One mans junk is another woman's treasure!

I used to hate garage sales.. but now having a new home to furnish and the expense that comes with it has changed my outlook on life! With pintrest being the  2nd love of my life, it is so easy to learn how to refurbish something old into something new!

My living room was starting to drive me nuts, I enjoyed the clean boring-ness of it long enough. ( Or the lack of decorations let's say) I decided I needed to be an adult and have a coffee table.

I wanted something not to big, not to bold and definitely not to old. Something with clean lines where I could lay just a little something to tie the room together. Yesterday, I found it! At a moving all things must go sale!

 

 

As you can see from the BEFORE picture, it is a bench table. In the dark colour of Brown with nice clean cut lines. It also has side pull outs on each side! SCORE! I am not one to barter... I see a price and pay it. That is one reason I like sales, I don't have to pay retail or barter to decrease the price. This coffee table was priced at $50.00, my Dear hubby went to the lady with $40.00 in hand and some how walked away with my treasure!

 

 

I stopped at a local fabric store and found this thick, satin finished charcoal grey fabric for $3.00 a metre. Well you can't even go wrong! I scurried home, had hubby assist with dismantling the bench cushion. I stapled the fabric on and VOILA!

 

Because the wood was already painted a deep brown, it took nothing to cover it with black spray paint. A short sanding and wipe down, two coats of black satin spray paint and complete!

 

 

Now my living room feels complete! Oh except two things... and surprisingly my hubby is game! I want a Glass or porcelain owl ( about 10-16 inches tall) to sit beside the wine stand up against the black wall.  And hopefully a nice canvas on the wall above the black couch.

 

 

So far it feels complete! I feel like my living room is homey, trendy and warm!

 

Cheers!

 

5 km Personal Record - SHATTERED!

Yesterday I ran my first 5 km race of 2013, The Cardiac Care 5 KM Run/Walk. I was really apprehensive of this run due to the weather that was in the forecast. On Friday, the weather was very windy, cold and some rain. I have never ran in the rain for a race, nor do I have rain gear per say to run with. My girls were so excited for my race that I truly hoped the rain would subside.

When I woke up Saturday it was a little grey out, windy and cool. No rain I can handle this! 9 am hits and so does the sun! It is going to be a great day!

All ready for the race! My girls are so proud of me! As is my husband, but he hasn't quite put me on Super hero pedestal like my kids.. ( He really should)

The race was at our beautiful park here in the city that surrounds our Provincial Legislature.

 

 

10 am we started out racing! I have now started to join the front of the pack, I want my time to start as soon as they say GO! I don't want to add on any extras for anything! I noticed a group of runners who definitely hadn't trained for a 5 km, may have never ran it before. It definitely is interesting to see a group who runs as hard as they can, then has to stop and sit. I know running seems simple, but there is a lot of conditioning and training that goes into it. Even if it is only 5 KM. I had a couple of ladies that would sprint past me, and then I would have to off trail run around them once they dropped their pace to a saunter. This as a consistent runner can be really frustrating. You want to continue your consistency and not have to exert any extra energy running different paths to get around those who aren't there for a " race" per say. I know that is a negative comment and we are all out there for fitness, I just find this so frustrating! The runners there to race were respectful, kept to the right and passed on the left. There are some rules to such a sport... There's my rant!

 

The weather became quite hot, and there wasn't a breathe of wind! Thankfully, between 3.5 and 4.5 kms there was some shade. This is where I slowed down and reserved my energy for the last leg of the race. I was pretty impressed when I hit 3 kms at 27 minutes. I knew if I really ran hard I could get my 5 km under my last PR. I almost could have had it under 40 minutes.

 

The last moments of the race, there wasn't a breathe of wind and the sun was SO hot! I actually felt like I couldn't breathe at places. I was so close to the finish line so I started to pick up my pace.

 



 There is something surreal and emotional seeing your family waiting for you by the finish line! This is what gives me that extra get your ass moving! My girls jumped on to the street and ran their butts off with me!

 

 

And I finished strong! With my children and a 41:24 min time!

 

 

 

This is a 3 minute change in pace! I finished strong, not sore and barely walked a moment! Just a few steps here and there! ( more so up a small hill and for water stations)

 

 

Running to my 10km

Life has been hectic! I keep thinking I MUST blog! I have been trying some new things, falling off the nutrition wagon.. fixing that wagon to get back on.. and then eating some chip..

However my training is on track to a point.. My dear hubby is only on call or works late a few times every 6 weeks. Last week was one of them. We all as a family did our best to keep pushing through but by Sunday we were all exhausted, house was a mess, I wanted and needed a long run and the kids missed their dad like no ones business. I missed him as well, but needed to clear my head during my run so I could realize he was home again.

For the first time ever on April 28th, I ran MORE than 5 kms in a session. I went 6.01 kms and seriously at one point.. thought I was going to die! I ran it at a 9.25 min/km pace, at one point I had to climb through snow, run through ankle deep water and stomp through mud. I remember my legs burning so bad I couldn't even handle it, I was breathing so hard and was on the brink of death.

 

I do have to say once I fell into the house, onto the couch and laid down.. I was amazed. I then had a 2 hour nap...

 

 

 

OK so not running during the insanity of winter we had.. has taken a toll and my HIIT did not condition me enough. Well, things have changed. I have been going out for 1-2 short runs a week on top of 2 days of HIIT at the gym. I may not be FASTER yet.. but My body is getting more conditioned. I completed my first EVER 7 km run yesterday. I started out at a 8.24 min/km pace and had to keep telling myself slow the heck down you will never finish this!

 

 

My view was wonderful, the temperature got increasingly warm with the beautiful sun and I was stripping clothes off. The only things that could have been better was my warm up ( I need to work on this) and my path. I didn't mark out my run properly and ended up running in circles a bit to finish up. ( this is extremely boring)

 

YIPPEE!!!

My favourite park in the world! When I ran in university being able to run 7 kms and this as my sites was a goal, I finally obtained!


The other great things in my world have been shopping for new clothes in a size 16 only!! Nothing in a 18 is fitting anymore, how wonderful! I have a ton of it packed up to sell and donate!

New summer dress! Finally loving to show some leg. There's finally some definition!

 

And most of all.. enjoying time out with my family! I am the first to pack up to go, and get involved! I love this! The Science Park was such a blast!

 



On the GO Breakfasts!

As a busy mom... Breakfasts can be a blur! I often try sit down and have two eggs with toast ( multi grain of course, need that fibre!) but on days like today I chose some extra sleep over my morning cooking. Not always the best idea however I found some healthier choices for on the go!

One of the easiest ways to go is for a quick shake! I have found a new shake powder that I quite enjoy. The flavor is not "proteiny" like at all, and comes in a few different flavours. You can get this Vega Protein powder in the Natural section at Superstore in Vanilla Chi, Chocolate or Berry.

This flavour only has 93 calories, a full 10 grams of  protein and only 1 gram of sugar! That's right 1 gram of sugar! I throw in a banana and 10 oz of milk... Bam sweet filling breakfast in a glass for 303 calories!

 

 

 

I sometimes hate having to clean my blender in the morning.. so Ill treat myself to breakfast out. This is rare but I have found two breakfast items at Tim Horton's ( my favorite go to coffee place) that are surprisingly healthy.

 

Tim Horton's Egg and Cheese Breakfast sandwich on a English muffin is a great fix to that need for a fast food breakfast. Thankfully they do not fry their eggs and just toast the muffins, so there isn't the added fat that other restaurants tend to have.

Serving size - 128 g
Calories - 280
Fat - 11 g
Carb - 32 g
Fibre - 1 g
Sugar -2 g
PROTEIN - 14 grams
Sodium-700 g.. ok so here's the crap part.. the sodium! However, compared to the rest of the sandwiches at Tim Horton's, McDonald's and A&W this is the best bet. Increase your water intake for the morning and that sodium will be gone!

Tim Horton's PLAIN Oatmeal.

( I didn't know you could get their oatmeal plain till today... I always thought you had to order the mixed berry or brown sugar type which all have TONS of sugar)

Serving - 291g
Calories- 160
Fat - 2.5
Carb - 32
Fibre - 4
Sugar -5
Protein - 5 grams

If you choose to go for the mixed berries or maple, you increase your sugars at a minimum of 10 grams per serving.


All of these options are also less than $4.00/serving. So the next time you are in a rush for breakfast and think there are no healthy choices or cheap choices out there.. think again!

Cheers!

 

 

 

Losing and Learning

I've noticed over the last year that I need to change my diet up regularly. This means either dropping or adding calories needed per day, decreasing sugar and fats again or more often and increasing protein.

Even when having a trainer put together a Nutrition Plan together for me, I cannot succeed unless I understand truly what works for me. I have been in a slump with my fat loss for the last few months. I would eat to a T what my trainer said and drop a few pounds ( generally the lowest I got was 269) and then I would get frustrated or off track due to work/ travel. Then I would be up to about 278 lbs again.. a weight I could not bare to see again! Maybe even higher!

Once I got back from my holidays I decided ENOUGH is ENOUGH! My pants are loose but not LOOSE enough! So I played with my diet... increasing protein .. decreasing carbohydrates and tried to decrease stress while increasing diligence. I finally got down to 269 again. Well that's great.. but then the yo - yo came up and down up and down. PURE FRUSTRATION!

I asked for help on Myfitnesspal.. contacted my trainer.. asked for ideas on Fitocracy. And got the same answers " you're eating to much... you're eating to little.. you drink to much juice ( on a week where I had one Booster juice) .. You eat to many sauces - I'm sorry but I hate plain salad"

So I just sat between 266 - 269 lbs.. hovering and pissy!

I reached out to a local fellow on MFP who has lost 85 lbs and has started a new Personal Training program. He advised me to discontinue the Intermittent Fasting.. stop eating after supper and only have a protein shake and up my workout intensity. Within 4 days of this.. BAM 262 lbs! OK fantastic! Finally the change I needed to become motivated!

I signed up for a 5km race on May 25th, ran my first ever 6 kms in 54 minutes down! ( Woulda been faster if I hadn't had to sludge through mud, snow and water to stay on trails) and I have signed up for my 10km on July 1st.

I have realized that change in diet is something I must understand. I get that I need to decrease this or decrease that. But I truly do not even know the amounts I should be eating. There was a thread on MFP about free online classes surrounding Nutrition.


Well I signed up! I am taking a 6 week course Nutrition, Health, and Lifestyle: Issues and Insights instructed by Jamie Pope through Vanderbuilt University. The first week was to take a look back into your food logs and find out what you really are eating. i.e.) are you eating enough protein, carbs, fats .. are you eating to much sodium or not enough fiber. If you aren't eating the proper amounts why is that.. what can you do to change it.. or is it working for you .

One of the comments Jamie Pope said was that " it is easier to do one's taxes then pay attention to their diet" and I thought heck yeah it is! There's no macro or micro nutrients .. there's no sodium mg's to pay attention to . However, my taxes won't make me fit and healthy!

So here I am.. taking a Nutrition course. I hope it assists in  my continued success!

Starting Weight: 288 lbs
Current Weight: 262 lbs

Loss to date: 26 lbs.. only 62 to more to go!

CHEERS!


What are you doing to make sure you eat properly? Do you know what your proper caloric needs are? How about that dread sodium... do you eat less than 2400 mg a day?