Dry January

 

We decided that for the month of January, we would stop drinking and snacking at night.  When it comes to sticking to an otherwise healthy diet, those things are our weaknesses.  And since December (end of November really) was a free for all in terms of drinks and treats, we needed a reset.   Starting on January 3rd and ending today (Feb 4) we have not had any alcohol and no snacks after supper (with the exception of a Perrier and a square of dark chocolate on occasion).  Here are some of my observations:

- I sleep better when I haven't had any drinks.

- I may go to bed hungry but I'm not suffering. 

- I didn't actually feel deprived.

- We have both lost our "Christmas weight" and more, and although numbers on a scale isn't my primary motivation, it is nice to see and I certainly feel better and more trim.

- When the only choice for beverage is water or sparkling water (!) then it's a lot easier to decide.  Often I'm deciding if I should have wine or beer, how many glasses, if I should drink on a certain night or not, etc.  

- Same with snacks: chips, popcorn, or cheese and crackers?  Or during this month, none of the above. 

- Healthy habits can carry over to the rest of my day.  I made better choices for my meals and ate less snacks overall. 

- I can do it. Many people do "Dry January" and I didn't think it was for me.  I have told myself lots of stories about how I eat and drink, but I found I was able to change my habits.

- It's much easier to take a break from drinking when there are no parties, dinners out, or work events. 

- I am also looking forward to having some wine tomorrow night :)

- Although we aren't going to become teetotalers, we still plan to continue to take some weeks off from drinking/snacking from time to time. 

I'm not just telling you this to brag, haha, but instead to maybe inspire you to try something new and adopt some new healthy habits.  You may be surprised of what changes you can make. 

Resolutions

When I look back on my resolutions for 2020 (here) it was easy to see how even the best laid plans do in fact go awry, and there is not much we can do about it.  (These will sound like excuses, and that's fine.)

- Focus on making better food choices.  I was able to do this in some aspects but not in others.  I wasn't eating out at restaurants as often and couldn't to pick up a coffee and treat at Starbucks several times a week. But with hunkering down at home meant we enjoyed lots of chips and drinks, perhaps as a coping mechanism, but also to reward ourselves for getting through another day of being at home altogether. 

- Reduce my plastic use.  This was extremely difficult since single-use packages became the norm at all stores.  We could not trade in our plastic bins at the grocery pick up, bring our own cloth bag for the bread (it was already in a bag), or use our own reusable mug at a coffee shop. 

- Go to a dermatologist.  This was not my priority for 2020 and most of them were closed for part of the year anyway.

- Make more of an effort to get outside.  Well this was an easy one!! Outside is the place to be nowadays.

- Alleviate stress in the morning.  This one was also taken care of since I didn't need to pack lunches or get out the door by 7:15. 

So when I was trying to come up with some resolutions for this year, it was hard to think of anything tangible, since it's hard to know how 2021 will unfold.  It seems likely that our lockdown (currently set to end on the 23rd) will be extended.  And further to that, even if we aren't technically locked down, we will still be subject to the many restrictions we've been living with for several more months at least.  The vaccine is being rolled out, but it will take time for enough people to receive it when we truly resume our pre-2020 activities. So it seems like making big plans for self-improvement or setting lofty goals will not work for me, and this brings to my real goal - grace. Giving others grace, giving myself grace, and giving thanks for the grace of God.  This theme of grace will inspire my "resolutions" for 2021. 

More patience, less yelling.  I feel like I yelled at my children all year and I am going to work on communicating in other ways.  I have also talked to them about doing what I say the first time I ask instead of making me yell at them, we'll see if that works!! 

More movement, less expectations.  I do want to do complete several workouts a week (and I'm so grateful that Saor Studio has so many options for us in a virtual library and live online) but if I'm not feeling a high impact workout, I shall give myself grace to do some yoga or a walk outside.  

More time with God.  Another benefit of this pandemic is that church is now online, and it means that even if can't attend the 10:30 livestream, I can still log in later.  Mediation and prayer is also a way to spend some time with Him, outside of a formal service.

More focus, less distractions.  Since my home is still my office/gym/church/etc. then I need to continue focusing on the activity I'm doing at the time, rather than always trying to multi-task.  I also want to reduce my Twitter usage.  After the US election, I only checked Twitter once a day for a week, and it was great.  I like to be informed, but I can keep up to date with the news without also being distracted by Twitter. (Instagram, we still cool *fist bump*). 

I also asked the kids if they had any goals/resolutions for the new year. Q said he'd like to cut better (we were using scissors at the time), and E wants to get stronger. 

Resolutions

This year my goal was to spend more one on one time with people in my life - my husband, my children (individually) and my friends. I think I did a good job with that.  I met up with friends for lunch or dinner every month or so, and Dave and I did the same.  Usually we do a lot of things as a family but if I was taking one kid out for an errand, we would still stop and get a treat or something so it wasn't always just about the errand.  I would like to continue to do this and focus on making it a priority.

School show with E

Out with Q

Birthday dinner with Dave

Lunch with Janna

For this next year I also want to focus on continuing to make better food choices.  I do a pretty good job of this but I also get into ruts where I neglect to bring my lunch to work or eat lots of snacks at night time.  Last week we went to see Star Wars at the theatre and as I sat there eating my "supper" of popcorn, M and Ms, and Diet Coke, I realized I did not feel that great, and likely it wasn't just the food in front of me making me feel that way, but also the days of food preceding it where vegetables and lean protein were not really on the menu.   It's okay to have treats, but that means they are actually treats and not every day food.

I also want to reduce my plastic and make an effort to use reusable items. I wrote about that here and I got lots of Christmas gifts to help with this - some reusable bread bags and produce bags, beeswax wraps, reusable cleaning clothes (shame on us we usually use paper towels), and reusable covers for bowls and plates.  I know there are even more things we can do, but we'll start here.

I'd also like to go to a dermatologist and "fix" my skin. I'm not really concerned with wrinkles, but rather the brightness of it (okay, maybe some wrinkles/lines!). I don't really want to do any sort of radical peels or Botox or anything, but I'll see what they say.  Also everyone seems to be into collagen and other supplements too so I will read up on that and see how I can make use of it.

I also want to make more of an effort to go outside.  I do get to walk to and from the subway, but I could also do well to walk outside at lunchtime, even if it is cold.  I do always feel better when I've taken some time to be outside.

Another thing is to figure out how to alleviate the stress in the morning. I mean, I know how to do it, it means prepping food for lunch and breakfast ahead of time, showering at nights, and having the dishes put away.  I could also try getting up slightly earlier, which also means going to bed earlier too.

Oh, your New Year's Resolution is to eat healthy and be more organized?

September Resolutions

Some people view the start of a new school like the real start to the year, rather than the calendar year.  Even though I have been out of school for many years I do still feel that way sometimes.  With the weather changing, it feels like we should be buckling down and get serious (before the Christmas holidays start and we go nuts again!).

A few things that I want to improve on as we head into September are:

Eating better - I tend to indulge in lots of summer treats, and I do enjoy it, but I also feel much better when I limiting alcohol, fatty foods, and sugar.  

Bring my lunch 80% of the time.  When the patios are calling in the summer, I tend to eat out more.  Bringing my lunch will also help with the first one of eating better!

Fitting in an extra workout other than my classes.  We are pretty active in the summer but I want to keep that up into the fall even if it means an extra layer of clothes. 

Continuing to ride my bike.  As long as the weather stays pretty warm and dry, there is no reason why I can't keep riding my bike into September.  

Not scrolling so much through social media.  My husband is reading this and rolling his eyes since he doesn't think I'll actually stick to this.  I am always checking Twitter and Onstagram so I can keep up with what is going on but lately the news just seems so bleak, do I really need to know every detail?  

Start thinking about Halloween and Christmas now!  We always have busy Septembers and Octobers with back to school and birthdays, so I want to try and get a head start. 

Meal Plan Update

I thought I would give you an update on the meal plan Dave and I started five weeks ago.  We completely stuck to the plan for Week 1, with the exception of a piece of cake at the baptism we attended, for me, and a glass of wine for Dave.  Week 2, although we followed along fairly closely, I had a lunch with a friend at Pizzeria Libretto of actual pizza (although with spelt crust) and a biscotti (but no wine!).  Week 3, Dave and I were both sick, so we actually didn't eat much of anything for a few days.  I had a carton of chocolate milk and plain chips one day in an attempt to settle my stomach (which I think did help), and then was back onto the recommended meals and snacks after that.  Week 4 started with Mother's Day where I enjoyed a lovely homemade breakfast of eggs Benedict and a cookie.  And in the afternoon we had a couple of beers and snacks at Bandit Brewery.  I also ended Week 4 with a couple of meals out, and some wine.  I kept active with my Hiit and Barre classes, yoga, and running.  Dave did some running and biking.  Being sick did take a lot out of us though and we were not as active as we would have liked.

Here are some comments:
- I did lose weight.  The most weight came off in the first week, probably just from not drinking alcohol and not snacking at night.
- It is possible to attend social events without deviating from the plan.
- I feel like I have a lot more energy than I used to (except for the days I was sick).
- Eating at restaurants is difficult because everything has so many calories.  The times I did go out, I would usually order chicken or fish tacos, as they seemed to be the best options.
- When you're not following your usual habits, you can really see what you would be eating (i.e. four slices of pizza at a work lunch, a beer at lunch, sweet treats with your coffee, etc.).
- Spending time in the evenings prepping food is time consuming, but really worth it the next day when you are hungry and everything is ready for you.
- I was never really hungry, except if I stayed up too late.
- When I would get out my homemade snacks or meals around other people, they were always curious about what I was eating and how it was going.  I think there is a real shift towards healthy eating and lifestyle.

A surprisingly good snack of hummus, cucumber and boiled egg.

This is a rough outline of our days:

Breakfast - Eggs and vegetables (grilled or in an omelet), shake made with vegetables, or oatbran cereal with flaxseed

10:00 AM Snack - Vegetables and hummus, greek yoghurt and berries, sugar free muffin and almond butter

Lunch - Small portion of a vegetable and lean protein based dish - salad, soup, sandwich made with spelt bread, leftovers from the night before

3:00 PM Snack - a different version of the 10:00 snack

Supper - Fish, shrimp, chicken, or chick peas, and lots of vegetables.

Super Food Salad

You can check out some of the recipes here.  If you are local, I would really encourage you to come and work out with us.  The classes are amazing and the instructors are very supportive and provide great encouragement and inspiration.  It is not just about your body, but also your mind and well being.

I think we will continue to roughly follow the plan but perhaps with some more leeway in the meals we eat and the treats we enjoy.  Now that I know what we can accomplish, I can make some better choices than I used to.

New Things

Here are two things I do not like - diets and numbers on a scale.  I know when I am eating poorly and when I'm eating well, I don't usually need a diet to tell me what to do.  But in my quest to try new things, I decided to try the "Reset" meal plan provided by the gals who run my workout classes.  It would be good to lose a few pounds so my summer clothes will fit better, and I like a good challenge.

What I like about this meal plan is that all of your meals and snacks are written out for the whole week.  Each week is different too. The first week has a heavy focus on vegetables and what I'll call "white" protein - chicken, fish, chick peas, greek yoghurt, nuts, and very little sugar or carbs.  Then each week you get to add things back into your diet, like bread and fruit, and you can settle into a few better habits. I have always turned my nose up at certain diets because they seemed too hard to maintain for the long term.  I don't know what will happen after I'm done with the official schedule of meals provided for me, but you can't succeed unless you try it!

I was always hesitant to start this reset plan because I always seemed to have special events where following the meal plan 100% would be impossible.  But it's okay to follow it as best as you can without worrying too much about sticking to it completely.  For example, I have a lunch at work today but I chose the fish and lentil/sweet potato mash as my meal choice, simple.  For the bridal shower and baptism we are going to this weekend, I will just make some smarter choices, rather than:

The plan also suggests you give up caffeine and I said "No way José!" so already I'm not doing it 100%.  Me without my coffee would just be bad news.

Dave is doing it with me, which means I prepare all of his meals for him, and he loves that.  The kids eat all of the suppers that we have had this week, and E enjoyed the warm oat bran for breakfast on Monday.

Oat bran with honey and cinnamon, greek yoghurt and coconut, lemon and ginger water.

Homemade hummus and vegetables for a morning snack

It is a lot of work to prep everything and takes some coordination, but it's not difficult, just time consuming.  Of course it is my first time trying something like this but I'm getting into a rhythm.  The rest of my fitness group doesn't start the Reset for a couple more weeks, but once I made up my mind to do it, I decided to just jump right in, no time like the present right?

Healthy Eating

I read something the other day that when you want to be healthy and lose weight that exercise is only 20% and eating is 80%.  I can't remember where I read it, so I can't back this statement up with any sort of authority, but to follow up on my post yesterday, here are some "rules" for eating I made up a few years ago that I'm going to try and employ over the next few weeks (as an aside, these rules were in a notebook I had when E was first born and I had to keep track of breastfeeding and dirty diapers.  There were also lists of things to do and packing lists for our trips that first year.  Memories!  End aside):


Eat only things that have some nutritional benefit.  That basically means don't eat processed food, etc.

No butter on bread or toast.

Drink only water, milk or coffee with milk (no sugar or cream in coffee).  Drink lots of water.

No cookies, cake, or chips.  Permitted treats are plain popcorn and small dark chocolate squares.

No beer or mixed drinks.  Wine only and limit number of glasses.

Breakfast choices - Ryvita crackers with natural peanut butter, fruit, protein shakes, eggs, oatmeal with nuts and fruit.

Lunch - Eat smaller portions. Bring healthy snacks like fruit and nuts so I won't come home starving in the evenings.  If eating out, replace french fries with salad, or no side at all.

Supper - Make food from scratch, limit high calorie sauces, cheese, etc.  Eat meatless meals at least once a week.  Eat a lot of vegetables.

Limit nighttime snacking, drink tea or hot water with lemon and ginger instead.

See also this post about my review of the documentary Fed Up and some other healthy eating choices.

Fitness Routine

Okay, enough of this hibernation that has taken hold of me since Christmas, it is time to make a plan and put together a workout routine.  I have a lot of excuses for not working out yet:

Our basement is under construction so I haven't wanted to work out in the dust.

It is too cold to run outside.

It is too dark and cold in the morning to get out of bed before I have to.

I'm waiting for the yoga studio to open by my house.

and the most accurate excuse of all, I don't want to.

 

To that, my reasonable self replies:

I can workout in the living room, and I've asked Dave to set up his bike so I can watch TV while exercising.

It's not always too cold, Dave does it all the time.

I can also work out in the evenings.

The yoga studio will open soon, but even when it does, that won't be the only workout solution so I still need to get into the habit of doing other things.

Too bad. 

 

I'm taking a page out of Jillian's book to get motivated to work out, see her blog post about that here.  My favourite tip of hers is to schedule your work out time.  When you know it's coming up, then you're less likely to back out. When I knew I was going to run every other day in the summer, I was able to plan ahead for my run even when I knew I had an early morning meeting or an event in the evening.  

I will also start small, so I'm going to plan week by week and changing it up each day.

Today - Evening - Dave can take E to swimming and I can come home early.  Supper will be ready in the slow cooker so I will have at least 45 minutes to work out before they get home.  

Thursday - Morning - Bike - Workout with weights and kettle bell

Friday - Evening - Countdown Workout

Saturday - Morning - Skiing 

Sunday - Afternoon - Skating or run outside

Monday - Evening - Bike while watching The Bachelor

Tuesday - Morning - A workout from my Women's Health magazine that I got in my stocking. 

Now to put these in calendar so I can keep these appointments with myself.

 

Running

Since July 3 I have run every other day.  They aren't long runs, about 5 to 7 kilometres, but I'm out there and getting some exercise and fresh air.  After I graduated from law school I visited Toronto for a few days.  I remember seeing people running and rollerblading down by the lake and I wanted to be one of those people.  I didn't know I was going to be moving to Toronto at that time, but when we did get here, we embraced outdoor exercising, particularly along the lake.  Whenever I am out running or biking, I think to myself (and sometimes say to Dave out loud), "Hey, we're doing it, we're those people that are outside doing things".  

Setting a goal to run every other day really helped me.  I knew it was unrealistic to say I would run everyday but knowing that the next day was coming up meant I could plan.  For the most part I set my alarm early (5:45) and ran for 30 to 40 minutes in the morning before work.  Sometimes if a morning run wasn't possible, I would go after supper.  I saw many beautiful sunrises.  I saw one coyote, one skunk, and a few raccoons.  It only rained one time when I went for a run, so we obviously had a pretty great summer.

Once I started with this pattern I knew I couldn't give up. I ran even when we went camping and when we were visiting other people.  Running is great because it takes very little gear and you can go for a quick run or a long run depending on the time you have.  I made time for running throughout the summer and I was really happy about it.  

I am going to take a break from running while we are away (although I will bring my sneakers and try to get some exercise) and then when we get back, it will be even darker in the mornings and it will be getting colder.  I would like to keep up my routine of exercising every other day no matter what. Somedays that will be a run, other days it may be a work out in the basement.  

A lot of those mornings it was super humid so I'm come back a hot mess.

Getting ready for a night run with my new orange top and white sneakers.

New Year, new goals

Even though I haven't been in school for almost ten years, I still think of September as the start of a new year.  Around this time, I start thinking, "Okay, time to get my sh*t together; things are going to be different".  I'm pretty organized about most things, but I tend to start slacking off in the summer.  It's time to get back to a routine now, especially with E being in school.  As a way to keep myself accountable I am writing out some goals for the fall.



Daily/Weekly Habits - These are some of things I want to be more diligent about.  Some of them are so I can feel more organized throughout the week when we are busy, and others are just good habits that I should be more strict about:

Plan our meals on the weekend and organize when groceries need to be purchased (and by whom)
Sometimes I need to go to the grocery store for canned and refrigerated items, and other times Dave can walk up to our local stores throughout the week for meat and produce.  My tips for menu planning are here.

Set my work clothes out for the week on Sunday evening
Then I will know if I need anything washed, ironed or mended in advance.

Make muffins or breakfast type bread each weekend
I like an easy breakfast that I can eat in the car on the way to work if possible.  Some fruit and a muffin are my favourite things to grab.  Here are some recipes I've posted before: carrot muffins,  banana chocolate chip muffins, and apple cupcakes.

Make E's lunch and my lunch the night before
If I don't have time to make a lunch in the morning I tend to buy a lunch which means something that isn't always healthy and spending money.  I have to make E's lunch because he doesn't have any other options, so if I can get mine done at the same time, then it will make for an easier morning.

Wash my face and floss my teeth when E is getting ready for bed
When I am tired and going to bed, these are the first things that get tossed out the window.  I want to remember to do these things while I'm still awake and before I am dragging myself to my bed.

Make up a cleaning schedule
I did this for a bit when I was on mat leave, but it never stuck.  I want to "schedule" different cleaning tasks so we'll be reminded to do them.  If I set goals of doing the bathroom, floors, dusting, windows, etc. then I will be more likely to do these things on a regular basis rather than just when we have people come over.


One Time Goals for Fall - These are things that need to be done and should be done in the next couple of months.  It is easy to put these things off, but if I write them down, then I'll be more accountable.

Go through my summer clothes and pitch the ones I didn't wear all summer
I love doing this.  It is very rare that I regret something that I've thrown out.  There are a few things that I know will never be worn or that have gotten ratty, so it's time to go.

Go through my fall and winter clothes and pitch the ones that are getting worn
I have some suits that are looking a little tired, and some dresses that don't really fit anymore. 

Take a trip to the dry cleaner and cobbler
Some of my suit jackets could use a freshening up at the cleaners, and my boots need to get prepped for winter.  I meant to do this in the spring but I didn't get around to it.

Organize and wash my scarves
I have a lot of scarves and I have a pretty good storage place when I keep it neat.  Right now everything is just tossed in there, so I need to take it all out, hand wash the ones I wear a lot, and put everything back in order.

Clean my make up brushes
I ordered a new make up bag from Stella and Dot last week.  Before I move everything over to it, I want to clean up my brushes and throw out the odds and ends of make up.  I also want to get a new powder brush, the one I have is from Shoppers and it must be almost 10 years old. 

Organize our closets
When we moved in last fall I just shoved stuff in the hall closets (sheets, towels, toiletries and cleaning supplies), and haven't really touched them since.  I need to take everything out, organize, get some baskets or containers, and then put it all back.  Our clothes closets are also in need of an overhaul, but I'll get to that when I do some of the things I mentioned above.


This looks like a lot, but there is nothing I like more than being organized, so I'm looking forward to getting these things accomplished (along with Dave's home projects and all of the other things we do).

Want it Wednesdays - Fitness Routine

Now that we have moved, and Dave can drive again (after a summer of being in a cast), I feel like my life can return to normal (whatever that is).  I belonged to a gym for a long time, and then when I was on maternity leave I had a personal trainer, which was all great.  Then I quit the gym (by the way, this is how I felt when I quit the gym:

And then I started doing boot camps (at 6:00 am, three times a week, yes I was a champ).  For various health reasons I haven't done that in almost a year.

Now that my "routine" has returned, I need to plan and stick to some sort of exercise routine, and I need to make this a priority. I have pinned a few different workouts on Pinterest and have done some with varying success.

I would like to start with doing cardio (running or using the bike trainer) twice a week, and then do one of these workouts twice a week. I will report back in a month and let you know how I'm doing.  The purpose of this post is to hold myself accountable.

Wish me luck!