It's Friday!

First I have to apologize. I HATE the stupid word verifications when you go to leave a comment and for the longest time I had it turned off.

Slowly I have been getting Spam comments...some I admit were pretty entertaining...but it was getting worse and worse on a daily basis.

SO I decided that in order not to get 5+ Spam comments a day on really old posts, that I needed to turn back on the word verifications.

If you are like me and hate that, sorry. But I have a valid reason and I hope it doesnt keep you from commenting.

On to yesterday.

Thursday morning I was feeling pretty good and pretty much back to normal. But as the morning wore on, I started to get stomach cramps here or there. Some actually pretty intense. Think childbirth contraction type pain but more in your stomach/low rib cage area. Ugh. It came and went and I wasnt throwing up so I could deal with it.

I decided that because I wasnt throwing up that I would go to the gym, walk for an hour and then do RPM with light resistance. I had messaged Eric earlier and ask him what he thought and he gave me clearance as long as I did RPM about 50-70% of what I normally do. So off to the gym that evening I went.

I got to the gym and quickly claimed a treadmill. They are still pretty scarce after the first of the year. Hate to say it but I cant wait for all these resolution people to quit so I can get a decent parking spot or get a treadmill or get a spot in class.

Anyways, I digress. I ended up doing 3.39 miles WALKING with an incline of 4.0-5.0 at 4.2 mph.

Then with RPM I just took it nice and easy. A lighter resistance and I didnt go as fast. I was pretty much ok thru the whole thing. Got a light sweat and tried to keep my cycling in my zone as best as I could without killing myself. And then we got to the Mountain Track which is the last working track in the hour. Oh baby. I thought I might throw up. You stand, you sit, you bounce...Usually it is my favorite track but not last night.

I managed to hold it together and got thru the whole class.

In the two hours I was at the gym I only ended up burning 673 calories. BUT I consider that good. When I would first start walking or cycling my stomach would cramp up pretty severely. After a few minutes it would subside and I would be fine from there on out....but let me tell you. Those first minutes I was really trying to figure out what I was doing there. That I should just quit. But I love the gym so much that I decided to try it and if it didnt get better after 10 minutes then I would stop and go home. Well by 10 minutes I was fine so I just kept going.

This morning I weighed in at 156.0. Only two pounds from goal weight. I am very excited I am almost there again.

Tonight I am going to see how my stomach does. If it is fine during the day, I am going to do light running at 5.0. Then I have Zumba. And then I will walk for a bit after Zumba and work with Eric at 7. Busy night! But I am looking forward to it. The biggest challenge is to not have the weekend unravel all my hard work this week.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Tip of the Day:

8 Facts about BROCCOLI!!!!  Courtesy of Juicing Vegetables on FB

Did you know that broccoli is one of the most studied vegetable? Thanks to it’s high phytochemicals and it’s ability to fight against disease, it’s regarded as a superfood.
Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family. It is one of the most nutrient dense foods. Packed with vitamin C and has anticancer effects. When selecting broccoli to juice, look for dark green broccoli or purplish heads. The stalks should be firm. Avoid broccoli with wilted, yellow or soft leaves since their nutritional content is low.

Here are 8 nutritional facts about broccoli.

1. Beta-Carotene

Beta-carotene is regarded as a powerful antioxidant because it can help neutralize damaging free radicals. Beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body. Beta-carotene is good for vision, immunity and overall health.

2. Calcium

Broccoli doesn’t contain any fat nor is it a dairy product but it’s packed with calcium. Calcium is essential for bones, muscles, nerves, hormones and enzymes that affects every function in the body.

3. Dithioethiones

Dithioethiones are anticancer agents that may help stimulate glutathione. Glutathione is an antioxidant that helps neutralize free radicals.

4. Folate

Folate is a vitamin B which can lower risks for cancer and birth defects. Folate may also help reduce the risk of heart disease due to it’s ability to control homocysteine. Homocysteine is an amino acid that is linked to heart disease.

5. Glucosinolates

Broccoli contains glucosinolates. When you eat broccoli glucosinolates are broken down into different health promoting compounds such as indoles, sulforaphan and isothiocyanates which all can help prevent cancer. Isthiocyanates helps stimulate the body’s own natural anticancer compounds and may also help fight carcinogens that are in smoke. Sulforaphane is a powerful phytochemical that can increase anticancer activity and also can reduce tumor formation.

6. Insoluble Fiber

Who doesn’t love fiber? Broccoli is packed with insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber helps “push” everything out of the system and prevents constipation.

7. Lutein

Lutein is a carotenoid that that can help prevent colon cancer and macular degeneration.

8. Potassium

Potassium is great for blood pressure regualtion and decreases the risk of having a stroke. One cup of broccoli contains 456 mg or 15% of the Daily Value (Barone et. al 2002).