Dining out hurrah

Went out to dinner tonight with friends. Overall, it was an OK day, but my big problems seem to crop up when I leave the house. One of the best bits of living in the country is that it's a long drive to fast food. But the minute I leave the house, my mind goes into overdrive thinking about the naughty junk I can nosh. I did have a diet soda at Home Depot and some crackers, but not too bad. I bought a grapefruit at Copps that I'm very excited to eat for breakfast tomorrow. I had fruit and a salad for lunch (and a salad for dinner last night).

Tonight Tim and I went to dinner with friends at the delightful and delicious Bistro 101 in Mount Horeb. I had pheasant, which was supposed to come with veggies. No such luck. I peeled off the skin and the pheasant was delicious. It did come with potatoes, but not many. I'm happy to report that I wasn't stuffed at the end. I also had two glasses of red wine. The best part, though, is that I didn't have dessert until I got home, when I had a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich (peanut butter and chocolate, yum!).

Tomorrow I must exercise. I rode my horse and took a long walk with him yesterday, which has left my leg muscles sore. Tomorrow I vow to do some snow shoeing with Tim -- a lovely evening hike or something.

Below is Bob Green's chart that helps you guage how hard you are working from his Web site, thebestlife.com. As you can see, you should be working out at Level 7, otherwise you're just playing around. I try to get up to 10 for a few seconds several times in the workout (OK, that's a laugh, but that's my fantasy).

0 This is the way you feel at rest. There is no fatigue and your breathing is not elevated.

1 This is how you feel while reading or sitting at your desk. There's no fatigue and your breathing is normal.

2 This is what you feel like as you get dressed. There is little or no feeling of fatigue, and your breathing is still normal.

3 This is how you feel while walking across the room to turn on the TV. Your breathing is slow and natural. You might feel this way in the beginning of a workout.

4 This is the way you feel slowly walking outside. There is a slight feeling of fatigue and your breathing is slightly elevated, but comfortable. You should experience this feeling at the start of your warm-up.

5 This is how you feel while walking somewhere at a normal pace. You're aware of your breathing, which is now deeper, and there is a slight feeling of fatigue. You should experience this feeling at the end of a warm-up.

6 This is similar to how you feel when rushing to an appointment. Your breathing is deep and you're aware of it. This is how you should feel as you transition from warm-up to your regular exercise session.

7 This is the zone—try to maintain this level throughout your workout! There is a feeling of fatigue at this level, but you can maintain the intensity for the rest of your session. Your breathing is deep and you're aware of it.

8 Your breathing is very deep, and though you could carry on a conversation, you don't feel like it. You should only try to exercise at this level after you're feeling comfortable enough at level 7.

9 This is what you feel like when exercising very, very vigorously. Your breathing is very labored and it's tough to carry on a conversation. Take it down a notch.

10 This level is all-out exercise, so difficult that you can't maintain it for very long.