When I started this blog a little over a year ago I didn't really know why I was starting it. I haven't been overly consistent with it, I know I'm not a great writer, and I can't imagine that anyone really wants to read what I have to say, but I still felt like I had to do it. I had to keep a record, and it felt like I should share it just in case someone else stumbled on it and somehow connected with my story.
Last night I realized how glad I am I've been writing things down on my journey. I've been really down on myself lately. I've been beating myself up for gaining back the weight, not losing it as quickly as I did last year and just feeling like a failure.
The mind is a funny thing. Last night I decided to read some of my old posts, see what I used to write about and look back at where I started. In reading my old posts, I realized that things didn't change nearly as quickly last time as I remember. I have a lot of posts about frustration, about my body fighting me and the scale not being my friend. It took me a long time to see changes, both on the scale and the tape measure.
I have to remind myself that if it was easy, everyone would be strong, everyone would be at the gym and there wouldn't be any #goals all over instagram.
Today I decided to focus on Personal Bests and Non-Scale Victories. Today I ran 2 straight minutes at a 10-minute mile pace. That might not seem like much, but I HATE cardio, despise it, worst thing ever, but I've been working on it. I know it's good for my overall health and longevity. Today's SPV & NSV were huge for me and I'm going to keep going and keep pushing!
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Adulting is hard...
I love the term 'adulting'. I feel like it describes so much of my life so well. I'm over 30, yet most days I really don't feel like I'm a grown-up. I wonder sometimes how I managed to get where I am, how I became a professional and work in an environment where I'm making decisions that impact the general public on a daily basis. But it seems that I am, in fact, an adult and that comes with all sorts of challenges.
Our current adult life challenge is home ownership. Adam and I are actively looking at houses and are really hoping to be in our own home by Christmas (only 170 days away!)
Trying to agree on a house is hard. We both want something that feels like home, but we don't completely agree on what that is. We mostly agree and I'm sure we'll find something, but all the same spending that much money is terrifying. The fact that someone is willing to lend me that much money is also terrifying. We're pretty responsible people, but that's a lot of trust!
I'm still trying to figure out how to get myself back to where I was before the move in terms of my fitness and diet. I'm feeling exceptionally out of shape these days and it's hard for me. I was so proud of myself last year and in the space of just a few months I managed to totally undo all that hard work.
Starting Monday I'm going to go back on the meal plan I got at the gym last year and see if that helps.
Our current adult life challenge is home ownership. Adam and I are actively looking at houses and are really hoping to be in our own home by Christmas (only 170 days away!)
Trying to agree on a house is hard. We both want something that feels like home, but we don't completely agree on what that is. We mostly agree and I'm sure we'll find something, but all the same spending that much money is terrifying. The fact that someone is willing to lend me that much money is also terrifying. We're pretty responsible people, but that's a lot of trust!
I'm still trying to figure out how to get myself back to where I was before the move in terms of my fitness and diet. I'm feeling exceptionally out of shape these days and it's hard for me. I was so proud of myself last year and in the space of just a few months I managed to totally undo all that hard work.
Starting Monday I'm going to go back on the meal plan I got at the gym last year and see if that helps.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Name Change = Bugs!
So i just realized that when I changed the name/address of the blog, a lot of my old links broke - they're connected to the blog URL - for some reason I just assumed they'd update on their own. Obviously I gave blogger too much credit!
It'll take me a little time to get them all fixed but I will - promise! If you notice one that's broken please comment and I'll repair it!
It'll take me a little time to get them all fixed but I will - promise! If you notice one that's broken please comment and I'll repair it!
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Back on the wagon
Today I really didn't want to work out.
I didn't want to get off the couch, I didn't want to so and get sweaty and sore. But yesterday, when I didn't go workout, I promised myself that today would be better. So I went.
I worked hard, I pushed myself, I did weights and by the time I hit the treadmill for my 20 minutes of 'sprints' (I do 2 minutes 3.5 incline at 3.3 speed and 2 minutes at 0 incline and 5.0 speed and then my last sprint I give'er and go as fast as I can) I was in the zone, I was feeling great and felt like I could go forever.
Sometimes we don't want to work out, sometimes 'there isn't time', but we have to keep reminding ourselves that we'll feel better when we do and that it's always worth it.
that's my 2 cents for today
I didn't want to get off the couch, I didn't want to so and get sweaty and sore. But yesterday, when I didn't go workout, I promised myself that today would be better. So I went.
I worked hard, I pushed myself, I did weights and by the time I hit the treadmill for my 20 minutes of 'sprints' (I do 2 minutes 3.5 incline at 3.3 speed and 2 minutes at 0 incline and 5.0 speed and then my last sprint I give'er and go as fast as I can) I was in the zone, I was feeling great and felt like I could go forever.
Sometimes we don't want to work out, sometimes 'there isn't time', but we have to keep reminding ourselves that we'll feel better when we do and that it's always worth it.
that's my 2 cents for today
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Let's Try This Again...
So remember back in January when I promised I was back on the wagon? Well...that sort of happened, but not really.
I joined the gym but have a really hard time motivating myself to get up and go. I figured once Adam got here for good we'd push each other and really get back at it like we did last year.
Well...Adam got here mid-February, and then the day of our second move all was going well and he fell off the back of the truck. Thankfully it was parked, amazingly all he did was cut his leg. But he cut it BAD. We spent 3 hours at emergency and 6 stitches later we were home.
That injury put him on the sidelines and me into nurse mode. It also meant that nothing was getting done around the apartment because he couldn't do much of anything.
About a month later he was finally able to start getting to the gym. We're trying, we haven't been great. We've made excuses, things have 'gotten in the way' but we're trying.
Tonight we hit the reset button (again). I just worked out our macros, I'm working on meal plans to make them work - a challenge seeing as we have different goals - and I'm taking some 'before' pictures (a scary prospect at the moment). But we're recommitting to this and we're going to get it done!
Katherine's Macros (looking to cut right now, probably for a month, before I strat trying to 'bulk')
1612 Calories
134g Protein
59g Fat
136g Carbs
Adam's Macros (looking to bulk at the 'textbook' rate)
2443 Calories
126g Protein
63g Fat
342g Carbs
I joined the gym but have a really hard time motivating myself to get up and go. I figured once Adam got here for good we'd push each other and really get back at it like we did last year.
Well...Adam got here mid-February, and then the day of our second move all was going well and he fell off the back of the truck. Thankfully it was parked, amazingly all he did was cut his leg. But he cut it BAD. We spent 3 hours at emergency and 6 stitches later we were home.
That injury put him on the sidelines and me into nurse mode. It also meant that nothing was getting done around the apartment because he couldn't do much of anything.
About a month later he was finally able to start getting to the gym. We're trying, we haven't been great. We've made excuses, things have 'gotten in the way' but we're trying.
Tonight we hit the reset button (again). I just worked out our macros, I'm working on meal plans to make them work - a challenge seeing as we have different goals - and I'm taking some 'before' pictures (a scary prospect at the moment). But we're recommitting to this and we're going to get it done!
Katherine's Macros (looking to cut right now, probably for a month, before I strat trying to 'bulk')
1612 Calories
134g Protein
59g Fat
136g Carbs
Adam's Macros (looking to bulk at the 'textbook' rate)
2443 Calories
126g Protein
63g Fat
342g Carbs
Thursday, January 21, 2016
New Year, New City, New Goals!
It's a new year, I'm in a new city and I have new goals!
I sort of fell off the face of the blogosphere this summer. There's a reason, probably not a good one, but a reason nonetheless.
We moved!
As of January we live in Dartmouth Nova Scotia...well, I live in Dartmouth. Adam won't live here until the middle of February but this is home now!
I did my first workout in 5 weeks tonight and holy crap do I feel it! It's amazing what a difference taking those weeks off can make. It's time to get back at it and keep off the weight that I lost last year. I'm determined to keep it off.
In positives - I bought new jeans last week. Exactly the same jeans I had before in a size 12, new jeans...SIZE 8 :)
So happy - I was afraid that I'd ruined things over the holidays and that I was going to undo all my hard work so I was really happy to leave American Eagle with my size 8 jeans.
I promise to keep up the blogging in the new year and my instagram will be revived.
As you may have noticed - the blog name (and insta) has changed (changed it a while ago - just never got around to posting) I can now be found on instagram as thefitkatsblog to go with the new blog address.
Happy New Year Everyone!
I sort of fell off the face of the blogosphere this summer. There's a reason, probably not a good one, but a reason nonetheless.
We moved!
As of January we live in Dartmouth Nova Scotia...well, I live in Dartmouth. Adam won't live here until the middle of February but this is home now!
I did my first workout in 5 weeks tonight and holy crap do I feel it! It's amazing what a difference taking those weeks off can make. It's time to get back at it and keep off the weight that I lost last year. I'm determined to keep it off.
In positives - I bought new jeans last week. Exactly the same jeans I had before in a size 12, new jeans...SIZE 8 :)
So happy - I was afraid that I'd ruined things over the holidays and that I was going to undo all my hard work so I was really happy to leave American Eagle with my size 8 jeans.
I promise to keep up the blogging in the new year and my instagram will be revived.
As you may have noticed - the blog name (and insta) has changed (changed it a while ago - just never got around to posting) I can now be found on instagram as thefitkatsblog to go with the new blog address.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
It's September and that means time for comfort food and pumpkin everything!
It's September. That means summer is ending, school is starting and Pumpkin Spice is taking over our lives again. I fall into the 'I love Pumpkin Spice' category, I know it's not for everyone, but I love it. I've been holding out on getting my first Starbucks PSL (the king of all things Pumpkin Spice in my opinion) just because at 150 calories and 0f/28c/9p it's a little carb heavy for my current macros (that's for a tall non-fat) when it's just a treat. There will be a PSL in my near future though.
The beginning of fall also means comfort food. Comfort food is often also calorie heavy and not so diet/macro friendly. While the beauty of IIFYM is that you can eat whatever you want as long as it fits a big bowl of Macaroni and Cheese (not the box stuff, the REAL stuff) can quickly take up your fats and carbs for the day.
I discovered a recipe on Simply Quinoa for 5-ingredient Quinoa Mac & Cheese and knew I had to try it. I adapted the original recipe a little bit for a few reasons.
1) I want to know the weight of things so I get my macros right (1 small butternut squash is too vague for me).
2) I didn't have almond milk (not a big fan) but I did have some lite Coconut milk and figured that would work just fine (I was right).
So here's my version of the recipe and the delicious end result!
354 calories/14g fat/43g carbs/14g protein
2- Cook your Quinoa. The ratio is generally 2 parts water to one part Quinoa and it takes about 15 minutes on the stove.
3- Grate your cheese so it's ready (unless you bought already grated, then you're just waiting!)
4 - Once done, drain the squash and put into blender. Add coconut milk - start with 1/3 cup and add more if needed to get a silky smooth consistency. I needed about 2/3cup.
5 - Add the mustard. Blend well.
6- Add the sauce to your cooked Quinoa and mix. Add cheese.
7- Optional, transfer to ramekins and bake at 375° until bubbly (I didn't do this as I'm bringing it to work for lunches.
Super delicious, getting some veggies and feeling like I just ate something super bad for me.
Sidenote - that squash, before you add the cheese...it could be eaten on its own as soup, it's SO good. I might try that, a little more coconut milk to thin it out a little. YUM!
The beginning of fall also means comfort food. Comfort food is often also calorie heavy and not so diet/macro friendly. While the beauty of IIFYM is that you can eat whatever you want as long as it fits a big bowl of Macaroni and Cheese (not the box stuff, the REAL stuff) can quickly take up your fats and carbs for the day.
I discovered a recipe on Simply Quinoa for 5-ingredient Quinoa Mac & Cheese and knew I had to try it. I adapted the original recipe a little bit for a few reasons.
1) I want to know the weight of things so I get my macros right (1 small butternut squash is too vague for me).
2) I didn't have almond milk (not a big fan) but I did have some lite Coconut milk and figured that would work just fine (I was right).
So here's my version of the recipe and the delicious end result!
Quinoa Mac'n'Cheese
Serves 4354 calories/14g fat/43g carbs/14g protein
- 425.00g Butternut Squash (cut into apx 1" cubes) - this is a small squash
- 2/3 cup Lite Coconut Milk(I used A Taste of Thai)
- 114.00 g Cheddar cheese (this is a little less than 2cups of shredded cheese - I used medium)
- 172g dry weight Quinoa (apx 1 cup)
- 1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard (more if you like)
- Salt to taste
3- Grate your cheese so it's ready (unless you bought already grated, then you're just waiting!)
4 - Once done, drain the squash and put into blender. Add coconut milk - start with 1/3 cup and add more if needed to get a silky smooth consistency. I needed about 2/3cup.
6- Add the sauce to your cooked Quinoa and mix. Add cheese.
7- Optional, transfer to ramekins and bake at 375° until bubbly (I didn't do this as I'm bringing it to work for lunches.
Super delicious, getting some veggies and feeling like I just ate something super bad for me.
Sidenote - that squash, before you add the cheese...it could be eaten on its own as soup, it's SO good. I might try that, a little more coconut milk to thin it out a little. YUM!
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