Week Two - Oct. Fitness Challenge

Week two is in the bag! Had a great week of fitness, the only thing I wish was that I got more running in (although I did have one blissful run)!

Wore this on my run to keep pushing harder! :)

Now that I'm halfway through my October challenge .. Any suggestions for November?!

One thing I really had to fix this week: my attitude. I'd get so mad at myself for not hitting my daily plank target - then I realized, why?! I'm not going to beat myself up about it. No pressure. I'll push myself as hard as I can and I know that my dream 90-second plank will come. My hard work and determination will pay off!! No more putting myself down, no more pressure :) And what do you know .. As soon as I lost the negative mindset, I met my goal for the week: one minute!!

Who says you can't work out at work!?

Day One, Week Two. Not bad.

Day Two, Week Two! This is where I started to get mad at myself for not hitting 50 ..

More negativity. 

Once I stopped putting myself down and lost the negativity, my 50 seconds happened!

Woot!!

Cant even tell you how PROUD I am to finally be in the one-minute plank club!! :)

Day Seven, Week Two. Awesome progress!!

I really made sure to incorporate some form of activity into every single day. If I was cleaning the house, I was dancing. As always, I walked to work instead of taking the bus (40 minutes walking!). There were even a couple of days I got to work early and went out to keep walking! I bought a 5lbs weight to lift while at my desk at work, and I got my plank on every day. I was even able to get a yoga session in every two days! I feel so much stronger!

Just me and my mat. 

How are your October fitness goals coming along? Excited to hear about it! There are two weeks left .. Make 'em count!

Dream Come True!

When I found out that Janet and Greta Podleski were coming to our local Costco to sign copies of my bible, The Looneyspoons Collection, I think I peed a little.

Holy. Moly. Macaroni.

I would get to meet the two ladies who showed me how much fun healthy eating and cooking could be? The ladies whose show I watched regularly (even the repeats!) and whose cookbook I used constantly? The ones who changed my attitude towards healthy eating? Who took the word "diet" out of my vocabulary? Who changed my life?

Want a little back story here?

About eight months ago, I was on a diet. I was about twenty pounds down and borrrrrrred of all the 100-calorie snack packs, Lean Cuisines, baked chicken and salads I was eating. That boredom contributed to LOTS of binge eating of the unhealthy kind.

One night after the kids were tucked into bed and I was tucked onto the couch with a small bowl bag of cheezies tucked into my paws, I fell upon a show on the food network called Eat, Shrink and Be Merry!

Drop everything and go watch the show, NOW! You won't regret it! :)

Little did I know, that show would change my life.

The two sisters with beautiful smiles punned their ways through the half-hour show that featured a competition: them vs. a popular, fatty recipe. Their goal was to transform that yummy fattening recipe into a nutritious and healthy meal, then battle against the original recipe in a taste test. Nine times out of ten, their recipe came out on top!

The competition and taste test were fun to watch, but the part that got me hooked was the grocery shopping / recipe developing part. The sisters were hilarious while buying their groceries and offered so many incredibly fascinating nutrition facts about the foods they were picking out. Their passion and positive attitude when putting together the recipe was so contagious. How inspiring.

They showed me that eating while losing weight didn't have to be blah. It didn't only have to be processed foods and salads. I could eat the foods I loved and craved - and I could make them nutritious and just as tasty!

I was hooked on the show and for my birthday that year, I bought myself their most recent cook book, the one you always hear me recommend, The Looneyspoons Collection.

Best purchase I've ever made.

Cindy and I patiently waiting to have our books signed!

Not only are the recipes to die for, but the book is filled with tons of nutrition facts about foods and dietary options. I often find myself flipping through the recipe pages just to read all the articles! This sparked something else within me - a passion for nutrition! To the point where I now want to become a nutritionist. I will be starting school this coming March :)

My husband and I are now hooked on transforming old "cheat" meals into new healthy favorites (as you all know from reading my blog!) and learning about the nutrients that fuel our body. We now make 95% of our meals at home and massively minimize the amount of processed foods we bring into our home. I started my blog shortly after changing my ways and have not been on a diet since.

My weight loss is now at the 55lbs mark and going strong!! My lifestyle has changed 100% for the better and I can't thank those wonderful Podleski sisters enough for opening my eyes. Their positive disposition and passion for healthy eating changed my life.

So getting to meet them, my idols, this past Saturday? Pretty frickin' cool. They are such beautiful women, both inside and out, and are SO friendly and funny!

I was too shy to tell them my whole story (and paranoid about sounding like a gushing fan girl!) but I was able to thank them for helping me see the positive sides of healthy eating. They both gave me a big hug when they heard of how much weight I lost! Tears of joy!! :)

My prized possession.

Biggest smiles!! :)

To Janet and Greta: I love you both so much and can't thank you enough for all that you've done for me! If ever I can repay the favor ..! ;)

So .. That was my Saturday. How was yours?!

Ps. I went home later that day and baked their pumpkin spice muffins. Another incredible recipe!

A Blissful Run!

This post was written on Monday night :)

Daddy Lego and I had a run scheduled for tonight after dinner. We aren't usually home together in the PM because of our work schedules, so going for a night run with the kids while it was cool and dark out was something we both really looked forward to. The two things I weren't looking forward to were the facts that 1. This was the first run post the Friday Night Running Incident and 2. This run was the last day of week 5 of my training program - which meant a 5 minute warmup walk, a 20 minute run, and a 5 minute cool down. TWENTY minutes of non-stop running. I'd only ever done that once before, at the Army Run a few weeks ago. And when that happened, I was pushing myself hard and going with the momentum of the crowd. Could I really do that again?

My nerves were getting to me and I started to doubt myself, so I sat back on twitter and started reading (you guys really know how to get my motivation going!!). Hearing all about your successful runs and workouts this weekend inspired me and reminded me that I could do this run. And reading over my previous blogs really gave me courage when I saw how far I've come!

So I dressed for the occasion (it was cold out) in my Army Run shirt with my Ovarian Cancer Walk of Hope t-shirt over top, and I wore my 5K Dog Tag Medal from the Army Run (to grip on to if the going got tough!). I remembered my inhaler and my trusty bottle of water. Bundled up the kids in the double (we still really need a double jogger) and off we went.

Wore this for motivation :)

What. An. Amazing. Freakin. RUN!!!

I stretched my legs during the 5 minute warmup walk and then started running. I started telling Daddy Lego about this beautiful blog post I'd read earlier in the day (thank you for sharing your story, Lena!), and how I needed to make an appointment with my Dr to check in (he has no idea about my 50lbs+ weight loss or the fact that I'm running now). We started chatting about how much my fitness level had changed over the summer. And this really hit home:

Daddy Lego looked at me and said: "Look at how amazing you are. Five months ago you wouldn't have even run for a bus. And now you're seven minutes into a twenty-minute run, you're talking through it, and all while pushing a stroller that weighs about sixty pounds. I'm so proud of you."

Talk about a reality check. Hello, me from five months ago who couldn't walk and talk at the same time!! You're running AND talking at the same time!!! And you're loving your running!!!

I really have come such a long, happy way. I can't even begin to tell you how much running has brought to my life.

So anyhow, we're about thirteen minutes into the run and we turn around in our path (so that we're closer to home to get our tired kids to bed sooner) and I was able to push that stroller while running up a hill and holy crap I didn't feel the desperate need to stop, I was able to keep going and in fact, speed up!

The second half of our run was much faster than the first and though I wasn't able to chat quite as much, I was feeling fantastic. The sweat felt great, the warmth was great, the burn was amazing. I wasn't feeling the need to check the time every ten seconds to see how much longer we had to go. I just enjoyed myself. What a cool feeling!

Rosey cheeks after a cool and energizing run!

The timer went off to announce our last minute and I clapped my hands together in delight because I had made it to this point! I started to get a small stitch and had to slow my pace a little, but when our little app lady announced that we were done, I'll admit, I was disappointed and wanted to keep going! But, my common sense kicked in (I didn't want any more "Friday night" experiences!) that reminded me that I needed to pace myself, so I slowed to a walk and enjoyed the cool Fall weather on our walk home.

Post-run silliness!

What a great run :)
Ever have that blissful running experience?

Orange-Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Best. Cookies. Ever.

This was the recipe that my foodie pen pal sent to me. These oatmeal cookies are nutritious and absolutely delicious!!

1 1/4 C oats (quick or old-fashioned)
3/4 C whole wheat flour (white flour can also be used)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp softened butter
3/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest
3/4 C dried cranberries
(the last two ingredients listed below were not in the original recipe, I added them in on my own!)
1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/4 C freshly squeezed orange (from the orange I zested!)

Mixing mixing mixing!

Preheat oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Mix oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg whites, vanilla, orange zest, orange juice and maple syrup.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until combined. Fold in cranberries.

I can't even tell you how great the house smelled while these were baking!

Drop by tbsp onto the cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

October Fitness Challenge - Week One

Week One is done! Here's how I did. I hope you all like pictures! :)

Oct 1 - got my normal 40-minute walk in to work. Also started my daily planks. I was disappointed with my result but I had to remember that I took some time off my planks and needed to rebuild my strength!

Oct 2 - Day off from work!! Daddy Lego and I took the kids for a walk / run this morning. The weather was cool and sunny, just gorgeous! We had a blast running together. Brother Lego pretended he was Superman and ran with his arms out, trying to catch the bad guy (Daddy!).

Our little cheerleader :)

My big runner. So proud.

The family that runs together, ahh .. 

Went for a 2 mile run tonight as week 5, day 1 of my C25K program! So cool that the five-minute runs are getting easier! It was cold outside and I returned drenched with sweat - I definitely did this run right ;)

Sweaty and representin'

Getting better!

My plank is a little longer than yesterday's, yay progress!

Oct 3 - Went for a walk to grab a few groceries in the morning, then had my usual speed-walk to work. Got my plank in while waiting (alone) at the bus stop to get home after a long, mentally-draining night at work!

Nobody stopped driving to wonder what I was doing LOL .. 

Oct 4 - Planked, and wasn't happy with my first result and went again! Much better :)

Meh

Much better!!

Finished day two of week 5 of my Couch to 5K training program! 3.2KM down and I'm feeling stronger and more confident with every run. This one consisted of a five minute warm-up walk (which I used to walk / stretch), an eight minute run, a five minute walk and a second eight minute run, followed by the cool down five minutes of walking. Not ashamed to admit, I struggled through the second eight-minute run. I was about four minutes in when I had to keep repeating my mantra "Sweat pink. Good boy mommy!". I powered through and am so happy I did it!! My next run is a straight 20 minutes, which I haven't done since the Army Run. I'm a little nervous but hey, I did it before and I know I can kick it's ass again!!

Hot and sweaty and loving it!

Oct 5 - Walked to work at a casual pace as I was feeling a bit tired. Still, that's a 45-minute walk! Got to work really early and decided to pick myself up and go for a run, thinking it would help me feel more awake and alert. I felt so strong through the run and could have kept going for a second lap of my usual path but had to stop to cool down before working .. And the dizziness kicked in. The full on body shakes came along. My head was spinning and throbbing. I was seeing spots in front of my eyes. Nausea hit me in waves. I got back to my desk (after trying to focus through a water cooler convo with a manager) and nearly passed out in the chair. Thinking I was just low in sugar, I ate my apple and had a Fiber One PB Chocolate brownie that I had stashed in my desk for weeks. Nothing was helping. My shift began, and I couldn't focus on my calls and was just feeling worse .. An hour in, I had to throw in the towel. When I logged out, I had to run to the washroom to meet my dinner and brownie again, and cautiously made my way home. Grateful to my MIL for her concern upon my arrival. I think that there were a combination of things that contributed to what happened tonight .. But in any case, I now know what not to do next time.
Because of how sick I felt, I wasn't able to get my plank in at work as I had planned .. But I will get a good one in tomorrow to make up for it!

The run I shouldn't have run.

Oct 6 - rest day. My body still needed it. I did, however, get my best plank time yet!! Woot!

SO proud of this one!!!

Oct 7 - got in a half hour of yoga before heading to my Mom's for Thanksgiving festivities, and broke my PR plank! :)

I'm thinking my October challenge is off to a strong start so far! How was your week in workouts? I want to hear about it :)

Have an awesome week, everyone!!

Thanksgiving 2012

This Thanksgiving weekend, I've been doing a lot of reflecting on what I have to be thankful for.

And oh .. my .. goodness, I have SO much to be thankful for.

My health. My kids. My job. A cozy apartment we call home. My husband. My Sweat Pink and Girls Gone Sporty sisters. My incredible family and friends. Team Lego.

So to all of you .. Thank you. You'll never know how grateful I am to have you in my life. I love you SO much!!

In pictures, here's what I'm reflecting on this weekend and for what I'm thankful for! (the pictures are in no particular order!)

My Sweat Pink Sisters

My Girls Gone Sporty Family

My mom and her fiance, Jim.

My Dad and my sister, Julie.

My aunt and uncle, and my beautiful cousin with her new husband.

My little boy :)

My passion for health and fitness!

My amazing husband!

My boys

My sister, her fiance Sylvain, and my five beautiful nieces!

Wonderful moments

My first 5K!!

A healthy and active family

A wonderful grandpa

One of my proudest accomplishments

My little girl :)

One of the best friends a girl could ask for!

An incredible friend (and his owner, Christine!) hehe :)

Lifelong friends

Family visits

Some of the best people I know

A friend who isn't afraid to kick my ass when I need it.

Loving moments between Daddy and Daughter Lego

Wonderful friends!

Beautiful people and a beautiful family!

With a guy like him on my arm, I'm the luckiest gal in the world!

My gorgeous god daughter, Lily!

Uncle Sparky with Brother Lego

Forever love.

My favorite ladies

A healthy lifestyle!

Friends who inspire

Friends who follow their dreams and inspire me to do the same

Incredible ladies!

I know I may have missed a few people and things .. I just recently cleared all the pictures off my phone and had to go on a hunt for pictures. I love everyone who is in my life and I thank you for being a part of it! :) Have a great Thanksgiving Weekend!!