Right On Point

I feel the need to self-five myself and high ten to Alex this past week. 

Self five because my paleo eating and workouts were right on point this week and he gets a high ten because he's mister healthy eating (picking up nuts instead of chips while watching tv) and going to the gym at least 3x a week doing weights/running and bootcamps. This is not the boy I knew a year a go, weeks into quitting social smoking and not caring what he puts into his body. 

Me and paleo are going great, I ate like a pig on Easter and felt it ever so much on Tuesday, it's amazing how much my body reacts to eating poorly. I'm sorry body for hurting you. And so I made a choice to clean up my intake of food as I was feeling sick on the toilet (tmi?!) Eating 2-3 servings of veggies and less natural dried fruits. 

Since school is out (for a little while) if I'm not at work, it's gym time. This past week I've been doing 2 classes back to back a few times a week like I did on Thursday where I ran 5km then bodypump after. I'm oh so sore the days after but It helps me meet my goal of burning 2,000+ calories a week. 

I've got goals for myself, my friends. Can't wait to see where a lot of dedication takes me.

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Share with me--how do you know when you're treating your body good? Skin clearer? Happier? Tell. 

12 hours of us

The past couple weeks have been really tough. Classes were winding down but was great (yay summer) but it kept me working like a busy bee. On top of that Alex and I have been on opposite schedules for a while which meant we weren't spending good quality time together and I missed him.

I was saying how I want to spend a day together. Starting with breakfast and doing anything else we wanted throughout the day. No one else but use. 

So, on Monday after my last exam (freedom!) we headed down to Niagara Falls for the day.  

We grabbed a late breakfast, walked Clifton Hill for a while, were able to meet up with my bestie and her guy where we walked the falls and left for the waterpark for the afternoon. Ended the day with a nice dinner together. 

It's amazing what quality time does for me. I needed that time away, just the two of us. No roommates, nothing but Alex and I. 

Life gets so busy, often but for me-I need that real alone time to re-connect. I'm sure I'm not the only one. 

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We're always talking about the next trip--where have you and your boyfriend/husband gone that you've loved? 

If you came over for coffee

If you came over for coffee this afternoon, I would tell you...

...That I'm 2/3 done exams, which is super exciting. 1 exam and 1 short write up separates me from freedom...for a week. Since I'm doing a lot of summer courses. 

...That I'm so happy Alex joined the Y a few weeks a go. It' really fun working out together (especially when I correct his form and he gets embarrassed) and he's getting really healthy. 

...I would mention that I was asked to run a half marathon in October and I'm really not sure if I want to. I've been running a bit, 5km here, 3 km there which makes me miss running but I don't know if I want to commit to all the training involved for a half. 

...That Alex and I are going away to Niagara Falls for the day. Hitting the water park, some shopping and dinner and I CAN NOT wait. 

Love more

Sometimes I love looking back on the week that was and re-playing the week to see if I could do better in any area for the coming week.

This past week, especially the the end of the work week taught me something big. To love. To always say you love someone if you feel it and make sure people know how much they mean to you.

via

My mom had her every 6th month mammogram two weeks a go and 12 hours before her appointment to talk about said mammogram results, got a call saying she needed to get an ultrasound done and not to come in for appointment the next day. 

She went to get the ultrasound done and asked why. Did they see something? I can't imagine having someone say to you, "yes, they saw some masses."Masses?!

So for almost 48 hours my family seriously thought the evil evil cancer had come back and emotions were high. I broke down at work and was so scared. 

Thankfully, our family doctor confirmed that everything came back negative. No sign of cancer in her body. Thank you, God. Turns out she has some scar tissue built up. 

We hugged. We cried. We talked about what happened. But most importantly those 48 hours of being so scared she'd have to fight cancer again taught me to say those important words more often. That I need to verbally tell my parents I love them more (instead of just showing them.) Life is short, guys. 

Paleo 101

I've been getting lots of questions about my paleo experience, why I eat like this and what I eat. So here it is. 

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There are many different definitions of paleo out there. I go by this one and this one.   

I started eating paleo in December of 2013 because I was down to my goal weight but wasn't feeling "good." I was waking up with a flat tummy in the morning and by the end of the day-was bloated, felt stuffed and big and I didn't like that. As well, am I concerned that because cancer is now in my family history, I need to be careful and aware of that. Around this time I started hearing about paleo along with the benefits and how I was harming my body. 

I really started eating paleo because I try and eat non-processed food like the obvious chips, cookies, package factory foods and was shocked to become aware that bread and milk is processed. I can go on and on about how milk is processed but I'll let you read it here .

 I did 14 days of paleo eating (with Whole30) and lost 3.2 pounds and 6 inches in my first week. Then Christmas hit and I sorta followed paleo that month. 

Now, my paleo eating is great throughout the week and I allow myself one meal, usually on the weekend of non-paleo foods. Pizza, fries etc. Some will say not to allow "cheat" meals as it causes your body to keep craving those foods and you will never truly stop craving them and others will say do it as it gives your body a taste of what bad food does to us. Believe me-when I eat non-paleo foods the next day I feel sick, tired and really really bloated. This only makes me realize how harmful foods can be to our bodies and insures I get back on the good eating wagon. 

What do I eat on a typical day?

A typical day for me is waking up at 5:45am to work out and then placement and off to work in the evening. 

On the bus-banana

After working out- a hardboiled egg and a handful of nuts and black coffee

Lunch-usually sweet potato, a vegetable and some fruit

Before work-glass of almond milk or Larabar

Dinner-two veggies and a protein ---easy!

If I'm waking up at a normal time I usually just have an egg and banana for breakfast. 

What are my favourite snacks?

I've learned the hard way that on you need to carry good foods with you or have them on hand. I can't tell you how many times I haven't been prepared and found myself eating some alphabets cereal. 

My favourite snacks are nuts, Larabars (especially the apple one) since they are totally natural. I just read the back of one of them- ingredients are dates, raisins, walnuts/almonds and dried apples.  

How do you eat out?

Easy-when I'm on a date night and want to eat paleo, my go to place is Chipotle. Just get the salad. Add in any meat they have, some salsa, guacamole, and veggies. No beans or dressing. It's amazing. 

This sounds hard. It must be?

Nope, eating like this is so simple. I thought dinner would be hard but instead of the typical protein, veggie, starch; now it's protein, veggie, veggie. So easy. 

The only thing I found hard was the first week. Its tough, I'll be honest. You crave everything and get moody. Some get headaches but it goes away. Its your body detoxing and not used to eating this way. Just keep with it and it gets better. 

What are your go-to recipes?

I like recipes that are easy to make, not a lot of ingredients or time in the kitchen. 

For breakfast when I don't want an egg, I'll have already made some paleo cereal. Add in some almond milk and it's 100% like cereal.  

For lunch, I love a big salad but this is an easy meal to make the night before and heat up the next day. 

Skinny Orange Chicken. 

Dinner-really is the easiest. Protein, veggie, veggie-for me. Sometimes when I want something "carby" I'll add in a sweet potato. 

This is easy too and doesn't take long. some ground beef, onions, mushrooms, in a bell pepper. 

My tips to you

-Planning is your friend. Do weekly grocery shopping based off what you'll eat that week. 

-Use google-I used to run to google when I had question. Just a simple search can clear anything up.

-Pinterest has thousands of meals. I have hundreds (follow: lifeofsarahh)

-Keep snacks handy so you're not tempted. 

-Do the whole30 challenge. See how foods really do affect us. You can do anything for 30 days. 

Don't worry about what people say. My Gramma thought I was starving myself and got very offended when I told her why I'm doing it. Now she is very interested in paleo. There ya go.