Fall Fitness Challenge - We made it!

I can't believe that I am finally done the Fall Fitness Challenge! For the past 14 weeks have been a really eye opener to how I needed to improve my health. At the beginning of this challenge, I laid out some goals and here is how I made out with them.

1. Increase endurance and strength: Get back to biking and swimming. Keep up the running to improve my time and distance.

At the beginning of the challenge, I really focused on increasing my endurance. I kept it up and was able to complete my first 5km!

At the ZooRun in October

 For the second half of the challenege, my focus switched over to increasing my strength. I started taking weekly BodyPump classes (love it!) and unofficially added "Learn to do Pushups" to my goals. When I first started out I was unable to do ANY. I mean, I'd fall and not be able to push back up. It was pathetic. Now, I can do 20 girlie or 5 traditional in a row. For me, this feels amazing. Every time I do them, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. I tried to fit them in whenever I can: right before bed, waiting for the dog to finish eating, etc. I definitely want to keep this up and see how many I can work up to.

2. Healthier Food Choices: Lose the processed foods. Focus on fresh homemade meals and portion control.

This has been one of the hardest parts of the challenge. I'm not a huge processed food fan by any means. I rarely eat takeout and when I do go out for dinner, I try to pick healthier options. However, I have a real weakness for baked goods and chocolate. When I make cookies, I always end up eating way too many. So how did I try to curb this? By packaging them up and giving them away when I can. My poor boyfriend has had to take one for the team sometimes and eat up the extras.

The good news is that I still eat plenty of fruits, veggies, lean proteins and whole grains, which conveniently are all foods that I like. I plan to keep this up and hopefully learn to wean off the baked goods.

3. Increase Flexibility: More pilates and yoga. Remember to stretch regularly.

This is probably where I've seen the most improvement. When I started out, I had been pretty lax about stretching and my Pilates classes at been on hiatus of the past 3 months, so almost all the flexibility I had gained there was gone. This is about as far as I could touch my toes:

Source

Now, I can do this:

Source

Hands all the way to the ground? Unheard of!

I feel much more limber and on the days that I don't stretch or do some form of yoga or pilates, I crave it. I try to do Bedtime Yoga as much as possible and I ALWAYS stretch after any form of exercise. It makes a huge difference in how my body feels.

4. Lower my BMI and Body Fat Percentage
My results aren't incredibly dramatic, but considering I was already in okay shape, this is pretty good. Here are how my stats have changed in the past 14 weeks:

Lowered by Body Fat Percentage by 4.2%
I gained 7.3 lbs in muscle mass (I told you I was getting stronger!)
Lost 6.1 lbs in fat.

I'm really pleased with how things turned out. I want to keep trying to lower my BMI and maintain my muscle mass where it is right now. (This week's stats at the bottom)

5. Consistent Dedication: Try new classes to keep motivation up. Keep track of progress right here on Small Home Big Start with weekly posts about the Fall Fitness Challenge.

Trying new things was one of the funnest parts of the challenge. I tried Hot Yoga, Bootcamp, BodyPump, participated in a Bike Race and ran a 5km.
I have faithfully posted every week about my progress and I have to admit that this was HUGE in motivating me to keep going. I didn't want to let you guys down, and most of all I didn't want to let myself down.

Overall:

I'm glad that I took the time to do this. Its been an eye opener and helped me focus on lifelong changes, not quick fixes. I've added an Exercise Log to keep my accountable (to myself) and I'll link up to that on the blog soon. I'm going to continue working on this through the holidays and lets see where I am come New Years. I'm going to run, swim, bike and push my way through all the holiday indulgences, while still enjoying them :)

Exercise Log:

Wed, Dec 1: Day Off + Lots of Walking
Thurs, Dec 2: BodyPump
Fri, Dec 3: Bowling with the family
Sat, Dec 4: Bootcamp
Sun, Dec 5: Day Off
Mon, Dec 6: Pilates
Tues, Dec 7: BodyPump

Stats <---To check out your own stats, click here!

Body Mass Index: 24.5

Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.43

Percent Body Fat: 24%

Lean Body Mass: 118.8 lb

Fall Fitness Challenge - Week 14 : Changing your Philosophy

The greatest thing I have noticed from this Challenge is that my philosophy has changed on what it means to me to be fit. I used to be the kind of person who worried about a number on a scale or kept a food diary meticulously writing down caloric intake. Now I'm focused on improved health, strength and flexibility. Interestingly enough I now want to eat healthier and look forward to my workouts, because they don't seem like stressful work. Don't get me wrong, I still struggle to get through most of my workouts, but I know that when its all done I'll feel better for having done it.

When I don't have the time to fit something it, my muscles feel tight and my body feels sluggish. Its like my body now craves doing something physical, even if its just a few forward stretches while I'm getting ready for bed. Any little bit of movement helps.

This is the final week of the Fall Fitness Challenge, so I'm looking forward to almost being done! Its been great to how things have changed mentally and physically for me and I know that I'll be keep it up even after I stop blogging about it.

This week's exercise was really focusing on stretching and building muscle, with no cardio, I'm hoping to get back on the indoor bike soon though (as running is just too cold here.)

Exercise Log:
Wed, Nov 24: Yoga
Thurs, Nov 25: BodyPump
Fri, Nov 26: Day Off
Sat, Nov 27: Day Off
Sun, Nov 28: Bedtime Yoga + 10 Girlie Pushups
Mon, Nov 29: Pilates
Tues, Nov 30: Bedtime Yoga + 10 Girlie Pushups

My stats are still getting better every week, and only one week left! Can't wait to see how the stats have all turned out at the end of the 15 weeks.

Stats <---To check out your own stats, click here!

Body Mass Index: 24.5

Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.44

Percent Body Fat: 25.4%

Lean Body Mass: 118.3 lb

Fall Fitness Challenge Week 13 : Finding the Time

Sometimes I find it impossible to find the time to fit in some physical exercise, whether its work, plans with friends or just being too tired. I've found three ways to help motivate me to find the time to work out and I thought I'd share them with you:

1) Schedule: First and foremost, I try to schedule my workouts like any other meetings that I have. Usually at the beginning of the week I'll look at my schedule on my blackberry and try to plan out one good time every day to do some cardio, fit in an Office Workout or catch a class. On the days where it doesn't work out for some reason, I'll do Bedtime Yoga and some pushups before I go to bed. And if I'm too tired to even to that? I just let myself off for that day and plan to put in extra effort the next. As long as I get in at least 4 days of activity a week, I'm happy.

2) Make Plans with Friends: Why not accomplish two things at once and meet your friends to workout? I have a few girlfriends who I like to make plans with to go to fitness classes and we usually catch up before and after the class. Working out with other people also helps motivate me to try harder, because I'm not going to slack when my friends are there.

3) Break it up: If I don't have the time to do it in an 30-60 minute chunk of time, I'll break my workout into two 15-30 minute sets. My favorite combination is to do my cardio in the morning on the bike and then doing the Office Workout on my break at work.


This week's log is reflective of a busy, sleep deprived week, so I only fit in a few things, but I've already made my schedule for the next week to try even harder. Only two weeks left until the end of the Challenge!

Exercise Log:
Wed, Nov 17: Bedtime Yoga + 10 Girlie Pushups
Thurs, Nov 18: Office Workout
Fri, Nov 19: Day Off
Sat, Nov 20: Hot Yoga
Sun, Nov 21: Day Off
Mon, Nov 22: Pilates
Tues, Nov 23: Day Off

Stats <---To check out your own stats, click here!

Body Mass Index: 24.2

Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.44

Percent Body Fat: 25.8%

Lean Body Mass: 116.4 lb

Fall Fitness Challenge - Week 12 : Surviving the Holidays

With American Thanksgiving only a week away and Christmas shortly behind it, there are plenty of opportunities for Holiday indulgences to sneak in on our regular healthy eating. Being prepared and proactive before the mayhem even starts will make it easier to not only enjoy the treats of the Holiday, but come out of it without that tired old New Years resolution to lose weight.

Image Source

Don't skip meals

It may be tempting to not eat breakfast to "make more room for the good stuff" as my cousin says, but this may backfire on you. When you let yourself get too hungry, you may end up eating over indulging in more unhealthy food later on.

Make sure to stick to your normal eating schedule: Breakfast, light snack, lunch and another light snack before you go to the dinner/party. Keep your snacks between 100-150 calories and focus on protein and fiber-rich vegetables. They'll keep you full longer. Eating these foods that will keep you full longer will help you feel less deprived later if you're cutting back on calories at the party too.

Woman's Day has a great ideal pre-party day of eating in their October 2010 issue.

Breakfast: Egg-white omelet (4-5 egg whites) stuffed with tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli or nonstartchy veggies of your choice; an orange or half a grapefruit

Lunch: Large tossed salad with unlimited nonstartchy vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, celery, etc) topped with 5-6 oz chicken or turkey breast or shrimp, and tossed with 2 tbsp light salad dressing

Snack: 1 apple (or orange) and a part-skim string cheese.

Inevitably, most of the food at holiday events are high calorie, and you'll end up eating hor d'oeuvres before dinner, etc. Save your calories for these high ticket items by focusing on eating lean protein (chicken, fish, turkey, etc) and veggies earlier in the day, eating more food with fewer calories. Stay away from fat, sugar and startch as you'll be getting plenty of them later.

Image Source

Drink lots of water.

Wth all the mayhem of the holidays, it is easy to get dehydrated and often times mild dehydration can be mistaken as hunger. Drink plenty of water before and after a meal. As a general rule, I drink 1-2 glasses of water before a meal. It starts to fill you up before you've even taken your first bite. You'll be less inclined to go back for seconds.

Seconds

If you do want to go back for seconds, stick to the things that will keep you full longer like lean meats and vegetables. The protein and fiber with stick with you much longer than carbs.

Cocktail Parties

Cocktail parties are a wonderful part of the Holidays, but they can also be full of calorie-laden foods and drinks. Some drinks can easily be as rich as a dessert. It isn't always easy once you get into the Holiday spirit, but try to limit yourself to one or two drinks.

Image Source

Or alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks. my personal favorites is to take club soda or seltzer, add in a splash of cranberry juice and a little lemon zest. It looks like a fun and fancy cocktail, but its much better for you.

Enjoy your favorites

Don't deny yourself your favorite treats, just keep them in moderation. You need to remember that this is not the last time in your life that you're going to get to enjoy this. So instead of eating a large portion to get your fill of something, try taking a smaller portion, but truly enjoying each bite. You may find that its more satisfying. If its a treat that I'm enjoying at home, I'll sometimes have half one day and the other half the next. Then it feels like I've got to have it twice, when really it was just cut in half.

Taking the time to exercise

It may be hard to find time to exercise during the mayhem of the season, but its important to take time between all the cocktail parties, shopping for the perfect gifts and making costumes for the school pagent to take some much needed time for yourself. Exercise will also help you deal with some of the stress, and we can all use a little relief in that department, right?

Image Source

Aim to get 30-60 minutes 4-5 days a week, even if its just going out for an evening walk. Use the time to think over what is truly important for the season. Is it having the perfect looking house? Or is it creating memories with family and friends? Sometimes going out for some fresh ait can clear your head and make you see what is really important in life (plus your dog will love the fresh air too)

If you're looking for some inspiration, check out the 6 week bootcamp to fight Holiday indulgence that The Globe and Mail just released this week.You can check it out here.

- - -

Now onto this week's log. I started off this week still sore from last week's BodyPump class, so I was trying to forced to take it easy for a few days.

Exercise Log

Wed, Nov 10: Bedtime Yoga

Thurs, Nov 11: Day Off

Fri, Nov 12: Indoor Bike 30 Min + Lots of Dancing with friends!

Sat, Nov 13: Boot Camp

Sun, Nov 14: Day Off

Mon, Nov 15: Day Off

Tues, Nov 16: BodyPump

Lean muscle mass continues to go up and body fat percentage keeps going down. I guess I'm doing something right :)

Stats <---To check out your own stats, click here!

Body Mass Index: 24.2

Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.43

Percent Body Fat: 25.1%

Lean Body Mass: 117.4 lb

Fall Fitness Challenge - Week 11 : Pump It Up!

Last night I tried my first BodyPump class! For years I have been reading about it on some of my favorite fitness blogs (including Carrots 'n' Cake and Peanut Butter Fingers). A good friend of mine takes the class at a gym here in Toronto and offered to take me to the class and show me the ropes.

The class was about 60 minutes long and broken up into 8 seperate muscle-group specific songs or "tracks", as well as a warm up track and a cool down track. Using a mix of free weight plates, barbells and an aerobic step, we focused on major muscle groups using a variety of squats, presses and deadlifts. It really tests your muscle endurance using many repetitions.

By the time we got to the tricep track my arms were shaking and the lunge track just about made my legs collapse in effort. But at the end of all that sweat and hard work it felt really great to feel like I'd accomplished something.

So how did I feel this morning? Sore all over! But in a good way, like I'd pushed my body to try something new. I'll was able to get a free 3 class pass for doing a tour of the facilities, so I will definitely be coming back to try the class again. It made me realize that maybe I'm not pushing myself in my strength workouts as much as I could be.

Exercise Log
Wed, Nov 3: Day Off
Thurs, Nov 4: Bedtime Yoga + 10 girlie pushups
Fri, Nov 5: Indoor Bike (30 min - 8.92 miles
Sat, Nov 6:Day Off (Insanely busy weekend with the Bonfire Party)
Sun, Nov 7: Day Off
Mon, Nov 8: Bedtime Yoga + 10 girlie pushups
Tues, Nov 9: BodyPump

Despite having a really slow workout week, I did well in the stats this week. I'm feeling stronger all the time!

Stats <---To check out your own stats, click here!
Body Mass Index: 24.2
Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.44
Percent Body Fat: 25.8%
Lean Body Mass: 116.1 lb

If you want to check your own stats, click on the the link.

I've been doing well with cutting back on sugar, except for my break this weekend when I did the Bake-Off with my sister. You can't really compete in that without eating sugary treats all day. Now I'm back on track and focused for the last 4 weeks of the challenge!

FFC Recipe: Roasted Eggplant Marinara Sauce

As part of the Fall Fitness Challenge, I have been trying to eat healthier meals, incoporating more vegetables and less refined-white carbs. One of my favorite recipes that I've made during this challenge is this Roasted Eggplant Marinara Sauce, using up all the produce I'd picked up at the local farmer's market. In lieu of regular white pasta, I decided to use spaghetti squash, although I would have also gone with a small portion of a nice whole wheat pasta too. For a little extra protein, I served it up with a nice chicken breast cooked with a little olive oil in a pan while the sauce was finishing up. This made plenty of leftovers for me to take for lunches to the office. It was a great very-filling meal that I'll be sure to make again.

What you'll need:
1 large Eggplant
Kosher Salt
4 cloves Garlic, minced
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 large Onion
1 Green Pepper (I used a bit of red pepper too because I had it in the fridge)
1 28oz can of Tomatoes
A handful of Fresh Basil Leaves
2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Hot Chili Flakes

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Slice and cube eggplant. Lay out on paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Leave for 30 minutes to let the bitter juices of the eggplant come out. Rinse and pat dry.

Toss eggplant, garlic, salt, pepper and 1 tbsp of olive oil into a large baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until eggplant is browned, stirring once.

It is so delicious and golden right now that I usually eat a few pieces out of the pan. De-lish!

Pour remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil into a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add onion, stirring often until onion is almost soft.

Add in peppers and continue to cook for a few more minutes.

Toss in roasted eggplant.

Add tomatoes, basil, oregano and chili flakes. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened. After about 35-40 minutes, check consistency and adjust with salt and pepper to taste.

I served it on spaghetti squash, with a pan-fried chicken breast on the side.

Makes approx 6 servings.

Printable Version
Nutritional Information

Fall Fitness Challenge Week 10 : Post-Halloween Sugar Detox

After the sugar-laden weeks leading up to Halloween, I've decided to go into a big of a sugar detox. I was just eating too much sweet things and I think that it was starting to negatively affect me.

image source

There is no way that I can cut sugar out of my diet completely, but there are things that I can do to limit how much sugar I consume. I'm still allowing myself to have one treat a day, whether its a couple of homemade cookies, a piece of really good chocolate or a small serving of apple crisp. I'm also trying to cut back on how much white, refined carbs I'm eating, because those may has well be sugar too.

Is anyone else feeling the need for a little sugar detox?

Exercise Log:

Wed, Oct 27: Bedtime Yoga + 10 girlie pushups
Thurs, Oct 28: 30 min Indoor Bike 8.83 mi + Abs Intervals (warm up 1.30 mi, abs, 10 min
                        3.17mi, abs, 10 min 3.15mi, abs, cool down 1.21 mi)
                        Office Workout
Fri, Oct 29: 30 min Swim (68 lengths)
Sat, Oct 30: Day Off!
Sun, Oct 31: Day Off!
Mon, Nov 1: Pilates
Tues, Nov 2: 30 min Indoor Bike (8.43 miles) + Bedtime Yoga & 10 girlie pushups

Stats
Body Mass Index: 24.2
Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.44
Percent Body Fat: 27.5%
Lean Body Mass: 113.3 lb

Fall Fitness Challenge Week 9 : Work Out Buddies

Sometimes I need a real kick in the butt to get motivated to stay active, and the best motivation I've found is working out with supportive friends. Knowing that someone else is counting on you to get to the gym or walk the dogs to the park together, makes it easier to get up and go.

One of my favorite active Fall activities to do with family and friends is hiking in the woods. The trees are gorgeous, the air is crisp and there are fewer bugs. If the trail permits it, I like to take Whiskey and encourage friends to bring along their dogs too. This picture is from a hike my sister and I did with the dogs last Thanksgiving. It was cold, hence the very puffy vest, gloves and hot tea in hand. We were outside for over 2 hours hiking along and catching up. Our minds were focused on the conversation at hand, but our bodies were still getting a good workout.

This week, I wanted to try a yoga class at a new studio that opened up in my area. I gave my friend Coutney a shout to see if she'd like to come along. It was nice to try out the new studio and class with someone else, making it less intimidating and a little more fun too. The class turned out to be great and we both liked it, so now if either of us feelings like going, we always have a workout buddy on hand to go.

I went looking for a picture of Coutney and I for this post and when I found this one from August it made me realize two things: 1) I have already lost this tan from the summer and am approaching albino-white again and 2) I  iss my hair being this long. This always happens. When its long, I want it shorter. When its shorter I miss the length. I can be so indecisive sometimes.

But back to the issue at hand, here is the Exercise Log for the week. I put in a few good bikes rides (2 indoors and 1 outdoors), 2 new yoga classes and a few bedtime yoga sessions this week. I did not do any days of rest, deciding to switch to "active days of rest", meaning I still did something, even if it was just taking Whiskey for a long walk and then doing bedtime yoga before I hit the hay. I also increased my girlie pushups up to 10 (still can't believe this) and I'm going to strive to add more real pushups into it this week.

Exercise Log:

Wed, Oct 20:  Bedtime Yoga + 2 pushups and 6 girlie pushups
Thurs, Oct 21: Indoor Bike doing Intervals (5 min warm up + 30 min of 30 sec high intensity and 1 min medium intensity)
Fri, Oct 22: Bedtime Yoga + 10 girlie pushups.
Sat, Oct 23: Yoga Class + 30 min Bike Ride (15 min there and 15 min back)
Sun, Oct 24: Yoga Class
Mon, Oct 25: Abbreviated Bedtime Yoga + 10 girlie pushups
Tues, Oct 26: Indoor Bike Ride 9.06 miles + Arm Intervals (5 min warm up 1.29m, 10 min 3.33m, arms interval, 10 min 3.30m, arms intervals and 5 min cool down 1.14m)

The past two weeks I've been gaining weight, but my pants are fitting a bit better and I feel alot stronger. Sure enough, when I did my stats, I'm gaining more muscle by the week. I went back to look at a fitness log I did at the beginning of the year and since last January I've added almost 8 lbs of muscle. I looked even further back to when I did a fitness assessment a gym two years ago this month and I have gained 15 lbs of muscle. I'm not trying to become a muscly person by any means, but its a great feeling to know that you are getting stronger and that soon I'll be able to change some of the fat I'm still harbouring into more lean muscle. Feeling stronger is a great feeling.

Stats
Body Mass Index: 24.3
Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.44
Percent Body Fat: 26.9
Lean Body Mass: 115 lb

So, this week's question is:

What do you like to do active with friends and family?

Bike rides? Ultimate Frisbee League? Swimming? Walking the Dogs?

Fall Fitness Challenge Week 8 : ZooRun

This past Saturday, I did something that 5 months ago I would never have believed: I ran my first 5km race! I picked the Oasis ZooRun because it seems like not only a challenging race (lots of hills!) but you get to see animals as you go along!

My good friend Ashley joined me for the run. We did the whole 5 km in 33 minutes and placed 178 + 179 out of the 778 women at the run/walk! Not too bad for my first time! Its incredible that we even made it to the race due to some last minute road closures. We had given ourselves an extra 30 minutes to warm up, stretch, etc but we ended up getting to the parking lot with only 5 minutes to spare. We actually had to run to the starting line just to get there in time for the guns to go off. But we made it and thats what matters!

 

I also ran into one of my old roommates from university. She and her boyfriend had planned to walk it, but when they got there, they got the itch to run it too.

After the run, we all decided to walk around the zoo for a little while.

These polar bears looked like they could use a little bit of shampoo.

 

This one was happy to put on a good show, swimming around for people.

Splish Splash!

One of us decided to go in the children's tunnel thing.

But he got a little cramped and had to use the door to get out. Poor guy, haha.

While we were on the run, we ran past these beautiful arctic wolves.

They are absolutely gorgeous. If only they were as friendly as Whiskey ;)

There were so many fascinating animals there, like these marsupials.

Emerald Green Snakes all curled up.

Little baby Crocodiles with big sharp teeth.

A big gorilla spooning with a little baby gorilla. So cute!

Gorgeous tropical fish!

And last but not least, we saw a wonderfully majestic tiger.

I think these beautiful creatures have to be one of my favorites at the zoo.

It was so great to do this with two of my dearest friends and its already given me the itch to do another race in the Spring! I have the whole Winter to train for it this time and hopefully I'll be able to take on a greater challenge.

This week, I'd love to hear about a fitness challenge that you have taken on. Was it a run/walk event like I just did? A triathalon? Getting back into shape after a hiatus? Post a comment and let me know!

Have you ever taken on a fitness challenge? 

What was your motivation to keep going?

Exercise Log:

This week was a little busy, but I was still able to fit in a few cardio sessions, some strength training and increase the number of girlie pushups I can do. Hopefully I'll be able to do full ones by the end of the Challenge!

Wed, Oct 13: After talking about how much I love to swim, I fully intended to go this day, but when I got there, the pool was closed for repairs :( So instead I did the Office Workout at my office for 15 minutes, followed by some Bedtime Yoga later that night and 7 girlie pushups. Not as great as going for a swim, but I was definitely feeling it the next day!
Thurs, Oct 14: Indoor Bike
Fri, Oct 15: Late Night Dancing. Bedtime Yoga + 7 girlie pushups
Sat, Oct 16: ZooRun, 5km, Late Night Dancing
Sun, Oct 17: Day Off! After an action-packed weekend, I needed a day off! But I still managed to do some Bedtime Yoga (+ 8 girlie pushups) before I hit the hay to help calm all my nerves for the upcoming work week.
Mon, Oct 18: 30 minute Swim (68 lengths or 1.24 km)
                       Pilates
Tues, Oct 19: Day Off! Feeling kind of sore. Bedtime yoga + 8 girlie pushups.

I love seeing my body fat percentage go down and my lean body mass go up every week. It helps confirm that this feeling that I'm getting stronger is not just in my own imagination. To me, this means so much more than any number on a scale. Its motivation to keep going!

Stats
Body Mass Index: 24.1
Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.44
Percent Body Fat: 26.6%
Lean Body Mass: 114.5

To do your own stats, click on the stats link to plug in your own values.