toronto, running, swimming, i found money

wow i'm losing followers. i felt a little pang of sadness but it's over now.

another quick list:

1) my potato salad recipe for the potluck turned out pretty well. everyone enjoyed it thoroughly! it was more work than i thought because i had to boil eggs and potatoes first and cool them before even starting. it's fun to separate the yolk from the white in cooled hard boiled eggs. the yolks look so funny. like little shiny orange fun balls. there was so much yummy food at the potluck ... it can all be yours in the fall for the low low price of ... um ... i don't know yet!

2) this morning i woke up super early (5:20 am) and ran four miles. i have to be at work at 8 am and i commute so i have to leave at 7:20 am and i have to shower after a run (obviously ... don't want to stink) and realistically i need 20 minutes or so after waking up to get dressed and ready to run. it was hard to wake up and i really thought about going back to sleep but once i got moving it was fine AND the city was cool and empty! AND i found a loonie and a tcc token (toronto transit $2.75) my lucky day. i went to bed last night at 10 pm to prepare for this big event.

3) last night i went swimming. at first i didn't want to, even when i got into the pool. but then i thought to myself - remember when you loved swimming? where did the love go? and i realized my problem was (and is) that i'm always trying to squish a workout in, instead of enjoying myself. so i said NO RUSH, slowed it down, and really had a great swim. i hate feeling like i have to do this, got to do it right now, right now before my next pressing activity! i need to calm down. after my swim i showered and had a steam in the change room - very luxurious. i am pretty luck to have a pool and a steam room in my building!

4) tonight is date night. we are watching canada's next top model and make me a supermodel which i taped last night. i am also lucky my "main squeeze" likes watching model shows with me.

5) good places to shop in toronto:

number one: queen street west (if you start at yonge and queen - the bay at eaton centre) go west past bay and it's awesome store heaven. and you'll get to see city tv/muchmusic building which could be cool if you've never seen it. speaker's corner is also there. good shopping goes a bit past spadina road - there is an urban outfitters and american apparel and then it dies out before bathurst street.

number two: yorkville (yonge and bloor) go up yonge to bloor and walk west on bloor - the shopping here is amazing! there is holt renfrew which carries top designers, on bloor street there is a tiffanys, a louie vuitton, a chanel... etc. obviously i don't shop there but it's nice to look. go all the way to avenue (where the royal ontario museum is) and turn north because one block up on your right is ... whole foods market! yippee! there is an awesome cheap but nice restaurant called hemingways here.

number three: kensington market, this place is a world in it's own. i love it.

whole foods

yesterday afternoon i went to the whole foods market here in toronto. i really like it there, but it's ridiculously expensive and i always think it's going to be better than it is and have wonder products. i did get a couple of larabars, lunabars, and clif bars, but not too many.

i did get greek yogurt though! it's full fat which is pretty high calorie but extra delicious. i also, on a whim, got goat's milk yogurt. WARNING WARNING do not get this product. bleh! i love goat's cheese, but i don't want my yogurt to taste like goat's cheese! there was a also sample of some kind of spreadable milk cheese. holy moly, it was sweet and so delicious! i made a point not to check the brand because if i knew what it was there is a large chance i'd become obsessed with the cheese until purchasing it. maybe if i was hosting a fancy party or something.

i bought one portabella mushroom so i could try making a portabella mushroom burger for the first time. i also bought ezekiel hamburger buns. the mushroom burger was pretty good. i melted a babybel light cheese on top. when i'm alone i usually eat my burger bun separately from the burger so it feels like i am eating more, so that kind of defeats the purpose of the mushroom burger. i would try it again, but my one mushroom cost $1.32 and that's a little pricey for a mushroom.

exercise has been going really well. i am following my hunger cues and eating when hungry. last night i walked for three miles on the treadmill (while reading), and then did some sit ups and bum exercises on the floor mat. this morning i went for a 40-minute swim. all this exercise is making me hungry!

first day, not so great

well, day one back on plan wasn't so hot. i managed to stay on track all day, eating within my points, exercising, feeling great about myself, then hit the cupboards at 12am. i could have gone to bed too. i made the choice. boo on me!

but today is a new day. it's not like i "failed" yesterday because that would mean giving up and i'm not doing that. but still... the idea that i can't even stay on the plan for one day is pretty disheartening.

in other news, i went rollerblading yesterday and really REALLY shouldn't have because afterward my bum pain (sciatica) which was pretty much gone, was back with a vengeance. it's not feeling as bad today so i think it was just a scare telling me not to go rollerblading just yet.

my mom gave me a package of mccain oven roasted sweet potatoes and they were SO GOOD. and pretty good points wise as well. i think for 3/4 cup or 85g it was only 100 calories. and so yummy. did i mention yummy?

i need some excitement today so i am going to 1) whole foods (yes, there is one in toronto but i hardly ever go and 2) canadian tire to get some sort of beach chair. i want to make the most of the summer we've got left by reading on the beach. with sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat of course. i just really want to be leaving the house. so i'm doing those two things, then i will come back and go for a swim, and then maybe hit up the beach. by beach i mean lake ontario.

today i will stay on plan. i will i will i will. and my allergies are out of control today. is anyone else experiencing this?