Most Productive Monday Ever!

Usually after work, I collapse and do very little with my evening. But tonight has been insanely productive! I washed a ton of dishes (there are still some in the sink, but we can discuss my housekeeping habits another time), went to a bootcamp class, and got a few groceries. Now I am simultaneously doing several loads of laundry AND writing a blog post! That's five different things! At least four more than usual.

Last week, I participated in a Clean Eating Challenge run by the lovely Ashley through Facebook. I have to confess, I did not follow her guidelines completely, but I did manage to make some delicious food:

Double green smoothie jars at work!

Delicious lentil soup.

These "turtle"-like treats were AMAZING and very simple to make. Recipe from Meghan Telpner.

Today I was talking to my friend Ben at work and found out that he sometimes goes running early in the morning. One thing led to another and... he's picking me up at 6 am on Wednesday for a run. 6 am. In the morning. What have I gotten myself into?!

Update-a-roonie

Hi to all those out in Blogland!

I really can't believe it's been more than two months since my last post. I have lots of updates for you!

In August, I traveled with my friend Michelle to Nashville and Memphis. Then I took an overnight Amtrak train from Memphis to Chicago, where I stayed by myself for a weekend.

Don't I look like I can sing?

Hunter Hayes was the headliner when I went to the Grand Ole Opry...  I must confess, I had never heard of him before, but he certainly had lots of screaming teenage fans.

I made a new friend. P.S. Do you like my Graceland outfit?

I took a Chicago Pizza Tour and it was the best decision of my life. That's whipped ricotta cheese!

Can you tell that I'm wearing the same outfit I wore the previous day in Memphis and all night on the train?

Needless to say, it was an amazing trip!

Soon after I was back in Canada, I had booked my road test to get my G2 driver's licence (I tried once before in July... let's just say that at that time I was "not up to ministry standards"). But I'm proud to say I'm now an almost-fully licensed driver (I have one more road test to complete under Ontario's graduated licensing system)! It was a great way to end the Summer of Katie. I feel like such an adult now. (Sometimes.)

I know that you're all waiting with bated breath to hear how my healthy eating and exercise is going. At the beginning of September, the personal trainer I'd been seeing all summer moved away. Since I really can't afford to keep seeing one anyway, I decided to sign up for a weekly bootcamp class at the same gym. So far, I've really been enjoying the class, but definitely have NOT been keeping up with exercising on my own. I'm still trying to get back into the habit of exercising regularly...

As for healthy eating, the lovely Ashley is hosting a clean eating challenge through Facebook next week. I quickly signed up, and I'll be sure to tell you all about it. For the past few weeks, my eating has been a bit all over the map. Mostly bad. But, I'm still feeling good and motivated. I'll get there. :)

In other news, it's my 29th birthday tomorrow! I'm planning on meeting one friend for lunch, then having dinner with a couple of other friends. I was also surprised with a birthday cake after Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's on Sunday.

Yes, it is an ice cream cake! Yes, that is pumpkin pie beside it, which I also ate!

On that note, I will end this post. I have a wild Friday night of knitting ahead of me...

Six Weeks of Tracking: Wrap Up

Sunday marked the end of my six weeks of tracking. So, how did I do?

The green swirls indicate that I tracked, so you can see I kind of ran out of steam near the end there. But overall, I'm pleased with how I did. And I'm EXTRA pleased with all the exercising I've been doing! Each pink star indicates a workout (and I also wrote in what the exercise was). I worked out 6 times each week! Here I am after my run on Sunday:

I did something unusual for me, which was running in mid-afternoon in the heat. I didn't die! I brought water with me and I didn't run far, so it wasn't really a big deal... but I usually avoid the heat at all costs.

Speaking of avoiding the heat, as you may recall, the six weeks of tracking was leading up to a trip down south! I leave at 3 am tomorrow for Nashville, Memphis, and Chicago! I am a notorious overpacker, so I've been trying to condense as much as possible. I am extremely excited and will be sure to post about my trip when I return.

I am planning/hoping to get some exercise in on the road. I'm travelling with a friend who's training for a half-marathon, so she will definitely be going for a couple of runs while we're gone. I obviously can't run at her speed or distance, but maybe I can kind of jog in a circle while she does whatever insane distance she has planned. ;)

I'm not going to pretend that I'm going to track or eat perfectly while I'm gone (I've booked myself on a Chicago Pizza Tour, for goodness sakes), but I am DETERMINED to get right back on track when I return. I cooked a huge batch of healthy chili yesterday that's all portioned out in my freezer for when I get back.

I'd better finish getting ready for my trip! See you in a couple of weeks!

Step-Ups of Doom

This summer is just flying by! I've been a busy bee and haven't had a chance to squeeze in a post.

Last weekend I went to a lovely wedding. I saw a few friends from teacher's college (including the bride) that I hadn't seen in about two years.

I looked up a fun french braid hairstyle on Youtube and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!

The food was amazing! There were seven courses, and I'm not ashamed to say I ate every single one (and multiple types of cake!).

So far, that's been the only day I haven't tracked during my six weeks of tracking challenge… But I got up early (as in, early enough to be ready for a noon checkout) the next morning to work out in the hotel gym! I'm basically a superstar.

I have also been taking some random food photos with intentions of writing blog posts about them. I can't recall exactly what I planned to say, but I can show you a couple of pictures at least.

Ginormous salad

I always bring a ridiculous amount of food to work.

I am still seeing my personal trainer (I'm planning to keep seeing her for the rest of the summer, except for the two weeks I'm out of town, and then in September I'll probably stop). I know that I don't need a trainer to get in shape, but I work out so much harder with her than I would on my own. Yesterday, after running some drills with an agility ladder, I had to do 15 squats with a kettlebell, then run a short sprint, then do 14 squats, then run, then 13 squats... all the way down to 1 squat. Needless to say, the sprints quickly turned into slow, stagger-y jogs. After that, she had me do 15 slams with a medicine ball, then 20 walking lunges, then 14 ball slams, then 20 walking lunges... luckily, I was only at 9 ball slams when my hour was up.

I saw her again today, and the workout was so hard that I honestly wanted to cry. Not so much because it was the most physically challenging workout we've done (although it was really tough), but it was very challenging mentally. I did step-ups tonight on a higher step than I've ever used before. Even though I did the first few without any problem, I stumbled a couple of times and totally lost my confidence. I had to REALLY psych myself up before attempting each step-up, and I was a bit scared that I was just going to go headfirst over the other side. My trainer kept reminding me that I was completely capable of doing them, which I was, and somehow I made it through. I really didn't believe I was going to, though. Oh, and I also had to flip a tire a bunch of times.

By the time I came home from personal training (my session was after work today), I really wanted to just buy something junky to eat for dinner. I was so exhausted and felt like I "deserved" it. But somehow I ended up just microwaving some vegetables and leftover chicken. Who am I!?

That's all for today! Have a great, healthy weekend!

Biggest salad ever!

I'm still here! I haven't quit yet. I've been tracking (albeit slightly creatively on occasion) and exercising consistently.

Today I'm feeling very motivated. The past two days, I went a bit overboard with my eating. I kept thinking that little things here and there wouldn't make a difference (like a muffin with my coffee, some wine with dinner, an impromptu bagel as a morning snack...), but when I sat down and tracked everything, I discovered I had used up ALL of my weekly Weight Watchers points (which don't reset until next Monday). Instead of giving up for the week (or longer), I planned out my meals for today and made a huge salad to bring for lunch. I also brought my french press to work to brew my own coffee instead of buying it. I tend to buy treats whenever I'm at a coffee shop, so I think this will be a big help (and more economical!).

This morning, I talked to my trainer about my nutrition and it made me think more about exactly which foods I'm choosing to eat. On Weight Watchers, you can pretty much eat whatever you want as long as it fits your points. That's what makes the program easy to follow - but it's also one of the potential problems with the program (depending on how you look at it). I'm very proud of the changes I've made to my eating habits over the past few weeks (just the fact that I have been preparing most of my meals, rather than eating out constantly, is huge), but I still have lots of room for improvement. If choosing healthy, filling, whole foods becomes automatic for me, then this lifestyle will truly become sustainable... I hope. :)

Anyway! I have a couple of snazzy lunches to share with you.

From last week:

Red peppers and a wrap! There's hummus in the tiny container.

Today I brought a HUGE lunch to work in my Aladdin collapsible salad set (I know I've mentioned my addiction to fun lunch containers before). I bought it months ago, but didn't use it until today for some strange reason. Here it is all closed up:

And here's what's inside:

I had lots of greens and some broccoli coleslaw with chicken, cheddar cheese, corn chips, salsa, and some guacamole. This salad was SUPER filling. The container was a bit cumbersome to carry TO work, but after lunch all the containers collapsed to a very manageable size.

I am exhausted so I think I will head to bed. I have plans for an early-morning workout! Ta!

Bentobsessed.

I have a problem.

I suffer from a major weakness for fun lunch containers.

On Saturday, I was at one of my favourite stores, Fenigo, "just browsing." Lately I've been looking at lots of pictures (and some youtube videos) of bento-style lunches, and when I saw some cute Japanese bento boxes at Fenigo, I just couldn't resist. I bought one for myself, and one to give my sister as a thank-you for all of the times she's taken me out to practice my driving.

On Sunday, we met for one last practice session before my road test on Thursday (yes, THURSDAY! Aaaahhhhh). I decided to pack us a fun picnic lunch in our new bento boxes. First, I set out all of my bento ingredients:

I followed this tutorial on Youtube to make hatching chicks from hardboiled eggs. Look, I know they're deformed, but it was my first attempt:

Lettuce for the eyes and carrot for the lips!

In the boxes were pinwheel sandwiches, carrot and cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, the hardboiled eggs/hatching chicks, grapes, strawberries cut to look like hearts, and mini cinnamon buns in silicone baking cups. Oh, and cheesestrings to really bring things to the next level. (And some fun animal toothpick things that I had lying around in a cupcake-making kit.)

 Here are the boxes all closed up:

Mine is the yellow one!

 I packed the bentos (and some extra food...) in my big cooler bag, and was on my way.

I'm pleased to say the bento boxes were a hit! My sister was very impressed. We've since decided that everything we eat from now on has to be out of a bento.

In other food news, a few weeks ago I discovered a really cool meal delivery service here in Waterloo called Food Naturally. It's run by holistic nutritionist Dana Rourke. You have the option of ordering one or two portions of three different meals. The meals are vegetarian and gluten-, sugar-, and dairy-free (not to mention made from scratch with whole foods!). As you know, I often find it EXTREMELY difficult to garner the motivation to do as much cooking as I should. Sometimes, I also have trouble thinking of interesting, healthy meals to cook. So, this meal service sounded like the perfect occasional treat.

I tried it for the first time a few weeks ago and loved it. When I saw the meal plan for this coming week, I knew I had to order again. I picked up my meals for the week this evening:

I received two big, delicious salads; two servings of falafels with brown rice, millet tabbouleh, hummus, and tahini sauce; and lots of tomato soup. She also included some complimentary granola! I had the falafel meal for dinner tonight and it was FANTASTIC.

Ordering the meals is obviously more expensive than making the food myself, but it's no more expensive than buying my lunch everyday (which I was doing just a few weeks ago... as well as buying many unhealthy breakfasts and dinners). I think it's definitely worth it to give myself a break once in awhile and still enjoy lots of super-healthy food. :)

Well, it's almost my bedtime! I'm meeting my trainer at 7:00 am tomorrow - which is better than our usual time of 6:45, but not by much... Toodles!

Adventures with Wheat Meat

I can't believe it's Thursday! The Summer of Katie is just zooming by (fabulously, of course).

I mentioned on Sunday that I was attempting to make seitan (a fake meat made from wheat gluten). I've never had seitan before, so I don't know if mine turned out "correctly," but I was pretty pleased with it.

Here are two seitan lumps after simmering in broth for awhile:

I grilled slices on my George Foreman grill:

I put the seitan on top of Isa Chandra Mokowitz's Dragon Noodle Salad.

I know this isn't all THAT impressive-looking, but it looks much nicer than the meals I usually eat.

It was delicious! I brought some leftovers with carrot sticks to work the next day in this awesome lunch container. I bought it awhile ago but for some reason hadn't gotten around to using it yet... I suppose until this week, I didn't have a lunch worthy of it!

Love the colours!

Yesterday was a long day for me. I went to the gym before work, worked until 7, and then rushed home for a driving lesson at 8 (my G2 road test is next week! ack!). I managed to prep a bunch of food the night before to bring to work. Even though I was exhausted, it didn't feel like a big chore... what a change from just a few weeks ago!

I brought a huge salad with goat cheese and a small can of lemon pepper tuna, carrots and hummus, plain yogurt with frozen mango pieces, brown rice pasta with meat sauce (which I made awhile ago and froze), an apple and banana, some crackers, and a granola bar. I barely had time to eat it all before it was time to go home!

This morning I met with my trainer. We spent some time with the foam roller. At first I was psyched that we were doing that instead of the usual torture lunges and such. But my muscles are so tight, it turned out to be pretty painful, especially when I was rolling over my IT band. And then I had to do a million lunges anyway. I have a foam roller, so I am determined to start using it regularly to loosen up a bit. I've been having some foot pain and I think it will help a lot.

That's all to report for now! I'm sure I'll be back soon with more random lunch pictures and gym updates. :)

Another Successful Week

I am proud to say I've just completed another week of 6 workouts! This week, I also tracked everything I ate using Weight Watchers (so far - I suppose there are a few more hours left in the day where it can all go downhill...). I don't know why, but tracking everything just felt so easy and natural. Maybe I was just ready to commit to something again? Whatever the reason, I'm feeling extremely motivated to continue. :)

My proudest moment this week was on Friday. I went out for an all-you-can-eat sushi lunch with a few colleagues. I was very worried that I would do what I usually do at all-you-can-eat sushi: eat all that I can, and feel gross and sick afterwards. But this time, I somehow avoided all of the deep-fried appetizers that were on the table in front of me and ate a seaweed salad instead. I ate a ton of sushi, but I counted roughly how many pieces I ate so I could track it later (which I did). I also avoided dessert. All in all, I had a great time, really enjoyed the food I ate, and I wasn't overly stuffed afterwards. Restaurants in general, let alone an all-you-can-eat situation, are always difficult for me to navigate. I was extremely worried going into this lunch, and I'm so happy I managed to eat reasonably.

I'm still seeing my personal trainer, and the workouts are getting increasingly... interesting. Last week, I had to push a 110-pound tire across the floor (on its side; I couldn't just roll it, unfortunately). Yesterday morning, I had to do TONS of stuff with battle ropes, alternated with lower body stuff. Brutal! On the bright side, it's getting much easier to get out of bed at 5:30 am.

I mentioned in my last post that I was trying a couple of recipes from Eat, Shrink & Be Merry. I ate some of the leftovers on top of some mixed greens. It was more appetizing than what I usually eat, so I snapped a picture:

Chicken thighs in barbecue sauce & mashed cauliflower

This morning, I knew I had to squeeze in a workout. Getting to the gym on Sundays is always a challenge for me. I don't know if it's because my gym is where I work, so I feel like I'm going to work on a weekend, or if I'm just very lazy on Sundays (or both), but I never want to get dressed and go out the door. Today was extremely hot, which made the walk to the gym even less appealing. 

Eventually I left my apartment. By the time I got to the gym, I was already drenched in sweat. I put in some time on the stationary bike (my left foot has been acting up, so I've been avoiding the treadmill so I don't aggravate it further), and I was EVEN SWEATIER afterwards. Despite the fact that my shirt had very interesting sweat-patches all over it, I then hopped on the bus to go to the grocery store. Thankfully, no one seemed too offended by my appearance...

I made it home in the heat successfully!

Now I'm in the middle of a new cooking adventure (and I may or may not still be wearing that sweaty t-shirt, hours later). I have some seitan simmering on the stove (I used this recipe) which I'm planning to use in this noodle salad. Let's hope it turns out! I don't think I've ever had seitan before...

Reuniting With an Old Friend

Happy Thursday, friends! I've been having a fairly busy week, so I haven't had a chance to update you all on how I'm doing.

First, the good news. I am still exercising like a mofo. Last week, for the second week in a row, I worked out 6 times! Actually 7 times if you count a Rest & Renew yoga class I went to... but that mostly consisted of lying on cushions and such. This week, I'm planning to get in 6 workouts as well (3 with my trainer, and 3 short cardio sessions on my own).

Next, the slightly-less-good-but-still-pretty-okay news. I haven't been eating as great as I would like to... last Saturday I think I ate all of my meals out (including a burger and onion rings for lunch that made me feel sick). On Sunday, I decided I would just get back on track... but I wondered what back on track should mean for me. I am no longer following the Fast Metabolism Diet, and when I just try to "eat healthy", that somehow turns into a crazy food free-for-all. It seems I'm either following a super strict diet (which leads to me binging like crazy when it ends), or following no diet at all (which leads to me binging like crazy most days). What's a girl to do?

Oh, Weight Watchers. A few months ago, I impulsively signed up for a 6-month online membership in a fit of desperation. Until this week, I hadn't even tracked a full day. But, as of this past Monday, I have been faithfully tracking everything I've eaten.

Part of me thinks this is totally the wrong way to go... I feel like I shouldn't have to track everything I eat, that I should just choose the right foods, and that if I follow Weight Watchers I'll just end up eating too much junk/processed food/etc because I'm allowed to eat whatever I want as long as it fits into my daily points... but obviously, just trying to choose the right foods has not been working for me. And it was Weight Watchers that got me to my lowest weight ever four years ago.

In just under 6 weeks, I am leaving on my trip to Nashville, Memphis, and Chicago. I can only imagine how great I will feel if, until I go, I track consistently (not to mention continue with all of my exercise!). It will be HOT in Nashville and Memphis in August, and I'd like to feel a bit more comfortable in my summer clothes. I'm also taking the trip with an extremely fit friend, and I want to be able to keep up!

So, I hereby declare, that I will continue tracking until the trip. That would make 6 weeks of tracking!

I'm not sure if I will do the weekly weigh-ins, though. Lately, I've been weighing myself frequently and feeling quite discouraged. I've been working so hard at the gym that I feel like the weight should just be falling off; but, of course, it really comes down to what I eat (which hasn't been ideal). My trainer suggested that I put my scale away for now, and I think I will. :)

Now it's time for me to finish cooking dinner (two recipes from Eat, Shrink & Be Merry!: Sticky Chicky and Mashed Fauxtatoes) in my adorable apron:

I tried taking several photos. Believe it or not, this one was the least awkward.

Stepping it Up

This morning started bright and early with a personal training session. Now, my trainer changes the workout every time I see her, but there's one move that she makes me do rather often. It's my LEAST favourite move: step-ups. All it consists of is stepping up onto a step. Sounds simple. But you're not supposed to push off with your bottom foot! So, for example, if my right foot is on the step, I'm supposed to be able to just push into the heel of my right foot and somehow lift my body up without my left foot helping much at all. This is literally impossible for me to do. Sometimes I have to do it with weights, sometimes I have to do a giant step, sometimes both... but it is never possible for me to not push off the bottom foot. Maybe one day..

Anyway, somehow I survived. I also confessed to my trainer (and now to you) that I've had a few slip-ups with my eating the past few days. I know I'm doing better than I was, but I won't get the results I want if I keep making excuses and eating junk. Somehow, I rationalize it to myself by thinking that "one bad meal" won't make a difference, even though I know it does.

I'm pleased to say though, that today was completely on track! I started off my day with steel cut oats with natural peanut butter. I ate some before my workout, and some after. Then I packed a LOT of food to bring for a long day at work:

I brought a green smoothie (spinach, flaxseed, almond milk, berries, and banana), leftover turkey sausage with brown rice pasta, leftover potato enchiladas, carrots, and plums. I was pretty satisfied. I had some frozen pineapple when I got home, and now I'm eating second dinner - leftover thai coconut chicken curry with brown rice. Delicious!

I know that I can go the rest of the week without any more junk food. So that's exactly what I'm going to do! Stay tuned for more details of my stellar, perfect-eating week. :)

Time to Regroup

Well, as you may have guessed, I will not be completing the full 28 days of the Fast Metabolism Diet. It got too hard to follow all the precise guidelines and food restrictions. And if I'm being completely honest, for most of the weekend I ate complete junk. BUT let's focus on the positives about last week:

• Compared to a few weeks ago, I ate much more food that I'd cooked myself, instead of buying breakfast on the way to work, lunch at work, etc.
• I worked out SIX TIMES! Have I ever worked out that much in one week? Maybe once a few years ago? Anyway. Insane, y'all.
• I accomplished a lot even though my week was super busy. I wasn't home much to cook/clean, and I didn't get as much sleep last week as I needed, but I still mostly stuck to my meal plan and got all my workouts in.

Yesterday I sat down and made a rough meal plan for this week. I picked recipes I know that I'll like, and didn't base anything on a particular diet. A few of the groceries I picked up:

Bananas are back on the scene! They weren't allowed on the FMD :(

I made the first recipe last night. Potato Enchiladas from The Starch Solution:

I ate one for breakfast this morning. They may not be attractive, but they're pretty tasty!

Tonight, I was back in the kitchen to try a couple more recipes. I started with lots of chopping (fyi, I think I'm the slowest chopper in the world):

I made a coconut Thai stirfry based on a recipe from Eat, Shrink & Be Merry.

This was delicious! I had it over basmati rice (I was planning to use brown rice but I didn't have enough). I'm very excited about all the leftovers.

Next, I quickly whipped up some turkey sausage with brown rice pasta, which I first made two weeks ago when prepping for the Fast Metabolism Diet.

I'm feeling pretty happy about all the meals in my fridge/freezer, just ready to be eaten! In other news, my kitchen looks like a disaster zone and I bought some new clothes yesterday so I can put off doing laundry for a couple more days (also because there was a 40% off sale). But as long as my eating is under control, it's okay if I'm not totally together. Right??

I'm off to bed soon - meeting the trainer bright and early tomorrow! Good night!

Fast Metabolism Diet - Day 10

Today was a crazy day. I was too discombobulated to take pictures, but at least I'm squeezing in a post! Today was my first day of Week 2 Phase 2 (the high-protein, low-carb, low-fat phase) and I struggled.

I only had about 6 hours of sleep last night, so I did not feel great when I got up this morning. I tried to eat the ground beef, egg white, and spinach casserole I made on Sunday, but I did NOT care for it. It was kind of dry and... mealy? Ugh. I'll attempt it again tomorrow and try to get a picture. To supplement my breakfast, I quickly choked down a slice of turkey deli meat and ran out the door to the gym to meet my personal trainer.

My quads were already killing me, and I was feeling a bit queasy from the lack of sleep and weird breakfast, so I was quite nervous about making it through my workout. I thought I would have to take a lot of breaks, or that I would pass out or something. But the strangest thing happened... once I started exercising, I actually felt good! The workout was challenging, as usual, but I survived.

Once I finished working out with the personal trainer, I headed out to... another gym! My trainer told me to fit in a cardio workout today, and since I had to work until 8:30pm, I knew it had to happen before work (I start work later in the day when I have to stay late in the evening). Never in my life have I done TWO workouts before going to work. But I somehow did it today!

Overall, I'm really glad I got a personal trainer. This week is extremely busy for me, and normally I would have considered myself too busy to fit in any workouts at all (and probably too busy to cook my own food, etc). But as it turns out, I do have the time if I make it a priority. Making time for exercise is something I've always known you have to do, but actually doing it has been a revelation of sorts.

Anyway, I hit another roadblock at lunchtime. I just couldn't face the meatloaf I had waiting in my lunch bag. I couldn't do it. Something about it (the weird colour? the weird smell?) just didn't work for me, so I bought a salad from Subway. I'm sure the chicken wasn't perfectly on-plan, and I added avocado, which definitely isn't allowed during Phase 2, but as we've seen, I'm not being too particular anymore.

I had a few afternoon snacks (some cold cuts and hardboiled eggs), and then around 7:30, I got hungry enough to actually try eating the meatloaf I'd brought to work. It didn't actually taste that bad. A little dry, but fairly edible. I managed to eat about half of it. I need to find some new recipes for Phase 2 next week, though...

Now it's time to collapse into bed! I have another workout with my personal trainer in the morning... eep! (I have been seeing her three times a week to start off, and this week it worked out to be Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday.) Toodle-oo!

Fast Metabolism Diet - Days 8-9

Is it really only Tuesday?! I have been going since about 5:30 am so I'm completely exhausted and I don't know how I'm going to make it to the weekend...

Monday was the first day of my second week on the FMD. Phase 1 is the high-carb phase, so my breakfast was sprouted grain toast and some strawberries:

For lunch, I brought some turkey sausage with zucchini, broccoli, and brown rice pasta that I made last weekend. For snacks, I had carrots, cantaloupe, and two apples:

I ate dinner out. I was STARVING by the time we ordered, so I couldn't bear to order a salad (even though I know it would probably be satisfying). I ordered a teriyaki stirfry dish with rice... it wasn't the worst thing I could have ordered, but obviously it wasn't on plan. I also had a root beer during the day. I was helping out with a knitting event all afternoon (more on that momentarily), and was repeatedly offered drinks, snacks, etc. I was also given chocolate as a gift! So, considering the circumstances, I'm fine with my one root beer and meal out. :)

This morning, I woke up around 5:30 to meet my personal trainer for 6:45. Breakfast beforehand was strawberries and plain steel cut oats.

My workout started with a "lunge matrix" (to be honest, not as terrible as it sounds), and worsened from there. It included burpees (thankfully modified, still terrifying), extremely deep squats (I had something to hold to help pull myself back up), and other exercises that I've seemingly blocked out. Oh. There were planks. They were dreadful. She also told me to do a cardio workout tomorrow (as well as Friday and Sunday). That's fine, except I'm already meeting with her in the morning and working until 8:30 at night! I'll have to get creative to squeeze that extra workout in...

Anyway, my lunch today was basically the same as yesterday. Even the picture is eerily similar:

Note the addition of peaches. Delicious!

After work, I rushed home to drop off my bag, then hurried over to my knitting event (which I was helping to prepare for yesterday). I'm in my local knitters' guild, and every two years they put on an adjudicated show. A guest judge comes and offers comments on knitted items in various categories and awards prizes. I was on the committee to help plan this year's show, and I think it went really well! I also won a prize! I won second place in my category, which had about 26 entries. I was extremely surprised and honoured to win. Here is my winning shawl (unfortunately this isn't a great picture):

Here's a close-up. Can you spot the beads?

It honestly wasn't that challenging to knit, and it went much quicker than I anticipated (for those who might be curious, the pattern is called Vesna and designed by Susanna IC). I won a gift certificate to a yarn store, so I'm very happy about that! I also won more chocolate as a door prize... I will have to save that for a later date.

Anyway, back to food. I came home around 10:30 and realized that I had to have dinner as well as prep my food for tomorrow. Blargh. Dinner was pork, brown rice, and sweet potatoes leftover from last week. Here it is, fresh out of the freezer:

I am eating this right now!

Next I need to chop some veggies for tomorrow. I'm quite nervous about my lunch. I made turkey meatloaf that looks (and, to be honest, smells) a bit weird, and I feel slightly self-conscious about bringing it into the lunchroom. I might just eat in my office...

Fast Metabolism Diet - Days 4-7

Don't worry, I haven't disappeared! Just had a busy weekend. To recap the last few days:

Thursday (FMD Day 4)

Thursday was a long day. It started with a 6:45 am workout with my personal trainer, and ended with 5+ hours of travelling by buses to get to Bobcaygeon (where my mother lives). Good thing I've had so much energy lately!

It was my second day on Phase 2. I ate exactly the same things, more or less, that I ate on Wednesday. I also discovered that carrots are actually not allowed on Phase 2 (while eating some carrots). Oh well. You'll soon see that as the week continued, I became much less strict with the many, many, many rules of the diet...

Friday (FMD Day 5)

Friday marked my first day on Phase 3! Phase 3 is the most flexible phase. It requires you to eat lots of healthy fats with all of your meals and snacks. I had arrived in Bobcaygeon prepared: I emailed my mom a list of groceries I required in advance (aren't mothers the best?) and brought my cooler bag full of food to eat over the weekend. However, I didn't remember until I arrived that my mom doesn't have a microwave, making all my pre-made meals slightly less convenient.

Note my mom's adorable kettle.

For breakfast, I fried some veggies and two WHOLE eggs in olive oil, which I ate on sprouted grain bread with some blackberries. Now, the sprouted grain bread actually had a bit of sugar in it (which isn't allowed), and I had two slices instead of one and a half... but I'm not too concerned. When I went to use my mom's toaster, she told me it wasn't working and I had to broil my bread in the oven instead. No microwave, no toaster... I don't know how I survived. ;)

I skipped my morning snack... oops! For lunch, I had steamed cauliflower with some almond-coconutty chicken I had baked last weekend (and two plums). The chicken was a little bit dry, but that might be because it was frozen and then reheated in the oven. Overall, it was pretty good:

After lunch, it was time to hit the road. We were off to Orillia for a pretty exciting night. Of course, I brought lots of snacks, including some celery and almond butter:

We checked into our hotel, then took a shuttle bus to... Casino Rama! We met up with my sister and her boyfriend... and this is where things got a little rocky. We ate dinner at the buffet at the casino. I had every intention of eating something healthy for dinner, but I just could not summon the willpower necessary to avoid the temptation of the buffet! So, I decided to eat what I wanted and not beat myself up about it. And in the interest of celebrating every success, no matter how small, I actually ate a lot less than I usually would at a buffet. I didn't even have dessert! So I'll call that a win. ;)

After dinner, it was time for the main event: Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band! It was an amazing show. Best of all, Ringo totally picked me out of the crowd and waved at one point. I could just tell. He was always my favourite Beatle... we obviously have a special connection.

I partook in a little gambling afterwards, which is something I have very little experience with. I watched my sister play a few rounds of roulette, and it looked so fun, and she was actually winning money, so I joined in. I started with $20, and ended up with $107! I was SO tempted to keep playing, since it was really fun (and I clearly have a knack for it!), but it's probably for the best that I stopped when I did.

Saturday (FMD Day 6)

I had breakfast in the hotel on Saturday morning. I started out with the best of intentions, with some plain oatmeal and eggs, but then a toasted bagel with butter and some bacon and sausages just fell onto my plate. But I did not succumb to the greatest temptation of them all: coffee. Soooo let's call that another win.

Then we explored Orillia a bit with a visit to the Mariposa Market. It was FULL of incredible-looking baked goods, including giant donuts, delicious-looking cupcakes, and much more. It was basically torture. I am proud to say I ate nothing!

On the drive back to Bobcaygeon, I got myself firmly back on track with some of the snacks I'd brought with me: pistachios and cut-up red pepper.

Back at my mom's house, I reheated the sweet potato concoction I'd made earlier in the week. It was a recipe I got when I went to Meghan Telpner's Meal Prep Made Easy class: sweet potato mash with coconut oil.

It was really good, but very rich. I could only eat a little bit. Speaking of sweet potato, Julie asked me how I cook sweet potatoes in my slow cooker. I don't do anything special - I just chop them (sometimes; I've also cooked potatoes whole) and dump them in there on high. My slow cooker cooks fairly quickly, so I just check on them after a couple of hours and see if they're done.

I sat outside for awhile to do my meal planning for the coming week. My mom's house overlooks a river. It's so peaceful out there!

I suppose it's worth putting up with no microwave or toaster... and not being able to drink the tap water.

As soon as I started meal planning though, I was overcome with exhaustion. I took a long nap. When I woke up (maybe around 8 or so), it was time for some dinner.

I reheated another portion of my chicken, steamed more cauliflower, and broiled some bread. I'm really proud that after going off-plan, I was back on track so quickly! And hey - what happens in Orillia, stays in Orillia, right?!

Sunday (FMD Day 7)

This morning, I had to get up much earlier than I wanted to in order to catch a bus back home. I had some fried eggs on toast for breakfast...

... and packed a few things for the trip home:

I made a turkey sandwich with avocado and spinach, and brought some walnuts, red peppers, and raspberries for the road.

When I got home, I somehow gathered the energy to get some groceries. I threw together a Phase 3 appropriate dinner: some brown rice, broccoli, and salmon:

It was very satisfying!

Now I'm doing my meal prepping for this coming week. I made two new recipes for Phase 2 (my least favourite phase): I modified this ground beef, spinach, and egg casserole to fit the diet, and I also made a turkey meatloaf using a recipe in the Fast Metabolism Diet Cookbook (although I subbed chicken for the turkey). I'll let you know how they turned out when I eat them in a few days!

Overall, this week I'm going to be less concerned with things like meal/snack times and portion sizes. As long as I stay with the general spirit of the diet, I'll be satisfied. Tomorrow night, for example, I'm going out for dinner, so I definitely won't eat perfectly (although I will check the menu beforehand and try to plan ahead). I just know I'm miles ahead of where I was a week ago, so that's good enough for me!