Stretch and Strengthen Sunday

Guess what I did this morning?

Learned to separate an egg white from an egg...

four whites. 

...and used my new(ish) Paula Dean griddle...

bubbly!

...to make protein pancakes!

SO GOOD!

Yes, I ate them all. They were thin and a little crispy, CHOCK FULL (50 g!) of protein, and the perfect (though a bit too large...almost 500 calories, but only 4.5 g of fat) breakfast to fuel me up for my morning workout! I've been counting calories for years, and just recently realizing (in an "omg, DUH" fashion) that I need more calories to fuel my longer workouts! Though many weight-loss websites (Sparkpeople.com, Myfitnesspal.com) recommend a 1200 calorie diet for weight-loss, that's just not realistic if I want to survive my workouts! I'm shooting for 1500. So, though that breakfast was HUGE, and I could have totally eaten half and been  moderately satisfied, it wouldn't have gotten me through a big workout, and I would have been snacking by 10:00am. This big breakfast left me satisfied, not overly full, and I was just starting to get hungry when we had lunch at 1:00pm.

Anyway! After my belly had some time to digest that massive breakfast, I headed to the gym.
I completed:
-25 minutes (8 miles) on a bike...1 minute intervals going back and forth between level 10 and level 15. SWEATY.
-15 minutes on a stairclimber. Holy crap, I forgot how much that hurts so good.
-45 minute Stretch and Strengthen yoga class! My timing was perfect to pop into this 45 minute class. The instructor was calm and mellow, and she lead us through a full body stretch, starting with neck and shoulders, and moving to hips and core. It was AWESOME.

After leaving the gym, I picked up Ben for a quick trip to BJ's for some pantry groceries, milk, and odds and ends. We stopped at Qdoba for lunch, and I choose 2 items from the "You Pick Two" menu: a naked chicken salad (lettuce, fat free dressing, chicken, pico, and corn salsa) and two soft tacos (cilantro rice, pinto beans, lettuce, pico, and a TEENY sprinkle of cheese).  I finished one taco and most of the salad, and Ben helped me with the rest. He such a good friend to me. :)

Messy, but delish!

Now, we're home and I'm munching on a bowl of berries and relaxing! Thinking about going for a run this evening, after it hopefully cools down a bit! We'll see. North Carolina is SO HOT these days. T-Minus 5 days until our trip to Michigan to see our families! It should be much cooler there, thank goodness!

*A very Happy Father's Day to my Dad! Can't wait to see you in just a few short days! LOVE YOU!*

<3