Cheat day = stack of pancakes! Oh yiahhhh

So I got up this morning with every intention of doing Plyos with Nat but it was a group concensus that our bodies hated us and we were going to take an active rest day and go for a walk. I will train weights and do cardio tomorrow. Since I am taking my rest day today, I figured I might as well go all out and do my cheat meal as well. I had been planning my cheat meal for the last 3 days and man was it good. It took me awhile to decide what to have. The first thing that came to mind was a huge piece of apple pie from Aphrodites, but it just wouldn't be the same without my partner in crime, Mr. Chocolate Banana Cream Pie aka Louie. My second choice...a stack of pancakes (whole wheat of course...can't go nuts) and sugar free syrup, I mean real syrup. It is a cheat meal after all and that sugar free was ruining the whole "cheat" aspect.
Yup, another picture of food. If you'd like the recipe for these, I included it below. Not going to lie, I had one more...

For me a rest day means no cardio and no weights. Just rest. I do have an "active" rest day where I go for a power walk or swim for 20 minutes. My cheat day, or meal I should say, means that I get to have one "bad" meal. Hmmm...it's strange but now that I am eating more vegtables and less fruit I don't find myself craving sugar as much and wanting more salty things...interesting.
Rest is the easy part, feeling guilty about not training and eating something "bad" can be hard and that is why it's important to learn how to just take it easy. The first cheat meal I had was with my friend/mentor Natalie at the Keg and it was delicious. It was good to see that it was okay to splurge a little, but the hard part is to only do it once and not say well I could have a bag of chips because I did this, or to have a muffin becuase I did that. You get one meal. That is it and you don't have to feel bad about it. If you were having your last meal what would you have...? I will only get 2 or 3 more "cheat meals" before my competition so I'm going to make them count.
Having a cheat meal is important because some people get obsessed with this type of eating and can end up with eating disorders and eating a cheat meal is only hard because you are constantly measuring, timing and prepping your foods which also takes time so breaking that routine can play tricks on your mind so you have to get over it and just eat that fluffy pancake...my mouth is literally watering...I got to go eat my pancakes before they are cold so pass me the Aunt Jemima's!

Everything in moderation. Enjoy your cheat meal : )

Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat! (Today I guess, Eat. Sleep. and back to the grind tomorrow)

Nicole

My pancake recipe...mix all dry ingredients first and thn add the liquids.
>1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
>1 tsp Baking Power
>3/4 unsweetened apple sauce
>2 egg whites
>1 cup of water (you can use almond or soya milk too)
>4 packets of splenda (I think that works out to 1 tsp)
>1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
>1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Hope you enjoy!

Calluses, Calf Raises and Cardio, oh my!

It's FRIDAY!!! Yippieeee, but I will admit I'm normal and it was a little hard to get up. For the past few days I have felt like I was fighting a cold off but I made it to the gym and completed my cardio and can enjoy my morning breakfast before I have weight workout with Dave. Today I have a nice treat planned for this afternoon, a nice deep tissue massage to work on my pec minor (aka. the boob muscle). Awkward...

Yesterday we did some heavy lifts and back. I did my highest weight to date, a 125 lb dead lift which I am stoked about! What I'm not stoked about is the lovely calluses forming on my hands. I use to get these golfing and they were so gross and stung under hot water (my dad is telling me to suck it up!). I am sure as my skin gets use to lifting these heavier weights, because they will get heavier, it won't be as bad.
Dave and I also did a bunch of calf raises or should I said he had me do a bunch of calf raises. It burned, is all I really have to say about that. Don't believe me...go stand on the stairs (in your runners, not socks). Thurst your heels up and down 20 times and hold at the top of 20 for 10 slow counts then do another set with no rest. This round is 30 times up and down, really pushing on the way up in fast bursts, and again at the top hold for a count of 10 and repeat one final time...if you feel like crying or dying...you did it correctly.

When we are in the gym we are so focussed on getting a "six pack" or "toning our butt" but we never really train our calf muscles. The truth is the calf muscle can stand quite a bit of weight it would surprise you  and we should spend a little time every day stretching or training them. If you are training your calves, don't forget to stretch afterwards.

I also had a photo shoot this week which was very exciting. I have only seen a few pictures, but it was an amazing day and a lot of fun. Here is a sneak peek...sorry dad. Just remember it's only a swimsuit....I'm no swimsuit model yet, obviously because I had no idea what to do with my hands, hence my random left hand on the sand. Oh well. Practice right!

One small goal I accomplished yesterday was managing to get all my meals in. It seems small but eating every 2.5 hours can be hard, especially when each meal requires a 4 oz piece of meat or protein shake...Me and my cooler have become BFF's. Oh and in addition to my meal plan changing, my coach would like me to track my progress by taking weekly photos (front, side and back) becasuse I am 9 weeks out and this is where all the change will really begin especially with my cardio being increased. I am debating posting these because I am my biggest critic, but I'll sleep on it. You all might just have to wait until May for the big reveal at the River Rock. That way I also won't look like a vampire that crawed up on the beach because I'll have two coats of spray tan and making Snooki proud!

Side Note: My day just got 100 times better and I had to add in a quick THANK YOU to Briana, one of my besties, who just made my day. Right now I have been paying for drop in at random gyms becuase I didn't have a pass anywhere. Drop-in can be anywhere from 10 - 28 bucks depending on your prefences between community centres (over packed and less equipment) or Steve Nash (lots of equipment, but $$$). This can add up especially when you are doing 5 days a week cardio, which will eventually go up to 7 days a week for me, and paying for parking etc. Briana just called and told me that I now have a pass to the Richmond Oval so that I can train there. Yiiiiipppppppeeee! I am so thankful to have a great group of friends and support system. It is great to know that people have your back.  Thank you so much Bri! This helps out so much you don't even know. It made my entire day/weekend!

Happy Friday Everyone.

Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat!

Nicole

Mark my words....I love my early morning cardio

You're going to think I'm totally crazy but I love my new cardio program. Even though I am only on my 3rd day for the week and still have 3 more days of weights and 2 more cardio sessions. I woke up feeling great and happy that I got the day off to a good start. From now on I will be training out at the Richmond Olympic Oval for my cardio. They have lots of great equipment which makes it easy to mix things up. 20 minutes on stairs and 20 minutes run. The goal behind my cardio is to break a sweat not to kill myself because I dont' want to burn muscle purely fat. I finished my cardio and home eating breakfast by 8 am. The importance of getting up early and starting the day is a lot more important that you'd realized. The reason, squeezing in 6 meals a day can be very challenging. Last night I didn't have Meal 5: until 8:30 and still had to eat Meal 6 and be in bed by 10 pm.
So I choose to capture how I felt at this moment as a reminder to myself when I am feeling a little sluggish or tired or don't want to get up at 5:30 how great I feel when I do challenge myself and compete my cardio. I know that this is something that everyone feels and you have to get past it. Making such a statement so early into my new program, but I figure since I am putting it all out on the line and telling everyone about my journey that it would be another tool to help motivate me in the moments where the glimpse of "I can't" or "don't want to" pop into my head. My dad always says, never start a sentence with I can't.

Another great thing I discovered this morning is a great new way to cook and eat my delicious cup of egg whites. I measure out my egg whites and spray a corningwear dish with pam. Cover and cook in the microwave. Once cooked it looks like a fritatta. Add a little hot sauce and you got yourself some delicious eggs. Try it out. I love talking pictures of food for some reason so I included one of my eggies.....

Time to get to work! Have a great Thursday everyone.

Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat.

Nicole

Wanted: Cardio buddy...

My new program includes cardio 5 days a week...it doesn't seem like a lot but when you mix in 4 days of weights, work, food prep and a life, time management is key. I know everyone wishes there were more hours in a day but the bad news is even though the days wouls be longer, you'd still manage to pack them soild. So amongst all these hours, finding time to allow your muscles to rest is very important. Oh, and did I mention sleep? Sleep is really important along with rest because it allows your muscles to recover so you can destroy them again the next day....?!
Last night was girls night and a very relaxing one at that. Just what I needed. Erin and I made popcorn (no salt or butter) = yes boring I know, but a treat none the less. We watched 127 hours and if you have a bad gag reflex like me I would avoid watching it with anyone you're trying to impress. It was a great watch though. I would definitely recommend it!
Today David and I trained legs and shoulders and it will be interesting to see if I can move my arms tomorrow considering I could hardly dress myself yesterday or the day before from my work out with Natalie on Saturday. I find it amazing how you can train your body to do so many amazing things with just a little bit of effort. Of course as I've been told time and time again 80% of it is diet.
Over the past 10 weeks I have been eating clean which basically means skipping the centre of the grocery store, minus the magazine isle. It focusses on eating foods that aren't processed and low in sodium. My new favorite secret seasoning is Mrs. Dash. It is a salt free seasoning and it is delicious! My mom comes home and tells me how good the house smells when ever I put it on chicken or in a stir fry.
To give you the inside scoop on what I eat for breakfast since I know you're all dying to know is 1 cup of egg whites and 1/2 cup of oatmeal. Yum, right?! My mom says that my scambled egg whites look like popcorn and it does. I really need to invest ina non-stick pan. I tried to mix it up a bit and have gotten into adding hot sauce to my egg white to spice things up a bit. Literally. My mouth was on fire today...Note to self: tone down the hot sauce! Anyways, I am going to go and hit the gym and get my cardio done-so, so I can relax-o! Meeting Christa, fellow competitor at the Richmond Olympic Oval.  I also have to get out of the house because my mom just made popcorn and it smells amazing!  Yes, I am obsessed with popcorn and pie...ask anyone

Here's to a great Tuesday night at the gym! The sun is out so at least I will enjoy a good sunset : )

Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat.

Nicole