Dinner was a hit

The planned dinner was a success! I'm so pleased with the results. I was going to take a photo of the meal, but we'd dug into it before I remembered to grab the camera.

Next up,

• Spiced Shrimp With Beans
• romaine lettuce with lime dressing

 This meal was ok, but much better for lunch the next day.

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Today:

• sausage with left-over mashed potato, on romaine salad with red pepper-parm dressing.

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Next, in order to use up the rest of the parsley, I'd like to try

• Chickpea, Carrot & Parsley Salad
• maybe with some salmon?

Dinner Plans

I've noticed I'm in a rut when it comes to meals, so I'm using this space today to plan out tomorrow's dinner for Hubby and I. Prep work to be done tonight and cooking tomorrow!

Dinner plans:  (links open in new window; they are other websites)

• Stovetop Barbecue Chicken Recipe: No Grill Required!
• Mashed Potatoes
• Spinach Cherry Salad

More New Toys

I've been so tired this week! It's hard to focus on studying, or anything for that matter. I'm zonked. Completely pooped. All I want to do is sleep. Or cry. Yes, there's some depression thrown into the mix. I've eaten all chocolate and sweets and chips (which I would normally never touch) in the wide radius surrounding my home. I felt so ill after that, which didn't help. This means way too many calories in, such that the last two weeks I dieted have been completely undone. If not more.

So I sent out my husband to buy me a SAD light. SAD = seasonal affective disorder. Essentially depression and poor sleep patterns due to lack of sunlight. I've used it for two consecutive mornings, and again just now (mid afternoon). I can't say for sure that it is helping, but I feel like I'm starting to get a grasp on things again. My head feels a bit more clear right now. I hope that it is working, and that I will feel the benefits even more in the coming days. If you want to try it out, here's the same one at Amazon.com, though I got mine for less at Costco.




Also, because I'm in the mood for organizing (and I really need to get a handle on what I have before I think about going shopping, which I want to do so badly) I have another new girlie toy. It's a magnetic makeup pallet. I took all my eye shadows out of their sets, and put them all into the one pallet. I love it because I now have everything in front of me and it takes up so little space. I'm in love with this pallet. If you want your own, check out the selection on the Etsy shop where I got it - Book of Shadows

New goals for November

I input my new information into the tool at BodyBuilding.com to see what my new calorie goal should be. To loose 5 lbs from my latest official weigh-in, I need to eat only 23 calories less per day! Granted, I didn't loose 5 lbs the first time, with all my ups and downs. Now, I don't know how long the 5 lb loss will take, but someone who weighs 133 lbs (since I weighed-in at 138 lbs) with my same body fat percentage and activity level burns approximately 1525 calories/day. So that's who I'm going to be!

My goals for November:
- Eat 1525 calories/day (or 382 calories split between four meal categories)
- Try to get in a little bit of activity, even though classes are murdering me

Welcome to November! Weight Loss Update Time!

I slept in this morning and skipped my first class. I think I needed that - I'm still tired, but feeling alright.

I have big news!
It's the first of the month, so I'm checking in with my weight loss progress (updates on my Weight Loss page). I had a tough July and August where my diet was pretty much thrown out the window with out-of-town guests and moving to our new apartment. Then school started up in September, during which I did alright. Throughout October I tracked my meals nearly every day, though wasn't really able to exercise consistently.

My calorie goal was set for someone who weighs 5 lbs less than I currently do, which is much easier for me to live with (ie. I'm happy eating that much) compared to my first goal of 20 lbs less (I was too hungry). I've updated my "What I've learned section" (on the weight loss page), with the most notable thing this month being that I need to eat more fat! I love avocados and peanut butter and chocolate so much! I would binge on fatty foods in the afternoon and evening after getting home. I would pretty much get in the door and grab the PB. Taking a look at my food journal, I realized that my breakfast was essentially fat-free, so I've been adding a chunk of avocado to my morning smoothie and again in my sandwich. I haven't felt the need to binge! Not only that, with Halloween being yesterday, I only had one mini chocolate, and didn't want any more. I'm flabbergasted, and feel like a jerk saying that I didn't want any candy on Halloween. Oh, and I'm down 0.6 lbs, 0.25 inches around my waist and 0.5 inches around the pooch since I started the blog. Especially good since I went up in between.

I've been using the Loose It! app on my phone the past few days. I like that it's much less complicated than the My Fitness Pal app in looks and options. The food information is provided by the app designers, and not the community, though you do have the option of adding your own. I've been using the free version. The following are screen shots off my phone of yesterday. Note that my actual calorie budget was 1548, so I aimed for 387 calories/meal. (I also just realized that I put in the food journal backwards! Read from right to left - so sorry!)

My chiropractor visit yesterday was alright. Apparently my L5 in my spine was off, which was causing me limitations to my range of motion. He did two adjustments on my spine, and I'll be going back in a week, then once more and I should be a-ok. My posture feels better already, though I'm still a little sore.

Well, that was long! I have so much school work to do!

Thanks for reading!

Chiropractor tomorrow

I've booked myself an appointment with my chiropractor for tomorrow. My leg has been tingling too much, my hips feel... off, and I'm getting pain up my back. I'm pretty sure that I've shifted my sacrum so it's stimulating some nerves and I'm really looking forward to some relief.

I haven't been to see him in about two years, since my first set of visits during which he first put the bone back in place, and some weekly visits to do some alignments.

On a brighter note, my husband surprised me with roses this week! He wanted to cheer me up while going through all these midterms.

This and That

My back has been so sore all weekend. I injured it about 2 years ago, and poor posture during studying is taking its toll. I am in love with this posture perfect chair in the library I'm in right now. Yes, I should be studying for tomorrow's midterm. I'm so sick of midterms.

I over did it on peanut butter and pb cookies this weekend. I feel like I've definitely gained.

Some things to share:

- I binge on fatty foods in the afternoon, but my breakfast is essentially fat-free. I'm going to try incorporating fat into breakfast and see how I feel. (Oddly, pb makes me feel sick in the morning)

- Avocado in my morning smoothie was awesome. It kept me full for 2.5 hours until my second breakfast of oatmeal just now.

- Roni's Weigh is an inspirational weight loss blog I've started reading. This woman is awesome. A mother who joined Weight Watchers and kept up with her diet, then got into exercising and fell in love with it.

- Joy Victoria is a personal trainer who has a unique way of sharing information, in my opinion. She is very informed and shares her knowledge in a way that works for me. She is making me really think about things.

Enjoy your Monday!

I'm back, baby!

Hi! I've been busy....

My camera died, friends visited from out of province, I moved, parents visited from out of province, school started again, and midterms are just beginning.

I've decided to journal again, because I feel the pounds creeping on. I've been super tired (1-3pm naps were a necessity) and fighting a cold, so I've binged. But no more! I'm taking Tylenol cold and flu to clear my head, and have claimed this little baby for my own:

I have set myself a goal, which is the same as last time, and started recording yesterday. No wonder im feeling heavier! The energy-boostong binge wasn't huge, but just enough to start adding on pounds on the regular.

 Note that in the above image that the circled numbers are cumulative. Today's entry is looking better already, now that I'm writing it all down. It really does help to get a handle on things. I knew that my snacks weren't the best idea yesterday, but once I wrote it out I couldn't help but say out loud "Well, no wonder..."

Stay tuned as I pick things up again around here. I'll likely be posting mostly from my phone, so they'll all be short. I'd appreciate any support and love you can throw my way! Enjoy the rest of your day!

Busy!

I'm super busy because I'm moving next weekend (not this coming weekend). I finally had a workout today because I've missed them so much! Last weekend, Hubby and I took some friends who were visiting down to Calgary for the Calgary Stampede. My camera died while at the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller the day before the stampede. The following photos were taken using my phone. I'll have more photos of the trip after I've had some time to re-group - moving is a lot of work and headache!

 

One of the chuck wagons.  

 

The drive to Banff, Alberta.

 

Riding the gondola up Sulfur Mountain in Banff, Alberta. That large building is the Banff Springs Fairmont hotel.

Jamaican Road Trip

I shared some photos of the resort I stayed at during my honeymoon a long time ago, and thought it was time to share some more photos from Jamaica. These are from our drive off the resort. We went on a day trip in a small tour bus. There were a number of small shack-sized bars along the way, and various kinds of houses. The drive itself was quite bumpy as we got up into the mountains. Actually, I'm fairly certain we were almost hit by a truck on our way there - the driving in Jamaica was a bit frightening, mainly because they drive on the left side of the road (I'm used to the right), have smaller roads that curve around hillsides where you can look straight down, and the drivers appeared more reckless. It could have all been in my head as a passenger, I guess. But, I was told drinking and driving is not at all uncommon. Gorgeous views, though!

A note about my weightloss efforts - I've had to take a week or two off from working out. A heatwave hit Edmonton, so it was too hot to workout. I spent a lot of my time trying not to feel sick just going about my day. Then the next week, after things cooled down a bit, I was fighting a head cold. Now this week I have friends visiting from out of province for the week who will be sleeping in my living room where I work out. I'll try to get out for a run or a swim once or twice, but I really doubt it.

On the plus side, I've noticed that my body is finally starting to trust me. What I mean to say is, during the past two months my weight jumped up to 146 lbs and fluctuated between that and 142ish lbs. I have been eating about 1600 calories daily, which is what my goal weight of 120 lbs requires for maintenance. Now I'm seeing my weight start to go down, without changing my eating habits. My body is finally trusting that it's not going to starve, because I'm giving it enough calories (never going below my BMR of 1440 and therefore above that ridiculous 1200 calories rule), so it's starting to let go of some of the excess. So, if you're with me on this journey, eating the calories of your goal weight may mean that you gain 5 or so pounds for a month or two, but then the weight will start to melt off. Yes, it sucks and messes with your head at the start, but will be better in the end.

I Made Yogurt!

I must admit, I am quite proud to say that I have made yogurt twice. The photo above is my second batch, which I decided to make double of. It was very easy, inexpensive, and tasted just like the yogurt I used to make the first batch from (you need to start from an existing yogurt culture). And look how thick it turned out! I had the jar on its side for about a minute while taking pictures.

I created a make-shift double boiler and went about my evening while the yogurt practically made itself. This is what I did the first time, and the second time I used a bigger pot, mini casserole dish, and a silicone vegetable steamer to lift the dish off the bottom of the pot. If you're interested in making your own, I learned how here.

Movie Review: Vegucated

I just found out that this movie came out in 2010, but it was new to me when I saw it listed on Netflix. Hubby and I settled in to watch the documentary, which was to follow three people as they try living as vegans for six weeks. The idea sounded like it would be entertaining and informative. Sadly, I was very disappointed.

It started out giving a synopsis of how they lived up to that point and then they went to the doctor to have their health assessed. Then it quickly progressed to disturbing footage of animals being poorly treated. Then they trespassed on a family farm and saw dead pigs in a trailer.

I grew up on a hobby farm and had friends who lived on larger farms. While I agree that the animals raised for consumption need to be treated better in the larger facilities, I feel like they jumped to conclusions about the smaller farms. Those dead pigs they found - my first thought is that they got sick and died, and the farmer took them away from the barn to be picked up and properly disposed of (for example incinerated to prevent the spread of an illness). The documentary did not allow for that type of thought - the participants were immediately hysterical that they were seeing the types of practices they learned about in the videos they were shown.

They all decided they had to live a vegan lifestyle. In the end, they return to the doctor and had lost a number of pounds and lower cholesterol. So, we are led to believe that this is the result of becoming vegan.

I started watching this movie with the hopes that I would learn something about the transitions that a person makes from omnivore to vegan, and instead was assaulted with images of animals being hurt. It was like the movie was using a scare tactic to force the viewers to go vegan. This is where my disappointment lies. I wanted to learn, and they instead were stereotyping every farm as being evil. My parents raise chickens for meat and eggs - I used to play with them as a kid. It was nothing like the portrayal in the movie.

That's just my two cents. If you want to watch it, it's on Netflix as well as for purchase at their website. Please share your opinions too!

Counting Calories

There are numerous resources available on the internet, as apps, and as little pocket-sized books for counting calories. You can easily look up how many calories are in a food with these. I use a food scale and measuring cups to try not to eat servings that are larger than I realize, and this has also made estimating serving sizes easier with time. When I first weighed a chicken breast I had no idea it was two or three times more than I needed. Counting calories also saves me money because I don't need to spend as much money on meat as I used to.

My favourite resource for logging my daily calories is www.MyFitnessPal.com. You can easily use it on your computer or smartphone, though it does have more options on the computer version.

On your profile settings you tell it your age, height and weight, and it automatically sets your daily calories based on your weight loss goal. I like to find my BMR (which you can do on their site or search online for a calculator) and then get my sedentary metabolic rate from that, but that's not necessary if you don't want to. Then start logging!

This is what my breakfast looks like:

On the phone app it only shows calories, but you can still see the rest of the info for your day's food elsewhere on the app (The bottom portion on the screen is an ad, so it's free):

As you can see, my MR is 1725 and I ate 2221 calories yesterday. I did exercise, but did not include it in my log there. Any exercise is subtracted, and it tells you the net value for how many calories remain for the day.

Both the website and app have a lot of features, and they can be really fun to play with. I like that you can customize your goal, which some other programs don't let you do. They have a huge database of foods you can search through and add to your diary as you log. You can also add foods to it, and these additions are available to other users so the database grows. You can save meals so that it is easy to log things you eat regularly - for example my morning smoothie has a lot of ingredients but I saved it as a meal so I only need a moment to log it. Also, if your phone has a camera you can use it as a barcode scanner for packaged foods and it will log that for you.

You can track your weight here, and it gives a graph of your progress. It also has a bar chart of your weekly calories, and a pie chart of daily and weekly macronutrient intake if you want to keep track of that.

There's many more features available, but those are the main ones that I use. Give it a try! It's very easy and kind of fun sometimes.

Leonardo

Meet my new friend, Leonardo.

Who knew a fish would be so hard to photograph! It took forever to get a shot where he wasn't blurred.

I got my first aquarium when I was 12, and have almost always had pet fish since then. I had an aquarium on my desk during my first time around at university, and he would keep me company while I was studying. When I moved across the country I left my aquariums at my parents' place under their care until I return. It's been almost four years and after reading a news article the idea of getting another fish stuck in my head.

There is a hotel where guests can have a goldfish as part of their room rental. Housekeeping takes care of him for you, so you don't need to worry. They found that having a fish to come home to at the end of day made the guest's stay more enjoyable because they had someone to talk to.

This got me thinking about how much better studying was with a friendly fish on my desk.

Hubby and I went to the pet store last night (after having the bowl set up for a few days) and he immediately took to this particular fish. On the drive home we shot name ideas back and forth until we landed on Leonardo - like the Ninja Turtle!

Secrets Wild Orchid in Jamaica

I thought that today I would share a few photos from my honeymoon to Jamaica. The resort that hubby and I stayed at was the Wild Orchid, by Secrets.

When we arrived in Jamaica it was so warm and humid. It was fabulous! Coming from dry Edmonton, I was glad to have spent a week in humid Ottawa for our wedding before jetting off to Jamaica.

I scream, You scream

We all scream for ICE CREAM! 

Employed!

Hurray! I have a good job for the summer! I'm super excited! Hence, lots of exclamation points!

I submitted my resume to this company, got a call the next day, then had to wait a week for the interview because the HR person was going to be away. I had my interview yesterday morning, and received an offer that afternoon. I had a good feeling about this one from the start, so I'm pleased to say that I accepted it and will be starting on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday in Canada), working Monday to Friday with full time hours. Fabulous!

It's a lab tech job, much like where I was working before I quit to go back to school. I'm starting near the bottom of the ladder here, whereas I was supervisor (and manager just before leaving) at the previous lab. I'm perfectly fine with that - I need a job for the summer with no strings attached so I can get back into my studies once school starts up again. Bonus, there was talk about working part time during school.

Things are looking up!

Oh, and here's a photo that hubby sent me yesterday. He's in beautiful Jasper, Alberta for a few days with some buddies. I did not retouch the photo at all. Isn't it lovely?

Make Lunch Fun!

Sorry for posting so late in the day! I thought I had posted this earlier, my mistake!

Back in my first term in my Nutrition and Food program I had to take a class in communication. One of the assignments was to create an info sheet, and my topic was "How to prepare your child's lunch." I read up a little on the topic and on of the things I found was that in school cafeterias where apples were offered, children did not select them. But when those apples had a sticker of a cartoon character they knew, they chose to have the apple. On that note, I've since learned that, because whole apples are difficult for kids to eat when their teeth are coming in, kids are less likely to eat a whole apple but will eat it when pre-sliced for them.

Anyways, I set out to make a fun lunch that would keep a kid fueled for the day, and then sent it to work with my husband. Yes, he's a big kid (and he loved the cheese airplanes).

My life with IBS (Part 2)

Oh goodness, I've hit a rough patch with my IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) again. I've had a few unpleasant evenings to say the least. I'm currently trying to eat gluten-free to see if I have a sensitivity, but I'm wondering if maybe I have excess gut flora or a problem digesting sugars, or both. But, I'll post on that as time goes on. For now, my second scary IBS experience. If you missed part one, you can read it here.

This happened only a few months ago. I was into the second round of midterms for my classes, and I had been doing fine. Stress was starting to rear it's ugly little head, I think, but I was doing OK. I had done well on the first set of midterms, but had a lot of studying to do again.

Warning: this post is slightly graphic, and might be a little too detailed for some people, so maybe don't read on if you're sitting down to lunch.

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

I have IBS. This is what I keep being told, and I hate that diagnosis because it feels like an umbrella or catch-all. I feel like, because the doctors cannot figure out what it is that is wrong with me, they call it IBS. It is often hard to know when I'll get sick, and more often than not it just sneaks up on me. My body has been very good lately, up to that sudden bout of gas a few days ago (IBS at Wikipedia)

Infographic used with permission from Wilma Kirsten

About 12 years ago is my first major IBS event. I was about to go into my last year of university for my biology degree. I had my thesis and research paper to take care of. Then I would have to apply for jobs in the real world. I was stressed about all that, and I never voiced it, but it was there deep inside me.

I started to get diarrhea shortly after finishing a meal. I was usually fine after breakfast, but lunch and dinner were the major concern. I worked out in farm fields as a research assistant that summer, so toilets were often not very close... that made things more stressful.

I called the doctor to make an appointment. I had been having diarrhea for a week. I don't remember what we went through in his office, but he sent me on to have an ultrasound and then see an internalist.

The ultrasound was an interesting experience, and I believe it didn't show anything of concern. When I saw the internist, he suggested that we do a biopsy. So I came back the next week, they gave me general anesthesia (knocked me out with gas) and they sent a tube and camera down my throat and cut a piece of tissue where it joins the stomach. He was looking to see if I had Crohn's disease (Crohn's at Wikipedia). The biopsy came back inconclusive as well, so he told me that I probably have IBS.

I continued to have diarrhea after many, but not all meals, particularly after eating out. I always carried a bottle of Pepto Bismol tablets with me (anti-diarrhea and other symptoms pill), and always knew where the nearest washrooms were. Now that I'm thinking back about it, I also knew all the stops I could make on my 45 minute drive into school in case I needed to use the rest room. This continued for the better part of a year. It was quite stressful, but luckily my family and boyfriend were very understanding and sympathetic for me.

One trigger food I discovered during this time is eggs. I am not allergic to them, but I have a food intolerance towards them. If I eat an egg on its own, I get diarrhea that day. My parents have a hobby chicken farm, so they changed the feed to a higher quality and that helped. I am currently able to eat one egg every few days. Not the store brand, but the omega-3 eggs or other designer (more expensive) eggs. I haven't had a problem with eggs in baked goods, etc, only on their own.

Prior to that I had to give up coffee for a few years because that was another trigger. I would enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning, and then have to rush to the washroom during my first class. It made me sad to give it up, but luckily several years later I have discovered I am now ok drinking black coffee, and have been doing so for the past year or two now.

I know now that stress is a big factor when it comes to flare-ups of IBS for me, but sometimes it can be random. Something that I ate the day before may hit me in the morning and I have to rush off to the bathroom. For years now, I have always carried some pills in my purse for when it hits. I have also used digestive enzymes periodically, especially when eating out or away from home. I don't know if this helps, but it my also have a psychological benefit.

This is getting long, so stay tuned for part two of my life with IBS.