Three Things Thursday!

1. We had a totally awesome Christmas! Lucky for us, our kids have not yet reached the age of waking up super early to see if Santa has come yet.

We actually didn’t get up until almost 8:30 – a sleep in on Christmas morning….who woulda thunk!

After a yummy pancake breakfast we spent a couple of hours opening presents. Ryan had a great time and although Tanner wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, he loved all the boxes and wrapping paper!

2. Last night we had a bit of a snowstorm so we took advantage of the fresh snow and hit the hill for a little tobogganing. Both Tanner and Ryan got snow toys for Christmas so we were super excited to give them a try. Tanner loved being towed around in his little sleigh and Ryan had a blast riding solo on her new princess saucer. Here are a few pics of our first tobogganing adventure of the season!

3. We have so much chocolate and candy in our house from our Christmas stockings its crazy! Unfortunately, I’ve been living by this motto and eating like an absolute pig these past few days:

Luckily I think all of the open stuff is pretty much gone.

Time to show a little restraint and grab a piece of fruit or veggie sticks next time my husband pulls out a box of chocolates or a bag of chips.

Wish me luck, I’m going to need it!

How was your Christmas?

How are you dealing with all the candy and sweets around your house?

What’s Your Favourite Junk Food? August Blogger Challenge #12

Today’s Blogger Challenge Question is: What’s your favourite junk food?

Junk food. Singular? Really? Does anyone really have only one favourite junk food? I sure don’t! Here are my 5 faves;

1. Viva Puffs. You may remember I wrote about my addiction to them here.

2. Whoppers.

3. M&M Peanuts.

4. DQ Mint Oreo Blizzard.

5. Coke.

What is/are you favourite junk food(s)?

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 40!!

Saturday, June 30
Day 40

 

 

 

Breakfast – Green Smoothie #29 – Strawberry Banana – today was the last day of the Green Smoothie Challenge – I had 29 smoothies in 30 days…not bad! I will definitely be continuing with the Green Smoothie – I totally loved them, and to believe 31 days ago, I had NEVER had one…Thanks Amanda for organizing this challenge and introducing me to the Green Smoothie!

Lunch – McDonald’s Breakfast Burrito Combo – no drink – on our drive north to visit my parent’s for the weekend, we stopped at McDonald’s to grab lunch – totally not clean:( and was kinda surprised at just how unhealthy a breakfast burrito could be…totally shocked to find out one sausage mcmuffin with egg has less calories and fat than two breakfast burritos. As you can see, my meal was a whopping 760 calories and 43 grams of fat…can you say d.i.s.g.u.s.t.i.n.g!

Afternoon Snack – Hard Boiled Egg and two Pumpernickel Flatbreads

Dinner – Pork Tenderloin with a Lentil, Rice, Cucumber and Tomato Salad and a Tomato and Cucumber Salad, a glass of Skim Milk

Sorry no pictures today – we were visiting my Mom out of town for the weekend and I totally forgot to take them. Oops!

Water Consumption:

6 glasses

Sleep:

4 hours – the kids did not do well sleeping at Grandma’s let’s hope for a better night tonight!!

Stay tuned for my 40 Day Clean Eating Challenge Review!

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 6

Sunday May 27
Day 6 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast – Oatmeal Pancake with Chocolate Chips

Post Race Snack – Breakfast Pita and a Banana, 2 Chia Seed Peanut Butter Cookies

Lunch – Nachos

Afternoon Snack – This afternoon we went over to my sisters house to chill in the backyard and have a few post-race Coronas. We also had a few snacks too…Bits and Bites, Cucumber and Baby Carrots with Veggie Dip Here is a picture of me enjoying my first of 3 Coronas!

Dinner – 4 Mint Oreo cookies and a Coke Brutal! After eating all that crap and drinking a few beers, I really didn’t feel much like eating dinner!

Water Consumption:
8 glasses

Sleep:
7 hours, almost uninterrupted as my husband got up with our son in the night…such a treat!

So ya, today was NOT a clean eating day AT ALL, but when I started this challenge, I knew that today – race day- would be my only cheat day in all of the 40 day challenge. I definitely had my fill of non-clean foods, and I’m actually really looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow…and so is my stomach! Isn’t is crazy how quickly out body adjusts to eating clean, and then how much it punishes us when we don’t! I’m feeling like total crap this evening…tired (I’m guessing that’s because I ran 13 miles – 21,1 kilometers – today), full, bloated…just plain yuck, and I know it’s because I ate like crap today.

I’m sooo looking forward to getting back on my 40 Day Clean Eating Challenge tomorrow!

How is YOUR Clean Eating Challenge going?

8 Week Progress Report

It has now been just over 8 weeks since I started my journey (and this blog)! Here is an update as to where things stand in terms of reaching the 11 goals I set for myself and the progress I have made since my last update.

Goal #1 – My Pre-pregnancy Body Back – So, I’ve pretty much reached this goal. I am back to my pre pregnancy weight, and fit into my ‘goal jeans’, although not quite the way I want. The muffin top HAS GOT TO GO!!

This week marked the mid-point of the Skinny Jeans Challenge which meant measurement time!

I am actually really pleased with my progress so far…I’ve lost a total of 10.4 inches! CRAZY!! I still want to improve on my percent body fat – I’m down almost 5%, but would like to bring it down by about another 2.5%.

Goal #2 – Run a Two Hour Half Marathon – Well, the Half Marathon is only 19 days away and I’m definitely NOT PREPARED!

I’ve still only ran outside 2 times – one fast 5K (which went surprisingly well), and a 16K run a couple of weeks ago with my sister.

Here’s how my training schedule looked over the past 5 or so weeks.

BodyAttack has taken over my life! I have missed so many runs to get to Attack classes, it’s crazy! I’ve missed a total of 10 runs in the last 5 weeks – 1 hill workout, 3 fartlek workouts, 2 regular runs, and 3 long runs! BRUTAL!

I seriously doubt I will meet my goal of a sub-two hour half. I’m disappointed, but still hoping for a good run.

I guess we will see how things look after my 18K this weekend!

Goal #3 – Improve my Upper Body Strength – I was actually doing well with is goal since starting The 100 Push-Up Challenge last month – that was until I got sick. Since then, I have done NOTHING, and as a result, I am STILL struggling through the Upper Body Conditioning track in Attack 😦 My plan is to start the challenge again…tonight! Anyone want to do it with me and help me stay on track? Please?

Goal #4 – Try Hot Yoga – Still haven’t made it to a hot yoga class, and its not looking like I will be heading there any time soon. Until I get my Attack Certification Video done, I need to go to another Attack class Thursday evenings.

I hope to get my video in by mid-June, so hopefully I will be able to get to a class soon after that.

Goal #5 – Eat Clean – this is yet another goal that has been shoved aside since becoming sick and getting super busy.

I definitely need to get back in track, and fast!

My plan is to check out the latest issue of Clean Eating Magazine over the next few days, and set out next weeks meal plan. After that, I will hit the grocery store and get at it! I still want to aim for at least 2, but hopefully 3 clean meals a week.

Goal #6 – Limit the Amount of Junk Food I Eat – I’m actually not doing too bad at this one, considering I really haven’t been eating clean, I’m not exactly sure what I’ve been eating! My plan of not bringing it into the house is working, and I’m going to continue to keep it that way.

Goal #7 – Limit my Chai Lattes to one a Week – FAIL! HUGE! I’ve actually already had 2 this week! Chai latte is what seems gets me through the day! Although I did choose a Chocolate Banana Smoothie over the latte today:) Might have to stick with it, it’s higher in protein and fibre…sugar too, but I still think it’s the better choice. Agree?

Goal #8 – De-Clutter – Again, this one has been neglected since getting so busy. I did paint my sons room immediately after my last progress report, but unfortunately, it’s not quit finished 😦 I know, I’m brutal!

So, I still need to:

1. Finish painting my son’s room.
2. Clean out the kids toys.
3. Sort through my clothes.
4. Go through our deep freeze and actually see what we have in there!

Goal #9 – Read More – since my last update, I have finished The Help and The Lucky One.

Up next…the Shades of Grey Trilogy… Apparently everybody I know is or has read it. Not sure what to expect…besides turning 50 shades of red!!! Have you read the trilogy?

Goal #10 – Save Money – I am actually doing quite well with this one! Sticking to a bit of a budget has been easier than I thought it would be!

Goal # 11 – Make time for Scrapbooking – Unfortunately this too has been put on the back burner since becoming so busy. Now that the warm weather is coming, I have no idea when I will get back at it. Hopefully I will make it to a Friday night crop sometime soon!

Overall, I am not quite where I was hoping to be at this point. I need to get back into my running and start eating clean again! Really, I need to manage my time better and make healthy living a priority.

How is your journey going?
Do you have any super easy Clean Eating recipes you can share to help me get back on track?

The Bad. The Better. The Best.

The Bad.

Monday is weigh-in day for the Skinny Jeans Challenge. YIKES! This weekend I consumed WAY TOO CALORIES! Although I didn’t actually eat too bad, I pretty much drank a whole case of Corona…maybe even a bit more!

The Better.

Although nowhere near caloric balance, I at least did a bit of exercise this weekend a burned a few calories.

Friday morning before my personal training session, I hopped on the treadmill and did this weeks ‘long run’ – a race pace 5k – and to my surprise, I did it in only 28 minutes 🙂

Right after that I had my training session where we did another new workout. This weeks focus was supersets. After a quick warm-up, we did 3 sets of each superset: Belgian split squats and push-ups, bent over rows and deadlifts, and double crunches and plank pull-ins. We finished up with a cardio blast and called it a day!

I also played a game of hockey Friday night and two on Saturday, which, again, didn’t burn many calories, it was at least exercise!

And lastly, in keeping with my 100 push-up challenge, I did workout 3 of week 1 (a total of 42 push ups) on Saturday afternoon. The best part was that my roomies did the workout with me 🙂 – which is kinda funny because I totally thought these girls would have been more likely to make fun of me, rather than join in! It’s a good thing no one else came by, they would have for sure made fun of us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A total calorie burn of only 903 calories all weekend. I guess it’s better than nothing!

The Best.

This weekend was awesome! I had so much fun hanging with my best girlfriends and playing some hockey, that the extra 2.2 pounds and lack of sleep was totally worth it! All I can say is, thank God we only do this once a year!!!

Thanks for the great weekend Crushers!

Goal Setting

Now that I am ready to start the journey towards a Happier, Healthier, More Fit Me, I need to take a few minutes and actually think of what it is I want to accomplish. I’m thinking that the best way for me to do this is to establish some goals. Setting realistic and attainable goals is important. Goals must be clearly outlined, measurable, and have a time frame in which to be accomplished. I totally realize that some goals are going to take longer to accomplish than others, and that within my big goals, I need to establish mini-goals to keep my motivated and on track. After spending some time thinking about what I want to accomplish, I also realized that there are a ton of things I could set out to do. I am however, going to limit the number of goals I set so that I am more likely to stick to them and actually accomplish them by the end of June.

Health Related Goals Are:

1. Get my pre-pregnancy body back – I want to be muscular, strong, healthy and fit comfortably (and look good) in my pre-pregnancy clothes. Before getting pregnant with baby #2 I weighed 130 pounds, I would like to get back to that but don’t want to focus solely on the number on the scale. I know that if I am running and working out regularly, I am likely to build muscle and that may affect my weight.

Fitness Related Goals:                 

2. Run a 2 hour Half Marathon – I have signed up for the Toronto Women’s Half Marathon taking place on May 27, 2012. It will be my first race in almost 3 years so I will have to really commit to my training program. I will also have to eat well and make sure I get enough rest.

3. Improve my Upper Body Strength – I want to be able to complete the entire upper body conditioning track in Body Attack class.

4. Try Hot Yoga – I think that it will really help with my flexibility and I am hoping that it will help me to relax and de-stress.

Nutrition Related Goals:

5. Eat Clean – Now that I have established somewhat of a dinnertime routine as a mother of two, I need to actually start eating better and preparing healthy meals.

6. Limit the Amount of Junk Food I Eat – I am a huge fan of junk food and I absolutely love Coke! My plan is not to bring it into the house, that way, it’s not there for me to eat!

7. Limit my Chai Lattes to one a Week – I seem to have a bit of an addiction to Starbucks Chai Lattes and although I’ve cut down quite a bit since starting my maternity leave (I was having one a day), I still sometimes have 3 to 4 a week – yikes!!

Personal Goals:

8. De-Clutter – It’s time to get rid of all the junk around our house. My plan is to tackle one room a week so I don’t get overwhelmed.

9. Read More – I would like to read at least 10 books this year.

10. Save Money – Being on maternity leave means money is tight, I am going to stick to a budget and spend wisely.

11. Make time for Scrapbooking – Not only do I have a ton of great pictures to scrapbook, I also love how relaxing it is. I am going to go to at least one crop every two months, and try to make time during the day to do some at home.

Have you established your goals? Have you actually written them down? What are they and how do you stay accountable?  I’d love to hear what you are working towards and how you stay on track.