Mondays Are Hard

I did gasp a little when I got on the gym scale this afternoon. 113.4 lbs is several pounds from where I want to be. Of course, indulging in fatty, salty foods and adult beverages over the weekend will garner me no sympathy. My hubs decided he wanted to host a Spring BBQ in our yard and proceeded to brine, and smoke a picnic pork shoulder.

We also got some authentic Polish kielbasa, and ingredients for the Dutch Oven chili that he's so fond of. This time, he added sausage to the meatloaf mix and a bit more cayenne. We served it up with Annie's mac 'n cheese, stuffed green olives (blue cheese or pickled garlic), assorted hard cheeses, beer, apple ale and pear cider. The pear cider (Crispin) was a big hit, especially since it's so difficult to come by. Type "pear cider" into Google and I'm surprised at how many brands there are. I don't see this kind of variety in actual stores, not even at the beer distributor. We've tried a lot of brands and discounted them, like Magners. And since Woodchuck apple cider is super syrupy, I've got no faith that their pear is any better...

We also gave everyone a taste of KAS, a locally-brewed honey liquor. It's ridiculously smooth, but probably an acquired taste. Earlier in the week, we tried some organic dry mead (Ragnar's Dry Mead by HoneyRun Winery in California), but that had a rough kick to it. At 12%, it needed to be watered the way Vikings drank it. It's nothing like the ubiquitous Carroll's Mead, which is found at every Ren Faire. I'm not fond of that cloying sweetness, but in a Ren Faire BeeSting (mead and hard cider) it's pleasant enough.

A friend who had been into Intermittent Fasting (IF) and had lost quite a bit of weight, seems to have gained some of it back. "Are you still doing IF?" I ask. His reply, "Intermittently." He didn't seem willing to discuss it but I'm curious as to why he's quit. He still visits the sauna on a regular basis, while his son does 6-minute planks (why? maybe just because he can). His father seems to be exercising vicariously. Not quite sure what to make of it... My hubs is still on the low carb kick, and tries to convert other people. He's a bit of a zealot right now. Luckily, or unluckily, I don't handle fats too well. Avocados seem to be okay, but other things, like Swiss cheese and fast food burgers, give me bellyaches.

A friend gave us several dozen eggs from his multitude of chickens. I don't think I've ever seen yolks this big or rise this high in the bowl. The golden color was stunning, and the eggs stayed yellow when I scrambled and ate them for breakfast. The dog got some too in spite of the high fat content of egg yolks. He's still recovering from dealing with a houseful of noisy boys and a yard full of people. I also managed to fool him into eating a Proin® tablet last night, and again this morning. He's never taken a full dose (2X a day) before so I need to keep an eye on him to make sure he's not having any adverse reactions. He didn't want to eat this morning, but giving him his monthly chewable Heartguard® tablet seemed to wet his appetite. He ate his slice of deli chicken (with the Metacam) and picked all the hearts and gizzards out of the boiled rice. And then he had two slices of Oatbran toast, and eggs.

It's a Push Day and I purposely get to the gym late because I don't want to wrestle over equipment. I'm also tired. (Even with earplugs, I had trouble sleeping through my husband's snoring. He doesn't always snore, but last night he was super loud.) Tomorrow I might just stay home though because the spools of thread I ordered from Amazon have arrived and I intend to learn how to sew a hem. I've got a good dozen pairs of pants in a basket waiting for me! The world is changing and not always for the better. It wasn't that long ago when you could always buy thread locally, at Kmart or at the grocers. Now, the only thread you can buy there are in tiny travel repair kits. Ugh.

I get on a cross-trainer and realize that it feels different from some of the other machines. My mileage is better even though I'm not pushing all that hard. Still, I'm sweaty and a little winded when I'm done. After some stretching, I ready myself for pull ups. I see a guy up on the cardio platform and he's smiling. Weird. I've noticed him before because white hoodies aren't all that common, especially ones that look like twill. Is it because I'm about to do pull ups? I get to 30 and skip Core to grab the Smith machine. I type Core into my phone just to remind me not to leave without doing it. Because that's almost happened.

My shoulder still isn't totally recovered from the labral insult. I get through all my sets though. The gym is more crowded than I expect. Mostly guys. Two women. Ugh. At least I can finish with V-bar cable press downs. And then I remember that I have to do Core. Whoops. But at least I'm on the Mat, so it's easy to transition to the Mat Stretch.

Push Monday

30 x-trainer
Calories 242
Miles 3.69

HGPU 30
Push-ups 60

Smith Inclined Press
Bar (30) x 15
50 x 12
70 x 12
80 x 12
90 x 12
70 x 25
60 x 25

DB Laterals s/s Rev Incl Flyes
25lbs x 8/15 reps x 3 sets

Rip Skulls
40lbs x 12 reps x 3 sets

V-bar Press Downs
40lbs x 12, 12, 11

Elbow Plank 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Bicycles 50
Crunches 40/30