OPERATION 50's!!!

Ok peeps...

Lets get serious! I've stalled in my weight loss efforts for three months now.  It's only recently that I've started losing again and I intend to keep that up.  Seeing my bloggie girls has given me renewed energy and enthusiasm.

My big mission in the next 2 weeks is to make it into the 50's! If I could make it to my pre-summer weight 158.8....hell that would be even better.  I feel like I've really gotten back on track and I feel GREAT about that.  However, at the moment I'm just losing weight that I've already lost once this year....I want to enter new territory.  4 pounds....thats all that stands in my way right now.  I need to pulverize those pounds and here is how I'm gonna do it....

MY PLAN THIS WEEK

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  Work-out a minimum of 5 times
  
  
  
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  Use my HRM each time and track everyday
  
  
  
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  Plan all my weekly meals the weekend before
  
  
  
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  Cook meals for the upcoming week beforehand
  
  
  
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  Attend a new meeting with a new leader
  
  
  
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  Blog everyday
  
  
  
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  Go to bed by 10 every night
  
  
  
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  Read for at least 30 minutes a day
  
  
  
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  NOT bring any school work home AT ALL next weekend
  
  
  

My focus last week was to try new things. 

My focus this week is to deal better with stress. 

This means I need to take more time for myself...ie. Reading before bed and getting plenty of sleep.  A big part of this is also work.  I am tired of working in the evenings and weekends.  There is more to life than work.  For the next week I will not bring any marking or planning home. If I have to I'll stay a little longer at school...fine, but I need to have down time at home. 

In order to do this, I've already put operation 50's into effect!
So far this morning....
I've packed my gym bag and put it in my car!
I've figured out what I'm wearing for the week and ironed everything I needed to. Notice the fiesty red!!
Va va va voom!

I've cooked my lunch for the entire week...fish again...lets face it.  Fish = weight loss.

I've also prepared all my breakfasts, snacks and cut up everything I need for my weekly stir-fry. 

The lack of green is due to the fact that I need to go grocery shopping.  No worries I'm on top of it!  As soon as I've finished blogging I'm figuring out my menu for the week and buying everything I need.   I am EXHAUSTED, but I know in the long run this is going to make my week stress-free!

I just want to sit and relax, but...I want to make it to the 50's more. As my bf said...."You're a machine today!" Damn straight!

 I CAN DO THIS and SO CAN YOU!

BLOGGER GTG #2!!!!

Hey guys...

So tonight we had our second blogger meet-up here in Toronto.  It was AWESOME! lol

We ended up meeting at Spring Rolls which was cool because I got to do some shopping at Square One (Ontario's biggest mall) beforehand.  Unfortunately not everyone could make it...booooooo which really is too bad, but we still had a great time!

Here is the gang! Same as last time except Tiffany wasn't able to make it down to Toronto this weekend :(

So...from L-R.... Allie, Andrea, Kat, Kate and yours truly!

We ate (yummy food), we drank (water) we were merry! As per usual the weight loss talk was abundant! lol...Kate shared her list of reasons to lose weight.  Kat showed me her cool weight loss tools on her IPHONE (definitely on the to-get list soon) and Allie and Andrea tracked away.  I left my tracker in the car...DUH!

It's really cool eating with other WW'ers.  We all get water automatically.  We skip appetizers and dessert automatically. It's AWESOME! If I were with my other friends....its much harder. I had a deliciously yummy red curry which I counted as about 15 points.  Hey...I've got a crapload of flex left still AND I earned 5AP's today, so no sweat. 

I ate every last morsel and enjoyed the whole thing.  I figure if I eat super well all week I should be able to enjoy a splurge once a week.  This was it and it was FAB!

As it turns out we are all as obsessed with books as we are with weight loss....kewl! We decided to head on over to Chapters where we entertained ourselves greatly.  Lets just say...if we had been thrown out...weeeeeelll, fair enough.  As per usual I bought books...whats new! I have a real issue with weigh loss books! I drooled over the books TJ got this week on her blog, and I HAD to have one of them...Secrets of a Former Fat Girl...(Thanks Kat)My blog girls also recommended The Beck Diet Solution...so what the hell! I got that too. 

We Spent AGES looking through all the books and mocking the ridiculous diet books..The Master Cleanse? The Cookie Diet? Come on now. Allie will be sure to have some of those awesome pics on her blog tomorrow! Holy crap though....seriously could this section be any bigger?? Damn this industry is huge. 

Then we decided to show our dedication to WW with a pic of us and them.  Hell...this pic was hard to take...lol...setting a timer in Chapters when random people are watching? Crazy...yet hilarious.

  We had such a great time.  The ladies convinced me to definitely do the 5K Santa Shuffle in 2 weeks.  I had been a bit worried about whether or not I could do it with my gimp ankle, but hell who cares...even if I walk the whole way, thats still great.  It's more about being around like-minded people.  I feed off their energy and it just gives me more determination to get where I want to go.  I KNOW I'll get there.  It's just a matter of when.

WEIGH IN #2 and new food!!! again :)

Happy Saturday everyone...

I have been BU-SY! ok....well lets start with weigh in today.  I'm sure you're all wondering how the clean eating thing went.  Well, I'm gonna go with AWESOME! I lost 2 pounds today woohooo!! 2 pounds is great as it is, but I had a horrendous weekend last weekend....remember the giant cookie? Festive special etc etc.  So with only 5 days of eating great, this is a massive success!! YAY.  Sadly there have been no changes in the cat's weight.  *Must play with the cat more often...must play with the cat more often!!*

After the meeting (which was rather dull may I add...aside from Allie's MASSIVE loss..woo hoo), I headed over to the gym.  I really wanted to get a decent work-out in because I'm going out for dinner tonight.  I was lucky to catch a spinning class which I WORKED MY BUTT OFF in.  I sweated A LOT which I don't normally do.  Last night I reprogrammed my POLAR HRM and I think I helped to make my results more accurate.  I burned 343 calories in the 45 minute class...thats more like it! I also went on the treadmill for a while and relaxed in the sauna after that.  I came home to this. 

Awww...seriously, how freaking cute!! My bf has gone home to have a 'boys night' tonight so I had a gorgeous clean apartment to myself.  I decided to experiment a little..I wanted to try something I picked up Costco last night....QUINOA! 

I got the quinoa along with some other great deals...2 sports-bras for $25 and a pack of 12 Larabars for $12!! WOO HOO.  Don't worry! The tootsie pops are for my students!

I keep hearing that Quinoa is one of the best foods you can eat so I decided to finally just DO IT! I found a recipe online that looked good and just did it!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-with-chickpeas-and-tomatoes/detail.aspx

Overall it was really good! I used the rest of my fish from earlier in the week and added my new FAVE thing...Amy's organic crackers with avocado.  YUM YUM YUM.  When I first started WW I would NEVER have used 1 or 2 points on avocado, but now I realise that things that are a tad higher seem to make me fuller for a longer time AND are better for me!

So....overall pretty great day so far.  I am meeting my blogger friends later which should be lots of FUN!

I'll post an update on that tonight or tomorrow!

Have a great day!

Larabar....TAKE 3!

Hi all,

A wondrous thing happened this week....I ate a Larabar and I REALLY LIKED IT!! woo hoo! Finally. 

I'm a stubborn person.  If I know something is good for me I try really hard to like it.  There was a time I didn't like olives, miso soup...even cheese! But now they are awesome.

Hey it doesn't work for everything...Ginger and Coriander are totally gross and will NEVER make the cut.

I've had larabars now twice and both times...meh.  I couldn't understand why anyone would eat something that was only 'meh' and had quite a few calories.  Well....perhaps its my new goal this week to eat 'real' food, but I like the idea of only a few natural ingredients.  The Larabar tasted delicious.  Yet again....I would NEVER have sacrificed 4 or 5 points for something like this in the past, but meh....when you give up crap you have a lot more points to work with.

I had the coconut/cocoa one...I think? Now to try more.  Any suggestions on yummy flavours?  I also bought a Luna bar which was really good, but I hear the lara is better for you?

I also had a bit of an NSV last night.  I came across a Lindor chocolate in my cupboard.  I kept thinking about it and then I took it out and looked at it some more.  I started rationalizing in my mind eating eat, but if I'm going to use points on chocolate...it would never be a Lindor.  Unfortunately for me...I didn't have a Kit-Kat Chunky on hand.  I was so on the verge of eating it anyway BUT then I decided...SCREW IT.  I shmushed the thing on the counter and threw it right into the garbage...hahahaha what a nutcase. 

But...meh...do what you have to do.  I fought the Lindor and won.  I had a mini dark toblerone instead with a green tea.  Awesome.

I'm going to a weigh-in tomorrow.  It feels wrong to miss a weigh-in week, so damnit...I'm going.  Fingers crossed! Check out my awesome dinner last night! My obsession with zucchini's continues!

Ok....news tomorrow from my weigh in AND blogger meet-up #2!!

GTA BLOGGER MEET UP!!! Don't forget!!

Hey everyone...well in particular my Toronto peeps!

I totally forgot to remind everyone that we're having another meet up this Saturday!!!!

I really hope you guys can make it!!  The rest of us have only met once, so don't feel weird about coming! In fact...it would be great to meet even more of you.  Kat has offered to give Toronto people rides if you need one, so definitely e-mail her!

Ok so here are the details again!

Place:  SPRING ROLLS  http://www.springrolls.ca/

Where: Sussex Centre across from Square One

Time: 6pm

Let me know if you're in and I'll make a reservation tomorrow!

Thanks guys!

The Evolution of Breakfast..well mine

Hi all,

I thought I'd talk about breakfast today.  It is supposed to be the most important meal of the day after all.  I've been really good in the past few months at eating a decent breakfast everyday.  Just a year ago I was getting a bagel and cream cheese from Coffee Time every morning or a breakfast sandwich from Timmys.  I'm not sure if you've seen those things, but they are bigger than Tim Hortons bagels....ahem....bloody huge!!!  I believe there are remnants of them still on my thighs and hips.

Ok...I admit...its looks damn good, but you know whats not good?

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  A Tim Hortons B.E.L.T - 440 calories or 9 points
  
  
  
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  A breakfast sandwich - 510 calories or 13 points
  
  
  
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  A dutchie donut (my fave) - 250 calories or 6 points
  
  
  
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  A bagel with cream cheese - 380 calories or 8 points
  
  
  

Anyway....I started to realize two things...

1) Breakfast take-out foods are A LOT of points/calories

2) I could buy better things with all the money

I gave up my bagels....(often breakfast bagels with bacon and eggs)...in order to have instant oatmeal every morning.  I was pretty good at getting the lower fat version, but still....it has plenty of sugar.  Regardless...WAY better choice. 

Very recently I started making my own plain oatmeal (quick oats) and flavouring it a lot more naturally with peanut butter and banana.  This is surprisingly more filling and yummy and it only takes an extra 5 minutes. 

I'm waiting to use up the oatmeal and then I'm going to try STEELCUT oats.  Word on the 'weight loss' street, is that its even better than quick oats.  It is supposed to take a while to cook, but whatever...I'll cook it on Sundays! Apparently you can cook the stuff in the slow cooker?

I guess the point is...I think I've come a long way.  A year ago no way IN HELL would I pre-cook OATMEAL on a Sunday, but now....hey...no worries.  I remember in my early 20's my mom would bug me to NO END about eating oatmeal but being the stubborn little troll I was....no way! Lol...ahhh, how times change.

I've also been trying to mix up my breakfasts a little.  I think I have some pretty great options so far!!

My gluten free cereal with rice milk...

The infamous GREEN MONSTER! Spinach smoothie)

Omelette made with one egg, 4 egg whites, spinach, mushrooms and one slice of turkey bacon!

OATMEAL!

My point?.....EAT BREAKFAST! It's totally yummy!

HUMP DAY!!!

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the nice comments lately! I've started responding to e-mails I've gotten, so I'll respond to everyone soon.  It's been report card time...which is HECTIC!

Thanks for your comments about the HRM yesterday.  Ya know, I actually kinda DO think its right.  All the morning classes are 45 minutes...not an hour, which makes a difference.  I didn't feel like I was burning much in bodypump yesterday and since I've started back to Bodypump my weights are still fairly low. My instructor on Thursday mornings is a lot tougher so it'll be interesting to see the difference tomorrow.  I'll also up my weights tomorrow!

This morning I had spinning class.  I was monitoring my heart rate through the class.  This is an RPM class so its not as challenging as an all terrain.  I find there is only about  2 or 3 songs that are really challenging.  The rest is recovery really. Anyway, in total the class was 200 calories...still pretty low!! But again, I dont think I am exerting maximium effort for the whole class.  I decided to jump on the treadmill to try and get a full hour of exercise.  I went at a speed of 4.0 which is highish for me for 12 minutes...then I walked for 8.  In the 20 minutes on the treadmill I burned 100 calories.  This just tells me that..yah, my HRM has to be accurate. I want to believe its not, but hey...maybe the truth is....its bloody hard to burn calories and I just need to find something that is really high impact to get those high numbers.  I'm thinking Step or Attack would do that.

Okay enough calorie talk! Sorry...just loving the new toy :) Here is a glimpse at my food lately!!!

As you know I'm working really hard on getting a variety of healthy non-processed food. I KNOW this is the best choice and after seeing how few calories I can actually burn off, it has really decreased my interest in empty calories.  Here was my breakfast this morning. 

YUM right!

I used...Organic Gluten Free and wheat free Cereal and Rice Milk and topped it with All bran buds and blueberries.

I have mentioned this before, but about a year ago I did a detox (Dr. Joshi) that made me feel INCREDIBLE.  Here's some info...

http://www.canadianliving.com/health/nutrition/the_dos_and_donts_of_the_detox_diet.php

Seriously, I've NEVER felt so great.  I ate completely non-processed food for a month and avoided foods that he does not recommend.  I won't get into all the details, but even things like cows milk is banned which is why I started drinking rice and soy milk. 

After the detox I did a food sensitivity test.  Here is the company...

http://www.koru.ca/

I found out that many of the foods I was not supposed to eat on the detox were foods that I was insensitive to anyway.  I know some of the stuff I talk about sounds weird, but look at the evidence.  I looked and felt INCREDIBLE.  My energy sky-rocketed, my skin was gorgeous AND I lost 9 pounds....in 4 weeks.

I guess what it comes down to is I'm open to trying almost anything as long as it sounds sensible!!

I'm trying to get back to a sort of...life-long detox where I just eat things that are good for me.  Last night I cooked some.....FISH!! I really am not a big fish fan unless its sushi, but screw it...its good for you AND low in calories.  I've GOT to start experimenting more.  I cooked some haddock fillets with panko on it. 

VERDICT: MEH.  The panko didn't get crispy! Maybe the foil was a mistake!! Grrr....regardless I ate it anyway.  I also bought a little container of super low fat tarter sauce which will help! I'm just going to have to keep experimenting!

BTW...heres the recipe I found for the chicken I made yesterday. 

http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=7996

Oh geez...I've blabbed on forever...(whats new!) I'll be off....have an awesome night.  GLEE NIGHT!!!

Be back tomorrow.

PS. DON'T FORGET!! TORONTO GTG THIS WEEKEND!!!!

I'll remind you with the details tomorrow!