Another Day Off

Given that yesterday was soooooo nice, we had figured on at least a somewhat warm day today and made plans to work on our garage and yard...so I opted to say no to the gym again. Of course, this led to a breakfast out where I ate my own breakfast plus one of DBF's pancakes. Which would have been fine had we gotten the planned activity....but noooooooo...the weather chose not to cooperate! DBF managed to get the lawn mowed, and I got a few more boxes opened and pulled forward in the garage (someone up there doesn't want me to get through the whole garage, I'm tellin ya!), but then it decided to start raining. Not enough to drown us, but definitely enough to impede fertilizing the lawn, and sorting boxes in the driveway. Boooo.

Thankfully breakfast was super filling so no snacking has been necessary. Dinner is now the Greek chicken, roasted spuds and grilled veggies I had planned for last night. We ended up doing the meat, cheese and cracker thing with our drinks on the deck last night, so I saved the planned meal for tonight instead. Last night there may have been some Ben & Jerry's too...but that's a dairy serving right? :)

Tonight we off to see the new Indiana Jones movie...and since dinner will be filling...there will be NO popcorn for me. And I'm bringing my own water. I refuse to drink $4 water! :)

Tomorrow is supposed to be putter around the house day, but I already told DBF that if we get up to potentially bad weather I'm going to the gym before we do anything else...

Happy Weekend All!

Day Off

Today is a day off from the gym. Four days in a row is the most I can handle without likely doing some damage. DBF is home from his short week at sea today anyway, so I won't really have time for a workout. Plus, it's gorgeous out again, so I think some time on the deck is in order.

Plans are really loose for today. DBF emailed and said he only got 3 hours sleep last night after being on watch for about 10 hours, so he is poopered. Plus he still has to work all day today. Blech.

So, the meal plan, such as it is so far:

- coffee
- fruit salad
- pumpkin & Liberte vanilla yogurt concoction
- homemade guacamole (had to use up leftover ingredients) with crackers
- frosty can of Strongbow on the deck with my honey
- dinner: I've thawed some chicken boobies....we want to BBQ...so I'm thinking Greek marinade...then served with some grilled veggies & taters....hmmm...ya, good idea! Glad I just thought of it. :)
- fudgicle or creamsicle while watching Nip/Tuck (we are obsessed with this show)

Gym Recap

OK, I'm a bad doggie Mommy...I didn't walk him. I started to get ready and somehow I ended up with my gym pants on, and that led to filling my water bottle and the next thing I knew I had my trusty new Lulu bag on my shoulder and getting into my car to head for the gym. Poor puppy. Good for Mommy, not so much for doggie.

But I had a GRRRREAT workout!

I decided to start out on the Eliptical and man did that make a difference. I went a full mile further than I did on Tuesday, doing basically the same thing...but for 5 minutes longer.

Eliptical:
- 5 min warm up, ramp at level 10
- 15 mins incline intervals - 2 mins at each level 10 & level 15, back and forth
- 5 min fast paced cool down, level 7

Treadmill:
- 5 min fast paced walk, incline of 5
- 15 mins incline intervals - 2 mins at each level 5 & level 10, back and forth @ 3.5mph
- 5 min cooldown walk

Erg:
- 10 minutes rowing (went 200m further than Tuesday)

Total travelled: 7.8km (that's a crazy 3.8km more than Tuesday for almost the same workout...I'm pretty sure I must have buggered up my counting then because today I know I'm accurate.)


As a side note: I was doing calf raises, standing on the big stretching apparatus...and some chick decided that she wanted to stretch her back using the same bar I was holding onto. She didn't say excuse me or anything, just looked at me like I was in her way. Holy freaking rude Batman. I didn't say anything, just kept doing my thing, but then she actually almost hit me in the face with the bar, so I lightly put my hand on it so she would realize that she's an idiot. She scowled at me and walked away. Um, hello...first come, first served. Duh.

Self Advertising

Just a reminder for those of you that care about my life outside of my health plans, I've posted a bunch of vacation notes and pictures over on my original blog.

(Oh, and a glimpse of my new LuluLemon bag...haha...I know that will get you looking!)

Check it out!

www.bi0nicw0man.blogspot.com

Big Day in Cardio-land!

The sun is finally shining like crazy today, so I will definitely be getting out for a walk with the doggie today. Poor guy has been so freaking bored because I've either been sick or crazy busy since I got back from vacation. He's a happy house dog, but loves to get out and stretch his legs once in a while. I'm figuring somewhere around 2km on the BLT Trail this afternoon.

I will still go to the gym this evening though. I want my sticker! Got to get the workouts in when I can, in order to make my 20 days! It's cardio day again today though, so I will likely repeat Tuesday's workout....60 minutes broken up between treadmill, elliptical, and erg.

Today's menu plan:

- apple juice
- coffee
- PC BM bagel w/ light Laughing Cow wedge & sliced tomatoes
- fruit salad w/ dollop of yummy Liberte Svelte vanilla yogurt
- salad with lots of chopped veggies, chickpeas, avacado, & light cheddar
- 1/2 lemon Luna Bar
- leftover Buttery Haddock, smashed taters & steamed fiddleheads
- evening snackie: creamsicle?

Gym Recap & Dinner Review

Finally got to the gym for 6:30. I really need to quit blogging during the day so I'm not always working late! I didn't do the best workout in the world, but at least I got it done!

I hopped on the treadmill out of habit, totally forgetting that I wanted to do sprints on the cross-trainer. (I hate doing sprint intervals on the treadmill because you have to keep manually changing the speed...on the cross-trainer you can just start moving faster or slower under your own momentum.) So, since I was already on there I decided to just stay there and do more incline intervals. Not quite as difficult as sprints, but still gets my heart pumping...and my legs will thank me later. My lungs aren't quite ready for serious heavy breathing just yet anyway.

So... treadmill:
- 5 min warm-up
- 15 mins incline intervals - every two minutes I switched between level 10 & level 15, back and forth - 5 min face paced walking cooldown

Then my strength training routine, minus the reverse lunges and back extensions (I actually hate both of those things, so am looking forward to my trainer giving me something different next week.)

I felt like I had worked out, but I barely broke a sweat. And no time for extra cardio tonight. Oh well. I still got 2.2km to add to my distance challenge...and a sticker for my gym challenge.


For dinner I made a recipe from last month's Rachel Ray magazine. It was sooooo good. It's made with too much butter, but that could be changed up for the next time I try it. I wish DBF liked fish because it was cheap, easy, and yummy.

Buttery Halibut with Smashed Potatoes

I had haddock on hand so used that instead of the halibut. I could see definitely easing up on the butter and maybe just searing the fish with some Pam next time. Not sure if it needed the flour coating either. My veggie was steamed fiddleheads and I just let the tomato-butter melt off the fish into the greens. Lucky me, I made enough for two...so you know what I'm having tomorrow night!

Plans for today...

Well, I slept in, so I'm busting my butt to make sure I'm caught up for work. So far I'm drinking coffee and water and waiting for my allergy pill to kick in. Stupid watery eyes and flemmy throat. Next up, is brunch (too late for breaky at this point)....

- coffeeeeeeee
- apple juice
- pumpkin and vanilla yogurt concoction
- PC BM bagel with natural pb
- fruit salad (grapes, strawberries, apple, banana)
- iced coffee
- granola bar
- fish & fiddleheads that I was supposed to have last night
- snackies after dinner...creamsicle? cupcake?

Plus I have to fit the gym in there somewhere....probably before dinner if things work out better than yesterday.

Gym Recap

Got to the gym later than planned last night, but it was a good workout.

Treadmill:
- 5 min warmup
- 15 mins incline intervals - every two minutes I changed from level 10 to level 15, back and forth - all at 3.5mph
- 5 min fast paced walking

Elliptical:
- 20 mins incline intervals - every two minutes I changed from level 10 to level 20, back and forth - not sure of speed, but I was exhausted and sweaty
- 5 min cooldown

Erg:
- 10 minutes moderate paced rowing

All in all, I travelled 4 km. Nice!!!

It's all about the action...

I just updated my Summer Challenge goals. As I've mentioned, my plan to stick to the Eight Healthy Guidelines didn't work out. Funny, because I originally chose that because I thought it would be the easiest thing to do while I was home visiting family and friends. Not. So. Much. Unfortunately, my water intake and healthy oils suffered (oh who am I kidding, there were days where I was lucky to get one fruit serving!).

Honestly, it's just not my thing to force special items into my diet each day. Overall I get enough vitamins, water, healthy grains, and lean proteins. It's all good. Healthy eating isn't my issue at this point. Toning, firming, building cardio, and overall physical fitness are really my focus.

So, back to the activity challenges for me. See the sidebar --->. I plan to cram 20 workouts into the next 28 days. I will continue with my Mon/Wed/Sat schedule for cardio and strength training, plus will get in as many extra cardio days as I can. I will practice sprinting, intervals, inclines, whatever I can do for my poor little lungs and jiggling tushy.

My personal distance challenge for May is struggling, but still alive (I planned to walk/run/ride at least 50km during the month, and if I push it I'll still make it) so I am continuing on with it for the next 28 days...another 50km (it's a week of overlap, but two different challenges).

I also have the Relay for Life coming up so that will add miles and miles for me, but I'm not counting that. Charity is above and beyond my personal goal. :)

When I complete the gym goal, I'll reward myself with a fun new bikini or sundress or something. When I complete the distance goal, it might just be time for the Nike iPod thingy. (I usually don't reward myself, because inevitably if I want something I just buy it regardless of whether I "earned" it or not...but in these cases I'll try to be tough on myself!)

Pumpkin Bandwagon

With all of the recent discussion about pumpkin, I finally had to see what all the fuss was about. I have done the pumpkin thing with my hot cereal over the Winter, and I was the one that altered the banana muffin recipe to work with pumpkin, but when Mandy starting mixing it in her yogurt it all of a sudden became a Summer breakfast too!

I've just mixed 1/2 cup pure pumpkin with 1/2 cup of Liberte Svelt Vanilla organic yogurt (product review to come). So yum! No added spices or sweetners for me. I like it just as is. Pure & Simple. I am eating it with a bagel, so not sure about the filling factor...but all together it's a good morning meal.

I've portioned off the rest of the can of pumpkin and plan to make muffins later in the week and/or maybe some scones....I know I have a WW friendly scone recipe around somewhere. We'll see.

Today's eats as planned:

- Arthur's Very Berry Smoothie
- coffeeeeeeeeeee
- yogurt & pumpkin
- PC BM multigrain & flax bagel w/ natural PB
- strawberries
- salad with lots of chopped veggies, chickpeas & cheese
- Kashi bar
- dinner: haddock w/ buttery sun-dried tomato sauce (a la Rachel Ray), smashed taters, steamed fiddleheads
- some treaties while watching the boob-tube (Mike n Ikes?)

Activity:

- Heading to the gym after work, before dinner. Cardio to the best of my wheezing ability. Probably 20 mins treadmill, 20 mins elliptical, 20 mins bike. Maybe rowing machine. Calf exercises.

4:30pm: ooooops....there may have been a bowl of Bridge Mix in there. It called my name out loud, I swear!

Monday Menu

As promised...reporting in with my eats...

(note: reformat your computer...it keeps you so busy you forget to eat!)

- triple grande no-fat caramel latte
- chopped strawberries & banana with ff vanilla yogurt & a sprinkle of Sugar Crisp (hehe, I bought it as a treat for DBF so I had to try it)
- coffee
- apple juice
- All Bran bar
- egg salad in a pita: 2 boiled eggs, 1 tbsp light mayo, 1 tbsp grainy dijon, chopped pickles & green onions, lots of salt & pepper, and salad greens in a warm whole wheat pita
- Greek Salad with chickpeas, olive oil dressing
- grapes w/ light cheddar
- Creamsicle

Monday Mayhem

Well, maybe not mayhem, but I'll be a busy bee all day!

DBF left for a short 5 day trip to sea this morning, so I was up bright and early to drive him to work. I'm still not feeling 100%, but since I was alreay up and out the door I finally got back to the gym. I didn't run, but I still did my full 25 minutes on the treadmill, plus my strength training and a short bit of cooldown cardio on the cross-trainer. Not my best workout ever, but man was I glad to get back to it....I just looked at my calendar and it has been 18 days since my last trip to the gym. So much for my 15 days in May gym challenge. Boooooo!

I picked up allergy meds on the way home this morning too, because I'm pretty sure part of the reason all of this congestion is hanging around is because of my hayfever. I forget about it every year until I'm sniffling and sneezing all day long...so annoying!

The rest of my day will be spent re-formatting my computer (it's a stat holiday in the US, so a slow work day for us). I've been putting it off for months and it NEEDS to be done. I just backed everything up to my trusty new portable hard drive, so hopefully all goes well. Documents and photos are easy...I'm just hoping that I copied my Outlook backup properly. It would suck if I lost all of my work emails and calendar! Wish me luck.

Like I said, DBF is away, so I'm back to eating up whatever is on hand....thankfully I stocked up on produce and such last week so I'm pretty much good to go. I'll report in later on what today's menu looked like. So far, it's only consisted of a triple grande non-fat caramel latte. :)

Sunday Fun

So last night I ended up not going to my Relay meeting. After a long day of running errands and putting our new patio furniture together I was exhausted. Too bad, I really wanted to go out with my team, but such is life. (Oh but we did go to Darrell's for lunch, and I had the Turkey-Cran as recommended by Tash, and it was pretty tasty!)

Instead we enjoyed some wine and snacks with our neighbors and it was much more relaxing.

Today, DBF is busy doing boy things with his buddies, so I am spending some time picking out plants and stuff for my planters and looking at lanterns, etc. Eating will be at my own discretion, so I'll likely just munch on the Greek salad fixings, pitas, and fruit in the fridge. I'm trying to drink lots of apple juice and water as well, because I'm still so damn dehydrated.

Hopefully that big black cloud I can see out there just keeps on floating past our house!

Saturday Sniffles

The stupid sniffles are still lingering. More of a stuffed-up-ed-ness actually. I think I stayed up too late last night.

The potluck was a great time! A lot of what DBF refers to as "cackling hens" chatting and drinking and eating, oh my! :) There was so much food. My guacamole went over well, but there were tons of other yummy things too. I stuck to my two drinks...fruit martini-type things, but didn't drink any water so I was super thirsty when I got home. I think my snacking was fairly under control...probably a few too many crackers, but I took it easy on the dips and such and did eat mostly fruit. I'm pretty happy with the whole situation.

Today is all up in the air. I'm sipping coffee right now, then will probably grab a small bowl of Kashi Crunch before we head out to Rona to buy our new patio set. I hope they still have the one we picked out about a month ago. *crosses fingers* I am also hoping to maybe wrangle DBF into a mini-date for lunch at Darrell's (recommended by the lovely Tash). If not, then I'll just make Greek salad when we get back from shopping. Tonight I have a meeting with my Relay for Life team downtown at a pub. I haven't looked at the menu yet, but that is next on my agenda. I'll happily chose something healthy (or maybe eat before I go)...I'm just really hoping they have my Strongbow cider on tap, because no one else in this damn city does! Maxwell's Plum boosts the most beers on tap in Halifax, so hopefully that includes my one lovely cider.

Friday Funk

Ugh, still feeling fairly ass-like today. Booooo for the vacation cold!! The sniffles have subsided but I still have that lovely flemmy cough, I'm sleeping way too much, and today I have a wicked headache (which I suspect is because my neck and jaw are sore from being in bed too long). Lame.

So my food is totally bizarre today because I'm still not really hungry, but I figured a few different things might cure my headache. No luck yet.

I am going out for a girl's potluck tonight though. It's rare that I get these opportunities here in Halifax, so I'm getting off my bum to meet some new people. Should be a good time (as long as this headache mellows out) and I get to wear new clothes I bought while on vacation! I'm driving myself, so only 2 drinks for me tonight and I think I might pick up a bottle of San Pellegrino to drink the rest of the evening.

Today's eats (such as they are):

- coffee
- hard boiled egg
- 2 cookies (don't ask, they were on the counter next to the coffee maker)
- fresh strawberries & blueberries with Source Tango peach yogurt
- strawberry Source Tango yogurt
- Wheat Thins, tzatziki, light cheddar, cukes & carrots
- potluck snackies! pretty much everything that people are bringing is pretty healthy in moderation...so I will try what I like and sit far away from the food counter. I'm bringing my fabulous fresh guacamole and some black bean tortilla chips I found in the organic section.

Guidelines:

Some days this is so freaking hard!

F&V: looking good, just have to make sure to get some more in tonight
Dairy: got em
Grains: so far so good, I'll avoid bread tonight
Water: glug, glug, glug
Vitamins: down the hatch
Oils: let's hope there's something with olive oil in it tonight
Protein: egg - check!, cheese - check!, something at potluck - check!
Booze: only two for me, all good!

Activity: fat chance! but I'm dragging my butt to the treadmill tomorrow come hell or highwater.

Post-Vacation Return to the Blog

Helloooooooooooooooooooooooo! I'm back. Did you miss me? :)

I actually arrived home on Monday night, but I came back with a nasty cold and a workload you wouldn't beleive....so no spare blogging time for me. Boooooooo.

I could regail you with tales of food and merriment from the remainder of my trip, but suffice to say it's pretty much moot at this point so I think I will just move on. My choices were not always the best, but I didn't overeat and I did fit in salads and fish a lot. The weather was gorgeous over the weekend so I got lots of walking (and sunburn!) in, but didn't count it for my activity challenge. Good news is I came back to 153.4 on the scale, which is basically staying the same. Bad news is that my cold has kept me from the gym, and my body is really missing it.

The house was completely void of any fresh fruits and veggies...not even juice, so my first couple of days back were pretty lacluster in the eating department. DBF ate smokies and Mr. Noodles while I was away...apparently reliving his University years. I keep waiting for him to get scurvy from the lack of vitamins. :) Last night I finally made time to get to the grocery store and did a super stock up on veggies, fruits, breads, and all the other yummy stuff I need for breakfasts and lunches. I love the big grocery shop!

So today, I'm back onto the Healthy Guidelines for the Summer Challenge. My original goal of 52 days is completely shot, but I am determined to hold it together the best I can for the rest of the challenge. Anyone know how many days we have left? I will have to update my counter over there ----> on the sidebar.

I am not marking down points for the time being. I didn't count while I was away and it worked out OK. I just tried to make good choices. My focus is on the guidelines, portion sizes and healthier choices for now. I still keep an estimated tally in my head, so I won't go overboard, but my brain needs a break. :)

Today I'm eating:
- 1/2 serving Arthur's Very Berry Smoothie
- 1/2 cup Kashi Crunch with 1/2 cup Vanilla Almond Breeze
- fresh strawberries & blueberries mixed with 1 Source Tango vanilla yogurt
- Greek Salad with light feta, chickpeas, olive oil dressing
- toasted pita brushed with olive oil, tzatziki
- BBQ smokie on Villagio bun
- corn-on-the-cob with real butter
- skim milk
- Creamsicle
- grapes

Guidelines:
- F&V - 6
- Whole Grain - pita yes, bun no
- Milk - 2
- Oil - yes
- Protein - breaky cereal, lunch feta & chickpeas, dinner smokie
- No added sugar or booze
- Water - 8 glasses
- Vitamin - multi & Vit C

Activity:
- Not today folks :(

Mmmmmm....donuts....

The vacation devil-may-care food bug is trying to get in, so I need to focus on stopping him today!! Last night's plan for tea and strawberries was interupted by a tall no-fat latte and a huge-ass Starbucks Apple Fritter (seriously, I hope they don't get those in Halifax because they have them all over the place here and they are freaking GOOD). I followed that up with some late-night Cheetos. Holy old comfortable habits Batman!

Today has started off well with our Kashi Crunch & strawberries for breaky, as well as a small glass of Very Berry Smoothie and some coffee. I got some healthy snacks for the train...some grapes & a couple of teeny little bags of trail mix. I'll be getting some water and probably diet Coke for the ride too. Dinner is completely up in the air, but there will be some wine and fun tonight I'm sure.

No walk today, but tomorrow I'll be on foot for any plans I have in Victoria so that should help. Saturday and Sunday the weather is supposed to get really good, so there are plans for a hike somewhere and also a trip to the Beacon Hill Park Petting Zoo....so more walking there. I'm really starting to miss the gym. My calves hate me!

Computer access will be limited for the next day or two, so don't miss me too much! :)

Un-freaking-friendly

Don't you hate it when you eat something points unfriendly and it's not even good? That's what happened at lunch. My Grandpa decided he wanted to eat at a local seafood restaurant....thinking this would be a great healthy option, we agreed. Good God, has that place gone dowwwwwwnhill. Everything was battered or fried. I opted for a Seafood Club which was really good, but not particularly good for me since it was laden with dill mayo and had thick strips of bacon. Such is life. But I paired it with their creamy clam chowder, which was completely disappointing. More like flour and potato soup. Boooooo. At least it was the one big meal for today so I'll just chalk it up to the whole day's points and stick with water and tea for the rest of the night. Maybe strawberries as my evening snack.

Good news is that the sun is supposed to come out tomorrow.....so maybe I can get my morning walk in before my train trip back to Victoria.

Poo-Poo Weather

The weather is still cold, grey, wet and dreary...not exactly warm enough or motivating enough for a morning walk. Booooooooooooo. Ah well, such is life. Hopefully tomorrow.

Our Keg appy dinner was yummy and cheese laden. :) We did share a caesar salad and had Caesars to drink though so at least there was vegetables. LOL. The Blizzards were tasty of course, but I now feel like I probably don't need to eat for three days.

Today's focus is water. I've been slacking big time in that department so it is time to suck it up!

I had coffee and a banana breakfast today. We are taking my Grandpa for lunch at Swiss Chalet, so since that is going to be a way bigger mid-day meal than I am used to, I decided to keep breakfast as small as possible. I will probably opt for salad at Swiss but who knows. Dinner is undecided thus far, but we'll likely keep it simple....maybe even cook at home this time since we actually have time!! What a crazy idea!

Time to get ready, talk to you all later!

Happy Birthday Mom!

There must be something about the island air, or the break from working out, or maybe just vacation attitude...but my skin is better here, and I looked at my ass in the mirror this morning and was actually happy with what I saw! haha, TMI? I've been waiting for the working out to finally show some results and I was pretty stoked to see it happening. Let's hope I can hold onto that during my 10 day vacation with no gym time and too much cheese. :)

Yesterday's meals were OK. Big bowl of Kashi Crunch w/ vanilla Almond Breeze & fresh strawberries for breaky. Some Very Berry Smoothie for an extra fruit serving. I actually packed some chopped strawberries to snack on while we were shopping...so no evil mall snacks! We opted for a Mexican dinner instead of Thai...and I had these amazing Halibut soft tacos...with the usual homemade frijoles and a bit of rice & corn. Sooo yum! Oh, and some white sangria...that counts as a fruit serving right? :) I did eat a tiny bowl of Swedish berries when we got home, but no damage done.

Today I had the same breakfast and my afternoon snack at the hairdresser will probably be one of the Kashi bars that I have in my suitcase. Tonight Mom and I are going to share appies at the Keg, and probably a Caesar or two. Of course, we will follow that with Blizzards because it's her birthday and that's the tradition! :) I promise to eat salad with lunch tomorrow to make up for it.

The weather today is totally ass, so no walk around the neighborhood...hopefully tomorrow.

Have a great day all!

Map My Walk

This was the walk I did from my Mom's house to my old elementary to school and around the neighborhood, past our old crappy sketchy mall (that is finally undergoing some renovations and apparently getting a snazzy new Starbucks).

Miss me yet?

Did you know that when you fly all the way across the country and there are a couple of take-offs during that time, that you end up with 3 complimentary packages of Bits n Bites, plus a pack of Peak Freans? :) Plus because of the extra long touch-down in TO, you can actually get off the plane just long enough for Starbucks and a new book. Let's just say that travel day eating is not good. It probably could have been worse, but there wasn't a vegetable in sight. Oh well. Life goes on. And when your girlfriends make you homemade nachos served with your favorite Strongbow Cider at what is 2am for you, you take it and relish it!

Since then I've made a few bad choices, but for the most part all is well. Mom and I stocked up on Kashi Crunch and strawberries yesterday so I'm happy now. This morning I finally got some activity in and walked for 45 minutes around my childhood neighborhood (I will mapmywalk and post it) and it felt great! I'm going to try a different direction tomorrow.

Hope you all don't miss me too much. :) Time to go shopping with Mom and maybe finally find those new bras!

Blowing this Popstand!

It's that time...time to for last minute stuff before I head off to the airport. I'm sitting here with my late breakfast of things I know DBF won't eat while I'm gone...LOL. Nice combo of Arthur's Very Berry Smoothie, baby carrots, grapes, and maybe a Source yogurt. I've had some coffee and some water, but I'm taking it easy on that stuff because I don't want to have to pee twelve times on the plane.

Lunch will be something quick at the airport with my honey...probably Timmy's. I also packed a couple of Kashi bars in my purse to tide me over on the plane. Airplane food is crappy and expensive now, so I'd rather sustain myself with water or juice and just hope I don't wind up starving. My girls are getting us some yummy Noodle Box for a super late dinner when I get to Victoria. Not the healthiest way to start my vacation, but totally worth it. :)

I think I'm going to finish packing now and get in a walk around the neighborhood with the dog. Gotta get that last minute activity in!

I will be posting on and off while I'm gone, just to let you all know I'm still alive and hopefully to keep myself accountable. I know activity is going to be sporatic at best and eating isn't going to be point friendly...but I plan to stick to our Summer Challenge and work hard at keeping to the Healthy Guidelines. Wish me luck!

Cookies & Cheese

You will happy to hear that I only ate three cookies with 1/2 cup skim milk last night. And I will have you know that I did feel better! :) Of course, I still need bras in a big bad way...but I'll probably shop lots when I get to Victoria so maybe they'll have a better selection of sad, little A cups. A!!! Booooo! I used to be a 36C....then went down to a 36B.....then 34B....now 36A. Except in a push-up bra I'm still a B because I need the extra cup space for the push-up part. Good thing DBF isn't a boob man.

Anyway...no gym today...lots of work and travel prep to do. Maybe a walk later, but time is scarce...we'll see.

My menu is again pretty random:

- Arthur's Very Berry Smoothie drank right from container :)
- I really want a SB iced latte but I'm too lazy/busy to drive over there, so probably coffee downstairs
- Special K Satisfaction w/ chopped strawberries & skim milk
- grapes
- salad with whatever veggies are left in the crisper, olive oil dressing
- Source Tango yogurt
- wine and cheese night! Usually when one of us goes away, we go out for a nice dinner, but I chose wine and cheese night at home so I can still do laundry and start packing and stuff. I picked up some old white cheddar, havarti, brie, cacciatore sausage & some local pepperoni....and of course a mini-baguette. I will also throw in some grapes & carrots for me. DBF is in charge of picking out some wine.

I'm aiming for 3 litres of water today to flush my system. Plus I probably won't get in 2 full litres tomorrow because I'll be flying half of the day and I hate having to pee on the plane!

Points: pretty good
Guidelines: all good

I just wanted to let you all know...

....that I'm about to go downstairs and eat Decadent chocolate chip cookies and milk...and you can't stop me!

You will all understand... I had a bad night trying to buy new bras. I came home with the knowledge that I've gone down another cup size (why did I have to lose weight in my boobies?!) and my size is hard to come by apparently. I came home empty handed and disappointed.

I need cookies STAT!

Wacky Wednesday

Up extra early today because DBF had to be at work early. He's on duty, which means he has to stay over tonight and won't be home until after work tomorrow. On the West Coast, he still went in at his usual time on duty days, but here they have them do the turnover like an hour early. So I had to drag my arse outta bed at 6:10 this morning. Ugh.

I still made it to the gym for my full workout even though I was exhausted. And, of course, I felt great afterwards!

Today's Workout:

Treadmill: 5 min warmup, 10 min run, 3 min walk, 5 min run, 1:30 walk, 5 min run, 5 min cooldown. I'm pretty comfortable with running at 5.4 mph now...seems to be my zone. Although, at the end I pushed the last 30 seconds at 5.8, just because. :)

Full strength training routine, minus the back extensions (the big ball was MIA and the smaller ones don't work for me), so I added in my calf exercises and 3 sets of squats.

Recumb Bike: 10 mins, random, level 8 - 3 min cooldown

2.6 miles on the treadmill, 2.9 miles on the bike = 8.8 km for my personal activity challenge

The Summer Challenge is going pretty well. I have to remind myself to cram in that last servings of water usually and sometimes I forget my vitamin until I'm brushing my teeth at night. The grains, fruits, veggies and dairy are fitting in pretty much no problem though.

Today's Menu Plan (pretty much just using up whatever is on hand...no shopping this week as I'm pretty sure DBF is going to sustain himself with pizza delivery and Campbell's soup while I'm away):

pre-gym: 1/2 banana
- 1/2 serving Arthur's Very Berry Smoothie
- coffee
- 2 x fibre Eggos w/ natural PB & other 1/2 of banana
- grapes, light cheddar
- tuna salad on light rye Wasa
- baby carrots & hummus (there's maybe a tbsp left in the container)
- Source Tango yogurt w/ chopped strawberries
- WW Santa Fe Beans & Rice frozen meal, broken taco shell for dipping
- mixed greens w/ tomatoes & olive oil dressing
- Creamsicle
- maybe more grapes (I have a huge bag to get through), maybe another Source Tango (there's a whole box that expires while I'm gone)

25+maybe 2 points for grapes & yogurt tonight/22+5AP

Guidelines: managed to squeeze them all in there!

What ice cream?

So last night there "might" have been a trip to DQ. And by ""might" I mean I had a Tin Roof Brownie Blizzard and it was freaking fantastic. :) Oh, and there was wine. Yes, ice cream then wine.

Normally Tuesdays I don't drive DBF to work because I have a standing work project that has to be done on Tuesday afternoons right around the same time I'd have to pick him up, but since I want to get into the gym as much as I can before I leave on vacation this Friday I decided I'd drive him and just work around the pick-up time and my project this afternoon.

Gym Recap (cardio only day):

Treadmill: inclines, warmed up with ramp at 5, and moved up from there for 15 mins...all the way to 15 for the last 5 minutes, finished with 5 minute cooldown declining slowly.

Erg: rowed for 10 minutes

Stairmaster: level 5, manual, for 10 minutes

Burned approx 400 cals and travelled exactly 5km for my personal activity challenge!

Today's eats:

- SB dbl tall no fat vanilla latte
- SB stupid apple cinnamon bun (probably like 12 points! sorta worth it, haha)
- grapes
- tuna salad (tuna, light mayo, pickles, green onions, squirt of dijon) on Light Rye Wasa
- baby carrots
- 1/2 serving Arthur's Very Berry Smoothie
- ff vanilla yogurt w/ strawberries
- "Crunchy Chicken" (essentially corn flake coated chicken a la Rachel Ray), served with whatever veggie I pick up at the grocery store (brocolli probably) and McCain fries.... and probably some sort of dipping sauce consisting of light mayo.
- glass of skim milk with dinner
- Creamsicle

points: 20+stupid cinnabun/22+4AP

Guidelines: check, check, check

Recipe - Balsamic Chicken w/ Mushrooms

This was one of the first WW recipes I ever made and it's super yummy. (Unfortunately it led me to believe that all WW recipes were going to be good, but alas NOT SO MUCH. haha.) It's quick, easy and versatile.

Makes 4 servings, 3 points per serving

4 x 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups white mushrooms, cut in halves or quarters
1/3 cup chicken broth (water will do if you don't have broth...or white wine for that matter!)
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard (I like a little extra squirt)
1 large garlic clove, minced (or if you are like me, 3 cloves)
1/4 tsp dried thyme (don't like thyme, try Italian Seasoning)
2 tsp oil (vegetable or olive...whatever you have on hand)
salt & pepper

In a dish big enough for all of the chicken pieces, mix 2 tbsp of vinegar with the mustard & garlic. Add chicken and flip to thoroughly coat.

While that sits for a few minutes, heat up 1 tsp oil in a non-stick frying pan at medium-high heat. When warmed, add chicken & marinade. Cook, about 3-4 minutes on each side. If it starts to scortch, turn heat down a bit and add a splash of water. Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

Heat remaining tsp of oil in same pan. Add mushrooms and sautee for about 1 minute. Add broth, thyme, remaining tbsp of vinegar and s&p to taste. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep brown...about 2 minutes.

Add chicken back to pan to heat through. Serve!


The WW notes say you can add chopped sundried tomatoes to the mushrooms for a different spin. I've never tried that, but I have bulked it up with onions...and peppers would be good if you like them (I don't!). I always serve with some sort of veggies that kind of end up sitting in the juices. Rice or spuds are good too. Enjoy!

Off on the right foot...

The scale tells me 152.8 this morning! That is down .6 pounds from last week and the lowest I have been in 5 weeks. Woooooo!!

I know I was quite over my points this week, but I think my body is finally adjusting to all of the working out and extra activity. Also, I took a day off from the gym this week, plus took it easier on one of my other days and I think that might have actually helped in the weight department. That's just a guess though.

DBF is home now, so I got up to drive him to work and went for my early morning workout. I wasn't feeling the C25K love today though, so I did my own thing on the treadmill. 5 min warm-up, and 3 x 5 min runs w/ 1 min recoveries, 3 min cooldown. Then my full strength training of course...I forced myself to up my weights again on a few machines, and have added some calf exercises to the end of my routine (I'm finally starting to see the definition in my calves and want to keep it up!). Finished off the day with a 10 minute, level 8, random hill ride on the recumb bike. Whew!

I racked up another 7km for my personal activity challenge. :)

Today's eats are planned as follows:

pre-gym: 1/2 banana
- SB dbl tall no fat vanilla latte
- 2 x toast w/ pb & other 1/2 of banana
- coffee
- 1/2 serving Arthurs Very Berry Smoothie
- ww pita (toasted w/ 1 tsp olive oil), hummus, cukes, carrots
- ff vanilla yogurt w/ strawberries
- All Bran bar
- balsamic chicken with mushrooms (WW recipe...so good!) served with grilled (w/ olive oil) zucchini & steamed asparagus
- Creamsicle

25/22+5AP

Guidelines: yup, yup, yup

Short n Sweet

It was finally gorgeous outside today so there was no way that I was going to the gym. I am perfectly happy to forfeit a shiny sticker on my calendar in order to play in my yard, clean out my garage and walk my dog along the trail by the lake. I still stuck to the Summer Challenge and got in 2km for my personal activity challenge. Wooooooo!

Challenges, Challenges, Everywhere!

First, let me just say that I did indeed get off my buns and go to the gym on a Friday night. Fridays are usually my day off, but I want to get as much time in as I can because I'll be missing a bunch while I'm away, so after a bit of after-work TV I got into my workout gear and went. I had wanted to walk outside, but the weather is still ass....so instead I walked 4.5km on the treadmill, the latter 2km at an incline of 10. Nice and quiet at the gym, so I went sans iPod and read a really good article in Marie Claire. :) Tomorrow is extra cardio and strength training day.


I never said anything, but for April I challenged myself to get 22 days of gym time in. I got some fun little stickers for my calendar and was doing really well for the first few weeks. In the end, I slipped a few days and ended up with 20 days total, but that's pretty good for my first gym challenge. I'm proud of myself!


This month I can't really challenge myself to a full month of gym time because I'm going away for 10 days...so I've set the bar at 15 days...but I'll be happy if I get in 12, plus as much other activity as I can (ie: walks and such while I'm gone). Hopefully by the time I get back the weather will be better too, so I can keep up with my extra challenge...


My extra activity challenge to myself (to keep motivation while I'm gone) is to walk/run/jog/bike at least 60km this month. I based that on 2km day for 30 days....knowing that I'll miss a few days, but on most gym days I'll go at least 3-4km. This should help keep me moving even when I can't get on a treadmill.


I might not be able to watch everything I eat or count all of my points, but I can make sure I don't turn into a couch potato just because I'm on vacation!

Relay Support

While I was posting my morning blog, I got a fantastic email from the Canadian Cancer Society letting me know that I had received another pledge for my Relay for Life. The fantastic Miss Jen has pushed me over my halfway mark!!! Thanks Jen for your support. I sooooo appreciate it.

Edit: then the other fabulous Jen just jumped in too! Thank you!

Edit #2: holy, big day in Relay-land! Thanks to lovely Cat for joining the cause!

It's just so incredible to me, that we all have such a support system here in our crazy blogger world. Who knew we'd become a little family?!!

If you want to help support me in the Relay for Life, in memory of my Dad and Grandma, and in support of survivors and families everywhere, you can donate here.

Bump in the Challenge

I really want to count yesterday as good challenge-wise, but I just can't. Boooo. But I had a fabulous time, so I am not upset. I didn't manage to get all of my water in and my added sugar intake for the day was more than planned/necessary. So close, yet so far! Oh well. After the great dinner, we went to the movies. Did you know that the Oxford has a deal for $9.99 that includes your admission/regular popcorn/regular drink? How can you turn that down? Except my friend ordered my drink and I didn't say "diet" so wound up with a real Coke. It was great (I love Coke!) but it killed my challenge for the day (I'd already allowed myself the cake for dessert).

So today.....

- 1/2 serving Arthur's Very Berry Smoothie (full fruit serving!)
- coffeeeeeeeee
- Special K Satisfaction w/ chopped 1/2 banana & vanilla Almond Breeze
- watermelon
- hummus, crackers, carrots, mushrooms
- grapes
- 1/2 banana & ff vanilla yogurt
- pita pizza!!: ww pita, Classico sauce, salami, red onions, mushrooms, spinach, part skim mozza, fresh grated parm, drizzle olive oil
- mixed green salad w/ tomatoes & grilled asparagus, olive oil & balsamic drizzle
- Creamsicle (did you know only 2 points!?)
- maybe SmartPop while I watch a movie

24+popcorn/22+3AP

Activity: I am really planning for a 3-4km walk with the dog on the trail after work, but the weather is pretty gloomy so maybe I'll end up on the treadmill instead. Either way, power walk (3).

Guidelines: ALL GOOD!

Gym Recap

Early morning workouts are obviously the way to go for me. I do so much better on an empty stomach. Is that normal?

Treadmill: C25K, week 6/day 2 (again!)
- 5 min warmup
- 10 min run, 3 min recovery, 10 min run
- 5 min cooldown
- I think the key here for me was to slow my pace just a bit. I went for 5.4mph today instead of my usual 5.6 or so, and I made it through pretty easily. The first 10 mins was a piece of cake...the second 10 was tough, but I did it!

3 full sets strength training. I opted to skip my back extensions on the ball today because my back has been bugging me, but added in 3 sets of calf raises to make up for it.

Erg (rowing machine): I was heading for my cooldown on the recumbant bike, and as I walked by the rower I remembered that I'd been meaning to give it a go.
- 10 minutes (my hands were dying after 5 mins, but I pushed through)

I feel great!! So glad I finally dragged my ass out of bed and went at my usual early time. DBF is going to be away a lot over the next few months, so I really need to keep motivating myself and not use my not having to drive him to work as an excuse to sleep too long.

Bits n Bites

Yesterday was a success Challenge-wise, but not so much points-wise. After dinner I just couldn't stop stuffing my face. Amazingly it was mostly healthy stuff...just way too much of it. Like, I'm sure I really needed two bowls of cereal at 9pm! WTF? and those Bits n Bites...definitely didn't need those. At least I had some watermelon and grapes too. Weird night.

And I didn't make it to the gym either. I had decided that since I didn't get up early to go, and I didn't want to interupt my work day, that I would try going after dinner. Ya right. Won't make that mistake again!

However, I DID get up when my alarm went off this morning and got myself in there and made up my Wednesday workout. Yaaaaaaaaieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Tonight I'm going for dinner & a movie with a girlfriend, so my menu is a bit weird today....

pre-gym: 1/2 Kashi Bar
post-gym: 1/2 Kashi Bar
- venti SB bold coffee
- Special K Satisfaction w/ skim milk
- watermelon & blackberries
- toasted ww pita, cukes, carrots, hummus, tzatziki
- grapes & light cheddar
- ff yogurt
- shared tapas (& probably wine) at Mezza
- bottled water flavored with Nestea Blueberry Pomegranate stuff for movie

16+dinner/22+5AP

Activity: 30 mins high intensity cardio, 15 mins moderate cardio, strength training (5)

Guidelines: ALL GOOD (just need to make sure to get in at least 1 F&V serving at dinner!)

Water: 3 litres (1 down, 1 today, 1 tonight)