Good News and a Good Start

Remember that job interview I had last week? Well, I guess it went well... I've been hired as a supply teacher for the school board I want to work in! I am SO excited (and surprised that I found out so quickly!). I have to bring in a lot of paperwork next week (trancripts, police checks, and the like), so I hope that all goes smoothly.

As for easing into summer? I have not been eating well at all... until today. I've been doing a lot of reading and a LOT of thinking the past few weeks, and I have decided that I need to do something more extreme. I have real trouble with moderation. I have gained back most of the weight I worked so hard to lose. I think that sugar and junk food have a strong hold over me, and I feel certain that if I don't make some serious changes in my eating habits, diabetes and heart disease are in my future (not to mention the fact that I already have gallstones and suffer occasionally from painful gallbladder attacks).

Some of the books I've been reading (mostly from the library) are Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes by Dr. Neal Barnard, The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Veganist by Kathy Freston, and Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. All of these books advocate a plant-based diet (quite convincingly).

I've actually thought for a long time about one day trying to transition to a more plant-based diet. A little over a year ago, I read Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet and Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet, which are the books that first put the idea in my mind.

After all of this thinking, I've decided to try Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live program. There is a good description of the plan here, but essentially I will be cutting out animal products (meat and dairy), sugar, salt (as much as possible), coffee, and oil for six weeks. I will be eating tons (and tons and tons) of veggies, fruit, and beans, as well as whole grains.

After the six weeks, the goal is to try and eat this way 90% of the time, and eat other foods (like meat, dairy, sugar, or oil) 10% of the time. If I make it that far, I'll assess how I'm feeling and what I want to do next.

I don't think I will ever become 100% vegan... I don't even know if I'll make it through the six weeks! I just have to do something, and this feels right for me right now.

This weekend, I'm planning to eat mostly Eat to Live-style (I had pizza for dinner tonight, and I'm going to a barbecue on Sunday), and begin the plan in earnest on Monday. I'm also planning to blog about it all (maybe not every day or every meal, like with Joshi, but fairly frequently!). Here are some of today's eats:

For breakfast, I had a green smoothie with almond milk, bananas, strawberries, flaxseed, and lettuce, along with some walnuts.

I had lunch in a food court - a delicious salad with avocado, tomato, red onion, kidney beans, and chickpeas, followed by some fruit salad.

I also went grocery shopping. I don't think I've ever bought so many vegetables at the same time before!

All those groceries meant lots of food prep could be done. I'm planning on making soup tomorrow that calls for two bunches of kale, three leeks, five pounds of carrots, two bunches of celery, and four onions. I got it ALL washed, chopped, and ready to go. I also got some dried beans soaking. (You should know that I did all of this with a crazy caffeine-withdrawal headache.)

Will there be room in the fridge for all this kale?!

We also listed our condo for sale this week, and the showings have begun. The next few weeks will be interesting, to say the least!

I will absolutely be posting again soon with more on Eat to Live. I'm very excited!

Busy Times

As you know, I started June with the best of intentions. And while I am striving to eat well, I've faced a few obstacles.

Last Monday morning, painters descended on my condo (we only found out they were showing up the night before). They were here all day, every day until Friday evening. Every single room was being painted, which means every single room was covered by a thin layer of paint/plaster dust. Not only was I avoiding being home at all costs, when I was home, I was not too keen on preparing food in my kitchen. That led to some unhealthy eating...

Deep-fried ice cream (which is necessary when you have no kitchen access, right?).

There's definitely bacon in there.

Anyway, I haven't gone completely off the edge...

Yay, healthy (and blurry) oats!

Last Wednesday, two noteworthy things happened. You may recall that I have gallstones. It took a lot of patience, and two cancellations by the doctor, but I finally had an appointment with a general surgeon. Good news: I'm not having surgery anytime soon! Since my gallbladder attacks are very infrequent (about twice a year), I have decided to live with them for now. I am planning to make an appointment with a naturopath, as well (I will tell you all how that goes!).

While I was in the waiting room for my appointment, I got a very important phone call... I have a job interview this Thursday with the school board I want to work for! This is very exciting, people. First order of business: finding an interview outfit. No easy feat, seeing as I have a LOT of clothing that no longer fits...

I also go back to my old job tomorrow (teaching college math). So this weekend I have been cleaning up, packing tons of stuff into storage to make our condo look huge and desirable to potential buyers, preparing to teach again, and trying to get ready for my interview. You may not see another post until next weekend...

Happy Monday everybody!

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?

Back to Balance

Well, bloggies, it's been awhile.

The past few months have been hectic. I want to thank everyone for their kind comments after my father died. Obviously, it was a difficult time for my sister, my mother, and I, but we all pulled together and had a lot of support from friends and family.

In other news, I'm done school! I'm very proud of the fact that I was able to complete my B.Ed. successfully. The last few weeks up in Thunder Bay were extremely difficult for me. Thankfully, I was almost done my coursework, and my professors were very good about giving me extensions. I came back to Toronto for March Break and then completed my final five-week student teaching placement.

For the past few weeks, my mom and I have been doing a lot of packing and cleaning at our condo because... she's selling it! We're still in the cleaning/painting/repairs stage, but it will hopefully be listed soon. This means there are lots of open houses and showings in the near future... not to mention finding somewhere else to live! My mom is probably moving out of the city, so I'll be out on my own once again.

In other news, I will be returning to my old job (teaching college math) in a couple of weeks. I'm really looking forward to getting a paycheque again!

In terms of healthy living habits, I have not had many the past few months. I've gained a LOT of weight and have had to buy new, bigger clothes (more than once...). But now that school is done and I've had some time to rest and relax, I feel ready to get back on track. I don't know yet what that will look like, but I have exercised for two days in a row. I've also found myself eating some Joshi-like meals.

Tonight's dinner consisted of a tofu and veggie stir fry with brown rice! I mixed in some arugula at the end for extra greens. It was delicious!

I also realized today that June 1st is approaching. I'm toying with the idea of some kind of June challenge for myself, but I'm not sure what that should consist of. I'm afraid that if I make it too strict (such as follow Joshi's Holistic Detox for the entire month), I won't be able to succeed. We will likely be showing the condo a lot in June, and there will be times when I won't be able to really use the kitchen. I don't particularly want to join Weight Watchers again, either (partly because I can't really afford it). Any ideas?

At any rate, I hope to blog more frequently now! Stay tuned...

Three weeks ago

Three weeks ago, my father died. He had a heart attack, at home, while I was at school 1400 km away.

I am lucky in that I have a lot of wonderful friends who have been (and continue to be) very supportive. I'm not going to lie and say I'm feeling great, but I have been doing okay, considering. I returned to school in Thunder Bay this week, and I will be finished with my courses and flying back home to Toronto in three weeks. Then I will have one week off before beginning my second teaching placement.

I don't know what else I can say right now, so I'll leave it at that.

Today, I Went for a Walk

As far back as I can remember, I've made New Year's Resolutions. Today I realized it's January 5, and I haven't made any formal resolutions for 2012.

Would I like to fit back into my smaller clothing? Of course. Do I want to eat better? Most definitely. But 2012 crept up on me during a very stressful holiday season and I just haven't been in the mood to set any specific goals.

I loved my first semester of teacher's college, and my five-week practicum was amazing. My healthy habits definitely slipped by the wayside (when you're staying up planning lessons past midnight and getting up at 5:30 for school, it's hard to squeeze in a workout), but I'm trying not to dwell on that. I'm also not in the mood to dwell on any numbers right now. I don't want to think about the best workout plan, or the best eating plan, or losing a certain number of pounds by a certain date.

I want to focus on feeling good today. I want to exercise so I can clear my head and feel energetic. I want to eat less junk food so I don't feel sick to my stomach. I want to go to bed on time so it's slightly less painful getting up for an 8:30 seminar on Friday mornings. I don't want to worry about fitting into my jeans (although that would be nice) or being able to run for 5k without stopping again (although that would also be nice).

Doing something--anything--is better than doing nothing. And when I think too much about the "perfect" exercise routine or eating plan, I often end up doing nothing at all.

Today, I went for a walk. And I'm satisfied with that.