Crazy Day

I had every intention of blogging last night to update you all on how my Ease Into Summer Challenge is going, but my day took a crazy turn. Hearing about the Eaton Centre shootings was unsettling enough, and then my mom and I were in a small car accident. Fortunately, we're both totally fine.

When trying to merge onto the highway, my Mom had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of us (which had suddenly slowed down), and we were hit by the car behind us. After exchanging info with the other driver (in the pouring rain), we were able to drive home. Unfortunately, my Mom's brand new car (the first new car she's ever owned) is quite damaged... Anyway, these things happen, and it could have been a lot worse!

I think I've been doing well with the challenge so far. On Friday, I was volunteering at a high school math-a-thon to help the Grade 9 Applied Math students prepare for the EQAO standardized test happening on Monday. It was a lot of fun, and involved a pizza lunch. However, right as we were diving into our pizza, the fire alarm went off and we were all outside in the pouring rain for quite awhile. Since everyone was soaked, they actually ended up dismissing all the kids early! So Friday was rather crazy, as well.

On Saturday, I started my day with some delicious oatmeal, a la Kath Eats Real Food.

I cooked it with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, a banana, some cinnamon, and vanilla extract. I sprinkled some ground flaxseed on top. This is rapidly becoming my new favourite breakfast!

I can't remember what I had for lunch--I think I had a few snacks instead. I went to the gym, even though I was STILL sore from the workout I'd done on Wednesday. After the gym, I made myself a green smoothie. We were out of spinach, so I used arugula.

Note to self: In future, do NOT use arugula in a green smoothie. It will taste like arugula.

 For dinner, I made some black bean burgers. So simple and delicious!

Everyone was a fan! I put mine on yeast-free spelt bread with avocado, tomato, and arugula (I later remembered that Joshi doesn't allow tomato. Oops!).

Delicious!

Unfortunately, I went a tiny bit off-track when I got home after the car accident. I was really hungry (and shaken up), and in the mood for eggs. Eggs are allowed on the detox, but I had them with whole-wheat bread, as I had eaten the last of my yeast-free bread... A minor transgression, in my opinion.

This morning, I got myself to the grocery store.

 Lots of goodies, including bananas, black beans, and brown rice sushi for lunch!

I wanted to mention, also, that I was so thrilled by the comments on my last couple of posts. Thank you, everyone! I'm so happy to be back to blogging. :)

June Challenge: Ease Into Summer

I feel like an old lady today. I did a few wimpy pushups and squats yesterday, and now I can hardly move. Clearly I'm not in very good shape!

The first thing I did this morning was rush down to the gym in my building to weigh myself (last week, in a fit of decluttering, I donated my scale to charity). The scale revealed a very scary number, but not a surprising one. It's time for me to get my butt back in gear! It's time for a challenge! :)

This time of year, there are all sorts of workouts/diets floating around that target getting yourself ready for swimsuit season, but that's not really what I'm looking for (not to mention that I would need wayyyyyy more time, and perhaps plastic surgery, in order to really be "bikini ready").

No, my challenge is all about being kind to myself. I've had a lot to deal with the past few months, and I want to take care of myself with healthy food that won't make me feel like garbage. I want to ease into summer gently.

For the month of June, I'm not going to track my meals or count calories or points. I am, however, going to do my best to eat really healthy food. At this point, I'm planning to use Joshi's Holistic Detox as a guideline. When I followed the detox last year, I felt amazing. I want to feel that way again.

Since I'm "easing" my way back into healthy living, I'm making a few modifications to the detox:

• I'm not giving up my coffee (let's face it: depriving Katie of caffeine isn't being kind to anyone). 
• I'm not giving up fruit.
• I'm going to allow myself two splurge meals each week. For example, tomorrow I have plans that include a free pizza lunch. I'm not passing that up!

I'm mainly keeping Joshi's Detox in mind because I'm familiar with it, and it will give me some rules to follow so my challenge isn't too vague.

As for exercise, I am getting back into a routine. However, I'm not going to make it a formal part of my Ease Into Summer challenge. One thing at a time. :)

Now, there's a chance that I won't be able to maintain this challenge as I've set it out once we officially put the condo up for sale and start showing it... but I'm going to try my best and modify my guidelines as necessary!

I printed out a June calendar so I can give myself a sticker for each day I keep to the challenge! I'll be weighing myself again at the end of the month. I can't promise daily posts with pictures of all of my meals, but I'll try to update often.
How are you easing into summer?