WIAW... With a Weekend Hangover :(

It’s WIAW! Here’s what I ate today:

 

 

M1: Zucchini cake porridge with coconut oil and cottage cheese

M2: Yam, oat and egg bake topped with coconut oil

M3: Chicken chili with melted cottage cheese

M4: Broccoli salad with tuna, avocado and cucumber and some (okay, a lot of) sriracha (I like it hot!) 

M5: Chicken with rice, veggies and Bragg's soy seasoning (it's like soy sauce without all the added junk)

M6: Apple with almond butter and yogurt mixed with casein

 

All good, and all easy to pull together. I had the porridge from last weekend's batch, meals 2 and 3 came from the freezer, and I had prepped and portioned out everything for meals 4 and 5 at the beginning of the week. Everyday it's just grab and go. #noexcuses

 

This Wednesday comes after what can only be described as a weekend "food bender." In the same way a drug addict relapses, for a 24 hour period over the weekend I went a little (okay, a lot) off the rails- all the while knowing what I was doing wasn’t right, but not being able to do anything about it.

 

It all started out innocently enough. The hubby and I had planned a little weekend “away” in the city to celebrate some recent (and not so recent) milestones. First, since my birthday falls on the shortest day of the year (December 21), he had planned a summer birthday weekend for me on the longest day of the year (June 21). But, after unexpectedly and suddenly selling our condo and having to be out within a couple weeks, we bumped up our weekend away, and combined it with his birthday dinner since we didn't celebrate it too much back in May while I was in between competitions (and dinners out were out of the question). Anyway, lots to celebrate!! Yay! Plans included a night in a downtown hotel and a dinner at Gotham, one of Vancouver's best (if not the best) steakhouses. After starting with a bottle of wine at the hotel, all (food) bets were off.

Enjoying a glass (cup?) of wine 36 floors above the city

Enjoying a rather cloudy view

By the time we got to the restaurant, we were in full on indulgence mode. No extravagance was spared... and it was all worth it. It was martini (after martini), savoury appetizers, saucy entrees and cheesy sides. All so delicious, but way too much.  

 

The whole dining experience was everything that I miss while in competition prep and a great way to take some time out and celebrate with the hubby. Life is good :)

On Sunday, with slight food hangovers, we woke up ready to explore the city. Coffees in hand, we ignored the rain and took a walk around Coal Harbour. Such a beautiful part of the city, even on a dull, dark morning. We ended up at a café for a yummy brunch, then headed down to English Bay once the sun came out. Before reaching the beach, however, we made one more stop- at the Cupcake store- and this is when things really started to go sideways. Even with the intention to go in a just buy one little treat to share, we (actually, I will take full responsibility), walked out with SIX (6!!) cupcakes. Once down at the beach, while sitting in the sun, we got our cupcake on... and when I say we, I mean, Bryan took a bite of one, and I ate two others. Ugh. So out of control. And so delicious.

After eating two cupcakes, I didn't think I would be able to eat another ever again, but obviously I ate a third later that afternoon :( But that was it. The rest went to the in-laws for dessert.

Monday morning, in a pool of self-loathing and suffering from severe sugar withdrawal, I did what I had to do and got my @$$ back into the gym at 6am to sweat out all the excess and indulgence.

The good news is I am back on track and focused. In between work, going to showings (that's right, we're moving out of our place in two weeks and still haven't bought anything), and packing, I've been making to the gym and keeping up with my training schedule. Sometimes that means getting up at 5:30 to get it in before work, sometimes that means hitting the gym before and after work to get it all in, and sometimes that means going to showings with my hair slicked back in a sweaty bun (great first impression, I know). My food for the week has been planned, prepped and portioned and I'm sticking with it. I feel like I hit my rock bottom and am now back on top. I have some really amazing opportunities coming up and nothing, nothing, not even a cupcake, will get in my way of me bringing my best. There'll be a couple planned treats (like a wine tour in Napa in June and a pizza tour in Chicago in July), but my eyes are on the prize. What's the prize?? Ha, that's a secret for now, but watch out, BIG dreams are coming true!!

XOXO
Jen
 

Bustin' a Move Three (3!!) Weeks Out and Weekend Wrap Up

Whoa! What a weekend! While I usually use the weekends to focus on fitness, getting in a couple really good workouts, this weekend was on a totally different level. On Saturday I participated in the BC Bust a Move for Breast Health- a fundraiser I have been raising money for over the past year. I started fundraising for events like these a few years ago after a very close friend, Leanna, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Together Leanna and I raised money to do the Walk to End Women’s Cancer in 2010 and 2011. The Walk was a 60K course around Vancouver over 2 days (with a night camping out in tents in between- not my usual style ;)). The first time we did it, Leanna was literally in the middle of chemeo. We walked all day Saturday and Sunday, and she went in for treatment Monday. I spent most of the time telling her to slow down and take a break because I couldn’t keep up. To say that her strength and determination was inspiring is an understatement. In 2011, we raised even more money, and were signed up to participate again. Unfortunately, a couple weeks before the Walk, Leanna was hospitalized due to complications with her treatment. In the end, she was unable to participate. While I knew she was in rough shape, I really didn’t know or believe how bad she really was. During the Walk (which I completed with her friends and family keeping me company throughout the different parts of the course), Leanna got worse, and eventually passed away the next evening. That weekend was such a physical and emotional drain. After the 2011 Walk, they discontinued the Walk and introduced the Bust a Move event, which I signed up for, alone, as a way to keep Leanna’s fight alive. While I was excited for this new event, I also knew it’d be filled with a lot of memories and emotion- and it was! But not like I expected.

In January I approached my training team and coach about participating in this event, I thought maybe, since this was a fitness event, a couple of the ladies were already signed up and we could go together. Never, ever, did I expected six of them to sign up and take on the fundraising themselves! And, never, ever, did I expect other members of our team to be so generous with their support and their hearts!! Sharing this event, and this aspect of my life with those ladies, meant so much to me. Instead of being sad about loss, I was motivated by strength and support. I can never thank them enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Even better, together we raised over $7000 and the Blessed Bodies team had a blast while bustin’ some moves and kickin’ some ass. Donning blonde wigs and white wings, we got our exercise on doing Zumba, pilates and yoga, hip hop, tabata, Bollywood, and, the highlight- Tommy Europe’s SHRED bootcamp! It. Was. Awesome!

Planking it out during Bootcamp



Refueling competition prep style in between classes



Team Blessed Bodies wigs and wings costume :)

We even got a team pic with Tommy himself… and then I got one with him on my own :)

 

 

 

What a hottie, right? He’s not too bad either :)

Sharing this day with such an amazing group of ladies was so special to me. Team Blessed Bodies has already signed up for next year, so watch out!!

 

That was Saturday. Sunday was more like usual- full of a morning workout, protein pancake(s) (yes, I ate two in one day... I missed my Saturday pancake), and food prep for the week.

Overall, things are starting to get more intense. With only 20 more days until the show (and 13 to my first photo shoot!), there is a lot to do. I need to book and confirm times for hair, makeup, tanning and nail appointments for both the shoot and the show, to start planning the day-of-show timeline (the show starts at 9am- so early!) and keep up with my full training schedule (on top of working full time). My training program for the month just got switched up as well, which is great, but means new routines/ moves to learn and get used to. I’m excited though! Big changes ahead- I know it!

XOXO
J

Interested in learning more about Bust a Move and breast health? Check out their site here.

What I Ate Wednesday

Ugh, my hatred for mornings is only made worse by the rain. And, today, it’s so wet, windy and cold. Really though, that should never come as a surprise. Of course it’s wet, windy and cold- it's Vancouver! However, even in the rain, Vancouver is full of beauty and colour.

 

 

 

The other good thing? It’s Wednesday! In the spirit of WIAW, here’s what was on the menu for me today:

 

 

I didn’t post my full meal plan for this week because it was so similar to last week’s plan, but here it is in full.

 

Meal	Menu Item	Notes
M1: Breakfast	Barley and buckwheat porridge.	Served with a spoonful of apple sauce.
M2: Snack	Tuna baked with egg whites and oats served on a salad of avocado and broccoli.	Spiced up with a hit of siracha sauce.
M3: Lunch	Yam and chickpea chicken curry.	This has been really tasty! Will be making again for sure.
M4: Snack	Scrambled egg whites with steamed veggies and hemp hearts.	My delicious afternoon staple.
M5: Pre-workout	Chocolate quinoa pudding.	Not pictured, and only consumed on weight training days.
M6: Post-workout/ dinner	Tilapia served over a bed of brown rice with a salad of raw veggies and a scoop of yogurt.	The Greek yogurt mixed with the warm rice and crunchy veggies is heavenly!
M7: Snack (optional- but let’s be honest, I eat it every night!)	Greek yogurt mixed with a half a scoop of casein and strawberries.	Since running out of vanilla casein I have been using chocolate and it is just as delightfulJ

 

Recipes for all these meals will be up soon :)

 

XOXO

Jen