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!

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!

What's new?

Hello there.

So, here I am, fairly settled in my new home, in my new city, in my new job. In the new 10-20 pounds I think I've gained (haven't weighed myself for awhile...).

I have lots of news to share with you! As you may or may not know, I moved to Waterloo at the end of August to start a new job. I really LOVE my job. I have my own office, I like my coworkers, and I have benefits... and I'm still not over the novelty of getting a paycheque every two weeks. I've never had a "real" full-time job - when I worked as a contract college math instructor, there would be long breaks without pay between semesters, and once it took almost a year of me badgering them to be paid for some work I'd done.

The beginning of the Fall semester was extremely busy, and I had to work a lot of overtime. As the semester progressed, though, I got more settled in and things ran more smoothly. Now, I've made it through my first term, and I'm getting ready for January. My second semester should be much better than my first, although I will be coordinating an extra course - and it's a course that I never took. Even though I have a Masters degree in math, I never encountered the material I'll be covering... Anyone out there have experience with Fourier transforms? :D

In other news, my mother has also moved out of Toronto - all the way to Bobcaygeon, Ontario (near Peterborough)! It is an adjustment not having my "home base" in Toronto. My sister is still there, but it's strange not having my parents there. Happily, my mom seems to be thriving in her new home (and I love it, too). It's a bit of a trek for me to get there from Waterloo: I have to take a bus from Kitchener to Toronto, then another bus to Peterborough, and then be picked up and driven to Bobcaygeon. (Now that I'm out of Toronto, I am REALLY feeling the need to get my driver's licence!)

And the most exciting piece of news for me right now is that my family is going away for Christmas! My mother, sister, and I are going to Cancun this Friday. We have been wanting to go on a trip together, and we felt it would be good for us to do something new and different over Christmas. It will be our first Christmas without my father, who passed away last January.

I haven't really travelled outside of Canada (aside from New York) and I am beyond excited. I bought a couple of new bathing suits online that I am actually comfortable in, and I am desperately in need for a week of lounging on the beach and not doing anything.

So, that concludes my life news... I will be back with another post about what's been happening with my exercise and eating habits, and what I am thinking about for the future (I'm a sucker for good set of New Year's Resolutions...)

Eat to Live Days 37-42

First of all, I have to give a huge THANK YOU to everyone for your really kind comments and congratulations on my last post. I will be starting my new job in Waterloo two weeks from today... eep! In those two weeks, I have to find a place to live, move, finish out the semester at my current job... and probably a million other things. I am feeling slightly anxious about it, but I'm mostly really, really excited. Andrea commented: "It'll be awesome for you to settle into some real routine and stability after this crazy year you've had." I couldn't agree more! This past year has been the most difficult year of my life. I'm excited for a change of scenery, a new routine, and a fresh start. :)

I spent the long weekend at my family's cottage. I can't lie, it was a challenge sticking to my eating plan up there. Usually, I eat whatever I want at the cottage. I just HAVE to go get an ice cream cone in town, or stop at the chip wagon at every opportunity, because it just feels so cottagey and fun... but thankfully, this weekend I didn't do either of those things.

I even managed to get something healthy at a fast-food place on the drive up! We stopped at a Harvey's/Swiss Chalet, and I got a baked potato, garden salad without dressing, and steamed vegetables.

While at the cottage, I managed to snap a couple of pics of my meals:

A toasted avocado and tomato sandwich with a spinach & berry smoothie (doesn't everyone bring a blender to the cottage?).

Oatmeal with natural peanut butter.

Sweet potato fries, salad, and a corn-black bean-onion-tomato creation.

All in all, I'm very pleased with how I did this weekend. And.... I finished the 6 weeks! I survived!! I brought my scale along for my final weigh-in:

Starting Weight: 262.7 pounds
Week 1 Weight: 255.9 pounds
Week 2 Weight: 251.0 pounds
Week 3 Weight: 246.8 pounds
Week 4 Weight: 245.1 pounds
Week 5 Weight: 243 pounds
Final Weight: 238.9 pounds

I am THRILLED, guys. In 6 weeks, I lost 23.8 pounds. I am almost fitting into clothes that I was wearing in... December (I gained this weight quite quickly, haha).

I should mention that I did not follow the plan in the Eat to Live book perfectly. I might go into more detail on this in a future post. But essentially, I avoided meat, dairy, sugar, oil, and processed food. I did not restrict starches as much as the book suggests (or at all, really).

Today was my first restriction-free day. Did I go crazy? No! My plan for the immediate future is to eat almost like how I was eating for the 6 weeks. I may have animal products 2-3 times a week, and I will definitely have big splurges from time to time. But I really need to make those splurges rare. I  don't want to count calories or points, so I'm not going to for now. I will keep weighing myself, and reassess my eating plan as necessary.

Lately, I feel very aware that every bit of food I put in my mouth makes a difference. I have gotten used to looking at ingredients on everything, packing my lunch every day, and eating whole foods. I'm hoping these habits stick. We shall see!

I definitely want to keep blogging, too. The next few weeks will be hectic, with the move and the new job. But I will do my best to keep you all updated!

Bye for now!

Settling in.

This morning I stumbled off a Greyhound bus after more than 20 hours of travelling and a night of just dozing in my seat between stops. I somehow got my excess baggage into a cab, remembered my new address, and quickly arrived at my new (temporary) home in Thunder Bay.

While being driven through this new city for the first time, it struck me that I was about to live in a house I've never seen, with people I've never met, in a city I've never visited, while attending a school whose campus I've never set foot on.

Now I've met two of my roommates and a close friend of theirs, who are not only very nice, but also provided me with a delicious dinner. I've unpacked most of my things into my new bedroom. I made the short walk to campus, wandered around to find all my classrooms and even managed to buy a few textbooks. And it all felt good. The things I was most worried about have all happened now. Now that this is taken care of, I'm sure the actual school part will be fine... right? ;)

Busy Bee

The past few weeks have been a bit hectic, to say the least.

The end of April brought the end of the Winter semester and exams, and my move back home. It was slightly traumatic having to sort through the contents of my beloved one-bedroom and decide what to get rid of (like my couch and TV), what to put in storage (like my collection of Sweet Valley High books), and what to bring to my parents' condo.

As I was moving home, I also had exams at school. I had to mark them VERY quickly, because immediately after exams, I had scheduled a trip to New York City with my dear friend Megan!





I had never been before, and it was AMAZING. We went to a Broadway show (Baby It's You), the Top of the Rock, saw Letterman (Betty White was on!), and did a lot of walking around and subway-riding. And if you happened to watch The Today Show on May 6, you may have seen me waving at the camera at one point. :D

Upon returning home, I had to get ready for the summer semester (and attempt to do some unpacking/organizing). Soon after I began teaching again, my boyfriend and I made the impromptu decision to take a weekend trip to Montreal! So, last weekend, off we went!




In between all this travelling, I've also been adjusting to life back at home, and planning for some major life changes coming my way in the fall (more on that soon). My dad was also in the hospital again, briefly, which brought its own batch of stress (including an awful all-nighter in the emergency room). He's home again now though, thankfully.

Living at home again isn't without its challenges, but there are also some great perks:

• saving tons of money (I am paying some rent, but not very much), which will help with the life changes I alluded to above
• gym IN THE BUILDING (I really have no excuses)
• indoor and outdoor pool (again, no excuses)
• hot tub!
• cool downtown location (yes, my parents live in a cooler neighbourhood than I used to)
  

I have been doing my best to exercise and eat well, although I've honestly had so much going on that I have not been as consistent as I'd like to be. Things seem to be settling down now, though, and I am optimistic about the summer ahead. AND I was down 3.8 pounds at my meeting yesterday! (Still up overall, but let's not dwell on that...)

Stay tuned for my news about this fall. Any guesses?

Ottawa Recap

Hello all!

I'm a bit late with this update - but better late than never, right? I was in Ottawa all last weekend, and since I came back I've been swamped with work/errands/life/etc.

How did I do, food-wise, in Ottawa? Hmm....


We went to a restaurant called The Elgin Street Diner, which had amazing poutine. Four of us split this one (which came with bacon and onion on top). At least I didn't eat the entire thing myself...


Of course, I also ate a beaver tail while in our nation's capital! I really had no other option. ;)

The weekend also involved several beers and a great vegetarian/vegan restaurant. And, of course, lots of fun with my old university roommates. :)

In my last post, I vowed to track all weekend while in Ottawa... which didn't quite happen. I did, however, manage to at least write down what I ate (up until Sunday night), without counting it... so that's better than nothing! And for some reason, Monday & Tuesday kind of fell by the wayside... and I tracked most, but not all, of Wednesday...

In other words, I'm still trying, but obviously not hard enough. This week's weigh-in will NOT be pretty, I can already tell you that! But I'll do my best to get through the rest of this week with minimal further damage, and start fresh on Saturday, as usual...

That's all for today - I have piles and piles of tests to finish marking now. Le sigh. Stay tuned on Saturday for my (probably disappointing) weigh-in results...

Operation: Buff Week 5

I cannot BELIEVE I have already completed 5 weeks of this session of Booty Camp. It's really flown by. And I'm happy to say that I've been sticking to my goals for Operation: Buff. This week's workouts consisted of:

• one Booty Camp class (Tuesday - I was out of town for Thursday's class)
• at-home Booty Camp style workout for 40 minutes: I wrote down a bunch of exercises and got someone else to pick them in random order and time me (Thursday)
• 20-minute run (Friday)
• Booty Camp DVD: Intermediate Workout and Bring the Heat Cardio (Saturday)

So even though I missed Booty Camp class, and was at the cottage for a few days (i.e. no gym), I managed to get in my workouts! True, I had to bring a whistle on my run to frighten away any possibly-lurking bears, and when I tried doing boot camp-style drills outside I was attacked by swarms of mosquitos, but I made it work!

It's a good thing I got a mini run in on Friday because on Saturday, we awoke to SNOW:

I was ill-prepared, clothing-wise.

On the drive home today, we encountered some interesting sculptures in a field around Burk's Falls, Ontario (next to a castle-like house with more stone sculptures/statues):

It was all on a very large-scale! All of those huge ghostly faces creeped me out a little bit... but it was very impressive all the same.

Tomorrow night, I will be a student again! I registered to take a college course on Monday nights in a Teacher/Trainer of Adults program. I'm looking forward to it (as long as there isn't too much group work/necessary participation/making presentations).

I also start a new teaching semester this week. I'm always extra-nervous for the first few days of a new class, so wish me luck! I'm sure all the exercise I'm planning on this week (like three booty camp classes...) will help keep my stress levels down.

I'm off to make a grocery list and maybe watch Lost! I lead a very exciting life, wouldn't you agree? ;)

First Outdoor Booty Camp!

And it was super tough! We're lucky (or unlucky...) enough that the park we're in has a big-ass hill. We ran up it. Several times. Once on all fours. It was BRUTAL! Even worse than running up was running back down. It was really steep and kind of scary. But it's all about getting out of your comfort zone, right??

We also didn't have music during our class, thanks to yours truly. Yep. I stepped on the stereo cable right before class (in my defense, I was walking next to the instructor and the cord was trailing on the ground) and broke it. Oops!

I can tell the next four weeks are going to be tough. :)

In other news, I have to confess: I have not been on-plan the past couple of days. I don't want to make excuses, but I will anyway (hehe). I've been feeling emotional lately and trying to deal with various stressors that all seemed to hit me at the same time. Luckily, I'm going to the cottage tomorrow for some much needed r & r! I plan to rejuvenate (and exercise!) and get back to my cheery, motivated self. I have finished marking my exams, submitted the grades, and tied up all the loose ends (I think!).

I won't be able to make my meeting this weekend either (maybe subconsciously this was contributing to going off-track - knowing I'm not weighing in on Saturday. I would just go to another meeting, but there don't seem to be any where I'll be). This will be the very first meeting I've missed since I joined in November, and I'm sad that my perfect streak has to end!

But I will go BACK on plan. I do NOT want to "lose" the 10% milestone I worked so hard for (will the Weight Watchers police come take my key ring away???), so I will suck it up and stick with the program!

When I got my new 3-month tracker a couple of weeks ago, you may recall that I vowed to be on plan for 10 of those 12 weeks. I can still easily reach that goal!! I was feeling like a failure, but I'm picking myself back up again. Truly, the only reason I'm no longer this girl is because I will never give up, despite the inevitable setbacks:

I will have very limited internet while out of town, so I will be catching up with you all on Sunday when I return! Enjoy the rest of your week & weekend!

On Plan on the Road?

Does the air up North make anyone else's appetite INSATIABLE?

On Wednesday, my mom rented a van, and I helped her move some furniture up to the cottage my parents bought this summer.

My mom and I have done a lot of moving (mostly moving me around before/during/after university). But this time, we bit off more than we could chew:

Let's back up.

Knowing that we would be doing a lot of driving, and that the temptation to eat all of our meals out would be VERY strong, I did some pre-packing:

I wanted to make sure that any craving my mom and I had would be met (with something healthy!). I had hardboiled eggs, homemade hummus, crackers, steel cut oats (for a cottage breakfast), granola bars, homemade date-coconut bars, red lentil curry (for a cottage dinner), plain yogurt with fruit, and some orange slices all ready to go.

When we first arrived at the cottage, our property was covered in snow (no one has been there since October). We got to work (our plan was to back the car right up to the front steps so we could easy-peasy slide things up and in to the cottage).

Now, I have not shoveled in at least a year. It is HARD WORK. This snow had been sitting a long time, and was really hard to chip away.

We worked and worked and my muscles are still aching, two days later. But I treated it like I was just trying to get a really good workout (and not like I was trying to clear an impossible amount of snow). I tried to have "good form" (what is good shoveling form?) and use my legs and hold my core tight (hey, it really helped!).

By the time we had shoveled as much as we could, it was already dark, so we left the unloading for Thursday morning. Most of the unloading was fine. Then it was time to move the huge (well, normal-sized) pull-out couch. We were not able to back the car up very close to the house (while trying, it got stuck in the mud), and we were not able to totally clear the snow. We had a long path to move the couch along, then a few stairs.

It was the hardest thing EVER. I'm usually very positive, but I kept telling my mom we would NOT be able to do it (I was being a bit of a cranky pants!).

We ended up having to drag it across the snow and mud (with a couple of garbage bags to protect it), then shimmy it slowly up the stairs.

I may or may not have burst into tears at one point.

We finally got it inside and said "never again."

So, what with all the shoveling and horrible couch-moving, I definitely got some activity in. But I also got in a lot of food (I guess my mentality was that I should reward myself for my hard work). I did eat many of the snacks I brought, though, and if I hadn't had them, things would have been much worse. (I like to look on the bright side!)

Let's hope it somewhat balances out and I don't see a gain tomorrow...

In other news, the scenery was very pretty (although it frightened me to see people ice fishing and skidooing on the lakes... it has been a MILD WINTER! I was wearing a t-shirt while moving, and there was open water among the ice!)

I may not be posting over the weekend, because in about an hour I'm meeting one of my best friends (my old university roommate) at the bus station! She is staying with me until Monday, and tomorrow we will be joined by two of our other old roommates for the day. We all live in different cities now, so visits like this are all too rare.

Don't worry, I will still go to my Weight Watchers meeting tomorrow morning--although it will be hard to stay on plan with my friends around... not because they are the type to sabotage me in any way, but just because I'll be in the "celebration" mindset. Wish me luck!

I will report back soon with tomorrow's weigh-in AND Tuesday's booty camp results! I hope you all have a lovely weekend!