Love, Sweat, and Beers

I rocked the gym yesterday. Seriously. I owned that place. After a short warm up, I completed my regular leg workout. I followed that with 30 minutes of stair-steppin’. Let’s just say that stair climber now knows who’s boss.

I’m happy with the way I’ve been packing on muscle lately, but I’m always careful not to over-do it with legs. That’s the only part of me that can bulk; though I must admit, even my legs don’t actually bulk all that much. Too many days of heavy lifting and too many days of bike (spin class aside) and/or stair climber can have a huge impact. For that reason, I’ll probably complete the same leg workout next week with 3 sets of 12 reps for each exercise. I may also skip the stair climber. Don’t worry; I’ll be back at it the following week!

***Here’s a little tidbit of info – those with pear shapes should shy away from stair climbers and stationary bikes. These machines build the muscles you want to slim. The machines give many people a great rear view, but if you want to minimize any pear-ness, I’d limit stair climbing and stationary biking (spin class aside) to less than once per two weeks. I also happen to think stair machines with actual turning steps are the best steppers for lower body shaping.

I proceeded to consume loads of protein throughout the day. For my 1366 calories (a wee bit low, but not too much considering weekend splurges), I had 77 grams of protein. Sweeeeet. Sadly, my sodium was a bit high, but that’s okay every once in a while. This dinner helped with my muscle recovery.

Okay, that wasn’t my real dinner. I made this tenderloin roast last night, and that’s the entire roast. My dinner was more like this.

Yeah, that’s a lunch plate, not a huge dinner plate. Can you believe that’s 3.5 oz of beef? No, a better question is, can you believe that’s a recommended “portion?” I know that 12-oz restaurant steaks are ridiculous, but I guess it takes a while to re-train your brain from those gargantuan servings.

To wrap up the post, I just haaaaaad to share some links I’m loving.

1. Regarding the small plates… I love this Small Plate Movement. I recommend it to everyone!
2. I enjoyed reading Runner’s World’s healthy approach to weight loss. No gimmicks here.
3. I also can’t wait to try a few of Martha Stewart’s eggplant recipes, like this one or this one.

Have you heard of the Small Plate Movement? Do you follow “recommended” portions?