Oh le sigh. Staycation is officially over and it was a great, great week. We were only off a little bit longer than a week, but it was very much needed time off and Hubs and I made pretty good use of our vaycay. We did tons of stuff around the house but also fit in lots of relaxation time too, and...drumroll please...booked a vacation for Maui this year! Wheeeeeeee!! We were both thinking of only doing staycations this year and saving our money for Europe in 2014, but we just figured you only live once, and why deprive yourself of the things you love? And we definitely love Maui. Can't wait to get back there and smell the plumeria in the air. Love.
WORKOUTS:
Sunday: 30 mins treadmill
After hours and hours working around the house, Hubs and I were exhausted but we dutifully worked out in our home gym. Not gonna lie, I was this close to blowing it off.
Monday:
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
Killer upper body workout today day! Jason was back from completing Ironman Texas in a kickass time and was still recovering (thankfully...hee hee!) so didn't take us around the lakes for a run, but we did hill repeats with exercises thrown in after each repeat. So the first upper body killer was two rounds of pushups, 25 each round. At evening class with Josh, he had us do four exercises (overhead farmer walk, T-pushups, thrusters and renegade rows) ten times each, ten sets...so quickly doing the math, that was 100 pushups so 150 pushups for the day, all from the toes and I tried as hard as I could to keep good form. I actually remember laying down outside of PISE, staring up at the sky and thinking eff me, I'm tired! My arms seriously felt like they were going to fall off...I basically went home, threw some dinner at my face, crawled to the couch, curled up in a ball and fell sound asleep.
Thursday: rest
Friday: PISE p.m.
Turkish getups! If anyone's never seen these before, here's a crazy video showing how it's done...
Note, I did this with a five pound weight and not a girl on my arm and it was kinda hard. Ha!
Saturday: 10K run
FOOD:
Being that we were on staycation, we eased things up a bit this week with our food but never went crazy nuts. A few more restaurant meals but we really tried to choose wisely...I'm all over healthy eating, but sometimes you have to enjoy life too! It's all about balance, right?
RECIPES:
Thank god our oven is fixed...$600 later...gack! Some crazy circuit board thingie blew so we had to do it as I needs my oven. New recipes this week were a farro risotto from Clean Eating and a mediterranean chickpea lentil salad.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
Oak Bay Half Marathon - Race Recap, Volunteer Edition
I haz me the itch back...the racing itch that is.
This past Sunday I did my second volunteer stint for 2013 at the Oak Bay Half Marathon and I gotta say...watching all those half marathoners come down that last hill with that look on their faces like "holy eff, I'm so glad that's over!" totally made me want to race again. However, patience young grasshopper...this year is fully dedicated to volunteering, but I've made up my mind that Oak Bay Half 2014 is my first run back. Don't worry, I won't be going nuts or anything and having a repeat fainting episode...I plan on running it with Hubs the whole way so he can keep an eye on me...I know myself and I'll want to gun it!
Anyways, volunteering again and it was super awesome! Well, except for the weather. I woke up Sunday morning to this...
I had to laugh a bit because the last time I ran the Oak Bay back in 2011, it was a torrential downpour from beginning to end. At least I didn't have to worry about heat or dehydration, right? Ah-haha...
The race started at 8am for the half marathoners, so I headed down to meet my group at 7:30am. Ummm...except I couldn't seem to find anyone so wandered back and forth until finally I managed to connect with someone who vaguely looked like they knew what they were doing. Being rainy, everyone was bundled up so I couldn't see the red volunteer shirts that we were given. The race is fairly small at around 1500 participants, so there wasn't a ton to do...well, except for the medals. Apparently each medal comes wrapped in a little teeny eeny weenie tiny plastic bag that's like opening up those plastic bags you get in the grocery store...in short, these things were a total pain in the ass to open, but we thought it was lame to hand everyone their medal in a plastic bag. People want someone to put it around their neck, amirite? So we had about 20 minutes to take out 1500 medals out of their packets...luckily we had lots of hands to help!
It was really cool to hand out the medals and congratulate people as they came in...I even got to put the medal on my Mindful Strides coach, Marilyn! I think she was so exhausted that she didn't know it was me at first...she ran a kickass 1:17:33 so kinda can't blame her! First woman finisher too...she's so amazing.
Rest of the race was fairly uneventful (only one barfer, yay!)...lots of wet, elated runners...what I loved about this race was the smaller, more intimate feel. I had quite a few people come up and shyly ask if they could give their medals to their loved ones...of course! One guy wanted to give the medal to his fiancé, which totally brought tears to my eyes...geez, getting verklempt again! The only little event that we had was one lady had just finished the race and as I went to put the medal around her neck, her legs started to buckle beneath her. Again, knowing full well what that felt like, another volunteer and I took her to the medical tent where I left her in good hands. I looked over at the tent a bit later and she was gone, so I think she was fine...whew!
After most of the marathoners came in, the Kids 2K run and 400m dash were on...now we had a ton of medals left, so the race director said we could give each kid a medal. Now seriously...I'm not a kid person...but this was so.much.fun and the total highlight of the race for me! As they came across the finish line, I'd run up and hold the medal up to them and the kids would just beam with the biggest smiles across their little faces as I put that medal around their neck! So, sooooo sweet, it melted even this cold little Asian heart. Heh.
So all in all...a great day! Again, I met some really awesome people and it was a fun group to work and hang out with for the morning. Seriously, all things happen for a reason, and maybe what happened last Fall was kinda good in a way because it's introduced me to volunteering...I'm kinda really getting into this volunteering gig!
Oh and Oak Bay 2014...here I come. Hee hee.
This past Sunday I did my second volunteer stint for 2013 at the Oak Bay Half Marathon and I gotta say...watching all those half marathoners come down that last hill with that look on their faces like "holy eff, I'm so glad that's over!" totally made me want to race again. However, patience young grasshopper...this year is fully dedicated to volunteering, but I've made up my mind that Oak Bay Half 2014 is my first run back. Don't worry, I won't be going nuts or anything and having a repeat fainting episode...I plan on running it with Hubs the whole way so he can keep an eye on me...I know myself and I'll want to gun it!
Anyways, volunteering again and it was super awesome! Well, except for the weather. I woke up Sunday morning to this...
boo urns! blechhhh poooey....
I had to laugh a bit because the last time I ran the Oak Bay back in 2011, it was a torrential downpour from beginning to end. At least I didn't have to worry about heat or dehydration, right? Ah-haha...
The race started at 8am for the half marathoners, so I headed down to meet my group at 7:30am. Ummm...except I couldn't seem to find anyone so wandered back and forth until finally I managed to connect with someone who vaguely looked like they knew what they were doing. Being rainy, everyone was bundled up so I couldn't see the red volunteer shirts that we were given. The race is fairly small at around 1500 participants, so there wasn't a ton to do...well, except for the medals. Apparently each medal comes wrapped in a little teeny eeny weenie tiny plastic bag that's like opening up those plastic bags you get in the grocery store...in short, these things were a total pain in the ass to open, but we thought it was lame to hand everyone their medal in a plastic bag. People want someone to put it around their neck, amirite? So we had about 20 minutes to take out 1500 medals out of their packets...luckily we had lots of hands to help!
medal me, baby!
It was really cool to hand out the medals and congratulate people as they came in...I even got to put the medal on my Mindful Strides coach, Marilyn! I think she was so exhausted that she didn't know it was me at first...she ran a kickass 1:17:33 so kinda can't blame her! First woman finisher too...she's so amazing.
Rest of the race was fairly uneventful (only one barfer, yay!)...lots of wet, elated runners...what I loved about this race was the smaller, more intimate feel. I had quite a few people come up and shyly ask if they could give their medals to their loved ones...of course! One guy wanted to give the medal to his fiancé, which totally brought tears to my eyes...geez, getting verklempt again! The only little event that we had was one lady had just finished the race and as I went to put the medal around her neck, her legs started to buckle beneath her. Again, knowing full well what that felt like, another volunteer and I took her to the medical tent where I left her in good hands. I looked over at the tent a bit later and she was gone, so I think she was fine...whew!
run like the wind...or pour like the rain maybe?
After most of the marathoners came in, the Kids 2K run and 400m dash were on...now we had a ton of medals left, so the race director said we could give each kid a medal. Now seriously...I'm not a kid person...but this was so.much.fun and the total highlight of the race for me! As they came across the finish line, I'd run up and hold the medal up to them and the kids would just beam with the biggest smiles across their little faces as I put that medal around their neck! So, sooooo sweet, it melted even this cold little Asian heart. Heh.
So all in all...a great day! Again, I met some really awesome people and it was a fun group to work and hang out with for the morning. Seriously, all things happen for a reason, and maybe what happened last Fall was kinda good in a way because it's introduced me to volunteering...I'm kinda really getting into this volunteering gig!
Oh and Oak Bay 2014...here I come. Hee hee.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Three Things Thursday
1. Nourish
Hubs and I have been on staycation this week and so far it's been fabulous! It's been a real mishmash of relaxing and working around the house...we've powerwashed, cleaned, purged and weeded every inch of the house (wheeee, feels awesome!) as well as spa'd (OK, that was just me!), lounged, slept in and noshed on some really good eats. One place that I really wanted to let everyone know about is a wee little place called Nourish. Having heard rave reviews about this place from our Mindful Strides coach Marilyn, my interest was piqued and I kept putting this on the list of places to try one day, and this Sunday was that day. Having just spent a dreamy three hours at the spa getting exfoliated, massaged and pedicured to death, I met up with Hubs and we decided to hit Nourish for lunch. This place just won a local foodie award for one of the best kept secrets in Victoria...they focus on quality wholesome and healthy meals that taste delicious...sold!
Here is the view from where I sat...this place is actually set right in the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific, where the gardens are a-maz-ing...
And here is the food:
Hubs had the Sleepy Beauty, which was spiced oatmeal pancakes with coconut whipped cream, fruit preserves, maple syrup and pumpkin seeds, and he threw in a chipotle chicken sausage on a whim. My meal was the Benny's Gone Nuts...poached eggs with a vegan cashew hollandaise, kale mushroom sauté on a perfectly baked sweet potato...I was a copycat and also threw in a sausage. After the first bite, I was in heaven...the cashew hollandaise was fantastic, lightly lemon-y and perfect as I've been trying to avoid dairy...a totally healthy and delicious meal. Hubs really liked his pancakes too, which were more like an oatcake and he loved the sausage. As we sat there, I just kept sighing and think how beautiful this spot was, how yummy the food tasted and how happy I was to be sitting with Hubs. I'll be back.
2. Macaron
I had my first macaron today and I just gotta say...I don't really get what the big deal is. A macaron store just opened up not that long ago in downtown Victoria and we always walk past it to get our morning coffees so I decided one day I would try one...I mean, being a foodie and all, it's like my job, right? So dutifully I tried one today and meh...they weren't bad but not something I'd seek out.
OK, and for those of you who are thinking those coconut things? That's a macarOOn...believe me, I was confused too because when I first heard that a macaron store was opening in Victoria, I remember thinking that's weird...a whole store for those coconut chocolate things? Hah!
3. Volunteering Again!
Second volunteering gig of the year on deck this weekend! I'll be helping out at the finish line again at the Oak Bay Half Marathon, so I'll be helping to set up, take down and hand out medals! I gets to hands out medals, people! I'm so excited, I'll even put up with barfing again.
Hubs and I have been on staycation this week and so far it's been fabulous! It's been a real mishmash of relaxing and working around the house...we've powerwashed, cleaned, purged and weeded every inch of the house (wheeee, feels awesome!) as well as spa'd (OK, that was just me!), lounged, slept in and noshed on some really good eats. One place that I really wanted to let everyone know about is a wee little place called Nourish. Having heard rave reviews about this place from our Mindful Strides coach Marilyn, my interest was piqued and I kept putting this on the list of places to try one day, and this Sunday was that day. Having just spent a dreamy three hours at the spa getting exfoliated, massaged and pedicured to death, I met up with Hubs and we decided to hit Nourish for lunch. This place just won a local foodie award for one of the best kept secrets in Victoria...they focus on quality wholesome and healthy meals that taste delicious...sold!
Here is the view from where I sat...this place is actually set right in the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific, where the gardens are a-maz-ing...
truly gorgeous setting...so peaceful...
And here is the food:
zomg...that's all I gotta say...
Hubs had the Sleepy Beauty, which was spiced oatmeal pancakes with coconut whipped cream, fruit preserves, maple syrup and pumpkin seeds, and he threw in a chipotle chicken sausage on a whim. My meal was the Benny's Gone Nuts...poached eggs with a vegan cashew hollandaise, kale mushroom sauté on a perfectly baked sweet potato...I was a copycat and also threw in a sausage. After the first bite, I was in heaven...the cashew hollandaise was fantastic, lightly lemon-y and perfect as I've been trying to avoid dairy...a totally healthy and delicious meal. Hubs really liked his pancakes too, which were more like an oatcake and he loved the sausage. As we sat there, I just kept sighing and think how beautiful this spot was, how yummy the food tasted and how happy I was to be sitting with Hubs. I'll be back.
2. Macaron
I had my first macaron today and I just gotta say...I don't really get what the big deal is. A macaron store just opened up not that long ago in downtown Victoria and we always walk past it to get our morning coffees so I decided one day I would try one...I mean, being a foodie and all, it's like my job, right? So dutifully I tried one today and meh...they weren't bad but not something I'd seek out.
OK, and for those of you who are thinking those coconut things? That's a macarOOn...believe me, I was confused too because when I first heard that a macaron store was opening in Victoria, I remember thinking that's weird...a whole store for those coconut chocolate things? Hah!
3. Volunteering Again!
Second volunteering gig of the year on deck this weekend! I'll be helping out at the finish line again at the Oak Bay Half Marathon, so I'll be helping to set up, take down and hand out medals! I gets to hands out medals, people! I'm so excited, I'll even put up with barfing again.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
2013 - Week 20 Recap
OK, I'm gonna start this post with a rant.
Why, oh why do running and athletic stores always carry such awful colour choices for women's runners? This has driven me crazy for ages...the guys all have the cool colours like neon yellow, turquoise and orange, whereas the women's shoes are all these awful "girly" colours like muted purples, pinks and mauves. I'm sorry, not all women want to wear pink and purple shoes!
Case in point...here are my ugly ass shoes (can we say blah? and yes, I have freakishly long thumbs):
Come on, people! Seriously? Why do guys get the cool colours with the cool styles!? I know, I know...it's not about the look but geez. Every time I put my shoes on, I think blech...I hate the colour (or lack thereof) and even asked if they had anything different but I decided to go with it because I needed new runners badly and figured most stores would carry the same colour. Today I happen to drop by a local boutique running store where the buyer isn't some old dude with milquetoast taste, and happen upon my runners but in awesome, cool colours...
Bah.
WORKOUTS:
Sunday: rest
Monday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
Start of a busy exercise week! Three double days this week...I know, crazy right? I just hate missing morning bootcamps with D, and love the PISE classes too so double days it is for now. This week's workout at PISE was a killer...
One of the ladies emailed me this photo, but before she did that I wrote it out from memory in my iPhone and actually called it "The Killer". So it looks rather innocuous...what's five pushups or five push presses, right? Except we did each set for five minutes straight, twice through. Josh is a big meanie.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
Crazy workout day today...morning was bootcamp with a substitute for Jason...at first I was relieved but she was tough as nails for a wee thing. We ran around one of the lakes and would stop intermittently and she'd throw in some exercises. Normally it probably wouldn't have been that bad but I ended up running with a few other girls, one of who was really pushing the pace. At the end of the class as we walked back to the cars, she mentioned that she was going hard, which kind of relieved me because I was thinking either I was totally out of shape or we were running awfully fast. Awesome though, as I like getting pushed! PISE workout was the same as Monday's, but we ended up increasing the weights so by the end, I was absolutely dying. Usually there's a bit of funny chatter and joking during our workouts...not so, that night...all you could hear was us all gasping for breath and the occasional groan. It was a great workout and I loved/hated it at the same time. After I went home, I basically ate dinner and fell asleep on the couch. Did I mention that Josh is a big meanie?
Thursday: rest
Friday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
More running with the pushing-the-pace lady at morning bootcamp. Seriously, this lady is speedy...I was struggling to keep up with her as we ran some local trails. I was looking forward to a fairly relaxed class that night but nope...we ended up doing some weights, similar to what we did at the beginning way back in January. And then...cue scary music...we did assisted pullups. Ack! Not gonna lie, I found them tough after not having done any lifting for awhile and was crazy sore for days afterwards (love it).
Saturday: 10K run
I was so not into this, but Hubs and I went out and ran a very, very, very pokey 10K. Like I probably coulda walked faster, but whatevs, man...we did it. Seven workouts this week, yeehaw!
FOOD:
Food was on target. Next week's recap might not be quite so stellar though...Hubs and I are on staycation and we've loosened things up for the week. Sometimes, ya gotta live a little.
RECIPES:
Mea culpa...I've made no new recipes the past few weeks as I've had no oven...darn thing was busted but we got it fixed, so I'm back in business this week.
Why, oh why do running and athletic stores always carry such awful colour choices for women's runners? This has driven me crazy for ages...the guys all have the cool colours like neon yellow, turquoise and orange, whereas the women's shoes are all these awful "girly" colours like muted purples, pinks and mauves. I'm sorry, not all women want to wear pink and purple shoes!
Case in point...here are my ugly ass shoes (can we say blah? and yes, I have freakishly long thumbs):
These are Hubs' awesome shoes (set against a mountainscape, no less):
Bah.
WORKOUTS:
Sunday: rest
Monday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
Start of a busy exercise week! Three double days this week...I know, crazy right? I just hate missing morning bootcamps with D, and love the PISE classes too so double days it is for now. This week's workout at PISE was a killer...
One of the ladies emailed me this photo, but before she did that I wrote it out from memory in my iPhone and actually called it "The Killer". So it looks rather innocuous...what's five pushups or five push presses, right? Except we did each set for five minutes straight, twice through. Josh is a big meanie.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
Crazy workout day today...morning was bootcamp with a substitute for Jason...at first I was relieved but she was tough as nails for a wee thing. We ran around one of the lakes and would stop intermittently and she'd throw in some exercises. Normally it probably wouldn't have been that bad but I ended up running with a few other girls, one of who was really pushing the pace. At the end of the class as we walked back to the cars, she mentioned that she was going hard, which kind of relieved me because I was thinking either I was totally out of shape or we were running awfully fast. Awesome though, as I like getting pushed! PISE workout was the same as Monday's, but we ended up increasing the weights so by the end, I was absolutely dying. Usually there's a bit of funny chatter and joking during our workouts...not so, that night...all you could hear was us all gasping for breath and the occasional groan. It was a great workout and I loved/hated it at the same time. After I went home, I basically ate dinner and fell asleep on the couch. Did I mention that Josh is a big meanie?
Thursday: rest
Friday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
More running with the pushing-the-pace lady at morning bootcamp. Seriously, this lady is speedy...I was struggling to keep up with her as we ran some local trails. I was looking forward to a fairly relaxed class that night but nope...we ended up doing some weights, similar to what we did at the beginning way back in January. And then...cue scary music...we did assisted pullups. Ack! Not gonna lie, I found them tough after not having done any lifting for awhile and was crazy sore for days afterwards (love it).
Saturday: 10K run
I was so not into this, but Hubs and I went out and ran a very, very, very pokey 10K. Like I probably coulda walked faster, but whatevs, man...we did it. Seven workouts this week, yeehaw!
FOOD:
Food was on target. Next week's recap might not be quite so stellar though...Hubs and I are on staycation and we've loosened things up for the week. Sometimes, ya gotta live a little.
RECIPES:
Mea culpa...I've made no new recipes the past few weeks as I've had no oven...darn thing was busted but we got it fixed, so I'm back in business this week.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Eating Clean: Step One
OK, finally...here is the food post that I've been meaning to write for weeks! So just to recap...back at the beginning of March, Hubs went to go get his regular annual physical done, and the doctor ordered some bloodwork for him. Not really thinking this was a big deal, I wasn't that worried...until the results came back and they were a little less than desirable. Not crazy bad, but bad enough that we went into action right away on changing things up, particularly when it came to our diet. I really, really, really don't want him to have to go on meds, so figured we'd start with making some lifestyle changes and see what happens. So some of the things he was dealing with? Elevated cholesterol levels (high LDL/low HDL), high triglycerides, slightly high blood pressure and blood sugar sensitivities. Poor Hubs comes from a long line of family with poor health histories, so I'm glad we're getting this under control earlier rather than later...being a health nut, a stubborn Taurus and a feisty little Asian lady, there's no way I'm letting go of this now!
I gotta admit...when we first started thinking about what to do as far as diet went, it was confusing. Are beans OK? How about fruit? Do we have to cut back all fat or just certain types of fat? We were caught in a bit of a circle because we had to cut back on meat due to the cholesterol, but this would likely mean an increase in carbs, which can be bad for someone with blood sugar issues. Argh! Anyways, I'm so glad I did that grocery store tour put on by PISE (all things happen for a reason, amirite?) because it helped me really figure out food labels and gave me some stuff to think about. Overall, I thought we ate fairly well, but now looking back we definitely had room for improvement. Never to go halfway, we made some pretty big changes over the past ten weeks. So...what have we been doing?
Reduce meat intake
Oooooh...at first when we decided to cut back on the amount of meat we ate, I thought it was going to be tough. We had a fairly meat-centric diet...always some kind of protein at lunch and dinner and we weren't strangers to the occasional steak every now and then. In the last two and half months, we've had chicken or turkey maybe half a dozen times, cut out red meat completely but have really increased the amount of fish and tofu we eat, particularly oily fish like salmon...all those good fats and omega 3s. To be honest, we haven't really missed eating meat that much...Hubs was just commenting on this the other day, which is really eye opening for us. Some weeks the majority of our meals are vegetarian or vegan, and we've enjoyed them just as much as meated meals. While I'm not sure if I could go 100% vegan/vegetarian, I'm totally on board with adopting a more plant-based diet for sure.
Lots of fruits, veggies and healthy fats
Every week I steam up huge amounts of veggies so we can eat them all week with our dinners, and we quite often have yummy fruit like strawberries for dessert. I keep an eye on how much fat I use when I'm cooking and only use extra virgin olive oil which is heart healthy...and we're eating healthy fats like those in avocado (looooooovvve) and nuts.
Eat more whole grains, nuts/seeds and lotsa beans - in other words...fibre, fibre, fibre
We were always pretty good with whole wheat products, but are now focussing more on whole grains, eating more almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds, and the big one...we are now huge consumers of beans, chickpeas and lentils. With cutting back on meat so much, I really wanted to make sure we were both getting enough protein in our diets. I initially wasn't sure if beans would be good for someone with blood sugar issues, but apparently even though they are high in carbs, they're also high in fibre and are OK for people with diabetes. The other switch up is steel cut oats for breakfast.
Cut back on sodium
Oooooch! This one was tough for me. Super tough. A total salt hound, I admit I seasoned our food quite liberally and loved salty foods like chips and instant noodles. Loved them to pieces. At first it was hard for me to not reach for that salt shaker at the dinner table or sprinkle salt on food during cooking, and slowly I've gotten used to it but I admit, it's hard for me. Really hard. Like crazy ridiculously hard and some days I've succumbed to the devil, the salt shaker. But I know it's something that we really need to change for Hubs' blood pressure...and honestly, once we started looking at the amount of sodium in foods, it was absolutely jaw dropping. The maximum daily amount is 2300 milligrams, but apparently what people should strive for is 1500 milligrams. This is nothing! We were looking at some bread the other day, and each slice itself was around 200 milligrams. So a sandwich with a bit of deli meat, cheese and some mayo or something and you're already there. I watched a really great segment on Marketplace that talked about the amount of salt Canadians eat...check it out here to watch the full video. The other thing I notice now? When I do eat something from a restaurant, I am insanely thirsty after and kinda don't like it...makes me wonder why I never noticed this before?
Cut out all processed foods and refined sugars
Coming from two people who love their chips and sweet, sweet nothings, we thought this would kill us. No more chips? No more cookies? What good is left in the world?! Honestly...and I never thought I would say this, but we haven't really missed it. OK, sometimes we have a bit of a craving every now and then and Hubs has been absolutely stellar in this department...I've had the odd thing (or two, tee hee) slip past my lips, but overall, we've stuck to this one. I think maybe once your body gets rid of the dependence on sugary goodness, it gets easier and the cravings go away. The one thing that we do to help keep the sugar cravings at bay is have a square or two of good quality dark chocolate every night...antioxidants, folks...that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Ha!
Cut back on dairy and limit eggs
This one was kinda hard too as I loves me my cheese-y goodness, but the extra fat and cholesterol wasn't good for Hubs. After doing some food sensitivity testing back in 2009, I discovered I was very sensitive to dairy and eggs...and guess what I was eating every morning? Cottage cheese, yoghourt or eggs for breakfast. I used to have horrible GI issues but since I've done away with dairy, stomach issues are pretty much non-existent and some persistent eczema I was battling with completely disappeared. So a win-win! My one absolute weakness though? Cream in my coffee. Sob.
More exercise
Hubs has increased the length and intensity of his workouts...and I've even introduced him to Spartacus. You're welcome, honey...har!
Cheat days
Hubs and I were always big on our cheat days...we still sorta do these, but instead of going out all with burgers and fries, we might have an ahi burger with salad instead, or homemade pizza instead of ordering something from the local pizza joint. So basically still treating ourselves but just being smarter with our choices. We both love food, and to be honest sometimes you just have to live a little!
Sooo...after all these changes, what have we noticed? Hubs' has lost some weight and his blood pressure has dropped...he's been testing himself at the drug stores and logging his numbers. He's getting more blood work done at the three month point to see what difference, if any, these changes have made to his numbers. I'm hopeful that we'll see some good results...and if not, we're going to make an appointment to see the dietician that took us on that grocery store tour to see if she can help us make even more tweaks....I'm on a mission to get Hubs' numbers down using lifestyle changes and am pulling out all the stops! The other thing Hubs' has noticed is that his energy levels are better...he would always get that afternoon dropoff and could barely keep his eyes open, and doesn't get that so much anymore. For myself, I'm noticing I'm sleeping like a rock now and less water retention, especially around the eyes. Seriously, some days I used to give Bill Clinton a run for his money and would wake up with hugely puffy eyes, swollen cheeks and sausages for fingers...
Ha! Anyways...so far, even though some days it's not easy and it takes a lot more planning around meals, it's worth it if I can have a healthy Hubs...and I benefit from it too so it's all good in the hood. Stay tuned for an update!
I gotta admit...when we first started thinking about what to do as far as diet went, it was confusing. Are beans OK? How about fruit? Do we have to cut back all fat or just certain types of fat? We were caught in a bit of a circle because we had to cut back on meat due to the cholesterol, but this would likely mean an increase in carbs, which can be bad for someone with blood sugar issues. Argh! Anyways, I'm so glad I did that grocery store tour put on by PISE (all things happen for a reason, amirite?) because it helped me really figure out food labels and gave me some stuff to think about. Overall, I thought we ate fairly well, but now looking back we definitely had room for improvement. Never to go halfway, we made some pretty big changes over the past ten weeks. So...what have we been doing?
Reduce meat intake
Oooooh...at first when we decided to cut back on the amount of meat we ate, I thought it was going to be tough. We had a fairly meat-centric diet...always some kind of protein at lunch and dinner and we weren't strangers to the occasional steak every now and then. In the last two and half months, we've had chicken or turkey maybe half a dozen times, cut out red meat completely but have really increased the amount of fish and tofu we eat, particularly oily fish like salmon...all those good fats and omega 3s. To be honest, we haven't really missed eating meat that much...Hubs was just commenting on this the other day, which is really eye opening for us. Some weeks the majority of our meals are vegetarian or vegan, and we've enjoyed them just as much as meated meals. While I'm not sure if I could go 100% vegan/vegetarian, I'm totally on board with adopting a more plant-based diet for sure.
Lots of fruits, veggies and healthy fats
Every week I steam up huge amounts of veggies so we can eat them all week with our dinners, and we quite often have yummy fruit like strawberries for dessert. I keep an eye on how much fat I use when I'm cooking and only use extra virgin olive oil which is heart healthy...and we're eating healthy fats like those in avocado (looooooovvve) and nuts.
Eat more whole grains, nuts/seeds and lotsa beans - in other words...fibre, fibre, fibre
We were always pretty good with whole wheat products, but are now focussing more on whole grains, eating more almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds, and the big one...we are now huge consumers of beans, chickpeas and lentils. With cutting back on meat so much, I really wanted to make sure we were both getting enough protein in our diets. I initially wasn't sure if beans would be good for someone with blood sugar issues, but apparently even though they are high in carbs, they're also high in fibre and are OK for people with diabetes. The other switch up is steel cut oats for breakfast.
Cut back on sodium
Oooooch! This one was tough for me. Super tough. A total salt hound, I admit I seasoned our food quite liberally and loved salty foods like chips and instant noodles. Loved them to pieces. At first it was hard for me to not reach for that salt shaker at the dinner table or sprinkle salt on food during cooking, and slowly I've gotten used to it but I admit, it's hard for me. Really hard. Like crazy ridiculously hard and some days I've succumbed to the devil, the salt shaker. But I know it's something that we really need to change for Hubs' blood pressure...and honestly, once we started looking at the amount of sodium in foods, it was absolutely jaw dropping. The maximum daily amount is 2300 milligrams, but apparently what people should strive for is 1500 milligrams. This is nothing! We were looking at some bread the other day, and each slice itself was around 200 milligrams. So a sandwich with a bit of deli meat, cheese and some mayo or something and you're already there. I watched a really great segment on Marketplace that talked about the amount of salt Canadians eat...check it out here to watch the full video. The other thing I notice now? When I do eat something from a restaurant, I am insanely thirsty after and kinda don't like it...makes me wonder why I never noticed this before?
Cut out all processed foods and refined sugars
Coming from two people who love their chips and sweet, sweet nothings, we thought this would kill us. No more chips? No more cookies? What good is left in the world?! Honestly...and I never thought I would say this, but we haven't really missed it. OK, sometimes we have a bit of a craving every now and then and Hubs has been absolutely stellar in this department...I've had the odd thing (or two, tee hee) slip past my lips, but overall, we've stuck to this one. I think maybe once your body gets rid of the dependence on sugary goodness, it gets easier and the cravings go away. The one thing that we do to help keep the sugar cravings at bay is have a square or two of good quality dark chocolate every night...antioxidants, folks...that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Ha!
Cut back on dairy and limit eggs
This one was kinda hard too as I loves me my cheese-y goodness, but the extra fat and cholesterol wasn't good for Hubs. After doing some food sensitivity testing back in 2009, I discovered I was very sensitive to dairy and eggs...and guess what I was eating every morning? Cottage cheese, yoghourt or eggs for breakfast. I used to have horrible GI issues but since I've done away with dairy, stomach issues are pretty much non-existent and some persistent eczema I was battling with completely disappeared. So a win-win! My one absolute weakness though? Cream in my coffee. Sob.
More exercise
Hubs has increased the length and intensity of his workouts...and I've even introduced him to Spartacus. You're welcome, honey...har!
Cheat days
Hubs and I were always big on our cheat days...we still sorta do these, but instead of going out all with burgers and fries, we might have an ahi burger with salad instead, or homemade pizza instead of ordering something from the local pizza joint. So basically still treating ourselves but just being smarter with our choices. We both love food, and to be honest sometimes you just have to live a little!
Sooo...after all these changes, what have we noticed? Hubs' has lost some weight and his blood pressure has dropped...he's been testing himself at the drug stores and logging his numbers. He's getting more blood work done at the three month point to see what difference, if any, these changes have made to his numbers. I'm hopeful that we'll see some good results...and if not, we're going to make an appointment to see the dietician that took us on that grocery store tour to see if she can help us make even more tweaks....I'm on a mission to get Hubs' numbers down using lifestyle changes and am pulling out all the stops! The other thing Hubs' has noticed is that his energy levels are better...he would always get that afternoon dropoff and could barely keep his eyes open, and doesn't get that so much anymore. For myself, I'm noticing I'm sleeping like a rock now and less water retention, especially around the eyes. Seriously, some days I used to give Bill Clinton a run for his money and would wake up with hugely puffy eyes, swollen cheeks and sausages for fingers...
hiya bill...I feel your puffy pain...
Ha! Anyways...so far, even though some days it's not easy and it takes a lot more planning around meals, it's worth it if I can have a healthy Hubs...and I benefit from it too so it's all good in the hood. Stay tuned for an update!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
2013 - Week 19 Recap
Man, we've had some pretty amazing stretch of nice weather lately! Things are a bit rainy and cool today, but it's all good as things were getting a bit dry and we needed the rain. With all this great weather, I've had the itch to enter a race again...not so much to race because...well, to be honest, I'm running as slow as molasses these days but I'm cool with it. Anyways, I picked up the latest Runners' World magazine and they were highlighting colour runs and I kinda thought that would be a fun thing to do. Intrigued, I looked into it and found one in Vancouver called the Colour Me Rad 5K...looks pretty awesome, no? Now just to convince Hubs that he wants to do it with me and get covered in coloured cornstarch in places where the sun don't shine. Poor Hubs...always getting dragged along with his crazy wife. Heh.
WORKOUTS
Sunday: rest
Monday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
Grooooaaaan. Man, 5:00a.m. sure comes fast. Not sure what's up, but I've been battling some pretty rough headaches lately...I had one come on strong Sunday evening and I kept waking up throughout the night as it was throbbing so badly. Luckily when I got up to go to bootcamp, it had mostly gone away which was good...I'd promised D I would meet her and I hate jamming on her! Great workout out by Esquimalt Lagoon...I'm truly amazed at how much the strength has made a difference in my running. We started off our workout with a really long gradual hill that normally would have killed me but I was actually able to run all the way up while chatting with the trainer. I couldn't believe it. Seriously, am a fan of strength now. Evening at PISE was another circuit done outside, so we could enjoy the gorgeous weather.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
OK, doing two double cardio days right away may not have been such a great idea...I should have maybe gotten back into it slowly. Jason taught the morning class and the location was a local park called Thetis Lake...I shoulda know better as all we did that morning was hill after hill after hill after hill with pushups, tuck jumps and squats thrown in for good measure...was absolutely exhausted after. Again, I couldn't believe how good I was feeling and was rocking the hills when a pretty cool thing happened...I was running up the steepest part and one of the newer ladies in the class said that I inspired her...my first thought was to look around and think that she must have meant someone else, but I realized I was alone and she was talking to me! Seriously made my day...OK maybe, my year. Evening class at PISE was a similar circuit to Monday, but we got to get out some of our frustrations as Josh busted out the sledgehammers and tires...woohoo! It took a little getting used to and I'm not coordinated at the best of times, but it was fun to vent out some latent frustrations on that tire. The only non-fun moment came right at the end when I accidentally smashed my shin with the sledgehammer after I'd finished taking a swing and was switching arms. Yep, smashed myself real good...it seriously took every ounce of willpower in my body to not scream out a long string of obscenities as I bit back the pain and tried to not crumble into a girly pool of tears and run blubbering to Josh. Bruise made me look kinda badass though.
Thursday: rest
So tired from Wednesday. Sooo tired.
Friday: PISE p.m.
All the hill work this week after not having done any for over a month wreaked some havoc on my right quad...Mr. Quad was feeling pretty sore and tender, so I was doing RICE on it since Wednesday and decided to not bootcamp Friday morning. Friday night was TRX and a HIIT session...I've worked with TRX before but liked it so much that I went and bought the kit so I can do it at home...such a keener.
Saturday: 30 mins Spartacus
Finally, the week is over! Hubs wasn't in the mood for a long run after playing hockey Friday night and I was exhausted, so we did three rounds of Spartacus and called it a week.
FOOD:
I know...I keep promising a food post! It's been 10 weeks since we started our super ultra clean eating so was going to recap how things are going. A little bit of good news? Hubs took his blood pressure today and it's dropped...makes it all worth it.
RECIPES:
Veggie tofu stir fry from Power Foods.
WORKOUTS
Sunday: rest
Monday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
Grooooaaaan. Man, 5:00a.m. sure comes fast. Not sure what's up, but I've been battling some pretty rough headaches lately...I had one come on strong Sunday evening and I kept waking up throughout the night as it was throbbing so badly. Luckily when I got up to go to bootcamp, it had mostly gone away which was good...I'd promised D I would meet her and I hate jamming on her! Great workout out by Esquimalt Lagoon...I'm truly amazed at how much the strength has made a difference in my running. We started off our workout with a really long gradual hill that normally would have killed me but I was actually able to run all the way up while chatting with the trainer. I couldn't believe it. Seriously, am a fan of strength now. Evening at PISE was another circuit done outside, so we could enjoy the gorgeous weather.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
OK, doing two double cardio days right away may not have been such a great idea...I should have maybe gotten back into it slowly. Jason taught the morning class and the location was a local park called Thetis Lake...I shoulda know better as all we did that morning was hill after hill after hill after hill with pushups, tuck jumps and squats thrown in for good measure...was absolutely exhausted after. Again, I couldn't believe how good I was feeling and was rocking the hills when a pretty cool thing happened...I was running up the steepest part and one of the newer ladies in the class said that I inspired her...my first thought was to look around and think that she must have meant someone else, but I realized I was alone and she was talking to me! Seriously made my day...OK maybe, my year. Evening class at PISE was a similar circuit to Monday, but we got to get out some of our frustrations as Josh busted out the sledgehammers and tires...woohoo! It took a little getting used to and I'm not coordinated at the best of times, but it was fun to vent out some latent frustrations on that tire. The only non-fun moment came right at the end when I accidentally smashed my shin with the sledgehammer after I'd finished taking a swing and was switching arms. Yep, smashed myself real good...it seriously took every ounce of willpower in my body to not scream out a long string of obscenities as I bit back the pain and tried to not crumble into a girly pool of tears and run blubbering to Josh. Bruise made me look kinda badass though.
Thursday: rest
So tired from Wednesday. Sooo tired.
Friday: PISE p.m.
All the hill work this week after not having done any for over a month wreaked some havoc on my right quad...Mr. Quad was feeling pretty sore and tender, so I was doing RICE on it since Wednesday and decided to not bootcamp Friday morning. Friday night was TRX and a HIIT session...I've worked with TRX before but liked it so much that I went and bought the kit so I can do it at home...such a keener.
Saturday: 30 mins Spartacus
Finally, the week is over! Hubs wasn't in the mood for a long run after playing hockey Friday night and I was exhausted, so we did three rounds of Spartacus and called it a week.
FOOD:
I know...I keep promising a food post! It's been 10 weeks since we started our super ultra clean eating so was going to recap how things are going. A little bit of good news? Hubs took his blood pressure today and it's dropped...makes it all worth it.
RECIPES:
Veggie tofu stir fry from Power Foods.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
2013 - Week 17/18 Recap
Yikes, I've been a little remiss in posting recaps lately...Week 17 was a bit shall we say...low key? Don't know what it was but I was feeling a wee bit tired and not into it so only worked out three times. Moving on to Week 18!
WORKOUTS
Sunday: 30 mins HIIT, stationery bike
Tired but inspired (ha, I made a rhyme!) by finish line duties at the Times Colonist 10K run, I came home and ripped out 30 minutes of intervals on the stationery bike, and then threw in some pullups. Must do one by year end. Must.
Monday: PISE bootcamp
This week we were in the gym doing a circuits...three sets of three different exercises, done three times. Not gonna lie, a teeny tiny part of me was a bit relieved I wasn't going to be able to make Wednesday's class. Tee hee.
Tuesday: 30 mins treadmill
Follow up physio on Tuesday night so I decided to fit in a workout in the morning as I wouldn't be able to make PISE on Wednesday. My calf has been feeling a lot better but there was still some residual tightness so I wanted to do a follow up to make sure things were staying loose. So far so good...I needed nowhere near the number of needles as I had the last time...I'm guessing I had close to 40, whereas this time I maybe had 10 and she did a really good one right in the calf where it was bothering me. It hurt like a son of gun but after our run on Saturday, I didn't have any pain. Yessss.
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: rest
Friday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
Hurray! Back at morning bootcamp...D is finished her April hiatus so we decided to meet up at bootcamp Friday morning. I felt a bit rusty at first (or maybe just not used to hauling my butt up at 5am anymore) but it felt really good to run hard and do some hills. Kinda forgotten how much I love starting my day with a workout, just gives me so much energy. The other thing I noticed is that my cardio has actually seemed to have improved over the past month, whereas I would have thought it would have dropped since I wasn't doing any sprints or hills...like absolutely none. I think all those hard circuits and strength work we've been doing with Josh have been really helping with my endurance...hills actually seem easier than when I was doing the run clinic last year and doing loads of hills and speedwork. Woohooo!!! PISE class at night was mostly mobility and some stretching type stuff which was exactly my speed...it was a gorgeous, warm evening and I was a bit tuckered out from morning class so some low key stuff was perfect.
Saturday: 10K run
A gorgeous morning for a run! Hubs was a bit tired from hockey Friday night and I was a bit tired from a double day on Friday, so we plodded along slowly and chatted the kilometres away. Love our weekend runs.
FOOD:
Food post to come soon...promise!
RECIPES:
Lentil salad with mint from America's Test Kitchen and Spicy Butternut Squash soup from Meatless.
WORKOUTS
Sunday: 30 mins HIIT, stationery bike
Tired but inspired (ha, I made a rhyme!) by finish line duties at the Times Colonist 10K run, I came home and ripped out 30 minutes of intervals on the stationery bike, and then threw in some pullups. Must do one by year end. Must.
Monday: PISE bootcamp
This week we were in the gym doing a circuits...three sets of three different exercises, done three times. Not gonna lie, a teeny tiny part of me was a bit relieved I wasn't going to be able to make Wednesday's class. Tee hee.
Tuesday: 30 mins treadmill
Follow up physio on Tuesday night so I decided to fit in a workout in the morning as I wouldn't be able to make PISE on Wednesday. My calf has been feeling a lot better but there was still some residual tightness so I wanted to do a follow up to make sure things were staying loose. So far so good...I needed nowhere near the number of needles as I had the last time...I'm guessing I had close to 40, whereas this time I maybe had 10 and she did a really good one right in the calf where it was bothering me. It hurt like a son of gun but after our run on Saturday, I didn't have any pain. Yessss.
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: rest
Friday: bootcamp a.m./PISE p.m.
Hurray! Back at morning bootcamp...D is finished her April hiatus so we decided to meet up at bootcamp Friday morning. I felt a bit rusty at first (or maybe just not used to hauling my butt up at 5am anymore) but it felt really good to run hard and do some hills. Kinda forgotten how much I love starting my day with a workout, just gives me so much energy. The other thing I noticed is that my cardio has actually seemed to have improved over the past month, whereas I would have thought it would have dropped since I wasn't doing any sprints or hills...like absolutely none. I think all those hard circuits and strength work we've been doing with Josh have been really helping with my endurance...hills actually seem easier than when I was doing the run clinic last year and doing loads of hills and speedwork. Woohooo!!! PISE class at night was mostly mobility and some stretching type stuff which was exactly my speed...it was a gorgeous, warm evening and I was a bit tuckered out from morning class so some low key stuff was perfect.
Saturday: 10K run
A gorgeous morning for a run! Hubs was a bit tired from hockey Friday night and I was a bit tired from a double day on Friday, so we plodded along slowly and chatted the kilometres away. Love our weekend runs.
FOOD:
Food post to come soon...promise!
RECIPES:
Lentil salad with mint from America's Test Kitchen and Spicy Butternut Squash soup from Meatless.
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