30 Days Of Hot Yoga Challenge: Let the Games Begin!

      Friday night I went to Karma hot yoga class (the studio gives the class on a donation basis and donates the proceeds to a local charity, so you can pay 5$ instead of 17$).  Even though I only do hot yoga about once a week, I see a difference in my flexibility and balance compared to when I first started in May.  My balance has improved in many poses (there is still a way to go, but my dancer is much better) and I am more comfortable in the heat.  The studio is hosting a 30 day challenge for the month of November.  30 Days of hot yoga at the studio for 30 consecutive days and improve your yoga practice.  You know me and challenges they had me at hello!  If you miss a day you can double up on another day.  I think that this will be a great challenge and further help my weight loss.  I start tomorrow!


On a happier note.  The NYC pounds are gone!  Now lets us work on getting back to 209.  Have a great day!

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10 Pounds in 4 Days

      I wish that I could say that this was loss, but it was a gain.  I have 2 words for you NEW YORK! **Sorry, I actually wasn't done this post when i posted it yesterday and was shocked when I started to receive comments.  I was going to attach pictures (hope you like Tim).

In front of the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art

Fun times in Central Park

Ahh yes, so it begins, 5$ Godiva chocolate covered strawberries on 5th Ave.  SO WORTH IT!  At least I had dark chocolate...

Yes, I had a cupcake from here also (located outside the Met)

Amazing vegan/vegetarian restaurant in Greenwich Village

I think it is called Red Bamboo
 (tempura veggies)

My fav, coconut covered "chicken" with chili sauce

Peanut Heaven cake, was like heaven

Yes, ANOTHER cupcake (from a food truck in SOHO)

I had steak quesedillas from a delicious food truck on Broadway.  The burritos were also great (according to my fellow teacher)

Oh look! A food fair in Time Square, I guess I have to eat chocolate covered stawberries AND chocolate covered OREOS.


This is just a sample of what i ate in the four days and I do not regret it because I am in NYC only once or twice a year.  I am detoxing (fruit, veggies and water) until I get back to where I wanna be.

Happy Thursday!



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Feeling Good

     Yesterday was a great day.  I got in my 30 minutes on the step mill (this machine is so hard, but I love it).  I then did 100 leg raises and headed to meet my group for a 5K run.  The run went well, the weather was cool but pleasant and I can really see that I have made improvements in the last year as far as running goes, I have more stamina and I am not as tired when I am done.  The only problem is that after I do all this exercise I am famished.  I am trying to choose healthy snack options and I had a almond, sunflower seed, dried cranberry mix (about a handful of eat in a bowl) and that satisfied my hunger.  Today my legs are in pain from the Athletic Training class that I did on Tuesday, I am not going to complain too much though, I welcome that pain it means that I am working hard.


     Winter is fast approaching and one of the things that I love to do in winter is take a long hot bath after a long day.  I was reading an article about adding essential oils to your bath.   By adding essential oils to your bath you can awaken your senses and the smells can help relax you and the oils can have contact with your skin and help sooth your body.  Here is a list of a few oils and what they can do.


Juniper berry: great to use if you are feeling low on energy, helps to reduce anxiety and emotional overload.


Rosemary: helps relieve muscular pain


Cedar wood: helps to focus the mind, helps reduce stress and nervous tension


Roman chamomile:  helps to reduce headaches, insomnia and can treat dry skin.


Apart from oils, salts can also be great in the bath.  I am a big believer in Epson salt baths.  If you have sore muscles, run a bath with 2-3 cups of Epson salts (I like the ones infused with eucalyptus) and just relax.  If you want you can light a few candles and play some Boys II Men  soft music.  I guarantee that you will feel like a new person once you are done.


Tonight, I have a few errands to run, since I am leaving for NYC tomorrow, but I am going to try and do those before and then head to the gym to get in my workout; 1 hour cardio, core training class, easy yoga class.


Have a great day! 

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Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie

     Yesterday's workout was a success.  I did 25 minutes on the step mill and 25 minutes on the stair master.  I then attended Athletic Training class where we alternate cardio moves with muscle moves in one minute intervals.  I love the teacher that teaches this class I always leave drenched in sweat.

     Tonight I am going to head to the gym for another 30 minutes on the step mill and the a 5K run with a girl from our group.  I am going to get some muscle work in there also.  I have been eating well and trying to get in as much water as possible.  Unfortunately, the weather here is so cold that all that I have been drinking is tea with milk and sweetener.  I have had 3 cups already today.

Someone at work sent me an email entitles PUNS FOR EDUCATED MINDS and I thought that I would share a few with you (let the groaning begin!)

• The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

•  A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

•  No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

•  A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
•  A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
•  A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
• Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'
•  A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
•  The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
•  The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
•  When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
•  If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you'd be in Seine.
•   A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, 'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.'
• Two fish swim into a concrete wall.  One turns to the other and says 'Dam!'

• Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
•  There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh.  No pun in ten did.

Have a great day!

 

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This weekend was a bust

     I went to a 35th bday party and didn't get home until about 5 am.  I was suppose to race at 9 am...Let us just say that I did not make the race.  Oh well, what can you do.  I got to hang out with some friends that I have not seen in awhile so that was really nice and at the end of the day I am glad that I got to catch up with them even if it meant missing my race.  


     One of my good friend's is leaving for Spain to do his Masters, so we met up for brunch on Sunday and reminisced about old times and looked at some old pics and boy oh boy let me tell you that I really saw the weight loss in these pics.  I look like a different person. Sometimes I still can't believe it.


     Yesterday, I called in sick from work because I was having stomach issues, but I am back at it today and I feel much better.  I am heading to New York and Friday with my students so I am going to try and get a good workout in today, tomorrow and Thursday, because I am sure that I will not have time to workout on the trip even though we will be doing lots of walking.


Today: Cardio for an hour (30 minutes step mill, 30 mins stair master), Athletic Training Class
Wed: Hill Training, weights
Thursday: I hour cardio, core conditioning, gentle yoga


I am really frustrated with my body, I am writing down what I eat and drinking water and it is as if my body is just holding on to everything and the scale will not move.


I saw this on Twitter and I was dying of laughter!

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I'm Just A Soul Whose Intentions Are Good...

I have been on track, but the scale is acting like a spoiled 14 year old stubbornly not moving. That's cool, I'm not gonna let that bother me, nope not this time.
Remember when I said I would run 8 k on Thursday and Friday? Well, this did not pan out the way I wanted. After work I went to run and I had forgotten my running watch. A girl from work wanted to come with me but didn't have a lot of time, so 8k became 4k. I did head to a Core Conditioning class followed by an easy yoga class which is exactly what my body needed.
Yesterday, I had such a long day. I had to attend a conference, pick up my race bib for the 5k in Sunday and meet a friend for coffee. When this was all done in was 9 pm. Now, I could have gone home and put my feet up but I didn't I went to the gym and did some weights and Cardio. Nevertheless, no 8k run was had.

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Earphones and Photos

   

     HELLO!  How are you my lovely readers?  I hope that this email finds you happy and healthy.  I headed to the gym after work to get a little workout in before I met up with my running group.  I get into the parking lot and I am missing my earphones!  Uh Oh!  If there is one thing that I must have when I workout it is my music.  Not even my iPod because at least I can plug the earphones into the TV connected to the machine and watch a show while I workout.  I looked high and low and I must have not put the earphones in my gym back.  I head to a furniture shop next to the gym that also sells electronics.  Hey you never know.... they might have earphones for sale.  NOPE.  I head to a fitness depot across the street.  Do YOU have earphones NOPE.  At this point I figure it is not meant to be so I just head to my running group.  The moral of this story is that I am going to go to the dollar store and keep a cheap pair of earphones in the glove compartment in case something like this ever happens again.


     I went to run with my group and we did a 7k steady run.  It was great.  I ran with this girl that I see often that is super nice we had a great chat and a great run.  We talked about running the Ottawa Half Marathon next May.  Speaking of Ottawa Half Marathon, I got the picture that I ordered in the mail last night, but it was bent!  UGHHH!  I was infuriated. I spent 20$ on a baby 5 x 7 photo to have it come in the mail bent, when it CLEARLY says on the envelop in 25 point font bold, DO NOT BEND PICTURE ENCLOSED.  I called the picture company today and they are going to send me another one.  I hope that this one comes in better condition.


Tonight, I am going to try and get in an 8K run.  I am logging my kilometers and I am trying to increase my total by 10% each week.  I am going to try and run 8k today and tomorrow, for a weekly today of 23k.  I am going to take a rest on Sat and head out on Sunday for the 5k race.


Have a great day!

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H.A.M

     Hard As A MotherF*****!  That is how I have been tackling my healthy living these past few days.  I have been at it for 5 days.  Five days of eating right, working out and getting water in.  I am proud of myself.  I think that if I can keep this up until Saturday I will treat myself to a magazine, I have been eyeing Oxygen's Off The Couch Special.

     My new favorite things are podcasts.  I have found a few Soca ones on iTunes and they have really reved up my workouts.  I didn't make it to hot yoga, but I have been hitting the gym 120%.  I am going to go run with the group tonight we are doing 7K, woo hoo!  We are wearing pink in support of breast cancer month.

Happy Hump Day!

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Back at It

     I am back at it (again).  I stepped on the scale on Saturday and 221, slapped me in the face.  At least today I down to 217.  But I have been taking it one day at a time.  I have been writing in my food journal and going to the gym daily, getting in an hour of cardio and at least half an hour of weights.  I have started running again and I ran a 5K race to weeks ago with a time of 33:20.  Considering that I have not run in a while I am proud of myself.  The day after the race I ran a 10K with the local running group and I have to say that I kept up pretty well.  I am really proud of myself that I haven't completely lost my stamina.  I have signed up for a few races in the upcoming weeks and that should help me get my running mojo back.  I have a 5K this weekend (in which I hope to beat the time of my last race) and a 10K at the beginning of Nov. (I hope to beat Feb.'s 1 hour and 8 minute finish)  I am also going to do the Santa Shuffle at the beginning of Dec. and I will hopefully beat last year's time.  I am also going to do the 5K Resolution Run.  One last thing on the running front,  In Nov.  I am going to start training for my second half marathon.  I am not sure if I am actually going to run the race in Feb., but I am going to train.

     I got one of those deals of the day for a hot yoga studio for a month and what better time to sweat off some pounds.  I think that I am going to try to hit them up tonight.

Have you tried this?

Let me tell you that it is YUMMY!  I picked some up on the weekend and they are already done.  They make the perfect snack.  I must admit that the honey makes it really sweet, so I do not mix it up, I just eat it and scoop a bit of the honey while I am eating.

In other news I will be heading to NYC on the school trip next week, so excited!  Four days in NYC checking out Broadway shows and museums, the only down side is I have to watch my ladies all day ;)

Hope that all is well with you my lovely readers and with this new found hutzpa, I am going to try and blog more, since I have been embarrisingly absent.

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Day 25-30: Finishing the Challenge

I am so sorry that I have been so lax  with this challenge.  I will take this post to wrap it up. *(I have been working on this post for 7 days!  I do not know what is worng with me!!!!)


 Day 25- What I would find in your bag
     I am not a big fan of carrying a bag and usually I like to go out with just my wallet.  But when I do carry a bag I usually have:

• my wallet
• cell phone
• lip gloss
• iPod touch
• pen

Nice and simple.




Day 26- What you think about your friends
     I love my friends.  Over the years I have realised that when it comes to friends it is all quality and not quantity.  I find that it is really best to have a small number of friends that you can really count on, as opposed to a large number that are no where to be found in a time of need.  Over the last few years I had to "cut" a so called friend of because she was talking about me behind my back.  I am too old for that.  I love that even though I do not speak/text/email to my friends everyday, when we do get together it is like things have not changed.  They are always there for me when I need them.  THANK YOU!


Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
     I am doing this challenge so that my readers can get to know more about me.


Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Last year at the end of Oct. in NYC

Me -- two weeks ago

In the last year not much has changed.  I am still around the same weight (boo). , but I have not really gained any weight which is a good thing.  I got my thyroid removed and I am cancer free. I ran my first half marathon which I am really proud of that.  I haven't lost much weight but in the same vain I haven't gained much either.

Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned

I have learned that I am more interesting that I give myself credit for.  I love my blog and I really need to give it more attention.

Day 30- Who are you?

Can I really sum myself up in a few sentences, no.  But, to be honest you get what you see.  I try to be honest and I am outgoing and fun!

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