Eat clean principles..

My fridge has become a wall of motivation!! I have also put up a Nike Ad that has somebody tying up her laces ready to run as well as a few people running on the track etc. It's all in black and white and in huge letters (lime green to boot) are the words "Destroy Yesterday" .... for me it just felt so true .. it was not only a motivator as I'm going to running this 5k again ... but also as a reminder that even if yesterday is bad we can destroy it .. we can overcome ... and I can destory and overcome yesterday's unhealthy choices .. or my "yesterday" body and lifestyle that I want to change.

I love motivational quotes etc. like these...

I have to thank Cathy for these below. It sums up the eat clean lifestyle I'm trying to adapt. I recommend it to anybody as it's fairly straight forward and it works!

THE EAT CLEAN DIET PRINCIPLES
1. Eat more! Eat six small meals each day, spaced at two and half to three hour intervals.

2. Eat breakfast every day, within one hour of rising.

3. Make your last meal three hours before bed.

4. Eat a combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates at each meal.

5. Eat sufficient healthy fats each day.

6. Drink two to three litres of water each day.

7. Carry a cooler packed with clean foods each day.

8. Depend on fresh fruit and vegetables or fibre, vitamins, nutrients and enzymes.

9. Adhere to proper portion sizes.

10. Eat only foods that hve not been overly processed or doused in chemicals, saturated and trans fats and/or toxins.

because I'm a visual learner .. I have created a picture form of this. I currently have it on the background of my computer!

success

Feels like life has just fallen into place lately and I'm so happy for this ....

3 weeks shy of finishing grad school which has been an agonizing 3 year battle!!
happy and in love with Nicholas
have wonderful friends and family
have a job I love and staff and students I look forward to seeing everyday
and most importantly I have been working out and eating healthy and physically I feel fantatic!

down 8 pounds in 2 weeks and dragged my ass to the gym on a Saturday morning ...

glad to have Katie and Laura join me for the step class. I definitely had trouble following and keeping up with the steps alas .. we went ... our heart rates were up and it felt great!!

Posting two photos of when I felt my best (as a motivator) ...I also put these on my fridge.... it was in my last year of high school when I had lost about 40 pounds. I was exercising regularly and finally within a healthy weight range after years of being an overweight child, teen and then young adult...ideally how awesome it would be to be at the same weight as high school and stay that way.... who knows though..... I guess it could happen ...
These pictures are from 8 years ago .. and probably about 70 pounds lighter .. scary to put numbers to it...It makes me really vulnerable to put a number to it .. however I think it's important for myself to do that.

                                   

work it eh ?

Today I'm proud of myself .. I thought up every excuse not to go to the gym .. but I went ... it helped that my car pooling buddy Jane was ready to go at 4pm on the dot so I could make the 5:30 class ... when I said well .... we don't HAVE to leave now I knowe we both have a lot of work to do.... she's like .. "no you're going .. you said you really like this class" ... so that bit of external motivation helped ... however internally I pushed myself like no other during the class and it hurt like hell  but at the same time I felt GREAT at the end of it all. I think when I try to avoid going to the gym I have to think about how good I feel afterwards. The energy I have and sense of accomplishment I felt makes up for all the aches and pains. I think I have to carry this stop sign with me everywhere I go just like my purse ....

The instructor worked us so hard .. I was sweating like no tomorrow .. it was awesome in a weird, kinda work-out kinda way. Every time we were down in a squat(while holding weights )  I was like oh shit and it burnnned .... and then she counted us down ... "last set" ... 8 , 7, 6 , 5, 4, ,3 ,2, 1 .... sorry I lied .. one more count down of 8 ... 7...6 .... etc. it was nuts and as much as I wanted to kill her for doing that ... it's this push that got me through the class. She kept saying "work it .. c'mon.. work it" .. I love that even though there's a class of 20 I felt like she was speaking to me.... and then "highway to hell" came on .. and as I felt the burning I'm like yep this is work-out hell and I LOVE IT in a twisted kinda hellish way!!!

Great work-out, feelin' great . Have 2 dinner outs this weekend .. ugh :S ... wish me luck....going to try and eat well.

my meeting with the personal trainer and a great quote to think about ....

So I have had some new updates since my last blog update. First I went to the gym to get my free fit test etc. They do a whole bdy composition etc. It was kinda discouraging to be told that the % of my body that was pure fat ... was 39% ...the number is just sticking with me ... it disgusts me. Alas at least I can say I'm doing something about it. On the plus side she said I had a high percentage of lean fat which they say is a good thing I think? She basically told me with this number it means based on my body and the way my bone structure is etc. I'll never be below 140 ... I thought this was interesting. The trainer I met with was awesome too. She wasn't a skinny blond that looks like she could be a supermodel. She was built and an average size and she had lost over 100 pounds and has kept it off for 3 years. It was just nice to meet somebody that had struggled with weight loss before.

Cathy being the motivational lady that she is passed on this great quote from the newest eat clean book. I'm not going to lie and say I haven't had a treat .. but I IMMEDIATELY thought of the quote at the bottom of this entry today when I was tempted by the treats that are everywhere at school and I didn't have one. I foundit really interesting that if you have a treat every day then they are no longer treats they are just part of your diet .. it's so true .. and something I don't think we realize.

Treats are fine, as long as they are just that - treats. if you have a small ice cream, a glass of wine or a little bit of dark chocolate ONCE A WEEK as a treat while following cooler 2 plan the rest of the time along with doing regular exercise, you should have no problem staying within a couple of pounds of your ideal weight. If you start having one of htese treats EVERY DAY, then they are no longer treats but instead part of your everyday diet."


"When tempted by treats, visualize yourself reaching your goals and then decide if having the treat is worth it."

the weekend bulge

Why are weekends so difficult? Why do we base all special occasions etc. around food? I think it's just the way society does things, but it makes it difficult for eating healthy. It would also be nice if maybe restaurants didn't use so much oil etc. etc. in their cooking.... jsut a request I have for you future restaurant chains ownere out there!

I'm trying out the eat clean diet .. however must say it is NOT a diet ... it is a lifestyle .. I think thats an important thing to note. Cathy has introduced me to the great things this plan offers ... it just seems simple .. it's about eating "real" food and after one day of doing it .. I wasn't hungry .. I was satisfied and I felt great.

It has a great forum and support network etc. on the website and I've been reading the book I have based on the plan. The book has been a great distractor. One thing that really hit me was that 1 pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day .. where as 1 pound of fat burns 2 calories a day. I think for me this made me realize how important resistance training is ... in addition to cardio. The resistance and muscles are what allow us to "keep off" the weight. The numbers of what calories are burned in muscle vs. fat is crazy!

This weekend was tough ... my friend Mike's birthday and chinese  food was the dinner planned. I must say I was proud of myself as typically I would eat 3-5+ of chicken balls ... they are my absolute FAVOURITE!! Instead I had ONE ... and tried to fill up on veggies where possible. I'm taking this time to celebrate the little successes because a month ago I wouldn't have thought twice about loading up on the battery deliciousness of chinese food.



Here's hoping for fewer chicken balls, more exercise and a healthier meal plan. Bring it on!

Need some inspiration?

I'm all about being inspiried to be a better person including a healthier person. Last night I saw this video that brought me to tears and to say it inspired me is an understatement.

The story was of a father's love for his son Rick who is non-verbal, wheel chair bound and has cerebral palsy. Remarkabely Rick is quite capable coginitively and holds converstations via a computer system that respond to his head movements. It started in 1977 when the son asked his father if he would push him in a 5 mile fundraiser run. His father had no experience distance running but that soon changed. As of today the father-son pair have participated in over 1,000 races, including marathons, duathlons and triathlons (6 of them being Ironman competitions). Rick says that when he's runnnig it feels like his disability disappears.

                                                First Boston Marathon together in 1981

Rick's father is 70 this year and plans on running with his son in the Boston Marathon in October. When I look at him I think wow ... here's a man who is almost 70 that pushes, carries, swims with, bikes with and competes with his 48 year old disabled son in triatholons. I want to think about this pair when I want to give up while running or exercising. Their motto is "YES YOU CAN" ..... yes you can run a 5k ... yes you can exercise and be successful. So when you doubt yourself think of this pair and "YES YOU CAN" .

Watch the following video ... its incredible to see how they compete together.

spinning .. aka torture

Well I did it .. never did I think I'd be able to do a spinning class but I did it. Thanks to Cathy because she made it all make sense to me and not seem too intimidating. She also helped me with correct posture etc.

I'll be honest I couldn't keep up the whole 45 minutes... but in the end I figure well my legs are burning, my heart rate is up and I'm moving my legs constantly ... so I think that's a good thing? Cathy thought I did great and so did the instructor although I definitely felt like a beginner. I guess everybody has to start somewhere though right?

To put it gently my butt hurts already and it's only a few hours after the class .. we'll see what tomorrow brings. I'm really enjoying being on March break as I feel like I can try out different classes etc. without having to rush to get home so I can decide which instructors etc. I like. Cathy has been so helpful in telling me who to avoid and who is a "must go to".

Spinning burns at least 500 calories and some sources even says upwards of 1000 calories in one 45 minute work-out ... that in itself is quite encouraging. Allows me to realize the gruelling'ness of it all at least pays off.

I can proudly say I've done something I was scared to do and never thought I'd be able to complete. By far the best cardio work-out.Thanks to Cathy because I don't think I (or my butt) could have faced spinning without her encouragement.

Check out this website if you're thinking of trying spinning ... it gave me great info!
http://www.ehow.com/how_4420025_burn-calories-spinningcycle-class.html

PS I thought the amount of sweat was intense after a 5k on a hot summer day ... well ... the sweat that the spinning class brought was .. unlike anything I've seen .. even MORE than the 5k. Digusting! Time for a shower ....

I'm back in the game ...

I hate that I have fallen off the exercise and blog band wagon. However back by popular demand is my blog...

The last few weeks I have been really good about going to the gym and have found love in the fitness classes. Cathy has motivated me and encouraged me so it's great to have her around ...unfortuantely she's going to Mexico for 2 months so ... I'll have to be a bit more intrinsically motivated which is probably a good thing ...

The moment that stuck with me was last night ... high energey, muscular young fitness instructor leading a weight class continuously said "You can do it .. keep it up". It's funny how such small words can be so inspiring. I think that's why I love classes. When I'm on the treadmill it's boring ... don't have the energy or motivation of the instructor or everybody around me. This instructor ended the class by saying "remember you can change your life ... consistency is key .. make exercise a part of your routine and I guarantee you will see results" .... Although there were 25+ people at the class I felt like she was speaking to me.

That being said I'm going to have to exercise beyond the step classes and do some jogging as I'm running another 5k in June with all of my supportive friends. I hope to be able to run the whole thing this time and it's nice because it's in the early evening so the hot temperatures won't be as bad.

I want to end this blog with an article in the Burlington post that has inspired me ... check it out ...  http://www.insidehalton.com/opinion/editorial/article/938762--our-lives-are-at-risk

I have posted this on my fridge and highlighted a few of the facts

On average, inactivity and obesity can each shave almost four years off a person’s expected lifespan.

Canadians, by being physically active, can gain close to four years of life, three of those free of heart disease or stroke.

84 per cent of Canadians have at least one risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Time to eat healthy, get fit and live a healthier life... thanks for joining me on this life long journey.