I’m still alive!
Posted by Tammi | Filed under Uncategorized
Things have been a bit hectic here lately but I haven’t forgotten about you!
If all goes as planned I hope to get back to updating regularly beginning next week when hubby is off (giving me some uninterrupted *me* time).
Banana Muffins/Bread
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, recipes
This is one of my favorite Banana Muffin/Bread recipes. It comes from my cousin, Bev and is the one I use whenever I’ve got some rotting bananas :-P
Beverley’s Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup yogurt (or 1 cup total butter)
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
6 mashed bananas
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Method:
Cream butter, yogurt and sugar.
Beat in eggs, mashed banana and vanilla.
Stir in flour, sifted with salt and baking soda.
Divide into 2 greased pans (or muffins tins)
Bake 1 hour.
Note: I made this recipe last night and somehow only put in 2 cups of flour and it made wonderfully moist muffins. I made 6 very large muffins and one bread from the recipe. I also used whole wheat flour.
Christmas Cookie Exchange
Posted by Tammi | Filed under Uncategorized
Mmm..cookies!
Calling all cookie bakers (or connoisseurs!) in the Halifax Regional Municipality…
I’ve been chatting with some other friends about hosting a Christmas Cookie Exchange and am sending out the invite to all locals who may be interested.
So, here’s the scoop…for each person who commits to the exchange they will bake 1 dozen cookies for each of the other attendees (for 11 attendees and under). If the number climbs to 12 or more than it will just be 1/2 dozen per each other attendee). How’s that sound? We’ll also bake one dozen that will be for sampling during the event.
So, put on your thinking Santa cap, look through your cookbooks and pick a cookie recipe!
Once you have decided on the recipe you’ll use please make sure to include it inside the packaging with your cookies. (It is extremely important that the recipient of your cookies knows the ingredients used due to the possibility of allergies).
Have fun baking up a storm (preferably not a snow storm of course until AFTER the cookie exchange!) ;-)
If you’re interested in joining in on the fun, please let me know your availability in December for the swap date. I’ve tried to keep the selections to Sunday afternoons and evenings as well as Monday and Tuesday evenings. ( I realize Zumba is on Tuesday nights but if that is the day that works best I’ll just vow to work my butt off on Monday another way that week).
Take me to the poll, I want cookies!
Oh and to clarify…I will NOT be eating all these cookies by myself…I just simply want to bake and intend on giving them as little gifts and to share them with guests or family/friends over the holidays…cause cookies & weightloss are not good friends ;-(
Week 3 – Day 3
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week 3
Breakfast
Veggie Omelet with plain yogurt and tea
Lunch
Basil infused basmati with veggies and chicken breast with a bit of poppyseed dressing
Dinner
Basil infused basmati with veggies and chicken breast with salsa and olives
Can you tell I’m hormonal? Holy carb overload today! Better than salty chips and chocolate though I suppose!
Been battling a bit of a headache all day which sucked but the weather has been mostly cloudy and raining off and on so no wonder. The boy appears to be possibly teething as well because he’s fighting naps and chomping down heavily on things including human digits whenever the opportunity presents itself. He already has the bottom two so time will tell where the new ones pop up.
Yesterday I stepped out of the comfort zone and signed myself up for Paula’s Holiday Challenge! For the 30 days between November 25th and December 24th I have pledged to commit to accomplishing one goal I set for myself each of those 30 days. It might be to drink 3 litres of water one day…or to exercise for 40 minutes another day. I get to choose what goal I’m setting for myself for the day and then get to feel the sense of accomplishment when I achieve it that day. The goals will be realistic and attainable but not unchallenging!
Today’s Goal was to give blood at the local blood donor clinic. Giving blood is something that has been very dear to me for years. I’ve been giving since 2000 or 2001 I think and whenever I have the opportunity I donate. Unfortunately, being a woman, my hemoglobin (iron) level is sometimes too low and therefore I am deferred in donating. I remember the first few times this happened I was devastated. I actually cried whenever I’d get the deferral. In order to donate with Canadian Blood Services a woman must meet the minimum hemoglobin level of 12.5 and mine is usually barely in the 11’s. In fact, in the winter of 2008 I became severely anemic and was very ill. Then I got pregnant and then there’s a minimum 6 month wait after giving birth before you can donate again. So, I haven’t donated for almost 2 years and that kills me. I had no idea if I’d meet the minimum requirements this time or not but I had to go and find out because that was my goal for the day – to at least attempt to donate.
My hemoglobin level was 14.5!!!
I nearly bounced off the ceiling I was so happy. At first the nurse dropped my blood into the liquid to see how fast it dropped and it didn’t move. Uh oh I thought…not a good sign! So, she had to take another sample and put it on a slide and insert it into the digital machine. I think she was even more excited than I was at the reading! She actually gasped in shock and then said “fourteen point five!!!!!!!!! FOURTEEEEEEEN POINT FIIIIIIIIIVEEEEEE??????!!!!??????”. Hehe…considering a typical woman is usually between 12 and 16 this was pretty damn awesome given my track record. For every one donation I make I am deferred at least two others. I was super happy. I also got my 10 donations pin tonight. FINALLY…after all these years! I even donated my blood in 6 minutes flat. I pretty much rock.
I have a rarer blood type (B RH+) so they are always calling me to donate. Only about 9% of the population has this type. So, knowing that makes it even more important for me to give.
I encourage you to give the gift of blood this holiday season. Your donation could save up to THREE lives! That is what I call the gift that keeps on giving! :-)
Drop by the Canadian Blood Services site to find out when a clinic will be near you. Tell them the chick with the awesome high hemoglobin level sent ya ;-)
Week 3 – Day 2
Posted by Tammi | Filed under exercise, photos, week 3
Breakfast
Oatmeal with brown sugar Splenda and slivered almonds with apple sauce and tea
Lunch
Tuna wrap with tabbouleh, carrots and grape tomatoes
Dinner
Whole wheat pasta with chicken breast, salsa, olives and a little bit of mozza
Today was kind of a big milestone day on our house. The boy turned 7 months old. *cries*
SEVEN MONTHS? When did this happen?
How did this…
1 Day Old
turn into this…
7 Months & 1 Day Old
Time seriously needs to SLOW.DOWN.NOW.
Other than mourning the rapid growth of my son, it was a pretty quiet day. We took a family nap in the afternoon once hubby got home from work and in the evening I went to my second Zumba class at Good Life in Halifax with Angie, Lex, Lesley and newcomer to the Zumba world, Lynn. Poor Angie had hit a kitty cat on the way to the class and I felt so bad for her because being a cat person myself I can only imagine how mortified and heart broken she must have felt over it all. When I see sadness I try to lighten the mood so hopefully being my sarcastic and witty self made her feel better if only for a little while. :-)
The class was not as high impact as the week before. Don’t get me wrong, I still clock watched but not to the extent I did last week. I was still a hot mess (in the literal sense) and still felt drained at the end but didn’t feel the burn like last time. I also was not as engaged in it this week. I’ve been having some major lack of energy which I know is more than likely hormonal but I pushed myself to go. It is so easy to cop out at the last minute and provide a hundred excuses not to go but I now recognize that pattern of behavior and stopped myself before I even started. So, as I was saying, not as fun this week but I got some activity in and that’s what matters. I just found there to be way too much movement and turning this week and it felt like I just got turned to go one direction for a few steps and the instructor was already heading the opposite direction. One step forward and 10 behind seemed to be the name of the game for me. I’m a big person. I do not move quickly! I know Lynn was just counting down the minutes until it was over and I give her props for giving it a try but completely understand when something is not your thing. I plan to keep going because I refuse to quit something. I’ve quit too many things, too many times out of sheer laziness. Not this time!
Once I got home I watched The Biggest Loser and was beyond thrilled when Amanda made it to the Final Four. I’ve been rooting for her all along so am super excited for her.
Week 3 – Day 1
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, restaurants, week 3
Brunch
Ezekiel English muffin with guacamole, poached eggs and salsa served with raw veggies
Dinner
Lentil burger with chickpea salad (from The Wooden Monkey restaurant)
A pretty quiet day. Hubby was off this afternoon/evening so we took advantage of that and had a family nap when the boy went down for his afternoon nap. Ahhh…naps are the best! In anticipation of going out for dinner I combined breakfast and lunch today for a brunch so I wouldn’t go overboard with calories with eating dinner out.
I joined some of the local ladies who I’ve been tweeting with on Twitter for our monthly meet and greet or “tweetup”. Our group is called the Halifax Chicks (@halifaxchicks or search #halifaxchicks) and we decided to meet at The Wooden Monkey for our meal
where the menu is based on organic, macrobiotic, and locally grown fresh ingredients…
…and boy…was it delicious!!!
I had the Lentil Burger (lentils, carrots, miso, garlic, onions, daikon, seeds and oats, lettuce, tomato on a fat free 5-organic grain pita with a sweet onion honey mustard) – I switched out the mustard for mayo and had it with a side of Roasted Chickpea Salad (roasted chickpeas, organic brown rice, peppers, sesame seeds, daikon, seaweed, green onions, garlic and Umeboshi scallion dressing, served with soft pita wedges). Yummy! Everything was so fresh and flavourful. I can’t wait to take hubby back there some time.
It was great to meet some more of the Halifax Chicks and to see others I had met before. We had a great time chatting (and tweeting of course!) and from there I was off to Bedford to meet another group of ladies I also met online years ago. We were all gathering at a local Tim Horton’s for some ice cream. Ice cream? At Tim Horton’s you ask? Yes…three locations in the HRM have become test sights for co-branding of Tim Horton’s and Cold Stone Creamery. They are all doing well as far as I can tell. The ice cream is to die for!
Now, the previous me would have inhaled some of the ice cream but I made the decision when the event invite went out that I was not having any. I would have a tea but it stopped there. I was sticking to my guns on this one and losing weight means more to me than temporary sensory satisfaction. My sticktoitness was rewarded today when I decided to do a little investigating. I decided to visit the website to read up on the nutritional data of their offerings and was mortified to learn how much my favorite treat there added up to calorie wise.
Size: Love It
Ice Cream: Cheesecake – 550 calories
Apple Pie Filling – 60 calories
Graham Cracker Crumbs – 130 calories
Almonds – 150 calories
Waffle bowl dipped in chocolate – 310 calories
TOTAL CALORIES: 1200
I nearly fell off my chair.
Needless to say, all I had was tea and was happier for it knowing I don’t have to spend all that time working off all those calories because believe me, I already have years worth to work off!
Tomorrow night is Zumba night…really looking forward to it and I think a few more ladies will be joining us this time…yippee!
Week 2 Results
Posted by Tammi | Filed under week 2, weigh-in
Weight Last Week: 248.4 lbs
Weight This Week: 247.4 lbs
1.0 lbs loss :)
Only one pound but considering the grease fest that was last night’s dinner, I’ll take it.
Looking back I didn’t get as much exercise as I should have. I also skipped a few meals (especially Saturday).
This week the focus is going to be on hauling out my old Simply For Life meal plans and stick as strictly to them as possible and getting as much exercise in as possible. Looks like rain for most of the week so I will try to get to the gym on Wednesday and then do some wii Active on Thursday and Friday as hubby works two jobs both of those days. We’re headed to Antigonish on Saturday and Sunday and as such will have some babysitting services of the inlaws so perhaps hubby and I can sneak in a workout each day at Nubody’s as we’re able to use our membership at any location. We will be away for the weekend as I said but we’re already planning what to take with us or make while there so we can stay as on plan as possible. It is all about planning. Oh and of course tomorrow is Zumba where I’ll burn a ton of calories!
Week 2 – Day 7
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week 2
Breakfast
Veggie omelet and clementine courtesy of hubby
Lunch
Tuna Fish Cakes with guacamole, tabbouleh and some salsa & tortillas
Dinner
Clam & Fish Tip Combo from John’s Lunch
Okay…that last photo shouldn’t be there. At all. Two weeks I’ve eaten clean (aside from the tortilla chips at the party and earlier in the day) and then hubby made the mistake of mentioning he was thinking about John’s Lunch and funnily enough for the first time in two weeks I was thinking of something other than my meal plan food and the more he talked about it and teased me about it and the more I resisted his good natured teasing, the more I kept thinking about it. I’m not going to say it was a craving, I’m not going to say I caved. I had something not on my meal plan that I don’t typically eat and after two whole weeks of eating healthy foods (hey, check out my photos, there’s the proof) I think this one meal is not going to kill me. Sure, it was far more grease than I anticipated eating when I woke up and it was definitely more calories than I anticipated consuming but it tasted good. Well, at first. By the end it was a love/hate relationship – tasted good at first but then the more you eat the grosser you feel and by the end you remember why you vowed not to eat it again for another six months like you did six months ago. So…over and done with.
We spent a lazy day at home just hanging out as a family. It was so nice to have hubby home. I know the boy misses him as much as I do when he works so much and it just makes me treasure our family time together that much more. I love it when the boy does something funny and we’re both there to laugh over it instead of me witnessing it and wishing hubby were here to see it too.
I was able to get some major photo editing done because hubby was home to take care of the boy so I had uninterrupted time at the computer and I was happy to complete the editing on the two shoots I had sitting on my to do list, got them uploaded to a previewing site and then discs made. I also was able to edit the birthday party photos. This was a huge load off my shoulders and so now I currently don’t have any photography work backlogged. What a wonderful feeling! All of this editing was before I realized my SD camera card malfunctioned (first time since I started this in 2006) and I was freaking out. Luckily some googling led me to a miracle program that not only salvaged my “lost” photos but it actually was able to retrieve photos from months ago that I had actually deleted from the card…bizarre. Anyway, the point is it found the photos I thought were gone forever and I breathed a huge sigh of relief and didn’t throw up like I thought I was going to :-)
In the evening we skyped the inlaws and hubby also talked on the phone with his sister in Gatineau. All in all, a busy but great weekend.
Week 2 – Day 6
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week 2
Breakfast
Pancake with maple syrup
There’s only one food photo for today…I’ll explain in a bit…
We had a very busy Saturday! We woke up and got ready to head out to the Clayton Park Sobey’s to attend a fundraiser for the Halifax Chicks Bust A Move campaign. Long story short, the event in January will see participants moving in some form or another for 6 hours in return for donations towards purchasing digital mammography equipment. Each year 700 women in Nova Scotia are diagnosed with breast cancer. Every second day, one of them dies. Almost everyone you meet has been touched by breast cancer in one form or another, whether they themselves were diagnosed or have lost a loved one to the disease. Therefore, when the local ladies I’ve been chatting with on Twitter decided to create a team and put the call out for attendees at their pancake breakfast, I knew we’d attend.
It was great to see so many of the local twitters at the breakfast and we arrived just in time to sit beside Angie, Lynn and Holly. They had all just been to their weekly WW weight-in and deserved a little treat – you go girls! I also had a quick chat with Shelagh. From there we were off to Costco where we had to pick up some nibblies for the party in the evening and hubby then put the boy down for a nap.
I was off to the Halifax waterfront for a photo shoot with a friend and her gorgeous family. It was a perfect day for photo taking with unseasonably warm temperatures and just the perfect amount of cloud cover. Most people think that sun is the best but that’s a misconception. Cloudy is actually the best because that way nobody squints and you don’t have to worry about shadows. We started off at the Historic Properties which provides a perfect back drop of stone facades and then worked our way along the waterfront. I’d love to share a shot or two but she’s sworn me to secrecy until her family gets to see their holiday presents :-)
Off I went back to Dartmouth to fetch the boy and his dad and then we were over the bridge for the third time to Spryfield to attend the 1st birthday part of the boy’s girlfriend. Maddison is turning one in December but her mom and dad decided to celebrate a little earlier. I used to work with Maddy’s mom and when we were both pregnant we thought for sure she was having a boy and I was having a girl. Maddy was born very much a girl on December 3rd and that same day I found out I was having a boy when I had my ultrasound. It didn’t matter who was having what because it still meant our children could grow up to marry each other. Okay, okay, that may be a bit premature but I thought it was so funny when we arrived at the birthday party and Jen commented how she had been telling Maddy that her boyfriend was coming to her party and I laughed and told her I had been telling Luke he was going to his girlfriend’s party ;-)
I mean, come on…wouldn’t they make a cute couple?
Maddison
Luke
It was so nice to spend some time with Maddy and her parents and family and soon I’ll be doing a Christmas shoot with them which I am super excited about.
From the party we headed home and made final arrangements for the Passion Party I had planned for the evening. Suffice to say that there were lots of laughs and fun and in two weeks (when the orders come in) lots more fun ;-)
The reason there aren’t any photos of lunch and dinner is because well…there weren’t any. I think I grabbed a bran bar for lunch as I was on the go and for supper I just nibbled on some of the guacamole, salsa, hummus and veggies and a few crackers…oh and two beer :-)
Week 2 – Day 5
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week 2
Breakfast
Spinach and dill veggie omelet with Morning Glory Breakfast Bar and a clementine
Lunch
Layered Mexican Bake and HUGE spinach salad (it didn’t seem like that much dressing when I poured it…yowza!)
Dinner
Pork with guacamole and broccoli, mini carrots, green & yellow beans.
Made the Morning Glory Breakfast Bars last evening and they smelled really great while baking. I omitted the pineapple and instead used more yogurt. They taste like a combination between a bran muffin and a carrot cake and are very moist. They are supposed to have 117 calories each but I figure with the pineapple switch they’re more like 100 calories which is a good choice for a snack and they are full of fibre. It was nice to bake something because I love to bake. I’m not so much a cook as I am a baker. With Christmas closing in upon us I have the itch to bake. The only problem with that is I don’t want to eat any of it! Baked goods have no place in my meal plan!
Spent the day hanging out with the boy and cleaning up the house for the party tomorrow. Swept and washed the floors…that counts as exercise right? Well I *did* work up a sweat! I set the GLEE soundtrack to play and worked my butt off around the house. I find cleaning/organizing the house cathartic for some reason. I also feel the same way doing dishes or laundry. Very odd because I’m truly the most undomestic goddess there is. Also…I may or may not have put on some Christmas music while house cleaning. I’m quite pleased that the boy seems to like Christmas music as much as I do. Lately when I’m trying to calm him down I will sing a soft Christmas ballad like Silent Night. Ironic, no?
Recipe – Morning Glory Breakfast Bars
Posted by Tammi | Filed under recipes, week 2
Morning Glory Breakfast Bar
Recipe taken from the 2010 Milk Calendar. I omitted the pineapple and instead used more yogurt (which WAS fat-free). I also added more cinnamon because I love cinnamon :-)
INGREDIENTS
2 cups of All Bran cereal
1-1/2 cups shredded carrot (about 3)
1 cup of milk
3/4 cup drained crushed pineapple
1/2 cup of yogurt (not fat-free)
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup liquid honey
METHOD
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Line a 13×9 pan with foil, leaving a 2 inch overhang at each end. Lightly butter foil.
In a bowl, combine bran cereal, carrots, milk, pineapple and yogurt: let stand for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Whisk egg and honey into milk mixture. Pour over dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Spread into prepared pan, smoothing top.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until tester inserted into centre comes out clean.
Let cool completely in pan on rack.
Using foil overhang as handles, remove from pan and cut into 12 bars (approximately 4 inches x 3 inches each).
COOKING TIP
Bars can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap then frozen in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the microwave on Defrost (30%) for about 1 minute per bar.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Per serving: Energy – 117 calories | Protein – 4 grams | Carbohydrates – 27 grams | Fat – 1 gram | Fibre – 4.2 grams
Week 2 – Day 4
Posted by Tammi | Filed under exercise, photos, week 2
Breakfast
Eggnog French Toast made with multi grain bread topped with sliced banana and pure Nova Scotia Maple Syrup
Dinner
Pork with spinach and corn.
You’ll notice that there isn’t a picture of my lunch today. That is because I didn’t have one. I’m not proud of that because I’m supposed to be eating 3 meals per day with 2 snacks. I need to give my body that fuel. I noticed it at the end of the day, big time. I was famished by the time we had dinner and then was hungry after dinner as well. I had some celery with pumpkin butter and half of a carrot to try to tide me over until morning. I also sampled one of the breakfast bars I made tonight but I’m not going to beat myself up over it. Not like I had all meals and snacks and then was eating all of this besides. I’m just angry at myself for not making my eating a priority and as a result had food beyond supper time. That’s not cool at all.
I did manage to get out for a fantastic walk at Shubie Park today…all by myself too! It was so nice to just walk at my own pace and not be pushing a stroller. I love taking the boy for walks there but sometimes it is just nice to be out in nature by yourself with your own thoughts for a change. The sunlight was fading but boy did it make it gorgeous walking through the woods. So many leaves have fallen since my last visit and it felt so good to breathe in so much fresh air. The temperature was hovering around 15 Celsius so it was nice and warm and didn’t even need a jacket. Here are a couple of pictures from my walk…
View from my favorite park bench in Shubie Park
Along the trail in Shubie Park
As usual I met a bunch of people on my walk…some walking their dogs, some walking with family or friends, some on bikes and some running. Once I get some more of this weight off I want to be one of those runners.
Hubby was the one who cooked dinner this evening which was a nice treat. Fed the boy some cereal and then gave him a bath. He was exhausted and out by 7:00pm which is very rare. I was so looking forward to accomplishing so much this evening in preparation for the party on Saturday and other odds and ends I have to do like edit a photo shoot from TWO weeks ago…oy! The boy unfortunately was not down for the count but took a 45 minute power nap and was then up until 10:00pm when he finally gave in and went back to sleep. As you can see, the only down time I get to do anything uninterrupted is late at night and by that time of day I am wiped. I had all good intentions of working on photos and on trying to catch up on blog reading and commenting because it is something very important to me to stay motivated and to keep others motivated knowing there’s someone reading but alas, I’m just too tired. It is now approaching midnight and this chick needs some serious zzzzs.
Tomorrow is another day and hopefully I’ll have much more of a sense of accomplishment tomorrow night.
Week 2 – Day 3
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week 2
Breakfast
Ezekiel English muffin with guacamole and drizzled salsa on poached egg with unsweetened apple sauce and slivered almonds
Lunch
Tuna fish cakes topped with salsa verde with sweet potato, tabbouleh, peas and hummus
Dinner
On Track cereal with 1% milk and celery sticks with pumpkin butter
Well this day flew by. Whooosh – just like that. I had full intentions of getting to Shubie Park today but let me tell you…if you aren’t a parent you have no idea how hard it is to plan anything when you have a baby who needs to nap. I should also mention that while there’s usually a 2-3 hour window of time when said baby will usually nap, the actual time they finally fall asleep is a big mystery…then the clock starts ticking from that point onward. We were going to go this morning but then the nap happened and afterwards I was glad we didn’t go because apparently the Olympic Torch was at Shubie Park right where we go for a walk so we wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere near there at that time anyway which would have meant bundling him up and getting in the car for nothing. I suppose in retrospect we could have gone for a walk along Lake Banook but like I said…he slept and then it was lunch time and then time for his nap again. He had another big nap this afternoon but while he did my friend Michelle dropped by with some Christmas cards for me to assemble (I missed her carding workshop on Remembrance Day because of the possibility of hubby having the H1N1 and we didn’t want to contaminate). It was a great visit and we chatted about all kinds of things. It was SO NICE to have some adult interaction. Mat leave is great and all for the sheer fact I don’t need to get dressed for days on end *cough* but ya…when your child does not speak and you know he has no idea what the heck you’re talking about yet it gets pretty boring. :-P
Since the darn time changed the sun now sets before 5:00pm (*cries*) so needless to say the last thing I wanted to do was take my son deep into the wooded trails of Shubie at 4:00pm only to be left in the complete dark before we even made it around the park. Not my idea of fun. Besides, today was one of those days where he just needed Mommy every.single.minute.of.the.day so it was impossible to get anything accomplished except the dishes. To prove my point I didn’t even get a chance to have supper until 9:00pm which was after he went to bed and I had a bath (oh and after he woke up screaming and I calmed him down and got him back to sleep). Ya, so I’m not pleased with the late night eating of supper tonight at all. I didn’t want something full of carbs and didn’t feel like cooking any protein so I opted for cereal as it was pretty low cal and then for some protein I slapped some pumpkin butter inside some celery which was really elementary school but worked. I’m super glad I had an awesome and tasty breakfast. So having that again!
After hubby got home from work we watched last night’s The Biggest Loser and I was so glad to see Amanda still in the running. She’s my favorite. Not sure why but out of all of them I feel the most connected to her. I also felt connected to Rebecca because she started out at 279 which is one pound shy of where I officially started weighing myself before weight loss. So, I could see myself in her old self and seeing her “now” and the fact she’s lost 103 lbs is fantastic…and running a half marathon to boot! Inspirational. She looks fantastic. I want that to be me someday in the not too distant future. So ya, back to Amanda. I just think she’d the biggest sweetheart and am totally rooting for her. Weren’t the makeovers amazing?
I then watched America’s Next Top Model finale and was super happy about Nicole winning. She’s been my pick from the first episode. Totally a redhead thing I think but was really happy for her. Did I feel guilty about watching some tv? Nope. I don’t do it very often so I enjoyed every minute of it.
Tomorrow is cleaning day. Big time. I’m having a Passion Party (read: party for the ladies where we have some drinks and are shown a variety of fun things not appropriate for having out when company drops by *wink wink* *nudge nudge*) on Saturday evening. Looking forward to having some girls in and having a few laughs. If any of the HRM gals wants to drop by send me an email and I’ll give you the address. Only a small group have RSVP’d so far so don’t be shy and come join us! You just might get some Christmas shopping done while you’re here :-)
Hubby has his H1N1 shot tomorrow afternoon so he’s suggested he take the boy with him and so they will drop me off at the gym before heading over to Halifax and then I should be ready to be picked up again by the time they are back. Sounds good to me. I am so enjoying having that “me” time where I can forget about everyone else and their needs (not that I begrudge my time to them) but if I’m going to reach my goal and am putting so much mental commitment into this with my attitude and thinking and am staying committed with my food intake then I also need to be able to devote that 1 hour out of 24 per day to getting some activity in and the easiest way for me to achieve that is to be able to leave the house on my own and have that time to work out without any ties. Having hubby realize how important this is to me and supporting me by taking care of the boy on his evenings off is a huge help to me and I’m grateful for it because I know how tirelessly he works two jobs to ensure I can stay home during maternity leave with our son.
I have lots of thoughts swirling in my head but will save those for another day as bed is calling my name as I glance at the clock and see it is nearly 1:00am. Morning comes early with a little one in the house!
Week 2 – Day 2
Posted by Tammi | Filed under exercise, photos, week 2
Breakfast
1/3 cup of oatmeal with brown sugar Spenda and slivered almonds, two clementines and tea
Lunch
Layered Mexican Bake, tabbouleh, mushrooms, celery and guacamole (fuel for Zumba!)
Dinner
Chicken breast with drizzled Pesto Parmesan dressing, tabbouleh and celery.
I’m really glad I took yesterday off from working out. My body needed to recoup some energy. Unfortunately the Sleep Gods were not on my side last night and despite only going to bed at 1:00am, I was up at 4:00am when hubby got up to go to work. I was wired. I stayed up until the boy woke up and then when he went back down for his morning nap around 9:00am so did I and had a blissful two hour nap. Thankfully! (I may have also snuck in an hour nap during his afternoon nap but so did hubby so I guess you could call it a family nap).
My Dining Companion
Isn’t he cute? That’s “The Boy” and he’s turning SEVEN (gulp) months old on Sunday. He was watching me eat my lunch so I decided to see if he’d like the taste of guacamole as it is pretty soft…he LOVED it. That’s my boy!
Yes, so I fueled up on Mexican inspired foods to give me the energy boost I needed (along with my naps) because I kind of invited myself along to join Angie, FarmGirl and Lex (*waves*) at the weekly Zumba class being put on at Good Life Fitness which is an affiliate of Nubody’s Fitness (where I have my gym membership).
Now don’t take this lightly. I, me, moi…I not only agreed to going but VOLUNTEERED MYSELF to go to a fitness class…*I KNOW!* totally not like me, right? Well, that’s just how I’m rolling these days. Stepping out of the comfort zone, doing things I have never done before and taking advantage of all the tools I can to get this weight off. To be honest, I was pretty damn proud of myself for agreeing to go.
Well…to say I had my ass handed to me would put it mildly but I don’t mean that in a bad way. I was not the person who stopped a minute into it and decided it was not for me. I was not the person who had to keep taking breaks. I was not the person who complained the whole way through the FIFTY FIVE MINUTES of intense cardio. Instead, I was one of the happy participants actively moving my money maker to the Latin rhythms and very ungracefully doing the dance moves. I joked that if I had been a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance that Nigel surely would have said “I’m sorry to say this is the end of the road for you today.”
Until tonight I thought I had a pretty good sense of rhythm. I thought I could shake my booty pretty damn well for someone my size.
That was all before I saw myself dancing in front of a mirrored wall. Oh the HORROR!
I have a sense of rhythm all right. I clearly dance to the beat of a different drum :-P
All in all it was a fantastic way to spend 55 minutes because the instructor was great and I didn’t get the “I give you 3 minutes before you bolt out of here, Fat Girl” glare from her and although thanks to my pasty white complexion’s ability to turn fire engine red within 5 minutes of any activity whatsoever, I did not falter. Sure, I missed more steps than I care to admit and there were more than a few instances of bumping into poor Angie and FarmGirl but I held my own and left drenched in sweat. My hair felt like I had just jumped out of the shower so I know it was one hell of a work out and I burned a ton of calories. Angie’s HRM (heart rate monitor) told her she burned 450 calories so there’s the proof.
We’ve already made a date for next Tuesday night and this time Lynn is planning to join us too. Yay!
Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be sunny and about 10 degrees so my plans for activity are getting out for a walk at Shubie Park in the morning with the boy and then in the afternoon when he naps, I’ll fire up the wii Active and get a good butt kicking workout in!
Week 2 – Day 1
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week 2
Breakfast
Ezekiel English muffins with organic pumpkin seed butter & slivered almonds and clementines.
Lunch
Chicken and avacado wrap on SMART tortilla with tabbouleh, carrots, celery and hummus.
Dinner
Pork stirfry with celery, mushrooms, onions, carrots, peas and sesame seeds.
I was really impressed with the taste of the pumpkin seed butter. I was looking for something with some protein to use in the morning and found myself in the health food section at the SuperStore. I’m not a fan of peanut butter so this was a good alternative. I also ended up finding the Ezekiel products so thought I’d give them a go and really liked the English muffins as well.
A pretty quiet day over all. My energy was severely lacking today and as a result I was pretty sleepy most of the day. I think I did more yawning than anything. Just tried to catch up on things around the house like laundry and of course most of my day is spent taking care of the boy. Hubby had our winter tires put on today (you can thank me later for rescheduling winter’s official start until after the New Year) and finally late afternoon I decided I needed a nap as much as the boy so took him upstairs to our bed in hopes he’d fall asleep. After a little playing he did finally zonk out so so did I. Just in case you are wondering, 45 minutes is not nearly long enough for a nap. I woke up still yawning…hehe.
Hubby was off from his second job this evening so he made me supper (he’s a fantastic cook but with working so often I don’t get many of his meals anymore) and so it was a great treat to have some yummy pork stirfry for dinner. We had anticipated watching a movie this evening but by the time the boy decided to go to bed (9:00pm) it was too late as hubby gets up for work at 4:00am. We’ve rescheduled for tomorrow evening. I contemplated the gym again but having gone three days in a row my body needed a break and is likely why I’m so sleepy. Hubby suggested I work on trying to get the blog up and running as it has been on my to do list for over a week so that’s exactly what I did!
Week 1 Results
Posted by Tammi | Filed under week1, weigh-in
Weight Last Week: 250.0 lbs
Weight This Week: 248.4 lbs
1.6 lbs loss :)
While I am very happy with a loss, I was honestly expecting much more. I realize any loss is great (and it is!) but my first week’s results are typically in the 5 pound area so this was a bit disappointing. Looking back at how the week went, I’m going to resolve to drink more water (this is one thing I’m really bad at I need improvement on) and I also think I ate too much cheese. Ideally I’d not be eating any cheese and so I’ll definitely be cutting way back on the consumption of mozza! Other than that, perhaps keeping a close eye on my portion sizes so make sure all of my proteins and carbs are the size of my palm. Clearly I also consumed too much bread. I should have opted for one slice instead of two with my poached eggs, etc. I also consumed carbs (tortillas in the Layered Mexican Bake for supper) when I should be cutting out all carbs after my lunch.
Workout wise I’m really happy with my three workouts at the gym and it felt really great to be back in motion!
Week 1 – Day 7
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week1
Breakfast
Two poached eggs on multigrain toast with apple slices and tea.
Lunch
Cottage cheese with clementine, slivered almonds and cinnamon.
Dinner
Omelet with 1 egg and 3 egg whites, mushrooms, tomato, onion and green pepper.
Another lazy Sunday. Thankfully hubby is feeling better after his bout of the flu so we had lots of errands to catch up on. The first stop was Costco for lots of fruit and veggie goodness for the week ahead. Hubby taunted me with the proximity to the yummy yucky ice cream cones that Costco is known for and I completely resisted (and was a little mad for bringing it up – my willpower is MUCH stronger than that!) Another stop at the SuperStore and we were all stocked up for the week. Our fridge is overflowing with lots of healthy eats and not one bad thing entered our cart.
I love to play the “see how clean our cart contents can be” game when shopping. I’ve actually had people comment on how healthy all our selections are. I’m also equally disturbed by other shoppers’ cart contents especially when they have children. With childhood obesity being of huge concern these days it shocks me to see that people are still buying processed meats for sandwiches and white bread, prepackaged jello and pudding, cheese & crackers and high sugar “juice” (which it clearly is not) tetra-paks. I honestly believe that there should be classes taught not only to the students about health & nutrition but to the parents as well.
After my omelet I headed off to Nubody’s and put in 40 minutes of cardio – 20 minutes of walking at 3.0 on the treadmill and then 20 minutes on the stationary bike doing a hill profile at level 5. I also may have watched a really cool show on wildlife in the subzero climates such as polar bears, penguins and musk ox. Pretty entertaining and I didn’t even realize I was still biking :)
Week 1 – Day 6
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week1
Breakfast
Vegetable quiche, apple and clementine (and tea of course!)
Lunch
Layered Mexican Bake with peas, grape tomatoes and celery.
Dinner
Tuna Fish Cakes and spinach salad with pesto parmesan dressing.
Well the boy didn’t end up going to sleep until after midnight. Not exactly the bedtime we’re used to. In the end I had to take him to the spare room and settle him down enough to sleep. He was seriously out of sorts and we’re trying to figure out if it may be a side effect of the flu vaccine or if he has a touch of the flu he caught from his daddy.
Breakfast was wonderful with the tasty quiche hubby made and then my intention of lying down for a minute when the boy went for his morning nap turned into a 2.5 hour nap for me. Oops!
In the afternoon we ventured out to Kingswood to borrow a pressure washer from one of my highschool friends. Our house was completely egged on the night AFTER Halloween (seriously, who eggs a house the night after Halloween – obviously it takes some thinking to remember what house to go back to and why are teenagers out at 3am on a SUNDAY night?) My friend was sick with the H1N1 virus so we stopped at Tim Horton’s to pick her up some chicken soup and a honey lemon tea. She was surprised. I hope it made her feel a bit better. On the way back into town we took the Hammonds Plains Road and saw our first house completely decorated and lit up for Christmas – *raises eyebrows*
In the evening I took advantage of having hubby home and decided to try out the Portland Street location of Nubody’s. When we lived in Halifax we’d always go to the Clayton Park or the Burnside location so when we moved back over to Dartmouth again I kept going to the Burnside location as I like the mezzanine. Well I was pleasantly surprised at how HUGE the Portland Street location is and it also has a mezzanine! Not only that but it also has a “Women Only” section that I was unaware of. I was feeling super energetic so did 20 minutes on the treadmill at a speed of 3.0 and incline of 3.5 and then did 20 minutes of rowing followed by 20 minutes on the stationary bike on a hill profile at level 5. I honestly could have kept going and going but the gym was going to close! All in all I was really impressed by my stamina and it feels great to be back!
Recipe – Tuna Fish Cakes
Posted by Tammi | Filed under recipes
Tuna Fish Cakes
Taken from the Festive 2009 Kraft Canada “What’s Cooking” magazine. Follow the link to see complete nutrition info.
INGREDIENTS
2 cans (170 g each) white tuna in water, drained, flaked
1 pkg. (120 g) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
3/4 cup water
1 cup KRAFT Mozza-Cheddar Shredded Cheese
1 carrot, shredded
1/4 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing
2 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish
METHOD
MIX all ingredients. Refrigerate 10 min.
HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Use small ice cream scoop to add 1/4-cup portions of tuna mixture, in batches, to skillet.
FLATTEN into patties with back of spatula. Cook 6 min. or until golden brown on both sides, carefully turning patties over after 3 min.
Week 1- Day 5
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Woke up not feeling the greatest so spent a pretty lazy day in the jammies. In fact, I ended up only eating about half of my oatmeal as I felt too nauseated to eat any more of it. Hubby is still fighting the flu and so only worked his morning job and thankfully a coworker is covering his evening job’s shift.
I decided to try out the Tuna Fish Cake recipe in the new Kraft “What’s Cooking” magazine and boy were they tasty! I was a bit apprehensive about cooking with tuna as it is usually relegated to sandwiches (hehe) and cooking it in a casserole is completely different from you know, FRYING it so it stinks up the whole house! I used our big electric frying pan so I didn’t need to use any oil as it has a non-stick surface and it worked great. It made 12 portions and so we each had 2 fish cakes and there’s enough for 4 more meals of 2 fish cakes each so I put some in the fridge for meals in the next day or two and some in the freezer for the future. Definitely a recipe I will be using again.
After dinner I got presentable by taking a shower (going out in public is a bit of a treat when you’re on maternity leave – I regularly spend the day in my jammies!) and then decided to end the 2 month hiatus I had from the gym. I went to the Burnside Nubody’s and did 20 minutes on the treadmill and then worked out legs on the circuit. I didn’t want to over do it for my first time back but had a great work out, if short. I chose Def Leppard’s greatest hits to listen to and find it really gets my energy level pumped up for working out. It felt great to be back in the gym. I really missed it.
Recipe – Layered Mexican Bake
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, recipes
Layered Mexican Bake
Taken from the Festive 2009 Kraft Canada “What’s Cooking” magazine. Follow the link to see complete nutrition info.
INGREDIENTS
3/4 lb. (340 g) extra-lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tsp. chili powder
1-1/4 cups salsa
2 cups frozen corn
3 large whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
3/4 cup KRAFT Tex Mex Light Shredded Cheese, divided
METHOD
HEAT oven to 375ºF.
BROWN meat with onions and peppers in large skillet on medium-high heat. Stir in chili powder; cook 1 min. Add salsa and corn; mix well. Simmer 5 min.
SPREAD 1 cup meat sauce onto bottom of 8- or 9-inch square baking dish; top with layers of 1 tortilla, 1/2 cup meat sauce, sour cream and 1/4 cup cheese. Cover with 1 tortilla, 1 cup of remaining meat sauce and 1/4 cup of remaining cheese; top with remaining tortilla and meat sauce. Cover with foil.
BAKE 25 min. or until casserole is heated through. Top with remaining cheese; bake, uncovered, 5 min. or melted.
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Note: I substituted cottage cheese for sour cream and only used mozza cheese instead of Tex Mex.
Week 1 – Day 4
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Amazing how the sun can totally make your whole day when you see it shining in the morning :) Decided to have French Toast as it just seemed like that kind of day :) Caught up on “Glee” from last night (yes, I’m a Glee junkie) and hubby surprised me with Subway for lunch (hehe, I’m doing the Jared Diet!) and then later in the afternoon I made the Layered Mexican Bake. Boy was that yummy! Still lots leftover for future meals in the freezer too. I love batch cooking. A lot of work up front but allows you to make good choices later on when things are already made and at your finger tips!
Spent the evening with hubby watching the last three episodes of “The Biggest Loser” so we’re now all caught up. Six hours of tv is a lot so thankfully we had it all recorded on the DVR so we could at least fast forward through the commercials. I always go through at least a box of kleenex per episode. Holy hell it is emotional. The stories of all the competitors and the struggles they have faced and are working through both mentally and physically. I don’t know if it is so emotional for me because I’ve been through some of the same feelings or whether I keep putting myself in their shoes and kind of take on what they must be feeling. I honestly wonder if non-fat people (hehe, that sounded like a coffee order – *giggle*) get as emotional watching it. Do they tune into the human element about the stories of the competitors and do they actually “feel” the pain they feel? I know I do but I’m not sure how much I’m transferring and how much is actually my own demons being drudged up and revisited. The bottom line is all of the contestants are inspiring in their own way and I just love seeing their “here’s how they look now” clips.
Week 1 – Day 3
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
This morning the boy and I ventured out to Empire Theatres in Dartmouth Crossing to attend the Reel Babies showing of “The Men Who Stare At Goats”. It starred Ewan McGregor and George Clooney and was a typical George Clooney movie. Oddball and comical. Hubby had intended to go as it was a holiday for him but he came home from work last evening not feeling well and this morning wasn’t feeling much better. Just before we were ready to go to the movie he threw up so his fate for the day was sealed. To the couch he went. We’re not sure if it is H1N1 but he has ALL of the classic symptoms and in the 11 years we’ve been together I’ve never seen him spend the day on the couch. In fact, he’s only ever taken ONE SICK DAY in 11 years and that was because he got a bad case of food poisoning from tainted mussels in 2003. So, I knew he was really sick if he was on the couch.
His possible piggy flu is really a cause for concern because the boy and I only got our H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines yesterday so we’re not yet immune. Lovely. The boy is in the high risk category if he gets it so this means trying to keep away from hubby as much as is possible when we live in the same house and that also means I am on Mommy duty 24/7 until he’s better as we don’t want him in close contact with the boy at all.
The afternoon was spent enjoying a nap when the boy did as I didn’t feel 100% myself after a restless night spent with a monster sinus headache. Likely just from the flu shots though (or so I hope!)
In the evening we just relaxed and I quickly realized that him having the flu of some sort meant repercussion for me too. If I had been exposed then I could pass it on so unfortunately had to cancel a photo shoot for the weekend and was unable to join a few friends for coffee this evening. Boo. :(
Week 1 – Day 2
Posted by Tammi | Filed under photos, week1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Decided to take the boy out on an adventure today!
First stop was our doctor so we could get our H1N1 and seasonal flu shots. One in each arm for me and one in each leg for him (boo!). He was really good though. Only cried for about 30 seconds (who wouldn’t when you’re being held down, your pants down around your ankles and someone sticking you in the legs with sharp objects!?!). The doc thinks the boy is super cute and he thanked her with one of his big grins. Such a social butterfly, that one!
After our vaccines I made a stop at Nurtured to get some more diaper liners and to pick up another bottle of Allen’s soap for the diapers (the boy is cloth diapered). I decided to use the Mei Tai carrier so I could have both hands free and well, because he loves hanging out in it as illustrated below.
Me & The Boy
Truth be known, I love the carrier as much as he does because it makes it feel like he’s still inside the womb :)
Week 1 – Day 1
Posted by Tammi | Filed under week1, weigh-in
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.” ~ William E. Hickson
…and so, here I am again :-)
I’m bound and determined to make it to the end of this journey, to reach my destination. There have been bumps in the road and detours along the way but the main thing is that I’m not afraid of getting up and dusting myself off and continuing on my way.
The most recent detour was the birth of my son six months ago so that effectively put all weight loss on hold for 9 months of pregnancy and well, when you have a newborn, just getting sleep and eating are huge accomplishments for a new parents let alone trying to put the necessary focus on weight loss. I’m not using that as an excuse but it definitely sat me clearly on the side of the road for far too long.
Now that the boy is more independent and now that hubby isn’t working so much at both of his jobs I can finally get the time I need to dedicate to eating properly, eating often and most importantly exercising on a consistent basis at the gym. While I had been getting out for walks with the boy at Shubie Park in September/October, the weather is getting more unpredictable and cool and that means we can’t always get there. Now that hubby is home more often I can schedule in my gym time which not only allows me to get back on track but also gives me an hour or so of “me” time which any new parents knows is priceless.
My previous record of all the hard work I put in during 2007-08 on this journey (when I went from over 300 lbs down to 218 lbs) was lost in what shall be known as “The Great Server Crash of 2008″. Part of me is sad about that because I’d like to be able to look back and see where my head was during that time, what was motivating me, how I was feeling. The other part of me believes in fresh starts and not looking back but only ahead. Ironically, I have no choice in the matter so ahead it is!
As of today my re-start weight was 250.0 lbs. OUCH. Considering I was 241.0 lbs after my son was born in April that is a big kick in the butt. However, I also tried to re-start in September and was 255.0 lbs then so I’m proud that I kept those 5.0 lbs off these last two months. My first mini goal is to reach 225.0 lbs and I’m giving myself until Valentine’s Day to reach it. I hopefully will before that though! Christmas is also coming up but that’s not traditionally been a huge issue for me. In 2007 I gained 1.0 lbs over Christmas and in 2008 (even being pregnant) I only gained 1.5 lbs in the entire month between before Christmas and after Christmas. It is all about staying focused.
In the past I got wrapped up in calorie counting and reporting it here and while I still am doing that, I think taking photos of what I ate during the day will be much more interesting. I’m taking then with my new iPhone so there’s no excuse not to take the pictures as I’ll always have it with me. I vow to document every single thing I eat and therefore being accountable to the world wide web is a motivator to stay on track. I won’t bore you with every cup of tea I drink or glass of water but all food morsels will be documented. I’ll start doing that tomorrow but I also ate healthy today.
I aim to work out in some fashion (gym, walking in the park or using the wii) at a MINIMUM of three days per week and hopefully 4 or 5. As I get more fit I want to try out some of the fitness classes that are part of my gym membership.
I will weigh myself every Monday morning and report back here with my results. I will also take my body measurements each month to track my inches lost.
So, won’t you join me as I get back on the path to health and wellness again?
