I think I'm allergic to FALL

Hi everyone...

Today was a hard day, emotional and motivational wise. I've been very moody (it might be that time of the month v. soon), hungry, cranky and lazy!!!

I came home from work and I was starving even though I had my usual snack of KASHI bar and fruit (today was kiwi). So I had an early dinner ahead of my family and ate leftovers. But I found a box of chocolate drumsticks in the freezer and gave in! I felt SOOOOO bad....

My DD was very cranky as well (she had a short nap) and I went through a battle feeding her dinner. That made me so unmotivated to do anything and I skipped BOOTYCAMP. This is the first time I didn't go to class just because I didn't feel like it.

So, of course, I was feeling extra guilty due to my treat and lack of exercise. My hubby was so nice and offered to run a 5k with me, which we haven't done in a while due to my busy schedule.

All dressed up for an outdoor run! I tried looking excited but I felt like crap inside...

It was a beautiful night. The air was cool but not freezing. It was beautiful seeing all the fall colours in our neighbourhood. There is an intersection down the street from our house that has four Maple trees on every corner and it was so much fun running through the crispy yellow and orange leaves each time. We ran around the block 5 times which made it a 5k or 3 miles.

After the run I felt awesome! I was pumped to do some ab workout. I particularly love doing Ab ripper X from the P90x program (which I plan to do this November). But before I could even take my sweater off, I started sneezing consecutively. Then my nose itched like crazy (it still does) and started running like a faucet. I tried ignoring my runny nose while I did Ab ripper because I didn't want to lose my new found motivation.

After the run and ab ripper, I felt amazing! Well, except for the sneezing and a faucet-like nose.

My hubby joining me in my post-workout photobooth pic. I wouldn't have sweat today if it wasn't for him!

Now, as I'm sitting here typing, my nose is still running like a faucet and I have my tissue box close by. I feel totally fine otherwise which makes me seriously think I'm allergic to FALL!!! Last spring, I had the same symptoms that lasted till summer and my doctor said it was just allergies and gave me some nose spray. I seriously can't believe I'm totally allergic to nature. FALL is so beautiful and I was sooo looking forward to running every other night after BOOTYCAMP ended. But, I will still try running outside later this week and I'm hoping that my run tonight and my runny nose was just a coincidence.

I hope you guys enjoy the rest of the week and the beautiful FALL weather.

New stuff and challenges

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Sorry for the unannounced disappearance! I will shortly explain my absence but for now I want to let you know how I'm doing health and weight wise. At last I know how my body works with weight loss. It's pretty simple actually, WHEN I EAT BIGGER PORTIONS, I GAIN; WHEN I CONTROL AND EAT OFTEN, I LOSE!

I've been good with my eating the past few months, thus, the great results I got. But 2 weeks ago, I've been eating bad. You would know if you read my last post. I was pretty horrified when I weighed myself about 3 days after the Canadian thanksgiving holiday. I gained 4 lbs. of the 6 lbs. I lost! I was heart broken. But instead of a pity party and reaching for more sweets, I flicked my brain to healthy eating mode. I WAS DETERMINED. One way to help me eat well is a food log. With a food log, it becomes clear what I can do better on and I improve my eating habits almost instantly.

I would love to post my food log right now, but I am currently blogging through my phone. I'm even surprized I typed so much already I never text, so even with a full keyboard on my phone, I'm still pretty slow. Which leads me to why I'm not on my trusty laptop and have been MIA

3 things:

1.
I got a full time job doing admin and reception at a brand spanking new medical laboratory. I started monday and its doing great.

2.
I was on a hunt for daycare for my DD. I was working part time before, so my hubby and I were taking turns watching my little girl. I found a great home daycare just down the street from where I live. The lady is so sweet and I found out about her through my mom's work. She is with WEE WATCH, a home daycare agency that has been around for a while

3.
It's midterms at school! I had exams 2 weeks in the row and I'm so happy its done! I go to part time evening courses at a downtown college so it doesn't interfere with my work hours. It just eats up a lot of my time :(


So now I am missing my DD and always wonder what she's doing at daycare. It a bit heartbreaking that 2 days a week I don't get to be with her at all since I come home late from school.
Work is slow right because our facility is not officially opened yet, and not being busy makes me go crazy thinking about my DD.

Here's a glimpse of me at my new office:

My Thanksgiving eating marathon

My Thanksgiving weekend was a blast. It was 3 days spent with family and friends. It was also 3 days of food fest.

My Saturday was spent celebrating with my hubby's Dad's side of the family. It was nice to see everyone again and it was nice to see my DD interacting with everyone. The highlight of the night of course was the food. My father-in-law's wife makes such an awesome dinner every holiday and her desserts are so scrumptious. I look forward to having her trifle every time there is an occasion to celebrate.

Here's what I had:

3 thin slices of turkey breast
scoop of Mash potatoes and Squash
scoop of stuffing
topped it all of with delicious gravy

Dessert:
Berry Trifle (a biiiiigggg serving! but apparently no sugar added according to the recipe)
Pumpkin Pie with a cream cheese center (what's Thanksgiving without Pumpkin Pie?)

Then Sunday I spent the day at church since after the service, they had some lunch for the whole congregation to celebrate. My church is predominantly Filipino in population and of course they would serve Filipino Food most of the time.

For Church Lunch I had:

White Rice (about half cup)
Some Pork, Peas and Potatoes stew type of dish (I don't know what it's called)
Garden Salad
Grapes
Puto (little rice flour cake with cheese)

Then in the evening, we went over to my Mom's friend's house to celebrate yet again!!! This time there is no turkey or anything traditional thanksgiving dinner. It was all pure authentic Filipino Food. Which can be scary because I lllloooovvvveee my Filipino food, if I see it, I will gobble it all up.

For Sunday's Filipino Thanksgiving Dinner I had:

3 cube portions Lechon (ROASTED PIG!!! And yes there was an apple in the pig's mouth)
half cup of white rice
2 little slices of Embutido (Some sort of meat loaf type of dish but with ground chicken and more veggies in it)
2 Lumpia (spring roll with pork)

And for dessert I had:

Slice of Apple crumble pie (not exactly Filipino food but it was good!)
Scoop of some kind of Trifle looking dish but with tropical fruits (coconut and other things, lol I had no clue what it is but it was good)

And monday came I thought I was done with the Thanksgiving celebration. Then, my mother dear asked me to cook because they will have some company over (A little too late of a notice wasn't it?) ANYWAY, instead of being upset and panicky, I just said FINE! I WILL COOK, but obviously there will be no turkey. We went to a Chinese Grocery Store because they are the only store open on a Holiday Monday. I found some Cornish Hen and bought four of them.

So basically this is what I whipped up in a flash, I would like to call this my
SPEEDY THANKSGIVING DINNER:

Roasted Sage Cornish Hens
Chestnut and Cranberry Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Squash
Parmesan veggies (steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots and covered in parmesan cheese)
Gravy

I had a little of everything and my cornish hens turned out great. I was nervous they would turn out horrible since this was my first time cooking them. We didn't have any desserts but my Mom made some melon papaya smoothies for everyone. I love her smoothies, that why when her blender broke down a few months back, I bought her a replacement one just to have her smoothies.

Notice I don't have any pictures of the food.

Well, when you have a little toddler running around someone else's house which is full of breakable trinkets and is not childproof in any way, you would forget that you have a camera because you are scared to death that your child might break the Host's expensive Swarovski crystal display. Enough said.

It's the Flu Season!!!

I know it just started but I got the bug already, thankfully it's just a common cold not H1N1.

It started with my Aunt who lives with us, and as soon she mentioned she was sick, my hubby got sick to. Then my DD caught the bug, the poor thing. Then of course it got to me!


I have been so exhausted this week, especially dealing with a sick baby. My DD normally sleeps through the night but since she got the cold, she wakes up at least twice a night because of her stuffy nose. The first few nights she was sick, I let her sleep in her stroller because she couldn't breath lying down. So long story short, I haven't had a good night's sleep for about 5 days now, neither did my hubby.

But hey life goes on and so did Bootycamp. I was actually felt really horrible and stuffed up last Tuesday but I still went. I thought, "It's just gonna be drizzling, it won't hurt me". But oh man, it rained and poured! The workout was great regardless, we just did less exercises on the mat. I felt OK that night after the workout, but the next day, I had body aches and head aches from congestion.

photo credits: here

My hubby and I were both home the next day, so I got to sleep in and recuperate (Thanks Hun!). But I had school in the afternoon/evening and I still felt really sick. I kept repeating to myself that I'm well enough to go, because really I didn't have any choice. Every class I go to is graded so I can't really miss out unless I want a less than stellar marks. So I went to class, did my thing, got home and went straight to bed with a mug of Neocitran and went to bed.

Thank God the next day I felt a whole lot better! I felt like a whole different person. Although, I still woke up at least 4 times that night because my DD couldn't get a good night's sleep. I was tired but I wasn't sick, and I could give all my energy to my baby.

I went again to bootycamp that night and felt great. It wasn't raining and the grass wasn't wet so it was a perfect fall weather for working out outside. Courtney (instructor) made us do a lot of ab work just because of the Thanksgiving coming up. I probably needed it anyway, knowing me with mash potatoes, gravy and stuffing. It's funny how it's not the turkey that I get excited for, it's all the sides that comes with it!

photo credits: here

Anyway, I hope now that the weather is getting colder, we all can take precautions and prevent getting the flu or it's evil cousin, H1N1. We are already handwashing freaks so it's just the flu shots we need to get. Hopefully all of us in the household will be healthy as cow this season and I hope the same for all of you reading this!

And to all my fellow Canadians... Happy Thanksgiving!!!! We are all blessed and we should give thanks not only this holiday but everyday.

photo credits: here

Spicy Chickpeas & Couscous

Last Friday, I found myself at home at lunch with nothing to eat. If my hubby was home, he would suggest a peanut butter and banana sandwich, but I wanted something more exotic than that.

So I searched the cupboards and fridge for something I can whip up in a breeze. I found some couscous and a can of chickpeas and the magic started from there! I love experimenting with food and I got excited because I have never cooked chickpeas with couscous before.

I have heard or seen it on TV and this was my chance to make it my own. I always have tons of spices available and I thought that cumin and ground coriander would go well with it.

Anywho, Here's my recipe for
Spicy Chickpeas and Couscous:

Ingredients:

2 cups of couscous
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/2 sweet onion, diced
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp. of sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper
1 tsp. of cumin
1 tsp. of ground coriander
1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

1. Spray a medium saucepan with Pam and set to medium high heat. Once hot, saute the onions and garlic until the onion are translucent about 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the bell pepper and all the spices and saute for a few more minutes until its fragrant and there are bits stuck at the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the stock to lift the flavors and get the bits out using a wooden spoon. Add the tomatoes and stir and cover and turn up the heat for it to boil.
4. When it is boiling, turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 5 more minutes.
5. Take it off the heat and add the couscous and stir and cover. Leave it for about 10 minutes or whatever it says on the couscous box.
6. After letting it sit, fluff the couscous with a fork. Add your chickpeas and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir it all up.
7. Enjoy your yummy and spicy Couscous and chickpeas!

Now I don't know how low calorie or low fat this is but I think based on the ingredients and style of cooking that this is pretty healthy and won't ruin any diet unless you have too much. You can make this recipe your own by adding veggies that you like.

I only happen to have lettuce, eggplant and peppers in my fridge that day. So I thought I'd add the bell peppers. Zucchini, carrots or any veggies that holds their shape after cooking will be great for this dish.

Also, I really like my food spicy, so when I actually made this, I used almost a tsp. of cayenne. This is something you can play with to suit your spicy taste buds.




My DD loved this even if its a bit spicy and I was surprised that the spiciness didn't bother her at all. Once, I made homemade pad thai and she had no problem gobbling it up. Then halfway through dinner, she started crying and sticking her tongue out. I guess the spiciness caught up with her and she doesn't like rice noodles ever since.

I hope you can try this dish and let me know how you liked it!!!

My first 5k Run for the Cure

Oh wow what a day!!! It started quite early for me than my usual Sunday. But today was no usual Sunday. My crew (Family) and I headed over downtown to the City Hall for the CIBC Run for the Cure. I met with my team 'Booty Camp Fitness' and even met Sammie Kennedy, creator for Booty Camp Fitness! I got a pink camo shirt just like the ones the instructors wear, so that was pretty cool.

Photo credits: here

The ceremonial festivities begun with some performances hosted by local morning radio hosts. Then our team and the crowd of people started warming up to some lively dance music all in unison, and we even got to some squats too (which is oh so popular at Bootycamp). After our bodies were all warmed-up, I had to kiss my DD and hubby for good luck before I headed over to the starting line.

There was tons of people there, and at first I couldn't imagine running or even power walking through the traffic. Eventually, after the 1st kilometer, the crowd of runners spaced out and I got into a good pace. I found that there was a lot of people passing me, but I didn't really care because I knew if I kept my pace, I would less likely run out of energy later on. In the course of the run, there were variety of bands, performers and Djs that helped liven up the atmosphere. I found it very enjoyable and convenient since I forgot to bring my iPod with me.

Photo courtesy of Toronto Sun

I surprised myself not needing to slow down or walk until the probably halfway through. And when I did walk for just a few seconds, my body was already telling me to run again. Sooner than I imagined, the finish line was in sight! I got so excited that I was contemplating sprinting to the finish, but decided against it since I was scared of wearing myself out before I even get there.

And at last, I was greeted by the press, volunteers and cheerers when I got to the end. My finishing time was 34 minutes and I couldn't be more happier. I was just so ecstatic to be able to finish a 5k when pre-pregnancy I couldn't even walk a 5k. The crowd of runners at the finish were all so elated being there and a random dude in front of me even high fived me saying "We did it!!!". But the greatest thing was being greeted by my Hubby, DD, Mom, Tita Heide and Ali. They were after all some of my biggest sponsors and it was so nice of them tagging all just so they can witness me accomplishing what I have been training for.

Top Left: Mom, Tita Heidi & Ali, Bottom Left: Me on the FINISH! with an Asian pose, Middle: Me with my Bootycamp Tee, Mid Right: The Jersey Boys, Bottom Right: DD happy getting her pink ballon

We all walked back together at Nathan Philips Square where the ceremonies were held. We all got bagels, granola bars and juices from the food tent and started watching the show. The Jersey Boys cast performed and SURPRISE! THE JONAS BROTHERS were in our presence. It turned out they ran the 5k as well and they helped award some high school girls who raised tons of money. I found myself being giddy and bedazzled with cute celebritiness... LOL. Too bad I couldn't take a picture since my DD was in my arms. Tita Heidi snapped some pics of them but I am way too lazy to upload the pics from her camera (or even wait for her to send them to me).

Photo courtesy of Toronto Sun

We ended our day window shopping at Eaton Center and eating mall food. But hey! I ordered a pretty healthy Teriyaki Yakisoba Noodle stir fry with tons of veggies. I left half of the noodles on my plate because I honestly think they give you too much than the normal healthy serving.

Today was really really fun! Being able to raise money for Breast Cancer, working out and having fun at the same time is priceless. OH and I soooo love my Bootycamp tee!!! Thank you soooo much for those who donated and for TEAM BOOTY CAMP for letting me be a part of your team!!!

I am also soooo thankful that I have a loving husband who keeps motivating me when I really don't feel like going for a run. He is such an awesome coach!!! We already planned to sign up for the next 10k event of our choice together and hopefully run with our DD with a brand spanking new jogging stroller (I still have to save up for this among other things, but I am being hopeful!)

4 week Weigh-in RESULTS!!!

Photo credits: here

I guess it's pretty obvious that I'm excited. Normally, I would dread this... But if you keep on reading on you'll understand why...

Inches Measurements
Measurement	Start	Week 4	Inches Lost
Upper Arm (lf)	10	10	0
Upper Arm (rt)	10.1	10	0.1
Chest	34.6	33	1.6
Waist	31.1	30.4	0.7
Hips	37.6	36.5	1.1
Buttocks	41.9	41.5	0.4
Upper Thigh (lf)	25	21.5	3.5
Upper Thigh (rt)	24.8	21.9	2.9
My Total Inches	215.1	204.8	10.3

Caliper Measurements (mm)
Measurement	Start	Week 4	mm Lost
Tricep	23	20	3
Suprailium (Waist)	24	20	4
Thigh	32	24	8

Body Fat & Weight
Measurement	Start	Week 4	Lost
Weight (lbs.)	160	154	6
Body fat %	29.6	25.00	4.6
Fat Weight	47.4	38.6	8.8
Lean Mass	112.6	115.4	-2.8

• Lost a total of 10.3 inches all over!!! Majority of those inches are from my thighs, that means the lunges and squats are well worth doing!
• Also lost 6 lbs. (YAY!) from 4 weeks ago and reduced my body fat by 4.6%.
  
• Only 1% of body fat to lose to be in the 'FITNESS LEVEL'!!! A few more plyo lunges to go and I am no longer in the 'ACCEPTABLE' Body fat category!!!
  
• So looking forward to another 4 weeks of Bootycamp because I'm excited to shed more inches and pounds.

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to do my happy dance!!!!

Photo credits: here

I'm feeling guilty

I am such a grouch when it comes to the weather. It's getting a lot colder now and here I am complaining how chilly it is outside. I even posted and grumbled about working out on a cold, rainy night. Now thinking back on how my attitude was, I am feeling so guilty... Why do you ask?

3 words: TYPHOONS IN PHILIPPINES

While I am being grouchy about being cold, my home country of the Philippines is a disaster area and it's people are dire need. The capital of Manila alone have hundreds of thousands of people homeless and hungry because of the worst flooding they encountered in years. Hundreds of people have died in the process and hundreds more are missing. More deets in this article here.



If you would like to donate, it would help out a lot. Another Super Typhoon is on it's way right now, and I'm just praying for everyone in the Philippines be blessed and have God's protection.



To make an online donation in Canada through Canadian Red Cross, select 'Philippine Typhoons' in the funds designation option.



To make an online donation in US, you can select the International Response Fund option in the American Red Cross site.



Now tonight, I will definitely brave the cold when I go to Bootycamp and not complain about it. Even when I strip down to my t-shirt to get my MEASUREMENTS! (I will surely write about it on the next post)

I am so blessed living in Canada compared to my fellow Filipinos back in the home country. Aside from donations, they are also in my prayers and I urge everyone to pray for them as well. God said in his word that there is definitely power in prayers and if you ask, you shall receive.

I pray that those who have lost so much in the flooding will RECEIVE bountiful blessings from the Lord.

All photos taken from Yahoo News Photos