Brrrr…

Is it ever cold in Calgary right now! Am I ever glad I bought that super cute hat the other day. When it’s –32 with the wind chill it is not fun to be outside!

Yesterday started out simple: 1/2 a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter, granola and a glass of orange juice.

I know my breakfast’s haven’t been very interesting lately. I’m usually in a rush when I’m teaching and I just make something simple and easy for breakfast.

I spent the day teaching grade 8’s yesterday. The day actually went pretty well. The kids were great, I had a great lesson plan to follow and the day went by quickly. All, in all I really can’t complain.

My morning snack was a small banana.

Lunch was the last of my leftover pasta.

Along with a yogurt cup.

And my drive home snack was a Kashi cherry and dark chocolate granola bar.

I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on The Bachelor and blogging before heading out to pick up Matt from work and heading to the pool for a swim.

My pre-gym snack was a tbsp of peanut butter. This seems to have become me go-to pre-gym snack. Quick, easy and full of protein.

My swim tonight was a 500 meter swim along with another 200 meters of kick and a 50 meter cool down. This took a total of 30 mins. It was a great swim yesterday and I’m still feeling the effects today.

After the swim we wanted something quick, easy and healthy. We opted for subs from Subway.

I had a 6’ sub with turkey, lettuce, cucumber, green pepper and cheese on a whole wheat bun.

Later in the evening I was having a serious craving for something sweet but I was able to curve it with grapes and a few cheese and crackers.

Well, I’m off now to enjoy by night off from the gym by spending some quality time with The Vampire Diaries.

~ Katie :)

Snow Day

So yesterday was a snow day. Yay!

I actually didn’t have a subbing job for yesterday but it’s nice to sleep in, relax and not worry that you should be working :)

Breakfast yesterday was a bowl of Fiber One Honey Clusters…

In a mug…

With skim milk.

And 1/2 a grapefruit…

In my winter penguins mug.

 

I was all about the mugs yesterday.

After breakfast I headed out to run a couple errands. First to the bank and then to Winner’s to pick up a new purse for teaching. It’s totally adorable but I forgot to take a picture of it so I’ll share it with you tomorrow.

When I got home it was time for lunch.

Leftover pasta was on the menu.

Along with a side of veggies. Cucumber and baby tomatoes.

After lunch I spend the afternoon blogging, finishing my Pretty Little Liars marathon and relaxing before it was time to pick up the hubby from work.

Before heading out to pick him up I had a tbsp of peanut butter to tide me over till dinner.

(Don’t you love The Bachelor playing in the background).

The plan was to pick him up then head to the gym for some cardio. When we got there it was CRAZY busy. Definitely the busiest it’s been since we joined. I did some quick cardio on the elliptical then we busted out of there.

Too busy for us!

Dinner is the only meal I forgot to take a picture of (I’m getting much better at remembering).

Shrimp Stir Fry was on the menu. Shrimp, red peppers, broccoli, baby corn stocks, carrots, onion and rice noodles made up the meal. It was very tasty.

My evening snack included grapes and two slices of cheese.

Overall, it was a good day. I’m feeling better and better about my food choices everyday.

I’m off to finish watching The Bachelor and then heading to pick up the husband so we can go for a swim.

Later bloggies!

~ Katie :)

Keeping Warm

So yesterday I made a list of things I was planning for the day. Things went really well and I got most of the list accomplished.

Breakfast yesterday was light – 1/2 a whole wheat English muffin, peanut butter, a sprinkle of granola and 1/2 a glass of oj.

I spend the morning reading and relaxing on the couch while waiting for the husband to do a little work. Lunch was a little leftovers from the previous night’s Chinese food. I tried to keep it light and had the last of the won ton soup and 1/2 a cup of fried rice.

After lunch Matt and I got started on our to-do list. Since we were running a little late and had a few other places to go that weren’t on our original list we ended up having to skip our plans to hit up the health and fitness show. I was a little disappointed but I did hear since it was the year’s first show it was still a little small. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make it next year.

We did manage to first hit up the pool for a 30 min swim. Afterwards, we headed to Starbucks for a tall skinny vanilla latte and a new water bottle.

They didn’t have any sippy cups at the one we went to so I got this one instead.

I think it’s pretty cute.

Then it was time to go to Mountain Equipment Co-op to pick up some hats and gloves to keep ourselves warm in this cold Alberta winter. It was –30 with the wind chill yesterday and it’s suppose to stay like this for most of the week.

I needed a new hat. What do you think?

Sorry for the crazy eyes. I still haven’t really figured out how to take a picture of myself in the mirror (trust me when I say – this is the best shot I got).

We had one last stop at Home Depot then we headed home for dinner.

Dinner was some stuffed pasta. Simple and easy. I order to keep the dinner healthy I first pared it with a salad.

(Arugula, carrots, yellow pepper, cucumber and baby tomatoes)

Then I did a great job controlling my portion size. I broke up the meal into 5 servings so I knew how much I’d be eating and I’d have lots of leftovers for the week.

 

It was a great strategy and I was very surprised how full I was even after eating about 1/2 as much as I might normally eat.

My evening snack was a few grapes the the husband and I split while watching a movie on the couch.

Well I’m off now to go pick up the husband from work but I’ll be back tomorrow with lots of pictures an and update from today.

~ Katie :)

Weekend Happenings

Sometimes life gets in the way of postings. That’s what happened for the last two days. Friday I should have been able to blog but after work I headed to get my bangs trimmed(I’ll have to post some pictures of my new duo soon) and ended up at the mall until it was time to pick up the hubby. Then yesterday ended up being a relaxing day on the couch and I just didn’t pick up the computer all day.

Since I’m still lacking in pictures I’m sure you don’t need a run down of everything I’ve had since my last post I’ll just catch you up from the weekend.

Yesterday somehow I fell a little off track.

First mistake: skipping breakfast.

I had gotten up late then did a little cleaning and relaxing and by the time I realized I was hungry it was 11:30. We decided to make some homemade pizza for lunch. It was great and everything on it was healthy: boneless skinless chicken, turkey bacon, whole wheat crust, onions, mushrooms.  But when you end up eating 1/2 the pizza because your starving from the lack of breakfast that’s not such a good thing.

We had plans to go to the health and fitness show here in Calgary yesterday afternoon but it was –25 with the wind chill yesterday and we just couldn’t get motivated to get out of the house. We ended up watching a House Hunters/House Hunters International marathon instead.

By the time we wanted dinner it was 6. We had planned on heading to the grocery store and get something healthy but our stomachs won and we ordered Chinese food. I had a spring roll, won tons soup, rice and chicken with mixed veggies. I guess it definitely could have been worst but not in the game plan for the week.

Even with the indulging yesterday I got up this morning and weighted myself and I know I don’t usually talk about weight on here but I had lost 3 lbs this week. I had gained a little weight over the holidays so it was great to see that number this morning. I guess that all the tracking, working out and all the water I’ve had this week really worked.

Today the plan is:

• Get back on track with food
• Hit up the health and fitness show
• Head to the gym for a swim
• Grocery Shopping
• Drink lots of water
• Pick up a new water bottle since I broke up Starbucks sippy cup the other day.

I’ll be back tomorrow to let you know how that went.

~ Katie :)

Short and Sweet

Since I forgot to take pictures yesterday of my food today’s blog post is going to be short and sweet.

Yesterday was my first day back subbing for the new year. Since I was still craving my snack from the previous night I had 1/2 a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and some powerhouse granola. I also had a glass of orange juice to go along with it.

I’m working hard right now to not drink too many calories (I love oj, milk and other forms of juice) but they are really high in calories and sugar plus I really need to work on getting enough water throughout the day. I do have one glass of milk every night with my dinner and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give that up but if I focus on water in the morning and afternoon I think then that’s pretty good.

Anyways, I decided since my breakfast was pretty light but filled with protein and carbs I’d have a glass of oj to get some fruits in as well.

Teaching yesterday was pretty standard. Nothing too excited. My morning snack was a Kashi granola bar, lunch was leftover pasta along with a yogurt cup and my snack on the drive home were carrot sticks.

After blogging yesterday, I had a small bowl of greek yogurt sprinkled with more granola as my pre-workout snack. Afterwards, I headed to pick up Matt from work so we could head to the gym.

Yesterday was our first swimming day.

Confession time: Well not really a confession but what most of you might not know about it (not sure if I’ve mentioned it on the blog before or not) but I swam competitively for 8 years. From about 11 to 19. I actually did Synchronized Swimming during that time and in 1999 I went to the Canada Winter Games for Synchronized Swimming. I was also a lifeguard and swimming instructor (which is where I met my husband) for 6 years so growing up water was my life.

I haven’t been in the water doing any sort of physical activity for years now (I’ve taken my niece and nephew swimming but not swimming lengths or anything like that). I felt great to get back in the water again but I have completely forgotten how hard it is. I thought I’d be able to get in and swim for 20-30 mins no problem.

After the first couple of lengths I could feel my arms already getting sore. In total we swam for about 20 mins. It was a great workout and I’m really excited to introduce swimming back into my weekly routine.

After swimming I was having serious after swimming hunger - does anyone else ever get this? I was able to convince the hubby to pick up some Thai Express (I had Pad Thai with tofu) for dinner. I was really happy with eating for the past couple of days, we’ve had a great couple of workouts at the gym, I only ate about 1/2 a serving and I still tracked it in My Fitness Pal so I felt comfortable with the decision.

The rest of the evening was spend watching The Biggest Loser and then heading to bed early. Swimming wiped me out.

I’m off now, must get ready for the gym. Sorry for all the rambling, I guess that wasn’t so short and sweet. I’ll hopefully have some pictures to share tomorrow.

~ Katie :)

Back to Basics

I’ve been back on the healthy bandwagon for three days now and feeling great.

Unfortunately, I still haven’t completely got back on the picture taking bandwagon.

Yesterday started with some greens, in the form of a green smoothie.

 

It included: 2 cups of spinach, banana, non-fat milk, flaxmeal, and some greek yogurt for added protein.

After breakfast and blogging I headed out to run a couple of errands. These included picking up some food for the kitty, picking up a new lock and finally getting some almond milk that I’ve been needing.

When I got home I was starving. Lunch was an egg, cheese and a slice of turkey bacon on a whole wheat English muffin with a side of carrot sticks.

Along with some H2O.

I’ve been doing really well with the water. Yesterday I was able to drink 9 glasses of water throughout the day. SCORE!

I spend the rest of the afternoon watching,”Pretty Little Liars”, making some Powerhouse Granola and blogging.

Is anyone else watching that show? I’ve only watching three episodes so far but I’m really enjoying it. I’ve heard it’s a great guilty pleasure and we all should know how much I love my guilty pleasure shows (Vampire Diaries? The Bachelor? Big Brother?).

Before heading out to pick up the hubby from work I had a quick snack. Some powerhouse granola sprinkled on some greek yogurt.

Once I picked up the hubby we headed to the gym to get our new membership. If you didn’t read yesterday’s post you might not know that a little while ago, Matt and I cancelled our Goodlife Memberships and we have decided to join a fitness facility with a pool. I can’t believe we decided to do it on Revolution Monday (which is the first Monday in the New Year).

It was insane there. We were planning on swimming last night but since there was no lane swim when we were there we hit up the gym instead. I did 20 mins on the elliptical, and 15 mins on the treadmill. It felt really great to sweat again.

Did you know that (according to the trainer who signed us) that only 5% of the people who sign up for a gym membership on Revolution Monday continue to go on the regular basis. Most don’t even last 4 months. Crazy, right?

After our workout we headed home, shower, changed and made dinner. Dinner was salad (spinach, yellow peppers, cucumber, carrots and baby tomatoes).

And pasta with ground chicken (un-pictured). It was totally what I needed after the gym.

My evening snack included half a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and sprinkled with a little powerhouse granola.

Overall it was a great day and I was happy with all of my eats.

I’m off now to have a quick snack then go pick up the husband so we can try out this swimming thing.

~ Katie :)

Goals for 2011

So as promised I wanted to share some of my goals/plans for 2011. We all know resolutions always fail so lets just call them goals.

First I should catch you all up on where I am healthy wise since my blogging break. Overall, things were ok but there was quite a bit indulging over the holidays. Now that they are over and done with it’s time to make a fresh start.

Here are some of my goals/plans for 2011:

• Track my food. I’ve decided that although I know I’m eating sort of well I’ve decided to keep track of my food. I downloaded the My Fitness Pal App on my phone and I’ve been using it for the past two days to track my food and fitness.
• Workout 5 times per week. Simple, right?
• Run/Lift Weights 3 times per week. Again, simple. Part of this is going in with a plan. As well, I want to work on pushing myself more during my weight sessions.
• Swim 2 times a week. Swim you say? That’s right, the husband and I cancelled our Goodlife membership and tonight we are going to get a membership at a fitness facility that has a gym. I’m super excited about this.
• Drink Water. At least 2L a day.
• Yoga 1-2 times per week. I think this is all I’m going to have time for right now. This I am going to start at the beginning of February. Things are pretty hectic right now so I’m adding one thing at a time.

So those are my health/fitness goals for 2011. I have a very positive feeling about 2011. I think it’s going to be a big year. Some things I’m already looking forward to are: taking a trip back to Nova Scotia, my best friend having twins, continuing to sub to work towards getting a full time position here in Calgary, taking a trip to New York with the husband and a few others that I’m going to keep secret for now :)

Well I’m off to pick up the husband from work and go sign up for our new membership. I’ll be back tomorrow with a food/gym recap from today.

Also, thanks to everyone for their nice messages of welcoming me back to the blogging world. Very much appreciated.

~ Katie :)

Blogging: Why I Left and Why I’m Back

First and for most I want to wish everyone a (late) Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Why I Left

As many of you may have noticed I haven’t been blogging lately. This hasn’t just been because it was the holiday season and I was too busy to blog but instead I made a conscious decision to take a break from blogging for a while.

As much as I love blogging and the blogging community I felt that I had become too wrapped up in the the blogging world. I think it all started with the Marie Claire Article. I actually had nothing to do with specific bloggers but it just got me thinking about blogging and how obsessive I had become with food. I was constantly worrying about taking pictures of my food before I ate, wondering if that was exciting enough to post on the blog, comparing my eating habits with others in the blogging community and just over all constantly worrying about my food/what my next meal would be.

I had to take a break.

Why I’m Back

To be honest I didn’t think I wanted to come back to blogging. When the husband mentioned it about two weeks ago I told him I just didn’t want to obsess about food any more. He said that I should just enjoy blogging with out worrying about what others thought of me and he also though it was a great way for me to identify with a community and help me stay of track.

After thinking about it for a while I decided the new year was a great time to come back. It will help me get a fresh start while getting back into the swing of things. I’m now excited to be blogging again. The husband and I have made some great healthy changes (look out for my post later on today with my goals for 2011) that I can’t wait to share with everyone and I’m excited about getting involved with the community again.

I have decided to make some changes to my blog/the way I blog. They are

1. I’ve made a decision not to be overly obsessed with reading every healthy living blog out there. I have a few favourites that I’ve still been reading over the last few months even if I haven’t been blogging myself. I will continue to read healthy living blogs (and a few of my other favourites) but I’m not going to feel guilty if I don’t read every post.

2. I’m going to try to work on commenting more on other blogs. Although I know I can’t read every blog I’m not good at commenting on the ones I do read. I usually read in my google reader and never comment. I’m going to work on quality not quantity and to comment whenever possible.

3. This is my blog and I’m going to post what I want to post. I think I was so worried about posting new and interesting things that I lost sight of why I started this blog to begin with.

Finally…

4. I’m not setting any expectations for myself, like: I will post twice a day. I think I should be able to post at least once a day (my new schedule seems to lend itself to that) but if I miss a day I’m not going to feel guilty and feel that I need to make that up. This blog is going to be for me and as much as I love my readers I need to do what is best for me.

I’m hoping with these changes I should be able to get back into a regular blogging routine and get back on track with a healthy lifestyle.

I do have some great goals for 2011 and I’m looking forward to sharing them later on today but first I must head out and pick up some kitty food for my fur baby and a quick trip to the grocery store for some almond milk.

~ Katie :)