Faves and Raves Hallowe’en Edition

Are you planning a fun Hallowe’en? 

No costumes for us this year… but we are expecting one special little Trick or Treater so The Captain made sure to pick up some candy for her... his favorites! I have not been tempted at all, thankfully.  I am keeping my nose to the low carb grindstone and quite happy with it all.

I am very happy ecstatic that today is our last Metabolic Aftershock workout in the series.  In a few minutes I will be getting out the mats and starting up the final video in the program. It is a toughie and we will be celebrating its conclusion.

Next week we can do some walks, some runs, and some strength work with weights before heading off on Sunday for a week in Sin City….  I am looking forward to the hustle and bustle!  then we can start a new program when we return.

But I do have one little hurdle to get over first… on Monday I am going to spend the morning in the hospital having a colonoscopy.  My GI doc is helping me get to the bottom of my disgestive disorder and we are going to find out what is causing it, if it takes years!  I am also going to be having a small bowel CT scan at some point.  So an altered food plan for me for a few days and I just have to suck it up and endure.  No nuts or seeds for 4 days prior, and that is hard!  Good thing I have PB2 so I can at least have some peanut butter that way.

On a brighter note, I am in love with my new Android phone and getting better at using its camera and other features… it’s all a bit scary but I can see why people spend so much time on them now.  The Captain, who isn’t the least bit interested in social media, remains true to his Blackberry… he doesn’t even want to know what he’s missing.

I found some very interesting posts this week… here are a few of them:

• 7 Tricks to Beat Hallowe’en Temptations at Empower Fitness
  • If you DO eat the candy, here are some ways to lessen the damage

• Freaky Fast Fat-Burning Circuit Workout – {No Equipment Required!} at Your Trainer Paige
  • A Hallowe’en themed body weight workout. Looks like fun.

• 7 Mental Benefits of Fitness at Jill Conyers
  • I am sure you are reaping some of them already.

• How to Find Your Best Running App at FitFluential by Axel Kussman
  • Very timely for me right now, and perhaps you as well.

• Letting Go of Goals at Life as a Running Mom
  • Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture.

• 3 All-or-Nothing Healthy Living Mindsets Debunked at Fitknitchick
  • YES!  I have been guilty of this kind of thinking occasionally. Have you?

• Running in the Rain at Livin the Sweat Life
  • Some really good and practical tips here.

And finally, a video today… even though I am not a huge fan of vlogs… this one is pretty good:

• How to Count Macros at FitFluential -  Dr. Mike Roussell
  • A very basic explanation for those who don’t know.

What’s your favorite Hallowe’en candy?

Are you dressing up this year?

Still Smiling in October

This month my focus has been on optimism and for the most part I have taken my own advice and using the 5 way to practise optimism to keep a smile on my face and look towards good results for my efforts.  So far so good… I am pleased.

I have been working out like crazy this month… The Captain and I are almost at the end of the 9th and final week in our Metabolic Aftershock workouts. This last phase has been especially hard and l have not been running at all between workout sessions.  The phase 3 MA workouts are very leg-intensive and other than walking on ‘off’ days, I thought it best to preserve our leg muscles for the workouts themselves.  I am not sorry the program will reach its natural conculsion at the end of the week. I have enjoyed it and found it very good for building up my should strength, as well as firming me through the middle along with my butt and thighs. 

And I have been doing very well in the eats department lately too.  I have finally ditched the Sugar Monster am enjoying some lower carb days again.  It really does suit me better – no cravings whatsoever, and I can even enjoy an occasional glass of red wine as long as I am having a protein/fat snack with it.  YAY!

I am not following any program in particular, although I have been reading a lot this week…

Right now I am just watching my macros, keeping net carbs (carbs – fibre) to about  50g per day.  It is working very well for me and I feel great, have a ton of energy and am sleeping like a baby.

Low carb isn’t scary… or difficult. It just takes some planning. I am eating lots of leafy greens, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, zukes, etc… and somewhat limiting fruit, squashes, sweet potates, beats, peas, and carrots.  And of course I am getting lots of protein and ample healthy fat… that is the key to staying satisfied, for me.

I have been going through my own food blog We can begin to feed… looking for some of my favorite low carb recipes to make, too.  I thought I would share a couple of my staples with you here today.

The first is a lovely little Low Carb Flatbread… made from eggs and cooked cauliflower.  No, you cannot taste the cauliflower!  And these flatbreads freeze and thaw very nicely.  I always have some in my freezer and use them for quick sandwiches. You can use them open-faced or fold-over style too.  Love them.

And this next one if a special treat. It is my High Protein Angel Food Cake.  It is perfect for when you want a nice dessert or even just a ‘sweet’ with a cup of tea. The ‘sweet’ comes from the taste of vanilla protein powder in it… or you can add a bit of stevia if you use it and want a sweeter taste.  I made one up last night and we enjoyed  some of it with some whipped cream and a few berries.   I have also eaten it with some melted peanut butter drizzled over the top. Truly delicious.

I plant to keep it up because I feel so good, and then once we get back from Vegas, delve more deeply into it… as well as start on a new exercise program.  Perhaps get back to some lifting… and running, of course.

Do you have a favorite low carb dish?  I would love to hear about it.

What a Week… Faves and Raves

It has been a fly-by week… where do the hours go?  The days?

I finally made a commitment to a new phone on Wednesday and walked downtown to pick it up and upgrade my phone plan after lunch and a doctor's appointment.  I came home quite elated and pleased with my purchase, although I didn’t play with it too much as I wanted to make sure to let the battery charge up fully.

Thursday I worked 2 shifts and then spent some time at home in the evening with my feet up, sipping a glass of wine, and watching some favorite tv shows on the HDPVR.

I must have been tired because I didn’t wake up till almost 8:30 on Friday morning… made a promise to The Captain to do our 3rd Metabolic Aftershock workout with him on Saturday morning if we could spend Friday running errands and shopping… which we did. And they took all day with just a quick stop for a bite to eat at noon.

Whew!

I had no idea that setting up my new smartphone would take as much time as setting up a new computer. But I love it. I can see now why people are married to their phones… I can keep all of my email accounts open at once and alternate between them with a flick of my fingers… instead of opening and closing each one like I do on the pc… and that holds for Twitter and Google as well. 

Lots of other excitement around here this week too… to tell you just a couple of things…

This box arrived from Temple Scott Associates… the PR firm for CLIF bar in Canada. I love it when they send me goodies and this was no exception… CLIF bar is introducing 2 new seasonal flavors in Canada this year and they shared one of each with me.  Lovely!

Pecan Pie and Spiced Pumpkin Pie… I could have devoured them both immediately, but I am waiting for an occasion to share them….  have you tried them yet?

I purchased a couple of new carry-on bags for us to take to Vegas and they arrived while I was at work on Thursday. They actually measure a bit larger than the tag on them reads.  We are going to take them to the airport and see if they fit into the airlines luggage holder… if they don’t, and we would have to check them instead of being allowed to carry them on, I will take a larger bag.. why skimp on pretty dressy clothes and shoes if I don’t have to, right?

A local market had Celestial Seasonings teas on sale.. BOGO so I got a few boxes of this delicious Rooibos blend. Love the flavor and it is naturallly caffeine-free so nice for The Captain in the evenings.

A few favorite blog posts this week:

• Why Cross Train? at Go Believe Conquer
  • some benefits of cross training and ideas for workouts.

• The Kettlebell Encyclopedia: 30 Of The Best Kettlebell Exercises {Gifs} at Lifting Revolution
  • such a  unique presentation.  great resource for kettlebell exercises all  with moving (gif) illustrations.

• 12 Yoga Product Must Haves – Recommended By a Yoga Teacher at Tina Reale
  • Tina offers her advice about things we need for yoga.  some really good ideas here.

• Beware the 5 Stages of Taper Madness at Marcia’s Healthy Slice
  • quite hilarious but if you have ever gone through it you will recognize yourself here!

• Avoiding FOMO at Beast Mode
  • it is contagious… have you been struck with FOMO?

• The Difference Between Toning Muscle & Building Muscle: Woman's Guide To Strength Training at Lifting Revolution
  • such a good explanation.  I have read this several times now.

Anything fun happen at your house this week?

Would you need more than a carryon holds for a week in Las Vegas?

5 Reasons to Take a Break From Your Exercise Program

The Captain and I have been working our way through a second round of the Metabolic Aftershock workouts.  For those of you not familiar with the program, I will share a bit about it.  I bought the program and downloaded the workouts, in video format, led by the creator and performed by 3 different 'trainers', each one doing an easy, normal,  or harder version of the exercises.

It is a series of bodyweight exercises and each session takes 15 minutes to get through. There is a warm up provided, then the workout.  And you are instructed to do your own cool/stretch session and then go for walk.  Our stretch and cool down takes about 4 or 5 minutes and then we put on dry clothing and head out for a brisk half hour walk… we love these workouts, and the way they leave us energized for the day… but that is another post.

The program is broken down into three 3-week phases.  Each phase has 3 workouts… A, B, and C which are to be performed on non-consecutive days of the week.  For example, during weeks 1 through 3 we did phase 1 A on Mondays, phase 1 B on Wednesdays and phase 1 C on Fridays… then weeks 4 through 6 we did phase 2 workouts and weeks 7 through 9 we are getting through phase 3 workouts… the 9 weeks will end nicely just before we head to Las Vegas for a week… and that got me to thinking about the the subject of this post.

For me, there have been lots of different reasons, or perhaps excuses, to take a break from my current exercise program.  Some of them pretty lame, when I think back over the years… but for the most part, once I start something, I tend to see it through. But there are times and circumstances that give way to legitimate reasons to take a break.  Let’s look at my top 5.

1.  You are injured or become ill.

This is probably the most important reason, in my opinion, to take a break.  You need time to let the injury heal properly and completely... or to recover from your flu or chest cold, whatever it may be, before you can resume your workouts.  Sometimes you can change to a different exercise but sometimes you just genuinely need to stop and  rest.  And if you see a doctor, make sure you discuss your concerns with them and follow their instructions.

2.  The program has come to its natural/planned conclusion.

The Metabolic Aftershock program I am following right now is 9 weeks long.  In the past I have done strength training programs that are 12 weeks long. I have done bootcamp sessions that are 3 months long. Perhaps you have been training for a half marathon and the race is run and done.  When the program is over,  it is a great time to take a few days off and then start something new.

3. You are not enjoying it anymore.

Not every type of exercise is for everyone.  I love to try every new workout and exercise style that comes along… well most of them… but sometimes I get myself into something that I just don’t care for… and I eventually get bored or decide really hate it and quit.  I did #plankaday for weeks but really started to feel like it was just annoying. It’s okay.  Find something different and move on.

4.  You are mentally burned out.

Our lives get hectic… busy… stressful.  And very often, regular exercise is just what the doctor ordered to help ease our tension and give us an endorphin lift.  But if the diffucult schedule, or the cost of coach or trainer or classes, or the rigors of it all are just adding to the stress in your life, it may be time to take a break till things settle down.  Or, it just might be that you have hit a stalemate and cannot face another day of burpees in your bootcamp, or one more uphill mile in your 10k training… you’ll know.  Do yourself a huge favor and take a rest.

5.  You are  not making any progress.

Sometimes our progress just stalls.  We can’t lift any more weight. We can't do any more reps. We can’t shave any more seconds off our 5k runs.  It  just might be time to give the body a rest… then get back to it with fresh muscles or a new plan of attack.



Have you ever taken a break from your exercise program?  How did it help or hinder your performance or your attitude?

This Week… Faves and Raves

It has been a really good week of eats and workouts… and some other fun things.  Here are some of the highlights…

The Captain and I both volunteered at the GoodLife Fitness Marathon expo last Friday afternoon/evening, passing out shirts to the race entrants. It is always such a fun experience as everyone is excited about their upcoming race and full of energy. 

We got nice volunteer shirts this year… I have actually worn mine already… they are roomy and a very soft technical fabric.  This is front and back.

My Sweat Pink swag arrived… and I immediately laced up my indoor workout shoes.  And, I have already been passing along pink shoelaces to friends and acquaintances.

I tried the Vanilla Chai nutritional shake mix from Vega One that I purchased last week… it’s an odd color but I loved the taste. And it really kept me satisfied for several hours. I  will definitely be packing some of these in my suitcase when we head to Vegas in a couple of of weeks.  Now to try the Chocolate….

I picked up some new frozen yogurt bars this week… Chapman’s is a Canadian company so I was pleased to find them locally.  They are delicous… and just the right size when you want just a wee bit of creamy sweetness…. they also come in Strawberry and Tiger Paw as well as chocolate-dipped.  Yes, please!

It was Thanksgiving in Canada on Monday so of course we went for a nice long walk before sitting down to a lovely turkey dinner… with a stop at Starbuck’s for a Pumpkin Spice Latte, non-fat no whip.  Such a beautiful day.  We wore our rain jackets to start out but ended up in just shirt sleeves for the walk home.  Funny, it seems lately when  go out prepared for rain it doesn't happen!

The terrible quality of that picture has prompted me to finally make a decision about new cell phones and service providers and plans so getting on that, probably Monday.  YAY!  Instagram here I come…

I have been reading some very good blog posts and articles… here are my recommendations this week:

• The Difference Between Toning Muscle & Building Muscle: Woman's Guide To Strength Training at Lifting Revolution
• This is a really helpful and informative explanation.  Taylor nails it and offers suggestions for exercises as well.

• Ways to Measure Body Fat at Running Rachel
• Rache had her body fat measured 3 different ways and talks about the experience. Interesting and informative.

• Fat Loss 101: The Only 2 Things You Need to Know at Workout Nirvana
• Once again, Suzanne gets to heart of the matter.

• The Only 6 Exercises You Really Need at Go Fit Gals
• I do most of them. Do you? And no, there are no burpees on this list...yay.

What’s your favorite frozen treat?

Do you take most of your pictures with your phone or a camera?

Android or iphone or Windows 8.1?  Which model?