yawn to yawn

i am so beat this morning. it feels like my lips and face are raw. like i've been skiing or in the cold wind for too long. the concert last night was amazing, and my friend really enjoyed it which made me enjoy it more. i was a bit tired but i could tell he thought it was the bomb diggity. and it was of course.

i thought about sleeping in this morning, but i went to the gym, and walked for 3 miles on various inclines, and did some lunges, push-ups (girl ones), sit-ups, and that plank move that is supposed to be good for your abs. i am way more into the treadmill than the elliptical because i can read magazines and i have a stack of about 40 to catch up on. and i can set my mp3 player to radio and get the morning news as well. i didn't want to work out tonight because a) could be too tired, b) have a few minor things to do and c) all i really want to do is drink tea and read twilight. i bought the next book in the series so i don't have to go without. i am resenting all of the awake time i have to go through until i can finally sit down and read the book. and now it's too cold to read while walking outside (frozen fingers).

i really wanted something delicious and carby for breakfast so i made a quaker instant regular oats with added all bran, pumpkin, cottage cheese, banana, splenda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla. it was really filling and just what i needed. warm and comforting.

the latest audio book i'm listening to in the car is "my life" by bill clinton. it's very interesting even though i don't really know anything about american politics. did anyone know that bill clinton was a rhodes scholar? or that his younger brother went to jail for selling cocaine (to fuel his own habit)? i sure didn't!

that's about it... FOR NOW! i might skip tomorrow's workout but wake up at the same time to clean my apartment. i definitely need to step on the scale since i avoided it last week and all this week so far. but really, i've been feeling pretty good about myself so maybe i shouldn't. nah, i will. or won't. or will... i will. time to face the music... whatever that means. apparently it refers to shamed officers being drummed out of their regiment. hmmmmm the more you know.

another blog?

i'm thinking about starting another blog, one that isn't so personal but rather based on health and beauty in general. nothing to do with my own health, fitness, and weight goals but something more helpful to others. thoughts? of course i would continue this blog... just putting it out there.

i am feeling really good about myself today. i swam for 30 minutes this morning even though i had to convince myself not to go back to bed instead about five times. i had a great swim though. it was just getting down there and in the pool that was the hard part.

also, i'm really hungry today. instead of oatmeal for breakfast, i had an english muffin with peanut butter, yogurt and fresh cranberries. maybe it wasn't as filling? does anyone like fresh cranberries? they are so tart and delicious. and did you know that they are white on the inside? i wasn't expecting that at all! i think they are high in fibre, too. can't go wrong!

for lunch i brought a whole wheat bun, veggies and hummus, and a ready-to-go campbell's healthy request italian wedding soup. italian wedding soup is sooooo good. all of those little balls of pasta! i'm excited.

tonight i am taking one of my oldest friends to see "sharon jones and the dap kings" live in concert. i have seen them once before and they are amazing!

now i need to get a coffee to distract myself from this raging hunger.

it's nice to have new things

it has just occurred to me that i forgot to write about my fun shopping time on friday. it wasn’t that fun (because i do not like shopping) but i love having new things so that is fun. i do actually like looking at things in stores, but trying things on and crowds are very annoying.

so friday, after work, i went to canadian tire and bought a rice cooker for 50% off. great deal! it’s black and decker brand too. i tried it yesterday and my rice was pretty delicious. i also bought some cleaning supplies on sale. i hate when you are trying to clean but are nearing the end of a spray bottle. and really there is enough to use but not enough to have a full spray blast if you have to tip the bottle at an angle for whatever reason.

after canadian tire, i went to linens n’ things because i had a gift card. i had never been there before because there aren’t really any linens n’ things in my area but i made the trip since it’s going out of business. i really couldn’t believe how ridiculously expensive everything was there! everything there was horribly overpriced and i was just wandering the aisles thinking about how i could probably buy everything there for cheaper elsewhere. but that doesn’t matter when you have a gift card. i bought a car air freshener for $5 (christmas cookie scent), a garlic and sea salt grinder (for $8, and yum yum), an electric nose hair trimmer ($25!!!) and my new pride and joy, a rainfall showerhead ($40). i have wanted one of these since my dream shower in laguna beach, california. it’s very awesome and relaxing, and the water pressure is great too.

so that’s that. yesterday i was completely on plan and it was grrrrrrrreat! i had a 40-minute swim as well. this morning i woke up and was going to use the elliptical, but decided to do an incline (up and down) walk on the treadmill so i could read magazines while i did it instead. i walked for 3 miles, then did lunges, push-ups and sit-ups.

speaking of reading, i just started the first book in that twilight series (for teens) and it’s really good! i can hardly put it down. and there is a movie coming out in december. really, it’s really, really good. can all of my “really”s emphasize it enough? i don’t know!

here is today’s planned menu (room for ytbd snacks):

regular oats (2)
1/3 cup pumpkin (0)
¼ cup all bran (0)
½ cup fresh cranberries (0)
vanilla tea (0)
yogurt (1)
total: 3

coffee (0)
whole wheat bun (2)
peanut butter (1)
source yogurt, 2 containers (1)
baby carrots and yellow pepper (0)
2.5 tablespoons hummus (2)
total: 9

coleslaw (0)
yogurt dressing (2)
2 hard boiled eggs (4)
2 low fat hot dogs (1)
total: 16

this week the plan

monday: 40 minutes swimming

tuesday: 30 minutes elliptical, sit-ups, lunges

wednesday: 30 minutes swimming

thursday: 30 minutes elliptical, sit-ups, lunges

friday: 30 minutes swimming

saturday: 30 minutes elliptical, sit-ups, lunges

sunday: rest day.

i am going swimming in a few minutes, and then i finally get to try out my new rice cooker. i am probably more excited than i should be :)

cooking rice

it’s a nice gray autumn day today. and it’s friday which is always good news. i went swimming this morning for 30 minutes AND i did 30 minutes on the elliptical yesterday before book club which means that this week i was five for five on weekday exercise. whoo – pee.

for some reason i decided to step on the scale last night. i was feeling pretty skinny and good about myself until i was up about four pounds. i know it’s a night time weigh in but wtf, seriously? i have been on the ball all week long. how frustrating.

i decided that i couldn’t face friday morning weighing in today so i’m going to live in denial and pretend that it doesn’t exist this week. sometimes a girl needs a little denial.

this weekend is going to be great. after “work” today i am going to canadian tire because are selling rice cookers for 50% off ($9.99) and i want one. i am also going to linens and things because i have a gift card i need to use up before they go out of business.

tomorrow i am going on a hunt for halloween costume accessories, and then out for dinner and to a lounge for a friend’s birthday. in little italy too. have a great weekend!

ouchy ouchy

my legs are so sore (still!) from doing lunges with weights on tuesday night. seriously, i can hardly move. can anyone say “out of shape?” i was going to do the elliptical this morning but decided to take a rest day since i am moving at such a slow pace. i have book club tonight and if i feel like working out after that (not likely) then i will. tomorrow is weigh in day and i was hoping to get an extra workout in but it’s not the end of the world.

last night we ate low fat fries with swiss chalet gravy, and low fat chicken and cheese meatballs from sobeys. and baby tomatoes. it was very delicious. going to bed i was a bit hungry and while making his lunch for tomorrow, my boyfriend tried to throw some cheese at me, but i resisted and ate a clementine instead.

in other news, my boyfriend’s sister is putting on this fashion show for charity in november, and asked me to be a model in it. i have never been in a fashion show so it’s pretty exciting. there is a fitting on tuesday! maybe this will inspire me to think healthy thoughts this weekend.

lately instead of eating bigger meals like the three usuals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner, i’ve been snacking all day long or dividing my meals into a few different parts. during the week and especially when i’m eating alone i like this a lot better. for example, for breakfast i used to have oatmeal and yogurt, or oatmeal and cottage cheese, but now, i have the oatmeal as usual and save the dairy for a morning snack, or eat it around noon. it’s great. i’m never too full and hardly ever hungry.

tonight is book club and the book we read this month is “the watchmen” by david gibbons and alan moore. it’s a graphic novel. i enjoyed it, although i don’t really care for the topic of superheroes in general so it could have been better. apparently there is a movie coming out soon? i don’t know. it won a HUGO award and was voted one of time magazine’s top 100 novels, so that has to stand for something. :)

much better hair day

today i am feeling much better. last night i got home from work starving. if i am working out at night, usually i like to work out first and then eat dinner (because eating feels like a reward, don’t you think?) but last night i felt so hungry and weak that i decided to eat first and it gave me a lot more energy for the workout. and it’s better that way anyway because then i can avoid eating too late.

at the gym i did 20 minutes on the elliptical, then stretches, sit-ups, lunges with 5 pound weights, and girl push-ups, 10 more minutes on the elliptical, and then i walked up the stairs (10 floors) to my apartment. good workout and it burned about 350 calories. (i was wearing my HRM). i like to break up the cardio on the elliptical because a) it’s really hard! and b) it's better to pause and keep your heart rate up for longer. i don’t know what it is about the elliptical machines in my condo gym, but they are really tough. a lot less smooth than really nice elliptical machines i’ve used at professional gyms, but they work nonetheless. and i know this because my heart rate is out of control. usually around 150-160 and sometimes bordering 170 if i am really pushing it. now i wonder if i just liked other machines because they were easier... who knows, whooo whooo? (owl)

after the gym, my legs felt wobbly and jiggly. obviously i need to do more lunges with weights. i haven’t been doing very much weight training lately because of all of my swimming. my upper body muscles are definitely getting bigger from all of that resistance water training, but i guess since i’m not running (more on that another time) my legs are feeling left out. i’m going to incorporate more leg work at the gym: lunges, squats maybe, some press machines... that sort of thing. anyway after the gym, i felt all wobbly and jiggly and even though i wasn’t hungry, i had a source yogurt with ½ scoop vanilla protein powder. i felt so much better! obviously my muscles needed some protein right away. i’ve read that you should eat a protein-y snack right after doing any muscle-tearing activity to help the rebuilding process.

this morning i did 30 minutes of swimming even though i didn’t want to. i was a bit stiff from my workout last night, but i don’t want to wimp out on exercise during the week. i want to exercise at least five days a week, six if i am feeling energetic.

this morning i also made regular oats (1/3 cup) with tim horton’s pumpkin spice tea that was brewing (steeping?) during my whole swim. with ¼ cup all bran, ¼ cup pumpkin, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice it was a breakfast sent from autumn heaven. i ate some strawberries too.

tonight is date night and we are having poutine and watching top model. my boyfriend begs for poutine. what a sad addiction ;). it’s actually not bad at all. mccain low fat fries, swiss chalet gravy from the powder (pretty light), and served with a turkey grill ‘em or two if you are really hungry and love sausages. sometimes we have cheese (light mozzarella) and sometimes we don’t. it doesn’t make that much of a difference anyway because the gravy is deeeeevine.

what else? i finished last week’s audiobook and went to the library on monday to exchange it for another. i pretty much only listen in the car. i picked up teacher man, by frank mccourt . it’s great but read by the author and his voice can be really annoying when he imitates students. i have read his other books and they are awesome as well. have a great wednesday bloggers.

sports bra contest....

this bra looks really fab! and since mine are years old... and horrible... and disgusting... (enough bra bashing)

I entered the Gracie Gear Giveaway!

Check out Roni’s Weight Loss Blog for more information.

oh boy

today i'm not feeling so great. i feel really unattractive... you know, muffin top, pimple, windblown hair, faded jeans, under eye circles. generally bad news. it's so cold and windy today. i look like a monster - not joking. short bleached hair looks like the hair on a muppet after it has been blowing in the wind.

this morning i had my group session at the employment insurance office. really i just snoozed the whole thing away, although i did learn some great resources for improving my english. it was not helpful to me, personally, but i can see how it would be for some people. and it's good to make sure that people aren't cheating the system.

here is a general beef i have: why doesn't tim hortons take debit or visa? seriously... only mastercard or cash. i can understand cash only because they want to keep the lines moving along speedily, but some people don't carry cash (like me, usually). this morning i bought some boxes of that pumpkin spice tea. it's so delicious! anyway, luckily i found an old abandoned tim's card in my wallet, or else i would have had to give up my tea dreams. sad, but true.

in terms of food and eating, i have learned something very, VERY interesting about myself. i need to keep myself neither full or hungry. especially not too full. when i am too full, i feel like i've "blown it," like why bother stopping now... even if i've just eaten a plate of veggies. it doesn't matter... the whole ruining the diet mentally. even though it's ridiculous and i can rationally acknowledge its ridiculousness. so i can't let myself be too full, and ESPECIALLY, not in the evenings, when i am alone. i envy people who live with other people because it's sort of like a block for overeating. i wouldn't stuff myself in front of anyone else because of the embarrassment or the idea of someone judging my eating. but alone, why not? who is going to know? except myself and that's a whole other discussion of feeling bad about yourself!

so that's all i have to say today. today for breakfast i had strawberry carnation instant breakfast made with unsweetened almond breeze instead of oatmeal. a nice change taste-wise but it is not holding me over at all.

i broke my bowl

remember my new oatmeal bowl from ikea? well, i broke it this morning. i was excited because i was going to try microwaving oats instead of cooking them stovetop. i thought that maybe the bowl would be big enough to avoid the boiling over that usually happens in the microwave. but now i'll never know. it just jumped out of my hands. and it broke on the countertop... not even the floor. it must have been crappily made, because things normally don't break on the countertop.

everything is breaking for me lately. my phone is broken... it's been sent out for repairs and i have a weird replacement phone. last night my cat knocked over a glass on my bedside table and it shattered (on the laminate wood floor... also weird) and today the bowl. everything is destructing!!!! ahhhhh!!!!

anyway, my weekend was pretty good. i pigged out at the girl's sleepover on friday night, but did 20 minutes on the elliptical on saturday AND went swimming so i'm hoping i canceled out some of the bad. the rest of the weekend was kind of lame. except last night i had dinner with my parents and my mom made the best fresh pasta - spinach and cheese stuffed ravioli with roasted red peppers and mushrooms, and meatballs. and then we made brownies after dinner. wa wa wee wa.

today i am at home organizing my life. i applied for some jobs, and i have to organize some paperwork for a meeting i have at the unemployment office tomorrow. fun times... oh boy!

this morning i went swimming... it felt really good. i might walk to the library later and get another book on CD if i have time. i just love listening to them in the car. it's very relaxing!

friday update and rondom facts

the good news is it’s friday, i got my hair done yesterday and it looks awesome, i’m drinking a skinny cinnamon dolce latte from starbucks and i didn’t have to pay for it, and i lost 1.2 pounds this week (despite thanksgiving) putting me back into the very high end of my maintenance range.

isn’t that nice? the bad news is that i emailed a company i’ve has five yes FIVE interviews with and they informed me that they’ve hired someone else. this isn’t the same company as the interview i had earlier this week, by the way. but i’m really disappointed... what a bummer. i really thought they would offer me a job, too. :(

tonight i am going to a girl’s sleepover? isn’t that fun? although last time this happened some boyfriends came... lame! guys should not come to a girl’s sleepover. maybe they get some sort of thrill about raiding a girl party... i don’t know.

in other news, both fitting back in and vanessa tagged me to share some random facts about myself, so here we go:

1) i lived in leeds, england for ½ a year in university. i loved it there, although i was very homesick.
2) one of my very favourite movies is the secret garden.
3) i can’t eat whipped cream because it gives me horrible stomach pains and (shhh) gas.
4) yesterday i went to the library and randomly picked up a book on tape (cd). now i am obsessed with it. i put disc one onto my mp3 player and listened to it on the transit last night and this morning. and then this morning i listened to ½ of disc two on the way to the suburbs. the book is “light on snow” by anita shreve and it’s so good. it’s about a 12-year-old girl and her father who live in the middle of nowhere and find a newborn in the woods. the voice reading the book isn’t annoying at all. i was worried that it would be too slow, but it’s not.
5) this morning i saw a dead bird on the sidewalk, outside of my boyfriend’s apartment. it looked like it just fell out of the sky. it was on it’s back and it’s legs were sticking up rigor mortis-like. maybe it was an omen about not getting the job. and then my mom said there is a dead cat in the alley (beside the building).... weird!
6) this one will actually be about me. i like being very efficient with my time. this is probably why i hate driving... because i hate sitting in traffic. i don’t mind transit, because i can be reading and that’s a worthwhile thing to be doing. i like to get the most amount of things and stuff done in the shortest amount of trips.

happy weekend everyone. i’m going to resist the twizzler straws!

fun thursday!

today i am not doing anything resembling a) driving and b) work.

for breakfast i had a cup of caramelo coffee, an english muffin with chocolate peanut butter (yum), and a cup of frozen mango, thawed.

my plan for today is to hit the gym (for either treadmill walking or elliptical), then i am meeting my old boss for lunch, and then i am getting my hair done (a cut and lighter blond). i'm not sure where we are going for lunch, but hopefully there will be healthy options. if not, i'll just eat half and save the rest for later.

that's all i really have to say today. tomorrow is weigh in and i'm hoping it will better than the last few weeks... after thanksgiving weekend though, so i'm not counting any chickens before they hatch!

UPDATE: i just got back from the gym. i wore my HRM this time because it's been collecting dust. i did 20 minutes on the elliptical, then some stretching and situps, then 10 more minutes on the elliptical. then, when i was leaving, the elevators in my condo were out of order and i had to walk up 10 flights of stairs. 350 calories burned... not bad for an hour! and i feel great now! woopee - although clearly i am not as in shape as i was when running. there were times on the elliptical (near the end when i was pushing it) when my heart rate was over 170... apparently it's not safe (for me) to go over 166.

midweek already

i really didn’t want to wake up this morning. i mean really! i set my alarm for 6:45am, so i could get up and swim with lots of time to get ready, but i didn’t get out of bed until 7:15. i still went swimming, i was just later getting to the office (where my mom works... so not a huge deal).

i stayed up a bit too late a) watching the election results (no real surprise!) and b) finishing this bad danielle steel book that i got from the library. does anyone else feel the urge to finish every book they start, even when they are crap? this one was called “amazing grace” and about an earthquake in san francisco. too bad really. one of my favourite books is “jewels” by danielle steel, so i know it’s the specific book and not the author. there is just too much describing of feelings and thoughts, and not enough dialogue or scenic descriptions. that’s my big criticism.

yesterday i tried something new. instead of counting points (and eating the most food possible for my amount of points), i decided to just eat when i was hungry, but choose relatively healthy things. it’s only one day. i really ate a significant amount less than i usually do, and i didn’t feel out-of-control-hungry or anything. the only time i was really hungry was 5:30-7:00, but i was driving home, stopping at the grocery store, voting, etc. so there just wasn’t time to eat.

today is a good day. why? because my PB2 peanut butter is coming in the mail. i love UPS. the tracking is always so right on and updated frequently. i know a lot of people are sceptical about powdered peanut butter but it’s really very delicious. i like it anyway. if you are attached to skippy or another super creamy brand then maybe it won’t work for you.

i’m not sure when i’ll hear about the job. hopefully this week! i would really like it because it’s a good one. the location is not the best but beggers (who don’t have jobs and have to work pity jobs with their moms in the burbs) can’t be choosers. ;) i was a bit flustered over a few questions because i let my mouth talk faster than my brain could think, and then my brain would say, “don’t say that idiot!” and i’d get a bit jumbled. bah – interview questions are never fun.

tonight is date night and i am not going to eat any liquorice rainbow twizzers (i didn’t last weekend either – i drank out of one but didn’t eat it). it’s already midweek... woohoo!

oh, one more thing. this morning my body fat was between 16 and 17% and i did definitely NOT see anything resembling an ab. =D

a tuesday list

a list format:

1. exercise was great this weekend. a 40 minute swim and 25 minute bike ride on saturday, on sunday day 3 week 3 of the couch to 5k, and monday another 40 minute swim.

2. unfortunately the running on sunday caused some pretty bad bum pain, and i was limping around on sunday and monday. frustrating!!!

3. i think i've figured out that i can only run in the evenings, on pain free days. for some reason running in the morning or early afternoon hurts me. :(

4. food was not so great this weekend. but it's over, and i'm over it.

5. i had a job interview this morning and i think it went pretty well. :)

6. i forgot my make-up case at my parent's house last night and thus had no make-up (foundation) for this morning and had to go to shopper's drug mart at 8am to buy some.

7. yes, i am one of those girls who doesn't leave the house without makeup. except this morning going to buy make-up of course!

8. i bought a new scale that measures body fat and hydration levels because my other scale is starting to be on the fritz. i don't know how i feel about it. a) the scale reads one pound lower than my other digital scale. b) at first it said i had 12.6% body fat which is ridiculous. but then i read online that you aren't supposed to check that stuff when you first wake up or right after exercising. so later in the day it read 16% which is still pretty weird. i don't know. i was expecting around 20% but maybe i'm more buff than i thought? does anybody know more about this?

9. i am drinking a pumpkin spice tea from tim hortons. sooooooo tasty!

10. i'm not sure if i will exercise tonight. maybe. i really want to get into the elliptical again because they burn a lot of calories and are right in front of the tvs, but the ones in my condo gym are so stiff. and the bar for magazines is so weirdly placed. anyhoo.

11. i really feel like i'm getting out of shape. i don't know why. i feel like things are a bit out of control. maybe it's because i don't have a steady job yet or because my apartment always seems to get messy so fast. i need a better routine dammit!

friday weigh in day

friday weigh-in day and this week i gained 0.4 pounds. not significant, but i was hoping for a loss. really, i was perfect all week which can only mean one thing – that last weekend was much MUCH worse than i thought it was. and looking back, i can see where i was fooling myself. my boyfriend and i have this funny but terrible habit of drinking our mixed drinks (at home) through rainbow twizzler straws. it’s just so yummy. really i have the pack of rainbow twizzlers sitting on my counter all week and never feel tempted to eat them... i just love drinking through them on weekends!

so anyway. that’s bad. i won’t do it this weekend. and i can recall an incident of eating too much post-going out last saturday night as well. not bad stuff. actually i have no idea.

in other news, today is friday and i couldn’t be happier. i am working a ½ day with my mom, then running some errands, and then i hope to clean the apartment, especially the bathroom before tonight. maybe i can even get some treadmill (walking) time in.

last night i did week 3 day 2 of the couch to 5k program. it was great – no pain or anything! maybe it’s gone for good... i don’t want to jinx anything. then i had a nice bath and my cat, oliver, jumped up on the side of the tub and sat there for the whole time.... at least 20 minutes. what a weirdo. the side of the tub isn’t wide, either. he kept touching the water with his paws and then jumping back at the ripples. weirdo!

tonight i am going dancing, tomorrow there is a party, sunday thanksgiving at my boyfriend’s parents house, and monday thanksgiving at my parent’s house. fun weekend.

this morning for breakfast i had 2 packs of quaker instant oatmeal with a ½ cup of all bran, 2 equal sweeteners and a splash of vanilla mixed in. it was deliciously carby and filling and i used gingerbread spice tea as water. happy thanksgiving everyone! :)

shopping, and water

i didn’t go running last night. i had every intention of doing it, but then i didn’t get home until 9pm. why? shopping :) i left my mom’s office around 6pm, and stopped in H & M to return a skirt, and ended up buying 2 pairs of dress pants, 3 sweaters, and a pair of jeans. i like how things at H & M are usually regularly sized and not vanity sized. for example, in pants and skirts there, i am a size 6, not something ridiculous like a 0-2. in tops, usually a 4 but that depends on the button situation. i’m sure you all know what i’m talking about. anyway, i have to go back there tonight because one of the pants i brought home is a 4, so i must have put back the wrong size. i also like H & M because i can buy jeans from the kids section. and they are only $22. that’s cheap for jeans! they size is for 14-15 year olds, and only works if you have no hips like moi. i am afraid to give birth. my mom had 3 caesarean sections because of this problem. good thing it’s not the olden days or we’d both be dust!

moving on, i also went to globo shoes. i bought the cutest pair of booties but when i brought them home i decided they were too small. i got an 8 and normally am 8.5. so i went back to make the exchange and they were $10 off, on sale. here they are for your viewing pleasure.

and then i went to loblaws and picked up giant cans of pumpkin (love thanksgiving), cottage cheese, strawberries, a coconut cream pie larabar (new!), and some high protein pitas.

i made the mistake of weighing myself this morning and i am way up. what gives? i have been doing everything right except.... drinking enough water! drinking 4 cups of coffee a day doesn’t count as water! today i am going to chug a lug at least 3 litres. that is my lofty goal.
this morning i swam for 30 minutes and i am definitely running tonight. here is today’s menu:

quaker regular oatmeal (2)
½ cup all bran (1)
(in gingerbread spice tea)
½ cup fat free vanilla yogurt (1)
142g strawberries (0)
(4)

½ cup 1% cottage cheese (1.5)
142g strawberries (0)
(5.5)

couscous cup (3)
½ high protein pita (1)
hummus (1)
red pepper strips (0)
baby carrots (0.5)
(11)

cocoa coconut larabar (4)
(15)

protein powder (2)
unsweetened almond breeze (1)
140g frozen berries (0)
(18)

PRAISE THE LORD

bell plantation is now offering chocolate peanut butter. HOLY SMOKES PEOPLE!!!

http://www.bellplantation.com/

i ordered 6 of regular and 6 chocolate. normally I just get 4 regular at a time but it goes pretty fast. i like this peanut because:

a) it's 50 calories (1 point) for 2 tablespoons

b) you can add as much water as you want to change the consistency

c) you can finally bake peanut muffins and stuff and not worry about the crazy fat and calorie content

d) you can easily add it to smoothies

e) it now comes in chocolate peanut butter... finally my dreams are coming true.

i am having a pretty good day today :)

oh.... hello

wow. today i feel like poo. blame t.o.m.

t.m.i? maybe! too many acronyms? definitely!

last night my boyfriend and i had a nice date. we watched ferris beuller's day off at the movie theatre, and then he made me a delicious dinner of whole wheat spaghetti, meatballs, and vegetables with cheese. the meatballs were from sobey's and called "chicken and cheese." interesting texture... different than a beef or turkey ball, but still good. and only 100 calories and low fat for 4 of them. and they were reasonably sized balls, too. ok, enough ball talk.

for some reason, i have a problem with red pasta sauces. i like the taste, but sometimes they are too saucey. i like minimal sauce, or no sauce even. my bf and i compromise by using a can of tomato paste instead of sauce. it's flavourful, but not too saucey. perfecto! now i think he likes it better than regular sauce too.

this morning i left his abode at 7am, rode my bike home (about 3 miles, mostly downhill though), went swimming for 30 minutes, and then got ready for working in the burbs. i had a big carby breakfast. i am craving carbs like a crazy carb... lover. tonight i am hoping to get day 2 week 3 couch to 5k in, but we'll see based on how my lower half is feeling.

today's menu:

1 baby banana (0.25)
3 apple graham crackers (0.25)

1/2 cup multigrain hot cereal (2)
banana (2)
1/4 cup all bran (0)
1/4 cup pumpkin (0)

1/2 cup fat free vanilla yogurt (1)
1/4 cup pumpkin (0)
(5.5)

1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese (1.5)
140g frozen raspberries (0)
(7)

50g deli chicken (1)
ezekiel hamburger bun (3)
tomato and mustard (0)
(11)

baby carrots (1)
red pepper (0)
hummus (0.5)
(12.5)

apple (1)
grapes (1)
all bran bar (2)
(16.5)

protein powder (2)
140g frozen berries (0)
1 cup unsweetened almond breeze (1)
1/2 banana (1)
(20.5)

star studded

today is all about film and television. not really, but i was trying to think of a theme. i say that because i won two free tickets to see ferris bueller's day off at a small cinema tonight. i didn't even enter a contest. i just belong to some random facebook group or something. it's one of those "membership" theatres where you pay $3 for 6 months and then each movie only costs $6. i am not a member yet but i guess i'm becoming one tonight.

and last week i was in the dominion grocery store, now called "metro" and i saw this man in the produce section. i thought i recognized him but couldn't place him. it was only after i got home that i thought... is that that guy from catwalk? for some reason no one i talk to in real life remembers catwalk, but i used to watch it all the time. neve campbell was on it! anyway, i have verified it and the guy i saw is paul popowich. you should google image him to see if you recognize him. and just think, he must live in my neighbourhood wow wa wee wa.

yesterday was a good day food and exercise wise. i went for a 30 minute swim, rode my bike to the library and kensington market (where they have unsweetened almond breeze 5 for $10 and larabars 2 for $3), and did day 1 of week 3 of the couch to 5k program. lots of activity. it must have pooped me out because i fell back asleep after my alarm this morning and didn't have time to go swimming before leaving for suburbia.

here is today's menu:

maple high fibre oatmeal (3)
1/2 cup pumpkin (0)
1/4 cup all bran (0)
coffee (0)

1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese (1.5)
140g frozen raspberries (0)

1 can amy's pea soup (2.5)
3 light wasa crackers (1)
1 wedge laughing cow (1)

baby carrots (0)
light hummus (0.5)

apple pie larabar (3)

and then tonight my bf is making "lean italian meatballs" and whole wheat spaghetti. yum yum. :) hopefully i can avoid movie temptations.

monday morning

my weekend was good. on friday night my bf and i stayed in and watched the sex and the city movie. i had seen it (come on) but he hadn't and wanted to. we ordered swiss chalet for dinner and it was delicious. :)

on saturday we did some shopping and for dinner i made this bruschetta chicken bake that i saw in the kraft magazine. while online it got good reviews, i wouldn't make it again. i think i mixed the can of tomatoes with the stove top stuffing too soon... anyway it was kind of mushy. and the chicken, being the bottom layer, was kind of flavourless except for the basil. and i wasn't completely convinced that the chicken had baked for long enough (only 30 minutes!)... so kind of bleh.

at night we went to a concert (brazilian girls) and then to a party. the next morning i woke up feeling like DEATH. seriously, it felt like someone slipped a roofie into my drink. i had sort of a lot to drink but really not enough to feel so crappy. i'm sure nothing funny like that happened but still. didn't feel good.

today is monday and i'm at home today. i'm going to go swimming for 30 minutes in a few, and then maybe try week three day one of the couch to 5k tonight since my bum pain isn't bothering me today. also a protein smoothie for dinner!

new bowl

this may be ridiculous but i had to show you guys the new "oatmeal bowl" i got for myself at IKEA yesterday. i love using a huge bowl because then i can just throw everything into the microwave and it doesn't spill out over the sides of the bowl. and it's just fun having a big bowl. it makes me feel like i'm just a tiny person using a regular sized bowl.

i took these photos for comparison. on the far left and second to the left are the dishes that came with my standard corning ware dish set. a small bowl, and a bigger bowl. i like to microwave 1/4 cup egg whites in the smallest one for 47 seconds and out comes a perfect english muffin sized patty.

in the middle we have a colourful blue and yellow bowl. i actually bought this in England when i studied there years ago, which is why it's a loner bowl without anything to match. i like the size of this bowl but when i use it for oatmeal in the microwave, it gets too hot to handle and i have to take it out with paper towels, which is kind of dangerous.

second from the right is the bowl i use the most, since i have four of them. i like the size, and they don't get too hot in the microwave, but they look kind of old and shabby (cracked) because they are plastic. and when i stack them they always stick inside each other and are hard to pull apart which is kind of annoying.

and finally on the right is my new blue IKEA oatmeal bowl. i haven't tried it yet so i don't know how it will handle the microwave but i'm imagining that it will be perfect. :) see how big it is!




oh, i just noticed in the first photo there is a nice shot of my cat's bottom. in the second, his feet. don't let the size of the cat impair your bowl-size-judgment because he is a mammoth beast. also in the second is this cute wall art sticker thing i got for a friend's housewarming present.

shifty spider

i have to wake up and go to the bathroom at 5:30am. i am very groggy. while i am, you know, going, my cat likes to come over and head butt me. anyHOO, i look over at the shower and there is a GINORMOUS spider on the wall. SO HUGE. i am not that wimpy when it comes to spiders but i have not seen a bit fat guy like this in my apartment yet (new building) and not while my pants (pajama shorts) are around my ankles. somehow, being surprised by a spider whilst in the nude is always worse than being clothed. it's like protection. so i am surprised, then turn to oliver (my cat) to ask him why he hasn't done anything about this monster, and when i look back, less than FIVE seconds later, the spider is gone. gone! but it was right there less than FIVE seconds ago, in the middle of the giant shower wall, which is white, and since the spider is black or dark gray or whatever colour it is, it stands out very well. i can't believe that the spider has disappeared. did it pull a houdini? where could it have gone? and then i think, if i were a spider, what would i do? this is pretty ridiculous and as i'm thinking this i'm also thinking that these thoughts are ridiculous. this is a side note but i always think it's ridiculous when people attribute human emotions to animals, like we really know how they are thinking and feeling based on a 'look' on their face. anyway, i think that if i were a spider i would hide behind a shampoo bottle. but which one? and note that the shampoo bottles are at least three feet down from the spiders original spot on the shower wall. and i have at least twelve shampoo/conditioner bottles. so i pick up the first one... apprehensively, and THERE HE IS! the little bugger! obviously i have ESP or a sixth sense or something. i just dunked the bottle in the toilet, flushed, and sent him to his watery grave. bye bye buddy.

that was too much excitement for me, and for my cat who thought that it would be fun to head butt me in bed for the next hour, so i couldn't get back to sleep. but i'm not tired. i chose not to work out this morning... maybe later.

today is friday weigh in and i am 3.6 pounds lighter than monday. remember monday was obscene though. my goal is to use my flex tonight and possibly tomorrow and then return to my regularly scheduled eating on sunday. i am still not in my maintenance zone but am sort of close. when i get there i am going to go down to the middle of it for some wiggle room. i want to be at the top of it at the end of the weekend, not over.

last night i wanted to run but couldn't (pain) so i walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes and did some sit-ups. i had another protein smoothie dinner. i might just do this during the weeknights when i am alone. really, that's only three nights. and while dinner is fun, this option is a) yummy b) enough points and light (not heavy in the stomach) c) no cleanup d) very fast to prepare... and e) filling and i wasn't hungry going to bed when i tried it this week.

this weekend is awesome. today i am working a half-day with my mom, then going to the new h & m outlet here in the burbs, maybe some shoe outlets too, then the walmart supercentre here in the burbs (everything downtown is tiny and crowded), and then... IKEA on my way home! huzzah! shopaholic is TCB (taking care of business). i am going to ikea to look at their wall art and i need more of those iron strips for curtains and drapes that make them shorter without sewing. happy weekend :)

very difficult

last night i had the bright idea of making butternut squash fries. you can google them and the hungry girl version of the recipe is the one i used. veggie fries? sounds great, doesn't it? that's until i realized that peeling, seeding, and chopping a butternut squash is VERY DIFFICULT! and time consuming. and really hot when you are pre-heating the oven, the top of which is the only free cutting surface you have at the moment. it took so long! and i was really working up a sweat. but on the other hand, they were insanely delicious, and insanely healthy (1 point for 1/2 the squash!!!) and my boyfriend liked them, which is a miracle, considering he doesn't like sweet potatoes, and that is one of the most amazing foods of all time. so a bit of yumminess for a lot of hard work. is it worth it? not sure. maybe once a month but probably not more than that. if you have a fry craving too it would be a good idea. i served the fries with a cheese turkey sausage (3 points) on whole wheat hot dog buns (2 points) and a side salad (points depending on dressing). very filling. i like how you can take things that would normally be not the healthiest meal and turn it into a healthy one. and still delicious. it just takes a bit of effort to find alternatives.

this morning i got up and went swimming. i've decided that if i swim in the morning before work i'm only going to swim for 30 minutes instead of 40. the pool is really cold and it's more motivating to think i'm only going to be in there for 30 minutes.

i wonder if i wont the lottery last night. someone in the "golden horseshoe" won so it could be me. although if i won i'd only tell my family and no one else because i wouldn't want to be treated differently. i'd just want to live out my life doing whatever i wanted, whenever i wanted, in the latest fashions. oh, and i would hire a personal trainer to train me every day. probably not a chef because i can make my own oatmeal ;)

today i am heading to the burbs again to help my mom out - better get going before i'm late!

wasting time

i am in love with frozen raspberries. and this week my local grocery store has them on sale for $4.00 so i am going back today to stock up. i don't know how much they normally cost but yummo! and a giant serving (140g) is 0 points. can't beat the zero!

last night i tried an eating "experiment." when i got home from work i was feeling the hunger, so i ate 1/2 a banana and then went down to the gym to do day 3 week 2 of the couch to 5k program. it's not that intense - a five minute walk, then six sets of 1.5 minutes running and 2 minutes walking, and then at the end a five minute cool down walk. i managed to make it through pain free which is a huge bonus. i think if i want to do any running, i'm going to have to do it at night time. that's ok with me, because it doesn't take up that much time. i'm not going on any long runs or anything.

my eating experiment was to try and keep my dinner really light. i had a scoop of protein powder (2 points), a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond breeze (1 point), 140g frozen raspberries (0 points) and the other half of my banana (1 point). so 4 points which is substantial, but still a very light meal that doesn't sit heavy in the stomach. and then this morning i am more than 2 pounds lighter. i was definitely still feeling the weekend bloat and water retention!

yesterday randi asked when i started to gain weight, and if it was when i stopped working. well, i'd say probably not when i stopped working, but instead when i stopped running. i was really hardcore and probably burned so many calories running. and i was eating a lot to make up for running so much. a lot of my runs, 4 or so times a week, would be an hour or 6 miles. so my portions were bigger and i was used to eating that much and that's the problem. i am still a volume eater but am trying to cut down on portion size. truthfully i haven't gained that much weight, not even ten pounds, but five becomes ten and then more and more and that's when it becomes a problem. and my business skirt didn't fit, let's not forget that.

today for breakfast i am making an egg and cheese sandwich. 2 slices ezekiel bread (2 points, and truthfully i am not that crazy about this bread. it's *too* fibrous, which i never thought i would hear myself say), 1/4 cup egg whites (0.5 points) and 1 slice kraft fat free cheese (0.5 points). maybe ketchup or a tomato slice too. :)