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Don’t Weigh Your Self-Esteem
Sooo…yeah… I’m still at my mom’s place. I swear, the Universe is trying to tell me something :P It’s been snow storm-y here all day and I didn’t want to worsen my mother’s ulcer by hitting the highway. Had to rearrange a couple shifts at Starbucks to do it. Pretty sure they hate me there now because I also gave my notice today!
To jog your memory, I got offered a full-time contract doing communications work until May at my old university. I got confirmation today that I start next Monday at 8:30 am! I’ve been working at Starbucks since the beginning of December to make ends meet after leaving my full-time reporting gig at a radio station. The plan is to become a personal trainer eventually and this new job will basically last the duration of my course. How convenient! And it came totally out of the blue – they just called me up! :D
Phew. When did my life get so complicated? :P
Aaaaanyways, I was up and at ‘em early this morning for a visit to the new Nubodys women’s-only gym downtown. Fuelled up with half a banana, PB and a handful of cheerios before I left.
Warm-up: shovelling my car out 5 minutes walking/jogging on treadmill
Treadmill:
Incline @ 1%
0:00-1:00 – 6.0 mph
1:00-2:00 – 6.2 mph
2:00-3:00 – 6.4 mph
3:00-4:00 – 6.2 mph
4:00-5:00 – 6.4 mph
5:00-6:00 – 6.6 mph
6:00-7:00 – 6.4 mph
7:00-8:00 – 6.6 mph
8:00-9:00 – 6.8 mph
9:00-10:00 – 6.6 mph
10:00-11:00 – 6.8mph
11:00-12:00 – 7.0 mph
12:00-13:00 – 6.8 mph
13:00-14:00 – 7.0 mph
14:00-15:00 – 7.2 mph
A1 – Dumbbell shoulder press:
3 sets @ 15 lbs ea x 8
B1 – Barbell bicep curl:
3 sets @ 20 lbs x 12
B2 – Skull crusher:
3 sets @ 20 lbs x 12
C1 – Seated cable row:
3 sets @ 75 lbs x 10
C2 – Chest fly:
3 sets @ 15 lbs ea x 8
Treadmill:
0:00-1:00 – 5.5 mph @ 0% incline
1:00-2:00 – 6.0 mph @ 0.5% incline
2:00-3:00 – 6.5 mph @ 0.5% incline
3:00-4:00 – 7.0 mph @ 0.5% incline
4:00-5:00 – 6.0 mph @ 1% incline
5:00-6:00 – 6.5 mph @ 1% incline
6:00-7:00 – 7.0 mph @ 1% incline
7:00-8:00 – 6.0 mph @ 1.5% incline
8:00-9:00 – 6.5 mph @ 1.5% incline
9:00-10:00 – 7.0 mph @ 1.5% incline
Plank: 2 sets @ 60 sec
Side plank: 2 sets @ 30 sec
Treadmill:
Incline @ 0%
0:00-1:00 – 3.0 mph
1:00-3:00 – 3.5 mph
3:00-4:00 – 8.0 mph
4:00-6:00 – 3.5 mph
6:00-7:00 – 8.5 mph
7:00-9:00 – 3.5 mph
9:00-10:00 – 9.0 mph
10:00-12:00 – 3.5 mph
12:00-13:00 – 9.5 mph
13:00-15:00 – 3.5 mph
Anyone else feel like a crazy person when they run sprints on a treadmill? There were only four of us in the gym, and I had a feeling they were getting ready to rush to my side in case I fell off…
I had plans to meet the fam at my Nana’s after, so I stopped by the grocery store next door to pick up breakfast.
Boiled eggs, cinnamon oatmeal packet, vanilla yogurt, crappy coffee.
Added half a chopped pink lady apple to the oatmeal and topped it with the yogurt.
Yum!!! I love my Nana’s dishes too. I’m such an old lady.
Lunch was more leftovers. Sick of looking at these yet?
Well I’m not sick of eating them yet ;) The last of the Sweet Potato, Goat Cheese & Parmesan Galette, mom’s meat pie and homemade Chunky Apple Cranberry Sauce.
Today has been a lazy snow day at my mom’s. We’ve been reading, playing video games and watching movies. A perfectly relaxing day!
I broke into my bar stash when my afternoon snack attack hit.
A Jordan’s Luxury Absolute Nut from the UK, sent my way by the lovely Deb.
Love the foreign food label ;)
I usually buy Jordan’s muesli, so I was excited to try one of his bars! (yes, the company is a person in my head). It was a little on the crunchy side, but I loved how it was plain tasting. Yes, I like that taste! I could pick out every ingredient and flavour in the bar – and all were tasty :)
Dinner was, erm, more leftovers. We are making good progress on my mother’s fridge. I think I saw an open space in there the last time I opened it…
Mom’s turkey casserole (with biscuits) and steamed broccoli, carrots and brussel sprouts on the side. The extra veggies were a good call – I’ve been craving them!
Don’t Weigh Your Self-Esteem
As I was running my last sprints on the treadmill at the gym today, I noticed the inverted outline of a poster the gym has on display in one of their windows. All their windows are plastered with pictures of happy, fit looking women with words like “enthusiasm” and other stupid things. But this particular poster really got my blood boiling…
A woman’s feet standing on a scale that says “HAPPY” where the weight is usually displayed, and then “Success” written next to the image.
Aofnefusefsblj!!!! Whhyyyy do we let women think that a number on a scale should dictate their happiness??
It’s as if it’s saying getting to your goal weight will give you instant happiness. As if it’s perfectly okay to let your mood be influenced by how much you weigh. Or, that all thin people are happy because they’re not fat.
Right.
Let me tell you from experience that I have all the same emotional issues at my goal weight than I did when I was heavier. In fact, I was downright miserable a few months ago, whilst being the most fit I’ve ever been. Being thin doesn’t make your job easier or relationships any better.
Even worse is that this line of thinking is coming from a women’s-only gym. Women’s gyms are supposed to be safe havens for women who are self-conscious, or need a good community to get motivated. But at the same time, this poster only perpetuates the negative feelings that so many women associate with their own body-image. I really wish women would stop letting ideas like this continue to circulate. It’s like we’re just shooting ourselves in the foot.
As my mother just eloquently put it – “Don’t weigh your self-esteem.” Don’t give the scale more power than it deserves. There is only one thing that can make you happy and that’s you. It really does come from within. Any happiness found from an outside source is just fleeting and temporary.
So I beg you to not let your happiness be swayed by what the scale says – especially this week! I can tell you up front that I’ve gained 3 lbs in the past month, my pants are getting a little snug, and I don’t give a shit. I’ll soon be returning to my cookie-free apartment, and leaving the temptations at Starbucks. My weight is in a constant state of flux, and it will return to normal eventually. But right now I’m still happy as a clam cuddled up in my peejays with my family :D Oh, and did you see? I did three HIIT sessions today. Yeah, take that scale.
Question of the Day: What are your feelings on the poster?
P.S. Check out my guest post on Maria’s blog, Chasing the Now, on some of the 101 things I want to do in 1001 days :)
Not Ready To Leave
Good news! I don’t work until Tuesday evening, so I decided to stay an extra night at my mom’s :) I’m currently cuddled up watching movies with the fam. No wonder I want to move home – they treat me too well! ;)
Chris wasn’t feeling well this morning so I was solo for spin class today at the giant-sized Nubodys Dieppe. It’s one of those “Super Clubs” and it’s gorgeous!! It’s in a heavily wooded area and has a “resort” feel to it. I wish I’d taken pictures. But no worries, it’s the gym I’m doing my personal training course at in a couple weeks – so I’ll be back!
As for the spin class, it was challenging, I loved it. The instructor was quite knowledgeable and explained what and why we needed to do everything really well. She also had us do some tough seated hill climbs, and then standing climbs while we pulled back and hovered over our seat. Holy moly, my legs are pretty accustomed to spin, but they’re already sore!
Came home starving as per usual and filled my belly with more smoked meat.
Toasted on rye bread with mustard, relish, swiss cheese and grapes on the side. Believe it or not my family has actually eaten most of the giant hunk of smoked meat my mom bought at Costco. We eat like pros ;)
It’s also become a bit of a running joke that my nana, mother and I eat our cookies one half at a time.
I guess we like to nibble on our sweets rather than eat them all at once. Others keep finding bits and pieces of cookies and wondering what happened to the rest of them :P
Also being nibbled – another Costco-sized item – mixed nuts.
Way too salty for my tastebuds, but that hasn’t stopped me from digging out the brazil nuts ;)
It was a goooorgeous day here. Around +3 C (37 F) and clear skies. So my mom Mark, Jane, Chris and I all head out for a walk.
We walked down to Centennial Park, one of Moncton’s green areas. The trails weren’t that great because the snow was either melting or freezing over into ice.
Is it wrong the ducks made me think of Julia Child and de-boning a duck? I can hardly believe I was a vegetarian for eight years ;)
I must also say that I enjoyed running on this same trail more when I was home this summer. I miss the warm weather already!
We were out for around 50 minutes. It was great to get the fresh air – it’s been a while for me! I’ve been hibernating indoors recently.
I was hungry again when we got home, so I dug into one of the Glo Bars Angela gave me.
Angela said this is a new flavour with no name yet. It had peanut butter, apricots, cranberries, almonds, pumpkin seeds and some mystery seed I couldn’t put my finger on. Hemp maybe?
The bar was ooey-gooey and absolutely lovely. I liked the huge chunks of dried fruit and almonds. Felt more like a treat than some of the other boring bars I eat.
Dinner tonight was yet another fabulous meal. I was in charge of the salad:
Mixed greens, broccoli, onions, tomatoes, green pepper, bacon bits, parmesan.
My mom’s dish was the real masterpiece though…
She pretty much made it up!! Instead of making a turkey pot pie, she made the filling (with xmas dinner leftovers), then topped it with biscuits.
Sosososo good! I liked the filling much better with biscuit than I do with pie crust.
So I am going home for real tomorrow. I have yet to hear a confirmation on my new job, but I tentatively start next Monday. What a whirlwind that’s going to be! At least it will make this next busy week at Starbucks easier to get through. I’ll have to stock up on cheap coffee while I can ;)
I’ll also be working on the typical “year in review” and “goals for the new year” posts when I get home. I just don’t want to put the time into it while I’m here with the fam.
Question of the Day: Looking back over the past year, what’s the one thing that stands out in your memory the most? Mine is graduating from university in the spring!!! I’d say that’s a big milestone, no? :)
You are what you eat
Hi!! I just realized that looking back at my pictures, I may have actually taken a picture of almost everything I ate today! Including a shot of this guy who greeted me from my window first thing this morning.
I shall call him Dale ;)
I celebrated Waffle Wednesday appropriately…with waffles! Duh!
Two Nature’s Path maple cinnamon waffles, almond butter, yogurt strawberries.
Been a while since I had this combo, don’t think I’ll ever get sick of it!
After breakfast, I had a coffee meeting with the executive producer of the local news show I used to host. They want be to be a fill-in anchor for their new, live, in-studio format! So I’ll be taking over whenever the regular host is sick, or on vacation. I said yes, because it’s one of those opportunities I know better than to turn down. I have no qualms about being on TV, I’m used to it by now, but live is a whole new ball game!
Oh yes, and I had a double tall, 2 pump sugar-free vanilla, nonfat, dry cappuccino.
With a whole bunch of cinnamon stirred into the foam. So good! I hardly ever have specialty coffees now since I stopped drinking coffee in the afternoon. Add espresso machine to the list of kitchen items to get ;)
Once I got home, I popped a date + cashew butter and dragged myself out headed out for a 10k run. Damn! It was cold! 8 Celsius, so 46 Fahrenheit. The temperature was bearable once I got into it, but my nose was running like mad! Luckily, I’d remembered a piece of paper towel. But my nose was basically like a faucet the whole time.
I can’t complain that much though, because it was still a stellar run!
Duration: 57:02
Distance: 10 km
Avg Pace: 9:11 min/mi
According to my own made-up schedule, today was supposed to be an 80 minute run, but that would have increased my weekly mileage too much with the 10k race this Sunday. So instead I did a practice 10k with no walk breaks! Usually I just run at a pace that feels good and challenging for 9 minutes, then walk for a minute. But today I ran straight out, consciously doing the first four miles around 9:45, then the last couple miles at 9:00 and under. I was pushing 7:30 in my last half mile and my lungs were good to go ;) Slow and steady wins the race, right?
Once I got home, I popped my Moosewood Cookbook creation in the oven while I stretched and showered. The first dish is called solyanka.
It’s a Balkan casserole made up of potatoes, cottage cheese, yogurt, cabbage, carrots, dill and a few other spices. I’d never seen anything like it before, and love all the ingredients, so I knew I had to make it!
I cut the recipe in half, to make three servings instead of six.
It smelled soooo good while baking in the oven and did not disappoint! I think the yogurt is what really made the dish for me. I often eat potatoes with cottage cheese, but have never tried yogurt with them.
I paired it with the Odessa beets recommended in the recipe.
This is grated beets mixed with prunes, garlic and lemon juice. I was nervous about this combo, but again, I enjoy all the ingredients separately, so why not together? This totally blew me away. So, so good. I had no idea beets and prunes would be such a wonderful marriage of flavours!!
I was supposed to go to work right after this, but the other reporter ended up covering one of my assignments. So I had some spare time to get stuff done around the apartment. I snacked on a frozen deep chocolate vitamuffin with peanut butter.
Still lovin’ the frozen vitas. Still putting a huge strain on my wallet :P
Supper wasn’t nearly as fancy as lunch.
A sandwich made up of Yves veggie salami slices and marble cheese with an orange and boiled egg. Eaten at my desk. Then it was off for more work, and I snacked on a Kashi peanut peanut butter bar when I got back.
The chewy bars are the only kind of Kashi bars available in Canada. They’re alright.
A little bland, and not very filling. But pretty good compared to other granola bars out there. Plus, this box was on sale for $2 :)
I had one more small snack when I finally got home.
Laughing cow cheese and blueberry jam on a wasa cracker.
I LOVE this jam!!!
I admit, I really only bought it because of this on the lid…
Well this Susie also says Crofters tastes great :D
And that’s almost everything I ate today! I haven’t done a full recap like that in a while. My eats got pretty repetitive, so I’ve been trying to switch things up. It’s been a lot of fun! I’ve got even more kitchen experiments planned over the next few days that I’m excited for.
Question of the day: What are some foods you eat frequently and never get sick of? For me it’s pitas, carrot sticks, oatmeal, veggie burgers, wasa crackers, to name a few!
I’ve got another busy day on tap tomorrow. Starting with a BodyPump class which I’m totally “pumped” for (I couldn’t help myself). I’ve never been to a class like it before, and I expect to get sore! :P
See ya tomorrow!
