Monday

Monday morning again. It just keeps coming around. Guess I shouldn’t really complain about that, should I?

I found Peanut Butter Puffins while grocery shopping on Saturday. Different, but tasty. I chose to go with those this morning because they are lower calorie and I knew I was having a higher calorie lunch. With a peach and Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze.

See my coffee cup there, already to go? Stopped on the way to the office for coffee, you’ll just have to imagine it at my desk filled with coffee.

For lunch I had leftovers from last night.

More than I would usually eat for lunch, but it filled me up and kept me full.

It was Boot Camp day. We stopped at the store on the way home to pick up a few things. It was cold in the store, I was starting to get a headache and I kept thinking I was dreading the Boot Camp workout – it was the one with all the push ups tonight. But, I only have two weeks left – I’m certainly not going to quit now.

I ate a handful of Peanut Butter Puffins from the box when I got home. I changed into my workout clothes and took Fred for a walk. I didn’t take my camera and ended up regretting it – Fred and I came face to face with a deer up on the hill. Pretty neat. It looked at us for a minute, then walked off, not in any rush at all.

Then I came in and did my boot camp. I cannot lie. I’m glad I only have to do that workout one more time.

After my workout I was hungry, I had a little snack to take the edge off while we made supper.

I had 4 Triscuits with hummus.

And for supper, something completely different…Bacon and Tomato Sandwiches!

Ok, that’s not different. We’ll be making the most of tomato season for as long as we can. But we did have a different side tonight:

We had some broccoli that didn’t get used on the weekend, so we decided to steam it tonight.

And there was dinner:

I garnished the broccoli with leftover bits of tomato.

I felt like I wanted a little something sweet to end my meal, so I went looking for some dark chocolate. Husband was in the kitchen pouring Perrier.

Had a few squares of chocolate, still sipping on the Perrier.

And that’s a wrap for Monday.

Saturday Morning

I was in bed, turning out the light by 11:05 last night and I slept straight through until 8:30 this morning – except for one visit from Fred in the middle of the night for cuddles. Ahhhh!

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…

I sorta tried to convince myself that I should repeat last Saturday’s routine – coffee, boot camp, more coffee & breakfast – but I just didn’t want to do it this morning. So coffee & breakfast it was.

I had some eggs and bread that were needing to be used up, so I decided to make French Toast.

It wasn’t the best French Toast I’ve ever had – I’m blaming the bread, definitely past it’s prime – but with peaches and maple syrup on top it couldn’t be terrible.

I relaxed with breakfast and coffee. And another cup of coffee, watching some Property Ladder on TLC – I love watching people take run-down houses and make them beautiful again.

Then , after a little puttering, it was time for Boot Camp #3 of the week. Only 2 weeks left of the FBBC program – already wondering what I’ll do next.

Now it’s time for a shower, then off to do some shopping; have to buy a wedding gift. Must decide what we’ll have for supper tonight as well…

I love weekends.

Summer with a vengeance...

No, not Summer Glau...


(That was the first thing that popped into my head, but that may just be because I'm a Sci-Fi geek)

It seems the weather gods were listening. At the beginning of the long weekend, the forecast was not looking good, but we ended up getting lots of sun. We did get some rain, but only at night. The days were hot. Like, so-hot-that-you-don't-want-to-move hot. Not that I'm complaining. I wouldn't dare.

I had planned on starting the next phase of the Fat Blasting Boot Camp yesterday. Then I got busy doing some things around the house. Then I got hungry and had lunch. Then I was doing some more things around the house to wait for lunch to settle. Then I felt dizzy and ended up with a wicked headache. Due to drastic change in the weather maybe? I don't know. But I ended up taking Advil and going to bed.

Back to good today though, and got in my Boot Camp session when I got home from work today. Probably just as well because I don't think it was quite as hot. The dreaded Inchworm is back - my least favorite exercise from the Get Started phase of the Boot Camp. Guess I will have to learn to love them?

Also fired up the Wii Fit for the first time in...ages...It told me at the beginning how long it has been, but I don't remember now. I really want to get Husband doing something, and when we bought the Wii Fit he said he was going to use it. Hoping if I start playing with it again, he might be more motivated. We shall see...

Boot Camp Update & Plan For Next Two Weeks

On Saturday I finished Week 6 of the Fat Blasting Boot Camp, right on schedule. I finished the 2 week intro, 4 weeks of Workout #1 and should now be starting 4 weeks of Workout #2. However...

I'm going to be away for the next two weekends and I know I would not be able to get in 3 boot camp sessions per week for the next two weeks. I don't want to lose my momentum, so I have decided to do something that I have been thinking of as "Boot Camp Greatest Hits".



There are 3 different workouts per week in the Fat Blasting Boot Camp plan, each workout is made up of 3 parts - strength, cardio and abs. I am going to use some of the exercises from the Intro Workout as my warmup, then cycle through one set of each of the Workout #1 workouts. Hoping I will be able to get this in twice per week, and then two weeks from now I should be all ready to start Workout #2.

That's the plan - wish me luck!

Boot camp continues

It was a dreary, rainy weekend and after a couple of nights of not sleeping well I was ready to do not much. Which is what I did. Read my way through 3 books. Did a little laundry and house cleaning. That's pretty much it.

Today was still dreary and the forecast for the next few days is not promising. So there's very little blog-worthy to talk about except:

1. I can see two deer grazing on grass from my seat on the living room sofa. I'd take pictures except it's too dark and they wouldn't come out.

2. Finished Week 3 Boot Camp workout Saturday, right on schedule, and started Week 4 today.

3. Last week I did the staggered hand push ups from my knees but today I did them from my toes which I feel good about.

I might actually have been able to do the push ups from my toes last week, but the staggered hands position felt awkward and I didn't think I could do it so I didn't try. But this week I figured I'd give it a shot and it was no problem. Yay!

I am liking the way this Boot Camp program keeps me switching things up. I have done Boot Camp type workouts on my own but on my own I tend to be repetitive with my routines. The three different workouts per week keeps things interesting.

But that's all I got. Except:

4. I can't wait for the nice weather to come back!

Boot Camp! I'll give you Boot Camp...

Just finished Boot Camp #2 for the week. Before that I spent an hour and a half working in the yard. I don't know why that makes the Boot Camp seem like a bigger deal; it just does.

Last week was chilly and rainy, then the weekend (and beginning of this week) was busy, so there are definitely some things that need attending to in the garden. The weather has been lovely this week, so I spent some time out in the yard this evening with Fabulous Feline company.

Fred



George (you can see I have some weeding to do)



First task I wanted to get out of the way was to put up this netting for the pea plants to climb. It's a pain in the butt to do, but it worked well last year. I also did some weeding and planted some new seeds where there were gaps.



Cotton Easter is blooming.





Catmint blossoms



Irises - because I love them so much!



The Rhododendrons in all their glory





The guardian at the front step.

Next phase of boot camp starts Monday

Friday night I got in my treadmill walk. I'm having to go a lot slower than I'm used to, but I can tell my foot is not completely healed. I am doing my best to be patient.

Saturday I got in my final Boot Camp workout of the Intro phase. I was thinking about doing some additional cardio after I finished the Boot Camp, but then decided to be sensible. I hurt myself by overdoing things; I don't want to push my luck. I did do some yoga which will hopefully help me to recover and get stronger again.

It's hard though. I am impatient to get rid of these extra few pounds that showed up over the winter and I don't seem to be making any progress at all. It's frustrating and it's depressing.

I've been reflecting on my weight loss [or lack thereof] history lately. I was never one of those girls who was obsessed with dieting when I was in my teens. I was conscious of my size - it's hard for a young girl not to be - but I was not overweight so it was not something that I seriously worried about.

I first joined a gym in 2002. Up until then I had been an on-again-off-again exerciser, but by then I had definitely started worrying about my weight. At that point I was around 135 lbs, which was 30 pounds more than I had weighed 5 years previously (should mention I'm 5 feet tall). During those 5 years, I had moved to a new city and started my first full time job. Then moved to a different city and a different job. Then got married. Then bought a house. They were busy years. I had started trying to diet, change my eating habits. I was sure that joining a gym and getting into a regular exercise habit would help me get back to where I should be.

Establishing the regular exercise habit worked. I looked forward to my sessions at the gym. But my weight pretty much stayed the same. Since then, I have tried and tried and for my troubles I have gradually gained more. I don't know why.

I have always admitted that eating is the hardest part for me. But since this winter I have also realized that while I may not eat perfectly, I actually eat pretty well. Lately I have been eating more veggies than ever and cutting down on sugar a lot (not that I ate a huge amount before). I eat very little in the way of processed food and most of what I eat is home cooked. I don't eat large portions. Yes, I do have splurges. There are times when I don't choose the healthiest option. But overall, I think I do pretty well.

So, I'm pretty much stuck. To be quite honest I feel let down. Betrayed. By my own body. I'm doing my best to treat it well and do healthy things for it, and it is not responding in the way I think it should.

There's a lot of talk out in the blog world about body image and learning to accept one's self. I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not quite sure I can ever accept this. In all honesty, I don't really want to. This slow creep of pounds, growing out of my clothes, getting more uncomfortable with myself is not a happy journey. It's downright frightening. What did I do to deserve this? Nothing, I know, but I can't help asking the question.

Ok, this is not really where I meant to go when I sat down and started typing tonight. But it's been on my mind and it makes me sad and tired. Now it's off my chest. I'll throw it out there to the universe and hope that the universe will be kind.

Thursday....

This has been the longest week...Sigh.

2 out 3 Boot Camp Workouts completed for the week. I won't say I was keen on doing it tonight - actually earlier in the day I sort of was, but then we were an hour late leaving work and I was starving so I couldn't wait to eat which meant pushing the workout to later in the evening. I've been all sniffly for the past couple of days - seasonal allergies I'd guess - and I was tired...But I knew if I wanted to stay on track for the week I had to get Workout B in tonight so I did. It was split squat and wall jump night but I survived!

I had intended to walk on the treadmill last night, but then my Mom called and we chatted for about 45 minutes and I still had to clean up the kitchen from supper, so that didn't happen. Oh well. I think a conversation with my mother is a fair exchange.

And tomorrow is finally Friday! About time.

Busy, busy weekend

Saturday morning I was out of the house early for a hair cut, then shopping. Spent the afternoon doing chores around the house and some work in the garden. Sunday morning, more work around the house, then the entire afternoon in the garden. By last night I was too tired to do anything but collapse on the couch.

My little veggie patch is all planted now though. It's not a big garden, but I've tried to make the most of what space I have.



I did have a two casualties though. Two of my beloved tomato plants.



One of my grape tomato plants [in the front container] was over-watered. I didn't notice it, and I'm not sure how it happened - especially only to one plant. Not sure if it happened to be sitting in a spot where water was running off the roof or what. I noticed it on Saturday (too late); I put it in the planter anyway, hoping that maybe it might make it but by Sunday it was looking like a goner.

Then, as I was removing one of my Chocolate Cherry tomato plants [rear container] I heard/felt a snap. I'm usually pretty careful, not sure how I could have done it, and again, I planted anyway hoping that I hadn't really done what I thought I had...But by Sunday it was all wilt-y so I must have snapped the stem. Dagnabbit.

Anyway, those planters still have one tomato plant of each type and some pepper plants.

I managed to get the rest of the tomato plants in without breaking any more.



Last year I planted Sunflowers in my vegetable patch. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but I wanted to plant them somewhere and the veggie garden seemed like the best location. Since then I've done some reading on companion gardening - what plants grow well together - and according to what I read, Sunflowers in the veggie patch are actually beneficial. I also read that Marigolds are good for repelling certain types of pests, so I threw in some Marigolds this year as well.

I planted lettuce last year and it didn't grow. I was surprised because I've grown it in containers before and it was pretty easy. I'm trying again this year, but I'm not sure I'll have much more success.



The lettuce patch seems to be one of George's favorite spots to nap. Can't say I blame him; it's all smooth, it gets warm from the sun, perfect cat nap spot. Ah well.

I've got more tomato plants in planters at the other end of the veggie patch.



These tomato plants came from the garden center, while all of my other ones were started from seed in my kitchen. I actually have had these in the planters for a couple of weeks now, and noticed on the weekend that they are starting to blossom already.

Amazingly, I still have tulips. I did not expect them to last this long.



I really had no clue what I was doing when I was selecting tulip bulbs last fall, but it has worked out better than I had imagined.

On Sunday, my first Iris was in bloom.



Things are starting to look downright summery.





Oh, and Saturday afternoon I did "take a break" from my gardening & cleaning to get in my 3rd Boot Camp session for the week. I'm not sure whether to call that dedication or crazy. But Week 1 is complete.

Today my body was telling me it needed a rest, so Boot Camp this week will [hopefully] be Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Boot Camp Workout #2

Second workout in the Fat Blasting Boot Camp completed.

On Monday I wasn't quite sure what to do for a warm up, so I just did my own thing. Today I decided to try the moves from this TV segment featuring Ellen Barrett. I have quite a few of Ellen Barrett's workout DVDs - 10 to be exact - and I always enjoy her workouts. When I saw this posted on her blog I meant to try it out; today it seemed like just what I needed as a warm up before taking on the Boot Camp.

Workout B of the Boot Camp Intro kicked my butt way more than Workout A. I'm not sure if it's because I did a better warm up or if the exercises were harder. The split squats and wall jumps were the most challenging for me, but the whole thing kept my heart rate up and I'm sure my face was bright red by the time I was done - I could feel the heat radiating off my skin. I guess the aim is to get in a kick-butt workout in a short amount of time and I'd have to say: mission accomplished.

The great thing about a boot camp/circuit training work out is that it goes by fast. I didn't enjoy the split squats, but they were over quickly and I was moving on to the next exercise. Definitely makes it easier to keep going.

Last night we were out to dinner with friends for the evening, and today by the time I finished my Boot Camp, had supper, cleaned up, etc, it was getting too late to go out and play in the yardwork in the garden. Hopefully tomorrow.

So far the weather forecast for the weekend is looking beautiful and we don't have any major plans. I think my tomato plants may just make it into the ground this weekend!

It's June!

I enjoy this time of year ~ though I admit I'm looking forward to the weather warming up a bit more.

A couple of weeks ago MizFit had a giveaway of a Fat Blasting Boot Camp eBook and I was fortunate enough to be the recipient. Yay MizFit! Yay Angie!

I love trying out a new workout, but I was still having issues with my foot at the time, so I wasn't ready to start. Then I started to wonder whether this was even a good time to start. I tend to be less formal about workouts this time of year - I like to get outside and work in the gardens and walk and just enjoy the nice weather. Then again, the Boot Camp is 3 30-minute workouts per week; if I want to fit in formal workouts, this seems ideal. So I'm giving it a shot.

I started tonight after work. The first two weeks are an intro of sorts, no weights are used. I definitely got my heart rate up and I was finished in 30 minutes. My foot & leg seemed to hold up ok, so this is the plan for the next 14 weeks - Boot Camp! And of course gardening and walking. :)

Photos from Sunday. Things are looking colorful!

Boot Camp Day 2

Well...

I wouldn't say today was better, but I'm hanging in.

I think I mentioned last week that we tried these Multi-grain battered Tilapia fillets and I wasn't crazy about them. Husband said he wasn't crazy about them either. Fine. I won't buy any more. But we'll finish off the rest of the box.

So, heading home from work Husband asks what is for supper and I tell him we are having the Tilapia Fillets again. My plan is we will have them once a week until they are gone.

So then we had to stop and buy a bag of frozen french fries because if he had to "eat that God-awful fish" he wanted something [that tasted] good to go along with it. I had been hoping to get away with just veggies, which would have been ok with me, but if I was cooking fries, I couldn't not eat fries, know what I mean? However, according to the Nutrition info on the bag, one serving is not terrible. And other than that my day was good.

Aside from the bag of Lime Tostitos that also made their way into my house. But that is tomorrow's story.

Know what this is?



It is a freshly dug bed that will become my little vegetable patch. We arrived home today to find the landscaping guys finishing up. I have been wanting this for a while. Now I just have to plant stuff!

And, just because they are so cute, here are the Fabulous Felines again for your viewing pleasure...






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Daily Record
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Weight: 143.1 (- 0.8 lb)

BF: Vanilla Yogurt w/strawberries & shredded coconut
Lunch: Cocoa-Coconut Chili (From Eat, Drink and Be Vegan)
Snack: Cherries, Kashi Granola Bar
Supper: Multi-grain battered Tilapia fillet, fries, cabbage salad w/Asian Sesame Dressing

Workout: Weights

Boot Camp Day 1...

The weekend was bad. We shall not speak of it.

Though - I did get in a treadmill session on Saturday, and spent 3 1/2 hours gardening yesterday. And I was busy, busy, busy. So it's not like I was sitting around all weekend. Just the eating was bad. Always my weak spot.

So I guess that means Boot Camp starts today...

...And this is how it went.

Summer has arrived. It was hot. I know at one point the weather page said it was 28° C, which would not be bad if I had been expecting it and had dressed for it and have I mentioned our office does not have AC? So, I had an Iced Coffee which was not part of the plan, but I wanted something with ice in it.

It was good.

But given my iffy relationship with milk, not likely to become a daily habit.

Supper was good though, we BBQ'd and ate out on the deck with the cats to keep us company (and Fred had bits of my chicken as usual).

I have completed my workout.

I had a snack of nice fresh strawberries.

So maybe not a perfect first day, but definitely better.

Garden pics below for those interested...Too tired to caption...Bed time for me!

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Daily Record
---------------------------------
Weight: 143.9 (+ 0.2)

BF: Yogurt & Granola, Coffee w/cream
Snack: Apple
Lunch: Soba Noodles w/bell pepper, snap peas, green onion & peanut sauce
Snack: Iced Coffee
Supper: BBQ chicken, roasted potatoes, salad
Snack: Strawberries

Workout: 60 minutes on the treadmill