Please forgive us…

It has been way too long since we last spilled the T. Renovations and Employment Search have taken up most of our time lately and we’ve been slacking! Grover will tell you, he’s been getting less walks and less play. The struggle is real for dogs with busy dads & auntie.

A few weeks ago, I caved to my lowest. I was invited to a beautiful wedding and my pants did not fit. 3 layers of bodyshapers would not solve this. So I decided to purchase these “Skinny Quick” drinks and bars. This would be my plan for the week. Did this work? No!

Taking nourishment out of the equation is an awful idea. All of my closest friends will tell you that I get “HANGRY”. I shut down, pout and quick to respond when I’m hungry. But I get worst when I’m malnourished. FEED ME GREENS… FEED ME VITAMINS…I NEED NUTRITION. I shared my secret with Lisa, my massage therapist (therapy is half her title right….) and told her how unhappy I was, and how food should not make my urine smell life a coffee house. Yes, my stomach was (kinda) full from these frankenfoods, but my body was just in beast mode! Then at night, when I could have my sensible meal, I went to town.. and then went to visit the next town over lol. Each night I said “I’ll do better tomorrow.” But I just couldn’t resist the junk food.

What should I call this malnourished response? ECS (Empty Calorie Syndome)? I know you can do better than that. Please leave your comments below.

At the wedding, the pants did not fit. So Andy had to get me to lie on the bed to tie them. I never again want to be the guy who needs his husband to tie his pants.

The wedding was lovely, and having been so malnourished all week, I was happy for real food.

Last night, our bathroom renovations were finally complete. We are so thankful to our contractors Kyle and Chris. A bathroom should look nice, since people spend so much time in there (any other toilet texters here?) Bathroom Blog to come shortly.

As I said above, our life has changed. 2 out of the three of us are now working various hours. Before, everyone was home by six in the evening. And since both Anie and Andy worked overnights, my morning routine has changed.

Yes… Now I have to make my own breakfast and lunch… And today, I decided I would treat myself to a healthy lunch.

Recently, I’ve been reminded of the importance of probiotics. So I went to the natural food store and picked some up. When I go to the natural food store, I always pick the brains of Laura who works there. She’s a bundle of wisdom. I asked her what she knew of a “Shake Program” I’ve recently learned of. I’m not convinced yet if I want to try it since it is kind of expensive and we are adjusting to post-renovation and new-job financial responsibilities.

Laura, unknowingly of my love of VEGA, asked if I’d like a free sample of their French Vanilla flavour. Free Lunch!!! 20g of Protein, 6 servings of greens, 10g of carbs (including 6g of fibre), 6g of fat and pure deliciousness.

I’m still on the fence about Shake Programs (Shakeology or Isengenix). It would be so awesome if anyone could provide their experience with these. This would help me make a decision.

I am back on tract, back on my way. Speed can vary, but forward is forward baby!

Yours in wellness, moving forward one step at a time!

G

Wicked Wednesday Challenge!

Happy Hump Day folks!  

I am starting off a new initiative to challenge myself to do something out of the ordinary from my routine every Wednesday morning. This series of silly challenges is brought to you by a need to break free from mundane work outs and boring old habits.

This Wednesday I am challenging myself to do a floor ab work out to the song ”NO” by Megan Trainer. I will do pelvic muscle exercises and every time I hear the word NO I will add a leg kick in the air while lifting my but off the floor.

Join me in this silly challenge or let me know what you challenged yourself to do today!

This calls for good times and soon to be great abs….

P.s. She says the word no a lot in this song….like A LOT

Good Luck and Game On!

xo

AnieJ

Looking for the Lessons.

For the past few days I’ve been looking at my body very closely, more precisely my feet. I’ve developed gout. For those of you who do not know what gout is; it’s “a disease in which defective metabolism of uric acid causes arthritis, especially in the smaller bones of the feet, deposition of chalkstones, and episodes of acute pain.

I can’t walk on it because it encourages the swelling. I can’t even wear socks or let my bedsheet touch it.

The word disease can be broken down into “dis-ease”, meaning “not at ease”. Every time I’ve neglected my body, I get scolded. My feet have long been teachers.

In my second year of college, I developed anorexia-nervosa + bulimia. Not only was I not nourishing my body, but anything I did give my body, I took right back. The severity increased in my third year. I had starved my body and only been consuming coffee. I was elected President of my student council and was to give a speech. On the very first day of school I ran to the library to get my freshly printed speech and fell into a twist. My left foot cracked and immediately swelled up the size of a baby watermelon. I was taken to the hospital and put in a wheelchair for a whole month.

This devastated me: no frosh week, no dancing, no trip to Wonderland. I called a friend for some tough love. She told me about this wonderful book called The Anatomy of the Spirit. I bought it online and since I was chair-bound, I read it right away. Basically, our biology and biography are connected. I learned that if I did not honour/ listen to my body when it whispered, I’d eventually hear it scream. Luckily my best friend Nat moved in with me to make sure I was eating well and healing. She was also on purging watch and made sure I wasn’t getting into any old habits. Trust me: wheelchairs are a real obstacle and its impossible to crouch over a toilet when chair-bound.

I also attended counselling. That was the start of my body positivity attitude makeover. I was asked which body parts I liked. I liked my hands, and I loved my feet. They are a symbol of my German roots. I loved that they once made me feel unique in a world of size 10 shoes. I have a size 13 foot. My counselor told me: if its okay for you to have extra large feet, why is it so hard for you to love your extra large frame…. YES, my mind was blown!

So back to my feet…If I can’t walk, I stay put. I take a break to think about where I’m going. I rest, look at my life, sit on the couch and ask myself some questions. What irritates me? What is acidic in my life? What keeps me inflamed. It also provides me with insight on choices I need to make.

Today, I chose not to apply for a job. My body just said “George, stop putting things on your plate. Your load is heavy enough and you’re only on one foot”.

The feet are also a symbol of our roots. Maybe its time for me to return to simplicity, go back to my roots and live the way I was meant to. Maybe it’s my body telling me to pick up The Wild Diet (by Abel James) like I’ve intended to since January.

Maybe this is a sign!

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign…

Has your body ever given you a sign that you might not totally be “at ease” with your life?

Yours in wellness & happy feet.

G

Reconciling with your Hobbies

Sometimes a Healthy Lifestyle doesn’t just mean focusing on fitness and food.  This past weekend, we focused on self-care and spending time with our family that we do not get to see as often as we would like.  It was also a time for me to enjoy a hobby that I often forget that I love.  Photography.  I love capturing those memories…and boy did we make lots of memories this weekend.

I wanted to share a snippet of the weekend with all of you.

Now…go tell someone in your family that you love them!  And try to enjoy one of your long forgotten hobbies!

Sincerely,

Andy

Walking in Sunshine

Although we don’t get that terrible of a winter where we live, we aren’t as active when the air cools and the snow falls. It’s just the way it is for most Canadians. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone in Canada goes snowshoeing and dog sledding on weekends. We stay in, eat hearty foods and count the days until summer.
June 21st marks the first day of summer but today is May 25th and its 26 degrees.
My friend posted this meme this morning that inspired me to take advantage of Nature’s gift… So I grabbed the green juice I made myself for lunch and went for it! Here are some of the pics I’ve taken from my walk downtown.

Also, getting out there allows you to see who’s in your community… And there sure are some juicy faces out there!

What I will do different next time:
– Pack ear plugs to listen to music.
– Bring sunglasses and a hat.
– Check the time less. I will set an alarm on my phone to vibrate instead.
– AVOID walking by hot dog / hamburger stands. The smell is just divine!

Enjoy these pics!

Yours in wellness and plenty of sun kisses!

G

Sweating Out The Sickness

Yes I know, the title sounds like it could have been one of Richard Simmons’ workout videos. *I LOVE Richard Simmons and would often borrow his many videos from the Cornwall Public Library and workout in my bedroom. I am a very perceptive person; I can tell when someone is being genuine. What I love about his videos is that they are about real people wanting real change and He ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT THEM! So cheers to him and to the work he still does today.

Tonight, I was feeling awful. I’ve been fighting an illness (not sure if it is a cold or the flu… Does anyone really know the difference?) I had skipped out on an adventure with the team  today and rested. Resting also meant I had not achieved my daily step goal, AGAIN…. Fitbit forgive me!

But it’s true what this meme says about the team dynamic…

(Mind blown eh!)

After dinner we found ourselves doing some chair dancing.

@Meghan Trainor: WE THANK YOU for your new album! It’s amazing! We will be buying it from here when it comes out on Vinyl!

“Me too” is my personal favorite.

We also chair-shimmied and chair-cercized to “Ain’t Your Mama” by J-Lo (written by Meghan Trainor). And these two songs made my mood and energy soar! Music can do things medicine cannot.

Soon after we were in a full fledge cardio workout. OUT OF OUR CHAIRS!

My t-shirt was soaked (working out in cotton is the worst) and I smelled terrible. (Pictures to follow below). I also hit my Fitbit daily step goal!!!

Life is good again and it’s all thanks to my team and some kick-ass music.

Yours in wellness… And in sweating out the sickness.

G

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING PHOTOGRAPHS FEATURE YOUNG ADULTS ENGAGING IN SOBER FUN.  ALTHOUGH THESE IMAGES ARE NOT PRESENTED IN ORIGINAL FORM, WE ARE PROUD TO CONFIRM WE ARE NOT WORKING THAT PHOTOSHOP TO MAKE ALTERATIONS TO OUR CURRENT BODY SIZES. THIS MATERIAL MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO READERS WHO CANNOT HANDLE SEEING POST-WORKOUT SWEATY PEOPLE.

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Post Party Pondering and Reflection

Hi there!

This weekend I celebrated my 29^th Birthday!  It was everything that a Birthday should be.  There were friends, fun and lots of tasty snacks.

Now just between us friends, I am going to let you know that the food was nutritious. There is health food and there is soul food.  We had a mix of both.   We did have a veggie tray, fruit tray, olives, and pickles.  But on the other side of the table…there were candies, chips, and other junk foods.  We also got a variety of pop and juice for people to mix drinks.

Now our household certainly knows how to throw a party!  If you attend, your plate and cup will never go without!  However, this is the first party that we have hosted since committing to our Healthy Lifestyle and there are somethings that we have learned for next time.  It would be easy to say,

“Serve no junk food”

But we all know that’s almost impossible in a party scenario.  Below is a list of the tips for a Healthy Lifestyle Party.

• Have lots of Healthy Snacks
• Always have lots of Water and Healthy Juices available
• Have 2 food locations, one for healthy options and one for junk food. Then when you go for your veggies and fruit, you won’t tempted by the chips on the table.
• If you are getting a cake, get a small cake….big cakes mean big slices. Big slices mean Big work outs!
• Aim to have no left overs. Party left-overs are the ultimate enemy to one’s Healthy Lifestyle goals.  It fills your counters with temptations…and if you are like me, it is hard to throw out food that you spent money on.
• Dance! Remember dancing will burn some of those calories that you splurged on

And finally…. Have Fun!  I don’t regret any choices I made this weekend!  I had a blast!  I will try my best to follow my own advice at our next party.  But if you slip up…it’s okay because you can just get your dance on the next day!
Happy Party Planning from this newly 29 year old!

Andy

Mom-spiration!

Hello Everyone

Firstly, I would like to wish all of the Moms out there a wonderful Mother’s Day.  You do one of the most important job there is and deserve to be spoiled with lots of love for it. Children and partners: see the DIY Kiki post for ideas on how to spoil the special women in your life.

Today’s blog has a Mother’s Day focus to it.  I lost my Mom to cancer in November 1999, after finding out she was sick in July.  It became her mission to fit as much parenting as she could in her time left. I am so thankful that I was old enough to remember many of the conversations that we had.

At twelve years old, I was overweight and this concerned my mother. She told me her wish for me was that I did not grow up to experience the physical and social challenges of being overweight. This conversation came from a very loving place.

After she passed, I ate a lot and got even bigger than I was.  I grew to be the largest I had ever been at 235lbs.  A few years later, I lost 60 lbs. with the help from my father and some inspiration from my mom’s words, I was able to maintain this weight loss for years.

As my age increased, my metabolism changed but I still held my habit of stress eating. I also fell in love in 2011 and we were soon engaged. Doesn’t love make the heart grow (and everything else for that matter). I was able to lose some weight for the wedding by restricting calories. This made me miserable. After our wedding, we decided to move.  We were in a new city setting up our home and I was looking for a job. Stress eating and fast food returned to my life. Thus, the scale began to rise.  In September 2015, I stood on the scale and it told me 214lbs.  This was the closest I had been to that 235 number in a long time.

I can happily say that today the scale says 195lbs.  It is the slowest that I have ever lost weight, but I feel like I am doing it in the healthiest way, without compromising my happiness.  Today the two guys and our friends went for an hour and a half hike that I dedicate to my mom. I am thankful for how my mother approached my weight struggles and how I am able to think of her when reviewing my sparkplugs (the whys that support our tries).

Families are a “WE” unit, and we here at our headquarters trust in the powers of “WE”  Twoguysagirlandahealthylifestyle wish all mothers and their loved ones a beautiful day filled with wellness.

Andy

Chocolate….my first love

Here I go. Here I go. Here I go again….Girls what’s my weakness….CHOCOLATE!

They say the first step is admitting it, so here it goes. I’m what you call a serious addict.  I don’t just like chocolate I need it to LIVE. On an average I have a craving for a chocolaty….anything roughly three to five times a day. Everyday cravings have become a habit for me to slash away but oh when it comes to that certain time of the month; the boys have come to know T.O.M. Tom is a very angry and emotional fella and will destroy anyone in his path to get to the edible gold.

Word up ladies; When we are craving chocolate when aunt flow comes to visit; what our bodies are really telling us is we are lacking in iron and magnesium.

Here is a list of some magnesium rich foods

coffee, milk, broccoli, raspberries, dark chocolate,  macadamia nuts, dates, okra, clam, lobster, beans, cheese, calamari, cabbage, wild rice, avocado, banana, watermelon, pumpkin seeds, flaxeeds, pecan, brazil nuts, salmon, halibut, baked beans, oysters, cocoa powder, herbs, passion fruit, artichoke and the list goes on….

Here is a list of some iron rich foods

meat, sweet potatoes,brown rice, nuts, tomatoes, strawberries, sun flower seeds, edamame, dried fruits, molasses, spinach, eggs, shrimp, lentils, pumpkin seeds, oysters,red beans and so much more

 

 

In the past I would negotiate with my craving by getting some Dairy Milk Thins; you know the ones where they just downsize a chocolate bar by a quarter of its size and call it a health food. I thought wow perfect 100 calories, that’s exactly what I need to end the craving, I’d buy a box on Sunday while going grocery shopping and plan to eat one for every lunch. I think you know how this story ends… Of course I ate the entire box before I even went to school on Monday. For those of you who can buy in bulk and take just one piece at a time, I salute you. I am not one of those people. Therefore I have learned to act accordingly.

Of course most of us know by now that chocolate can actually be healthy for you. The operative word in this sentence being ‘’can’’…chocolate in itself is healthy…not chocolate bars, or double chocolate ice cream. In other words, the closer the bar is to the natural cocoa bean, the better it is for you. So 80% dark chocolate is full of health properties.

What I am doing now is cleansing it out of my system completely for the next month so that when I bite into that 80% dark chocolate it will actually taste sweet.

***Here is a nice simple recipe for Lara Bars that you can turn into balls and name it after someone’s whose balls you’d like to eat ha!

Step 1: Get a food processor!

Step 2: Throw in equal parts cashews and dates, sprinkle cinnamon and a bit of vanilla extract

Step 3: Blend in till it turns into a giant ball, break apart and roll smaller balls out of the big ball

Step 4: If you’re a chocolate fiend; roll the ball in some cocoa powder  or melt some dark chocolate and dip em’ in

 

This helps satisfy the cravings and get some iron and magnesium that we lack during TOMS

(Hint: There is no wrong way to make this ball, you can add peanut butter, peanuts, almonds, add some chia seeds, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and you can add any nut you want as long as you have equal parts dates)

( Note; your food processor will shake like crazy and blend for a long time before it becomes the right texture….just have a little faith and it will become a giant ball)

I encourage you to create your own favorite ball, name it and share it!

Kisses

 

Anie J

 

DIY:Throw yourself a (Self-Care) Kiki!

Today’s blog is inspired by one of my favorite songs in the history of songs: “Let’s Have a Kiki” by Scissor Sisters. In case you’re not familiar with this marvelous song or the word “kiki”, please allow the experts to explain.

“A kiki is a party, for calming all your nerves. We’re spilling tea, and dishing just desserts one may deserve”

Last year, a friend posted  a video from Dr. Agnes Wainman, a Psychologist in the London Ontario area who is a proclaimed “self-care activist”. Find her here and here.

When a psychologist says “take care of yourself”, I’ll listen (even if they’re not speaking directly to me). I loved the sound of “self-care activist” so I became one too! Since then, I’ve been carving those special times in the week for myself, and have come to terms that it is not selfish.

I invite you to get yourself you favorite cup or tea and enjoy this read….

What do you need for your very own Kiki?

Sacred Space: I suggest your bedroom, the bathtub and if you’re really fortunate, a sitting room. If a door can close behind you, even better. Put up a “Do not disturb” sign. Make it clearly known that this is your time to meet with someone very important.

Date: Plan them as many times as you can! Whether it is every morning before work, at 8pm when the children are sleeping, on Sunday while you’re prep food is cooking or every day in the shower for 10 minutes. Whatever it is, schedule it like an important meeting that you just cannot miss. Bosses don’t skip team meetings. (The team being your body, mind and soul). I soon found out just how much I looked forward to some “Georges Time”.

Tea*: Yes hunty, a nice cup of organic tea in your favorite mug. We love Chai, English Breakfast, Orange Pekoe, Green, Matcha in the mornings and Lavender, Rosehip, Lemon balm, Hibiscus or Peppermint in the evenings. If you need to calm your nerves, we suggest you avoid or limit the morning options. When we want to spoil ourselves, we do check out David’s Tea or a local coffee/tea shop. 

*Interpretation = Tea, can also stand for “T”, meaning truth. The kiki is an awesome opportunity to tell yourself the truth. This requires fearlessness and a commitment to address the bug-a-boos in your life. I like to take time, often during my lunch break, to evaluate my life pillars. These are the Spiritual, Physical, Financial, Intellectual, Relational and Emotional components of life. What is going well for me in these categories? What is going not-so-well? Is there anything that needs improvement? I make a list, prioritize, outline my whys and get going. 

Desserts = We get to give ourselves sweetness in ways that go beyond the scope of just sugar-filled food. The good news is that there are different ways to cope with life and love yourself without using food . Here are a few of my favorite alternatives (inspired from Gary Chapman’s Book: “The 5 Love Languages“): Positive Affirmations (ex: telling yourself “I am good enough”), Physical Touch (ex: massage, caresses and self-pleasure), Service (ex: giving yourself a manicure, a hair treatment, a facial), Quality Time (just some down time with yourself, meditation, journaling) or (non-food) Gifts (some bath salts, an aromatherapy body wash or a gemstone). In his book, there is a quiz you can take to find out what your preferred love language is and the one of your soulmate (or friend).  This book will positively change your relationships. 

Until next time 🙂

Yours in wellness,

G

Question: What do you do (or will do) during your self-care kiki?

#self-care #selfcaresundays #makeapromise #kikitime #scissorsisters #lovelanguages # davidstea #mytime

** This post contains no pictures due to the author prioritizing self-care.