A+ Day

Thanks for the comments on my post from yesterday.  It really is a beautiful area.  I will have to get some more current pictures, plus some of the surrounding area.  Some of you asked how far of a move this is for us ..... it's about 3 1/2 - 4 hrs drive - so a move for sure, but not terribly far.  It's a completely different lifestyle.  Where I am now is almost city living.  The region I'm in (not the particular city) has a population of 2.5 million.  Where we are moving the regions population is under 300,000.  But city for city the population is pretty similar. 

The big kicker though is the weather.  The new place is classed as a cool semiarid climate, meaning it receives fairly low annual preciption.  It's also prone to fairly hot summers (25°-40°C or 75°-100°F) and somewhat cool winters (just above or slightly below freezing).  Where we are now we receive annual 62" of rain (sometimes it feels like we get that in a day!).  Up there it is 13".  That's a whole lot of difference!  The area we are moving to is often one of the hottest and driest in the country.  That's right up my ally!

Anyhow, enough with the figures and facts.

Yesterday was A+++++++++

When I wrote out my menu plan the other day I decided to "track" by counting points.  I no longer attend WWs meetings as they do nothing for me after all these years.  I'm a Lifetime member in good standing so don't have to pay anyway, but I'm just not into it.  However, counting points is easy for me.  I know by heart the points value of pretty much anything I regularly eat.  Plus I can calculate quite accurately the points value of a food just by looking at it's nutritional information.  Once in a while I pull out my tracker to check but I'm always right on.

I even remembered an old "pal" of mine from years ago - chocolate pudding and cool whip!  A small serving after dinner was exactly what I needed.  This isn't my pudding (though it does look awfully fancy, maybe I should try it), but you get the idea.  Actually the link I got it from looks pretty good if you wanna check it out.

source

Lately my whole schedule has been topsy turvy and I think that was contributing to me being so off balance with my eating.  For a while now I've been having a hard time preparing my lunches for work, often buying out.  Then coming home and struggling to put together dinner.  Too often I found myself reaching for (or going out and buying) packaged and/or prepared foods.  That a good diet does not make in my world!

What I am finding helpful (besides being organized and having a plan) is as soon as I get home from work I go straight to preparing dinner.  Ideally I like to come home and chill for a bit.  Maybe watch some TV, go on the computer, sit down and chat.  But then I'd find myself in a crunch to make dinner, plus I was HUNGRY and I'd find myself picking.  So I'd end up making something quick (and not usually very healthy) and because I ate late I'd end up feeling lethargic and skipping workouts.  Not a good combination.

I have to keep this up.  Keep up the planning.  Keep up the organization.  It helps SO much!  And I end the day feeling satisfied and without guilt or remorse.

Here's yesterday's eats:

Breakfast - Steel Cut Oats with peaches & brown sugar

Lunch - Brown Rice w/shrimp stir-fry (leftover from dinner) & an orange

Snack - Cottage cheese & pinapple (not good together, but great apart)

Dinner - Toasted english muffin with ham, cheese & egg

Dessert - Chocolate Pudding with cool whip

All this for 22 points

After dinner had all settled I hit up the gym for some running and a bit of core work.  I don't enjoy running on the treadmill, but sometimes it's a necessary evil.  I wanted to do 10K, but I find it so monotonous running on the TM.  Instead I did fast intervals:

2 x 1.5 miles

3 x 1.0 miles

average pace 7:40/mile

total time 47:30 **see below

Now ... there's NO way I could run a full 10K at that pace right now.  After each mile I paused the TM, caught my breath, had a sip of water and/or a little stretch (plus a piddle break in the middle) - then continued.  It took me closer to 60 minutes with all my breaks to actually finish.  But I think it's important to do intervals at a faster pace like that to improve your speed.  This has worked for me in the past.

I was really happy with my interval pace though.  I remember not too long ago where I couldn't break an 8 minute mile - even if just for one mile.  Now it's totally doable.

Hope you're having an A+ day!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

One Step In The Right Direction

Writing all that out yesterday was actually therapeutic.  I've had that horrible habit of being a closet eater from time to time and getting it out made it real.  It also seemed to erase the guilt or the shame associated with hidden eating.  It's done, nothing can change that.  There's no need to feel guilty about it.  The only thing to be done is to take action and move forth.

Last night I skipped my workout!  Doesn't sound like action, does it?  But it was!  The workouts are the easy part for me.  Sometimes (like lately) I even use them to avoid facing tasks that need to be done.  Which is why I skipped it last night.

I finished cleaning up my kitchen, cupboards & fridges.  Two HUGE garbage bags full of junk.  I had tons of fruits & veggies, yet half of it was rotten.  So when I go to prepare a meal I was just faced with having to pick through things and got overwhelmed.  Same with my cupboards.  Boxes and packages of stale, out-dated food that had to go.

It felt so refreshing to get all that cleaned up.

Then, I made a new batch of hummus.  Not the prettiest batch I've ever made.  I added a bunch of cilantro & chili powder to it and it had a very disturbing browny/green tinge.  But it tastes pretty good.

I also prepared lunch for today!  As many of you noted, and I knew this too, pre-planning is a major part of success. 

So, today is going much better.

Breakfast - Raisin bran cereal with 1% milk
Lunch - Hummus & veggie wrap, cottage cheese, orange
Dinner - I'm thinking a shrimp stir fry with brown rice would hit the spot.
Dessert - Peaches

 ... and a big a$$ bottle of water too!

I'm hoping today we get the news that they'll take off my son's braces soon.  It's been over 2 years and his teeth look perfect, and have for some time.  They're not getting any more money from me and we both just want them off!  I'm actually getting kind of angry about it.

Definitely having a more positive ... in control day.

Hope you are too!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

**GIVEAWAY**

Cute Under Armour Shirt at Destination 26.2 - go check it out

Hoping for a Good Weekend

I'm getting so excited for my race this weekend.  My foot is feeling fantastic, my hip is feeling quite good and the weather is expected to be sunny.  And ... to top it all off it's on my absolute FAVOURITE running trail!  The footing is fantastic and it's so serene.  This is by far my favourite place to run.  I will try to remember my camera so I can take some pics to share.  Here's a few from last years series, which was VERY cold.

Eating was OK today.  I had a frozen meal left in the freezer at work so decided to have that instead of something made at home. 

Breakfast - Oatmeal with Nutracleanse (see review below), Kraft unsweetened unsalted peanut butter and Kashi Go Lean Crunch

Lunch - President's Choice Spinach & Cannelloni, pear & 1/2 banana **

Dinner - Vegetable soup & grilled cheese

Dessert - 1% milk and 3 Peak Freans Lifestyle Vanilla Bean Latte cookies.

** Random thoughts here .... today I had 1/2 banana at lunch.  For most of you this may not be significant, but for me it was.  I see people eat half a banana all the time and I often wonder "What do you do with the other half?".  Seriously, doesn't it go mushy?  or brown??  I either eat the whole banana or throw the other half away (as I did today because half of it was bruised and I do NOT eat bruised bananas).  Yeah, random .. whatever!

A while ago I received some sample packs of this product called Nutracleanse.  I've been using it off and on for a while and thought I'd write up a little review.  This is made by a locally owned company so if you don't live in BC you may never have encountered it.  But if you ever do see it (locations)... you should try it!

It seems to be touted as a product for the relief of constipation, and even a bit for weight loss.  Neither of those reasons are why I personally use it.  It's got ground flax and ground psyllium in it, which we all know is good for us.  But really ... it tastes good and adds a little texture!

I love to have it sprinkled on yogurt and lately I've been mixing it with my morning oatmeal.

And ... while it is recommended for constipation I can assure you that it does help things get moving, but it doesn't keep it moving beyond what is necessary (unlike alot of more commonly known laxatives).  It does it's job and life goes on as normal. 

If everyone could keep their fingers crossed for me this weekend that would be great.  This is a race I'm hoping to do really well in and my son has an important game this weekend too.

Hope everyone is having a great day - and have a great weekend too!!!!!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Resisting the Teddy Grahams

Yesterday I was 95% on my clean eating plan.  Right after dinner I had a little carb craving and did grab 8 mini teddy grahams (55 calories worth) and when I had the thought to put my hand back in for some more I just told myself "TWO WEEKS"  Two weeks on this restricted plan, then I can expand it a bit and will have changed my eating habits too.  These little bad habits of reaching into the cookies or having a bite of this and that are what is holding me back from achieving the body I really want.

Sure enough, I felt absolutely satisfied for the rest of the night.  You really do have to wait that little bit after a meal for the satisfaction button to kick in.

I woke up yesterday so incredibly sluggish, then by afternoon I was literally bouncing in my office chair.  Maybe it's the cleaner eating ... maybe it was all the inspiring blog entries I was reading - who knows!

So when I got home from work the first thing I did was hit the treadmill!  I only had a short time before we had to eat and go out to the kids sports, so I decided the best use of my time was to run.

And run I did!  I did 30 min of HIIT (2 min at 6 mph, 1 min of 9mph - some at 10 mph - repeat).  I tell ya ... that's a lot harder than just running the same speed for 30 minutes.  Overall I can run a faster steady pace, but I think those quick spurts are hugely beneficial to improving running speed, endurance, and a big bonus for weight loss.

I was a sweaty mess afterwards!

Got another clean menu going on today ....

6:30am - Wake-up - 2 c. water
7:30 am - Breakfast - 1/2 c. oatmeal, 2 tblspn ground flax seed, 1/4 c. blueberries, 3 egg whites, 2 c. water
10:30 - Mid-Morning Meal - 3 oz. Shrimp, tomato/cucumber salad, 2 c. green tea, 2 c. water
2:00 - Lunch - 4 oz. grilled chicken, 1/2 plain sweet potato, 1 pear, 2 c. green tea, 2 c. water
5:00 - Afternoon Meal - 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg, celery, 2c. water
6:30 - Dinner - 4 oz. tilapia, 1/2 plain sweet potato, broccoli, roasted tomatoes 2 c. water, 2c. peppermint tea

I increased my lunch protein today and moved the sweet potato from the mid morning meal to lunch.  I found that for my mid-morning meal I'm not very hungry so I can have a little less then, but by afternoon meal I'm quite hungry.  This should make my lunch meal a bit more substantial with a little more staying power.  For today it worked.

Tonight I'm gonna hit that treadmill again and maybe do a lower body weights session.
.

Clean Eating

Tamara had a post today where she has gotten to the point of equating food with fuel.  I remember clearly getting to that point and it was a lightbulb moment.  It was that moment that I wanted more out of my body than to just be thinner, or even to just be fitter.  I wanted to be the best I could be.

Now, of course I still struggle with that because 37 years of old habits takes a little time to unravel .  Many times, and I've mentioned it on here too, I have tried different things to lead me to fuel my body better.  Often it was just the generalization of "eat more protein", "eat less sugar", "eat less junk".  While those are great guidelines ... they weren't specific enough for me to stick to and I haven't completely changed my habits as much as I want to.

On Jan 2nd I picked up this month's issue of Oxygen Magazine.  I've read it before in the past, but never with really in depth interest.  For whatever reason, this time some of the stuff in there really hit me.  Time and time again I look to the bodies of fitness competitors and I want "some" of that.  I don't want to be that extreme, I just want to look how they do in their off season.  I know a few women who do this and I like that look.  I LOVE muscle!! 

And as more time goes by, I am turning away from processed foods, additives, reducing sugar, reducing salt, reducing unnecessary fats.  It dawned on me that for a while now I've been mentally leaning towards "Clean Eating".

So last week I went out and bought a copy of Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet (thanks Mom - using up my Xmas money!)... and I've been reading and re-reading it since.  I don't agree with everything she says in there, but this is something I really want to give a true go at.

I've been following her "Cooler 1" plan for 5 days now ... and it's been tough at times.  I've been far from successful, but every day is getting better and organization is making things much better.  The first day I did fine until the evening when I wasn't prepared for dinner, ate a few pieces of chocolate, then my MIL put out a bag of shit Party Mix while we played cards and I think I ate half the bag.  Then the other day I came home from work, without dinner planned, and found my way into a bag of peanuts and had two whopping handfuls.  Even last night, I came home and prepared the family's dinner (nachos) and grabbed a couple chips and a spoonful of taco meat before I at my own dinner. 

Some would call that a fail.  Personally I learned something from these experiences.  Today ... I have celery sticks and boiled egg whites waiting for me at home.  If I'm tempted to grab something, I'll grab that.  My dinner is already prepped and ready to cook.

Last night I spent some time and boiled eggs, chopped veggies, defrosted shrimp, grilled chicken, ground flaxseed.  I'm all set for the next couple of days.

Basically the plan is to eat every 2-3 hours, having balanced, portion controlled meals 5-6 times a day.  Limit salt, no added sugar.  HERE and HERE are some reviews online that gives a better breakdown of the plan.

This is a sample day that I've set out for Cooler 1:

6:00am - Wake-up - 2 c. water
7:30 am - Breakfast - 1/2 c. oatmeal, 2 tblspn ground flax seed, 1/4 c. blueberries, 3 egg whites, 2 c. green tea, 2 c. water
10:30 - Mid-Morning Meal - 2 oz. grilled chicken, 1/2 plain sweet potato, 2 c. water
1:30 - Lunch - 3 oz. Shrimp, steamed broccoli & carrots, 1 apple, 2 c. water
4:00 - Afternoon Meal - 3 egg whites, celery, 2c. green tea
6:30 - Dinner - 4 oz. grilled chicken, 1/2 plain sweet potato, tomato/cucumber salad, 2 c. water, 2c. peppermint tea

I can increase the quantities as needed, but so far this has been OK.  The timing thing is what I'm struggling with, but it gets better every day.  At first I wasn't even remotely hungry around the suggested meal times, but now I can feel my body getting ready for that next meal.  It's the whole idea of smaller meals more often to keep the metabolism pumping.  It's a theory that I've believed in for some time, but not always put into practice.  My boss has already commented about how much (aka how often) I'm eating, but I don't care.

The first few days, I have to admit, I really questioned this plan.  I put on about 5 lbs almost immediately and was horribly bloated.  The other day my workout top was cutting into my arms and I almost passed out when I looked in my gym mirror and saw this puffy pillsbury dough boy.  Even my husband noted that stomach looked huge the other evening (like 5 months pregnant huge).  But today it seems to be coming down and I'm feeling "bouncy" today.  I've done some looking around online and it seems this is quite common while your body adjusts and I need to be patient.

I've tried plans along this line before, but when I've had the weight gain/bloat problem I got scared and quit.  This time though I'm going to push through.  I figure it's worth the risk.  And I really do want to eat more of these cleaner foods anyway.

Keep tuned to see the results .......

Back to normal .....

Life is back to "normal".  I'm back to work, the kids are back to school, their sports are back this week.  But I'm also back in training and eating better.

As predicted, that weight workout kicked my butt ... or should I say my arms.  Owie!  Actually I overdid it with one move and I have a little injury on my triceps (right is quite bad, left is bareable).  It makes lifting my tea mug and answering the phone at work rather difficult.  I'm going to let it fully heal and lower my weight a bit on that move for the next round.

Sunday night I ran 5 Km on the treadmill in 26 minutes (7.15 mph).  I started off pretty slow so really had to push hard at the end to make that time.  But that's about the pace I need to be to reach the goal I set for my next race.  Actually, I need to be at a slightly faster pace because those hills will knock it down a bit.  I'm going to train at 7.5mph on my treadmill runs for the next few weeks and if I get a chance I need to do some hill training too.

Monday night I again ran 5Km on the treadmill, but this time in 24:30 (7.6 mph) - wooohooo.  Though I had to stop at about 10 minutes in and go find a hair clip because my bangs were driving me insane.  So I can't really call that a true 5K time.

Today I'm taking a rest day, then lower body weights tomorrow and back to running again on Thursday.  My weight is up a bit from the other day and I'm guessing it has to do with muscle recovery and all that junk.  I'm not worrying about it because I know it'll only go down from here. 

Had a fairly good food day today.  It's REALLY hard when you've been eating junk to get away from it.  It just calls your name.  Today I've had:

Breakfast - 4 eggs whites cooked in 1 tsp olive oil, 2 slices Body Wise bread, 1 T light Peanut Butter
Lunch - 2 slices Body Wise bread, 3 slices turkey deli meat, 2 T Sabra Chipotle Hummus, green leaf lettuce and an apple
Afternoon Snack - 1 pkg. Motts Fruitsations
Dinner - Crockpot Chicken with carrots, 1/2 small potato &1/2 garlic bun

Evening Snack - 1/2 c. FF plain yoghurt, 1 banana, drizzle chocolate sauce & 1 T walnuts

About 1500 calories for the day

Over Christmas, Costco had a sale on Sabra Chipotle Hummus.  I got two huge tubs for I think about $6.  And ... lucky me ... no one else in the house likes it.  I think I could live on this stuff alone.  SOOOO good, and a real nice kick to it.  I could eat it straight off a spoon.

Today I vow to.....

Feeling kinda funky! I'm tired and unmotivated to do much of anything. Was much the same yesterday. I'd planned to either workout at home or take a class, but instead I ate a bunch of carbs then crashed on the couch all night. So unproductive :(

Today I didn't even pack a lunch or snacks - which is fairly unusual for me. It's noon now and I sit here half hoping that a nice healthy lunch will just plop down in front of me because I completely lack the motivation to make any effort.

WOW - reading back over that even I'm sick of me. Time to snap out of it! OK ... deep breath .... putting on the invisible thinking cap.....

Here's my plan for today:

Lunch - Ham & Veggie Sub, Steamed Milk

Dinner - 2 Prawn Skewers, Corn on the Cob, Spinach Salad

Workout -

*10 min run at 7 mph
*Following moves (3 sets x 12) with 1 min 15 sec running at 9 mph between:
...Chest press (2 plates)
...Dumbbell Rows (15 lbs)
...Incline Chest Press (12 lbs)
...Lat Pulldown (4 plates)
...Shoulder Press (12 lbs)
...Tricep Pulldown (2 plates)
...Hammer Curls (1 x 15 lbs, 1 x 12 lbs, 1 x 10 lbs)
...Tricep Kickbacks (8 lbs)
...Concentration Curls (1 x 15 lbs, 2 x 12 lbs)
*10 min. Abs - basic crunch, straight leg raises, reverse crunch, planks 2 x 1 min
*Stretch

When I have stuck to all of the above, then I'm allowed to watch So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Otherwise the TV must stay off for the evening.

Temptations All Around

Yesterday ended up not being quite as planned. After racing home on my bike (in super fast time I might add - heehee), my husband was waiting for me to come to the states with him.

When I got home I was literally shaking I was so hungry. This can't be good. I easily could have grabbed a bunch of junk and eaten anything. But I knew I needed a quick snack and to refuel, so I ended up having 2 small La Tortilla Wraps with Almond Butter. It was exactly what the doctor ordered.

After a quick shower we were out the door. The rest of the evening was a bit of torture. My husband has been working super long hours and him & my son have the truck filled with a few bags of cookies and other treats - which of course they were eating. I did end up having 2 cookies, but when the marshmallow cookies started calling my name (and I DON'T like those) I had to throw them in the back of the truck.

We made a stop at Walmart. Holy 100 calorie packs! They had an entire isle dedicated to them - can you believe that? That's insane. I mean for an occassional treat fine, but obviously this is a huge market and people are buying tons of them.

Anyhow, next thing I know, the family has each picked up (and opened) a container of Stacked Lays chips. Now those are good! Mmmmm. I had one and then told them all that they were not to permit me to have any more at all.

My husband wanted to stop at a buffet for dinner, but thankfully it was 5 min from closing so we opted not to go. By this time it was about 9:30 and I was feeling pretty hungry so having to face a buffet was going to be a disaster.

We ended up at McDonald's. I suppose I could have chosen a salad, but I think I still made a decent choice and got a Grilled Chipotle BBQ Chicken Snack Wrap - though it's certainly not worth 6 pts, but it did the job.

So my menu from yesterday was revised as follows:

Breakfast - All Bran Chewy Bar, Mandarin Orange (3)

Lunch - President's Choice Cannelloni, nectarine, Astro BioBest Raspberry Yoghurt (7)

Snacks - All Bran Snack Bites (1) 2 sm. La Tortilla Wraps with Almond Butter (6) 2 cookies (3),

Dinner - McDonald's Grilled Chipotle BBQ Chicken Snack Wrap (6)

Total - 26 points - approx. 1400 calories

Exercise - 65 minutes biking

For the next little while I'm going to calculate calories as well as points, just to have an idea. I'm not ready to abandon the point method, but I think I do need to be careful about going too low.

Rode my bike to work again today. I will have ridden almost 100Km (aka 60 miles) in the last 4 days. And this ain't no casual riding. When I ride, I ride hard. Hills are to be conquered, speed records are to be achieved, sweat is to drip! I can certainly feeling it in my legs and butt, even my abs and upper back.

Pedal Me Crazy & Calorie to Pts. Comparison

Yesterday I skipped my long run. Just wasn't into it and couldn't motivate myself to get out the door. But I was still active. My son came along and we rode our bikes over to my friends place and I took one extra stop afterwards giving me a total of about a 20Km ride. Not that long really, but I enjoyed it. Then it was a few hours of yard work. Never ending on 10 acres I tell ya!


This week the kids are both out of school now, so no need for me to rush after work to pick them up. So .... I'm going to be a bike commuter for the next little while. It's 12 Km each way to my work and takes me about 25 min to get to work and 40 to get home.


I also plan to do my regular workouts on top of this.

Today's menu:

Breakfast - All Bran Chewy Bar, Mandarin Orange (3)
Lunch - President's Choice Cannelloni, nectarine, Astro BioBest Raspberry Yoghurt (7)
Snack - All Bran Snack Bites, 10 multigrain rice crackers, hummus (4)
Dinner (planned) - Baked Tilapia, Chinese Cabbage Salad (5)
Dessert (planned) - Chocolate Pudding cup (2)

Total 21 points

Exercise - min. 65 minutes biking, 30 min run, 30 min weights

For kicks I just counted out the calories in this menu. As for Weight Watchers it comes to 21 points. For calorie counting it comes out to approx. 1150 cal. Doesn't that seem awfully low???

The other day I splurge and had 27 points - which calculated to approx. 1600 cal.

I went back and calculated a number of days and in general they were all between 1050 and 1300 cal. per day. That's counting all the vegetables too, so I'm not excluding 0 pt foods.

I did some searching around and according to most sites they say that I should consume about 1650 cal. to lose 1 lb per week. I know from experience that if I eat that (approx. 27 pts/day) I will have gains on the scale. It also shows that if I eat "only" 1300 cal. a day, I should be able to lose 10 lbs in the next 6 weeks. I can guarantee that's impossible. And ... many sites I've read recommend me not going below 1300 cal EVER.


Are these sites insane? Am I insane? Am I ruining my metabolism for life? Have I already???

Gr. 7 Grad Pics

Tonight my daughter had her Grade 7 Grad Farewell. We went right after school and had her hair done up.

We looked around for dresses for her, but in the end she chose to wear a dress that I wore for my high school graduation. I didn't realize at the time that I was that skinny, though I'm guessing that she's going to be a fair bit taller than me (probably 2-4" taller). There was a bow on the back which she asked me to take off. Here is her tonight, and me from 1990.

Unfortunately I had my camera on the wrong setting and didn't notice until much later so my pictures turned out super bright. The color of the dress is more like the picture of her, emerald green.

I had wanted to wear a dress, but she begged me to wear this purple shirt that she loves, so I complied. Unfortunately there are no pics of me tonight as I was the one handling the camera.

We went to her school for dinner and a little ceremony. Then they stayed for a short dance. I took that time to go home and get in a quick little workout before we went back to pick her up.

Today's menu:

Breakfast - red river cereal, 1 boiled egg (4)
Lunch - 4 c. raw veggies, Cream of Broccoli Soup at Hand, 3 ham/pickle wraps (4)
Snack - 20 pretzels, 3/4 c. cereal, 1/2 c. milk (5)
Dinner - 1 thin sl. veg pizza, carrots, broccoli slaw (7)

Dessert - pineapple, 1" square blueberry cheesecake, 1" square chocolate brownie type dessert (7?) should have just stuck with the fruit

Total Points - 27

Exercise - 35 min fast running

I went to the doctor today and confirmed that I have a bladder infection. I have never had one before in my life and it's rather uncomfortable. So I'm on a course of antibiotics for the next 10 days. Apparently this can cause some water retention so maybe that's an explanation for my recent increase on the scale....

He recommended I also drink lots of cranberry juice, but at 150 cal per cup I think I will get the cranberry supplements because they are supposed to work just as well. I don't need the added sugar and calories.

The receptionist commented on my weight loss. It's been about a year since I saw her last and she said I was looking really good. :)

Tonight I met up with two girlfriends and we basically did a bootcamp style workout. We ran the track, ran stairs, did a variety of strength moves. Since my classes will be ending this week I'd like to continue doing this on my own throughout the summer.

Though, if I'm going to be working out on my own again I want to create a workout schedule so that I'm balancing out all my muscles. I've been very lax in this area lately and haven't been getting really well rounded workouts.

Today's menu:

Breakfast - 2 sl rye bread, 1 oz. cheese - grilled cheese sandwich (4)
Lunch - 4 c. raw veggies, grilled chicken wrap with Light Laughing Cow cheese wedge, Nectarine (5)
Snack - Plum, 1 c. cranberry juice (4)
Dinner - Weight Watchers Meatloaf (6)
Dessert - 1 iced oatmeal cookie (2)

Total Points - 21

Exercise - 90 min running & strength

I've been trying for a few days to make asian salad wraps, per Syl's instructions. But I've been to 3 stores already and they've all been sold out of the rice wraps. I'm going to try one more store and if I can't find it I guess I'll just make it as a salad in a bowl type thing instead. Frustrating.

Tomorrow is my daughter's Grade 7 Grad Farewell. They have a ceremony and a dinner, then we leave and they have a dance. I have NO idea what will be served for dinner. Though I saw someone bringing in a big container of salad dressing so hopefully there will be some salad and/or veggies. I'll just practice portion control and make the best choices I can.

Sleepyhead

Things I've learned in the last few days:

* Packaged oatmeal isn't nearly as satisfying as my beloved Red River Cereal. In comparison it tastes mushy, it's way too sweet & it doesn't stick with you as long.

* Even if you eat under your points target, if you have salty processed foods you will show a weight gain the next day.

* Air popped popcorn with Becel Butter Spray is NOT a good pre workout fuel, even if it does satisfy a crunch craving. This is especially true when you're already feeling tired and it's muggy.

* I can do 20 big girl push-ups in a row, however it takes me a long time and they're not really full push-ups so I'm not quite ready to say goal accomplished.

* Trying to catch a loose horse who has gotten through the fence into a 20 acre hay field and a 10 acre newly planted blueberry field when you're just about ready to go to sleep is not fun.

* You know you're exceptionally tired when you drive 2Km's past your son's school on the way to drop him off there. Makes you understand how people can accidentally forget their babies in a hot car - scary.

* You can find interesting things in your kids closets.

* I really don't notice when I'm driving on a complete flat (for like 20Km on the freeway). But it does make you paranoid that you'll do it again which lead me to checking the tires on my other car and realizing they were rather low, one probably dangerously so.

Here's today's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2)
Lunch - La Tortilla Factory Small Wrap with green leaf lettuce, 1 tsp light ranch dressing, hot sauce and 1 oz. southwestern chicken breast, Sliced Cucumber, Hard Boiled Egg (5)
Snacks - 6 small pieces honey garlic pork (4?)
Dinner - Veggie Burger, Wonder+ thin burger bun, 1 oz. jalapeno jack cheese (6)

Post-Workout - Hot chocolate made with 1 c. milk (4) - I haven't had this yet as I have zero hunger right now at 8:00PM

Total Points - 21

Exercise - Bootcamp class

Stuffed

This weekend I let things slide a bit and definitely had my points on the high end. Not outrageous, just higher than usual.

Today though was right back on track and even though I've had less points today than the last two days, I'm sitting here at 9PM still stuffed from my small dinner at 7. It's rather strange. I've been finding that it doesn't take very much food to fill me up for the last little while.

Here's today's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2)
Lunch - 4 c. raw veggies, President's Choice Canneloni (4)
Snack - All Bran Oatmeal Bar, 1 c. grapes, 1 slice watermelon, 4 strawberries (4)
Dinner - 3/4 c. pasta with 1/4 c. alfredo sauce, 3 oz. chicken breast, 1 mini carrot (I couldn't eat anymore) - (8)

Total Points - 18 and I'm stuffed

Exercise - Nothing, had alot to do today and am really tired

I've been noticing something different with me lately. For years my husband has always said that whenever he exercises, as soon as he stops he sweats heavily. Recently my son said he has the same thing. I've never had this. I do sweat during exercise, but it's pretty steady and not usually much. That is until now. Just in the last couple weeks I notice I've been having the same reaction. As long as I'm exercising I sweat a bit but not much, and the moment I stop it just goes crazy. I mentioned this to my friend and she said it's because my metabolism is faster. Any thoughts on this??? That sure would be nice if that was the case.

My menu in pictures

The other night my family was scattered all over so we each had something different for dinner. I had a craving for hamburgers so had bought some Yves veggie burgers to give a try. I haven't had them for years and thought it was worth a shot since regular hamburgers are really not worth the points. At only 2 pts per patty though, that is amazing!



I paired the patty with a wonderful product I found in the discount bin at Superstore - Wonder Bread Thin Burger Buns - 120 cal each with 3 or 4 g fibre. They were awesome and only 2 pts. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell they aren't being made anymore so I will have to settle with President's Choice Burger First when I run out. The PC one's are 3 pts each and if they taste the same then they WILL find their way into my basket again.



This burger was SO good. I'm not a fan of meat alternative products. I like my meat. But seriously, how can you pass up a burger that tastes at least as good as a regular burger (if not better) for total 4 pts? Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmmmmm!!!!! Bonus, no one else in the family will touch them.



Breakfast yesterday morning was a lovely farm fresh boiled egg, a whole tomato and some veggies that didn't fit into my lunch container. I despise store bought eggs. These eggs are from my ILs friends, from chickens who eat vegetable scraps and you can not beat the flavour.




Lunch was my big container of mixed vegetables (I swear I could easily eat twice this amount - this is 3 large stalks celery, 1 whole large red pepper, 1/3 long english cucumber and a few baby carrots), 1/2 c. yoghurt and a turkey sandwich on Weight Watcher's Whole Wheat Bread. I don't often buy this bread, but it was on a super sale at my local Co-op store, so I got a few loaves. At 1 pt for 2 slices you can't really go wrong. My son took one look at my breakfast & lunch and asked if I was trying to turn into a rabbit!!! HAHAHAHA. He is a self proclaimed meat-atarian and is anti-vegetables.




Afternoon snack consisted of 1 oz. Jalapeno Jack Cheese and a hard boiled egg






Dinner was a tilapia fillet (I love this fish!) topped with a drizzle of olive oil, cornflake crumbs, cayenne, pepper & lemon juice. Served with a salad that included 1/4 c. kidney beans and a balsamic olive oil dressing. A just a few low fat french fries (too hard to resist).


I even had room for a little dessert. I love myself a Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich, but I found Breyers 100 calorie Ice Cream Sandwich on sale the other day and decided to give them a whirl. They are a bit smaller (90mL compared to 113mL) but also 2 pts compared to 3, so a little savings. It was good. I probably still prefer the Skinny Cow, but if the Breyers was on sale again I'd buy them.



We finished off the night with my husband having to go see a client out in Richmond. So my daughter came along and we went for a nice walk along the Steveston boardwalk (forgot my camera which was a shame as it was pretty - check on the link). They shared a mango yoghurt smoothie from Blendz Coffee and then they each had a Gelato ice cream on a waffle cone. I passed on both those items and didn't feel I was missing out. What a great feeling!


Total - 21 points

Exercise - 30 min walk

Didn't get around to posting yesterday. Was a bit of an odd day that I never really settled into. Ate a few extra things that I know from past experience are my downfalls (swedish berries and fresh yummy bread). I almost didn't track everything, but in the end decided to and it really wasn't all that bad. I had 26 points and my target is 21 - so really not that horrible.

I skipped on exercise too. My son had his 2nd set of soccer tryouts last night so I was going to run while he was there. But when I got there my friends were there and I haven't seen them in quite a while and have really missed hanging out with them. So while I felt slightly guilty that I was missing my workout, I also know the importance of good friends and keeping in contact so I felt this was the choice I wanted to make.

I'm so excited for Saturday when I'll post my weigh in. I weigh myself daily so I already have an idea and if everything stays on course then it is a fairly exciting day.

Tonight we need to get our passport photos done, my daughter has a special event at dance class, and I absolutely must squeeze in a run. I've been researching various half marathons and I've narrowed it down to a few possiblities for late summer/early fall.

Today's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2)
Snack - Pear (1)
Lunch- 4 c. Raw Veggies, Spicy Chicken Wrap on a Small La Tortilla Wrap, Mandarin orange (4)
Snack - Fibre One Oats & Peanut Butter Chewy Bar, 1/2 c. yoghurt (4)
Dinner - Tilapia fillet with cornflake topping, Salad with spicy cilantro ranch dressing ** and 1/2 c. kidney beans (10)

Total - 21 points

Exercise - 45 min running

** Spicy Cilantro Ranch Dressing - I'm going to try mixing bottled ranch dressing with Louisiana Hot Sauce with Lime & a good handful of finely chopped cilantro - maybe some cumin too. I just love those flavours! Never made this before but the idea appeals to me.

It's getting hot in here ... and what works for me

Man it feels great to be back on the losing train again. I've diddled around for so long and right now I feel like it's just clicked for me. I don't feel like I'm struggling, I don't feel deprived, I don't feel desperate. I just feel great and I don't want to stop!

The things I feel that are helping me are:

* Setting a goal with a timeline (to be under 150 by Jul 9th). Normally I don't like these types of goals, because it implies an end, but somehow this just seemed to be what I needed to get going again and keep me focused. I'm not feeling at all that that date will be 'the end' but rather just a checkmark.

* Tracking everything! Even if it's not pretty.

* Preplanning. Almost every night (or early morning) I write out a plan for the next day. It really helps on work days because when I wake up I already know what to pack. I've tried planning an entire week, but my tastes change or someone ends up eating the food I had planned for a certain day and too many things come up. I still make changes sometimes, but having a plan makes such a HUGE difference.

* Being honest here (and maybe not popular) but I've stopped worrying about filling every category according to Weight Watchers Healthy Guidelines. While I do very much agree with them, I find it very hard to stick to them. I know I don't get as much dairy & healthy oil servings as I should and those are my downfall. I still have them, just not as often as I should. I was just finding it kind of stressful to get them all in within my points allowance and ended up feeling like a failure when I didn't, or eating too many points to try to get them in.

* Having an afternoon snack. Trying to get from noon to 6:00(ish) without having something just doesn't work, and by most research isn't healthy. Now I plan for it, have a slightly smaller lunch, and have something light in the afternoon around 3:30-4:00. If I have exercise planned for the early evening (6:00) then I eat more at my snack time and have a lighter dinner afterwards.

Tonight I have bootcamp. It's going to be killer as it's super hot here today 28-30° C. That's pretty smokin' for us, but I love it. So what do I plan to do .... I'm going to add more exercise and ride my bike to/from class. It's just over 9 Km each way, though I may take a 10Km route instead.

Today's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2)
Lunch- 4 c. Raw Veggies, hummus, 1 hard boiled egg, 1/2 c. yoghurt (6)
Snack - 1/2 c. 2% cottage cheese, 4 wheat thins, hummus (4)
Dinner - 1 c. beef tortellini, 1/4 c. alfredo sauce with added spice, broccoli & red peppers (9)

Total - 21 points

Exercise - 60 min bootcamp, 60 min cycling

Much better day

Thankfully today is a polar opposite of yesterday. I don't like cranky days. Today the sun is mostly shining, my eye isn't watering, I feel substantially healthier and people just don't seem quite as stupid as they did yesterday (hahahahha).

If you knew me in real life you would know that I am obsessed with my holidays. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably annoyingly obsessed as I don't stop talking about anything pending.

For some people a holiday is something they get to do maybe every 5 years (or more if they're rich and/or lucky) and it involves a fancy resort on a sandy beach. For me ... it's just getting away for an extended time - anywhere! For almost every year in the last 8 years or so "anywhere" has been the Oregon Coast. We take our RV, we don't eat out or do tourist type stuff, we just enjoy our time away. Usually we go with my husband's parents, one of our nieces, our friends and their kid(s) and for the last few years my kids have brought along a friend each.

We are SUPER active while away and I just love it. We ride our bikes almost every day. Take hours long walks along the beach almost every day. We hike. We play volleyball, soccer, football, throw frisbees. Sometimes we ride our bikes into the nearest town to do some window shopping. Ahhh it's wonderful - and .... we leave in 6 weeks!!! I'm also determined to be down at least another 3.6 lbs before we leave.

My daughter editted this photo last night. This is our absolutely most FAVOURITE spot on the whole coast.

Here was today's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2)
Lunch - 1 c. chili, 2 c. watermelon, cucumber & Red Peppers (7)

Snack - cornbread, rye bread with 2 sl. proscuitto (5)
Dinner - 1 poached egg, 1/2 english muffin, cornbread (8)

Total - 22 points

Exercise - 60 min bootcamp

Oh cranky day!!!!!!

I got up at 6am this morning and the day hasn't improved from there. I'm still a bit stuffed up from my cold, but the worst part is my right eye has been running non-stop all day. I'm cranky as all hang and can't count the number of people I have thought are morons - though I'm sure it's mostly me, or maybe my tolerance level is just really, really low today.

Also got an e-mail this morning from my son's soccer coach saying they are doing tryouts in 2 days. Gee, thanks for the notice. There's only going to be one team in his age group, plus they already decided what division they're playing in anyway. So it's completely useless. He's outgrown his men's size 12 cleats that he was wearing 2 months ago, so this means we have to go today to buy new cleats. There's another $200 or so I wasn't expecting. If he outgrows the 13's between now and the fall I will chop off his toes. The stupidity of it all amazes me.

Here was today's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2)
Snack - 2 c. watermelon & cornbread (5)
Lunch - Subway Chicken Breast Sandwich, Red & Orange Peppers (7)
Dinner - cornbread & watermelon (8)


Total - 22 points

Exercise - nothing, missed bootcamp and fell asleep on the couch, going to bed now at 8:45pm

Cheap Shopping!!!

Years ago I used to do the majority of my shoppint at Value Village. I didn't have alot of extra money, I hated shopping, and I didn't like how I looked in most clothes anyway. So I figured I may as well get them cheap.

It became a pretty nasty habit. On my lunch hours, I was bored, I'd go shop. I ended up with bags upon bags of clothing, most of which I never wore. I was constantly buying a "target" outfit, which I would never fit into. Looking back, I would have been better off spending that time getting some exercise.

Then I got to a stage where I realized I was worthy. I became pickier with my clothes and bought less - this was much better! And I still value a well fitting, quality item over quantity.

But with summer coming I really need quite a few items in my closet. Over the last years I've done several clean-ups and it's getting pretty bare in there. I had just 2 pairs of shorts left and really they're too big. I have to cinch up a belt to keep them on and they balloon out on the hips making me look bigger than I am.

To buy everything I need, I don't have enough spare cash. Plus, I'm losing weight again and don't anticipate being my current size for long.

Re-enter my long lost love affair with Value Village!!!!

Today they had a 50% off sale, so really how could I resist. (really???) I bought a pair of capris (almost too big but will do for now), 3 pairs shorts, 1 jean skirt, and 2 pretty tank tops - all for $18!!! Taxes in. Can you believe that??

I even took some pics!!!

Here's the two tanks. The purple one was 75 cents!! The other was $2

.............

This is the capris. After taking this pic I'm not in love with them and they may find themselves back on the VV boutique shelves before long. And beside that is the jean skirt. It is about 5 lbs too tight. I could wear it, but not comfortably. It's snug.

..........

And two of the pairs of shorts. I have one more pair but my camera battery died before I got a pic of them. The other one's are brown and almost knee length.

.........

Here was today's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal (2)
Lunch - Vegetable Beef Soup at Hand, Pear, tangerine, All Bran Bar (4)

Snack - 6 Almonds & 1/3 c. cheese crackers (3)
Dinner - Chili, cornbread (12)

Not nearly enough veggies today and way too much cornbread (but oh it was good!!)

Total - 21 points

Exercise - none, had to drive my son to work. I could workout tonight but honestly I'm bagged and I think I need a bit more sleep tonight.

I printed off a 20 week half marathon training program this weekend. Yesterday was supposed to be a 10K run, but I did 13 instead just because that was the length of the trail :). Tomorrow is a 30 min run. I don't know if I'll actually do a half this fall, but I want to train as if I am. I want to know that I can do that distance and I want to train for it safely.

Sunday - May 24th

Not sure what happened to my post yesterday. Must be missing in cyber space - hahhaha.

Yesterday I ran 13Km with my friends AND my hubby!!!! I sure love it when he comes along, even if he did run ahead for the first part. We start off too slow for his liking.

Sure was hungry. Even through the night, I was stuffed up from my cold which woke me up, but then I had such intense hunger pains. I drank a big glass of water but still couldn't shake it so grabbed a small handful of cereal and then was able to get to sleep. Haven't had that in years! Then throughout the day I bounced between being absolutely starving with stomach pains, then I'd have something small and feel completely stuffed. It was a weird day for sure.

Here was yesterday's menu:

Breakfast - Red River Cereal with Mixed berries (3)
Snack - 2 sl. toast with 1 tblspn. peanut butter (5)
Lunch - Sm. La Tortilla Factory wrap with 1 tblspn. Amond Butter & 1 tsp. Strawberry Rhubarb Jam (4)
Snack - Pear (1)
Dinner - Homemade Split Pea Soup, 1 small roll, 4 saltine crackers, 2 tsp. butter (9)
Dessert - White Grape Cider, 2 sm. cranberry almond biscotti (7)

Total - 29 points

Exercise - 90 min running and a bunch of yardwork