Yesterday's meals

Okay, yesterday's meals ...

Lunch was leftover beef stir fry with 1/4 cup of rice. Brown rice would have been better but it takes longer to cook and no one in the house will eat it except for me. Water to drink.

Snack: homemade granola bar featuring Harvest Crunch cereal, oats, peanut butter, min marshmallows, cho. chips and some other stuff. Mostly healthy and 150 cal. per bar.

Dinner: fish (coated but that's what we had), salad with green pepper and celery, low cal. dressing, potato nest - 150 cal. for one.

Lemongrass tea at 9:00pm.

Not bad for meals. Housework and family time after dinner. We played a new board game!

Today is Wednesday: 6:30am and a I had a banana, multivitamin and water. Going to do some yoga and cardio before my clients arrive. I have to hurry!

Back on track

So I was discouraged about my journey after a weekend of pop, pizza, chips, birthday cake, pecan pie flavoured ice cream and lack of exercise for a few days ... felt like all my hard work was gone and that's ridiculous! How could it be? If T.O's Rob Ford can lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks or less why does it take me months? Maybe it's because there's not that much to lose. Maybe it's because my body has a comfort zone and sometimes you can only do so much but I will not be defeated!

Today I had a multivitamin, water, 3 large strawberries in 1/2 cup of Harvest Crunch cereal and yogurt.

Workout:

2 sets of 15 reps 12.5 lb curls

2 x 12 reps 10 lb alternating curls

2 x 20 reps 10 lb squats

2 x 15 reps 8 lb shoulder shrugs

2 x 20 reps 115 lb seated leg press

2 x 15 reps 40 lbs leg curls

2 x 15 reps 45 lb leg extensions

2 x 20 reps 75 lb adductor (inner thigh so is it abductor?)

2 x 20 reps 60 lbs abductor (outter thigh so reversed?)

2 x 12 reps 30 lb tricep extensions

30 reverse crunches

20 alternating oblique crunches

stretching!

Cardio: 22 mins. at 5.0 incline, a bit of jogging on treadmill. Average heart rate 142, high was 167.

The gym was very strange today ... I felt almost exposed because they had removed a lot of equipment and were bringing in new stuff. Where did all those people come from? It was busy in there at 9:00am!

After the gym, I had 1/2 scoop of whey protein, 3 strawberries and milk blended. It was great!

Wish me luck.

Thursday already?

So I have been slacking in the writing department. I have still being doing well. Tuesday I went to the gym and jogged/power walked on the treadmill, 45 mins. of weight lifting, reps of 20 mostly and 2 sets of each exercise using machines, free weights, medicine ball and stability ball. It was great! Been eating well too.

Wednesday was a crazy busy day for work for me. 15 hour day at least and sadly didn't give much time to two of my kids but I did manage to squeeze in 31 minutes on the treadmill at home at 6:15am, burning 175 calories according to the meter. Certainly broke more than a sweat!

Dinner was some ham, 6 pieces of rigatoni (yes, only 6 squiggly pasta bits) and celery with a touch of Guk for dipping. Maybe a tsp of it. No food after 6:00pm and I went to bed at 12:45am. Got some sewing caught up and read part of my Happiness Project book too.

Today is Thursday. Haven't done a Wii scale check yet. I will tomorrow. It's been a full day of working 3 jobs so far and it's 1:20pm, and I have volunteering tonight.

Breakfast: omelet made with 1 egg and some poured egg whites, topped with a little marble cheese and diced tomatoes, 2 strips of bacon, 3/4 slice of whole wheat toast with margarine (I was full and gave the other 1/4 of toast to one of the kids) and 5 oz of 2% milk. All four food groups.

Snack: 2 stalks of celery with a little cream cheese, water - 11:15am

Lunch: Not hungry. I should eat something soon.

Work-out: Hopefully at 8:00pm tonight when I get home. It was supposed to be my gym day but sometimes life gets in the way of plans. Cardio and stretching will do nicely. I've had 32 oz of water at least so far today. Had my fresh air for 40 mins. outside too.

Tonight's dinner is nachos and tortilla soup. I think I will load mine up with green pepper instead of chips underneath. I feel really good about this low-carb diet so far. Low-carb meaning less grains, rice, pasta, cereal, etc. It's been nearly 3 weeks!

Funeral today

I am attending my grandfather's funeral today. It will be a solemn day. I am to do the first reading at mass. I hope I don't stumble. I am honoured that I was asked. Last night was the viewing. Not as difficult as I thought and nice to have almost the entire family together. It's a rarity.

Okay ... I can't sleep so I am online. Yesterday I did manage to get in a half hour of exercise in the morning. It was cardio combined with crunches, bridges, calf raises, leg lifts, torso twists and a few other stretches. Proud that I could fit that in.

So food yesterday ...

Breakfast: banana, water, vitamin

Lunch: garden salad with sliced turkey on top, low cal Caesar dressing, 1/3 potato made into home fries, water

Snack at 3pm: granola bar (150 calories), water

Dinner at 9:00pm: Diet Coke (0 calories), southwest salad at Montana's - greens, black beans, corn, few tortilla strips, jalepeno and red peppers, topped with steak. Ancho ranch dressing on the side and I used 1/4 of the cup of dressing provided. Didn't finish the salad. Very proud of my healthy choice. A full salad is over 500 calories. I didn't need much dressing at all!

My Grandmother said I looked thinner. I saw her 2 weeks ago just before New Year's. The compliment was nice.

Today ... no breakfast yet. Maybe I should try to get some more sleep. I've been up for an hour at it's 6:40am.

A busy weekend

On Friday I was down 0.2 kg. I did a lot of cardio exercise in the morning, snow shovelling in the afternoon, and was feeling good, considering I received bad news about a death in the family the night before. That's another story. My dinner was my "fun" night ... 2 beers (1 was light), 2 slices of pizza with meat and veggies on it, 2 brownies (that I made), 2 pieces of cheesy garlic bread and breaded chicken twists. So worth it! No night snacking after that.

Saturday (yesterday), I went to the gym and spent 1 1/2 hours lifting weights, walking the track and jogging on the treadmill. My incline was 4.5%, maximum heart rate 178 bpm. My target is 111- 148. What happens if I go over? My steady heart rate was within the high end of my range, closer to 155 though. Breakfast unfortunately was a granola bar and lunch was 2 slices of leftover pizza. I didn't eat again for several hours until dinner but drank plenty of water.

Dinner: hamburger (NO BUN), slice of bacon, mustard, garden salad with a little Guk sauce on the side, 1/3 potato made into home fries with NO SALT.

Evening: slice of apple cheesecake, 2 shrimp with seafood sauce, handful of whole grain (gluten-free) crackers with seeds in them and brie, glass of wine, butterscotch martini, couple of rum & Diet Cokes so all low calorie drinks at a party.

Today is Sunday. Not in the mood for much. I need some down time after a busy week. House work has been done daily this week. Kids need reminders to keep up with things. We have a viewing to attend to later. I have managed to do 14 days straight of exercise and watching what I eat carefully. I noticed in pictures I've gone up and down ... wondering what I did before to go down. I don't think it was this intense. I have to do some form of exercise today.

Breakfast: banana and water - for now. Not in the mood to eat. I know bananas are "bad" in a way but whatever. It's fruit so better than a couple of slices of toast, right?

Lunch today

Lunch today was left over chicken and veggies from last night and a blueberry muffin made yesterday. Did I mention my breakfast? Egg white omelet made with a splash of milk, black pepper, sprinkling of cheese and diced tomato with 6 strawberries on the side, a vitamin and water.

Water drank as of 1:00pm: 6 glasses

Speed walking at 8:30am

Last night for dinner I had slow cooker country chicken made with skinless chicken, 2 potatoes, peas, celery, carrots and corn. The pot made enough for everyone but only us adults and 1 child had some with plenty left over. I made corn bread and mini corn muffins too so I had one slice of the bread. It was good! I went out for a meeting, came home hungry and had a glass of water. No night snacking for me!

This morning the scale on the Wii shows a drop. Horray! I did 30 mins. of exercise, burning 100 calories with activities like hula hoop, ski jump, 3 yoga moves, step, boxing and baton march. I went for a power walk up and down hills to the bank and back. At red lights, I did standing calf raises to keep my heart rate up. It was a 3.4 km walk round trip, burning over 150 calories and home by 9:10am.

Happiness means decluttering

Today is Tuesday. First, the health portion of this blog ...

Yesterday for dinner I had beef meatballs with mozarella on top and veggies cooked in a little oil and seasoned with Mediterranean sea salt and black pepper. Veggies tried were zucchini, green pepper and mushrooms. It was good! No evening snack.

Today's breakfast: oatmeal with a handful of blueberries on top, water, vitamin.

Went to the gym and did a great work out:

CARDIO: Walked to the gym in a fast pace - 7 mins.

Treadmill at incline of 5.0, bouts of running and walking while watching Storage Wars for 20 mins. I did not want to get off - wanted to keep watching the show! Highest heart rate was 177. Average heart rate 148 bpm. I should look up what is appropriate for fat burning for my age.

Walked home at a fast pace - 7 mins. so total of 34 mins. of cardio.

WEIGHTS: 2 sets of 20 reps (2x20) seated leg press at 110 lbs.

2x20 ab crunches at 60 lbs.

2x20 abductor (the inner thigh machine or is it adductor?) at 70 lbs.

2x15 leg extensions at 45 lbs.

2x15 leg curls at 45 lbs.

2x15 bicep curls at 12.5 lbs.

2x12 different type of alternating curls at 10 lbs.

2x15 squats holding 10 lbs. at sides

2x12 shoulder shrugs with 10 lbs.

2x20 lat pulldowns at 30 lbs.

2x15 tricep pull down extensions at 30 lbs.

I think that was all I did today. Can't remember!

Now on to the happiness and decluttering portion!

We had the city come and do a special garbage pick up for us today. First one of the year is free. This morning, we had scavengers pick up the mops, computer and scanner. A lady came by and asked my husband if she could have the highchair, potty, ride on outdoor toy and booster seat for the table. I spoke to her and she said her church is sponsoring a family from Iraq and they have 3 kids under 3 and will be new to the country as of next week. Her plan was to take those items home, clean them up and donate them. Well when I heard that, I went inside and grabbed some kids' clothes, baby toys, kids' dishes and a few other things that might be useful. I'd rather give away to a family in need than put working items in the landfill. So she came back and took almost all the kids' stuff away except for the furry chairs which can't easily be cleaned. Came back from work at lunch and all the garbage was gone. Feels so GOOD to declutter and free up space.

Today is Monday!

Sunday I went skating with the family. We were on the ice for about an hour. Maybe not a smart thing since I was sore but it was good. I must have burned a couple hundred calories skating. Didn't get to much more exercise than that but I suppose a day of rest was in order. I did get all the items off my organization check list completed though.

I'm not going to beat myself up over lunch or "brunch" as one of the kids wanted. I had 2 perogies with low fat sour cream, a small slice of cheese pizza, part of a cheese omelet, 6 oz glass of 2% milk and a bit of pasta with cheese. At least everyone ate up the rest and none lof the kids complained. Victory in the meal department!

Dinner was healthier. Homemade vegetable soup made by my 7-year-old, Moroccan chicken (new recipe for me) and water. No home fries for me - everyone else had them. My evening snack was a handful of chili lime peanuts.

Today is Monday! Breakfast at 8:45am was unexpected - a blueberry muffin brought in for me from one of my daycare children. A guilty pleasure and my only wheat based carb today. Better to have it in the morning than dinner.

Exercise: I did 30 mins. of Wii Fit and burned 100 calories at 6:30am before work. I plan to do something more intense later. I worked for 3 1/2 hours this morning and now am taking a break at home while my little one watches the tube.

Lunch at 10:30am: leftover Moroccan chicken on a bed of romaine lettuce with 2 sliced mushrooms and not quite a tbsp of calorie wise ranch dressing.

Snack at 1:45pm: 2 thick slices of tomato, 5 slices of cucumber with marble cheddar sliced on top and sprinkled with Arriba sansel salt-free spice blend. Satisfying. Better choice than cheese & crackers.

Water consumed so far as of 2:00pm: 6 glasses

Dinner: Unsure what to prepare.

Progress: According to the Wii scale, 1.2 kg lost since Jan. 2. Hmmm ... all that work for only 2 pounds? Really? So unfair! A friend suggested checking out the health food store for metabolism and thyroid boosters. I exercised daily and reduced my food and carb intake drastically and that's all that happened. Progress is progress though. Keep it up and by Valentine's Day, it should be visible.

January 8, 2012

Yesterday was Saturday. The night before I had 3 slices of thin crust Montreal smoked meat pizza, celery and cucumber with dip and some chips while watching Pocohontas with the family. I had 3/4 of a cranberry gingerale. I checked the label - less calories than the other pop in the house. I felt bad but it was so good! No beer for me either.

Saturday food: egg white omelet with mushrooms, cheese inside a thick slice of green pepper. Snack: cucumber slices, low fat vanilla yogurt

Dinner: 2 square slices of pepperoni pizza after curling at 4:00pm, 3/4 gingerale

Snack: 1 Italian sausage with spicy mustard (mustard is fat free) at 5:30pm

Snack: salad with green pepper, celery, calorie wise ranch dressing (maybe 1/2 tbsp) at 8:00pm

Saturday morning I jumped on my treadmill at home for 25 mins. In the afternoon we went curling for the first time with our volunteer organization kids. It is more physical than it looks. Today my inner thighs are sore from all the movement. Should I take an exercise break? Nah.

Sunday breakfast: smoothie. Was hoping spouse could make bacon and eggs but everyone seems to be enjoying the last day of Christmas break doing their own thing so I went healthy. Made with 2% milk, frozen mixed berries, low fat vanilla yogurt and 1/2 scoop of whey protein powder. I feel full.

My fitness plan for today: skating with the family in the afternoon, ab work, some other exercise

My organization plan for today: laundry! Have kids put away their own (everyone in the house has a chore chart taped to the bedroom doors. Check marks given for each item done - kids get allowance based on this at the end of the week.)

b) mop kitchen and bsmt bathroom floors, sweep

c) throw out a bunch of stuff from the laundry and furnace rooms

d) activities with the kids

e) put away Christmas village and lights

Lots more on the list on the white board in the kitchen so will see what I can get done. Would LOVE to go out for dinner. Haven't been to a restaurant since Dec. 3rd so over a month. I did book a spa appointment for myself in a few weeks though. ME time!

Health and Happiness: A Mom's Tale

Why didn't I think of this sooner? I love writing, miss writing and it's a great way to get thoughts "on paper". About me ... a 30-something (29 forever!) mom of three young kids, married for 10 years to a wonderful, supportive husband, educated and creative lady who gives to others. I have four jobs - all part time. Some days are longer than others. I volunteer for three organizations, one of which takes up a lot of time but while doing these activities, I get to spend time with each of my children. My world revolves around children, teaching them, exploring the world with them and I am good at it!

I often am the ear which listens to other's problems. I've heard it all. I am the voice of reason, the voice of encouragement, the voice of new ideas. I have two college diplomas and a certificate. I have yet to find "the perfect job" as a counsellor, which is what I will be searching for once August 2012 is over. I have paid for membership in the OCSWSSW and have not used it to my advantage yet, except for having those little letters after my name. That journey is another tale.

So with the jobs, volunteering and family (and we have pets) down, there is still the house to organize, businesses to keep paper work organized for, friends to spend time with and oh yeah ... ME time. Not much of that guilt-free that's for sure.

Okay, the purpose of this blog is to document, I suppose, my goals towards having a healthier, better organized ME. Not selfish at all. I feel I am mom first, then wife, house manager (sewing, cooking, shopping, cleaning, banking, social calendar arranger, appointment booker, chauffeur, play date arranger, first aider, etc.), self-employed, employee, everyone else's "servant" and then myself.

My 2012 resolutions are to be more organized, have the household chores divvied up amongst everyone and get in better shape. I hope to eat healthier without guilt if I have a snack day. I carry a lot of guilt about many things. I started reading The Happiness Project after Christmas. Good read so far.

January 1st I thought I could try this zero carb diet. I got a bad migraine late in the day and ended up having a slice of toast. I thought no carbs at all, even from certain veggies wasn't a good way to live for me personally. I am active and I know anything lost from that will quickly come back. I decided to try a combination of several and kind of create it myself. I was posting on Facebook my meals and exercises while receiving comments from friends. It was turning into a journal. Here I am.

So I have been using Calorific and Noom apps on my phone. I think I'll ditch Noom. I end up inputting the same info on Calorific. I bought the Making the Cut Jillian Michaels book and a Shape magazine. Read Shape on my treadmill at home over two days. Inspiring.