Time for a new adventure

HAPPY MONDAY! This weeks goals include: - Early morning gym sessions (5:45 am ) at least 3 x this week - Eat 90 % clean - 13,000 steps per day OR a grand total Monday - Friday to reach 65,000 steps. I also want to start writing down one area on my body that I admire. Have you ever noticed that women are super hard on themselves? Like seriously. WHY! How is it that women are never satisfied? I have a double chin / my butts too big/ i can't lose this gut. UGH I'm so ugly etc. No one is perfect. It really bothers me sometimes listening to women talk crap about themselves. I would be completely lying if I were to say I don't do that to myself. But one thing I'm realizing is that you aren't supposed to look a certain way. You are made uniquely because everyone wasn't meant to look the same or act the same etc. My mom used to always remind me "wouldn't life be boring if everyone looked the same" and yes mom, it's true. It would be so very bo...

As planned I was to drink the wine with 3 other people. We didn't get together so now it must happen tonight. Like I said before, I'm not about that lifestyle anymore. Exercise update: I made it to the gym!! Second day in a row and I could not be more proud of myself.  I did 50 minutes of straight cardio, upper the incline for 10 minutes at 5 then went back down. Afterwards I moved to the weighted machines to work on my upper body: Chest press- 2 sets @30 lb, 2 sets @15  lb Tricep extensions - 2 sets @35, 2 sets @25 Bicep curl - 20 lb Pectoral fly- 20 lb Deltoid fly - 2 sets @25, 2 sets @ 15 Seated row - 30 lb Side crunch (each side) - 25 lb * 4 sets of 12 My shoulders and triceps are sore. And surprisingly my obliques aren't in pain. I haven't worked out my love handles like that in a lonnnggg time. So I'm thinking of a new goal (over the next few months) to increase my weights to the 30s. That's achievable right? I feel like my arms are so weak. B...

.. And this is why I hide things on myself and later forget about them. But you can't really hide drinks on yourself because they have to be in the fridge and let's be honest, you can't live a day without looking in the fridge unless you live off of canned goods and dry cereal. I open up my fridge and I see: leftovers, condiments, veggies, almond milk, beef broth, an almost empty bag of wine and (2) BOXES of wine. There's no hiding from it. I've been staring at it everyday and then get distracted and forget about it. So I have like, THREE temptations. Not to mention an open bag of Chicago mix popcorn beside my protein shake station (nutri ninja, ground matcha and protein powder)- I haven't gone for the popcorn because it gets stuck in my teeth and I'm not about that. So tonight I'm getting rid of the wine, don't worry I'm not doing it myself. HA! Even on my better days I know I couldnt. Tonight Jack and I are visiting his brother and his girl...

Roasted potato and leek soup from Campbells.. not my thing. It was gross. But it was the only thing I had to eat for today so I forced it down. Before I knew it it was my scheduled lunch break, from 1:30-2:30 pm I was walking outside for some additional steps. The sun was beating on my back and in my face. It was GORGEOUS out today - probably still is but I'm stuck inside. Quiet day here in the office.  When I came back to the office I was hangry. I noticed some veggie bites in the kitchen cupboard, scarfed down about 40/50 of them. Look at your two thumbs. Each cracker is roughly the size of that. I probably shouldn't have ate those crackers because I felt sick towards the end of my shift. It took me  almost 90 minutes and a stomach ache but I made it. Hopped on the treadmill for 20 minutes then proceeded to the leg extension machine. 3 sets of 10 of each machine: Leg extension @ 50 lbs Hip abduction @ 90 lbs Hip adduction @ 85 lbs Horizontal calf...

Ever wake up feeling super refreshed? That was / is me today (not sure of the proper grammar here so please forgive me). Originally I woke up at 5:30 am because my phone was dying - and lets face it, 39 % is not enough battery life to entertain me on my way to work. I told myself it's 5:30 .. charge it for half an hour and rest your eyes. 60 minutes later I'm up. Weird dreams by the way. I'm thinking of writing about my dreams in other posts, but the few readers that I have may think I'm a complete nut job (not far off) HAHA! I laughed in a non-psychotic way FYI. Anywho - I got to the bus stop early this morning and decided to walk for a bit. It was short lived after some serious thigh rub was going on and I was in PAIN. People with the thigh gap will never understand the chay-fee-ng. (I have no idea how to begin to spell this word so I wrote it the way it's pronounced). And I didn't apply deodorant or Vaseline there this morning so my walk was over before i...

I usually don't count walking as exercising but because I've felt so low earlier, today I'll make an exception. I knew I was going to have some "bad" food tonight so I decided to go for a walk. Plus it clears my mind. Jack picked me up from a plaza and took me to the food court of our nearby mall. Choices include: KFC, McDonalds, Manchu Wok, Mr Sub, some Thai place (I can't remember the name because we never go there) and Bourbon St Grill.. needless to say we got Bourbon. I had combo #3- Rice or noodles with (1) veggie and (2) types of chicken. My choice: rice, broccoli, Bourbon chicken and honey glazed chicken - it was delicious! And just what I needed on my last cheat meal for awhile. I also had poutine for lunch. I didn't meal prep this week and I think that's partly the reason why I feel so lost and out of control. I've lost touch with my routine and I'm not good with change- makes me go nuts. I'm definitely going to make use of my...

It's so pathetic. Last week I had a staycation and instead of being active (working out twice or three times a day - even if it was just walking) and eating healthy I was pretty much a slob. Slept in. Got my workout gear on and then did laundry. I only went to the gym on Wednesday and it just makes me so ANGRY that I wasted my time. I set specific goals and did not reach them at all. It's literally depressing to even blog about it. I just want to curl up and cry about all my failures. My failed attempts of "getting healthy" "becoming thinner" or just "breaking a bad habit". If I make the effort for 2-3 weeks, I'm solid. I'm golden. But then I have that one friend that wants to go out or there's some stupid event or birthday that I can't just say no to.. and one night f*cks it all up.  I love LOVE when my friends tag me in healthy food posts or videos but right now, I just can't. I feel like I'm stuck. I know I gave u...

There shouldn't be a wagon anyways. Let's just say I geared away from my healthy lifestyle. This past weekend Friday until now (currently on the road) I was away in Niagara Falls. I brought my runners, dri fit clothes, extra socks etc to make it to the gym. And then my friend was just like "be fat with me and don't go to the gym". And then I didn't. I can't give into other people's lifestyles. I have to hold my own. I made this blog to be accountable (which I am) but I want to stay in the mind set that I can do this. I WANT to do this. I HAVE to do this. I don't want to torture my organs anymore. I want to be there for my children and be alive, healthy and happy. As usual I'm getting off the topic. Let's go back to eating poorly in Niagara: Yes I walked the strip. Like a lot. Got my steps (yay) but also made bad decisions food wise.  Friday wasn't too bad - steak and veggies then ended the night with vodka, juice and some slushie ...

This shepherd's pie would have been 100% vegetarian if and only if I had vegetable broth. Instead I used beef broth. For this recipe I used: onion, broccoli, Bok choy and corn. I also used original veggie ground (by Yves) for the "meat" and cauliflower for the "mashed potato" portion. The recipe I used was by Simply and I literally googled "easy shepherds pie". Once I noticed the temperature and time for the oven everything else was history. I made up my own recipe. Add "whatever I feel like" amount of vegetables, "meat" and broth to keep everything moist then add to the baking dish for the bottom layer. The part that I always forget takes the longest is waiting for the veggies to get soft... soft enough to mash them. It seemed like it took an hour of our burner takes awhile to get hot. Man! But worth the wait. The "meat portion" was done I got thinking - it would be so nice to give someone an additional portion.. so I...

It's Valentine's Day! And you know what that means? AUNT FLOW DECIDED TO INVITE HERSELF TO THE PARTY. No yay. Booo. Aunt flow is being a D-bag to me today, a royal, painful D-bag.  I took one look at my calendar (in my phone because that's where I normally plan my workouts) and I see Speed 1.0 and total body circuit. Nope. Not going to happen. This is the second week of Focus T 25 I messed up IN A ROW. I should be killing my third week but no, life happens or I give in. So I've decided to still do a double day but at least start my day off slow. Meeting a friend for noon for a 2 hour walk, then come home and start roasting some vegetables. Valentine's Day is just like any other day. It's not a reason to cheat. It's just a day of wearing red as far as I'm concerned. Not to sound like a b*tch but people should be embracing every day with their loved ones. Yeah it's nice to get chocolate on occasions but it should be eaten with a cheat meal not ...

Sometimes you have to listen to your body and I'm hoping today isn't that day. It's Monday and I don't want to skip a Monday. Skipping a Monday generally leads to a double Tuesday or skipping a Tuesday... then a Wednesday then OH FCK. I better get my butt in gear or maybe I'll start next week instead.  Currently: tired with a sore stomach, laying in bed. I probably shouldn't have had that bacon / tomato / cheese on toast thing. Having dairy once a week might be playing against me. I WANT TO WORKOUT. Today is a double: lower focus + ab intervals. If my stomach is still uneasy an abdomen workout will definitely be out of the question. But maybe I can push for lower body. Will have to wait and see (probably update you tomorrow if a workout happens).  Before I forget I had generally the same breakfast as Saturday - (2) over easy eggs and 1 slice of bread. I'm just realizing now I've had a lot of carbohydrates already and I'm supposed to have them ...

Yesterday was more of a cheat day more than a meal.  Breakfast was pretty good - cantaloupe, strawberry and kiwi with a pecan turtle coffee (with chocolate milk and a bit of sugar like literally 1/4 of a teaspoon). For lunch I had carrots, celery and cauliflower in hummus and dill dip. Dinner, 1 piece of my low carb lasagna (my last leftover piece), Greek salad and Cesar salad (both homemade) and a slice of garlic bread. Now you might ask - where's the cheat?  Here's the cheat (and the thought process that went along with it): MAG'S COMING OVER!!  Mag and I have been best friends since kindergarten. That's roughly 25 years ago. She is my everything. She also lives a few streets down from my parents. She's one of those friends that you called so often as a kid, her house phone is lodged in your brain. There's no way I could ever forget her number. When the bus wouldn't come we would just walk home. When I was unemployed and she wasn't working o...

Hello again. It's meeee... 🙃 Okay so goal 1 ✔️ Completed Speed 1.0 with mama bear. I completed the day with 10,162 steps. My dessert was literally a sliver of cake (sister called it a crumb) haha with 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt, few strawberries and walnuts. And I made a low carb lasagna and guess what? It was a huge success! So my mom makes this beautiful hollandaise based lasagna with chicken and asparagus. I took it upon myself to grad 1/2 cauliflower head and grated the stems of broccoli as my base. Did a layer of the sauce, chicken, asparagus, broccoli, cheese, and added (4) spinach noodles for texture. Topped it with Parmesan cheese and BOOM. Magic was born. Other lasagnas for the family included turkey with tomato sauce, and then (2) variations of the hollandaise other than my own- one with broccoli and the other asparagus. I was absolutely thrilled to find out mine was a success. Especially since I thought it was going to be like soup. Don't forget that when ...

Every day I try to accomplish mini goals. Today isn't just a regular day. Not like any other day.. no no no. It's a family get together. Family get togethers are like "it's someone's birthday you can have a little" "it's a celebration, have some wine / booze it would be a sin not to" "why aren't you having any of my birthday cake? So rude. Just a sliver!" Etc. I am thankful that my family understands and respects my choices of lifestyle. Not every family does. And some people just don't have the self control / will power. I get that. I've been down that road many times. And this is why I make mini goals. With that being said, today I propose to you my mini goals and then I will blog by the end of the night (or tomorrow) if I achieved them and what exactly happened... 1. Complete Speed 1.0 2. Reach 10,000 steps (even though my goal is 13,000.. usually on weekends I barely make it to 7,000) 3. Stay low carb 4. ACTUALL...

Gooooood morning! So before I get into my day I wanted to confess to something. Last night after all that rice and broccoli and garlic goodness a few hours passed and I was hungry AGAIN. At first I went with the saying "oh you aren't hungry you're just thirsty" you probably haven't had water in awhile. So I drank my 25 oz bottle and a little bit. Nope. I was actually hungry. Although I know if I'm hungry I should have something simple like a protein shake or an apple with almond butter. Long story short I indulged with a cheddar cheese and jalepino bagel with light cream cheese (as if that makes a difference). And it was DELICIOUS. Yeah I went out of bounds but I knew I was going to smash a double day with Shaun T in the morning. And guess what, I did. Waking up I was dreading the workout. Has anyone done a workout with Shaun T? Insanity? Max 30? I'm not going to count Hip Hop Abs or Cize because those are in a moderate category. When you sweat with Sh...

Greetings, again. So here's the food scoop- Breakfast: 1/2 protein bar and an apple. Lunch (and a big portion I might add): Spaghetti squash, tomato sauce, veggie ground topped with parsley. Mini mini snack: an apple Dinner: rice, broccoli, cabbage (with lots of garlic) and chicken... it was takeout. Bourbon St Grill to be exact. This is what happens when there's no protein at home and you are hangry after a killer workout. Tonight's workout 77 minutes of cardio. 60 minutes on the treadmill. 17 minutes on the stationary bike. Treadmill: Walking for 10 minutes then running for 2 minutes. Last 10 minutes, did an incline of 6.5 and speed 3.4 Bike: honestly I wasn't paying attention to speed but I kept it on level 1 and treated it as my cool down post treadmill workout. Today was a good day considering I left the office to run some errands and walked instead of taking a drive and I hauled my butt to the gym. I can't even remember the last time I went to the...

Accountability. Account-able. Accountability by definition: "the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility". I want to be more accountable for everything I do - what I eat, how / when / if I workout, how I react/justify my actions.. in summary I want to live a healthier and happier lifestyle. Let's get back to me. Here's my introduction: My name is Anna. I am a 29 year old overweight woman quickly approaching her 30s in the month of May. I work as a Medical Receptionist for a Plastic Surgeon and I have been confused about a 'healthy lifestyle' for the past 2 years. I started my 'journey' approximately the same time when I moved in with my boyfriend.. and that's when I started to realize how much weight I've accumulated. I can't be too hard on myself. I know I can get back to the body I used to have if I just remember that it's a slow progress and nothing will come easy or quick. Even the procedure of cool sculpting...