Family vacation time

 We are having our first family vacation, as a real little family!  It fills my heart with such joy to be able to enjoy beautiful sunny days and little adventures with our little man.

We are visiting Adam's family in New Brunswick and we leave tomorrow morning to meet up with my aunt and grandma on Prince Edward Island.  We are going to stay at Dalvay by the Sea which, from the website, looks like an absolutely gorgeous hotel!  Apparently, William and Kate (the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge that is) have visited this historical place.  Well, we will just have to wait and see if it is up to Cameron standards!

Boone has been loving our walks

Then we are back to Halifax for Monday for Labour Day as Adam is on duty.  I love vacationing but it is always good to get back home and back into a routine and reality.

Not to mention, my diet and workout routine has completely derailed for the past 4 days or so.  It is almost impossible to maintain a certain diet when you cannot control your food environment and your schedule is all wonky.  Oh well, I have been running with jogging stroller and niece the past few days and it is awesome and challenging...hopefully compensating for my less than stellar eating!

Now it's time for bed.  Gotta get up early, get packed, and hit the road for the island!

Wishing you and your family a beautiful long weekend!

Healthy and fit on route 66

blueberries/Quest bar/whey protein powder/almonds

 Don't you just love the title of this blog post?  My hubby's idea.  He is such a weaver of words, a wordsmith if you will.  English degree going to work.

Anywho, we are about to leave for our end-of-summer vacation - a mixed bag of emotions, a little bit of sadness and a little bit of excitement.  We will be driving to New Brunswick to spend some wonderful family time with Adam's famjam and then to Prince Edward Island to enjoy a weekend at a picturesque hotel, Dalvay by the Sea.

I am trying to eat really clean because I am currently in the middle of my FOCUS T25 challenge.  I am starting to see some results and I don't want to derail my progress.  Well, if 6-pack abs start in the kitchen, then healthy snacks are a must and preparation is key!  It would be all too easy to stop at gas stations along the road and grab a yummy slurpee and a bag of chips (what cheat days are for).  

What I'm packing:

1. Whey protein powder - hubby just got me this cute shaker cup with a removable powder compartment, it's genius!  There are no blenders in our car so I can load a scoop of the powder into the bottom of this cup and wait until I'm ready to mix it with some water.  We buy whey protein isolate from Costco, by the way. 
2. Quest bars - these are sooooo yummy.  High protein, low carb, high fibre, and come in many delicious flavours!  I feel like I'm treating myself when I eat these and I constantly have one in my diaper bag for when I'm out and about and can't find a healthy snack.  The combination of protein and fibre is very filling and keeps me satisfied for a while.
3. Blueberries - delicious and nutritious, enough said.
4. Almonds - a handful of raw nuts is a wonderful source of healthy fat and fibre which satisfies my hunger pangs.  Note they are raw nuts, not roasted, not salted, not toffee covered.

   

   Quest bars (prego belly)

Of course, I'm also packing a big cup of water filled with lots of ice and lemon slices.

Now I'm set for the trip and will arrive at our destination feeling satisfied and happy that I stuck with my diet.  Good start to what will no doubt be an awesome family vacation.

What do you pack for snacks during long car rides?
 

Training plan: 2 week progress

calendar included with FOCUS T25 system

all sweaty after Lower Focus

Boone fell asleep watching me.  Notice beautiful baby folds - 100% breast milk baby!

 Looking at my stats from the first week, my weight hasn't changed at all, but my chest has shrunk and my waist has grown!  Not a flattering result.  I can only conclude that this is because I breast fed just prior to measuring and maybe I'm a little bloated from all the sodium in the turkey bacon I consumed yesterday!  (Turkey bacon makes a yummy salad topping by the way).  However, I am feeling great, my cardio endurance has improved, and I'm feeling more like my pre-pregnancy self in terms of energy and "get-up-an-go"!

This entire process also reinforces something I have known about myself for awhile, I thrive on structure and routine.  Having the visual reminder of the calendar on my fridge and checking off each workout every day motivates me.  Also, as soon as I jump out of bed in the morning, I get into my workout clothes, then I know that I have to complete my workout before I get out of the house for the day!

As far as my diet goes, I just started reading Chris Powell's Choose More, Lose More for Life.  The concept of carb-cycling is explained and I've started to dabble in it...we will see.

Sundays: rest, family, and love

Oh how I love Sundays!  We go to church and come home, have a lunch, usually of left overs, and then have a nap!  I have decided to institute family naps as a ritual - so important with Boone.  Today, I also did stretching as a part of my FOCUS T25 challenge.  Even in our small living room, with Adam's ship stuff all around and Boone beside me on his activity mat, it is possible to get some movement in the day!  But my favourite part of Sundays is family time.

 

Boone at 1 week old.  We are so in love.

Friday flowers

I have always loved love.  I have always been a romantic.  When I was a single lady, I dreamed of the days when my husband would surprise me with candlelit dinners, open the car door for me, and bring me flowers "just because".  Well, I have been happily married for 6 years now, and my husband is romantic, and makes me feel loved everyday...but not in the ways I used to fantasize about.  It's the little everyday gestures that tell me he loves me.  Putting his hand on the small of my back when we're out and about, bringing home Mini Eggs (my favourite) when he goes out, always putting down the toilet seat.  These things do not go unnoticed.  However, I still wanted flowers more often "just because".  I love having fresh flowers in the house but I feel frivolous buying them myself.  So for our 6 year wedding anniversary, Adam and I amended our vows.  He promised to bring me flowers more often and I promised to make him coconut flour pancakes more often!  And we are honouring those vows.  I love my Friday flowers!

Training Plan: Day 4

Ab Intervals today.  My abs are so weak after Boone!  I used to pride myself on my strong core but once again, I had to modify every exercise.  But I am so proud of myself for working out 4 days in a row when my little man is only 8 weeks old (big thank you to my hubby)!  Boone watched me do the whole 25 minute DVD from his swing today - he seemed quite entertained.  And working out regularly makes mommy feel so gooood!

cover of US magazine

 I found my inspiration photo!  Jenna Dewan-Tatum in this photo taken 8 months (I think) after having her little girl.  Doesn't she look great?!  Of course, photo shop and good lighting help a lot I'm sure, but look at that definition!  At the end of this 5 week FOCUS T25 challenge, I'm going to post my before and after photo and try to recreate this look for fun.

Jenna's sample menu from US magazine

 I am actually eating very similarly to Jenna's sample diet from the mag.  However, Adam and I have decided to make Fridays our "cheat" days and so we are planning on pizza and ice cream tomorrow evening!  So excited!  Anyway, I'm feeling great and I believe that my body is changing - at least, I feel like I have more energy lately (although that could be because Boone has started sleeping through the night with just a little side-lying nursing in there)!  Good night beautiful people!

Training Plan: 8 weeks post-baby

before FOCUS T25

Today I did my very first full length workout since little Boone was born (thanks to my hubby).  I am so out of shape - or maybe FOCUS T25 is just really, really intense.  Either way, I had to take some time outs and modify during the Cardio workout today.  FOCUS T25 has been really hyped up in infomercials lately, and before Boonie came along, I was thinking about quick workouts that I could do at home.  I even contemplated getting a treadmill because I love running intervals but that idea was quickly dismissed as we live in a very modest (i.e. tiny) one bedroom apartment which has filled up with baby stuff.  My "get my body back" plan consists of committing to the T25 program as it is laid out in the workout calendar that comes with the system, in addition to eating clean.  I'm going to go full out here, so I had Adam take these "before" photos, complete with the pasty white skin, messy hair, and no makeup, as seen in all those before photos in good infomercials.  My "after" photos will probably have me nicely tanned, fully made up, and looking oh so happy!

sideview (notice post-baby pooch)

the Squeem link / belly binder

The biggest change that I noticed in my post-baby body was the looseness of my belly.  Before baby, I purchased the Squeem corset from Amazon on the advice of another mommy who had good results with it.  I also bought this belly binder from a local baby store and I used it for about 1 week postpartum.  The belly binder was comfortable, provided a little support, and made my tummy look pretty flat underneath my clothing.  Within a week, my belly had shrunk enough so that the belly binder really didn't do anything anymore - yay!  So I switched to the Squeem - so tight!  I have been wearing this on and off but I find that it makes me really hot and sweaty, especially in our tiny, non-airconditioned apartment where I am constantly breastfeeding a very warm little baby.  The Squeem does give me a really nice shape so I think I'll continue to wear it under close fitting dresses and outfits in which I want to look tight, toned, and tiny!

FOCUS T25 system

 I am really hoping that this loose skin on my belly will shrink away.  Plus, I want to generally tone up and improving the roundness of my booty wouldn't hurt either...let's see if T25 lives up to it's infomercial hype!  My T25 challenge will begin tomorrow!  I will post weekly progress pics.  I am so excited!

Pregnancy: ain't no stretch marks on me

coconut oil/body oil/body butter/body lotion/massage lotion

Ok, the title of this post is not entirely accurate.  You see, I do in fact have stretch marks, both old and new (hardly noticeable and ugly purple things).  But I completely avoided stretch marks on my enormous pregnant belly and I believe it is because I greased myself up liberally with various moisturizing potions and lotions frequently.  I would moisturize post-shower, before bed, and at any other time during the day when I remembered.  When I was cooking, I would take whatever oil I was using, whether coconut, olive, or avocado oil, and rub it all over my tum tum.  I highly recommend this tactic to any other expanding mama.  Of course, I didn't get huge, I ate well and exercised throughout my pregnancy and grew at a rate that was right on track.  I think that I even measured a little under the prescribed centimeters near the end.  My absolute favourite of the above was the Skinnygirl Mommy Moisturizing Body Butter.  It had a delicious scent, like ice cream or something sweet, and the creamiest texture.  Unfortunately, I have no idea where to get more of this stuff because it was gifted to me by my lovely mom-in-law (I should ask her).

Disclaimer:  I got stretch marks on my breasts!  I did not attend to those as I should have.  Why?  Because I just didn't think they would grow that much.  After all, the baby was in my belly.  Well, I was very wrong.  They grow!  And they grow even more after baby is born if you're breastfeeding, which I am and they're out of control!  Oh well, I have love for them because they nourish my baby.

Oh, and the old stretch marks are from when I went on birth control for acne when I was 18 and gained about 30 lb. in two months.  The appetite was a little out of control, to say the least (I could eat an entire bag of cookies in one sitting - not good).