Life

The holidays did what they usually do, brought on a feeling of eating unhealthy is the way to go! Knowing that this is wrong and making the different choice is not always easy though. January 13th rolled around and at the request of my husband we are off to healthy land again. Now he didn't look at me and say I should go on a diet, he's not that stupid, he wants to be healthier and it helps me stay on track. I am also in a way better mood when I am eating healthy so it's probably better for his overall way of life. I also tend to be more... active.. so he likes that too.

Other than getting back on the healthy train, something in my personal life has made me really think about the fact that I have a wonderful life. I have great friendships, a beautiful marriage and an amazing family. I have gone through a personal transformation that has lead me to be able to live a happier life. I am no longer a door mat, I can now stand up for myself, I know my value, I know my friends and am secure in our relationships, I can tell my friends that I'm not interested in hanging out today and they understand! I am incredibly lucky, but not only am I lucky but I have worked my butt off for this life. I work on myself everyday, I work on my interactions, my self worth, my opinion of myself. I work towards what will be good for me, which consequentially leads to being better for the people in my life.

This step towards living a healthier life is just another way that I'm going to improve, it truly makes me feel better, sleep better, be better. To finally treat my body as a vessel of life and not just a trash can, it boggles my mind that it took me so long to figure it out.

Exercise! Finally!

The holidays came and with them, as always, the food. I started out doing pretty well because we didn't have a whole lot of family stuff going on, however the longer the holidays went on the worse my eating got. My coworker was complaining non-stop about how much she was working and constantly talking about indulging because we deserve it. Even as I type it I know it sounds ridiculous but when everyone is being merry no one wants to be the stick in the mud who's only eating vegetables.

The wonderful thing is as much as I indulged, it was far less than I have in other years, I still cooked up until my New Year's Eve party and haven't cooked since because of the massive amount of food we have left over. Another thing I was very excited about was the large amount of water I drank on New Year's Eve so I woke up on the first morning of 2014 feeling great! Not something that has happened in the last couple of years.

One of my best boxing day purchases this year is a recumbent bike! That's how I have finally been getting my act together and my butt in gear. Okay let's be honest, I've biked 2 days in a row, but I am super proud of myself. I was watching tv after eating my supper and my hubby was eating chips with delicious dip next to me, now I really wanted to eat those chips but I decided to go bike for a half hour instead. Now my heart feels good, my endorphin's are flowing through my body and even if I have those chips I am closer to my goal of getting myself healthy.

Paleo Lasagna

Tonight on the menu was Paleo Lasagna, it was amazing! The more I substitute vegetables for carbs the more surprised I am that I am not only a little satisfied but more satisfied than when I eat meals the tradition way. The other neat thing is that I eat less than I would when I have a bunch of carbs in the meal I am eating, and with all of the new recipes I've been trying I'm never bored.

After my lasagna I prepared a slow cooker soup that is going to cook tomorrow when I am at work. This way when I get home I can eat right away, something that is greatly appreciated on a Friday. No fuss Friday is the way to go!

This weekend my goal is to do the 450 calorie work out that I found on Pinterest, it's mostly squats, running on the spot, abs exercises, that sort of stuff. These are the exercises I tend to gravitate towards because they seem easier to me. I really want to complete this exercise and maybe do some extra cardio as well. I want to start a momentum that continues into next week and beyond. Oh my other goal of the weekend is to finish my laundry, good goals :)

One Month In

One month ago I decided I wanted to be healthier, 3 weeks ago I started treating my body the way it deserves to be treated. Feeding myself food that is beautiful, tasty and actually gives me the energy I need to get things done in my life. The first week I was a rock-star, had great recipes for every day and completed them all. Second week we had a guest and my meals went a little wonky, I ate well but felt scattered most of the week. Third week I still did my grocery shopping with my recipes but skipped a couple of days and went out to eat at restaurants instead of cooking. Overall I am super proud of myself, even though it wasn't my goal I have lost about 5 pounds. Other perks are I am experiencing a lot more energy, I'm not hungry during the day and for some reason I am warmer than I usually am. I actually have been working to complete my caloric intake at the end of the day (most of the time a glass of wine is perfect). It's amazing how full vegetables make you, I feel like someone should tell the world about them (the obviousness of healthy eating is not lost of me, and I feel a little silly that it has taken me this long to figure it out.)

What I am still struggling with is the exercise; healthy eating I am on board with, but I just can't seem to find time in my day to get my exercise in. When I say "fit in" to my day I mean I can't seem to get the motivation to get off my butt. I'm planning on obtaining some exercise equipment on boxing day hopefully so I can at least have a treadmill to step onto while I watch TV.  I know exercise is good for me, just like I knew vegetables were good for me but somehow I'm still not exercising. I will try try and try again, I will be fit, I will be strong. I'm now going to plan my weekly meals and maybe tomorrow I will do the new workout I found! Wish me luck!

Day 16

I just got back from the grocery store, stocked up on beautiful greens, lean meats, bright reds, vibrant yellows and eye catching oranges. This is the 3rd week of making my grocery list from recipes and it makes me feel amazing. I love the direction I have in the grocery store, with a list I don't even look at the other food I am so focused to get all of my ingredients and there is no room for anything else in my cart.

This weekend was so strange, I had my company Christmas party and the morning of I woke up and actually worked out! Finally I had the urge and actually did it, which may have been a bad idea in hind sight because I also went curling for the Christmas party. These 2 sets of workouts, along with my healthy breakfast and healthy lunch led to a hard core binge on Saturday night. I didn't even see it coming, I knew I was going to be my cheat night but it seemed to get out of hand so quickly and.... then I was puking. Terrible right? According to my alcohol consumption I shouldn't have gotten sick, I only had 6 drinks over 7 hours, but I think it was the mass amount of nachos I forced into my mouth at rapid fire speed when we arrived at the party, then later there were the wings, and the poutine. When I got home I laid down on my bed and that was it, all the food came out of my stomach immediately.

I learned a valuable lesson, when you are only putting good things in your body it does not appreciate being forced to eat a mass amount of garbage food (no matter how delicious). Cheat days are good but moderation is the key. Try not to eat everyone else under the table, oh and maybe eat slowly to actually taste the food you eat. Lesson Learned.

The good part about my binge is I got right back on the horse/ wagon, I felt less terrible in the morning than I thought I would so I focused on drinking water and planning my weekly meals. The recipe I tried last night was cauliflower crust pizza! It was really tasty, though I should have doubled the recipe, I will know for next time. My sister also pointed out today using flour would cut down on the stickiness of the crust because I was having issues with it sticking to the pan.

I think the best part about keeping control of my eating is having the energy to run my errands. I shoveled my walk today, and it felt good. It's like my body is finally getting that addiction to being healthy I've always heard about but thought was made up by healthy people. I am so happy with my progress, I am so proud of myself.

You are who you Choose to be

Week 1 and a half ish

This week kicked my butt! I wanted to use the other word but I'm not sure of the rules on these blog things. It's amazing how one little change to your routine can throw you for a loop, and a huge loop it was. Firstly on Saturday a friend came to stay at our place for a couple of days, eating started out great for the first 2 days but the third day I tried a new recipe that did not agree with my stomach. Along with not feeling so great in the stomach region, I joined a group of old university friends out one evening and had a pub meal (which wasn't that bad, flat-bread and caesar salad). Later in the evening I caved and had nachos which did not help the stomach situation at all. All through this week my wonderful city was having a massive snow storm that involved me having to be shoveled out of a snow bank by a neighbor and experiencing -25 C all week.

After the pub night was the day my work buys us lunch and of course everyone wanted pizza, and that day I got great news at work so that evening my husband and I went out for a celebratory dinner. Starting today I was focusing on getting some vegetables back into my system, because to me completely honest I have felt terrible this week! It's amazing how my body was immediately mad at me when I stopped putting vegetables in it, it was like withdrawal from the goodness I had been putting in my body.

Today at work I had veggies and hummus throughout the day; then greens, shrimp and asparagus for supper. I would like to have more food this evening, though I feel it may be because of the extra food I put into my body this week. I may decide to have the rest of the raw vegetables I have in the fridge but I'm not sure yet. I'm in one of  those, I want to throw my healthy eating thing out the window and eat everything I can in my line of sight moods (damn PMS).

Bottom line is I had a hard week.