Ermagerd....Berst Snerck Erver

Thanks to a friend ( currently Facebook only, but fellow Winnipeg photographer so we shall meet at some point I am certain!), I have been introduced to probably the most amazing snack bar EVER!!  Best part is, they are made locally (literally down the street from me!), all natural, and friggin' fabulous.  I seriously just picked up a few samples from Cheryl's home and ate one as soon as I got in the car.  I kid you not, I literally went to Heaven.  I even said, out loud, in the car, by myself "Oooooh. My. God......These are amah-zing."  Today I tried the choco-espresso one and it was so good.  It was moist, tasty (like a brownie) and all natural!!

 

I truly wanted to eat them all to taste them all today, but decided that it would negate the purpose of having them as a snack.  Instead, I am so excited to get up tomorrow so I can try a new flavor!  Serious, though, you need to check out Cranked Energy and give Cheryl some love!! Besides her pictures are massive motivation to keep "on track" which is a nice bonus to following her page!  Also, if you are not in Winnipeg but want to give these beauties a go, she ships them all over Canada!  You can check out her website for more info on that stuff :D  Seriously, screw the processed bars you see in the shops and get the real thing to help get your energy levels up and keep you fully satisfied!!

Another fantastic delight that I have been treating myself to, to help get rid of my sweet tooth, is the delicious Mint Chocolate Rooibos tea from David's Tea.  I am an avid fan of green tea, but lately have been desiring something a bit different.  For Christmas I received a pack of green tea samples (one tastes like cinnamon heart candies!!) as well as a "Passport" teas (essentially teas that reflect various countries.)  The mint chocolate is delightful to smell, but even more yummy to drink!  

I have been slightly better since I wrote the last blog post...except for last night.  We had a get together at my mom's house and there were TONS of appetizers...little did I know, my sister went a smidge crazy with the cream cheese and it was in everything: cheese ball, veggie dip, etc.  So last night was a slightly uncomfortable evening once the cheese got lodged in my intestinal tract (beautiful image, right?)  Then I woke up and felt like I was hungover, so I drank copious amounts of water with lemon to help cure myself!

I have also gone to pilates 2 days in a row now and they were awesome!! I am trying out new activities there and yesterday was Jump Board, which is essentially jumping on a trampoline, horizontally.  Sounds crazy, but it is hard, but delightful as well!  Today's Pilates activity included mat work which was quite difficult (considering how I was feeling) but I felt 1000 X better afterwards.

So, since my last blog post I have been a bit more diligent in my efforts and I hope to stay motivated and get those habits back!  In the meantime, I found a quote that sums me up quite perfectly:

How to Travel and Lose Weight

 Step 1: Make sure that you have connecting flights really close to each other and you will be guaranteed to lose anywhere from 25-50lbs of luggage.  The unfortunate (fortunate?) thing is that you do gain it back the following day.

Just kidding, but to be honest that is the note that our trip started off on!  If you aren't aware, Ryan and I both are hanging out in San Diego at the moment, waiting to board our cruise ship on Friday.  So, while we have only been here 2 1/2 days, I have already been crazily tempted to have lots of bread type items (sandwiches, burgers, toast, etc.)  However, I have been doing good thus far and even better, I have made it a point to do exercise in the morning while I wait for Ryan to wake up.  Yesterday (due to the time difference) I was up at the God awful hour of 6:30 AM and wide awake, so I headed down to the hotel gym which was small, but sufficient.  I did cardio work on the bike and treadmill for a combined 40 minutes then a light upper body workout before heading back upstairs to wake up Ryan.  This morning, I headed outside because it is soooo beautiful out and walked around for about an hour.

 

We are located right downtown in San Diego and right near the waterfront so there is certainly a lot to look for.  I, of course, took my camera as it makes walking so much more fun haha!  In addition to my morning workout/walks, we have also been walking around town a lot just checking out the sights thus far.  

We were supposed to head to the San Diego Safari Park, but when Ryan advised me of the price I said "hell no!" hahah!  So we settled for the San Diego Zoo....and while normally I am against a lot of "captivity" type locations, I heard that this zoo was home to a lot of extinct animals that the only ones left in the whole world could be seen here....so, I gave in and it was pretty amazing.  I didn't take any photos of the animals with my phone, but I will update later once I get Lightroom and Photoshop installed on this computer.  In the meantime, here is a picture of myself and Ryan at the zoo today!

 

 

I truly love it here and I think Ryan and I may have to take a trip back just to enjoy California at some point in the future.  (Perhaps I am a bit biased for this state due to my infatuation with 90210 lately....)

Anyhow, as far as eating goes, I have been careful with what I select 

 and if I have 1 meal with starch, then I try to refrain from it at other meals.  We did eat at this cool restaurant called The Counter, which allows you to build your own burger and both Ryan and I underestimated the size of 2/3lb.  Our burgers were HUGE!

 

They were quite delicious, but next time I would order something smaller, most certainly.  We also stumbled upon a great market which sells nothing but natural, organic food free from preservatives, antibiotics, and other crap that isn't necessary.  So naturally we picked up some sweet potato chips and hummus for the hotel room.  For drinks, I have participated in a yerba mate beverage which is reknowned for its health benefits:  antioxidant effects (great for cancer prevention and mood!), balancing blood sugar levels, improving mood, improved energy, body detoxification, etc.  When I used to body build I read a lot about people who would make Yerba Mate tea to reap these amazing benefits but at the time it was difficult to find.  This store had copious amounts of it...and it was quite delicious I must say!  They had all sorts of nifty health beverages.  So if you are ever near a store called Jimbo's....Naturally!  that is the store you will want to visit to maintain your health whilst traveling!

 

Tomorrow will be another day of walking, photographing and adventuring as Ryan and I head back to Balboa park to take in the Art Museum and Rose Garden (self portrait time!!! It is amazing)  Next time, I will bring a model with me because this place is gorgeous!!  As well, I am going to head to the mall to pick up some outfits for photo shoots when I get home because clothes are stupidly cheap here, but beautiful for photo shoots!  I may have also scouted out a thrift store to visit tomorrow haha!  These things will occur before Ryan wakes up.  So far the trip is going good, I am making sure to workout at least a bit every day in addition to the standard trip walking and I am making 80% healthy choices when we eat!  (There was a cookie incident where they were selling 4 for $4.....)

So This Hot Guy Was Checking Me Out At the Gym....

...turns out he just wanted to use my machine.  Just kidding.  There was no hot guy.  But I WAS at the gym!  YAY!  I went 2 days in a row thus far and feel fantastic! Not only have I gone to the gym, but I have also gotten up early to do so because nobody is at the gym that early.  I also make it a point to make sure I do not even sit in front of the computer before heading out because I know I will waste way too much time on Facebook and then just put off going.


It's funny but true what they say.  Once you get to the gym you will not regret it.  I knew this, but it was just getting to the gym that seemed so difficult, but it really isn't haha! I drove by it how many times but made a plethora of excuses as to why I couldn't go...too busy, the gym is too busy, I forgot my shoes, I don't have the right pants, I need to buy a new shirt first, I don't have my water bottle, etc.  Just stupid. 

 

See, I did go on the treadmill!  Haha!  People were probably confused as to why I was taking pictures of the screen of the treadmill haha!

Also, yesterday I ate relatively good: oatmeal and protein powder for breakfast,  homemade flat breads with tomatoes and fresh basil, and then went to Steph's house for dinner and boardgames where her and Phil whipped up a deliciously healthy dinner.

After I finish this post, I will be heading out to get groceries.  I am reading an amazingly awesome food book and it gets me excited about all the amazing properties that certain food items have!  I am going to head to the health food store to get some of the cool items I have been reading about and will post about them on the blog here as I go through them!  So with that, I am going to head out! 

Date: Nov 5, 2013!
Current weight: 239

Goal for the day: gym! (owned it!)

What is your plan for food today? 

                                                      oatmeal, pb, and protein powder
                                                      chickpea salad
                                                      carmalized pumpkin and pearl barley salad

Planned water intake: 108 oz (5 water bottles full)

Welcome to the Land of All Things Amazingly Detailed

So, yesterday I landed in Vancouver and today was my first full day here and I have to say it was an extremely pleasant day!  We actually accomplished a lot considering we didn't have a lot to accomplish, but sometimes I feel those are the best days.  You know, when you do a lot without planning, but know that if you had planned to do a lot, you wouldn't.  Anyhow, yah, that was my day.

Traveling has always been a weak spot for me as far as eating goes.  The good news is I usually walk a ton, so it usually keeps it at bay.  The other thing was that when I traveled alone, I was usually backpacking which = carrying an excessively heavy bag full of clothes and products and not a lot of money, so I would have to ration what I ate and therefore avoided restaurants as much as possible.  Now that I am traveling as part of a duo and visiting family members we go to restaurants and enjoy alcoholic beverages and good food in larger quantities.  This trip, however, I have been trying to make as good of choices as I can, while still enjoying myself.  Also, it is easier to justify eating a sandwich with yam fries if you know you are going to go for a 2-3 hour bike ride.

Ps. the chocolate bar in the above picture was literally THE best chocolate ever, it had bits of bacon, rose water, roasted salt, etc.  Amazing.  Did I eat the whole thing?  Nope, I gave an inch to Ryan and an inch to Raylene.  I ate the rest of it!!

I absolutely love it here, though.  Vancouver is a beautiful city with so much to do and see and I think even people who live here may feel this way. I did manage to get my thrifting in today which I was extremely happy about .

When I say that this land is amazingly detailed. I mean it! Everything has to be different to standout from everything else, so every one is extremely creative.  Did I participate in a regular mocha this morning?  Heck no!  I enjoyed a delicious pistachio rosewater mocha.  It was delicious.  Back to the chocolate.  What is it your standard run of the mill chocolate?  Heck no! It had bacon and roasted salt.  Was my hotel shampoo good old Pert Plus in fancy bottles?  Heck no!  It is delicious rosy smelling delightfulness!  I think it is so cool that many of the shops here, instead of competing with each other on the same playing field, seem to have truly understood that you should only compete with yourself and create products that are unique and representative of the brand.  It's just amazing to me because most giant stores are having price wars with each other and seriously downgrading the value of their products, instead of trying to find a creative way to just take their product to a totally different level.  Vancouver, you are on to something!

I feel that Vancouver (downtown Vancouver) is EXTREMELY supportive of the local artists and talent here.  Everywhere you look there is a different cafe, bar, restaurant, shop, etc. and other than Starbucks, you will be hard pressed to find franchises along the main streets.  I absolutely love that.  This means that many of the locals are able to be creative, do what they love, and more importantly, share what they love with the world!

Not only did I get in over 10,000 steps today just bopping around looking at all these little shops, I also went with Ryan & Raylene for a bike ride around Stanley Park.  Literally, AROUND the park.  It took us a good 2 hrs I would say to make it fully around, but that could be in part to me stopping every 5 minutes to take a picture of something else.  I haven't ridden a bike in ages, but when you have dedicated bike lanes beside pedestrian walkways, life is 1000 times easier!  Edit: my bum is bruised from the long bike ride. Ouch!

We topped the evening off by enjoying an excessively large supper at The Cactus Club, where I enjoyed a delicious garden salad with lemon thyme dressing (not just italian, balsamic, or thousand island here!).  But I should say in addition to the salad I also enjoyed a lychee martini, shared yam fries and shared flat bread and shared peanut butter crunch dessert.  The good news after all of that? We were so full and didn't know what to do with the rest of our night....so we went to the hotel gym.  I did about 10 minutes on the elliptical, a bit of shoulder workout with weights and practiced my ballet (I missed it tonight :( )  So I felt a bit better afterwards.  Tomorrow will also be a fabulous day because we are going to Capilano to walk the suspension bridge and hang out in another forest! YAY!  For now I am super tired and will sign off! 

Date: October 17, 2013!
Current weight: dont know

Goal for the day: no goal set, but surpassed steps goal :D
What is your plan for food today? 

                                                                   all the things :D

Planned water intake: 108 oz (5 water bottles full)