Exercise Stuff + Evil Chocolate Cake
When I disappear for a few days - from the blog, that is - it usually means that I either haven't had the time/inclination to cook much or that I've been slacking off on the diet/exercise front and don't want to face up to it. Well, this time it's a little bit of both. My work schedule has been such that I haven't been home for dinner, and not cooking much. I've been eating very randomly, erring on the side of not enough (check hell for snowcones!)... until last night when I decided to bake a cake. Now I have eaten four - yes, FOUR - pieces of cake in the last 24 hours. Luckily there are only three left, so one way or another this delicious menace isn't long for the world.
And I seem to have been struck by a disease that renders me incapable of waking up in the morning, which has put a serious kink in my workout schedule. I've only gotten in two runs and one strength training session this week. Bad. It's still more than I ever used to do, though. And I completely changed up my strength training routine, so I've been sore for the last three days. You don't realize quite how accustomed you get to doing certain exercises until you try something different and then find that you can't lift your arms over your head without crying the next day.
Also! I got a stability ball. It's pretty exciting. I wanted it specifically for ab stuff, because I want to do more ab work but doing it on the floor really hurts my tailbone for some reason. Possibly because it's a floor, and therefore hard and uncomfortable. Or it could be something else, who knows. Anyway, I'll definitely use it for ab stuff, but I think it's going to add a lot to my workouts in general. It's a lot of fun to just roll around on too.
And now I leave you with this delicious piece of cake, because this is a food blog after all.
P.S. Don't frost the cake with peanut butter frosting when it's still hot. Your lovely peanut buttery fudgey frosting will turn into weird, melty, tummy-upsetting stuff. Don't fret, though. A night in the fridge will mostly fix it.
This cake is your standard Wacky/Crazy Cake plus the peanut butter frosting from Veganmania.
And I seem to have been struck by a disease that renders me incapable of waking up in the morning, which has put a serious kink in my workout schedule. I've only gotten in two runs and one strength training session this week. Bad. It's still more than I ever used to do, though. And I completely changed up my strength training routine, so I've been sore for the last three days. You don't realize quite how accustomed you get to doing certain exercises until you try something different and then find that you can't lift your arms over your head without crying the next day.
Also! I got a stability ball. It's pretty exciting. I wanted it specifically for ab stuff, because I want to do more ab work but doing it on the floor really hurts my tailbone for some reason. Possibly because it's a floor, and therefore hard and uncomfortable. Or it could be something else, who knows. Anyway, I'll definitely use it for ab stuff, but I think it's going to add a lot to my workouts in general. It's a lot of fun to just roll around on too.
And now I leave you with this delicious piece of cake, because this is a food blog after all.
P.S. Don't frost the cake with peanut butter frosting when it's still hot. Your lovely peanut buttery fudgey frosting will turn into weird, melty, tummy-upsetting stuff. Don't fret, though. A night in the fridge will mostly fix it.
This cake is your standard Wacky/Crazy Cake plus the peanut butter frosting from Veganmania.
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um. YUM. i just had my 25th birthday party today. it was a "little-kid-at-heart" style park BBQ with vegan burgers, corn on the cob, and my mom baked vegan cupcakes and everything. and guess what kind they were? chocolate with peanut butter frosting. mmmmm...peanut butter chocolate. you and i are kin, it seems!
Posted by
holiday at sea |
2:51 AM
I love those stability balls. They are great for abs and so many other things.
Posted by
Grace |
8:47 AM
That is a beautiful, beautiful cake. I have the rushing around/what's a real meal problem on the weekends during lunch time - unless there's leftovers I lose my mind as to what I eat besides chips + salsa or a really late brunch to tide me over. You've seen my brunches - they're not quite healthy, though I try to throw fruit in.
Posted by
jess (of Get Sconed!) |
1:18 PM
Stability balls rock! There is a class at my gym that JUST uses the ball for all sorts of resistance, crunches, weights, etc. My favourite exercise is where you sit on the ball but you sort of lean forward so your inner thighs are completely touching the ball and squeezing it. You squeeze for a 10 count a couple times, and when you think you can't squeeze anymore, you squeeze even tighter! Try it. :)
>> You don't realize quite how accustomed you get to doing certain exercises until you try something different and then find that you can't lift your arms over your head without crying the next day.
Soooooo true. And once your body is used to it you stop seeing results. Losing weight is all about continually shocking your body. I did a Sculpt class last week after weeks of doing my usual three day weights routine and let me tell you, I nearly died. My inner thighs and butt were hurting (in a good way) for the next 3 days.
Posted by
kat |
2:02 PM
that stability ball will be one of the best additions to your workouts, ever. those things are magic (and great to sit on, too).
Posted by
essteeyou |
2:06 PM
Cake is Evil! That is totally why I wasn't totally upset about not having one on my birthday. Although I am not totally free from sin... Yesterday, in all her loving ingenuity, my mother made the most rockin delish vegan chocolate challah bread. I came home from work and was assaulted by its chocolatey goodness. Oh my freakin god. It was sooo good I swear I ate half a loaf. And I was doing so well cutting back on the bread I eat.
I had a stability ball, but then the kids got a hold of it and decided that it would make a great addition to their playtime in the yard. So it got played with, and eventually blown away in the wind. Which is fine when it happens to their balls, but with mine I was upset and just haven't gotten around to getting a new one yet.
Posted by
Jessica Johannesen |
2:15 PM
cute cake.
Sometimes I have trouble waking up on the morning to exercise too. I find the best way for me to handle it is to get to bed early and at the same time everyday. That way my body becomes accustom to waking up at the same time after the same amount of sleep. Even on mornings when I am not planning on exercising, I still get up at the same to just to keep the habit up!
Posted by
Anonymous |
4:22 PM
I made this cake for my friend’s birthday party last night and it was a huge hit, I just had some for breakfast with coffee…so good, yet so evil. Thanks for suggesting it! I used half whole wheat pastry flour and half regular white flour, substituted Perfect Sweet xylitol for half the sugar, ¼ c. apple sauce and ½ mashed banana as my egg equivalent, and added chocolate chips to the batter. I’ll definitely be keeping this on hand as my standard chocolate cake recipe. I don’t think I’ve ever baked anything so good.
I ordered my stability ball almost two weeks ago and it is taking forever to get here. I tried to go to Pilates Ball at my Y yesterday morning but when I got there I found out that they had changed the schedule again and class had just ended. I ended up going rollerblading instead and the weather was gorgeous, so at least I got some exercise and some fresh air in…before I gorged myself on cake and beer! Man, I love birthday parties.
Posted by
Shananigans |
4:37 PM
Stability balls (or exerspheres as i like to call 'em) are RAD as we weirdos in Cali say (or used to say back in the '80s)!
Don't be too hard on yourself... I can tell that for you working out is a lifelong commitment to yourself, your health and your happiness.
A little bit of slack is actually GOOD for you... and not something to stress out about. I used to stress out as well... and I have been working out fairly consistently for 24 years now and have friends that are serious athletes who know that time off is NECESSARY!!! For mind AND body... Everybody needs some "lag time." It's normal, really.
Be good to yourself! (please)
*HUGS*
That cake looks so freakin' amazing, too... i gotta say! *drooling*
Posted by
KleoPatra |
8:55 PM
holiday at sea - A bbq in the park sounds like an awesome way to celebrate your birthday! Especially the chocolate PB cake. :)
grace - I'm definitely loving the ball, and I haven't even really used it yet.
jess - In times like these, leftovers are awesome. Unfortunately I haven't had any around, so... yeah. It's been PB on toast, rice cakes, cereal, or soy yogurt for meals lately. It's pretty sad.
kat - Everyone love the stability ball! It's making me really excited to use it. Plus, it's a ball. A big bouncy ball of exercisey fun. You're totally right, too - losing weight is about keeping your body guessing. I never realized how fast our bodies adapt.
essteeyou - They are fun to sit on! I've heard of people using them as desk chairs, even.
jessie - Oh man, if I came home and baked goods were just waiting for me... watch out. That would be so evil. Luckily The Boy doesn't have much inclination to bake. Or I'm just such a kitchen nazi that he's afraid to. :) I can see why the kiddies would hijack your stability ball. It's a huge ball! I want to play with it too.
megan - I do need to work on my sleeping habits. I'm such a night owl that it's really hard for me to go to sleep before 1 or 2 in the morning. But then I love getting up early! It's a problem.
shananigans - I'm so glad it worked out for you! Score one for vegan baking. :) Rollerblading sounds like so much fun. I'd love to start doing more varied forms of cardio.
kleopatra - Aww, thanks so much for that comment. I'm still in the stage where working out is something I have to think about and make a conscious effort to do. And I'm notorious for missing a day and then never starting up again, so getting off schedule really makes me nervous. But overall I feel good about how things have been going. I just have to keep plugging along. :)
Posted by
Amanda |
10:31 PM