Our workout on Saturday morning with Bonne Marcus was tough! Since I had a busy day with only 45 minutes to exercise, I thought it would be easy — boy, was I wrong. She introduced a Tabata workout, and it killed us!
The workout was broken into seven sets of moves, focusing on different body parts. You do one exercise for 50 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, then do the next for 50 seconds, rest for another 10 seconds, and repeat each one another time.
The first set consisted of kettle bell swings for 50 seconds. I liked doing this because it really got my heart rate up, so I knew it was helping burn calories. The second set consisted of 50 seconds of step-ups and then 50 seconds of knee-downs, one time through on each leg. The other sets were filled with bicep, triceps, shoulders, abs and more leg exercises. It went quickly, but it was not easy to get through! We were sore before we even left her house.
I spent the rest of the day running errands and hanging out at a friend’s house. It was beautiful out that evening, so Rene and I cooked Porterhouse steaks on the grill and hung out outside. I made roasted Parmesan cauliflower and green beans to go with dinner, and it was delicious. We also drank Oktoberfest beer, which was pretty delicious, too — I only had two, though! I love that fall is almost here. I even bought a new pumpkin spice candle today.
Sunday, we were both very sore. Rene was out watching football at his friend’s house, so I got a pedicure with my mom, went food shopping with my girlfriend, and spent the day preparing dinner and lunches for the week. All in all, a very relaxing weekend.
Monday, September 9
I’m still sore! Not as bad as yesterday, but I definitely can still feel it. I took the day off from working out to rest my body. For breakfast this morning, I had two hard-boiled eggs, a small coffee with milk and sugar (I know I shouldn’t have), plus a banana for a morning snack. For lunch, I made tuna salad with low-fat mayo, which I ate on cut-up cucumbers. It was a delicious lunch with no bread needed — the cucumbers were a perfectly refreshing alternative! For dinner, we made Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats again with some garlic bread (just one piece each!).
Tuesday, September 10
This morning, I went to the gym before work and did 30 minutes on the elliptical. I tried the “Hills Plus” program on the machine and really enjoyed it. I burned about 330 calories in just 30 minutes, so it was very rewarding. For breakfast, I had a banana walnut muffin and an iced skinny latte — I found a recipe on Pinterest for these muffins, and they have no flour! The recipe calls for old-fashioned oats, low-fat Greek yogurt, two eggs, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and two bananas. I added chopped walnuts on the top. The muffins were so tasty and very filling. For lunch, I had tuna salad with cucumber again, and for dinner, I made minestrone soup from Skinnytaste. I had the soup cooking in the Crock-Pot all day, so it was ready when I got home from work. Before eating, though, Rene and I ran through the Tabata workout Bonne gave us on Saturday, and it was just as hard as it was then! I’m happy we made it through.
I was craving a sweet treat after dinner, so I had a 100-calorie frozen greek yogurt. It definitely hit the spot. I highly recommend these:
Wednesday, September 11
I took a spin class this morning, which was great, and had a pretty normal day at work. For breakfast, I had my usual, and for lunch, I ate leftover pasta. After work, I met my girlfriends Heather and Gina for dinner. We went to Sakura in Farmingdale for sushi. I had a small side garden salad with ginger dressing, an order of shrimp shumai, and five pieces of sashimi. I also shared a large sake and had half of a Sapporo beer so I could have a few sake bombs (how could I not?!). We had a nice dinner, and I didn’t over eat or drink, so it was a success.
Thursday, September 12
I took another spin class this morning! I was so afraid last night I wouldn’t wake up on time, because I was out late, but I had my bag packed and ready to go with workout clothes laid out, so it made it much easier. I make sure to do that every night before an early morning gym sesh. That way, I don’t need to run around the apartment looking for everything and trying to get out the door. For dinner tonight, I made tilapia over sautéed spinach and asparagus. Yummy!
Friday, September 13
Yom Kippur begins at sundown tonight, so Rene and I are going to temple for the first time since I was a little girl. My aunt (and also my trainer) Bonne and uncle are taking us with them to the Community Synagogue in Port Washington for the service. We met them for dinner at the diner first, where I had grilled chicken over vegetables. At the synagogue, they had set up tents with speakers and screens right outside, where we were able to sit and observe the service. It was really nice, and I’m so happy I went. Rene and I plan to get married by a Rabbi next year, so it feels good to start observing the traditions and holidays. Tonight also starts a fast until tomorrow at sundown, so wish us luck! Hope everyone who celebrated had an easy and meaningful fast.
—Jennifer Crow
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