Day 9: Catching those Zzzzz’s

So, the recommended sleep time for the average person is 7-8 hours a night. But I say sleep as much as your body needs. Sometimes a lot other nights, not enough.

I say this because I’ve had a pretty packed week. I’ve been preparing a girlfriend’s baby shower on top of working, Gym time, BF time and everything else! So needless to say I have not had a whole lot of sleep. AND considering the fact that my BF is suffering from a ruptured Achilles, I’m starting to live on his 2pm-5am schedule (not good)! I was definitely tired behind the eyes today!

Just make sure you get enough sleep so that you can pack in all those fun activities and responsibilities into another glorious day.

On that note: good night! Tomorrow: big party temptations…I’ll tell you how I do.

Day 8: “Get Outta Jail” free Card

We workout on a regular basis so that we feel better, have more energy and ultimately look better.  But how hard do you go every day? Do you give it 100% all the time or do you write yourself a mental get outta jail card? If you find yourself taking a longer break than 20 seconds in between sets, or taking a drink of water every ten minutes, you’re getting yourself outta jail.  You’re not being honest with yourself, not pushing yourself beyond your limits.

Believe me, I do it myself.  I find myself looking at the beads of sweat that are pouring down my face…but when I count to ten, I know it’s time for the next set.  I will do a walk around the floor and then ultimately see someone who is kicking ass and I get back in gear.  I know waiting around for a machine doesn’t help, but then do some jumping jacks or high knee running to keep your heart rate up..these are just suggestions, but I know that we all find ourself there.  I know when I’m having a bad day with Gym and I make excuses for myself.

NO MORE EXCUSES!!

Just do it! Impossible is nothing! Live strong.  All of these tag lines are there for a reason: because they are true.  Be true to yourself, push yourself beyond your mental wall, and I guarantee you will reap the benefits.

Day 7: Pump IT up!

So it’s been a week, people!!!! Applause, please. And it hasn’t been THAT bad. Small challenges that are the stepping stones for the next 33 days. But on the whole, things have been pretty good. Not too many complaints or outrages. Wheat=bad / Vegetables=good

So what do I do now? Up my dates with Gym. Fall in love with him. Make him the most important thing in my life…well, the second most important. Because if I want to get this weight off, I have to put in the work and not think that it’s just going to fall off. (I wish Focus on weight training, keeping my heart rate up, and doing cardio. It’s going to melt off!!!!! I hope!

If anyone thinks I should try anything, please let me know. I’m up for anything!

Thanks Peeps! It’s time to workout.

Day 6: What the wheat?

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“Do I miss bread?” Someone asked me today. “Nope” I answered. I don’t miss cookies, cake, crackers, pasta, or bread. There are other alternatives to them.

What I do miss is not looking at every single label to make sure there’s no wheat. There’s wheat in EVERYTHING! Soy sauce, for instance: wheat! Any sauce: wheat! Salad dressing: wheat! Coffee Whitener (not that I use it) wheat! It’s hard to get away, so I have to reel it down. Nothing with sauce, ever. it’s tiring. But good thing is: I have more energy.

I think it’s amazing, that the thing that’s supposed to give you energy actually does the opposite and makes you more tired. And kids, it all about your glucose levels. Wheat increases your glucose level more than a snickers bar does. Interesting, right? Wheat, and not gluten, is the enemy. It course if there’s an allergy there, gluten is not good for you. But for the mainstream person: take out wheat:feel better.

Oh, and I killed the lemon today. 😉

Day 5: It’s just a lemon

I found out today that I should be drinking more water than I am. Now, on a regular basis I probably drink about 2 litres of water a day. But I should be amount up my water intake to 3 litres!!! Dats alotta wata! Ok, so do I include the food I eat? I would normally. All the leafy vegetables with 90% water in them? I’m going to. It’s flushes, right.

And I should be adding lemon to my water. So as I stare at the lemon on my desk screaming at me to add it to my water…it’s still staring at me.

As everyone walked around the office eating twizzlers that I brought, I enjoyed the smell of the fake cherry and…. what???? No I missed nothing. Not the corn syrup, the sugar, not the rubbery texture. I just enjoyed the smell and the memories of watching movies attached to it.

Dinner tonight? Not bad actually. An Asian inspired vegetable stir fry, with freekah and a fried egg. Some nice fusion, I think. If you don’t know what freekah is, take a look at this link: http://www.chatelaine.com/en/article/39555–move-over-quinoa-freekeh-s-the-new-superfood-to-eat

Dinner is below. Thanks kids, talk soon.
Oh, and by the way, the lemon’s still on my desk. Maybe it’s the weird bump on it?

Day 4: here’s the problem..

I have nothing to snack on. Last night after my delicious dinner, I was of course watching bad Saturday night tv. When I looked at the clock and saw it was only 8…8???!!!! I wanted a snack. I would normally have cheese and crackers, both now off the menu. :(( Stuck. I have dark chocolate mangosteen bits? Sounds ok, but not on the menu. I mention that I would love ice cream. Boy, would I!!! I went to take a long, hot shower. It helped, a little. But I passed that first hurdle. I’m still waiting for the two hour lull in my work day…

Lunch was delicious! (Left overs from last night) I would absolutely LOVE dessert right now! Fruit will have to do. How long do these craving last for? Krista, please tell me!!

Please if anyone has snack ideas, please let me know. Remember: no wheat, sugar or diary.

Day 3: I’m off!!!

Day 3

Day off!!!!!!! But…. its overcast outside. Days like these I always love to wrap myself in a blanket, watch some movies and indulge in tasty treats. But not today! I’m going volunteering at my local Farmers market where I can get local fresh produce to make different tasty treats. Squash is in season. Yummy!

Looking at all the wonderful produce at the farmers market was awesome! Probably spent more than I should have. Now I just need to cook it all!

Day 2

Day 2:
8:43am. Walking to work. It’s chilly outside for the 16 degrees that my phone says it is. I’ve already had my shake. Delicious: mango, banana, greens, chia. I have my lunch packed of good things and so as prepared as I am, it can’t go wrong. And I heard I’m going to be busy today. Cross your fingers, kids.

Oh I took a before picture…I’m
Not sure if I want to post it yet, to quote TLC “I’m not so proud to be”. We’ll see what I can crop out.

6:36pm
It was a really busy day that I didn’t have time to think about any snacks or cravings of the sort. (I like when days are like this.) but now, I’m on the way home thinking of the awesome pasta that I could make. Or maybe some soup and toast, oh yea! No toast. I hate going to the grocery store hungry.

I’m starving. But almost gone and my walk made me think of what to have. Tomato – cucumber salad. Chicken and peas. Peas are somewhat of a homey taste and feeling. And it’s still chilly out.

11:11pm…make a wish! Just finished watching a movie and all I wanted was snacks to go along with…made some hot air popcorn. Kind of bland, but the crunchiness was what I was lookin for.

Day 2: complete.

40 Day Challenge

Today was the first day in my 40 day challenge.  I’m cutting out wheat, dairy and sugar for the next 40 days.  Hey, if Jesus was in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, I got this.  Why am I doing this? Well, I’ve been concentrating on my health this year..going to see Gym on a regular basis, (yes, I call him Gym, like a person that I’m going to let down if I don’t see him) eating pretty  well and nothing.  I am still the same weight I was a year ago when I completed the triathlon.  So, I have to take some drastic moves and do something to my diet. I know, I know, you may be thinking that I’m completely out of my mind, “how can you live without bread? milk? cookies? wine gums? ” And believe me, all I have been thinking about is when I can have ice cream next.  But I think that I can do this.  It will be worth it in the end.  And I just may like it.

So here’s the small research that I have absent-mindly done, and I say that because if I think about it, I started this path back in May      ->All the hype about being “gluten-free” is out there and I’ve read a lot of the books, but this is more than cutting gluten, (which by all means is not what you think), this is about cutting the things out that we as humans don’t necessarily need to survive.  It’s bringing my diet back thousands of years to include a fresh menu without preservatives and additives, and back then, there was little wheat, dairy and sugar to be found.

But there are tons of things that you can eat.  There are so many options out there.  Brown rice and quinoa will be a life saviour, as well as freekah.  I’m allergic to nuts and soy, so I have turned to coconut milk for any of my dairy options.  I don’t drink that much dairy, but it’s good to have an alternative.  And not having the nuts to eat as a snack, leaves me with seeds.  Have you ever tried to eat seeds as a snack??? Well you end up feeling like a squirrel foraging in the fall because they’re so small that you literally stuff your mouth with them. As for ice cream? Well, Coconut Bliss is an amazing option with great flavours and it’s not as coconutty as you think it may be.

Here’s how Day 1 went:

Woke up feeling really good, I just came off a six day stretch and I was SO tired last night.  Went to see Gym and had a good leg workout.  In my morning coffee, I added honey, (that’s ok), cinnamon and a little bit of soy milk..and it was tasty.  Came home, had a shake…and yes, my shake recipes have gotten better.  I didn’t feel hungry after my shake, so I did some cleaning.  Listening to your hunger is really important, I usually never listen to it.  When I did get hungry, I had black bean soup and tuna with celery with some oat crackers.  Did you know that even though oats and wheat come from the same plant, they are not the same and there is no gluten in oats? Still felt great. Water, water, water….had an orange for a snack and I just made a veggie-pork sauce, kind of like pasta sauce, but it’s not being eaten with pasta, kids.

It’s only Day 1, we’ll see how it goes tomorrow when I return to work with different temptations. Say put, kids…and please cheer me on and tell me what you think.

Hugs, Corrine