering the many lives lost on 11/9/2001

September 11, 2013
As I sit here today thinking back to where I was that morning. I remember my now husband calling me from Australia and asking me how close we were to the twin towers. I had just heard about it on the radio as I left my class at college. I remarked to him 8 hour drive, he was relieved. We had no idea the devastation and fight for freedom that would ensue for the next 12 years, the many young lives lost or maimed to fight for their countries. The young men that saw more than they should ever in a lifetime and will always have the terrible night mares we now know as PTSD. 
Give them the strength to carry on and give them help to do so, let them talk about their battles not cover them up with pills. I was drawn to tears while watching the amazing race this week, when a soldier told his story to raise money as a busker. These are the people we should all be looking up to. 

Art Class Starts Today

September 10, 2013
I have to give a shout out to my brother's, the had their annual Robert O'Neil Memorial Golf Tournament and raised over 2000 dollars for Breast Cancer Action Kingston. Each year since our younger brother died from a brain aneurism and they have always raised the funds for the Heart & Stroke fund, this year it was in my honor, I felt very blessed to be apart of the day.
So I was very tired yesterday and took the morning off of the gym. I was back at it today and did my half hour of cardio and then did weights for the next hour.
I have been trying to work on our retirement plan and it looks like it may happen next year, yippee, we have our eye on a nice park model home for living in here for 5 months of the year. The market is rebounding in Australia so we are thinking it may soon be time to sell there as well.
On another great note I am down a pound, yippeeeee. The weight training is paying off.
I am looking forward to learing some new skills during Art this season, I am trying out water colors.
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WOW its chilly today

September 5, 2013
I can't believe how chilly it is out, brrrr I just helped my neighbor cut up some Masonite for me to paint on, my art classes begin next Tuesday so I thought it would be good to find something cheaper to paint on, it worked out to 71 cents a piece, and you can easily cut it to regular frame sizes, but my hands are so cold, I am fighting putting on long pants and socks.
I went to the gym this morning and did 30 minutes of cardio and then did my weight routine. So far it is going well, no problems with my shoulder, hoping it stays well.
I have been thinking about food diary's and when I was taking my course on Weight Loss and Nutrition we did a big section on it, so I thought I would share a bit of info for everyone.

Benefits of a Food Diary

Keeping a food diary can benefit you in many ways because tracking what you eat and drink can keep you focused on your diet, provide motivation, increase your efficacy, and help you attain and maintain your goals. To successfully utilize a food journal, write down the food items you eat for every meal and snack, the portion sizes of all the food items, ingredients you used, and the beverages you drank. Also, include columns for where you purchased or prepared the food, what you were doing while you ate the food and how you felt after you consumed the food. For example, name the specific restaurant or note if the meal was made at home. Also, note if you were standing, watching TV, or sitting at a table and note how you felt after eating.

Accountability

Recording everything you eat provides regulation and accountability for what you put in your mouth and it helps your nutritionist, dietitian or physician have an idea of what you eat, when you eat, and where you eat. If you are deterred by the inconvenience of writing down everything you eat, there are technological advances, such as cell phone apps, that allow you to take pictures before and after your meals and snack. This will make keeping a journal faster and easier. 

Eating Balanced Meals

Journaling will point out if you need more variety. For example, you may need to eat more vegetables or more meat and less processed food. Beyond monitoring how many calories you are consuming, keeping a food journal helps you compose a meal that is balanced with healthy proportions of carbohydrates, protein and fat. You can then easily make changes to your meal composition for increased energy and balance.

Success Attaining Goals

Recording what you eat can also make you reconsider what you put in your body. This can lead to decreased caloric intake and weight loss. It also reveals if you eat larger portions than you need. If you continue to journal for an extended period of time, you will notice the changes in your food intake and you will be able to monitor the progress you made towards reaching your health goals.

Connect Food to Feelings

Make a column in your food diary that notes how the foods you eat affect you. You will find connections between certain food items you eat and how you feel afterward. For example, if you feel bloated, have constipation or excess gas after eating a meal with wheat products, like pasta or bread, you may have an intolerance to wheat or gluten, which is a protein in wheat. Also, certain foods can increase your anxiety levels while other foods may have a centering and calming effect.

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Volunteer Wednesday

Sept 04, 2013
Today is volunteer day for me at the Glebe, I will be a little late so I thought maybe I would have a little art showing, I figured that would be easier than having a rushed Tea Party. Looking forward to sharing my hard work.
I slept a bit better last night, 2 NyQuil helped, I need to try to come up with some help for my sleep I will try to do some research this afternoon.
I went to the gym today, I felt a bit sluggish, and managed 45 minutes on the elliptical machine. I need to take a few minutes and talk to Ken and see if I need to be doing anything different.
I found a great article, I thought I would share today from Shape magazine. 
It's called 8 reasons why you should lift heavier weights.
http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/8-reasons-why-you-should-lift-heavier-weights
Today's Quote:

Summer's Over

September 03, 2013
Well it was back to the gym for me today, I did 30 minutes of cardio and then tackled the weights.
I had my cortisone shots last Thursday in my shoulder, and oh what a relief it is, I feel 80% better, the best 330 bucks I have spent in a long time. I am to give it 3 weeks and see how it is doing, if I need to go back just call. The weights felt pretty good this morning, I didn't over do it, I was actually lifting a bit lower weights than where I was a month ago, I'll pick it up a bit on Friday when I do them again. I have managed to complete alot of paintings this summer. See my new one below. 

 

We will be all wanting one of these in a few months. lol 

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