Today at the gym: Chest and triceps. Again, these exercises are at 12 reps 3 sets: Bench Press 80lbs, Dumbell press 20lbs, chest flyes 8lbs. I do dips on the Gravitron machine, a nifty gadget that has counterweights so girly girls like me can do dips and chin-ups. I did 3 sets of 12 dips with 70lbs of help. Then Tricep pulldowns on a cable machine at 40 pounds then tricep flatbar pulldowns on a cable machine at 55 pounds. I then did stiff-legged deadlifts with 95 pounds. Yikes, those were heavy. I need to ease off just a little (maybe just 80-85 pounds), do more reps, then work up. Really my form is good - I'm more worried about my grip. I don't like wrist wraps.

I ran a bit better: 1.87 miles in 20 minutes. My personal best is 2 miles in 19 minutes. I'd like to get 2 miles in 18 minutes - that would beat my best time in the military which was almost 20 years ago. Hey, with my athsma and stubby little legs I'm happy I can run at all.


Since I spent the majority of yesterday blathering about my movie watching habits, I'll spend today yammering about another of my interests.

My interests, by the way, are watching movies, cooking, weightlifting, skydiving, and scuba diving. Not neccessarily in that order. Today I choose cooking.

Top Ten Food Staples at My House

Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: When the grocery store has these I stock up because it's a pain to bone and skin them myself. Chicken thigh meat tastes better than chicken breast and it's almost impossible to overcook. Sure it has a few more calories but big deal.

Tuna, Eggs, Cottage Cheese: Yes, I should list these separately, but this is the holy trinity of the standard dieter. All are low in fat and high on protein. I bounce between these three all the time for breakfast/lunch foods. I do not use mayonnaise for Tuna, by the way. Mayo was invented by some French guy who wanted to see just how much oil he could whisk into a raw egg. It turns out to be quite a bit. Any ways, this sounds gross, but two tablespoons of Pace Medium Salsa added to a can of light tuna makes a tasty lunch for me.

Splenda: The greatest culinary contribution from Canada since rapeseed oil (called "Canola Oil" because no one thought anyone would want to buy something called "Rapeseed Oil". Probably a good move). Splenda is the market name for Sucralose, a sugar substitute. I like it's taste a thousand times better than nutrasweet and a bazillion times better than saccharine. And unlike Nutrasweet, I can cook with it. I will also add to this category DaVinci Syrups, who make syrups based on Sucralose. I'm especially addicted to their vanilla syrup which Wal-Mart carries. You can order from the ir site, just be aware they do carry sugar based syrups as well.

Paul Newman Dressings: These dressings are consistently made with low carb counts, natural ingredients, AND he gives all his profits to charity. As close to guilt-free eating as you will ever get. I put these dressings on Romaine lettuce salads. Romaine just tastes better than Iceberg.

Butter: Nothing beats the taste of real butter. Nothing! Most people don't realize this, but margarine only offers one benefit over butter: it's cheaper. It's not healthier, it's not lower in calories, and it certainly doesn't taste better.

Cheese: In the whirlwind of arguments pro and con about the various diets, when the dust clears and only truth remains on the battlefield, I am on a low-carb diet because I can finally eat cheese again. In my house, Edam, Gouda, Cheddar and Pepper Jack are commonly found. I also buy mozarella string cheese for my husband. His favorite is Borden's.

Turkey Italian Sausage: I don't know why, but these have become a favorite. A few sausage links, a cup of cooked spaghetti squash, and Alfredo sauce. Yum!

Hodgson Mill Oat Bran: It's what's for breakfast on Gym days. I mentioned I was doing a Targeted Ketogenic Diet. This diet is simply eating a few more carbs before working out. It helps increase my endurance some. Oat bran also has plenty of fiber; getting enough is always a problem on a ketogenic diet. Cook some up - add a pat of butter and a packet of splenda.

Other meats: Including pork chops, ribeye steaks, chicken leg quarters, corned beef, and whatever I can grab on sale. This leads to:

A varied spice rack: I have said it before and I'll say it again. Other spices exist apart from chili powder. Oregano, cumin, cayenne, and thyme get the biggest workout in my kitchen, as well as chili powder and curry powder. I also use cilantro, parsely, and basil which I buy fresh.

Garlic: Hey! This is number 11! But how could I leave out garlic, the god of tasty foods and bad breath?

I should also list the most common vegetables: Romaine lettuce, zucchini, broccoli, sugar snap peas, celery, bell pepper and onion. My husband is not a big vegetable fan so I don't experiment with vegetables nearly as often as I'd like.

Out of everything here, this constitutes pretty much my entire diet. I keep trying to find new recipes, like yesterday I made tandoori chicken. Interesting spices for the tandoori: onion, garlic, cinnamon, allspice, cumin, and turmeric. Also a little cream, olive oil, and lemon juice. I tasted it after it was done and thought something was missing: I added some cayenne and it was dead-on. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

I should mention this: how ever did I get along before I bought a George Foreman grill?