A week in Review

Wow, I am so bad at sitting down and getting my feelings/thought out on this blog! I am going to try to make a effort to blog more often in an effort to get my thoughts out. My head has been very full lately and I have lost alot of concentration. This scares me because when I am at work I really need to focus on work and stay on track. So my week was not the greatest at first but had rounded up to end quite nicely.

Monday we went for a very nice walk in Shubie Park, which is literally just down the road from us. I plan to do some biking there this summer as well and it is a great place for and evening stroll. I wish I had of brought my camera but I will certainty next time. But I digress. So we went for a lovely walk and then ended up going and buying Chocolate Fudge Cake! It sure was yummy, but either my hormones were still bothering me of the sugar rush got the best of me but when it was time to go to bed I broke down into Hysterics! Poor Dean didn’t know what to do other than hold me and I did manage to settle down and get some sleep.

Tuesday I just knew I couldn’t go to work. I knew I would not be able to concentrate and tolerate people so I stayed home. I lazed around most of the day but did manage to get myself to the gym. The time I spent on the elliptical was torture. I was so incredibly exhausted after words I slept like a baby.

Wednesday I was feeling better but ate like it was going out of style. Again hormones or something else I don’t know but it was not a good situation. I did go to the gym but it didn’t really help much. Thursday was grocery day and while I was within my calories I was no where near where I wanted to be in catching up with my overage.

Friday oh Good Friday, it was sooo nice to be off and I spend the day cleaning, raking leaves in the yard and spent an hour at the gym. The cat must have enjoyed the smell of outside that was left on my sneakers because he made himself busy for a good 15 minuets rubbing and rolling around with my shoe! I felt so good and so in control all day. We treated ourselves to supper out at Jack Astor’s which was nice for a change. That night my Dad was flying in for the week to spend at home. This will be his last flight home because next time he will be driving home for good! It made for a late night but it was so good to see him. I am sure the anxiety of knowing he was coming home was part of what was making this week difficult for me. I hope now that he is here and I know he is well that I can stay focused.

Yesterday I drove Dad back to the house, we stopped and got grocery's for him and picked up the family dog who is staying with my aunt until Dad is home for good. Once I got back home I really didn’t feel like doing much and just slept and read on the couch. I was able to finish my Book (review to come). When Dean got home I had a major desire for fast food, so we got McDonalds, not the best meal but I enjoyed it and not I am not craving it.   

The past week had many challenges in it. I didn’t have my appointments with my trainer Jon because he had a course to attend Tuesday and I didn’t know what time I would be available Saturday. I did try to reschedule to Friday but because it was a holiday he wasn’t allowed to work (heaven forbid he make some extra money while making me healthier). Also the anxiety of Dad coming home was on my mind most of the week. I wasn’t sure how he would look or how he would act. He seems to be grieving about the same as me, which seems normal for us. Also my Aunt is not dealing well. She has been put on meds to help and will be seeing a psychologist for a while. I do hope that it helps. And to top it all off yesterday I found out my Grandfather wasn’t doing too well, he’s had a fall and appears to be  having symptoms of liver failure.

However this is a new week so I plan to make the most of it! I have finally gotten some ideas for posts written down so stay tuned!

More Random thoughts.

I always get these great ideas to blog about and then either forget about them or the moment has passed and they don’t seem as important. I know alot of this is probably due to an inconsistent routine. I have a routine that is pretty straight forward but at the same time it seems to change alot. I have had Monday off everyday this month and I will hate going back to work on Mondays after next week. We seem to be doing different things in the evenings and I don’t really find there is a consistent time to blog. I usually come up with great things to write about in the shower and then don’t get them out after that.

I am happy to say that I finally managed to get myself to a twitter/blogger brunch. I had a blast meeting girls that I “talk” to alot and it was nice to put faces to names. I had a great time and it was great to get out and socialize with someone other than my wonderful husband. I talk with the people at work alot, but it was nice to be out of the work place and the home. My husband is my best friend and that won’t change but I was so happy to get out and enjoy some girl time.

I over indulged  yesterday, but I have plans to burn most of that off. I need to burn off over 700 calories but I think I will be able to do it if I get some activity in everyday. It is nice to treat myself once a week so that I don’t feel as tempted throughout the week.

I made butterscotch chip cookies yesterday and they turned out fantastic. I am really enjoying baking lately can’t wait to dive into the cupboard next weekend to see what I can make! I just need to get better at blogging about it!

Well that’s it for my Monday rambling. Back to work tomorrow and have to stay on track!

Random Thoughts

Wow time flies by so quickly. I just have a few random things to get out there. And a tasty meal that will be added to Dean’s Dishes.

1. Are you my friend on My Fitness Pal? My username is hrclark I am tracking my food and even went back and tracked my horrible eats from Sunday. I am proud to say that due to the exercise I am on my way to creating a deficit!

2. I am  not on My Fitness Pal to lose weight. My trainer while knowing I want to lose weight wants me to eat alot. I need alot of protein and my Iron and Vitamin B12 are also important. Therefore I am tracking to be aware of what I am eating and to attempt and get in all my protein and other supplements. While I will be stepping on the scale once a week I do not except to see significant losses due to the muscle I know I am building. 

3. After my mother passed away (it’s been over a month now, holy cow) my father went back to finish his work contract. He will be coming home in the summer for good. However because the house was going to be closed up for a bit I agreed to take our families cat. Her name is Rosie and she is at least 12 years old. We have also decided that even when Dad comes home we will not be putting Rosie though the trauma of moving again. She is finally playing with our kitty and roam the house.

4. I am doing well with the loss of my mother. And honestly I feel like I owe alot of it to exercise. I am starting to crave it and am excited to see how many calories I burn. I am doing a walk to 5K program and plan to start a couch to 5K program after that. Along with working with my trainer I am excited to see what happens! The only thing I am having difficulty with is my dreams… I am having dreams where Mom is with me but will not talk to me, she just follows me around… Weird right?

5. And last but certainty not least; Tonight we made a recipe from the Kraft Magazine. Pork, Snow pea and Mushroom Stir-fry. Here is the magazine picture compared to Dean’s creation (there were a few modifications);

It didn’t look the same but it tasted good!

Well I am off to bad and getting ready for another day of healthy choices!

Went to the Market…

Wow what a beautiful day here today! I woke up to the cat being a pain in the a$$. But it was about 7:00 and the sun was shining through the windows! I had the idea then that I wanted to go to Seaport Halifax Market. I had never been there and was excited to go. But before heading out I made another great protein smoothie. In this one was spinach frozen strawberries, some yogurt, milk and protein powder. It was great and light enough to head to the gym right after. Yep we went to the gym first thing this morning. I ran/walked 2 miles and burned almost 400 calories. Then it was over to the market.

My honest opinion was not that great. I excepted to see lots of tables with fresh produce, meat, and baked goods. Instead I saw one table with fresh produce, one with bread and a few with meat. Most of the tables were jewellery and paintings or hot food to eat right away. Now I am not saying that some of that is a bad thing, but I was hoping for more. I really just wasn’t impressed. Now it may have been that because it was Sunday all the vendors weren’t there but I just excepted more.

After our walk through of the market we decided to walk the Halifax Waterfront. It was lovely with very little wind. By the time we got to the other end of the boardwalk we were both ready for lunch. We decided on The Old Triangle. It is one of my favourite pubs and because we don’t go downtown alot we don’t get there. I got my usual meal from there;

Pub Style Curry and Chips  Chicken curry served the Irish way, over chips with home-cooked mushy peas.

I really wish I had of brought my camera. It was so nice and sunny and there were people walking and kids playing. I was in heaven! We walked for at least an hour at a leisurely pace.

I am happy we got out and did something a little different today, I find the spring/summer is so much more enjoyable to me. I feel so much more motivated to get out and do things!

The rest of the day includes relaxing with my book and salmon for supper! Might take a trip to the mall or something but I just want to relax now!

Want to be my pal?

My fitness pal that is?? Twitter has been all a flutter with alot of girls starting to use My Fitness Pal. I have scoped it out and feel like it might be a good source for managing my food intake.

Confession: For the past week and a half I have been eating Tim Horton’s Doughnut almost every morning.

Confession #2: At work pretty much everyday for the last week and a half I have been eating a bag of chips and a chocolate bar.

Ugh, I know, I know I am horrible. I had been thinking earlier in the week I was fighting a cold. Now I realize that I was probably feeling like crap due to my poor food intake. I feel so blah and I know I did it too myself!

So like I said; I have got MyFitnessPal set up and will be stepping on the scale first thing tomorrow morning. So if you wanna be my pal my user name is hrclark.

Plans for this weekend include tracking all my food, going for a walk with hubby, house cleaning as usual, and probably chill out and watch some movies! Hope to see you in my fitness pal feed!

Exhaustion

The past couple of days I have been super busy and feeling under the weather. All I have wanted to do was come home and nap!

I nap alot. Well not as much since starting back at the gym again, but still alot. At first I had lots of excuses. I had anima, I woke up at 445 in the morning, I was lazy… It really does drive Dean nuts (which is why I put a picture of him napping up, lol). It used to bother me too because I felt like I would sleep the day away.

Now I am not napping as much. I am sure this is a good thing but I would love to just close my eyes and sleep for a bit. I often feel so much better after a nap! My problem is though that as tired as I am I have no other immediate pick me ups! I am not a coffee drinker and don’t really know of any other way to wake myself up.

Anyone have any solutions for exhaustion? Do you find you get sleepy mid week and need a nap?

I must admit though I am having a better attitude and over all well being since going to the gym and starting with my trainer!

Exercise… Check, Food…

Wow its Sunday again already. I am blessed at having tomorrow off though, and the next 3 Mondays after that. It really is crazy how fast time goes by. I am proud to say that I survived another training session with my Trainer. I am sore again today but I am able to walk up steps and actually move so it is getting better.

I have my exercise down to a good routine for the most part. I even went Friday after doing 4 hours overtime because I didn’t get there Wednesday or Thursday. We also went today and plan to go tomorrow. Tomorrow I will show Dean some of the things I have been doing with the trainer!

I finally did settle on a protein powder. I got one at Costco because it was recommended to me by more than one person. It is Kaizen 100% Whey protein. I choose the decadent chocolate flavour. I had it with just milk yesterday following my session and it kind of just tasted like water. However today I put it in a smoothie with berries and spinach and you could definitely taste the chocolate. So far I like it!

However my eating overall has not been great. I know this is my next challenge but I don’t know how I want to go about it. I don’t really want to restrict my calories too much, I am not worried about my calories, more about what I am putting in my body. We don’t eat alot of processed food at home. But there are more instances than I would prefer that involve us not eating at home and getting fast food or going out to supper. I really want to put a stop to that but with the lifestyle we lead its hard.

I also need to work on getting more fruits and vegetables into my body. I will often bring them to work and then not eat them. I am really about convenience and if the food needs to be cut or peels I often won’t eat it. I am working on it though and I hope that as my body starts to feel better I will want to feed it with better food. I have the desire I just don’t feel I have the strong motivation yet.