There was lots of prep work and cooking this past week as I made several of YaYu’s favorite dishes before her departure. I am frankly looking forward to cutting back on my time in the kitchen, or at the least not having to make as much food as I have been. Leftovers always got eaten, but we have had to stay on it.
I have been finding myself craving sweets more than usual this past week and am not sure what’s up with that. It’s been an effort to not go looking for something to snack on and I hope this is only a temporary thing. For so long that one small dessert at night has been enough, but I wanted more this week for some reason (but didn’t give in, thank goodness).
Sunday: InstantPot chicken adobo with bok choy; steamed rice; butter mochi with white chocolate-raspberry ice cream
Monday: Chili pork burritos; Mexican slaw; butter mochi with white chocolate-raspberry ice cream
Tuesday: Japanese chicken curry with vegetables; German chocolate cake
Wednesday: Chili pork quesadillas; German chocolate cake
Thursday: Spaghetti w/marinara and grilled Italian sausages; roasted zucchini; German chocolate cake
Friday: Snake Alley noodles; cucumbers; German chocolate cake
Saturday: Sausage & vegetable mini pizzas; fruit salad; German chocolate cake
This coming week’s menu, in no particular order:
- Loco moco (we had this last night, for YaYu’s final meal here)
- Panzanella salad with chickpeas and feta cheese
- Cuban bowls
- Pork & pepper stir fry
- Grilled flank steak; stuffing
- Steak sandwiches with sautéed onions
- Roasted red pepper and tomato soup with toasted cheese sandwiches
Vegetable sides will be what’s on hand (which is not much right now) and what I can find this week at the farmers’ market. We’ll run out of German chocolate cake mid-week but I’m planning to fix a pan of gingerbread next which we’ll have with Monkeypod Jam lemon curd.
With Brett still in quarantine until Thursday, and YaYu leaving today, I’ll be walking on my own for the next few days, and I’m frankly not looking forward to it – I like having company. Hopefully the weather will hold – we got lucky last week and there was no rain in the afternoons so YaYu and I walked every day (we took last Monday off though, and I’m taking today off as well). We didn’t walk as far as Brett and I typically do (3.5 miles versus 4.6) but we still got in a good workout. I’ll be continuing with the 3.5 mile route until Brett joins me again on Friday and then we’ll kick it up again. As much as we have struggled with the cooler weather at home it has made walking easier and more comfortable up at the park.
I was finally ready yesterday to kick up my upper body strength training routine as well. This past week I started counting the YouTube instructor’s reps and discovered he was very inconsistent. He would do six reps with one arm, for example, and then 10 with the other arms. Or, 12 reps with one exercise, and 18 with another, and so forth. I have the routine memorized and started doing on my own yesterday with a more consistent 20 reps for each exercise. Progress!
The Occasional Nomads 
I like walking with company too. Even if we don’t talk, and we normally don’t the whole way, I like to have someone to point things I see out to, and walking with Mr S helps me walk faster.
That uneven number of reps would do my head in! Keep pumping!
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I am the faster walker between Brett and me (he calls me a “quick stepper”). We walk for over an hour now, and some days we talk the whole way, other times we just enjoy each other’s company. I’m often out in front of him anyway as some of the trails aren’t very wide.
I could tell something was off with the reps long before I decided to count. I’m enjoying the routine more now that I’m doing even reps.
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Yes – even number of reps only!
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Agree!
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This motivates me to get back to eating better, watching my portion sizes & walking more. I look forward to reading your staying healthy posts. I tend to get a little SAD (seasonal affective disorder) during Jan & Feb.
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The pictures are of my plates – Brett (and YaYu) got a little more. Measuring my servings has made a world of difference – I really was eating way too much before.
I suffered from SAD back when we lived in Portland – thankfully it’s been banished here, but I do get a little down still if it rains for more than a couple of days. Rain usually arrives at night though, thank goodness, which lets us get out almost every day to walk.
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Uuf. I need to get back on a good food plan. We had to go up north for a funeral this week and it really threw me off. Somehow I find croissants and donuts very comforting when I’m stressed. 🙃 And of course, the single digit temps and snow don’t really invite me outdoors for long walks.
Interesting feedback on that strength training video you linked. I tried it and was going to go back to it, so I’ll have to pay attention to his counting. 😊
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Taking a picture of what we eat each day has greatly helped me to refocus on what we eat, and also on portion size! Hopefully the pictures don’t bore everyone to death. I also wish I had a good place with good lighting to take pictures, but not in this apartment.
I read something after we left France: “If you eat a croissant or two every morning for breakfast, it doesn’t matter how much you walk. You WILL gain weight.” I cut back my consumption to every other day, but that didn’t help much, nor did big cones filled with gelato every day in Florence.
At first I didn’t notice, and then is sort of grew on my that things were out of whack with the number of reps and I started counting. I was shocked how different things were – I think he was concentrating more on pace during a set period of time than on actually getting in an equal number of reps. Otherwise I think it’s a great session!
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