Three Ingredients

Here we are on Wednesday.  My favorite Zumba class is today, which is perfect because Lily has dance class at the exact same time so we are always at the gym at the time Zumba starts.  I felt better today than I did last night.  Last night was rough, I was sore all over and aching.  I was dreading today because usually day two of being sore is the worst day, but today wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday.  Perhaps it was because I drank more water, or ate more protein, or did some cardio, or sat in the hot tub... or maybe it was because of all of those things.  My hamstrings were the most sore.  I arrived early for Zumba so I could spin before.  I had another 20 minutes on the schedule today and I definitely noticed that it was harder today.  For one thing my butt really hurt from sitting on the bike on Monday.  "Saddle sore" I believe they call it.  But I made it through and decided that I definitely need to do a ride on the bike I will be using in the actual race so I know how it feels and what the stationary bike should feel like since they are all adjustable. 

After my 20 minute spin (HR around 140, 166 calories burned) I stretched my hamstrings for a while before Zumba.  Then I headed over to Zumba, 55 minutes and 469 calories later I walked out sweaty, tired, and super happy.  Before Zumba class today there were some people having a conversation about work.  They were mostly complaining about work and how it was really hard to get to the gym and still get to work and one of the girls was going to only get 3 hours of sleep today, and on and on.  I found myself thinking "Wow, I am really lucky that I don't have to deal with that.  I'm glad I don't have to work and get to the gym and take care of the kids."  Then I thought Wow!  I have FINALLY embraced my chosen path!  I truly have no regrets and I am so happy that I get to stay home with the kids.  It is a whole different set of challenges, but I think I would prefer my challenges and the freedom and flexibility that staying home creates for me.  For the first time in a very long time, I was smiling just because almost the whole time in Zumba. 

After my workout I took 10 minutes to myself and sat in the lounge and tried my new Larabar, and I had 2 mandarin oranges and a diet pepsi as a treat.  I tried the Peanut butter cookie Larabar and I loved it!

The thing that amazed me the most about it was that it has only three ingredients!  I was floored.

I love dates.  I think at least five of the pounds I gained during my "off" season was due to discovering dried dates and eating them.  There are 220 calories, 12g fat, 7g protein and 4g of fiber.  A great recovery snack.  I would like to find a bar with a lot more protein in it that also uses all natural ingredients.  Many protein bars have around 17g protein up to 30g for some of the meal replacement bars and so far the two other bars I have tried only have about 7.  But I'm not complaining.  I would rather eat something with less sugar and more real ingredients. 

This afternoon I tried a new recipe from the Feel Great in 8 blog.  I made her 3 ingredient banana peanut butter oatmeal cookies which aren't really a dessert but I wanted to try them for a snack.  Here is what they looked like all mixed up

And here was my final product.  After they finished baking I realized I should have pushed them down because mine looked much different than Tiffany's

Here is the recipe on Tiffany's site

Mine look like a round ball instead of a cookie haha.  They were still great, and at only 47 calories per "cookie" they make a great snack.  I had three of them for an afternoon snack around 2:30 and I didn't feel hungry again until about 5:00.  Of course I was out and about until 5:00 trying on wetsuits which was quite the ordeal.  I had never been in a wetsuit before and so trying to get into one for the first time was a feat in and of itself.  I was sweating all over by the time I finally got into it.  I am supposed to go try on some other brands later and now I am not looking forward to it!  I don't know how I am going to get out of that thing quickly during the race.  I guess it is a good thing I will be doing several open water swims with my wetsuit on before the race.  I need practice putting it on and off!  I think in my training program there should be a training day where you put your wetsuit on before workout out because putting that thing on felt like an exercise in and of itself! 

Anyway, for dinner tonight I tried a new recipe from my WW cookbook I have called shrimp scampi and it was really great.  Of course it wasn't until later I realized I added too much butter, but I was only over by 2 tsp so I figure it wasn't too bad. 

It was a really easy recipe and tasted great.  My calorie goal was 1,480 and I ate 1,856, add in 635 for exercise and I have 259 calories remaining.  I'm debating on whether or not to eat one of those non fat frozen yogurts in the freezer.  They are only 100 calories.  Chloe will be awake until probably 11pm tonight since she napped from 2-5pm so I might eat it later, we will see.