Friday, October 7, 2011, 09:45 AM
So, while walking up and down hills, slogging through knee deep mud and filtering water from trickling streams, I started a Top 10 list in my head. Over the several day hike, I forgot a couple, so it turned into a Top 8 list. So without further ado, what I learned on this most recent hiking trip.
Top 8 Things I Learned While Hiking
1. Going uphill sucks. The steeper the hill and the heavier the pack is directly proportional to suckiness.
2. Going downhill is not necessarily better. It can suck just as much as uphill depending on steepness of the downward slope and amount of killer tree roots. The weight of the pack doesn't really effect the suckiness of going downhill, but how the weight is distributed can effect how much the downhill hike sucks.
3. Uphill still sucks.
4. Gatorade flavor packets can make water filtered from any location taste good. Lake, river, stream or creek...it doesn't matter where the water comes from, it will always taste like Fruit Punch or Glacial Freeze and not like river water, or creek water with a hint of mud.
5. Blister packs can be a hikers best friend. Especially if said hiker bought brand new boots and neglected to break them in before the long hike.
6. Coyotes are freaky animals, especially right after sunset right outside your campsite.
7. Chipmunks and squirrels. I had something witty at some point and wrote down "Something about chipmunks" on my piece of paper. But I have no idea. So I will just say that they really like chirping at you for the 15 minutes you're stopped to filter water and eat a snack. Oh, and running in front of you when you're trying to observe the beauty of the surrounding landscape. And rustling the leaves in your campsite as they run around and you keep thinking it's a coyote in your camp.
8. Trails are 99% hard and compacted dirt. If you are following the trail and it suddenly becomes soft and squishy, you're probably off trail and should turn around and check your surroundings for trail blazings again. (this only happened once...thank goodness. And in our defense, the leaves covered the ground and made it hard to follow the trail between markers at times.)
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( 2.7 / 25 )Thursday, June 16, 2011, 08:00 PM
Another day down. 4th day in a row working out. Yesterday my legs were a blob after 40 minutes of continuous cardio on the elliptical and bike. Today, my arms. I killed my arms lifting today. That's good though. Muscle burns fat. Foodwise, it was another good day. Got to grill out, which I love during summer.
Breakfast:
French toast made with 2 slices of light whole grain bread, 1 egg, 4oz fat free milk and topped with 1 TBSP of light sugar free syrup, 1C strawberries and 1 banana
Total Calories:296
Lunch:
Whole wheat noodles, 2/3C tomato sauce with no salt added, 2.9oz ground sirloin, 2C broccoli, 2C Spring Mix Salad w/ spinich, 1 TBSP Russian dressing
Total Calories: 454
Dinner:
4.1 oz grilled chicken, 1 corn on the cobb grilled with 1 tsp light butter, 1 medium size baked potato with 1 tsp light butter, just under 1C broccoli, 2C salad with 1TBSP dressing
Total Calories: 505
Total Calories for the day: 1255
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( 2.9 / 25 )Wednesday, June 15, 2011, 07:05 PM
Day 3 of the photo food blog. I decided to go mexican for dinner tonight, so the calories were a little higher than normal. I could do it though cause I kicked my own ass doing 40 minutes of cardio. I was going to forgo the fat free refried beans, but I am super sore from 3 days of workouts and figured I could use the extra protien, even at the sacrifice of calories. For snack, I had a greek yogurt with fruit on the bottom, right after my workout.
Breakfast:
1 egg, over easy, 2 slices of toast with 2 tsp light butter, 1C strawberries and 1 banana
Total Calories: 296
Lunch:
6 slices Oscar Mayer deli sliced roast beef, 1 slice fat free cheese, 1 inner leaf of green leaf lettuce, 1 3/4oz bag of baked doritos, a nectarine and a 90 calorie Fiber One brownie
Total Calories: 395
2 Ortega Whole Grain corn shells, 4 oz hamburger meat with Ortega taco seasoning 40% less sodium, 1 leaf of green leaf lettuce, 1/4 cup of shredded colby and monterey jack cheese, 1/2 cup fat free refried beans
Total Calories: 504
Total Daily Calories (-snack): 1195
Daily Total with snack: 1315
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( 3.1 / 19 )Tuesday, June 14, 2011, 06:42 PM
Another day down. Another three meals photographed for posterity. I was really hungry this morning when I woke up, so breakfast was a little more calorie laden than usual, but still within my acceptable range. I ended up eating a powerbar before my workout today, as I had a 5.5 hour lag time between lunch and gym, and I was starving. So the powerbar was the key to getting through a 55 minute workout.
Breakfast:
Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal w/ 4 oz fat free milk, english muffing with sugar free jelly, 1C fresh strawberries, 4 oz milk
Total Calories: 437
Lunch:
Whole wheat flatbread wrap, 6 slices smoked turkey breast, 1 slice fat free cheese, lettuce, 3 oz baby carrots and 1 1oz package for baked ruffles
Total Calories: 295
Dinner:
Whole wheat slimwich bun, 3 oz lean sirloin hamburger (90/10), fat free cheese, lettuce, 2 slices fresh cantelope, 1 1oz package of Sunchips Cheddar Harvest
Total Calories: 453
Total Calories for the day (minus powerbar): 1185
(with power bar: 1425)
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( 3 / 26 )Monday, June 13, 2011, 07:10 PM
So I wanted to photo blog the food that I eat for a week so if I ever get the urge to go back to how I was eating, I can look and see that healthy food can be just as satisfying as the ikcy stuff (my new name for fast food and processed food). I'll list out the calories of each meal and hopefully show that you can have a full and healthy meal for around or under 500 calories.
Breakfast
Whole grain english muffin with sugar free grape jelly, orange and 8oz glass of milk.
Total Calories: 329
Lunch
Homemade pizza made with whole wheat flatbread and turkey pepperoni, fat free mozzarella cheese, salad with 1 TBSP Russian dressing, apple, strawberry greek yogurt.
Total Calories: 531
* I had to bump up my calories on lunch because of my hour long workout. The way I count calories is I start off already in a deficit, so I have to eat back all of my exercise calories to equal a net total of 1300 a day.
Dinner
Pork chop( 3.4 oz), 3 slices of cantelope, 2/3 c green beans, corn on the cob grilled with 1 Tsp light butter and salad with 1 TBSP Russian dressing.
Total Calories: 423
Total Calories for entire day: 1283
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