Recovery Day

All my alarms worked this morning and I was on the bike by 6:15am.  My whole body could feel that last two days of workouts.  So getting on my bike felt great.  I rode for only about 20 minutes, and then hit the shower.

I thought since I haven't been on my spin bike in a while, I would start with just 20 minutes of work, 5 minute cool down.  That was enough for today...sort of.

After my children were off to school and the little daycare girl arrived, her and I went for nice 35 minute walk.  Pushing a stroller is a lot harder because you can't swing your arms when you walk.  But at least with her in the stroller I could walk at a much quicker pace.

A nice Spring walk through the trails.

Today's food...

Breakfast: Protein Shake with Hemp & Quinoa Toast and Natural Peanut Butter

Snack: Pineapple and Walnuts

Since I had cut up a fresh pineapple last night for snack, I thought I would have some for snack today too.  No sense letting it spoil. 

Lunch: Salmon with Quinoa and Cucumber, Tomato, Onion & Red Pepper Salad
I had some leftover salad and quinoa from last night's dinner, it was perfect to eat with my salmon.

I LOVE salmon!  But you already know that if you have followed me on this journey.

I cooked up some salmon for myself and the daycare kids.

It was so good!

I decided that I would wait until after dinner to have my other snack.

Dinner: Steak with Cauliflower Mash and Steamed Snap Peas

Now steak was not on the list of protein sources...BUT...I had bought it before I got the lists.  

I couldn't just let it go to waste.  

It was delicious.

Snack: Cottage Cheese with Mango

Use up what you have on hand.  Mix and match it up with different ingredients so that your foods get used up in the current week.

Along with the food that I eat during the day, I have been drinking about 12 -15 cups of water each day.  Most of it is lemon water.  Needless to say trips to the bathroom have been quite frequent.

Must get to sleep now.  Day 3 CX-T Find Your Fit Challenge workout in the morning.

Remember to find out more information about this challenge or other training sessions that Chris provides, email Chris at cxtpersonaltraining@gmail.com

Good night

Trina

Week 1 Day 2 CX-T Find Your Fit Challenge

Well so much for my early start this morning.  I had a dream last night that I thought it was time to get up, so I checked my phone(because I use it as my alarm clock), well it didn't turn on.  I thought, "oh great, I have slept in".<<<this by the way is all in the dream.  My husband was still in bed and I thought he was late for work(it was still dark outside, but that didn't dawn on me at all)<<<still dreaming>>>I woke my husband up and said he was late for work.  At that point in the dream I actually woke up, I saw that it was still dark outside and checked my phone for real...it worked, it was only 4:23am, so I got up and went to the bathroom.  Crawled back into bed and fell back to sleep.  My alarm was supposed to go off at 6am so that I could do my workout before getting my kids up and ready for school.  THAT did not happen.  I woke up at 6:31am to no alarm.  I checked my phone...it didn't turn on.  SHIT!!!!  I spent a few minutes trying to get my phone working again, and then just got up and got ready for the day.  I was pissed off that I didn't get my workout in, but I knew that I could fit it in at some point today.

Now it could be the fact that sometimes my iPhone loses it mind OR it could be that fact that it looks like this...

My husband calls me the Phone Slayer.

My last iPhone hit the floor a number of times, got slammed in a car door and it still worked.  It took a leap into the toilet and THAT was the end of that one.

So as long as this one stays clear of water, it should last me a bit longer.

It's all good!

It works just fine.  I just have to be careful of the broken glass, and I might need to start setting another type of alarm to wake me up in the morning.  I wouldn't want my children to miss school.  Maybe it's them tampering with my phone in the night.

Anyway, I did get my workout done.  I was thinking if I could get the kid's lunches made quickly, I could do it before heading to the school bus...NO...that didn't work.  After coming back from the bus stop, I thought maybe I could do it before the little daycare girl arrives...NO...that wouldn't work because I never know exactly when this one is going to arrive.  BUT...an hour and a half later I got a text from her Mum saying that she would bring her at lunch time.  PERFECT!  So I got changed into my workout gear and got to it.  About 40 minutes later I was a sweaty mess.  Great workout Chris!

I hit the shower.  As I was getting undressed and dressed today I could feel yesterday's Find Your Fit workout throughout my body.  I also feel that driving force in me.  As another Find Your Fit challenger put it, "Beast Mode".  I can feel the beast being released once again.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I finally weighed myself after about, well probably a year and a half, it wasn't pleasant, but I did it.  The scale definitely keeps me in check.  I jumped on it again this morning upon waking and I was down 1.2 lbs.  Now, I know that it's not much, but it's more than I have lost in about a year and a half.  Seeing that number on the scale go down right now is a BIG motivator.  I am feeling better already.

This is probably the first selfie I have taken in awhile too.  You can't see that I am sweating like crazy, but you don't need to see that.  In addition to the new batteries in the scale, I also bought some for my Suunto heart rate monitor.  It recorded an AWESOME burn of 460 calories for Day 2's workout this morning.

I am going to ride my spin bike in the morning to give my muscles a bit of recovery time.  As today has gone by, my body is REALLY feeling these workouts.

Let's move on to what will help lose the laundry that is cluttering up my wash board stomach...

Today's FOOD...

Breakfast was very similar to yesterday.  Toast, natural peanut butter and protein shake.  

My Morning Snack:  Fresh Mango with Slivered Almonds

Lunch: Chicken Salad
This wasn't the same as yesterday's chicken salad.  I bought this mixture of Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Kale, Chicory, Dried Cranberries and Pumpkin Seeds.

It has a poppy seed dressing.

So good.

Dinner: Leftover Chicken served up with Quinoa and a Cucumber, Tomato, Onion and Red Pepper Salad

This was delicious.

Snack: Cottage Cheese and Pineapple

This has always been a favourite of mine.  Thanks to Chris for reminding me of how good this one is.  He had posted it on the sample food plan, and I'm so glad he did.

I guess all I would have to do is go back through my blog or photos on Instagram to see remind myself of some yummy meals and delicious snacks.

To make sure I get up in the morning at 6am, I have set the alarm on my Suunto heart rate monitor.  I think the new battery should be okay for a while.  But just in case, if you know my number, and you are already up, text me and tell me to get my A$$ out of bed.  You could always send me a Facebook message too.  Both will make a noise.  

I hope all my fellow CX-T Find Your Fit Challengers have had a great second day.  And I hope you too have had a great day.

I will be back in the saddle tomorrow.

Until then...Stay Strong!

Trina

Week 1 Day 1 CX-T Find Your Fit Challenge

Well today I climbed up the first step of the ladder out of the pot hole I have been stuck in.  The ladder of the CX-T Find Your Fit Challenge.  I will not be posting the workouts as they are not mine to share.  I can let you in on a few moves here and there, but the full program can be obtained by contacting Chris at cxtpersonaltraining@gmail.com  It is a 6 week online challenge.  It started today, so hopefully if you are interested, it's not too late to start(but contact Chris to find out).

Last night before going to bed I added a workout timer app to my iPhone.  It was just a free one, but you could also purchase the Pro version instead.  Before my children went to school, I inputted the exercises into the timer.  Well I forgot to add in one segment of the workout...duh.  So after I came back from the school bus stop, I did it all again.  The app is called Seconds.  With the free version you can't save workouts, so I decided to purchase the Seconds PRO version.  SO...I had to enter all the exercises again.  By this time I was already worked out(just kidding Chris).  Everything was entered, my gear was gathered(almost all of it) and I was ready to begin Day 1.

Here is a screen shot of the correct input into the Seconds Pro app.

Now as far as my equipment, I pulled out what I could without unpacking the entire closet.  I could not get to my workout bands so I improvised for the Pull Downs.  I used 10 lb dumbbells to start(for the first set), and then switched to 8's as I started to fatigue.  Which didn't take long.

Here is a shot of the equipment that I used today...

Ah...I forgot to take a picture of the substitute for the PVC move.  I used the plastic tube from my Dyson vacuum.  Hey when you have to get it done, you use what you can.

Just like this next piece of equipment...

This is what I used for my Box Jumps.

Don't laugh, I know that it's not that high, but at least I did it.  I can always place some planks of wood on top of the deck to increase the height.  I could use the stairs, but I have always been a bit scared of jumping on the steps.  They just don't seem deep enough to get your foot on.  The last thing I need to do now is break a leg by jumping up 2 or 3 steps.

So for now I will use our deck out the back.

With workout 1 under my belt, it's time to move on to food...

Breakfast: Toast and Natural Peanut Butter with a Protein Shake

It doesn't look like much, but it was filling and satisfying.  The peanut butter I used was some that I made myself.  Just peanuts ground to a semi smooth texture.  No sugar added!

By the time I finished breakfast and had my shower it was almost time for my first snack.  And for my snack I had...

Raspberries and Walnut Pieces

As I was eating my snack, I input my exercises for Day 2 into my Seconds Pro timer app.  I'm all ready for an early start tomorrow morning.

Lunch: Chicken Salad

Now today's salad was part leftover from my Pita Pit salad from dinner last night.  I cooked up some fresh chicken to top off the leftovers.

Afternoon Snack:  Protein Shake

Dinner: Chicken with Brussels Sprouts & Carrots and Sun dried Tomato & Basil Spaghetini

I thought I bought brown rice pasta on the weekend and was set to make this exact dish with that.  Well I picked up the other one instead.  It was good, but not great.

Day 1 of workouts and food is done.  My children have high jacked my laptop, but I have retrieved it once again and have been able to spend the time to write this blog.  I am feeling like that Healthier Version of Me is starting to wake up once more.

I put some batteries in the scale this morning and stepped on it.  Before I did, I took a guess at what number I would see.  I changed it to 5 lbs higher.  I was out by 0.8 lbs.  I am not yet ready to share this number with all of you, and I hope you understand.  I think the scale was part of my downfall over the past year.  I was afraid to get back on it and see a not so nice number.  Yes, I am kicking myself in the A$$ right now.  Now I really have my work cut out for me.  Let me get the number down a bit before I post it.  I know this might be a chicken type of move, but it is tough putting yourself out there when you are not feeling great about it all.

When my husband go home from work today, I told him that people always comment on when a person loses weight.  Yes, it might not be very nice, but people should be able to tell others when they have put weight on and question them on why that has happened.  Maybe that is the HELP that they need.  I know we live in a society that tells us that we should love ourselves just the way we are...BUT...I loved myself more when I was a Healthier Version of ME.  I will feel that love again I know.  I am strong, and I know I can do this.

I'm going to bed early tonight so that I can get my early start in the morning.

Until then...Stay Strong!

Trina 

  

It's A Tough Road

It's a tough road when you are not well, and seems to get tougher before it gets better.

This is how it was for me through the month of January.  My face, oh my poor face.  In my last two posts I told you what was going on with my face and the Rosacea.  And in my last post I mentioned that I started working out again.  WELL...that lasted for only 4 days.  Not due to lack of motivation, but more so to do with my face exploding into another red, swollen, itchy, dry and tight mess.  I have had to force myself  to do nothing until this problem is solved.  The only problem with doing nothing is, I feel lazy, bored, unhealthy and not myself.  I felt like I should be in hiding.  I ran into my next door neighbors at the grocery store, and just said "Hi" and carried on with my shopping.  Normally I would have chatted with them, like in the past.  But not in the month of January 2015.  I felt like a monster.  I would try to hide my face as much as possible when I had to leave the house.  I'd put my Hed-Chog on around my neck and bring it up to cover my face up and over my nose.  My hair would be down covering my cheeks, and my toque on down to my eyebrows. It was not pretty.

When February arrived I got some help and my face was much better.  The dermatologist that I went to see recommended Cetaphil facial cleanser and moisturizing cream.  What a difference it has made to my face.  My skin has never been so soft.  Even though my face was doing better, my spirits were still down.  I got myself into an unhealthy state.  Partly due to the medication that I was on, partly due to, I believe slight depression(which I think was due to the medication) and another part due to stress.  Which we all know that stress is a MAJOR KILLER.  I was stress eating and feeling like total crap.  It wasn't my face wanting to hide now, but rather my whole body.

This continued on as the weeks passed by.  In March, we started doing some renovations in our home and exercise was definitely put to the wayside.  And eating right...HA!  That went to the far away side.  Insert very unhappy face here>>>>_____.  And yes, Back Fat Betty and Tina the Talking Tummy had returned.  And we must not forget Cellulite Sally.  She's hanging around on my A$$!

Now I know we shouldn't talk bad about ourselves, but when you (meaning ME, not you) feel like you have let yourself down, it can't be helped.  I feel embarrassed that I let myself get to this point again.  This is where I started on May 27th 2011.  I know that it's a journey and I have written that I have had bumps along the way, and it seems like those bumps have turned into major pot holes.  And I got stuck in the last one.  But I have found a way out.  During the month of April(well nearing the end of it), as renovations were in full swing, I would take breaks from the work and check out what what happening on Facebook.  I noticed a friend(who is a personal trainer) was starting up an online challenge in the month of May.  I was hesitant about it, as all my equipment is packed away and didn't know if I could do it.  That just sounded like the biggest excuse EVER.  I know I can do it, because I have done it before.  I just have to open the closet that my exercise equipment is in and drag it out.  I may not have all the equipment needed but I know how to improvise and modify exercises.
It is MY time again now.  For the past year and a bit, I have put others before me and did not take care of myself like I taught myself to do.  I got weak.  I ended up getting defeated by my lack of commitment to the Healthier Version of Me.

So with that all being said...tomorrow I resume my journey to the Healthier Version of Me with the help of the CX-T Find Your Fit Challenge.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153272525096692&set=a.10152646219676692.1073741826.514376691&type=1

Chris has done a fantastic job with sending out all the information needed with instructional videos for each exercise.  As well as nutritional information to follow.  For more information on the Find Your Fit Challenge, whether it be this one or other Challenges that Chris will have to offer, as well as his personal training sessions, email him at cxtpersonaltraining@gmail.com.

I have the nasty job of weighing myself in the morning.  I already had my husband take some before pictures of me.  I don't even want to look at them.  I'm hoping that I don't have to post them until I hit week 4, when progress pictures will be taken.  It won't be SO embarrassing.  Well it will be if I don't change at all.  BUT...that is NOT an option!

I will post some food pictures for your viewing pleasure.  Because blogs are just not the same without pictures.



My "Before" picture looks nothing like the ones in the above photo.  Great job everyone!

May the 4th be with us all tomorrow.

Wish me luck and...

Stay Strong!

Trina