eek! Signed up for a half marathon this summer!

I am planning on following this schedule so I'll be ready by May.  Crossing my fingers, I don't injure myself in the process and get fit!

Went to the gym for a class

that was cancelled but I still managed to stay there and workout for an hour!  When I am getting back into the habit of going to the gym, I need my classes.  Why?  Because it forces me to work out for an hour or else I quit way too early.  Well today I rushed to the gym to make an 8:30am class to find out when I get there that it's cancelled.  Somehow I changed into my gym gear and forced myself to work out for 30mins which turned into an hour!  That's my little win for the day.

Food Challenge

The summer was great and filled with patios and drenching in the sun during lunches on the work week.  I told myself life's too short and I would enjoy the summer but now that it's done I find myself still going out simply because I fell out of the routine of making my lunch.  My wallet is still paying for it and so is my waistline.  Now that we've set our clocks back and daylight savings time is over, seems like a good time as any to try to get my routine back.  So yesterday I bought lots of things to make my lunch this week including some fancy cheese.  It was on sale for half price because they were delisting it or something from our grocery store.

I also want to really try making healthier choices.  I've got the exercise part down but my willpower is lacking and I still binge on chips, cake, chocolate...you name it.  I know for me, I can't completely cut them out because I love them too much but perhaps smaller portions or making healthier versions myself is the answer. 

I finally went to the gym...

..after a month of not going and can I say it kicked my butt?  When I am in gym mode, I feel gross when I miss a week at the gym but somehow I got into a slump and couldn't be bothered going.  What finally got me to go was seeing those gym fees coming out of my bank account.  Nothing like money to motivate you.

I did some cardio & while it kicked my butt, I survived.  I am hoping to do weights later this week and chances of survival are slim.

Time Flies....

Half a year since my last post. I don't think anybody even reads this thing anymore....

What happened? Well I started getting paranoid about writing posts. At that time, I really wanted to blog about looking for a new job and things happening with my family but I got paranoid about people figuring me out and decided to keep things to myself. Without wanting to write about what was going on in my life made me feel like I had nothing to write about for a few weeks. A few weeks turned into a month and then 2 months and then I kind of forgot about this thing. I still read the blogs I follow on my google reader but I was no longer excited about writing posts hence the lul. So I am back for now. Got a bit of a writing bug and I also have time now that it's close to Christmas and I am taking things easy.

What's happened in the last half year?

1. I got promoted at work! but I just mentioned earlier I was looking to leave! What gives? The thing is I was doing work, etc. that was not part of my job description and really the role of a level that was above me. It frustrated me that I didn't have the correct title & recognition and I made it known. I got answers that they were doing the best they could to make everything right but nothing was really changing so I started looking elsewhere to leave. Well a few months ago, I got called into my bosses office and he told me I was finally getting promoted and would have the right title, salary and recognition. I am still doing the same thing I was a year ago which tells me that I should have gotten promoted a year ago like I had asked for. What have I learned? Corporations wouldn't think twice about doing what's best for the company and I shouldn't feel any different. Earlier in the year when I was looking elsewhere for a new job because I felt bad and guilty about it because I like my boss and coworkers but at the end of the day, I was being taken advantage of and I shouldn't have felt bad about it. I am still early in my career and I chalk this up as a learning experience.
2. I lost ~10lbs! I remember posting on here when I first joined the gym. Well it's taken a lot of work but I am now about 10lbs lighter and back to my old clothes! I still want to loose another 5 and I'll be super happy but being able to fit into my old clothes feels good again. It was easy staying in shape in the warmer months. Now that it's cold, I want to hibernate in my house all the time and I need to keep motivating myself to bear the coldness and make it to the gym.
   

Speaking of the gym, it's time for me to get ready to go there.

Body Pumping

I am still going strong at the gym. I haven’t lost tons of weight but boy am I stronger and my endurance is up! I am happy to say I can do a 5k comfortably. This summer however, I want to do my first 10k! The thing is if I am not careful, I am going to put myself out of running. If I run several times a week, my knee hurts the following day. I’ve cut it down to once a week and have debated getting running sleeves because I enjoy running and it seems like the easy way to lose weight. Improving endurance and running much longer is great but without getting stronger, I am hurting myself in the long run. I am weak! Super weak and I hate it. I am not afraid of doing weights, I just can’t lift much…..yet! One of my least favorite things to do on my own is weights. I quit way before I should and don’t push myself. If I ever got a personal trainer, I’d have him focus on weights. I’ve got the cardio down.

Enter my new favorite class, second to Body Attack is Body Pump. It’s a class with weight bearing exercises that target all the major muscle groups. I was super apprehensive to go to a class. I’ve never used a barbell before and had no idea how to even set one up. I went early to my first class and the instructor was super nice & told me what to do. I struggled and found some of the exercises hard, even with a really low weight. Sure enough, the next day I was in pain and in love. Now I aim to go @least once a week to this class if not more and just upped my weights a little yesterday! Woo!

Mini workout accomplishment

So my running really blows when winter comes around. I try to stay dedicated but always end up loosing motivation with running at home. Now that I've joined the gym, I've been sticking to running @least once a week on the dreadmill. My goal for the last few weeks has been to get back to running for 30mins without having to stop. Last Friday, I plugged into the Olympics and did 30mins @ 5.5!

Woo! 10k in the summer, here I come! I am also trying to change up my treadmill work outs with intervals, ect. I'd love to run my first 10k in under an hour. Actually, I'd love to run my first 10k without having to take any walking breaks. Running under an hour would be the icing on top.

Body Attack

So almost everybody is watching the SuperBowl except for me. Sports and me don't get along. The only thing I find semi interesting is tennis and that is because my parents would always watch it when I was growing up and I think developed a fondness for it from that.

I went to BodyAttack today morning and I am feeling a little sore/weak from it. I've done the class a few times already but I normally choose to do the easier options for some of the moves. Today, I tried my best to do the harder options for all the moves and it was amazing! I love getting my heart pounding and keeping up with some of the guys! Let's hope I am still this gung ho for the gym a month from now.

My goal is to fit comfortably into my normal aka skinny pants again by the start of the summer and move away from my 'fat' pants. I've told myself that once I get back into the pants I was wearing last summer, I am going to treat myself to some Lululemon gear. What better reward for a fitness goal?

Benzaclin Update #2

If you've been following my blog, you know that my doctor put me on benzaclin towards the end of last year. The effects were almost instantaneous, however it made my skin super dry. Almost scaly and I found that I had to use more of the product for it to be equally effective.

I couldn't take it anymore and in about a months time, I just stopped cold turkey! I just went with a heavy duty moisturizer at night instead. It was a matter of whether I wanted acne free scaly skin or nice moist acne skin. Basically a loose, loose situation. I figured at least with the moist acne skin, I wasn't damaging my skin with harsh chemicals, ect.

Gym Update

So I didn't make any new 'new years' resolutions. I had some things I had been working on from the end of last year that I am still working on. One of them was loosing weight and getting more toned. I want to fit nicely into my old pants. Right now, I have my old pants sitting folded nicely in my closet waiting for me to return to my old size (Just one size down).

I've been hitting the gym @least once a week if not more and believe it or not, I am starting to finally see small results after about 2 months dedicating myself to this goal. And I love it! I can fit into my 'fat pants' with a little extra room to give whereas before, my big pants were still tight on me.

I think changing up my routine and trying new things at the gym is what's really helping me with the weight loss. I've started taking some of the free classes at the gym and not only are they fun, they have me dripping in sweat by the end. Who knew a little dancing or steps would do that?

Work Health Benefits

On my lovely work pay stub every month, there's a deduction for health benefits. I've always thought, 'Gah, why am I spending money on something I don't use'. I have one of those not so fancy smancy health benefits where I don't get free massages, ect. All you people with free massages, I am jealous I tell ya! But I do get 100% coverage on prescriptions and boy am I glad I do.

In the 2+ years I've worked there, I've never had to make a claim ever and then bam, in the matter of 2 months, I've been in & out of the doctors office & racked up ~$100 in prescriptions. And I see more in the not too distant future. Suddenly I am appreciative of my benefits.

Waistline struggles

So I gained weight when I went on my trip earlier this summer. 10lbs in fact! The thing was, I figured I went a little out of control on the trip and that everything would go back to normal shortly after returning. Well the truth is, I've been struggling and I am not entirely sure why!

I went back to my old routine of doing yoga and eating normal meals instead of the pigging out I was doing on the trip yet nothing happened. In fact, I just checked my weight and I gained another 5lbs! I knew it was bad when I put on my jeans yesterday and I was uncomfortable because it was so tight. These are jeans that I've fit into for years. I still fit into them but I now have this lovely muffin top thing happening where I have fat sticking out over the jeans. Not a pretty sight!

So I've decided that by Christmas time, I want to loose 5lbs. My stretch goal is to loose 10lbs. It may not seem like a lot but it makes a huge difference on my body. Remember what Hillary Duff looked like with 15 extra pounds. Well she's like my body twin and I can tell you it makes huge difference.

How am I going to do this? I want to add one additional workout per week on top of what I am doing till I get to where I want to be. I also want to try being healthier. I am semi healthy in that I get my intake of veggies & whatnot. However, I can't say no to indulgences i.e. cake, chips...you name it. It's unrealistic for me to say that I'll be strict and not eat any of these things but the key for me will be eating it in moderation.

I am a fattie!

So by chance, I noticed that our local Costco was holding a free information session on Body Mass Index (BMI) and body fat percentage. I dragged my mom who has a membership and went. There was a lovely nurse who explained what BMI and body fat % is and also did some tests and calculations to see where I fall.

The results? Dun, dun, dun....I am at a good BMI! See the little chart on the left? Well I am in the green range at a healthy weight. However, my body fat % is 27.5% which a little high for some one with my stats. Ideally, I should be in the 21-24% range.

The key for me will be watching my food intake. I think I have the exercise part down but can't say no to anything sweet and anything fried or anything sweet that's fried (i.e. deep fried mars bars!).

Why I made the switch to stainless steel

I know that this whole BPA controversy with water bottles happened last year but I am only acting up on it now. Why? There are two reasons. 1) I've been drinking from these water bottles for years & I think I am still relatively healthy. You know the old saying, if it aint broke, don't fix it. Well I am trying to be more conscious of what I am putting into my body so that's why I am acting up now. 2) I always keep a water bottle in the car that I drink from and with the summer in tow, it can't be good that I am drinking water from a bottle that's been heated from sitting out in the sun and is probably in overdrive leaking BPA and other things into the water that I drink.

Bisphenol-A or BPA for short is like a female hormone (estrogen) and has been linked to reproductive and developmental damage. Even breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men! Research suggests that it could be linked to many other things as well but I think you could research anything to death and link just about anything together so make your own informed decision. My decision was that it was time for me to get a new water bottle.

So I did a little googling and here is what I found.

1. BPA free plastic:
   Manufacturers have now come out with plastic bottles that are BPA free. The big controversy that continues with these types of bottles are, are these bottles leaking something else into the water that tests just haven't discovered yet? I mean how long did it take to discover this whole BPA shebang? With that in mind, I am steering away from plastic bottles.



2. Aluminum:
   Sigg is the most popular bottle that's out there. It's almost the new Nalgene. However, I don't know if it's the best option. Siggs aluminum bottles and pretty much all other aluminum bottles made by other manufacturers are lined with plastic so it's safe to drink but people are questioning whether the lining is leaking harmful chemicals into the water. And we're back at square one. The other issue is that the aluminum could somehow leak into the water and cause another set of effects on the body. Hey it's been linked to Alzheimers! Very confusing! Sigg off course states that their bottles are very safe based on research studies but my personal decision is to stay away from aluminum.



3. Stainless steel:
   Based on my research this seemed like the best option for me. As long as it's a good composition of stainless steel it seems like it's OK to drink out of. My googling suggested making sure your stainless steel bottle is grade 304 (food grade) or else it might contain a high composition of nickel which isn't good for you and has again been linked to doing bad things for your body.
   



4. Glass:
   This actually seems like one of the best options if you're overly concerned about what you're drinking out of. It's also one of the cheaper options because all you have to do is buy a product that comes in a glass bottle (i.e. Snapple) and once you finish consuming, clean it and you're good to go. The big down side is convenience. i.e. it's fairly heavy and if you drop it, watch out! However, if you're a fairly un-clumsy person (definitely not me) or just keep your bottle in one area, this might be best for you. I am trying to remember the next time I use one, to save it & use in the car.
   

See, this water bottle stuff is serious business! I bought my stainless steel water bottle at Canadian Tire because they were on sale and because I had Canadian Tire money from pumping gas at their stations. At the end, I ended up paying about a $1 out of my pocket.

I did my own research and came to my own conclusions, I'd suggest everybody else do the same and do what they feel safe with.

Do I have a cavity?

First let me say that I am not a fan of dentists....or doctors for that matter. I guess basically anybody that can inflict pain on you.

I have never had a cavity in my life and I try to keep it that way because of my fear of dentists. I wore braces when I was younger and that wasn't exactly the most pleasant experience. Originally I was supposed to wear it for 2 years max however I ended up wearing it for 3 maybe even 4 years. I don't quite remember.

I brush twice a day & sometimes even three times a day. However I do not floss which I know I should be doing on a regular basis. So over the last few days when I brush my teeth, there's this one damned tooth that stings a little. I also notice that little stinging sensation when I drink cold water. I am wondering if I have got a sensitive tooth or a cavity :( I am going to switch over to Sensodyne and see what that brings me. Hopefully it will go away and I can live happily ever after without having to make a dentist appointment soon.

Drinking more water

I have an easy goal for the next two months & that is to drink more water. On a typical day, I drink about 2 cups of water for the whole day. Yup, 2 measly cups when people tout drinking 8 glasses a day. The bf calls me a camel because of how little I drink. We're talking about water here. Alcohol can be a different story ;)

I've been trying to get my skin looking better naturally & I am trying out drinking more water to see if it'll help. I am also taking fish oil capsules & started drinking spearmint tea to control my hormonal acne. I am going to check in a month from now and see how the progress is.

Success!

I have successfully survived the cold. I decided that if I didn't start feeling better by Sunday morning, I would go ahead & purchase ColdFX. Those guys aren't cheap! So I took what I had on hand: some vitamin c, some fishermans friends & lots of soup. I am not sure if those actually helped & the cold just ran it's normal course or if it shortened the length of my wonkiness. Either way, I feel fine & dandy now.

As a result of being sick, I didn't get around to cooking too much for this week. I've been taking frozen dinners in for lunch. Not a big fan of those because 1) they don't fill me up and 2) it's hit or miss in the taste dept. After trying many brands, my current favorite is SmartChoice which I normally only buy on sale. Anything over $2.50 is too much for a frozen dinner IMO. You hear that Amys Kitchen?

Sicko

Blah, not feeling the greatest. I feel like I am coming down with something. So I am basically loading up on anything I can think of that may help i.e. Vitamin C, neocitran, soup, lots of water, lots of rest, ect. I really don't want to take tomorrow off. I have so much to do! I hope I am feeling better tomorrow morning because the last thing I want to do is be that person who comes into the office when they are sick infecting their coworkers.

I also decided that I want to look into naturopathy. It is included in my health coverage (up to $200/year) so I have nothing to lose.

Progress made...

Did my one hour workout for the week! huzzah! Let's see how long I can keep up. I also ate some bbq ruffle chips for a good 5 mins straight. Baby steps, baby steps.

This weekend, I was able to go through stacks of bills & receipts & whatnot & dwindle it down to things I need to keep. Things I am keeping are banking agreements, warranties & 1 year worth of pay stubs. I do online banking but for some reason citi still wants to send me bills. No point in me holding on to them so to the shredding pile they went. So in my room in the corner is a stack of bills for shredding. It's not a humongous pile but a pile none the less.

Even thought it's embarrassing, I took pictures of all my lotions & whatnot over the weekend. One of my challenges for this year is to only buy things once I am down to my last bottle. I think I have some sort of condition but I'd like to put the pictures up so I can look back & laugh @ what a crazy lunatic I once was.

Health Quest 09

When I was a youngin (in highschool) I used to wear a size 10. I also used to eat very, very badly. & when I say that, I mean pop twice a day, chips every single day, no fruit and the golden arches all the time. Since I got that under control, I've gone to wearing anything from a size 4-7. I am happy with that. What I am not happy with is pockets of fat & just overall jigglyness. If you're wondering, jigglyness is a real word! I say so. My parents are at that age where they're starting to see medical problems & seeing them motivates me to be healthy & try my best to push that off for as long as possible. If anythings it's hard on the kids. My parents used to be superheroes in my eyes & seeing them fall down is hard.

Ever since I became vegetarian maybe 4/5 years ago, I've been relatively healthy. I still consume dairy & am not picky enough to deny myself food if it's been cooked on the same grill as meat. If I was, I'd hardly be able to eat out. Perhaps that's actually a good thing since I'd be saving lots of money if I stopped eating out.

Not the point, the point is I want to be healthy. I do my bit, I eat pretty balanced meals & practice yoga 2-3 times a week. The downside is, I also eat lots of junk food & really should also do other forms of exercise besides yoga unless shoveling snow counts.

In the summer I run occasionally but in the winter, I hibernate & eat lots of food to stay warm. My downfall is having that junk food in the house in the first place. In one sitting, little old me can finish a big bag of chips. It's happened before! Ruffles anything is so bad, it's good! I think I'd classify as a binge eater. I also tell myself, oh I'll allow myself this one little treat & will be good tomorrow. Well tomorrow comes & it's the same story again.

& the exercise excuse? The honest truth is I am as lazy as they come. It's a wonder I don't live the life of a slob 24/7. If I could, I would enjoy sitting my ass in front of the t.v. munching on food watching trashy t.v. all day long. I love me some Jerry Springer.

So I figured I'd write this on here because posting this makes me feel somehow accountable for my actions. As we speak, I am downloading a fitness videos I can do @ home. I already have the weights but if yoga has thought me anything, you really don't need any equipment to work out. So my challenge in the health dept for this year is to do some sort of physical activity @least 1hour per week not including yoga! *breathe in, breathe out*. The odd thing is when I was in uni, I easily did this & more. But I guess when I was in university, any excuse not to do work was good. & I could fit in working out during the day or in between class breaks. Having a 9-5iver is clearly cramping my style.