The Climb

Friday and Saturday were great days of food planning while away and the fridge in the motel made my meal planning  a whole lot easier and effortless. Tons of hiking and sightseeing in Jasper and surrounding lakes. In good spirits considering it rained for most of those two days... not to mention increased energy.

Then, came Sunday. FREE DAY. Breakfast at Husky's. Afternoon treat of cheesecake and coffee. Dinner at the Elk and Oarsman for pizza. Yep, all very yummy.. but it didn't there. It ebbed over into Monday when I ate half of my leftover pizza from the pub. My last day off before heading back to work and in my mind I apparently wanted to go out with a bang and I did! Chocolate. A big bar of it. Later followed by chips and dip.

I have to stop right dead in my tracks and find alternatives for the treats. I could have fueled up with other food choices that wouldn't have left me with a feeling of guilt. I could have easily topped up my water but I choose to eat that crap.  

I'm now headed into week three and looking back at those things I acknowledge my errors and push forward. The ah ha moment was yesterday when I volunteered to take a whole day first aid course for work. As I had to do five sets of cpr over a manniquin crouched down on my knees I was tired and out of breath. Breath was an issue when we took our car to the parking at the foot of the Columbia Glacier and we set foot to climb up the glacier. The air was incredibly thin and health warnings were posted at the entry of the trail. My partner headed up the mountain and I was left behind.

I didn't like being left behind and don't want to miss out on life because I physically can't participate.  


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Jasper Bound!

This weekend we are headed to Jasper and the Rocky Mountains. I have packed Body For Life meals for two days and will give myself one free meal instead of a Free Day. I will update on my progress when I return! Excited by apprehensive..

MIndful Eating.

I think the most important lesson I have learned while on Body for Life is mindful eating. Eating with intention and to fuel the body. So much so, it is Eating to Live not Living To Eat. 

Body for Life involves food journal ling all your meals for twelve weeks. This morning while thinking about my week and getting ready to put things on paper, I read through my daily entries. I noticed how quickly things started to slide the days I hadn't remembered to journal or in this case chose not to journal. Looking back at it now, I can't even remember what I ate at those meals!

Everything I eat, I own. That means if I consume it then I am accountable for that choice.  I realize that being honest with myself is the key to my success and ultimately my happiness. 

So by any entry that I have eaten off plan, I am recording my reasons for deviating from the plan. Ie, Stress, skipped meals. This helps me assess why I do what I do with regards to food. It also returns the power to me and not the food. This also help me realize what triggers, habits, or even certain foods that are connected to me with circumstances. 

Happy Heritage Day to me. Today is Free Day! 

 

Super Stoked!

Today's entry is brought to you by the number 11!

On Weds. night I bailed on my workout so I committed to going last night. Yes, I walked through the doors and was greeted by the Manager of the gym, Candy. She always smiles and greeted with me, "Hey how are you doing Christina" to which I replied,"Looking to do something different with my routine after two years" and after telling her that I was on Body for Life, what I wanted for my program I was brought a trainer by my side!

Long story short, I went through the weights, equiptment and cardio with the trainer.We wrote down my plans including reps, duration and equipment. What I was most excited about was to have someone show me and then show them what I do. To LEARN what I was to do and to correct any incorrect posture, form, etc. I am now using free weights as part of my routine. I have a much better understanding about the program and understand more of the terms used. Now, to go through my fitness books and understand what muscle groups work or rest while I am exercising.

I am excited and as my neice would say, "STOKED!" 

Trainers are something new to Spa Lady since they have been taken over by a new company. The trainer was familiar with Body for Life and told me how she had seen some people who had done it with amazing results. Of course I was given a bit of a sales pitch on how I could book sessions, etc which I said no to at this point but it is great I have options available to me.

I also managed to cut my gym membership in half!


Yay me! "

OSC



"Our body is…a vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” -- Buddha

Sushi, Meditation and Dealing With Stress

Today's eating plan was wobbly. The morning went well. Then, in the afternoon our meeting ended up being four and a half hours long so I didn't have an opportunity to eat my afternoon snack because there was no break. Throughout the meeting, gummy animals were being passed around and before I knew it I was indulging in two of the chewy critters. So, note to self:

Bring along something small and portable that I can gnaw on instead of gel-afied sugar!

I was mentally exhausted with all the information given to us at the meeting and did not leave work as planned at 5:30 to go to the gym. I chose to go directly home to re ground myself. Then, when we were on the way home from work I was incredibly hungry so I craved sushi big time! So, we stopped and grabbed sushi with a mixed vegetable bowl. After we got home I told myself, "Gee, that's a lot of food. I should divide it in half and put it into a container right away for a meal the next day. Into the fridge" That, did NOT happen so I ate the large California Rolls and Alberta Rolls made with white rice.  No evening snack.

 

I realize that the salty cravings were my body's way of reacting to the stress of the meeting events and sugar rush from the treats

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Last night, I decided that I need to reground myself after the day and focused on meditation followed by an early night and extra sleep. I feel much better today. Today, I got up early and prepared my meals for the day so I am ready. Breakfast was made and as I type this I am optimistic. Even though I did not fufill my eating as planned I will not beat myself up for it. My gym bag is at work so I will go to my session that I had agreed to yesterday.

Focus on progression not perfection. Get back on .. quickly!

Blood Sugar Confusion

Today I worked late so I got up around 8:30 AM and did some things before work. I ate breakfast, 10:30 AM, which was later then usual in the morning so things started to snowball from there.

I didn't eat a morning snack or my lunch. So, by mid afternoon when a friend came to take me for coffee I thought, "Whoops.. I haven't been eating". So my in case of emergency bar was there and I ate it with a large cup of green tea. By that time, I should have been eating an afternoon snack but had already missed two meals! 

Dinner time was at 4:30 PM but I ignored that and ploughed on with my day. About 7:30 I felt absolutely ill so drank a shake which calmed things down. Work finished at 9:30 and in the car on the way home I was STARVING. Normally, I would be tempted to eat fast food but instead drank my water with lemon.

At home, I ended up eating a meal and a snack. You know what? I am still hungry! I am going to drink some water and settle down for bed. Its now 11:11 PM!

Looking at my day, not the best..

10:30 AM Breakfast

3:15 PM Snack

7:00 PM Shake

10:00 PM Meal

10:30 PM 2 Snacks

Today is done. Tomorrow is a new day!

Day 7. Thank you Lenny!

I would like to personally thank Lenny Kravitz for today's workout! lol.. If it hadn't been for that song, Are You Gonna Go My Way, I would have bailed because my legs were killing me. Today was leg workout and I completed it.

Today is Day Seven and I have to admit I am a bit bummed. I did a morning weigh in and the five pounds I had lost seemed to have resurfaced. Was it the salt or sugar from yesterday that caused the bloat? Now I realize that FREE DAY isn't truely that for me if I want results. Next week will be A Free Meal on the FREE MEAL Day. I have a food hangover today and admit I don't feel as good as yesterday.

So, tonight I have finished organized my meals for tomorrow and my treat for tonight was a pedicure with shiny red polish. It was wonderful!

What other rewards can I give myself when I work hard and complete what I intended to do? Normally it would be a dinner out, chocolate or other food reward. Time to re pattern my habits.