This is my journey to become a healthier me. It began on January 26, 2010 and stalled out... I got a type 2 diabetes diagnosis on March 30, 2022 and started to focus on my health again. On November 8, 2022 I added Ozempic to my toolbox to help me shed some pounds and inches!

Monday, March 18, 2024

Week 71 Weigh in & 45 Strong Challenge Day 15

So, we're back to the ping pong ball a bit. In the last 4 weeks I've lost a whole 0.2 lbs, which is a wee bit less than I'd been hoping for. That being said, I can see that I have visibly gained muscle, so there is obviously some body recomposition going on. Would I rather be down a few pounds and not see those changes? I mean honestly no. So I'll have to tolerate the frustration of the scale not moving while things sort themselves out a bit.

I'm just rereading that and want to give myself a bit of a smack. I mean, I am down 2.4 lbs this week. It might feel a bit artificial since the jump last week came out of the blue so I guess it really feels to me like the last three weeks netted out to nothing, but it could be that things are finally moving again. Either way? I should try to be less whiny when there is a good size drop, no matter what it feels like.

I'm just tired and having some mental health struggles unrelated to my health or this challenge. On the plus side? I don't feel like giving up because I'm struggling. I feel like this is the one thing I am doing for my self care lately, and that if I gave up I'd feel much worse. Once today is in the books I'll be a third of the way through the challenge and I haven't missed a day yet. This is a time limited challenge and it's not measured by outcomes- it's simply measured by doing it. It won't matter what the scale says, or how much I've improved or not improved fitness-wise; all I have to do is to keep trying and I'll have succeeded. That's really empowering! I don't have to rely on my body not being fickle. As long as I get out there, I'll be a winner. So I'm going to keep going and doing my best!

Speaking of being a winner, I signed up for a FREE HealthyWage $10,000 weight loss challenge. It started yesterday, but people can keep joining if they missed the first day- you just have a little less time on your challenge. It doesn't cost anything to sign up but if you are successful you will win money! They divide the prize pool by the number of winners. It won't be a lot of money but free money is a good thing! In this case, you have to lose 4% of your starting weight by April 25. Feel free to join me- it costs absolutely nothing if you don't succeed and if you win- well, you're down the weight and a few dollars richer!




I think I dislike the cardio at F45 because the intensity is much higher than what I've been doing with Walk at Home, and my stamina just isn't there yet. I feel my body complaining about not getting those breaks like we do with the weights, but I mean I would do 45-60 min of a Walk at Home video without taking breaks at all. The intensity and the constant shifting and the fact that some of these exercises are challenging for me to do at all means that I feel like I'm struggling, and there's no clear marker of improvement like there is with the lifting weights.

That being said- it's on the program, I've paid for that monthly pass, so I'm doing it, whether it's fun or not. I'm working on reminding myself that even if I hate it while I'm doing it, I do like how my body feels afterwards. If that's the win, I'll take it. Look for small victories where you can.

I did:

  • 64 minutes of walking and 38 minutes at F45 for a total of 102 active minutes. Today was the Loyals workout which is some not fun cardio. 
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care!
  • 22 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 




OZ Week 53 gain: 1.4 lbs continuing dose at 0.75mg
OZ Week 55 gain: 1.6 lbs
OZ Week 56 loss: 0.6 lbs
OZ Week 57 loss: 2.0 lbs
OZ Week 58 loss: 2.4 lbs
OZ Week 61 gain: 5.4 lbs
OZ Week 62 loss: 1.4 lbs
OZ Week 63 loss: 3.0 lbs
OZ Week 64 loss: 1.0 lb
OZ Week 65 loss: 0.4 lbs
OZ Week 66 loss: 1.8 lbs
OZ Week 67 loss: 0 lbs
OZ Week 68 loss: 1.4 lbs
OZ Week 69 gain: 0.2 lbs
OZ Week 70 gain: 2.2 lbs
OZ Week 71 loss: 2.4 lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 73.6 lbs


Sunday, March 17, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 14

 I did NOT want to get up for the 9am class today! But I remembered how last Sunday I liked having my workout done and the whole day ahead of me, so I got up and did it. And I do like the Pistons workout, too. I didn't feel as strong as I felt last Sunday but I think there has definitely been improvement in my strength overall. I'm looking forward to seeing how my body feels at the end of the challenge.



I did:

  • 18 minutes of walking and 42 minutes at F45. Today was the Pistons workout which is strength training. I lasted longer on the abs exercises today which is great!
  • drank 2.5 litres of water
  • did my dental care!
  • 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 
Some days feel like the minimum, and that's okay. The minimum still meets requirements!

Saturday, March 16, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 13

 I have to admit that I'm glad today is my active recovery day and I didn't have to get up early to haul ass to the gym. Their sole weekend classes start at 9am, so I don't get to sleep in at all if I want to eat breakfast and then take the half hour walk over there. And after a long week, sometimes it's nice to sleep in!

Today I'll just be doing a 60 min walk for my active recovery to meet the challenge requirements. Nothing too strenuous. I haven't decided where I'm going yet. Just relaxing, had a yummy breakfast of Kodiak Chocolate Protein Waffles although today I used maple syrup instead of caramel syrup.

The morning felt okay, but I started having a bad day emotionally in the afternoon. I find when I am having these down days sometimes I find it hard to figure out what to eat because absolutely nothing sounds good. That means I don't want to eat anything. But because of my diabetes, if I don't eat, I'll get really sick from hypoglycemia and that tends to ruin whatever is left of my day because by the time I get sick, eating something will only help for a little while and then I get the headache and nausea back for the rest of the day.

So, I'm eating, but nothing appeals, so that's a frustration. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.



Day 13 down.

I did:

  • 70 minutes of walking.
  • drank 3.5 litres of water!
  • did my dental care!
  • 31 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. They just added some more new vocabulary and I am feeling pretty far behind. I think I am going to need to put some more work in to keep on pace.



Friday, March 15, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 12

 Oh man. Woke up this morning... and I don't want to go to the gym. Guess what I'm doing, though? Tomorrow is my active recovery day so I'll get to rest then. Seriously though, I could skip today but since I was chatting with someone at the gym during Wednesday's class and we agreed to work out together today for the team class, I kinda have to go even if I don't want to. Hey, I'll take the excuse to do the thing I should do!

I generally don't like this one day though. Every other day sometimes we share stations with people, but how quickly you do things or if you need breaks or whatnot doesn't affect them; everyone is doing the reps at their own speed. For the Valor workout, you have a goal to accomplish as a team, and then you finish out the remaining time doing an individual challenge. To be fair, everyone at the gym I have met has been perfectly nice regardless of fitness level, but I can't get past the anxiety that I'm letting my teammate down if I can't do things as quickly as they can, or if I need to take a break. So it makes me a little uncomfortable even if I haven't had any bad experiences, especially since people won't always tell you if you are in fact hindering their progress, right? But the man I was sharing a station with on Wednesday said he'd be back today and he said he would be my partner again today if I wanted so I guess I am going and doing my best! Not that I would otherwise. If I'm paying the fee to do this challenge and to be able to take unlimited classes this month, I'm darn well going to make use of the gym!




I did:

  • 49 minutes of walking, and 45 minutes at F45 for a total of 94 active minutes. Today was the Valor workout where you have a partner and have a team goal for reps on the main cardio exercise before switching to an individual weights exercise. It was killer and my partner and I were both dripping sweat by the end of it! 
  • drank 3 litres of water!
  • did my dental care!
  • 18 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 
I was on plan today foodwise, although I'm putting some thought into whether I need to increase my calories higher due to all this exercise. I'm thinking of trying for a target of 1700-1800 daily. Still not quite sure where I fit because I know that with my history of previous weight loss and gain, my metabolism probably is slower than the average person with my stats and so if I just follow the online calculators I might be eating too much. Also, I've felt pretty satiated most days with my current level of consumption. Maybe I'll try it and go from there.

I'm too tired to journal everything I ate today though- who would have thought the daily journal would also be something that feels like another obligation??

But here is one pretty awesome recipe swap when you want something that tastes like a pub meal but without the calories!

Popcorn Shrimp & Chopped Salad:


570g raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
8 tbsp plain greek yogurt
300g spring mix
1 medium bell pepper, diced
227g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, cut into half moons
113g carrots, julienned
2 tbsp Cajun spice
4 tbsp sweet chili sauce (use the G Hughes to cut calories and sugar!)
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup (you can use sugarfree if you like)
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 450F. Put the shrimp in a bowl and pat dry with paper towels. Toss shrimp with the greek yogurt until coated then add half the Cajun seasoning. Put panko in another bowl and mix with the rest of the Cajun spice. Toss shrimp with the panko and place on a parchment lined baking tray. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown, 14-15 minutes.
Stir together the ketchup, worcestershire sauce, sweet chili sauce, and 1/2 tsp garlic. Set aside.
Whisk together remaining Greek yogurt, vinegar, and olive oil, and add vegetables to the dressing. Toss together.
Divide salad between three plates and serve with popcorn shrimp on the side, with sauce for dipping. Enjoy! 361 calories, 1.5g fat, 54g carbs, 32g protein.


Thursday, March 14, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 11

 I actually managed to get a little extra sleep last night, which is great. I've been starting to feel like I'm running out of gas. Not necessarily in terms of the exercise but just overall worn out. I haven't been sleeping well, even considering my own track record with poor sleep, so I will do my best to enjoy today.

My knees have been feeling a little creaky lately, so I've both been glad to have lost some weight to take the pressure off a bit, and a little concerned that maybe I'm working them too hard. I'm just going to keep an ear on things so to speak, but keep doing what I'm doing. I assume having more strength and muscle will also help with joint movement, and also that's what is helping with fat loss so that I can take even more pressure off. Hopefully nothing bad happens in the meantime!

My arms feel like wet noodles now but that was a good workout! I increased my reps on the top weight I use! 


I did:

  • 15 minutes of walking, and 45 minutes at F45 for a total of 60 active minutes. Today was the Two Fold workout which is weight training, and you choose if you want to focus on upper body or lower body. Since I do so much walking, I generally pick upper body. My legs do enough! 
  • drank 3 litres of water!
  • did my dental care!
  • 29 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 


Today I kept leafing through those interesting recipes to find some to share with you!

Turmeric Almond Porridge:


40 grams of raw rolled oats
1/2 cup water
40 grams frozen raspberries or berry of choice, roughly chopped
7 grams raw almonds, diced or slivered
7 grams pumpkin seeds
7 grams buckwheat groats
15 grams plain protein powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp honey

Add water to a small pot over high heat until boiling- then reduce to medium and add oats, protein powder, buckwheat, cinnamon, turmeric, and honey and stir until cooked, approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately stir through the almonds, pumpkin seeds, and raspberries. Serve immediately- maybe save a raspberry and a tiny bit of the honey for garnish!

I've never seen an oatmeal bowl have this kind of sweet and spicy, and I was intrigued. It's not usually my style to eat hot cereal for breakfast but this recipe does have plenty of protein thanks to the protein powder addition, and sometimes it's nice to have a high protein option that isn't some kind of egg and meat dish. This breakfast clocks in at 349 calories, 11g fat, 33g carbs and 24g protein.


I've been trying to squeeze that morning snack in so I thought if I chose one with picky bits I could eat slowly that I'd be able to work it. And since it fits with the breakfast theme, I went with this one today!


Turmeric Cashews & Edamame:


15 grams cashews
30 grams edamame, shelled and hulled
1/2 tsp turmeric
pinch of himalayan salt, black pepper

Add everything to a small ziploc bag and shake until the seasonings are evenly distributed. Snack and enjoy! You can make a larger batch and then portion them out for easy snacking! 132 calories, 8g fat, 7.5g carbs, 6.5g protein.


It was at this point when I figured why not have Indian food all day? I used to post theme weeks in my blog way back when, where I'd feature recipes in different cuisines or ingredients, so why not an Indian themed day?

Lamb Curry & Brown Rice:


300g cubed lamb, raw (sub your favourite protein if you prefer)
1 tsp olive oil
45 grams yellow onion, diced
200g crushed tomatoes
80g dry brown rice
70g white potato, cubed
60g cauliflower florets
60g green beans ends chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 grams red chili, finely chopped (can sub dried red chili)
3 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch Himalayan salt

This is a great one to start in the morning if you have an instant pot- or else you can do the sauteeing in a pan then add to a slow cooker! If you prefer to make fresh, here is the recipe.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, and sautee the onion and garlic until soft. Add the lamb, red chili, garam masala, turmeric, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt, and cook for a further 4-5 minutes or until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes and potatoes, and simmer for 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken and the lamb is fully cooked. 
Prepare rice as directed, set aside when fully cooked. Steam the cauliflower and green beans until tender-crisp. Divide the rice onto two places, add vegetables, and top each portion with 1/2 the curry. Enjoy! This would also reheat very well for lunch the next day, or you could double it and have meals for the week! You can lower calories/carbs by removing the potato if you like- I found it odd to have both potato and rice but it does taste good! 443 calories, 11g fat, 42g carbs, 40g protein.

For afternoon snack, I pulled out rice cakes and they definitely didn't taste like styrofoam today! Quick and easy snack with lots of protein and fibre.

Curried Chickpeas on Rice Cakes:


100g canned chickpeas, drained
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 tbsp dried coriander
pinch of Himalayan salt & pepper
2 small rice cakes

Add chickpeas and olive oil to a bowl and mash with a potato masher until they are mashed but still chunky. Stir through the spices, and then spread on rice cakes and enjoy! Again, you can make this as a bigger batch and refrigerate for future snacks. Serves two portions. 116 calories, 4.5g fat, 11g carbs, 4.5g protein.


For dinner, if you aren't spiced out yet!


Chicken Korma:


300g raw boneless skinless chicken breast, diced
130g broccoli florets
50g yellow onion, diced
100g crushed tomatoes
45mL coconut cream
90g brown rice, uncooked
3/4 tsp olive oil
2g finely chopped lemongrass
1 tbsp dried coriander
1 pinch himalayan salt
22g mild curry paste

Prepare rice as directed and set aside when cooked. Heat olive oil in a medium pan and sautee the onion until it softens. Add the lemongrass and coriander and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until fragrant. Add the chicken breast and cook until browned. Add the coconut cream and crushed tomatoes and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes. Steam the broccoli.
Divide the rice and broccoli on two plates and top with half the korma on each, and enjoy!

This one would be another good one for a big instapot meal by starting out using the sautee function and then moving to slow cook. Come home to a delicious smelling dinner! 445 calories, 12.5g fat, 37g carbs, and 42g protein.


And we'll even end the day with a little bit of spice- I was surprised how much I enjoyed the contrast here!

Turmeric Vanilla Fudge Balls:




40g vanilla protein powder
40g almond meal
125g cashew butter
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine protein powder, almond meal, and turmeric in a bowl. Add in cashew butter, vanilla extract, and coconut oil, and stir until a sticky dough is formed. Chill in the fridge for at least half an hour so it's easier to roll into balls. Using the palm of your hand, roll the dough into ten equal balls. Serve one as a portion and either return the rest to the refrigerator or you can freeze them in an airtight bag- just take out to thaw about an hour before serving. 

I really liked the sweet and spicy contrast here! One ball is 125 calories, 9g fat, 2g carbs, and 7g protein.


So while today's recipes involved a lot of cooking and prep, the recipes really leant themselves towards make ahead prep in bulk so you could eat them over multiple days. Take one day to meal prep and eat for a week!
That brings the day's total to 1610 calories, 56g fat, 132.5g carbs, 124g protein. Pretty good total for a workout day!

45 Strong Challenge, Day 10!

 

I think I needed to see that this morning. I just got myself into a little bit of a mental rut when I was thinking about how long my weight has been moving so slowly. Then I kept waking up last night to pee and so I thought that was going to be my "whoosh" moment where I got rid of the extra liquid my body was retaining and I'd be down a few pounds in the morning. Well, nope, I'm still about the same.

I know all the reasons why this makes sense. If you were sitting here telling me these facts, I would remind you that you've seen a physical increase in muscle in your body, and you can absolutely be gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time and the scale stays exactly the same. I would point out that such a big increase in exercise intensity means you might have some inflammation and be retaining fluid (bathroom breaks last night notwithstanding!). I'd remind you that womens' bodies in particular can be fickle and can gain and lose weight based on hormones and where you are in your cycle and sometimes it feels like for no reason at all. I'd tell you to keep doing what you're doing, maybe eat a little extra protein, and give your body some time and you'll push right past this!

So I'm sharing that cartoon in case anyone else needed to see it today. Little changes lead to big changes. We just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I'm ten days into the 45 Strong challenge and I haven't missed a day yet! That's something to be proud of! And I've noticed that I might actually be finally starting to experience a bit of boosted energy levels after over a year's worth of exercising where it felt like it was costing me energy. I might finally be getting to the point where it actually makes me feel good, and that's exciting. It's taken so long I figured that it just wasn't something I'd feel- that exercise would always be the drag that I would have to force myself to do. It feels more like a mixed bag now. I still hate sweating and the feeling like I'm going to die when I'm pushing myself, but that feeling passes fairly quickly and then I have that lovely endorphin rush where I'm glad I did it, and I feel strong and powerful. One day at a time... and we'll see where this path leads. Sometimes I find that the most interesting and best parts in my life follow from choices that didn't fit in with my life plans, or where I just decided to give something a try. I always identified as someone who hated exercise (still kinda do, really), but when I saw that F45 trial I decided why not give it a try. I had already been doing Walk at Home so this just felt like a bit further down the rabbit hole. Who knows where it will lead?



I did:

  • 54 minutes of walking, and 39 minutes at F45 for a total of 93 active minutes. Today was the Triple Threat workout which is another horrible, horrible cardio workout. 
  • drank 3 litres of water!
  • did my dental care!
  • 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 


I found some new and interesting recipes, so I figure that I'll try and put a few more interesting things in my daily meal plans here if I can get out of my food jags!

Breakfast was a new one!

Turkish Scrambled Eggs:


2 large eggs, whisked
45g yellow onion, diced
30g red bell pepper, diced
50g cherry tomatoes, halved
6 kalamata olives, pitted
1/2 oz feta or goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
salt, pepper
1 slice whole wheat Weight Watchers' bread

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray when warm. Saute the onion, bell pepper, and tomato until soft, 2-3 minutes. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and add seasonings, continuing to stir the eggs as they cook. Toast your bread. When eggs are done to your liking, place the toast in the centre of your plate. Top with the scrambled eggs, and sprinkle with the cheese. Garnish with olives and enjoy! This is a nice variation on a basic egg recipe and hopefully you'll enjoy the twist! 316 calories, 18g fat, 19.5g carbs, 17.5g protein.


This lunch can be prepped in advance and assembled when you're ready to eat to save time. I find that I need to eat right after I come home from my workout, so having the components ready to make a quick lunch means I'm much more likely to stay on track rather than just grab something because I'm hungry.

Pumpkin, Goat Cheese & Chicken Wrap:



1 Flatout protein wrap
3 oz cooked chicken breast, diced
80g raw pumpkin, skinned and diced (or other squash)
50g red onion, diced
50g tomato slices
40g baby spinach leaves
1/2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 tsp rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced

Preheat your oven to 400F. Put your pumpkin and onion in a bowl and either use 1 tsp olive oil or spritz with a little bit of cooking spray. Add the rosemary and minced garlic, and stir well to spread out the spices. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow veggies to cool. Open your wrap onto a plate, and fill with spinach, tomato, and goat cheese. Top with the chicken and roasted veggies and wrap tightly. If you like, cut in half, but you can enjoy the full portion! It's funny, I like squash but generally I eat pumpkin in sweets rather than savories. I was really impressed with how tasty this is. If you like, serve this with raw veggie sticks on the side and maybe a little of my Veggielicious Dip! The wrap clocks in at 305 calories, 8g fat, 32g carbs, and 36g protein.

For afternoon snack, I had one of my protein snack plates from earlier in the week- delicious! Feel free to use whatever cheese and meat and crackers you have at hand! Mine clocked in at 360 calories, 23g fat, 19.5g carbs, and 19g protein.

Dinner came from Hellofresh- if you haven't tried them yet, you can get a totally free box using my referral link! They have lots of low carb and low calorie recipes to choose from every week.

Apricot-Mustard Pork Chops:


340g boneless pork chops
113g spring mix
2 clementines
4 radishes
14g toasted pepitas
28g goat cheese
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tbsp chicken broth concentrate
2 tsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 425F. Cut radishes into thin half moons. Add vinegar, half the apricot jam, and half the olive oil to a large bowl. Add salt and pepper, and whisk to combine. Add the radishes to marinate and set aside. Heat a large oven safe pan to medium heat on your stovetop. Add the remaining oil, and when it's hot, sear the pork chops for 2-3 min per side. Place the oven safe pan in the oven and roast the pork for 8-12 minutes or until cooked through. Put the pan back on the stovetop on medium-low and set the pork aside on a cutting board to rest. Add broth concentrate, 1/4 cup water, mustard, and remaining apricot jam. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens. While sauce is simmering, peel and segment clementines. Add clementines and spring mix to the bowl with the radishes and toss to combine. Thinly slice the pork chops, adding any meat juices to the pan sauce. Divide the salad and pork on two plates, and spoon the pan sauce over the pork. Sprinkle pepitas and goat cheese over the salad, and enjoy! This is a nice light and flavourful salad which is perfect for a warm evening when you don't want a heavy supper. 404 calories, 17.5g fat, 26.5g carbs, 37g protein.


Here's a make-ahead dessert with a ton of protein so you won't have to worry about making something in advance!

Frozen Cheesecake Squares:


450g cottage cheese
110g cashew butter (or your favourite nut butter)
26g plain or vanilla protein powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp of your favourite sweetener
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup water

Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until it's entirely smooth. Pour mixture into a flat bottomed container with a lid and place in the freezer- mixture should be about 2 cm deep. After approximately 2 hours, take the container out and cut your cheesecake into 20 squares while it's still in the container, and return it to the freezer for a further 2 hours or until frozen entirely. One serving is four squares (recipe makes 5 servings). 

Cottage cheese, is there anything it can't do?? This was surprisingly good! I think it would be great with some fruit chunks added as well, maybe small diced fruit added after the blender stage. Strawberry was my first thought, but I think pina colada with pineapple chunks and coconut would be amazing too! This one would be a great base to play around with, and it has lots of protein! The base recipe is 270 calories, 16g fat, 8g carbs, and 23g protein! Your recipe may vary depending on protein powder.

That brings my daily total to 1375 calories, 82.5g fat, 105.5g carbs, and 132.5g protein! That is a little lower than I'd like to go when I've been so active lately, so I'll make sure to add a little something. Maybe I'll have a couple of squares of good chocolate before bed!



Wednesday, March 13, 2024

45 Strong Challenge Day 9

 I'm really tired this morning- more so than usual. Getting up was a bit of a struggle even though I was hungry and wanted to make breakfast. That being said, I'm feeling like I'm sleeping more deeply lately. I am not sure if it's because of the exercise or if it's just random, but when my pets wake me up in the middle of the night it feels like I'm swimming through molasses.

Today will be 20% of the challenge completed! It's hard, but it actually does feel like it's going by so quickly. I can get through this. And also I'm curious to see what my results will be. It seems like maybe the scale won't be too happy with me but who knows how things will shake out in a few weeks more. I already have improvement with the weights I'm lifting, although I don't know if that's a function of the challenge specifically or not, but it's still measurable progress and I'm happy with that.



I did:

  • 32 minutes of walking, and 46 minutes at F45 for a total of 78 active minutes. Today was the Titans workout which is probably my favourite. Or rather I don't really know the difference between the various named workouts, but Tuesdays are always the day where you try to lift heavier rather than to focus on reps. I like that even if it's challenging. The names of the workouts change every month (I think) but the basic premise of what type of workout is on what day doesn't seem to. 
  • drank 3 litres of water!
  • did my dental care!
  • 21 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

You can probably see from the meal plans I've been sharing during the challenge that I tend to eat the same food in little bursts. While it's fun to share new recipes here and try new things, I wouldn't have the time and energy to do that every day! Mostly when I shared meal plans previously it was to add new recipes to my blog- but during this challenge this is what I'm eating every day! Hope you find it helpful!

Breakfast was 2 slices of Weight Watchers bread, toasted, each with a slice of ham on top, half a slice of pepper jack cheese, and a sunny side up egg pan fried in cooking spray with a soft yolk. 353 calories, 17.5g fat 18.5g carbs, 30g protein.

Timing is still making it tough to get my usual morning snack in so that hasn't been a thing so far this challenge, which contributes to the heavier meals.

Lunch was a bit of a calorie splurge but worth every bit of it. My son had asked for a bag of sub buns and they're so delicious so I decided I wanted to have one. I topped it with lots of protein to make up for it though- 4 slices of smoked turkey, 4 slices of black forest ham, 1oz of Brie cheese, thinly sliced, romaine lettuce, tomato, red onion, and 1/2 tbsp light mayonnaise. Obviously you could change the stats here by going with a wrap or a lower calorie bread. 534 calories, 17g fat, 53g carbs, and 42g protein

Afternoon snack was grab and go- a container of President's Choice vanilla Greek yogurt. Quick and easy. 80 calories, 0g fat, 11g carbs, 9g protein.

Dinner was my Ginger Glazed Shrimp & Bulgur Bowl- delicious and high protein! 387 calories, 13g fat, 42g carbs, 27g protein.

The best part of my day was dessert! This one is easy to prepare in advance and refrigerate for later. If you haven't tried my NY Style Cheesecake, I'd highly recommend it!


1 large graham cracker, crushed into crumbs
2 oz fat free cream cheese
2 tbsp light ricotta cheese
1 tbsp vanilla Greek yogurt
2 1/2 tbsp Splenda or your favourite sweetener
1 1/2 tbsp egg whites
1/2 tsp lemon juice or vanilla extract

2-3 tbsp of fruit or sugarfree pie filling
1-2 tbsp fat free whipped cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together cheeses, yogurt, Splenda, juice/extract and Egg Beaters and stir until well blended. Spray your baking dish with cooking spray (I used a mini silicone loaf pan). Add in the graham cracker crumbs and shake around to coat bottom of dish. Pour cheesecake filling into dish and put the dish into a larger oven safe dish and add water about half way up the side of the mini pan in the larger dish to create a water bath. Bake the cheesecake for 40 minutes, then turn off toaster oven or oven and let it sit in the oven for 10 minutes. I put mine in the fridge to let it set while I had dinner, and then topped with the sugarfree cherry filling and light whipped cream.

It's so delicious, you won't believe it's healthy! This recipe serves one, so you may want to double or triple it so that you can have more in the fridge for another day!

You can also do variants- use different flavours of Greek yogurt! I like using key lime and some lime zest, or lemon meringue and lemon zest. I'd love to hear how you experiment with it! 176 calories, 2.5g fat, 18g carbs, 14.5g protein.

That brings my daily total to 1530 calories, 50g fat, 142.5g carbs, and 122.5g protein! That should help with muscle growth!