45 Strong Challenge: Day 6

 So today is my day of active recovery. I've done five days in a row of F45 classes plus the extra walking yesterday and I'm feeling a bit worn out. I plan to do 60 minutes of walking at a comfortable pace today for my physical activity and not do anything strenuous. I've never gone 45 days without a rest day before, so to meet the requirements of this challenge I plan to get in the 60 minutes, but take it easy as much as possible.

Also, no calorie counting today because I'm off to the local beer & taco festival! I don't like beer but I do in fact like tacos! I started off my day with a healthy breakfast of sliced banana and vanilla Greek yogurt topped with a little sugarfree caramel, because going to a food festival hungry doesn't sound like the world's best idea to me. Now I can enjoy myself hopefully without going overboard.

... OK, so I went a little overboard. But I had a great day and I still finished the challenge requirements!

I did:

• 68 minutes of walking!
• drank 2 litres of water!
• did my dental care!
• 16 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

Day 6 in the books!

45 Strong Challenge: Day 5

 Thankfully, today doesn't feel as frustrating as yesterday even if I'm tired again. I'm looking forward to the weekend!

If anyone is curious, I start writing these posts in the morning and update as the day goes on and I complete my task list for the day, and I don't publish it until the evening. So if it seems like a bit of a mishmash chronologically, that's why!

I was feeling pretty good today until I got to the gym and saw the video for today. OOF. I've never done the Valor workout before and I was second guessing my decision to go! You get paired with someone else and you have to meet rep count targets as a team. And of course I was paired with this big strong guy and I was so anxious the whole time that I'd be letting him down because I'm slower and can't do things as quickly as he can. But all I can do is my best, so I tried. Man I thought I was going to die though!

Then I had to do a lot of unexpected walking and now I'm just exhausted. I'm glad tomorrow is my active recovery day!

I did:

• 98 minutes of walking plus 40 minutes in class at the gym. Today was the Valor workout at F45 which is a mixed cardio/resistance workout and it was brutal. Also, my son wanted to play some baseball so I got 2 more active minutes there too! Total of 140 active minutes and I am SO done.
• drank 3 litres of water!
• did my dental care!
• 16 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

Today breakfast was French toast again, since I tend to eat the same thing for a few days until I get tired of it. Delicious! 200 calories, 1g fat, 32g carbs, 14g protein.

Lunch was the cottage pie leftover from earlier in the week. It reheats really well actually! 425 calories, 24g fat, 30g carbs, 23g protein.

Afternoon snack was two Pillers turkey pepperettes. 100 calories, 8g fat, 1g carbs, 9g protein.

Dinner was fabulous! 

Chorizo Taco Salad:

250g chorizo sausage, uncased

125g baby spinach

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tbsp ranch powder seasoning

1 medium sweet potato, diced

1 medium tomato, diced

1 sweet pepper, diced

1 red onion, diced

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 tbsp chili powder/cumin mix

Mix the yogurt and ranch powder and stir well. Chill in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

Preheat your air fryer to 425 degrees. Shake the sweet potato with 1/2 tbsp chili cumin spice mix, and if desired, either 1/2 tbsp olive oil or cooking spray. Follow your air fryer instructions, stirring the potatoes partway through to ensure they are all evenly cooked through, approximately 16-18 minutes.

Set a medium sized frying pan to medium heat, and then add the chorizo and remaining spice mix. Add onion and sweet pepper, and cook for 4-6 minutes or until chorizo is no longer pink.

In a large serving bowl, mix together the baby spinach, tomato, and ranch dressing. Divide salad onto two plates, and top each with half the chorizo and veggies, and the cheese. Enjoy!

This recipe is a great way to enjoy low glycemic carbs and have a really rich and flavourful salad! If you like, crunch a tortilla chip or two on top for some crispiness! 439 calories, 22.5g fat, 25g carbs, 30.5g protein.

And for dessert, I had another protein snack plate from earlier this week to use up the leftovers! 360 calories, 23g fat, 19.5g carbs, 19g protein.

That brings my daily total to 1524 calories, 78.5g fat, 84.5g carbs, 95.5g protein.

It's been a day- time for me to get some rest!

45 Strong Challenge: Day 4

Well, it looks like even at this point in my journey, I'm not immune to the 3rds blues that I've written about before. But, this is a new program, even if I could look at it as just another iteration of what I've been doing all along. I've been exercising regularly for a year! I've been staying generally in my calorie range, with the occasional day for indulging. So why is this still affecting me?

I don't know. I could hazard a guess that it's because this challenge is very structured and so it's frustrating me. I definitely don't like drinking this much water- I woke up feeling like if I had another mouthful I was going to scream. My body is sore- actually more so than usual. Normally I do two F45 workouts a week, and I've already done three with no rest day.

Realistically, it doesn't matter why. The 3rds blues is a known phenomena, as annoying as that is, so I just have to power through it. Minor concession; I'm having a diet soda with my breakfast and resentfully eyeing that first litre of water. I'm sure by the time I get to the gym (I'm writing this part in the morning!), I'll be grateful for it and then I'll be playing catch up but it's okay. Maybe I'll add in some green tea later for some variety. I don't generally like water flavourings though.

If it was always this hard, I probably wouldn't be able to keep it up. Honestly, while I know I generally need to drink more water, drinking this much means I'm going to the bathroom all the time which is annoying. I feel like 4 litres is just too much. With the Ozempic, I have less room in my stomach so adding all the extra liquids means that I feel full more often, and while you'd think that would be ideal, I do need to keep up at least a reasonable amount of calories given how much I'm exercising. I recalculated my TDEE (calories needed daily) based on heavy exercise which they called 6-7 days per week, and it estimated me at 2680 calories to maintain, which means I should be eating at least 1680 calories and I've been below that. As I've said before, eating less isn't always ideal. It's great if you're eating too much, but if you're eating less than your body needs to function then it's not going to be helpful long term even if you do lose weight right away. It can slow your metabolism and make it harder to lose. In my case, it will make it harder to realize muscle gains from my weight training if I'm not eating enough protein and calories overall to build new muscle.

Well, I made it through the day!!! One day at a time, right? And I got an endorphin boost after the gym so I am glad I dragged myself there. Definitely feeling better than I was when I started this blog post.

I did:

• 53 minutes of walking plus 40 minutes in class at the gym for a total of 93 active minutes. Today was the Two Fold workout at F45 which is a weight training day, you choose whether to work on upper or lower body. Since I was already doing walking and my thighs are still sore from earlier in the week, I chose upper body. We did progressive overload today and I reached a new milestone with my dumbbells! Super proud of myself.
• drank 3.5 litres of water!
• did my dental care!
• 18 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

When I'm frustrated, it's more difficult to eat sometimes because I'm tired and don't feel like I have the energy to both plan and make something. Fortunately, I have lots of leftovers from earlier in the week to bail me out today!

Breakfast was a variant on my basic Breakfast Sandwich, where I toasted a whole wheat English muffin but instead of making it into a sandwich I served it open faced. Each half of the muffin was topped with two slices of deli ham, half a slice of monterey jack cheese, sliced red onions, and a sunny side up egg with a runny yolk. Delicious! 399 calories, 18.5g fat, 27g carbs, 33g protein.

It has been tougher to have a morning snack on days that I go to the lunch hour gym class, so I wasn't able to squeeze one in today. I'll try to improve that, but the difficulty is that while I have to eat before I work out or I'll get nauseous, I don't want to eat too heavily right before I go in. I do get nauseous when I work out as intensely as I do at F45 and the last thing I want to do is vomit. I have never vomited on Ozempic although I do occasionally (less often now) get nausea as a side effect. It seems like people either absolutely have to eat before they exercise or absolutely must have an empty stomach to avoid side effects, with very little in between. I have to have something in my stomach or the nausea is much worse.

After I staggered home from my class (boy I am feeling whiny today!), it was time for lunch! I just grabbed a piece of leftover quiche from yesterday. 413 calories, 27g fat, 21g carbs, 19g protein.

It's been a busy day so for afternoon snack I had a Black Diamond Combo with cheddar and almonds. Nothing wrong with having a day that doesn't involve a lot of cooking! 170 calories, 12g fat, 10g carbs, 8g protein. 

Again, I was looking for quick and easy for dinner, so I splurged and had a PC Blue Menu Turkey Burger on a bun with a slice of smoked cheddar, and chopped up a potato for some home fries in the air fryer. Honestly, I think fast food burgers taste too greasy and even frozen ones taste better most of the time. Love my air fryer- no oil needed for crispy fries! 540 calories, 17g fat, 60g carbs, and 36g protein. Obviously if you wanted to lower the calorie count here, you could swap out the french fries for roasted carrots or other veggies, remove the cheese, or have a lettuce wrap instead of a bun, but sometimes it's nice to treat yourself- and where are you going to get a burger and fries for 540 calories? 

I have some bananas on life support and I don't feel like doing any baking, so quick and easy dessert here I come! I chopped the banana into coins and put them in a bowl, and topped with a scoop of Liberte vanilla Greek yogurt and a tablespoon of sugarfree caramel sauce. Tastes super decadent and won't spike your blood sugar! 235 calories, 0g fat, 43g carbs, 18g protein.

That brings my total for the day to 1757 calories, 74.5g fat, 161g carbs, and 114g protein. That's a little higher carb than a normally go, but it still falls within balanced macros and I'm not unhappy with my choices. I don't believe in restricting food groups, and I've been working out hard lately. And all my food today was delicious!

I survived the 3rd blues today... onwards and upwards!

45 Strong Challenge: Day 3

 

45 days really does seem like a lot... that picture has so many empty squares! But one day at a time, I'll get there. 

My legs are a little sore today from the lifting yesterday. There was one particular exercise that I felt was a little more difficult on my body than the others. Hopefully if I keep drinking this much water I won't have as much muscle soreness. 

I did:

• 53 minutes of walking plus 53 minutes in class at the gym for a total of 106 active minutes. Today was the Triple Threat workout at F45 which is cruel, cruel cardio. They also did a 15 min bonus class at the end to help meet the 60 min requirement. My watch says it's not that long but it sure feels like it!
• drank 3.5 litres of water!
• did my dental care!
• 18 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

 With all the exercise I'm doing, I am less worried about hitting the high end of my calorie range, so today I planned to have things I really like. With the intense workout schedule, I have less

Breakfast was a recipe I've shared before but always love it for its decadence!

Cherry French Toast: 

2 slices whole wheat Weight Watchers bread

100g liquid egg whites

dash of vanilla, sprinkle of cinnamon

your choice of 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup or 1/4 cup sugarfree cherry pie filling!

optional dab of light whipped cream

Heat a large pan over medium. Spray with cooking spray when hot. Add vanilla and cinnamon to the egg whites. Soak the bread in the egg white mixture, and pan fry until crisp, 3-4 minutes per side. Drizzle with your choice of toppings! Yes, you can use sugarfree syrup but personally, even as a diabetic, I think it's an abomination. You don't need very much real syrup for a couple of pieces of French toast and it's well worth it. If you prefer to avoid the sugar, opt for some sugarfree pie filling in your favourite fruit, or make your own no sugar added fruit syrup by cooking down berries with a little bit of your favourite sweetener. You could even use no sugar added jam if you like! As prepared above with maple syrup, this recipe has 200 calories, 1g fat, 32g carbs, 14g protein.

I didn't have a morning snack today since I was walking to the gym, but I made sure to have something easy lined up for lunch because I knew as soon as I sat down that I wasn't getting back up again anytime soon!

Lunch was a bit of a splurge but worth it!

Easy Cheesy Quiche:

2 Tenderflake pie crusts made with vegetable shortening

12 large eggs

1 cup shredded cheese

4 oz of your favourite protein, cooked (diced ham, turkey bacon, shredded chicken, smoked salmon etc)

your favourite veggies, small diced (I like spinach, onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers, but broccoli is great with ham and cheddar for example!)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Heat a pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray when hot. Add your veggies and some pepper, and cook until they are softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. This may take a while depending on what veggies you choose.

Place your pie crusts on a baking tray. Add the veggies inside the crusts, and spread them evenly. Top with your protein option, and add 1/4 cup shredded cheese to each crust.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and add black pepper. Depending on what add ins you chose, you can vary your spicing as well. Put half the egg mixture into each pie crust, and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese on each. Bake for 40 minutes or until filling is set and crust is brown.

The nice thing about quiche is that it's a blank canvas- use your favourite add ins and it will be great! Try different variations like ham and Swiss with mushrooms, smoked salmon and cream cheese with fresh dill and onions, turkey bacon and cheddar with peppers, etc.

I did a lot of research on pie crusts and honestly, the Tenderflake crust really isn't that bad of an option. You can choose to go crustless if you don't want the carbs and calories, but I do like the flavour personally and it's worth it for me. It is good though with or without the crust! Depending on your hunger levels, you can cut each pie into 1/8 or 1/4 pieces, and serve with a side salad. I decided to have a big piece post workout, so my lunch was 413 calories, 27g of fat, 21g carbs, and 19g protein.

I decided to give one of the viral TikTok ideas a try for afternoon snack!

Cottage Cheese Pizza Dip:

2 cups 2% cottage cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup marinara sauce

1 oz turkey pepperoni slices, diced

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp italian seasoning

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a blender, pulse the cottage cheese, parmesan, and spices until smooth. Take an oven safe dish and layer the cottage cheese mixture, then marinara sauce, and top with the shredded mozzarella and pepperoni slices. Bake for 15 minutes, and then broil on low for 2 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve with your choice of dippers like bell pepper slices, crackers, pita chips, or just enjoy it with a spoon! Makes 6 snack sized servings, or 4 more generous portions.

Anyone who loves lasagna knows how deliciously cheesy hot cottage cheese can be. While I wouldn't say this will kick a pizza craving, it really is both delicious and high protein for a relatively low calorie count, especially if you choose to eat it with bell pepper slices or other veggies. I had mine with pepper slices so I could enjoy a bigger portion, so my afternoon snack clocked in at 239 calories, 12.5g fat, 6.5g carbs, and 24g protein.

I wasn't feeling like more work in the kitchen today, so I went for quick and made my Tiny Tacos for dinner (recipe in link!), which made my dinner 495 calories, 27g fat, 31.5g carbs, and 32g protein.  

For dessert, again I was looking for quick and easy, so I just went for a chopped apple with PB2. If you don't have PB2, you can substitute 1 tbsp of your favourite nut butter instead but I preferred to have the larger serving! That brings my dessert to 185 calories, 3g fat, 35g carbs, 10.5g protein.

The total for my day was 1532 calories, 70.5g fat, 126g carbs, 99.5g protein. I wasn't hungry for more, but given my activity level, I probably should have squeezed in an extra snack somewhere to up my calories a bit. Maybe I'll have a late night snack of 1oz Brie as a treat!

45 Strong Challenge: Day 2

Well, I survived day two! 

I did:

• 20 minutes of walking plus 40 minutes at the gym for a total of 60 active minutes. Today was the Titans workout at F45 which is strength training. Hey, bare minimum is still reaching goal!
• drank 3.5 litres of water!
• did my dental care!
• 19 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. I learned a bunch of new words that I think will need some practicing.

I have to admit that I'm really hoping that this challenge helps the scale start moving a little more consistently again. I know that gaining muscle can slow down weight loss temporarily, but it boosts your metabolic rate and so it ups your fat burning in future weeks, and that works for me! 

I'm currently in a free HealthyWage challenge and I might not quite make it because my loss rate has slowed so much over the past few months- this isn't my wager where I have bet on myself, just a free challenge that anyone could sign up for. You don't win much if you do, but what do you expect for a free challenge, right? And I figure any financial reward is a good reward.

Since today is a weights training day, I focused on choosing higher protein meals as well. I've read that pushing the protein percentage up to 40% of total daily calories definitely helps with muscle building and weight loss, but I have trouble getting it much past 30%. Usually I have relatively balanced macros and that has worked well so far. Since I'm picky about meats, raising my protein intake that high is difficult without dropping my carbs low enough that I start to feel deprived, so I'm just doing the best I can.

Breakfast today was an open faced toasted whole wheat english muffin, each side topped with two slices of deli ham, half a slice of smoked cheddar, a little diced red onion, and an egg served sunny side up with a runny yolk. Super filling and the low glycemic carbs along with the protein will give me energy for my workout! 399 calories, 18.5g fat, 27g carbs, 33g protein.

Lunch was a new recipe!

Miso-Soy Shrimp Bowl:

285g of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

170g shredded cabbage/carrot blend

1 medium onion, diced

1 sweet pepper, diced

1 tbsp miso broth concentrate

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tbsp dried sesame seeds

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1 cup cooked jasmine rice

1 green onion, chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp soy sauce

Heat a large dry pan over medium heat, and toast the sesame seeds until golden brown, 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not burn! Put them in a small bowl and set aside. 

Pat shrimp dry and put into a bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 the cornstarch and shake until they are coated. In another small bowl, add miso concentrate, soy sauce, the remaining cornstarch, 1/2 the garlic, and 1/2 cup water and whisk to combine.

In the same pan, heat 1/2 the sesame oil and then add the onion, and peppers. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until tender-crisp. Add the cabbage mix and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer cooked veggies to a bowl and cover to keep them warm.

In the same pan, heat remaining sesame oil and then add shrimp, pan frying until shrimp turn pink and are fully cooked, 3-4 minutes. Add sauce mixture to the pan, and stir until sauce thickens, 1-2 minutes. 

Portion the rice into two dishes and top each with half the veggies, the shrimp and sauce, and green onions. Sprinkle with sesame seeds as a garnish.

If you're more of a fan of savoury/umami flavours then sweet, this is a great modification for a teriyaki shrimp stir fry! And without the sugar, it's definitely a smaller hit to your calorie budget. You can substitute brown rice or riced cauliflower if you like, but this will change the calorie count. As prepared, each serving contains 282 calories, 4.5g fat, 33g carbs, and 23.5g protein.

Afternoon Snack was 1/2 cup of chopped strawberries topped with Oikos maple syrup flavour Greek yogurt, with a little drizzle of sugarfree caramel syrup. Sweet and delicious! 113 calories, 1.5g fat, 16.5g carbs, 8.5g protein.

Dinner was another new recipe to share with you all!

Lightened Up Cottage Pie:

1/3 lb lean ground beef

200g raw russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1.5 tbsp tomato paste

1/3 lb mirepoix (finely chopped onions, celery, and carrots)

100g diced cremini mushrooms

2 tsp unsalted butter

1 tsp cream cheese

200g cauliflower florets, chopped

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tbsp beef stock concentrate

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Boil a large pot of water, and add the potatoes and cauliflower. Cook for 12-14 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain the pot, saving a little of the starchy water. Add the butter, garlic salt, and cream cheese, and mash the potatoes and cauliflower until they reach your desired mashed texture. If necessary, use a little of the starchy water to loosen them up a bit.

In a large pan, cook the ground beef, mushrooms, and mirepoix for 3-6 minutes, or until veggies are tender and beef is no longer pink. Carefully drain any remaining beef fat.

Add tomato paste, and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add 1/2 cup water and the beef stock concentrate and bring to a simmer over high. Once simmering, reduce heat to medium low and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Transfer filling to an 8x8 baking dish and then cover evenly with the mashed potato mixture. Top with the shredded cheese and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden and cheese is melted.

Serves two generous portions at 425 calories, 24g fat, 30g carbs, and 23g protein. You can alter the nutritional content by swapping out potatoes entirely for cauliflower, using your favourite butter replacement, and using ground turkey instead of beef (then use chicken concentrate instead!) but I think this is pretty reasonable as it is, and tastes rich and filling. It also reheats well, so you can make a big batch and enjoy the leftovers on another day.

Dessert was a savory snack plate today since I was trying to focus on protein! 

I love little charcuterie plates! This is 1 oz of smoked gouda cheese, 1 oz Brie, 1 slice of prosciutto, and 1/4 cup of grapes. The crackers are amazing- they are PC Black Label cranberry & fennel artisan crisps, and I would definitely recommend them with some nice cheese. Dessert was 360 calories, 23g fat, 19.5g carbs, and 19g protein.

That brings me to a total of 1578 calories, 71.5g fat, 126g carbs, and 107g protein. It's been a pretty good day, although I was sweating like crazy today! I guess it's a good thing I upped my water intake- or maybe I'm sweating more because I'm drinking more? Unsure. But I'm very happy to be putting another star on my chart at the gym for the challenge! Whoever thought stickers were silly... it's a nice visual representation of what I'm accomplishing!

45 Strong Challenge: Day 1 Completed!

 

One day down, 44 to go! OK, when I say it like that, it sounds like a lot, so I'll just say that I'm proud to have completed my first day!

I did:

• 70 minutes of walking plus 39 minutes at my gym for a total of 109 active minutes; today was the Loyals cardio hybrid workout!
• drank 3 litres of water! Maybe I'll be able to make it to the full 4 this challenge!
• did my dental care!
• 27 minutes of Spanish lessons on Duolingo

Woohoo! One day at a time!!

Week 69 Weigh-In!

Well, this isn't what I was hoping since I've been on track this week, but I admit I was taking it easy on the exercise front. Also, I have had losses for the last month plus, so it makes sense that I'm going to hit some resistance at some point.

I wasn't too worried about giving myself some extra down time, because I'm starting the F45 Strong challenge today and I am really curious how it will affect me and if I can keep up with it.

I'm not sure I can manage 60 minutes a day for 45 days straight, with no rest days. And if I can't, that's okay. I'll just do the best I can. Also, I don't have to do 60 minutes of intense exercise each day- it even suggests activities like a family walk or yoga. If I'm tired, I can choose something lower intensity and still meet the goal. I haven't received my materials yet for the challenge to see how they're tracking things and what I need to do, but I am excited to take part in it!

I'll be posting more often to update how I'm doing as I go through the challenge. I hope this will help keep me accountable.

I'm also happy to say that I managed to recruit a friend to join me, at least for the first two weeks of the challenge! I think it will be much easier to stick to it with support. If anyone else would like to do the challenge with me, you don't have to be a F45 member. You can just do it yourself at home and follow the requirements. I would love to have more people doing this with me!

Here are my plans for the challenge:

• 60 minutes of exercise daily
• 1/2 gallon of water daily, with an eye to working up (I have trouble drinking that much water)
• Giving up making excuses about dental floss- I need to take better care of my teeth!
• 15 minutes per day learning Spanish

So, who's in?

OZ Year 1 loss: 68lbs (click here to see the week-by-week tracker!) 

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

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 73.4 lbs