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!

Sunday, March 31, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 28

 Still feeling pretty ragged this morning; I'm just not sleeping well. I'm just taking things one day at a time.


I did:

  • 50 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 90 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Piston workout which is a weights workout. I'll miss this one- it's actually a nice way to start a Sunday morning.
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 42 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. Today is the last day of the Spanish event so I'll be able to slow down a bit tomorrow! I finished in the top ten in the tournament, yay!

Saturday, March 30, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 27

Again, super tired this morning. I was awake early enough to go to the Saturday class but I need some active recovery. Honestly I'm not even thrilled to go for an hour long walk today, but I'm 60% of the way done and I'm not giving up now!

Trying to keep things low key today. We don't do much as a celebration for Easter but I did decide to make a ham and cheese scalloped potatoes and veggies for dinner. Everything in moderation, right? I stayed within my daily calories, too.




I did:

  • 61 minutes of walking.
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 46 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

Friday, March 29, 2024

45 Strong Challenge Day 26

 OK y'all, today I am just tired. Thank goodness tomorrow is Saturday and it's my active recovery day.

Happy Good Friday! Instead of sleeping in and enjoying not having to work or pack the kiddo off to school, where was I? Sweating my ass off at F45. Sigh. That being said- I went. I just don't feel energized post workout today. I feel sweaty and tired. I think I'm just going to relax today and enjoy the holiday as much as possible. Hope you do, too!


I did:

  • 54 minutes of walking and 41 minutes at F45 for a total of 95 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Valor workout which is a team based primarily cardio workout. I'm glad to see the back of this one.
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 21 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. Tournament ends Sunday and then I can slow down a bit on the Spanish!

Thursday, March 28, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 25

 Well, I'm feeling more positive today about my ability to get through this challenge, which is nice! It's been interesting to see my mood fluctuate so far as the days go by, although honestly I could do without the low days!

I'm actually looking forward to today's F45 workout, even though it's the last one of its kind before we switch to the new month. This is the strength day where we work on progressive overload and lift heavy. I have seen visible improvement in my muscles just over the last few weeks, so I'm excited to go in today and see what I can do. I hit a new milestone on reps and weight last time, so I want to see what I can do today! Definitely planning on hitting the protein hard, too. I want to keep feeding the muscles!

So I started today with my favourite easy high protein breakfast that you've seen me mention a few times now, two sunny side up runny yolk eggs on whole wheat weight watchers toast with a slice of deli ham, some red onion, and lowfat cheese. 363 calories, 16g fat, 24g carbs, 30g protein.

Lunch is the quickest and easiest protein heavy meal! I literally just got myself a frozen shrimp ring and I'm having cocktail shrimp and a salad. Not only does it feel decadent, but seafood is low in calories and high in protein. I'm really enjoying it! 174 calories, 2g fat, 2g carbs, 35g protein.

By afternoon though I was looking for a little sweet to complement the spicy cocktail sauce I'd had earlier! I had 1/2 cup chopped strawberries, a container of vanilla Greek yogurt, and just a little drizzle of sugarfree caramel syrup. Sweet and delicious! I added an ounce of almonds on the side. 319 calories, 14g fat, 29g carbs, 23g protein.

Dinner was a homemade cheeseburger with 4oz extra lean ground beef on a low calorie bun with 1oz cheddar cheese and grilled onions, and roasted carrots on the side. I was going to share a recipe for a Big Mac salad but honestly there's nothing wrong with having an actual burger sometimes, even on a day when you're aiming for higher protein and lower carbs! It was delicious and I enjoyed every bite. 522 calories, 23g fat, 46g carbs, 36g protein.

I went for savory for dessert so I could load up on more delicious protein! I had 5 of the PC Black Label cranberry & fennel artisan crisps I've written about before along with 2 oz Brie cheese and 100g Brandt turkey kolbassa. 367 calories, 23g fat, 15.5g carbs, 32.5g protein.

That brings my day to 1745 calories, 78g fat, 116.5g carbs, and 156.5g protein, which is fantastic! I wouldn't choose to eat this way every  day but I did some very heavy lifting today and definitely want to help build that muscle!



I did:

  • 54 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 94 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Two Fold workout which is where you do strength training but focus on upper or lower body. 
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 52 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. Gotta stay in the silly tournament!

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 24

 I'm already worn out and the day hasn't started yet! Not because of physical exhaustion, but I'm just really stressed lately, which is not ideal for taking care of my body. I know studies have shown that stress undoes literally everything I'm trying to do to help myself, so I don't love that.

Then this morning literally nothing sounded good for breakfast, which is frustrating because I have so many ingredients on hand. Finally I just gave up and grabbed whatever was easy, and it's funny because it made me laugh to realize that I fell completely back to basics- the old Nutrisystem program that they had back in the early '00s where breakfast was a Nutrisystem entree plus a dairy or protein serving plus a fruit. The program has changed since then, in some ways better and in some ways worse (at least in my opinion) but their food was generally pretty good, and I still do occasionally drive across the border to get an order of the frozen entrees (which are vastly superior to the shelf stable ones)!

So my quick and easy breakfast this morning is a banana chopped into coins, topped with vanilla Greek yogurt and a little caramel sauce, and a Nutrisystem cinnamon roll. I guess old habits die hard but in this case? That's a pretty good habit. I'm not an active Nutrisystem member anymore because I don't order the food frequently enough to keep my auto delivery on, but I'd still recommend that service to anyone looking for quick and easy meals designed to help with weight loss. Is it cheap? No, but when you look at the cost of food nowadays plus the cost of all the ready meal services that have sprung up, it's pretty reasonable. And most of the entrees can be "doctored up" to actually taste pretty good. In fact, if you haven't read back in my blog, that's what Stomach Rumblings was originally about. I shared lots of recipes and tips and tricks to make the NS program work for you. Back in 2010 when I was an active member, I lost 125 pounds with Nutrisystem and I maintained that loss for six years until my life got really stressful and I stopped taking care of myself; stopped even caring about taking care of myself. That's what I have to prevent this time. Weight loss gets harder the older you get, and yo-yo'ing is very hard on your body. I don't want to go through this again.

But I digress! My point is, I'd still recommend them if you're looking for something, and they obviously instilled some reasonable habits in me that I know work well!





I did:

  • 59 minutes of walking and 38 minutes at F45 for a total of 97 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Triple Threat workout which is tiring cardio. 
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 42 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

45 Strong Challenge- Day 23

 Well I have Bon Jovi stuck in my head- we're halfway there! 

I'm still not getting enough sleep though, and not for lack of trying. I could really use it given how much energy I've been expending lately, but it is what it is.

It's going to be a busy day. I'll just keep doing the best I can. I started today with a high protein breakfast to give me a boost- my favourite pre-weights meal of eggs on toast with cheese, ham, and sliced red onion. Delicious!

My favourite trainer was there today and she always pushes me to try that little bit more. I have a confession to make... I'm still that woman who hates exercise and sweating... but I think I like lifting weights. I feel strong and capable, and I like that.

But man I'm blown out for now! I worked really hard though and I'm proud of myself. Now time to load up on some protein!


I did:

  • 65 minutes of walking and 45 minutes at F45 for a total of 110 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Titans workout which is an awesome weightlifting class. I'm sorry that this one will be finished but I'm sure the next month will have similar and good stuff.
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 31 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. I'm in a silly little tournament on Duolingo this week so apparently I have to do more Spanish than usual to keep up! That's not usually my goal but why not do a little more if I am able to.

Monday, March 25, 2024

Week 72 Weigh In & 45 Strong Challenge: Day 22

 Yay- the scale is moving again! I hope this keeps up for a little while! Again, I know that when you're gaining muscle that the scale might not move for a while because muscle is heavy, but it's still a bummer to work hard and stay within my calories and not see that number drop even when it's literally only one factor in weight loss. But I really needed the boost this week. It's first thing Monday morning and I'm already exhausted and I haven't even gone to work yet let alone gone to F45 today. Those Monday workouts are really rough! It's six pods of three exercises each, which all target the same muscle group. You work out for five minutes with only a ten second break between a full set of three. It's really strenuous- and they're not easy exercises either! 

That being said, my fitness tracker says that my cardio fitness score is slowly increasing, and that's awesome. Yet another visible marker that my health is improving. So while these cardio sets feel very hard hopefully they will get easier. Although I'm sure when they get easier, my favourite trainer that I love to hate will find a way to make them difficult again!

I have been trying to keep my calories towards the higher end of my range because of the high amount of exercise I'm doing during this challenge, so I guess I will keep doing that. I had been worried because the past few days the proportion of carbs has swung a little bit higher so I thought maybe that was going to stall me but I've been so tired that I think my body has genuinely needed the extra energy. My glucose readings are all still within range so I'm not going to worry about it. I do try to get 100g of protein daily but meal planning gets more difficult the more tired I am, and life has been stressful lately. I'm hoping to do some batch cooking this week so that I can just grab a container of leftovers out of the fridge for lunches rather than figure out what to make. I bought a bunch of meal prep containers that are all the same and instead of storing food in serving dishes in the fridge, I portion them out into appropriate meal sizes so they're just grab and go. Bonus- they even look like they're in takeout containers for that little extra bit of feeling like it's junk food!

Today I noticed that I was hungrier- I'm wondering if I do need to keep my calories higher? I'll have to see how it goes. I had to squeeze in my morning snack today even though timing was weird because I was just so hungry. It's not the kind of hunger that feels like Ozempic isn't controlling things- just normal hunger. I'll see how it goes.

Still keeping my dose at 0.75mg for now... I'd really like to save that last boost to 1mg for when I stall closer to my goal weight. Since I'm taking Ozempic for diabetes and not for weight loss, I won't be prescribed a dose higher than 1mg, since it's definitely helping my A1C. So if that's my last increase, I want to make it count and hopefully help my weight loss start moving again when I really need it. I admit it's been tempting lately since I've only lost 6 lbs in the last 3 months but I keep telling myself to give the exercise a chance to work. Muscle burns more fat, and I've definitely put some muscle on. Since the scale had been staying the same, that means I have actually been losing fat while I gain the muscle, since I didn't gain weight. So my daily calories burned should increase as long as I keep up with the F45- and that means the fat loss should start to increase as well. It's a marathon, not a sprint. I'll be patient and keep doing what I'm doing even when I don't feel very patient and want results RIGHT NOW!! A 2 plus pound weight loss in a week at this stage of the game is great!

Onwards and downwards... I'm nearly halfway through the 45 Strong challenge!


I did:

  • 60 minutes of walking and 38 minutes at F45 for a total of 98 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Loyals workout which is a brutal cardio workout.
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 31 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
OZ Week 72 loss: 2.2 lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 75.8 lbs

Sunday, March 24, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 21

 Well, I won't say that getting up this morning for the early morning class isn't hard, because it is. I'm tired and feeling a bit worn out, frustrated that the scale isn't moving the way I want it to even when I see changes in my body, and although I don't want to give up the challenge, I can feel the extra effort it's taking right now.

Guess I'm right on track for my second round of the thirds blues! It's funny how you can be fully aware of something and yet it doesn't stop the feelings from happening. I guess that's normal. So I'll probably have a tough time this week but once I can get past it, unless I'm totally burned out I should be okay. I just have to try and get more sleep in. I have been sleeping worse than usual which is definitely not helping.

I'm almost halfway through the challenge- not planning on quitting now even if my brain keeps asking if I'm REALLY planning to go walk to the gym in this cold snap, let alone actually work out. Why yes, yes I am. Sigh.

In a nod to the whiny me, I'm having French toast for breakfast instead of something higher protein. I mean, French toast does of course have plenty of protein from the eggs, but I tend to go lower carb/sugar for a breakfast on weights days. If it helps me stick to the plan today though? It's a worthy splurge, especially at only 200 calories.

By the way, I made that pizza dip again last night, and it really is killer. Here is a little trick I wanted to share with you. If you get a nice lovely bun like a Kirkland cheese bun from Costco, instead of cutting it in half like you would to make a sandwich, cut it like it's a little loaf of bread, into slices. Then you get way "more" bread for your calorie budget! I used a 9 grain ciabatta bun last night to go with the pizza dip and it was fabulous- even my teenager liked it. I also mixed in a little Club House Parmesan & Herb spice into the cottage cheese and it gave it a nice boost, especially at zero calories.





I did:

  • 53 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 93 active minutes. Today was the Piston workout which is a fast changing resistance training workout. I like starting my day with this one- just not quite so early! 
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 24 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

Saturday, March 23, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 20

 So I needed another active recovery day. I was up early enough to attend the Saturday F45 class but just too tired to actually go, especially given the snow and cold this morning. By afternoon it had warmed up and gotten sunny, so I went for a walk to get those active minutes.

I'm still tired today- sleep debt from earlier this week. Also, I'm just not used to moving my body quite this much! I hope that there will be some progress either on the scale or in my lean muscle mass to make this worthwhile.

Otherwise, just trying to have a quiet day.




I did:

  • 62 minutes of walking 
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 53 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

Friday, March 22, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 19

 Well, I passed out several hours earlier than usual last night. I'm still feeling not quite myself but hoping that the sleep has given me energy because today is going to be challenging. I'm having my healthy sugary breakfast today to give me that sense of reward/treat and hopefully it will help me get through the day. Cinnamon raisin French toast made with egg whites and just 1 tbsp of real maple syrup. So delicious as well as full of protein. Living life telling yourself no all the time just doesn't work- find that balance that works for you. Sure, having donuts yesterday wasn't great, but it got me through the rest of the day and I stayed in the challenge! 

It's going to be a busy day today between work and having to take the evening gym class so I know I'm going to feel tapped out. Tonight's workout is rough, too. It's a combo cardio and strength workout with no breaks.


It was a very long day, but I survived!




I did:

  • 81 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 121 active minutes. Today was the Valor workout which is the team workout where you have to reach a shared goal on the cardio equipment before moving to a strength exercise for the remainder of the time. 
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 18 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

Thursday, March 21, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 18

 I barely slept last night... had a rough night. I realized that means it's not a good time to be doing a progressive overload weights day, so I chose to make today an active recovery day and instead went for a couple of walks.

I also found that given how exhausted I am, the sugar cravings were beyond intense. I had a couple of donut holes to help with that since there was no way I was going to be able to manage.

But, I'm still in!



I did:

  • 94 minutes of walking
  • drank 2.5 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 16 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo


Wednesday, March 20, 2024

45 Strong Challenge Day 17

 Today was crazy busy! I barely had time to think let alone journal. But I'm proud to announce that I did still complete the challenge!



I did:

  • 31 minutes of walking and 38 minutes at F45 for a total of 69 active minutes. Today was the Triple Threat workout which is very busy cardio. 
  • drank 2.5 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 31 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

45 Strong Challenge: Day 16

 Having a lot of external life stressors today. I'm surprised that my first reaction isn't just to go and hide as much as possible. Right about now it feels like I am finally getting some kind of positive emotional fulfillment from going to the gym, and I would feel worse if I gave it up. So, I'm going! Not to mention I like the Tuesday workout the best with its progressive overload on weights and I don't want to miss it or go to the evening class which messes up dinnertime.

Had my quick and easy high protein breakfast to start my day, so that even if it's going to be a rough one, I'll have started with something healthy. Two runny yolk eggs cooked sunny side up on Weight Watchers toast topped with a couple of slices of deli ham and a cheese slice. The protein should keep me going.

I'm finding my muscles are tired today. I couldn't lift as heavy as I've been lifting the past week or so and I had to go down. That's okay. I still showed up! I said to my trainer today that this challenge is the one thing that is within my control. I can't control the scale if my body is having a weird day. I can't control how fast I gain muscle or lose fat. But I can show up for myself.



I did:

  • 25 minutes of walking and 42 minutes at F45 for a total of X active minutes. Today was the Titans workout which is progressive overload weightlifting. 
  • drank 3 litres of water
  • did my dental care
  • 32 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

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!