The post about deep thoughts with my boy and how I shop "healthy" on a budget...

• Meanwhile, yesterday on Instagram...
• It's just after 5:30am and I'm headed out the door. No coffee. Just this sorry banana. I just wanna stay in bed. I'm exhausted. This should be an interesting workout. My only saving grace is that it's not leg day. My legs hurt. Walking all day through Darien Lake yesterday was so tiring. Especially in that heat. So even though I'm toast, I'm gonna give it my all. But I'm def going back to bed when I get home after I've had my coffee...

• Finally it's #coffeetime. I'm bagged but I have reason to smile. Who did 40 shitty military style pushups and 40 assisted pushups? This girl did. Feeling a touch hardcore right now. And speaking of core, working it today was slightly easier. That only means that Tony's going to make it harder for next time. He's prepping me to do TRX (suspension training) which is going to start soon and is freaking hard. 
• Today I am doing as little as possible. Getting my house in order, picking up some provisions and reading my trashy summer novel. I had a conversation with Julien about getting my arm lift done. He had so many questions then asked why he doesn't remember me when I was morbidly obese. There's such a disconnect there for him. He was almost 4 when I began my lifestyle change. After I had lost 100 pounds we were looking at pictures from our trip to Busch Gardens the previous summer and he asked me who the lady was that was with him. When I told him it was me he looked confused and said I was joking. He understands more about my circumstances now. 
• Yesterday while we were waiting to go on a coaster at Darien Lake he said, "I love that you go on all these rides with me mommy". And I asked if he remembers why I can go on them. He smiled and said, "because you're healthy and you can fit now". That is why I dragged my ass out of bed this morning at 5am to meet with my trainer while I'm on vacation. Someone counts on me. And I won't let him down...

L: Spring 2008
R: Summer 2015

• #ThrowbackThursday Me and my baby then and now. OMG I just want to eat those cheeks. Then and now!!! How beautiful is my boy? We were just looking at the photo on the left and he asked me why I was so big then. He's never asked that before and there's more to that answer than I just ate too much. He knows I changed my lifestyle for him. Well, for both of us. And while I was reflecting before answering he said, "I know mommy. It's because you were sad before I was born". There's definitely some truth in that answer. I didn't feel I had purpose until he was born. I never seriously thought of getting healthy before him. If I had, I wouldn't have spent my life yo-yo dieting. 
• The fun I have keeping up with him now is priceless. If I weighed 300 pounds at this time in his life I'd not be bike riding with him, playing on swings, going to amusement parks or waterparks, going zip lining and I wouldn't be role modeling a healthy lifestyle. He knows activity is important and he knows what healthy snacks are. Although I think he was delusional due to exhaustion, last night on the way home from Darien Lake, he told me he was going to eat everything I ate today. So far we're 0 for 2 but the sentiment was nice. I can't really expect a 7 year old to eat hard boiled eggs and canned salmon can I?

• Although extremely flattered, there is no way I look 25 or younger. I got ID'd at the LCBO. Whaaaaaat? If I'm wearing sunglasses maybe. But that's still a HUGE stretch. The young man who carded me was barely 25. My eyes are old. The eye cream I bought and had to remortgage my house to afford is not really doing the trick. So back to square one. 
• Anywho, it's #winetime. After having a lengthy conversation with my trainer this morning about alcohol and training, he told me he cut it out for months and it made no difference. So I'm drinking in moderation without guilt. 
• After this morning's session, I'm feeling a touch sore in the abdominals and my right rotator cuff seems a bit effed up. I don't believe there's ever been a time in my life when I've been pain free. Either I hurt from being morbidly obese or I hurt from running and strength training. True story. But to be clear, I prefer this hurt to the latter. And Tony advised me to forget the kettle bell and get some dumb bells. I'm using 12.5 - 20 pounders right now. So that will be my next mission. Cheers...

• I've enough produce in my house to choke a rabbit. Tomorrow chicken breast goes on sale. I'm pumped! Tonight's dinner was peppers and onions with BBQ'd hot Italian sausages and acorn squash. The squash was drizzled with evoo (extra virgin olive oil) and baked. The peppers were sauteed with evoo and some sea salt and pepper. 
• I am not a lifestyle pusher. You will never hear me say that high protein, grain and refined sugar free is the way to effectively lose weight. It was the right choice for me but everyone is different. I know people who have successfully lost a lot of weight having WL surgery, following weight watchers, following meal supplement programs, counting calories, eating low carb, eating vegetarian, only eating foods that are purple. You get my point. I lost all my weight eating low carb, high protein. 
• Weight loss is hard, maintenance is harder. If you don't have a sustainable plan for maintenance, no weight loss plan will work long term. That's why there's such a low long term success rate for weight loss. Something I hear a lot is that eating healthy is expensive. I'm not going to negate that but there is a solution. Price matching. If you're lucky enough to have businesses that do price matching in your area than take advantage! 
• I have an app called Flipp on my phone. It's a free download for any smart phone. All I do is put my postal (zip) code in and the app pulls up all the grocery fliers in my area. I simply make a shopping list on the app and it highlights all the deals. I clip the lowest price ad and show it to the cashier at check out. That is the price I pay. Today green peppers were $2.47/lb at Walmart. I paid $.99/lb. I do price matching at Walmart and No Frills. It's so easy and a huge money saver. 
• Protein is expensive. Produce is expensive. Saving money is awesome. Eating healthy on a budget is possible. It's a bit of work just like everything else that has to do with maintenance and life in general. But it's worth it. I can use the money I save to shop at Value Village for some (normally) expensive labels that I'd never be able to afford full price for. I'm a very frugal girl...

The post about a day trip across the border...

• It's #coffeetime and today you get my "go to" pose because that hair. An awesome shot of the fivehead and rat's nest! Baby is definitely back to her old self. She ate a ton and is gone strutting in the neighborhood. I'll call her in before we head to Darien Lake today. It's gonna be a hot one. The waterpark will be a welcome attraction. I should be able to post a couple times through the day because I have US roaming, but I won't be on-line. The fun part of any theme park day? Finding food that's appropriate for me to eat while paying a fortune for it. Lots of fun to be had I'm sure. Keep cool and happy hump day #getyourhumpon :-)

• This is our day so far. Hit Denny's before Darien Lake for lunch. Had a chicken and avocado salad. As soon as we got to the park we went to the wave pool for some fun in the sun. That was short lived and the boy wants to go on rides now. So I need to dry off and hit some coasters. Staying hydrated and fed is hard work in extreme heat yo! 

• Feeling fatigued. Walking, walking and more walking. Tiring when it's so hot out. The heat does a number on you. We've been on several coasters and other thrill rides. Coming to these places always reminds me of Busch Gardens. The summer of 2011 when I couldn't fit on a ride with Julien. The thought still crosses my mind when I'm just about to get on something and I have a moment of panic. Dinner was wings from the Anchor Bar. A Buffalo tradition. I feel dirty, sweaty and overall gross. Humidity is still thick even with the sun setting. The plan is to hang out at the park till (maybe) closing (10pm). Just so long as I'm in bed by midnight I'll be okay. Training with Tony is at 6am...

The post about a killer workout, a sick kitty and getting blocked on Instagram...

• It's #coffeetime and this morning this part of me is going to feel the burn. Headed to the gym for leg and core day. Every day is core day. I absolutely hate working my core but it's necessary. Especially for boxing. And I am getting stronger. Every week my trainer ups the free weights I carry while doing walking lunges, squats, any leg exercises really. Today is going to be another hot one. Julien wants to go to the movies so I concur. Can't do anything outside until the evening anyway. Tomorrow we head to New York state. Going to Darien Lake for the day...

• Abs have been decimated. I'm fecken weary. My legs are toast as are my glutes. I can feel my abs whenever I move. Today I carried 20 pound dumbells during all my leg circuits. That's 40 extra pounds. And I trained outside today. Got my sweat on real good. I was drenched by the time we were done. Tony's on vacation but he kept me as his only client this week. And today he told me that I am noticeably stronger. He also told me my core is definitely improving. I'm getting better at the core drills. So that is a nice thing to hear. When I got home I fried up some eggs and ate them with tomato and avocado as my recovery meal. Non-gym related but definitely worth mentioning, I'm worried about my little cat Baby. She's not moved all morning and is deep sleeping. That's not like her. She gets up with me every single day and would have eaten and been outside by now. Maybe it's just the heat? I'm hopin so. I hate it when my animals are sick:-(

• The pic on the left was from the summer of 2011. The summer I had my moment of clarity and decided I'd had enough of living my life morbidly obese. I wasn't my heaviest there but I was holding steady at 300 pounds give or take a few pounds. The pic on the right is from an hour ago. I lost 132 pounds in 15 months following a high protein, low carb, low fat, low sodium diet. My focus now is to build my strength and get me some muscles. Losing weight is hard work. Maintenance is hard work. Being morbidly obese is hard work. I choose working hard at being healthy and fit. I have way more freedom now than I had then. I've no restrictions, and there's nothing I can't do. Becoming healthy is the best decision I ever made for myself and my son. If you dream it, you can do it..

• It's #winetime and you wanna know what my nutritionist said? That a glass of wine in moderation is fine (expecting smart ass comments about how big my glass is). It's more important that I eat frequently. So I'm sipping my wine and nibbling on some raw sunflower seeds. Eating every 3 hours is hard yo! I can't remember to snack. I need to get some good quality snacks in the house. Raw veggies and hummus should work. Yogurt with fresh berries. That sort of shizz. Stuff I haven't eaten in a while. Exciting times. I did house work all afternoon. Julien wanted to see Pixels so I sent him with his dad. I know nothing about video games. My little cat is still feeling poorly. She's not eaten all day and has slept in the same spot. That's not like her at all. At her last vet visit, we were told she had a heart issue as her breathing is labored at times. This could be an episode of that. If she's not perked up soon, we'll have to visit the vet again. Poor Baby:-(

• Well now. I've lots of reason to smile. My kitty appears to be on the mend she's back to her old self. She ate, went outside, and groomed herself. I actually think she may have had heat stroke from yesterday. She spent the majority of the day outside. Dinner was BBQ chicken quarters with this delicious side dish. That's broccoli, onion, mushrooms, a bit of sea salt, garlic and red pepper flakes. And extra virgin olive oil of course. 
• Tonight I got blocked by a big account on IG. I didn't follow her but ended up on her page searching hashtags. This woman lost over 100 pounds "naturally" and inspires over 100 thousand followers. One of them reached out for help regarding the low carb diet and she was told that she would only get "coaching" if she bought expensive shakes (at a cost of $200). Well shit. That's not even how the "inspiration" lost her weight. It was by following a low carb, high fat diet. I offered to share my experiences with low carb to the follower (very respectfully I might add) and that's when my comment got deleted and I got blocked. I thought being an inspiration shouldn't come with a price tag. Helping others should be for free.
• I'm going to say this for all of IG, Twitter, Facebook and Blogger to hear. I will never sell or promote products on any form of social media. It cost me nothing but the cost of food to lose weight. The big weight loss secret is that there isn't one. It's diet, exercise and a permanent lifestyle change. These large IG accts promoting diet products to desperate people is just wrong. I used to be one of those people. I spent the majority of my adulthood looking for the quick fix and in the process spent thousands and thousands of dollars. There is no quick fix. Getting healthy takes hard work, determination and self awareness. I will sleep well tonight knowing that I still reached out to this woman on my own page and gave her encouragement and friendship for free...

The post about a hotter than Hades run, sports nutrition and a lost kitty...

• It's #coffeetime and I'm still drinking coffee at 8am. That means I won't be running till 10:30am. Serves me right for being a procrastinator. I slept in. All this sleep is so foreign to me. I'm used to 5 hours a night. Not the 7 or more I've been getting! Excited for my nutritionist appointment this morning. Not sure what kinda wisdom I'm going to learn but I know I need to switch it up. Your body becomes used to a lifestyle and when that happens it's time to try something different. As much as I love to run, I know that running wasn't working for me like it used to. Regardless of how structured I am with eating, running just wasn't enough anymore. It was great for weight loss, but maintenance is a completely different story. My body got to used to running and I need to work harder to maintain. That's where strength training comes in. So I'm ready to learn about gym nutrition. I'm open to new things. I just won't do breads, pasta, anything with flour. Those are my trigger foods. And I'm trying to stay dairy free. My gut just feels better that way...

• Not my most flattering photo. But running and climbing stairs during an extreme heat alert is no joke yo! I'm not gonna lie, after climbing the Wentworth stairs once I was gonna call it a day. When I got to the bottom I noticed an older lady with a couple grocery bags getting ready to climb. I had to take a bag and help her out. So I did do the stairs twice. It's fecken hot out there and I'm still light headed. I need food. And water. I'm sure I'm dehydrated. My clothes were soaked when I got home.
• So this morning's workout was 2.5k run to the stairs. Climbed a total of 1050 steps which is 87.5 flights. And it took me 20 minutes to climb up and down those stairs twice. Strava says I only burned 83 calories doing the stairs. It didn't take into account that they were stairs. My legs were jelly by the time I finished the second set. Then I ran 2.5k home. The second run was more of a shuffle to be honest. My pace went way down. I just remembered something. I hate working out in the extreme heat. Lesson learned to not procrastinate and be lazy in the morning...

• I know. Such a boring lunch. After I ran through the heat today I just needed food. This is all I had the energy to make. Two cans of tuna, carrots, tomato and almonds. Filled me up tho and I drank a ton of water. I've been fighting a headache all day. I'm sure it's from being dehydrated during my run. I was pretty light headed at times. 
• I had an appointment with the nutritionist this morning. As I already suspected, I need to eat more frequently (every 3 hours) and I'm going to start eating lactose free dairy. Mostly yogurt. And I'm going to eat complex carbs. Not a lot and nothing that triggers me. I refuse to eat bread, pasta, crackers, stuff like that. But I will eat brown rice, quinoa and bulger. Real boring stuff. Still no refined sugar. But I did agree to some legumes like chickpeas. She's putting together an eating plan for me. And I'll give this a try. My diet is still going to be protein and veggie heavy but I'm throwing a few different things into the mix. 
• I do agree that I need to change it up a bit. I've been eating the same for years now. My body needs a shock. Looking forward to seeing if this works for me. Not eating frequently enough for my level of activity means my body is holding onto my fat. Eating more will help me lose fat and gain more muscle. The more muscle I gain, the more efficiently my metabolism will work and I'll burn more while my body is in rest...

• Lying liar who lies sitting right here. Wanna know what's not in my glass? Sparkling water. What is in my glass is white wine. So I guess it's #winetime. I'm so fecken weak. But it's bloody hot and I've drank so much water I need to counter balance it somehow. That's a lame excuse if ever I heard one. I'm also a total domestic goddess. I've prepared 2 meals because I don't expect Julien to eat ground beef and cabbage, I've sorted and started my laundry, and that's all. So maybe domestic goddess is a bit much. But I am hot. Have I mentioned how fecken hot it is? 
• We got a flyer in our mailbox for a lost cat named Binky. Underneath Binky's picture it says "reward". Julian has now made it his life's work to find Binky. He thinks that if he finds him, he gets to keep him because Julien says Binky is the reward...

The post about loose skin, my clothing size and jerk salmon...

• Sunday refelections via Instagram...
• It's #coffeetime and either my body's shutting down or it needs rest. Slept from 11-6:30? What? I never sleep that long unless I'm sick. And now I feel groggy. So I have to get this java into me. Then I gotta do some HIITS (high intensity interval training) up the mountain. Looking forward to my ride today. And later I'm on a mission to find some kettlebells and free weights. I'll check out that gym equipment place on Ottawa Street, but there's also a Play it Again Sports in Burlington. Yesterday I bought a ton of produce. Today I get a ton of protein. I need to have protein on hand so I can snack in between meals. My biggest problem is I'm not eating frequently enough. You need to eat (quality calories) to burn fat. And I've got fat to burn. Tomorrow morning I have my sports nutrition appointment. I'm open to change if it will help me reach my goals. I know nothing about proper eating for strength training. And knowledge is power...

• Doing HIITs up the escarpment on my bike is no joke yo! Today I managed 15. That brought me right to Limeridge Road. My legs are jello. But that's a good thing. I was nothing but a giant drop of sweat when I got to the top. Sweating in a bike helmet is pretty annoying. I need to scratch but can't. When I got home I ate all the protein. That mess on the bottom right is BBQ'd pork chops from the other day. And I had 4 perfectly hard boiled eggs. I've been craving protein like crazy this past week. It's a good thing I'm an enthusiastic carnivore. Drinking tons of water than hitting the shower. Gonna get my weights and a new bike for Julien. He's outgrown the one I bought him last year already. The kid grows like a weed...

• It's #watertime and I cannot get enough water into me today. I'm just parched. And I've failed at finding kettlebells. Who knew that they cost so fecken much? I'm going to consult with Tony on Tuesday about what weight I should buy. I'm just going to have to suck it up. No one on Kijiji seems to want to part with theirs. Bastards!!!! On a positive note. I was able to get Julien a bigger bike. It has shocks and he loves to bounce along while riding. Tonight feels like a salmon and broccoli kinda night. I'm gonna try my hand at jerk salmon:-)

• The most asked question I get via my blog's comment form is do I have #looseskin on my abdomen and have I had a #tummytuck. Short answers are yes to loose skin, and no to the tummy tuck. I have some lower abdominal chub. Right where my c-section scar is. The plastic surgeon I consulted with at the beginning of the month was confident I'd get rid of it at the gym. My tummy is soft. That's why I'm certain losing more fat will help along with all the strength training and core work I'm doing at the gym. I am very lucky. 
• I'm not sure why I fared so well on the loose skin department. I just started strength training on June 11th and I'm in my 3rd year of maintenance. But I did start running at 230 pounds and you use 5 abdominal muscles when you run. Not sure if that had anything to do with it. My highest recorded weight was 310 pounds. My highest probable weight was around 330 pounds or more. I didn't weigh myself at my heaviest but my pictures at that time confirm I was noticeably bigger. And I've spent the majority of my life morbidly obese.
• Bottom line is this. Even if I don't end up with a tight hard one pack (which is all I aspire for) when all is said and done, I'm happy to be in the skin I'm in. I'm 45 and I'm half the size I used to be. Which is the other most asked question...
• What size am I? Depending on the label, I wear anything from a size 6 ("Sweet Heart" Old Navy jeans ) to a size 10 (American Eagle, Aeropostale). Because you know, I've a giant butt and hips. All the junk is in my trunk. So things will fit in the hips fine but be huge around my waist. Curvy girl problems. Those shorts are Reitman's size 10/30 and I coulda/shoulda sized down. I'd have to say I'm a solid size 9. Size 9 always fits, unless it's "skinny" cut. Then I need 10 for sure because not only are my hips and butt large, but my legs are thick too. And I wear a medium/large. Sometimes I'll need a large blouse if it goes down past hips because, you know, large hips. But then it's big in the shoulders. Life as a pear shape is hard yo! Notice how white my stomach is compared to the rest of me. It never sees the sun:-)

• Today's final countdown. A picture of my pretty kitty Baby, just because. She's self cleaning. My jerk salmon that was done on the BBQ. I just added a bit of Diana's Marinade and let it sit for about an hour before throwing it on the heat. A little marinade goes a long way. It was really tasty. And my war wound from my fall on the trails yesterday. Julien thinks this boo boo is horribly bad. He doesn't understand why I don't have a Lightening McQueen bandage on it. I'm so fecken #badass right now that Lightening McQueen won't give me the kinda cred I'm looking for. I think that I'm definitely hardcore enough to pull off the waterproof Tigger and Pooh tattoo bandages in the first aid kit. Hopefully they still have stick left to them. They've been there for a while. 
• In the morning I run to the Wentworth stairs. I'm gonna do HIIT up them. And I'm gonna do a couple sets this time. My nutritionist appointment has been moved up to 9:30am so I have to be out running by 7:30am. If I don't make the 7:30am start time, I'm running very late morning. And it'll be a hot one. That's some motivation to get started early. Therefore, I'm heading to bed...

The post about a hardcore run, bum knee and a liar...

• It's #coffeetime and y'all get my generic "go to" pose. Not feeling adventurous today. That's not completely true. I'm meeting Tanya shortly and we're going to run a trail in the Dundas Valley. That is exciting. I've not run this trail before. She's moved back to the Hammer from Guelph so we're gonna hit the trails now. I may have to invest in some trail shoes. So change of plans for my workout today. I'll have to HIIT it up the mountain tomorrow. Gotta shake my tail. Gotta get my running gear on...

• Running trails is no joke yo! Ran 6k with this girl. Some of those hills were fecken steep. Lots of rolling hills on this route and lots of tree roots. That's a recipe for disaster. Guess who tripped 3k in and messed up their knee? Yep. That would be me. Sucked it up and ran it off. Think I'll just have a bruise. Oops! I just looked and I have a bloody knee. It will scab. War wounds! This makes me #hardcore. I may not have street cred in Kitchener, but I definitely have trail cred in Dundas mofo! Took our pic in front of a beaver dam. How Canadian of us. And my post run meal? A vegetarian omelet washed down with coffee and lots of h2o.

• Like having to see me once isn't enough. Now you're subjected to it 2x. I'm nothing but a liar, a cheat and a fraud. That would be white wine I'm drinking. My husband's aunt insisted I take her 3/4 full magnum of Two Oceans. I've had a few sips and although it's not bad, I remember why I don't drink white too often. I've a headache coming on. Serves me right. My only defense is that I had to grocery shop at Walmart this afternoon. I'm not gonna lie. Some substantial shit was lost. 
• Let's talk about follower accounts on Instagram for a moment. Why the heck would I ever want to buy followers? I don't understand this concept. I guess for some it's a popularity contest. For me this is a way to document my life. A pictorial diary. Of all the followers I have, I only interact with about 50 of you. And I appreciate your friendship and support. To the follower accounts, stop fecken tagging me in your posts. I'm really, really, really not interested. Nor do I want to sell shit. So don't waste your time and leave me alone. I'm only always going to do me...

• This is how Smitty and I roll on a Saturday night. We lie in bed reading trashy novels. Best night ever. Found the culprit of my headache. My too tight sock bun. Not sure why I'm so bagged. I guess the heat. I think it's going to be an early night. I've lots of training to get through tomorrow. And I need to do it early because it's supposed to be hot. Maybe I'll even make it to yoga at noon if I plan things correctly. But maybe not. Not sure what I'm going to do with the boy. The extreme heat sucks. Makes being outside so unpleasant. Enjoy the rest of your weekend:-)

The post about a vacation, a training calendar and a photo from the archives...

• It's #coffeetime and today is going to be busy. I've a meeting with my supervisor this morning for my work appraisal. Then I have reports to write, July expenditures, and a bunch of phone calls to make. And I may have a client coming to see me for lunch. First I have to run 8k. And drink more coffee. It's going to be a long day because I can't leave until everything is finished. It's my last work day for 2 weeks. The summer is flying by. Since I'm going to be in the office all day I think I'll wear my hair down. It may have to be a jeans day. I'm feeling uninspired to put much effort into an outfit today. Maybe I'll get a vision during my run. With the closet of clothes I have you wouldn't think it would be so hard to dress myself in the morning...

• Got my sweat on this morning. Slow and steady wins the race right? Nope. My legs felt like lead. But I did shuffle along for 8k. Tonight I make an official training calendar. I need to work out a schedule that includes running, cycling, yoga and a routine at home with free weights and kettlebells. My 2 days a week with my personal trainer are already set. I need structure and routine. It's how I function best. With a schedule and an eating plan I'm going to take my training to the next level. This is the year I get into the best physical shape of my life. I'm so excited to see where my fitness level will be next summer...

• Today's #sunroofselfie and something delicious. This afternoon I took a client to Springrolls for the all you can eat lunch menu. I stuck to the meat and veggie dishes. My fave was the salt and pepper calamari pictured above. Now I want to nap. 
• It's #FlashBackFriday and my girlfriend Nokomis sent me the pic on the bottom left this afternoon. That was taken 6 summers ago. At that time I was really struggling with my health. I was on two blood pressure medications, had severe back and joint pain, and heel spurs. I couldn't even walk up a flight of stairs without getting severely winded. Times have certainly changed. This morning I ran for an hour. Yesterday I did 60 push-ups. On Monday I walked up 43 flights of stairs without needing a break. I can barely remember feeling like the woman in that picture. But I'm glad I knew her. She gives me motivation to keep moving forward. To keep making new goals for myself. Without her I wouldn't be who I am today. She drives me to be better today than I was yesterday. As challenging as maintenance is, it's totally worth it. Because although she has taught me valuable lessons, I never want to be her again...

• Such a fraudulent photo. I know Victoria's Secret:-) So as promised, I bring you #watertime. I should be having wine to celebrate the beginning of my vacation. The first thing I'm going to do is go to bed early and sleep in tomorrow. Then when I wake up at (hopefully) 6am, I'm going to run 7k, then bike up the escarpment while doing HIIT (high intensity interval training). 
• I'm using this time off to get my fitness schedule and eating on point. Veggies and protein will be my focus. And water. Lots and lots of water. I love the way I feel when I'm dairy free, bloat free and hydrated. So that will be the goal. 
• On a completely unrelated side note (but I feel the need to vent), my new neighbor is fecken loud and crazy. Don't care to hear about his views on politics. He seems to feel that teachers have it easy and have no right to strike. And every other word out of his mouth is "fuck" and "God damn". Ugh! Young single male moved into a family neighborhood. There are kids everywhere. I'm going to have to say something to him. I hate doing shit like this...

The post about some wrecked abdominals, Booster Juice and my lack of street cred, yo...

• It's #coffeetime and #postworkoutselfie rolled into one pic today. What a morning. Accidentally had my alarm on silent. So instead of waking at 4:30 like I normally do, I woke up at 5:15. This meant that I had to rush out the door and I didn't get to drink coffee this morning before my workout. Felt a touch groggy. Actually felt a lot groggy. 
• Today I had some victories and some almost tears. My victory was that I did 30 assisted push-ups and 30 military push-ups. The military push-ups were shit, but I held my form and fuck me, I surprised myself. Tony was pleased and said that soon I'll be cranking out 10 perfect military push-ups. He reminded me that I couldn't do 3 assisted push-ups when we started training together. So that's huge for me. 
• My core is the bane of my existence though. It feels like I pulled a muscle in my abdomen. And it's so frustrating when I'm doing core work. I have to work through this, because core is so important for boxing. A couple days ago I noticed a store on Ottawa Street where they sell used gym equipment. I'm going to head over this weekend and check out some free weights and kettlebells. So much of what I do with Tony I can do at home with a few weights. Especially the core stuff. Today while doing a core circuit, I seriously felt like crying. There's no crying at the gym. I get ribbed enough by the muscle guys as it is. And Tony could see my desperation. He keeps it positive though and reminds me how far I've already come. This is just another challenge for me. I'll beat my core yet...

• This is a #frugalfashion post. I think I'm too curvy to pull off the maxi skirt. I got this entire outfit for $26. The skirt and black top are from Reitman's. $12.50 for the skirt (made an exception to the $10 rule because the top evened it out), $7.50 for the top. The tank and sandals were $3 each from Old Navy. Not sure how I feel about this look. Think I'd look better if I was leaner. Or maybe the padded push up bra was too much? It's fun to try something different. I'll be leaner in the fall and it will look awesome with a jean jacket...

• I've never had this before. My lunch was dairy free and made with berries and leafy green veggies and protein powder. It was okay. It would be good after a workout. And it was filling. It gave me a boost. I was fading. Going into hour 5 of a housing search in the Kitchener-Waterloo area with a client. Lots of calling landlords and listening to gangster rap. I've a headache...

• OMG. I'm such a deceitful lying liar who lies. Nothing but a big old fake bosom right there! It's #winetime and this is a special edition. I'm getting serious about training starting as soon as I finish this glass of wine. I feel more fluffy than usual today. I have a cheese and cured meat hang over. I'm fecken bloated. No more!!!! I want to get leaner and eating all the cheese and soppressata is not going to help me. Neither will drinking wine. So I'm going to be having #sparklingwatertime starting tomorrow. So boring but much better for my fitness goals. 
• My nutritionist appointment is on Monday and I was going to wait till then to reign in the eating but now is as good a time as any to start. I feel physically best when I'm well hydrated and eating mostly protein and veggies. So that's what I'm going to do. I spent 7 hours doing a housing search in the Kitchener-Waterloo area today. It was successful because I was able to find housing for my young man. The only downside? Endless hours of gangsta rap. I've learned all I care to know about snitches, bitches, weapons, money and artists that start with Lil. And I also realized that I have zero street cred fo shizzle...

• Tonight's dinner was BBQ goodness. Boneless pork chops and grilled veggies. The veggies consisted of peppers, eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Filling and yummy. I could totally eat like this everyday. I just need to make sure I have protein and produce on hand. Something worth noting. I'm getting calloused hands from the machines at the gym. Running made my feet ugly, now the gym will give me man hands. Excellent:-( Off to bed. You heard it here first. I'm running 8k at 6am tomorrow morning...