Comparison Trap

April 16, 2012 by

Hello my fellow friends! :)

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend, and are starting this Monday off on a great note!

This weekend we were presented with some beautiful weather, which made me happy! Although, I was not feeling the best. I guess I never really got rid of my sickness I had a few weeks ago.

I am welcoming back an old friend into my life, I have avoided fats for quite a while because of all the negativity this food group had placed on them. Well you know what, fats rock. Fats help to make my skin and hair nicer, provide me with energy, and make my brain function properly :)

*Yay for cashew butter!*

A lot of the time the blog world gets me excited to try new things out, new recipes, new workouts, new foods. It is an awesome place filled with great people, many who enjoy sharing common interests between them!

On the other hand there are always new things popping up, bloggers labelling foods “bad”, or people following certain diets because it is the new trendy thing to do.

I am definitely not saying what I eat is perfect, because let’s face it I still have disordered tendencies, and a lot of fear foods. And I’m also not pointing fingers at certain blogs, but it is good to be aware of these types of blog posts.

I have fallen victim MANY times to thinking a certain food was bad for me, or I should like and eat certain food because of the health benefits listed. It is easy to get sucked into this information, especially with an eating disordered past. I feel as if I am always being lead and even looking for the next “evil” food item for the month.

*recipe coming at you tomorrow :) *

Anyone who over-exercises or under-eats should not be providing their health information to other readers, but are they even aware that they are participating in these unhealthy behaviours? At first, probably not. When I first started getting into my eating disorder, I thought I was healthy until my health and body started to decline.

It is important as a reader who suffers from eating issues to be very aware of the kind of blogs that I read. The comparison trap is such a hard thing to escape from. Just because something works for someone else does not mean it will work for you. That is a hard thing for me to grasp. I am very scientific, and like exact, precise answers to questions. If only there were one way to eat and exercise, then it wouldn’t be so hard for me to figure out what works.

Of course, not every blog is just handing out unhealthy information. There are tons of blogs out there with great recipes, healthy fitness advice, and great topics in general. It is just good to be aware of what you are reading. I mean we all know everything we read on the internet is true anyways ;) , its good to remember that anybody can put any information that they’d like online.

*baked kale, tempeh, and asparagus in almond coating*

Lately, I’ve had to give up on some blogs I really liked, but were unhealthy for me to read. I need to be surrounding myself with more healthy influences that will help me to recover from this disordered relationship I have with food and exercise. I have even had to do this in my real life. Remove friends who have become bad influences to my health. It is a hard thing to do, but I know once I fill my life with more positive energy and people who are doing the right things for their health and mind it will only help me to get better faster.

I am in no means trying to be judgemental. And of course if you follow a specific diet for your health and well-being it is not bad, just trying to get readers to become aware that reading things on blogs could actually be detrimental to their healthy life, rather than be helpful.

I need to stop trying to be someone else, and fitting into someone else’s lifestyle and come into my own.

Thanks for reading those whole post if you actually did :)

Do you get easily influenced by other bloggers?
Do you follow a certain diet?
Enjoy your day!

 

{33 Comments }

Fitness loves this week

April 13, 2012 by

Hello lovely people! :)

Happy Friday the 13th!! Have any bad luck yet today? I sure hope not.

So far today, I’m looking good.

Despite my best efforts to get to bed early last night, I still woke up at 4 AM. Why? I could not tell you, my body has just not been tired lately. Probably due to all the thoughts that have been running through my mind lately.

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Last night before bed I prepped myself oat bran, so that I could have it after my workout this morning.

Just oat bran, with egg whites, chia seeds, and pumpkin. In the morning I topped this with some peanut flour paste and mucho amounts of cinnamon.

I love the addition of egg whites and chia seeds to my oat bran because it gives it great volume and the chia adds awesome nutrition. Check out Laury’s post for some great info on chia seeds!

Later on, I gave myself a coffee break for some much need caffeine.


No room Americano, please.

Our power went out yesterday and I realized how much I rely on everything that needs electricity/hydro to entertain myself. I couldn’t use the internet, or the lights (not to say that lights entertain me…), or the TV, or the stove. I felt like a cave woman…except for the fact that I was in a house. At least there were books to be read!

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Make sure to check out Lindsay’s blog today for her Fitness Loves of the Week!

Check out my workout I posted yesterday, that focused on Planks and Push-Ups, my body is still sore!

I did this quick circuit workout this morning to get some movement in to start off the day. I then followed this with some weights.

Here’s an example of squat jacks if you need it:
Squat Jacks (except moves arms in jumping jack motion)

I still have been making sure to only do 1 HIIT workout a day, instead of doing the 3-4 I was doing before. And I seriously have been obsessed with Zuzana’s Workouts of the Week. I definitely feel a lot less fatigued now that I’m not doing as much intensity. Her workouts are hard and get my heart rate up nice and high in a short amount of time, which is super so I’m not spending a long time at the gym. You do not need to be at the gym forever to look fit.

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For dinner yesterday, I whipped up a something pretty simple. It looks quite colourless in this photo, but it was tasty.

I baked some cauliflower, broccoli slaw, and my new obsession, tempeh in nutritional yeast and coconut oil and topped it with some marinara post picture. It was divine.

Now I’m off to catch up on Modern Family before I run some errands for the day.

Have a great Friday!

What are your plans this weekend? Anything exciting coming up?
Any workouts or fitness routines you’ve been loving lately?
Links are welcome.
Keep Classy,
Lisa xo

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In the News:
Jenny McCarthy does yoga and raises money for her charity!
Carrie Underwood shares her health tips
Possibly the creepiest news, furby’s are making a comeback! Say it ain’t so.

{26 Comments }

plank push-up workout & new recipe

April 12, 2012 by

Hello, hello all! Another Thursday is here, which means the weekend is just around the corner! :D

I was loving on everyone’s WIAW posts yesterday. I love seeing everyone’s eats for the day.

This post is going to be completely random, with a new workout, recipe, and just some updates with my life!

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First, I have a new workout to share today. It is a mixture of plank exercises and push-up exercises. My abs and arms were on fire after this! So good luck it you decide to complete it ;)

This is completed Tabata style, my new favourite!

Here are some examples if you don’t know the exercises:
Commando Push-Up
Gravity Defying Push-Up
Diamond Push-Ups
Man Makers
Push-Up and Twist
Up and Down Plank

I kind of like that I am feeling like jello after that workout, just means it was effective :)

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Another April Adventure completed today! I tried out a new lunch idea.

I wanted to try out socca, but had no garbanzo bean flour. And I didn’t really want to go to the store searching for some. So I just looked through my pantry and came up with a little almond flour pizza crust. Next on my to-do list is socca though!

I mixed 1 tablespoon flaxseed, 1 tablespoon almond flour, 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast, 1 egg, and 2 egg whites. Then I heated up a pan and put a little coconut oil on it and cooked it up so it made a crust-like shape.

Then I topped it with some tomato paste, orange bell pepper, spinach and goat cheese. It was so so good! Try it out :) This was a successful adventure in my cooking, which is lucky because sometimes it is a disaster ;)

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Now I have a bit of word vomit for you. Just some facts and decisions about my recovery!

So, lately I have been experiencing some pretty bad fatigue and am just drained by the afternoon. I’ve been doing a lot of research and thinking in terms of my recovery. I am still trying to work on some of my goals, which include not being so obsessed about my eating disorder rules and restrictions. I have made a lot of progress, but still struggle a lot with the mental aspect and scars this disorder has left me with. I know what I need to do, I am just hesitant to do it because of my fear the I will lose control and get fat, and when I’m fat nobody will like me. Silly, but a real underlying feat I experience. So simply, I need to increase my calories. I need to get out of this mind fog that I am in right now. With that said I will be working hard on increasing my calories. My body needs more fuel for the workouts I do and I am interested in building more lean muscle and for that I need to increase my calories as well.

I still have not conquered all my “fear foods” and am still controlling my food and weight. A big issue is definitely the loss of my period. Now, a lot of people may not think it is a big deal at my age if you aren’t getting one, but IT IS! Sometimes there are days when I don’t care that I don’t have one, because I think oh whatever I will deal with it later, its just my bones. Who really cares.

Not menstruating (amenorrhea), like a normal adult female should be puts any body that is experiencing this at a way higher risk for developing osteoporosis, and hormonal issues.

When you have amenorrhea, you don’t produce enough of the hormone estrogen, which helps bones to become stronger. So you can imagine what happens to your bones when you don’t have a period, it leaches calcium from them and decreases your bone density.

Amenorrhea can be caused by a number of things, over exercising, a body fat percentage that is too low, a low weight, thyroid problem, or an psychological disorder.

It is so, SO important to get your hormones regulated and get a normal period. Do you want to be a 30 year old, who looks much older and is not aloud to exercise at all because you are in so much pain. I know at first this information didn’t freak me out at, but really looking down the road at how my life could be; well that freaks me out. I still have time to reverse this damage, and I am determined to do so.

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Well that is enough for one day, this post is getting pretty long! I’m off to get some shut eye before spin tomorrow morning!

What is your favourite type of workout to do?
Any new recipes you recommend I try out? I’m looking for some new ones :)
Have a great Thursday everyone!

{13 Comments }

WIAW #3

April 11, 2012 by

Hello party people! Another round of What I Ate Wednesday is upon us! I have been a veggie monster lately, so the extra vegetable addition this April has been no problemo :)

I began the day nice and early with a spin class. The day before the yoga class forgot to turn down the heat, so we started off spinning in the yoga heat. Um, I thought I was about to pass out and die ten minutes in. Thank goodness someone said something, I thought maybe I was going mental. After surviving that sweat massacre, I went to Starbucks, because I am addicted to their Americanos. I have no hope of ever recovering from this obsession. That is fine by me though. 


Breakfast was a new little creation I tried out using my coconut flour. Coconut Oatmeal.

  • 1/4 cup oatmeal
  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin + 1/4 cup mashed banana
  •  1/2 cup egg whites
  • 1 cup water or milk alternative
  • 1/2 teaspoon stevia + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • topped with Katie’s protein frosting

I combined the first 3 ingredients with the water and microwaved for 3 minutes. Then I added the mashed banana and pumpkin and egg whites and microwaved that for about 5 minutes. I then mixed it up and added the stevia and vanilla, put it in a bowl and topped with protein frosting. It was so good. Seriously, coconut flour in oats tastes like cake batter.

Lunch was a new little adventure: roasted broccoli, cauliflower and tempeh roasted in the oven with coconut oil, nutritional yeast, and fresh dill. Tempeh is a new to me protein and I actually really liked it! It tastes sort of nutty or something. Nothing like tofu, which is good because I hate tofu. And I now love fresh dill. I had never used it before for some odd reason, and I am now convinced it is the best herb ever. Delicious.

After lunch I had a hair appointment, so I literally rushed out the door and didn’t get back until later and forgot to bring a snack. I got home and whipped up a quick smoothie and drank that up fast, so didn’t picture it. It was just made with almond milk, vanilla vega protein, kale, strawberries, and ice.


For Dinner I had a [recycled picture] meal of roasted kabocha squash with a side of coconut butter. Kabocha is the best. If you haven’t tried it go to your super market and search for it. I swear it will be the best decision ever. :)

Now I’m off to eat another greeeeen muffin. This time it had brown rice flour, pumpkin, spinach, and egg whites. Scrumptious! I served it with a side of peanut flour paste!

Today’s meals were certainly veggielicous. Vegetables at every meal! Coolness.

Now to spend the remainder of the night catching up with my book and heading to bed.

What’s the best thing you ate today?
Stay lovely,
xo Lisa

{27 Comments }

Adventure Muffin

April 10, 2012 by

Hey guys! Good morning, or afternoon wherever your are! :)

Thank-you for the comments on yesterdays post and struggling with food issues. Looks like many people can relate. And I appreciate everyone who had a response to it! I really feel like I’m not so alone when people share these things! :)

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After last week, and trying some new to me adventures, I am feeling more fired up to make some more changes to my routine. I have some ideas for new recipes and workouts to try. Maybe even doing something I don’t normally do, like go to the museum.

Yesterday, while reading Kristin’s blog I got some inspiration from her to try out a green protein muffin. Not going to lie, the thought of adding spinach to my muffin or pancakes or anything like that pretty much freaked me out. I thought there is no way I will try that, I don’t want to risk my food tasting bad, because “oh no what would I do then?” ;) . I decided to just try it out and see how I liked it for myself!

 

Verdict was that it tasted almost the exact same! I added a bit more stevia to make sure it was sweet enough. Plus, I got a dose of extra nutrients! Perfect. And I loved the green colour it created. Even though my mom said she would rather starve than have to eat something that looked like that ;) haha. That’s fine, not everyone can appreciate the spinach and cool green colour it adds to foods.

Green Protein Muffin [inspired from StuftMama's Green Protein Muffin]

  • 1 tablespoon coconut flour
  • 2 tablespoons protein powder
  • 1 tablespoon teff flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon stevia + 7 drops liquid stevia
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup egg whites
  • about 1 cup spinach

I first blended the egg whites and spinach in my magic bullet. Mixed the dry ingredients until combined, added the pumpkin and egg white/spinach mixture after the dry ingredients were mixed well. Cooked in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. And it was done. I topped it with a little Coconut-Protein frosting. Mixing 1 tablespoon protein powder + 1.5 tablespoon coconut flour and 1/4 cup almond milk. Lovely! Perfect snack before bed for me.

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We’ve been enjoying some beautiful weather over here, so I pulled out my spring clothes. Here is a spring look. One photo with the blazer on and one without. I love spring and am so excited for warmer weather clothes, and ditching my winter jackets!

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Now I’m off to my hair salon to get my roots fixed up, finally! Be back later!

Would you ever try spinach in your baked goods or snacks?
Are you excited for spring attire?
Enjoy the rest of your day!!
xo Lisa

{16 Comments }

Holiday Thoughts

April 9, 2012 by

Hope everyone had an amazing Easter, Passover, or just Sunday in general! Does everyone else have an extra day off of work/school today?

[via]

Bahaha. I’m sorry, but is that not the most ridiculous and awkward Easter rabbit costume you’ve ever seen? I would have cried as a child had I seen that, I think. ;) Too much.

This weekend was pretty low key over here, I really wanted a nice glass of wine on Saturday, but sadly that did not happen. Lots of family time spend together, which is always nice! That’s the great thing about holidays is spending it with the people you love.

Yesterday afternoon, before Easter dinner I made myself a little snack so I wouldn’t be eating my arm off while waiting. Which didn’t end up working too well because I was still hungry. Oh well, it was good!

I mixed 1 cup frozen blueberries, with 1/2 scoop vega protein, a little almond milk just to get it going, 1/4 cup greek yogurt, and about 1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds. I put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, so it would be nice, cold, and it would let the chia seeds thicken it up a bit. Tastyyy :)

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Celebrity Fitness Trends

Leggings are apparently the new fashion “in” for fitness. What do you think of wearing legging to workout?
I do love my leggings, but prefer my lulu’s to workout in! :)

Sources [Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4]

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*warning-this will be a little lengthy and I speak about my ED.

Easter is s scary time while having an eating disorder. My eating disorder isn’t a huge problem, but I still experience extreme guilt when consuming a food that is not “safe” to me. I still feel like I am mentally controlled by this disease.

I may not restrict my calories any more, but I do restrict myself from foods I would like to enjoy. I restrict myself from intuitive eating. I have a specific calorie amount that I “must” eat everyday.

It is a weird cycle that goes in my head. I want to so badly beat the disorder, yet my mind tells my that the “unsafe” food will just magically make me “fat”. It is so unrealistic when I rationalize with myself afterwards, but its hard to explain how at the time it feels so scary and almost like I will lose control. I think this has to do with being heavier in the past, I am scared that if I “indulge” I will just lose all control and binge and never be able to have that motivation to stay healthy.

It is all or nothing thinking. In my mind I can either be fat or skinny, dumb or smart, pretty or ugly. I need to change my “black and white” thinking so that I  can experience the middle of the spectrum and realize that my body does not want me to be fat, so I shouldn’t worry that eating 1 piece of chocolate will make me lose control and go nuts on food. And if I take a week off of exercising because my body is tired I will not get fat. I worry that taking a week off will make me lazy. Maybe I will love not exercising and I will never want to do it again, thus the other extreme. Which obviously is ridiculous.

It makes it helpful to get these thoughts out in the open because at least I am admitting that these feelings are happening, and then I can make the changes so I can change this unhealthy thinking and behaviour. I’m hoping to improve these thoughts so that they don’t consume my mind all day. I seriously worried all weekend long about how I would eat meals with my family, how sad. I know with a lot of motivation and adjustments in my thinking I can alter this behaviour.

That’s all for today! I’m off to enjoy the beautiful weather over here!

Do you ever have irrational thoughts about weight and exercising?
Do you feel you can be “too healthy” at times?
Enjoy the rest of your Monday!!
xo Lisa

{21 Comments }

Crazy Toned All Over Workout

April 6, 2012 by

Hey hey! It’s finally Friday! Time to celebrate the weekend!

I hope you all are having a GOOD Friday, get it? It’s Good Friday?!
Yah, that was super lame. I do hope you’re enjoying your day though :)

Today I have a protein packed recipe, an intense workout as part of FLOW. Thanks to the lovely Lindsay for hosting! And the beautiful Meg also has her High Five Friday post for today! :)

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Yesterday afternoon I decided to combine a few of my favourite flavours for a healthy treat you can enjoy whenever.

I currently have an obsession with everything pumpkin and coconut at the moment. I combined the two, for what I like to call a coconut pumpkin pudding. And quite frankly, it rocks. I think I may need coconuts anonymous, I’ve been loving on coconut oil, flour, and butter. Mmmm.

Protein Pumpkin Pudding

  • 3/4 cup greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin, canned
  • 1 tablespoon coconut flour
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla protein powder
  • dash of stevia/sweetener of choice and vanilla extract (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Make sure you use those sexy arm muscles of yours to combine well!

And serve. Chill it in the freezer for about 10-30 minutes if you’d like as well.

This pudding is definitely going to become a regular rotation in the snack department. The combination of both flavours is a definite win.

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Now after that snack I bet you’d like a kick butt workout. This workout is crazy, so get ready to sweat!

You can complete this workout in any way you’d like. Break it up into 4 sets of 25 reps each exercise, or 5 sets of 20 reps each exercise, etc. Whichever way you will complete it!

Here are some examples of the exercises you may not be familiar with:
Elbow to Knee in Plank
Hollow Rocks
Reverse Push-Ups or you can even do Bridge Push-Ups

*Make sure to check out my Upper Body Workout from earlier this week too!

**I also wanted to share some workouts other people have posted this week that I am dying to try out!
Lindsay‘s Like It or Not Workout
Kris‘ Sexy and I Know It Workout
Michelle and Lori‘s Equalizer Interval Workout

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And finally, here’s a cute spring time outfit I wore earlier in the week when it was nice out.

Don’t be too jealous of my pale legs right now.

Well, I’m off to enjoy my day with the fam! Happy Easter, if your celebrating!

Do you celebrate Easter? If so, any fun plans?
If not, what are you getting up to?
What are some workouts you are loving this week?

Stay Classy ;)
xox Lisa

{29 Comments }

Thursday Things

April 5, 2012 by

Happy Thursday!

Hopefully this is the last day of your work week. I forgot tomorrow is Good Friday.

So yesterday was a fun little adventure for me. Usually on Wednesday’s I do my typical Zuzana or HIIT workouts, but I decided in honour of getting my adventure on I would try out a yoga class!

Now, I have done yoga before on my own in workout videos and such, but never gone to a class so I didn’t know what to expect. I went, and am glad I did go but have to admit I am not much of a yoga fan. I just kept watching the clock kind of bored. I did get a good stretch, but I prefer intense exercise over yoga. I hear it can take a while to get into it, so I would definitely try it out again! It still felt good to mix things up!

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Things this Thursday

1. Van Gogh Vodka has the sweetest vodka flavours ever. Go check them out! And they have a new, um interesting flavour. Peanut Butter and Jelly! It sounds interesting, but I’m not too sure how it would taste. Thoughts?

[via]

2. Ryan Gosling is even more of a god. He apparently saved a woman from getting hit by a cab! Can he get any dreamier? I don’t think its possible.

[via]

3. Did anyone watch Real Housewives of Vancouver? My mom said a girl on the show was in her wedding, so now I’m going to stock her wedding photos and find her. Apparently she looks completely different too.

4. My cat Miley is the cutest cat ever. And yes, she is named after Miley Cyrus.

5. I am really excited to finish reading my most recent book and start reading 50 Shades of Grey. It’s been the talk of the town and I want in on the juice.

[via]

6. Please watch this video Hungry for Change. A high percentage of people are eating far too many calories, but ending up malnourished because they are not receiving the proper nutrients and vitamins from their food choices. I’m sure most health bloggers are great at eating healthy, but it is still a very knowledgable watch.

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That’s it for today. I hope everyone enjoys their Thursday, and I’ll be back tomorrow with a new recipe :)

What are your thoughts this Thursday?
Have a classy day.
xox Lisa

{12 Comments }

WIAW #2

April 4, 2012 by

Good Morning! It’s Wednesday and we are half way through the week! :)

Another round of What I Ate Wednesday today (actually Tuesday)

After spin class, I headed straight for the coffee so that I could function for the day of course. This is a win for everyone, since I will now be happy for the next 6 hours ;)

After getting ready, I moseyed on over to the fridge where my breakfast awaited me. I decided it would be a special day and topped my oats with  a small piece of bakers unsweetened chocolate (melted a bit in the microwave) over my peanut flour paste. And it tasted like a giant, fake non actual Reese chocolate ;)

Banana oat bran, cooked in 1 cup almond milk that was steeped in chai tea, then mixed with 1 tablespoon chia seeds, stevia, cinnamon, with some almonds on top.

After some errands, cleaning/doing laundry, and catching up with The Biggest Loser, it was lunch time.

I realized my camera was dead at lunch so did not get to picture it, but it was an Egg and Kale Omelette! It was made with 1 egg (challenge!), 3 egg whites, stuffed with kale that was baked in a 400 oven for about 10 minutes. Topped with a goat cheese truffle and a side of a little mashed sweet potato! Next time I’ll have to take a photo because it was divine.

Eating the whole egg with lunch was a challenge for me! I have not eaten a whole egg in about 3 months, so it was a great change. Especially since I was fearing the yolk for a very long time.

After eating lunch I had plans to meet my dad and go to David’s Tea. I was pretty pumped for this outing. I love this place. I could seriously stay in there for hours picking tea. Yah, I kind of am a dork. We each picked a tea to go, and per Meg’s suggestion I got Bravissimo. It was delicious and the slight liquorice taste it had was fabulous.

We went back after our chat and bought some teas to take home, I got sleigh ride (which smells like apple pie!!!) love it, strawberry ginger, and cranberry pear. Awesome. Next time I’m going to pick up a tin of the Bravissimo because that was lovely too. I think I like all their teas though, it’s so hard to chose. I swear you can’t pick just one.

This had frozen spinach, cucumber, strawberries, a little lemon juice, vega vanilla protein, stevia, and almond milk!

After tea time, I came home and made a green smoothie with a new to me protein powder. I tried the Vega Vanilla Chai. After Lori and Michelle made their video on protein powder, I decided this would be my next protein purchase. Verdict = tasty! My new favourite, I like it even better than Sun Warrior. Definitely less chalky!

I was pretty hungry for dinner early so after some more laundry (I had a lot of laundry today for some reason), I roasted asparagus, broccoli, and cauliflower in coconut oil, and topped it with a turkey burger and some nutritional yeast. I had these veggies atop some brown rice, which is a big deal for me!

I haven’t had grains as part of my dinner in at pretty long time actually. As part of the April Adventure I wanted to start branching out on some grains and eating more. Since I was usually only eating them with breakfast and a snack, and had a “fear” of including them in dinners. I know this may seem really small, but for me it was an accomplishment. So I had grains with my dinner, and I’m still alive and kickin’!

Before bed I made myself a protein muffin with 1 tablespoon coconut flour, 2 tablespoons chocolate protein powder, 1/2 cup egg whites, 1/4 cup pumpkin, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon stevia. Later I topped it with peanut flour paste and coconut cream (2 tablespoons coconut flour, 1/4 cup almond milk, and stevia)

Great day of eats!

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I’m proud that I kicked ED’s butt in that department, I also have plans to attend a yoga class today! I am excited that I will be doing yoga today instead my normal intense workouts! Trying to challenge my routines and switch things up is scary and exciting at the same time.

A big part in my completing these challenges is to not revert back into old safety behaviours. Say like, increasing my exercise or eating less for the rest of the day. As soon as I keep doing these I will become more comfortable with them. Now, this is just a smaller goal that I have for myself. I’m proud that today I had chocolate, an egg, and an extra serving of grains. Those are things I would never ever do in a normal day, and would usually beat myself up over. Not anymore. Not to say everything will be sprinkles and butterflies from here out, because it won’t. I will still struggle with not feeling good enough, bad body image, and wanting to exercise more, but I will fight through it. I know I am strong enough to do so and I have a great support system.

Have a Read:
The Greatist answers the Best Source of Post Workout Protein
Camille Grammer on leaving the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Jennifer Lawrence answers back to critics calling her fat

Have a lovely day! <3
What was your favourite meal that you ate today?

{22 Comments }

More plans and carrot cake oats

April 3, 2012 by

 Good morning loves! How is everyone’s Tuesday going?

It looks like a lot of people are looking into adding some challenges this month! I don’t usually make any goals at the start of the month, because I will never end up doing them. This sounds more attainable though, even if they are like the same thing ;)

Yesterday, I did a strength training workout I wanted to share with you all. It was great my upper body is feeling it today! I love DOMS. I’m skipping out on training my lower body this week, my tailbone feels no better. Every time I attempt a squat I wince a little in pain, it definitely does not feel very nice. Hopefully my tailbone will heal soon! I forgot how painful it can be when you bruise it.


The rest of the day was pretty low key. Got caught up on Desperate Housewives! I love that show, I am so sad that it is the last season! I can’t believe it’s almost over.

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This morning I went to a spin class, and it was tough! I basically started sweating as soon as I got on the bike. Phewww
After that schweatyyyy class, I got myself showered, dressed, and caffeineted up of course.

Breakfast this morning was a new twist on my usual oat bran; carrot cake oat bran!
Overnight Carrot Cake Oat Bran

  • 1/3 cup oat bran
  • 1 T coconut flour
  • 1 cup water + 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • stevia, to taste
  • 1/2 cup carrot, shredded
  • 1/2 cup egg whites
  • 1/2 tablespoon chia seeds

First I blended the oat bran, coconut flour, water/almond milk, cinnamon, stevia and carrot. I placed this mixture in a microwave bowl (yes I do prefer microwaved oats over stove-topped!), and microwave for 5 minutes, keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t boil over. I let it sit for about 20 minutes in the microwave and add in the 1/2 cup egg whites and stir. I put it back in the microwave for 5 minutes. Again, checking every minute to make sure it doesn’t boil over. I let that sit for about 10 minutes, and then add in chia seeds. Then I place it in the fridge overnight and voila, overnight oat bran!

  • The topping was the best part I combined 2 tablespoons fat-free cream cheese with 1 tablespoon coconut flour and a bit of stevia. SO good!

Now I’m just getting ready to meet my dad, we’re going to go to David’s Tea. I’m so excited I love tea and they have so many great flavours there! I’ll let you know if I pick up anything snazzy!

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Back to the April challenge, I wanted to talk a bit about my plans.

Some ideas I have for this month are trying out recipes that I’ve been wanting to make, so one of my challenges is either creating or making a recipe I’ve seen that I really want to make! I also want to go out and eat with my mom and sister. I never eat out anymore so I think this would be a great challenge.

HIIT is probably my favourite workout to complete, but I have been doing up to 4-5 per day just because I feel like my workouts “have” to be an hour long and each workout has to be super intense. This is not the case, not every workout needs to be hardcore and leaving me feeling exhausted. I need to remember why I workout in the first place and that is because it is healthy to and that it’s a great stress relief, and sometimes its just nice to move your body without pushing it to such extremes!

I will be limiting my exercise to 2 spin classes a week, 1 day of strength training, and 2 days of HIIT (but only ONE HIIT workout), this of course can change with how I’m feeling. If I’m exhausted, I will not be working out. Why push my body when it needs rest. This will be a big deal for me, I feel that I need to exercise to “deserve” food, which is ridiculous. Everyone needs food to survive. So its time I change this mindset.

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Something to read:
Rihanna has fat days too
Sugar comparable to drugs?
Nicole Sherzinger hates her thighs <–I think she’s nutzo!
Olympic Swimmer Amanda Beard admits to bulimia and depression

I hope everyone’s having a great Tuesday!
Any plans you have for a challenge this month? Or any goals you’ve set?
See you tomorrow!
Lisa xox

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