Friday Funny

Resolution Update

FITNESS:

Twin 1:                                 

Complete P90x workout    - started & failed, Turbo Fire - started & failed, JM Body Revolution - started for the 2nd time 

Get dogs out running - been walking them but no running yet as I have not been consistent in training them to walk politely on leash.     

Twin 2:

Complete JM 90 day Body Revolution - started & failed.  Started for 2nd time.

Run 5k in under 39 minutes - no running to date at all

Both:

Run a 10k in 1:10 - 1:15 (current PB is 1:20).  We have some work to do - have not been running

Run at least 1000 km this year - have not been running

Run all year long (we have a tendency to sign up for a race, train, run race then stop running altogether) - have not been running

Think about running another 1/2 marathon - thought about it - check!

  

FINANCE:

Both:

Pay off all outstanding debts

Use credit card only in extreme emergencies

Twin 1 has paid off 2 debts but have 2 more to go.  The credit card has only been used for online shopping but that amount has been put back on the CC when purchased. 

Twin 2 has her CC paid off but then went to Montreal.

PERSONAL:

Twin 1:                                       

Stay positive and don't let negative people affect my day - check!

Twin 2:

Find a family doctor (mine closed up shop) - fail

Go to dentist (been awhile) - fail (made an appt but then had family emergency that week and haven't made another)

Become more domesticated - fail (this is a hard one lol)

Both:

Become more social - Working on it.

Get new glasses (we've each had current pair since 2010) - check!

Good thing we still have 6 months to go. 

Wha'd Up Wednesday

Our birthday was last Thursday and we got a few things.  At this age we basically get whatever we want when we want it as we are making our own money but we each did get a few things.  

Twin 1 got some cash, Tim's card, Starbucks card, chocolate bar, box of Charleson Chews and her co-workers took her for a Sundae at lunch.

 Her hubby took her to Swiss Chalet Saturday when he got home from being away along with a Starbucks Gift card.  Her in-laws came over for a BBQ and gave her some shirts and made her this ice cream cake they roasted marshmallows over.

Twin 2 got some cash, golf balls, a biking shirt (pretty cool.  Has pockets in the back for convenient reach around while on the bike).  She was treated to a nice breakfast in Mtl with her traveling buddy and lunch with a few co-workers.  Her hubby had a little personal size cake waiting for her when she got home from Mtl and cooked her supper.

This coming weekend Twin 2 will host her annual Birthday BBQ Bash. We have six July birthdays in our immediate group so every summer in July we all get together and celebrate together.  Should be a good time.   

Tip Tuesday

Go soft.  To avoid shin splints, get off the pavement for a few days and run on a cross-country course or unpaved bike paths.

Motivational Monday

Meal Plan Example

Warning these meals may become repetitive as I like to penny pinch and instead of buying everything for every meal I buy lots of one and have the meal a few times to use it all up before it goes bad as we are eating "fresh" now.

Saturday

B- Vegetable & Egg Scramble

                3 egg whites

                1 egg

                0.5 cup cooked Spinach

                2 oz Broccoli

                1 oz Onion

                2 oz tomato

S – Quick Turkey Roll up w/Fruit and nuts

                2.5 oz Turkey Breast

                0.33 oz Raw Cashews

                3 oz Apple

L- Italian Tuna Salad with Fruit

                3.5 oz Albacore Tuna

                0.5 oz Olives

                1.5 tbsp dressing

                2 oz Peppers (red/green)

                2 oz Tomato

                0.5 oz Onion

                4 oz Orange

S – Cliff Bar

                ½ Cliff Builder Bar

S- Grilled Chicken w Spinach and Bean Salad

                4 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

                2 tbsp Salad dressing

                2 cups of Spinach

                0.75 oz Garbanzo Beans

Sunday

B- Protein Power Oatmeal

                1.25 Scoop Whey Protein Powder

                0.75 oz Plain Oatmeal

                ½ tbsp. Almond Butter

S – Cliff bar

                ½ Cliff Builder Bar

L – Chicken, fruit & nuts

                3.5 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

                0.5 oz Raw Cashews

                4 oz Apple

S – Berry Banana Protein Shake

                1.25 scoop of Whey Protein Powder

                0.5 tbsp Peanut butter

                2 oz Banana

                2 oz Strawberries

S – Salmon, Brown Rice & Asparagus

                4 oz Salmon

                0.25 cup Brown Rice (cooked)

                4 oz Asparagus

Monday

B- Scramble Eggs & Oatmeal

                3 egg whites

                1 egg

                0.75 oz Plain Oatmeal

S – Quick Turkey Roll up w/ fruit & nuts

                2.5 oz Turkey Breast

                0.33 oz Raw Cashews

3 oz Apple

               

L – Tuna Salad w side of fruit

                3.5 oz Albacore tuna

                1 oz Avocado

                1 tbsp dressing

                1 cup Garden Salad

                2 oz Tomato

                2 oz Orange

S – Cliff Bar

                ½ Cliff Builder Bar

S – Steak, Sweet Potato & Steamed Cauliflower

                3 oz Filet Mignon

                4 oz Cauliflower

                2 oz Sweet Potato

               

Tuesday

B – Berry Banana Protein Smoothie

                1.25 scoop of Whey Protein Powder

                0.5 tbsp Peanut butter

                2 oz Banana

                2 oz Strawberries

S – Turkey Roll up with fruit and nuts

                2.5 oz Turkey Breast

                0.33 oz Raw Cashews

                3 oz Apple

L – Vegetable & Egg Scramble

                3 egg whites

                1 egg

                0.5 cup cooked Spinach

                2 oz Broccoli

                1 oz Onion

                2 oz tomato

S – Cliff bar

                ½ Cliff Builder Bar

S – Turkey Vegetable Stir Fry

                3.5 oz Ground Turkey

                0.5 tbsp Olive Oil

                1 cup mixed Vegetables

Wednesday

B – Vegetable & Egg Scramble

                3 egg whites

                1 egg

                0.5 cup cooked Spinach

                2 oz Broccoli

                1 oz Onion

                2 oz tomato

S – Cliff Bar

                ½ Cliff Builder Bar

L – Italian Tuna Salad w Fruit

                3.5 oz Albacore Tuna

                0.5 oz Olives

                1.5 tbsp dressing

                2 oz Peppers (red/green)

                2 oz Tomato

                0.5 oz Onion

                4 oz Orange

S – Muscle Milk (light) & Fruit

                14 oz Light Muscle Milk any flavor

                2 oz Apple

S – Grilled Chicken with Spinach & Bean Salad

                4 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

                2 tbsp Salad dressing

                2 cups of Spinach

                0.75 oz Garbanzo Beans

Thursday

B – Protein Power Oatmeal

                1.25 Scoop of Whey Protein Powder

                0.75 oz Plain Oatmeal

                ½ tbsp Almond Butter

S – Turkey Roll up with Fruit & Nuts

                2.5 oz Turkey Breast

                0.33 oz Raw Cashews

                3 oz Apple

L – Halibut w Broccoli & Side Salad

                4 oz Halibut

                2 tbsp dressing

                1.5 cup garden salad

                3 oz broccoli

               

S – Cliff Bar

                ½ Cliff Builder Bar

S – Turkey Vegetable Stir Fry

                3.5 oz Ground Turkey

                0.5 tbsp Olive Oil

                1 cup mixed Vegetables

Friday

B – Vegetable & Egg Scramble

                3 egg whites

                1 egg

                0.5 cup cooked Spinash

                2 oz Broccoli

                1 oz Onion

                2 oz tomato

S – Muscle Milk & Fruit

                14 oz Light Muscle Milk any flavor

                2 oz Apple

L – Turkey Vegetable Stir Fry

                3.5 oz Ground Turkey

                0.5 tbsp Olive Oil

                1 cup mixed Vegetables

S – Cliff Bar

                ½ Cliff Builder Bar

S – Grilled Chicken with Spinach & Bean Salad

                4 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

                2 tbsp Salad dressing

                2 cups of Spinach

                0.75 oz Garbanzo Beans

Venice Nutrition

As you know Twin 2 is doing a Fast plan and last month when we went to Moncton I found a book at Chapters that was about Venice Nutrition.  I read it and it talked about eating to keep your blood sugar level as that will curb snacking.  You eat every 3-4 hours with a meal of Fat, Protein & Carbs depending on your body.  I joined online and plugged in my weight and measurements and these are the recommendations it has for me to aide in reaching my goal.

 

Workout Program per Venice Nutrition is:
 

Stretching - 4 days per week, 15 min per session

 

Cardiovascular Training - 4-5 days per week, 30-45 min per session

 

Intensity Training - HIIT 2 days a week, 30 min session

 

Strength Training - 4-5 days a week

Here is an example of my Workout Schedule below.  The Fat Burning Cardio may be either 

biking, light jogging or walking with the dogs.

 

Friday - Stretch (15 min), Weights/Core - JM video (30 min) & Fat Burning Cardio (30-45 min)

 

Saturday - Stretch (15 min), Weights/Core - JM video (30 min) & Fat Burning Cardio 

(30-45 min)

 

Sunday - Stretch (15 min), HIIT - Skipping (10 min), HIIT video (20 min), Fat Burning Cardio - JM Cardio video (30 min)

Monday - JM video (30 min)

 

Tuesday - Stretch (15 min), Weights/Core - JM video (30 min) & Fat Burning Cardio (30-45min)

 

Wednesday - Stretch (15 min), HIIT - Skipping (15 min) , HIIT video (15 min) & Fat Burning Cardio - JM Cardio video (30 min)

 

Thursday - Rest

It also breaks down the Protein, Carb and Fat nutrition for your meals and mine are as follows (per meal):

 

Protein: (40%) 25 g

Carb: (35%) 22 g

Fat: (25%) 7 g

Calories / Meal: 250

Sleep Recommendation is 8 hrs.

Water Recommendations: Drink at least 8oz of water with every meal and 8 oz of water in 

between each meal.

As stated above it breaks down the nutrition content and we will post of an example meal plan that it gave me.

I will do a re-measure in a month's time and see if there is any progress.  Hopefully I will stick with this and see some results! 

Friday Funny

Happy Birthday!

We are now pushing 40! Happy Birthday to us :-)

Wha'd Up Wednesday

Summer has finally arrived.

Canada Day was our first day we got to lay in the sun and got BURNT but that turned into the colour brown.  We didn't end up heading to the fireworks.  The ones in the city were cancelled as just as we packed up from tanning the rain started.  They were still on in our community but we're getting old and can't stay up that late (9:30 pm).  Terrible.

This past weekend the parents made a quick trip up.  On Saturday morning Pa showed up to Twin 2's house with his power saw and cut down some dead trees.  It was a hot one even in the morning so he only cut a few down (the ones that we really noticed) and will do the rest in the fall.  This has been Pa's job for the past 35+ years and it's the first time any of us have actually seen him do what he does to put food on the table.

After Pa was done we had a snack and then the whole fam (including Ma & Sister Wi) headed to the driving range to hit some balls.  Sister Wi and I each wanted to take a pic of us all there but we left our phones in the car.  After that we headed to Twin 1's for some dinner.  Ma & Pa then headed home and we ran some errands.

On Sunday it was a beautiful day (minus big black clouds here and there) so we tanned at Twin 2's house.  The colour is coming along nicely.  Twin 1 was eating her lunch and Lou decided he wanted some too.  He's not usually such a piggy.

There's a little bit of sun up there somewhere.

Guess what tomorrow is!!??  OUR BIRTHDAY!!!! 

   

Tip Tuesday

One of the best ways to limit dehydration during a run is to drink enough before it.  With the exception of alcohol, which is dehydrating, all beverages, including water, sports drink, coffee, tea, juice, and milk, can help keep you hydrated throughout the day.

Motivational Monday

Twin 2 is heading to Montreal today to see Taylor Swift in concert.  Hopefully this concert will go better than last time she saw Swifty which was years ago at Cavendish.  She went with her BFF and her two nieces.  It was an outdoor concert and once Swifty got on stage the crowd rushed the stage and squished her and one of the little girls she was with.  The little girl was nervous and wanted to get out and the only way out was for them to make their way over to the side of the crowed and get security to haul them up over the fence.  They watched the concert from the side stage for the rest of the night.  Indoor concerts with assigned seating from hence forward.

Friday Funny

Happy Canada Day & Wha'd Up?

HAPPY CANADA DAY!! 

We don't have a whole lot planned.  Weather is suppose to be nice and sunny today so maybe do some tanning and catch some fireworks tonight (if we're not asleep by then).

Welcome to our new Wednesday post called Wha'd up Wednesday.  We thought it would be more interesting than our workouts?!

Twin 1’s new Fav from Tims especially when the buns are fresh and warm.

Twin 1’s car was at the garage for a few weeks getting body work done to pass inspection so she had to drive her hubby’s truck.  When driving the truck she can’t tell how far from the curb she parks so she took it to work one day and parked on the street.  Throughout the day she kept looking out the window to see if she got a ticket for being too far away from the curb because that is apparently a real fine.  Look what she found.

And here is the garage where the car got fixed.

On weekends Twin 2 has been joining Twin 1 walking with the dogs at beautiful Point Pleasant.

We both started new eating plans and here is Mon/Tues/Wed meal prep  (more on this at a later date).

Pearl has a favorite ball and she lost it under the hutch in the kitchen and couldn’t get it so she laid and stared at it until someone got it for her.

Where did summer go?

It is supposedly summer but it has not felt like it yet at all.  These are the clouds last Friday.  It is now the beginning of July.  Lets hope it warms up.

Tip Tuesday

Schedule a hill run every 7 to 14 days.  As you get stronger, add time to your segments and/or add an additional hill until you're running 10 inclines.  If you're training for a hilly race, try to mimic in your workouts the types of hills you'll encounter in your race.  When motivation lags, run hills with a buddy and take turns leading the upward charge.

Motivational Monday

Intermittent Fasting

By Twin 2

I am on a weight loss journey.  My goal is to lose about 40 lbs.  That is a lot.  I can’t believe I let myself get to the weight of where I am today but I did and now I have to deal.

I have signed up for Weight Watchers (I have done this before and it worked but never stuck to it for too long). 

I am also trying Intermittent Fasting.  I have never heard of this before until one day I was listening to Chalene Johnson’s Podcast (please listen to her podcasts she has one of the best out there) and her guest one day was Dr. Sara Solomon and talking about her success with intermittent fasting.  It sounded pretty easy and made sense so I thought I would give it a try.  What is it you ask? 

Here is a link that will tell you all about it and you can sign up for free tutorials (which I recommend if you are interested).  You will get emails and even get some of Dr. Solomon’s HIIT workouts.

http://www.drsarasolomon.com/category/intermittent-fasting/

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting (IF) is not a diet. You still eat your normal amount of food, you just eat it in a smaller time frame, referred to as your eating window. It is simply a plan telling you when you can eat and when you cannot eat. Since you spend more time fasting than you do eating, it gives your body a chance to tap into its stored fat for fuel.

Why is Intermittent Fasting Better for Satiety and Fat Loss?

When I was eating 6 small meals a day of 150 to 250 calories each every 2 to 3 hours, I was always hungry, cranky and cheating on my diet.  I never shed any fat because my body was never burning my stored fat for fuel.  Think about it: I never gave my body a chance to burn my stored fat for fuel because I was constantly stuffing my face from 6 am until midnight, which meant I was only burning the food I was shoveling into my face! And because I was always hungry, I would snack in between meals, which made me even fatter (because my insulin levels were chronically elevated). 

Intermittent fasting is a great strategy if you always feel hungry following the 6 meal-a-day plan.  Why? Because you will feel more full by trying to cram in all your calories during a narrow feeding window, rather than spreading them out over 17 waking hours.  For example, if you are on a 1500-calorie a day diet and you eat 3 meals during an 8-hour window, this means you get to eat bigger portions (~500 calories) at each meal (promoting satiety and preventing dietary indiscretions). But if you eat those 1500 calories all day long as six 250 calorie meals, you will never achieve satiety. These small meals will tease you, leaving you hungrier than a hostage in a holdup situation.

This made sense to me and sounded easy enough.  I chose the 16/8 method which means I fast for 16 hours and eat for 8.  I chose to consume all my calories between 10:30 am and 6:30 pm.  At first this was a little hard in the mornings because I enjoyed eating my breakfast at 7:30 am when I got to work with my coffee.  After almost two weeks of trying this out I don’t mind it at all.  I also sometimes don’t eat until 11:00 am or so.  During the fast you are permitted to drink water, green tea, oolong tea and black coffee.  If necessary, you can chew sugar-free gum.

I still have not mastered the black coffee but have cut back on what I put in it.  I am down to very little milk in it and a tiny tiny bit of sugar or even some stevia which I am allowed to have.

"Fast" Tip:

Oftentimes you may think you are hungry, but in actual fact, you are just thirsty. Both hunger and thirst are controlled by the hypothalamus. That explains why you often misinterpret thirst for hunger. So when you feel hungry, drink a glass of water. You can drink as much calorie free liquids as you want during your fasting phase.

I find I am snacking less.  I usually eat the same breakfast/lunch/supper but I find I only snack once a day (if at all) now instead of twice as I eat my breakfast at the time my first snack used to be.  That has allowed me to cut out one snack altogether.  Maybe someday I will start eating at noon and have a shorter eating window.  Dr. Solomon does the 20/4 method and eats for 4 hours (usually between the hours 5pm and 9pm).  She said she always used to go home after work and sit on the couch and eat her face off so now she can do it without feeling guilty.

I’m not sure how this will actually work and am still trying to iron out the kinks and find out what works best for me but so far it has eliminated my eating in the evening.  Eating at night was the norm and now knowing that I can’t eat after 6:30 pm has eliminated the eating in the evening (I may have had a slip up once or twice).

My next goal is to work out in the mornings in a fasted state (rather than work out after I eat in the evenings). 

 

I was down a few lbs last week but after this week of retirement parties/lunches I put it back on.  I’ll try again. I'll keep you posted on my progress.