Mission Accepted

It's Monday tomorrow and you know what that means... false expectations that tomorrow will be a fresh start. That suddenly I won't crave pizza or pasta and that I will be immediately changed. It's a weekly thought, but it's yet to work.

I am currently on the Weight Watchers plan, and I stick to those points like they are Velcro. But low and behold something comes up, whether it be work, drinks with friends, or just my lack of will power. By Wednesday, I've usually gone back to my old ways.

So here I am...pledging to change my ways once again, but this time publicly. We all struggle but instead of complaining about it, we should help each other. Instead of using work travels or drinks with friends as an excuse for going off track, I'm going to find ways through it. What healthy options are there? How can we all make better choices?

Cheers to false expectations, and turning them into reality, no matter how unlikely they may seem.

Booty Booty Swivel Swivel

If you’re a Tone it Up (TIU) girl, you know that one of the main reasons we love K&K is because they make our workouts fun. Hey they probably even help us develop those abs a little bit further with just their jokes alone. Laughing during a plank? It has to be productive right?

I am officially complete Day 2 of the Bikini Series and I can honestly say it feels good to be back to the TIU program. I strayed for a while, and I have to admit I even cheated with a few other workout programs along the way. At heart I will always be a TIU girl.

Summary of my day:

I spent most of my day in the Ottawa area for work. Travelling for work is tricky when it comes to workouts and food, but it’s all about training your mind to avoid temptation.

Booty Call (at 5:45 am…yuck): Booty workout from Beach Babe 4

M1: Cora’s for breakfast – Toast, fruit and a few breakfast potatoes

M3: Cheese, crackers, carrots, and dip – we were at a conference so it was limited options for healthiness

M5: Small ceaser salad and shared plate of fries

PMWO: 1.5 miles (20 min on treadmill) + new TIU workout

As you can see there’s quite a bit of room for improvement with my eating. I could make up a million and one excuses but I really just need to keep working towards my healthy lifestyle.

With that being said I am really a TIU girl for life… any one care to join me?

2016 Bikini Series

It's Bikini Series time, and never have I been so excited for a new challenge!

Every year I commit to the Bikini Series and every year I fall off the wagon very early on. Whether it's the excuse of not enough time, or the stress eating that I fall victim to all too often, I always find a reason to quit on a goal I was so determined to meet. This year, it's time to break that habit.

I've decided the best way to stick to a goal is to document it through and through. It also gives me the opportunity to share with new TIU girls what a Bikini Series is really like. No filter.

This Bikini Series I am starting in Ottawa on a business trip. To prepare for today I scoped out the gym and quickly realized it was not big enough for my Bikini Babe 4 workout. Hotel room prep time begins..

Cue the alarm... 5:30 am and I was up and at 'em. If you want to fit in 2 workouts a day, there really is no option, but luckily with my eyes half open, I was very excited to try out my new Bikini Babe 4 workout. Today was Rock Your Body and my first experience was amazing. I got in all of my daily workouts too, except for the burpees since I think the hotel may have something to say about that.

But as our TIU trainers always say, workouts are where the abs are made but the nutrition plan is where the results show. So how did I do for eating today?... let's just say there's no abs peaking through.

M1: Fruit + English Muffin - I had a business meeting so this one was tough! I really wanted the pancakes but I resisted

M2: French vanilla - I hate coffee so I caved cause I was exhausted from the early wake up

M3: Margherita Pizza.... no comment

M4: Smoothie with protein

M5: Steak and Garlic Mashed

It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst either. There is a lot of room for improvement!

Here's to a new and improved me! Bikini Series... you rock.

Research

When you think of the word research what does it remind you of? For most, it probably brings back memories of late nights, trying to find some useless facts for some random paper that you can’t even remember. I’m all about education, I even work in the field, but research was something that in retrospect, didn’t do much for me. Does it mean it’s a useless skill? Absolutely not!

To this day research is a key part of my life. As a road warrior (yes, my team likes to call ourselves that) I travel frequently for work and need to do research every single day. I research the best route to take to my destination, the destination itself, and most importantly what food I can find nearby.

Now I’m on a bit of an anti-health kick at the moment, otherwise known as kicking my own ass by eating everything I shouldn’t eat. Like every week before, I will instantly regret this decision as soon as I hit the scale. A lot of the mistakes I’m making boil down to a lack of research. I didn’t look at menus in advance, and I went to restaurants I know I like, but also know will not be healthy in the slightest. Goal for next week? Research my meals for the whole week! They say meal prep is a key to success, well  in my case so is research, so excuse me while I find me some goodies that don’t involve chocolate or carb overloads.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Once upon a time...

I worked out daily, I watched what I ate, and I lived what I believed was a healthy lifestyle. I saw changes in my body, and got the compliments I hoped these changes would invite. But this was far from any fairy-tale…

I’d met my goal weight and loved that I wasn’t constantly worried about what I could or couldn’t wear during the sticky summer months where jeans just wouldn’t cut it. The pictures from that year are still some of my favourites, because being toned meant I didn’t have to pose a particular way. But looking good on the outside didn’t mean my insides agreed…

A few summers ago, I thought I was healthy, but let me explain my idea of a healthy lifestyle.

I was a calorie counter, and though I still believe this can be a useful way to lose weight, it can also be extremely dangerous. I stuck within my calorie limits like a boss, but I did this by eating ridiculous food that no adult should eat every. single. day. Did I eat much meat? No. Did I eat many vegetables? Absolutely not. But I did eat plenty of children’s snacks, canned pasta meals and microwave dinners. Nostalgia never tasted so good. I looked good, I felt good, and figured this was absolutely acceptable. That is until one day I made a trip to the doctors…

I’d be feeling faint, and as a prone anaemic, I assumed my iron levels were low. So I went to the doctor for a routine blood test to see if maybe that was the case. My iron was low, and so was my B12, but that wasn’t what the doctor was worried about.

“Kim, you have really high cholesterol levels”

Excuse me? High cholesterol? But I’ve been taking care of myself, I lost weight and I go to the gym a couple hours a day, surely this can’t be true?

But it was… at 24 years of age I had high cholesterol and boy was that a wakeup call. No 24 year old should have high cholesterol. Calorie counting meant I had a tendency to pick foods with lots of sodium. Lots of sodium = high cholesterol.

Fast forward 2 years to age 26 and here I am, probably the heaviest I’ve ever been, Would I consider myself healthy now? Absolutely not. I am addicted to pizza and pasta, and have a mean case of not being able to commit to any workout program for longer than a week. But I’m aware of this form of unhealthy, and it’s something I need to battle. I’m sharing this story as a reminder to myself that losing weight is a marathon, not a sprint, and that living a healthy lifestyle is not what I thought it was 2 years ago.

It’s time to change my once upon a time to happily ever after…