Thank you Frances!

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I knew that if I didn’t get out with the dog tonight she would drive me crazy for the rest of the night. Her normal 45 minute walk was cut short this morning because K started his 5th round of chemo today and had to be at the hospital early. I had a transition meeting at the board office first thing in the morning as well and in the afternoon I went straight to the hospital to keep my husband company.

After dinner Frances kept wanting me to throw her ball. She’s a very vocal dog if you try to ignore her. I finally gave in to her demands and hooked her onto her leash and headed outside. I didn’t even change my shoes. I only planned on going around the block but once I started I just kept going.

I took a new route today. My neighbour recommended it and thought that it covered about 5 km. I was glad that I followed the path. It was so beautiful. It took me past ponds, beaches, rocks, marsh birds and lots of walkers, runners and playful dogs. I’m naturally drawn to water so walking next to the lake always puts me in a “happy place”.

When I got home I checked out the distance on g-pedometer.com and discovered that the route covers 4.5 km. Bonus! My tired little dog is going to sleep well tonight.

Cheers

Love and Weight Loss

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…… maybe I should have said “new” love

The first time I experienced ‘love’ the weight came off effortlessly. It was actually puppy love because I was all of 13. I remember having no appetite and food was the last thing on my mind. My mother was amazed at how I was changing. I couldn’t wait to leave the dinner table and meet my secret beau at the park. It was so innocent. We never did more than hold hands. But alas it was short-lived. It just wasn’t cool for a boy in grade 11 to date a girl in grade 9. Yes it’s true I was dating ‘an older man’.

Over the years I had crushes but I didn’t experience true love until I met my husband. Even today I get ‘butterflies’ when he walks into a room when I’m not expecting him. So why don’t we stay thin when we’re in love? I think it’s because people get comfortable with each other and are free to be themselves.  In our case we both loved food and enjoyed cooking together. The only time I remember my husband expressing concern over my weight was just before our wedding and I quickly lost 10 pounds.

My husband loves me no matter what. He likes women with a ‘little meat’ on their bones. He wasn’t being mean when he brought up my weight before our wedding. He knew I wasn’t happy and he has always supported my attempts at weight loss.

A lot of people love food and love to cook and don’t have a weight problem. Why is that? I know that genetics plays a large role in how we metabolize food but a few years ago I discovered that for me a huge contributor towards my weight gain had to do with stress. To be continued…….

Taking a break to nurse my knee…..

Last night and today I experienced a lot of pain in my knee. I decided to take it easy today. The fact that the weather was cold and wet when I got home from work made that decision easy.

After one week of successes on the scale I have decided to share my results with you. I’m pleased to tell you that I’ve dropped 5 pounds. I’ve made some positive changes with my eating habits but I have a way to go. I’m drinking more water but I haven’t reached 8 glasses a day yet. I am definitely snacking less and when I do  have a snack it isn’t something I grab when I’m on the run or sitting in the car.

Even though I know that taking a rest from running today was probably for the best I do feel like something was missing today. I hope I can get out and at least walk tomorrow. Thanks for following along.

Till next time, cheers!

Best Day Yet!

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….. in running/walking

I started off with my husband and the dog this morning and when we got to the rugby pitch I continued to the high school track. I surprised myself by running an entire 400 m lap without stopping and then I continued to walk another lap and half way around it I started to run again and finished another 200 m without stopping. 

I left the school and continued following my new route. About 1 km from home I started to run/walk again. I figured in total I walked/ran about 5.5 km today and in that distance I ran at least 20% of it. I feel great. 

I think I’ll time myself next time and then set a goal for myself for completing the 5km in June.

I just hope I don’t injure myself before then. My right knee is a little sore after today’s activity. Any suggestions?

Yesterday was a “piece of cake”!

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No need to worry……….

I guess I was too slow getting ready for our walk yesterday so I ended up going on my own. There’s something very zen like when you walk alone. It gives you time to reflect.

I also increased the distance on Saturday and went for 3.6 km and for 1/10 of it I ran. When I got home I mapped out a 5 km distance on g-pedometer.com. Maybe I’ll give that a whirl today. It looks like a fantastic day, weather wise.

The party was not an issue, food wise. I had 3 shrimp, no wine and I didn’t even see a cake.

Later in the day I took Frances for a short walk. We always start in the park, about 50 m down the street from the house. I’ve posted some pictures of the great view I’m blessed to see everyday. I don’t care what others say about Toronto, I think I live in one of the best cities in the world. The entire walk probably added another km to my total walking distance today.

I think I’ve figured out what’s going on with my pedometer. After walking 4000 steps yesterday and probably more I noticed that the little gizmo had reset itself back down to 0. It happened again later in the day. I guess you get what you pay for and since this this one was given to me for free I can’t really complain. Time to visit the Running Room and invest in a better one.P1010472 P1010473 P1010475 P1010469

Low GI “Korean Style” Vegetable Pancake

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Anyone on a low GI diet knows that flour based recipes don’t fit into the program. Years ago I had a traditional Korean pancake and I loved it. Actually there are many versions of these pancakes. The one I had was filled with lots of shredded cabbage and onion. I’ve come up with a version made without flour. Some of you might call this a frittata.

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Ingredients

2 eggs or egg substitute

1 tablespoon cream (optional)

salt and pepper to  taste

1/2 cup finely chopped onions and sweet pepper

or

thinly sliced green onion and chives (more traditional)

1 cup broccoli slaw or cole slaw

3 thinly sliced fresh mushrooms

2 tablespoons shredded cheese (optional)

Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat in a small pan and add the onions and peppers and cook just till the onions sweat.

Add the slaw and cook for a few more minutes until it is tender crisp. Add the mushroom and continue cooking until they are soft.

Whisk the eggs, cream and salt and pepper together and pour over the vegetable mixture in the pan. With a spatula lift the edges of the egg mixture so that the uncooked eggs flow to the edges and cook. When the egg is mostly set and doesn’t run when the pan is tilted add the cheese. Cover the pan with a lid and remove from the burner. Leave covered until the cheese melts.

Plate and garnish with cucumber or tomato slices and add a little hot sauce, soy sauce or chipotle ketchup. I used my husband’s homemade chipotle ketchup. To die for! Enjoy!

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Hooray for the Weekend!

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…… but with it come some challenges.

I always look forward to the weekend but after a week of successes on the scale I always worry about the next two days. 

For dinner tonight my husband made pasta with homemade bolognas sauce. Carbs are often my enemy but he did use a whole wheat pasta and he measured exactly half a small box for the two of us. We also had a nice big salad with it and we decided to forgo the wine tonight. 

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will probably go on one of our long walks with the dog and I will try to run some laps at the rugby pitch. Later in the afternoon we are invited to our neighbour’s birthday party. I know there will be lots of good food but there are usually some healthy options to choose from. Will I have some birthday cake? All depends on the cake. I’ve learned that not all sweets are created equal and some just aren’t worth it.

I don’t know if it’s the weather or my husband’s next round of chemo next week but I have the urge to clean, organize and purge. I’ve started doing more of that in my classroom and now I want to extend it to my house. I have to be careful that I don’t use that as an excuse to not get outside and move. Wish me luck! Happy weekend everybody!

Down, down, down…….

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Feeling Good


It’s been a good day. My weight is holding steady but I’ve been down everyday this week. I’m trying to drink more water and when I do I definitely notice it on the scale. I’m eating well and no more unplanned snacking, especially after 8:00 at night. 

I’ve been wearing a pedometer for the last two days. Yesterday was dismal; only 1600 steps. How is that even possible? Today was a different story. Lots of activity. At lunch today I played floor hockey at school; the school team champions against the teachers. The teachers won 4-3. Everyone gave it their all and the students enjoyed watching their teachers running up and down the gym. 

Girls on the Run

After school I met with my group of girls for Girls on the Run. Today’s theme was reflecting on things we are grateful for. After a fun warm-up (they always want to do more of these activities) they started their actual run. The challenge today was to run 2 km without talking  to their friends and reflect on their promises and goals. Do you know how hard that is for some 10 year olds?

I was going to stay back and join the girls on the second kilometre but I decided to start running with them right away. I ran/walked about 200 m to our newly mowed 200 m track and I started running laps on the track. I tried to run half the lap before I started to walk and I came pretty close to doing that. In total I managed to run/walk 8 1/2 laps and then I ran back to home base. 

As much as I don’t “love” running I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would. It was great hearing the cheers and words of encouragement from the girls as they ran by me. I might even sneak out at the beginning of lunch tomorrow and run a lap or two before the kids come out for recess.

As I write this post my pedometer reads  …… Oh, no!….I accidently reset it. It was around 7800 steps.

Maybe I’ll get out with the dog before I go to bed tonight. TTFNImage

Food and Me – Discovering Yogurt and Diet Pop

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At the age of 14 my parents owned a Becker’s Milk store. I’m pretty sure it was then that my mom introduced me to yogurt. Blueberry yogurt!!! It didn’t come fat free or artificially sweetened back then. I remember it was delicious and because it was healthy it became my diet food of choice. I remember eating nothing but yogurt for lunch in high school. Well I’m sure I ate other things but yogurt was a staple for many years.

It was also around this time that I started drinking diet pop. I thought it was the best invention ever. I don’t think I’ve ever had regular pop since, except maybe ginger ale or tonic water. I didn’t care about the health warnings about artificial sweeteners. If they helped me loose weight that was more important. Today I avoid them as much as I can.

The third food I discovered and used frequently when I dieted as a teenager was Swedish rye crisp crackers. It didn’t always occur to me that putting butter on them defeated the purpose.

I didn’t really lose weight during high school but I pretty much stayed at the same weight for about 5 years. Dinners and snacking in the evenings have always been my downfall. I think I’ve mentioned before that my parents were pretty good cooks and supper was always my favourite meal even when I or my sisters were responsible for cooking it.

I also had a friend whose mom made the best after school snacks. I loved going to her place on the way home from school and having a Nanaimo bar or two. It’s funny the things one remembers.

So food was my best friend and my enemy. I ate because I loved the taste of food and I felt loved and accepted by my Dad who loved to feed us. It was only when my Mom suggested that I needed to lose some weight that food became my enemy. It was like going through a revolving door. It never led anywhere and yet I continued to go around in circles.

The only times I was able to escape from this revolving cycle happened whenever I fell in love……to be continued.

Time to Brag!

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I’m happy on many counts today.

First and foremost, the scale finally moved in the direction I hoped for. Down. I’ve been working hard on eating well and moving for the last two weeks but my hard work wasn’t showing on the scale. I know that it’s only a number and what’s more important is how one feels. I have to admit that I have been energized (when I get enough sleep), my joints don’t hurt as much and my clothes fit better.

The second reason I’m happy today is because the three of us ( KC, the dog and I ) got out for a walk this morning and like yesterday we covered 1.8 miles or 2.9 km. I’ve been trying to run a portion of the course and today I ran 160 m without stopping. I’m hoping to increase the distance everyday and start doing some interval training. I’ve discovered gmap-pedometer. com and have been mapping out my walking routes and it even figures out how far I run when I do my short distances.

The day turned out to be a beautiful day. The sun came out and warmed things up a bit. Always puts a smile on my face.

As moms I think we’re entitled to boast a little bit when our children do something well. Today when I was in the bookstore I found a copy of the magazine that my son edits. I believe that this is the first edition with his name on it. I’m sure if it’s not he’ll let me know. It’s hard to tell from the picture because it’s a mirror image but the name of the magazine is Volume and the cover title is  “Privatize”. I miss B and I wish he didn’t work so far away but I can appreciatePhoto 12

why he loves Amsterdam and more importantly he loves the job.

…….and that’s why I’m happy today!

What a Difference a Day Makes and a Good Night’s Sleep

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In bed by 11:00 but lights weren’t out till 11:45. It made a difference though. I was much happier today and less stressed.

This will be a short post. After work I went to the eye doctor and those drops have left me with pupils the size of pennies and sensitive to any light. Looking forward to another good night’s sleep.

Hooray for the weekend!