Sugarfree!

15 days and I'm holding strong against the relentless, yet delicious, culprit: SUGAR! There have been days of agonizing pain as I watch Evan power back butter tarts and chocolate bars. In fact, just last night Kristin (of Skinny Jeans) brought contraband into my apartment - chocolate peanut butter contraband!!!

I have managed to fool myself into thinking that plain, non-fat yogurt is actually dessert and that an apple is better than chips. I feel good, really good, in fact the scale feels good too! I am now down 10 full pounds since mid-June when we started the Skinny Jeans. The sugarless diet is responsible for at least 6 of these pounds. Woot!

I am now officially obsessed with....

I have located the email address for the casting director, and will now bombard them with emails until they start accepting applicants from Ontario! They currently only take applicants from Vancouver! Not even the whole province, just the city! It is now going to be my mission to get my ass kicked by Tommy and Nadeen.

- Brianne

It's the Humidity That Kills Ya

You've heard of hot yoga. Well. Hot about hot bush hikes?

This morning, I dragged Toby and the dogs out to Uisage Ban Falls (Ish-ka-ban, silly Gaelic). It's set to storm later today. We've also had the pleasure of a heat wave for the past week. So you can imagine the humidity going on in this Nova Scotian forest.

It was a pleasant hike, only 1 hour altogether. The bridge was out or we could've walked more! Rocks were slippery, dogs were in the water, and i had some major SWASS and SWEAVAGE by the end.

So I guess it does pay to chase waterfalls... we finally found one!

Northern Ladies

My lovliest westcoast lady has officially joined the skinny jeans collective. Welcome Jessica!

Let me just say, Jess, your picture is damn hot. Where can I get a hat as hot as yours?

To my left is a picture of Jess and I - although the hat in this picture is much less than fantastic. It does show that Jess has always had that "country flare".

NOTE: the Skinny Jeans collective is now 4/5 b-otch. I wonder if we could get some Serbian representation on here... :)

FYI

Crystal Light does not make good popsicles. In fact, the Crystal Light powder is not soluble in water at low temperatures and separates completely, leaving you with ice on a stick.

-Al

I need some help!

After getting this:
I am trying to find some low impact workouts so that I can still stay in shape while it's healing. (It looks a little crooked, but it's because I was turned slightly. I assure you, my artist did a phenomenal job!)

So what low impact, non-stretchy, non-rubby workouts can I do while it heals? I'm even worried about running and sweating too much during the scabbing process!

-Stevie

Who needs a Gym?

I spend most of my lunch hours running along the canal in Ottawa, so it’s very hard to get me into the gym on a gorgeous day. Since Friday is one of my days-off running and I still wanted to be outside, I went with some coworkers to the park to hula hoop in the sunshine. Sarah, our resident expert hula hooper and the lovely lady who constructed and gave me my first hoop, even taught us some new moves. It was so much fun! Even though hula-ing doesn’t make you sweat like Body Step or make your muscles shake like Body Pump, it sure beats eating Chinese take-out in your cubicle!

-Al

The Loop

With some gentle encouragement from Allison, I set out yesterday to run the full loop around the canal (approximately 8km not including the hills). At first I was skeptical of my ability to complete this run as it will be the farthest I have ever run at once. On top of that, it was 30 degrees and full afternoon sunshine.

This is the route:

I amazed myself with my determination to complete the run - and I completed it in approximately 1 hour. I still am unable to run straight through, I stop about every 10 minutes to walk and catch my breath. The course was actually quite nice, lots of things around to keep the mind occupied. Now, there were probably 5-6 hills that probably pushed the course between 8.5-9km and the map does not take these into consideration.

I am also now on day 6 sans-booze and sans-junkfood. On Friday I resisted temptation when Costin and Kristin powered back some tasty chips (in sympathy, amazing Allison did not partake in the chips, thanks Al!). I also resisted temptation on Saturday night at a BBQ where there was beer and wine consumption (Kristin also avoided the hooch in solidarity). It's actually getting easier I think - I've tricked myself into thinking that plain lowfat yogurt is a tasty treat! If only it could get me drunk.... ;)

- Brianne

I’ve found that one of the key components to getting in shape, and staying in shape, is a workout buddy who is just as motivated as you. Op. Skinny Jeans is a perfect way to band together for hotness, but I’ve also found that getting to the gym alone is a lot more difficult then if you actually have plans to go with someone else. Since the rest of the crew is in Ottawa/out East, I’m rocking the workouts solo here in Toronto.

Fortunately a work friend has become my workout buddy. This has helped in getting my butt to the gym at lunch, instead of eating crap from the Queen West area, and also resulted in a morning run last week. Since he met in front of my building, I had no option but to drag myself out of bed and go running. I am not a morning person at all, but it definitely feels good getting out before work and hitting the pavement. One big surprise is that there sure are a lot of people out early in the morning! The mornings in Toronto are for runners, which is something I noticed early Saturday mornings when I haul ass on my long runs. They are everywhere (with some hardcore cyclists in the mix as well)!

Last week, in part thanks to Dave, I made it to the gym every single day. He’s been working out with a personal trainer where as I have been flopping around trying to figure out a good workout plan. I think my next step is to get a trainer for a few weeks and see what happens.

On another exciting note, I am currently wearing my skinny jeans. Not just any skinny jeans, but a pair that I wore when I was 19 and weighed about 102 lbs. YES.

Positives this week: Did not have a drop of alcohol until Friday (2 gin & tonics).
Worked out every single day.

Negatives: Nachos from La Hacienda. Mmm.

--Stevie

PMS + Conference = no training and poor diet

I haven’t trained since the 16K I ran last Saturday and I’ve been eating complete garbage all week at the conference including alcohol, a Caramilk bar AND an entire chocolate croissant. DAMN PMS! It’s no wonder I am fat and have a zit with its own gravitational pull.

I did try to run Monday. I even used Mapmyrun.com, the best website ever, to map what I thought was an 8K run around Mount Royal. I began to suspect I was wrong about the “around” part after a 20 minute vertical climb. After 40 minutes, I stopped at a scenic look out to catch my breath and tried to stay long enough to see one of the raccoons bite the tourist who was trying to feed it a chocolate bar. It’s like I’m being haunted by chocolate. The sun was setting and the bugs had come out, so I thought it would probably best to run back down the way I had come and not continue up the mountain. That 8K measurement was definitely “as the crow flies”. Every other running attempt was thwarted by "networking" opportunities which inevitably included fatty food and booze.

To make up for my week of sloth, I am going to join Bree and Kris for a double (step and body pump) even though the last thing I want to do is squeeze my bloated, beached whale body into an outfit that will surely accentuate my burgeoning muffin tops.

-Allison

I Bonked.

Today I bonked, and I bonked really, really hard. In case you're getting strange, pervy ideas, know this:

"Bonk has long been a colloquial term, slightly jocular in its connotation, meaning sexual intercourse, but has recently become more commonly used as a jargon term by endurance athletes, primarily cyclists and long-distance runners, to describe a condition when the athlete suddenly loses energy and fatigue sets in, usually caused when glycogen stores in the liver and muscles are depleted, resulting in a major performance drop."-Wikipedia (The Athena of the Internet)

Sure, it used to mean sex but us athletes have re-purposed it for our own twisted usage. Nothing wrong with that! While running my late evening run, after a lunch spent lifting weights and doing abs, I suddenly completely froze up. There I was, running up Bathurst street towards Bloor when all of my joints froze. My back tightened, my neck spasmed, and my eyes felt incredibly heavy. I thought this was punishment for a week with my good old friend alcohol but really it was just my body telling me that I need to up my caloric intake with something that doesn't begin with R and end with YE.

So there I was on Bathurst, completely frozen. Some man actually asked if I was okay, but I couldn't even see him because he looked like a purple alien. I think I uttered a "mrrawwwwwww" noise when my body began to function again. Rather than sit down and relax after such a strong bonk, I put the nikes to the asphalt and bolted on out of there in embarrassment. Today was not a successful day for running.

I made it back home and made sure to lie flat on my back for awhile until the weird hues disappeared from my eyeballs. Welcome to marathon training, section PAIN. We'll see how I do tomorrow, though I think a nice quiet session of hot yoga is just what the doctor ordered.

**I am now completely on a week-long detox. Cleanse suggestions are also welcome. This summer I have been partying more than I did when I was in first year, and my body is no longer 19. Note to self.

- Stevie

Bootcamp

I've been watching too much Slice. In particular, I've been watching too much "Last 10lbs Boot Camp". In fact, I tried to find out how to apply for the show ...but I just couldn't find the email address!

So, I'm starting my OWN last 10lbs boot camp! In exactly 30 days I am attending a wedding in St. Catharines and I want to look H-O-T! So, I'm mandating a strict diet & exercise regimen to boot camp my booty.

In June I found a dress in my closet that I wore on my 19th birthday (why do I still have this?) - Allison actually wore it out dancing one night last month. It looked fabulous on her. It didn't look quite so fabulous on me.

Anyone who's seen the Last 10lbs Boot Camp knows that there is always a "target outfit". Yes ladies (and gentlemen?), I am going to make this teeny tiny size 6 little black dress my target outfit. Am I crazy? Possibly.

Today was t-minus 30 days, and it was a fabulous day. I dragged Kristin to the gym with me for a scandalous double of Body Pump and Body Step. I also managed not to drink any wine or eat any contraband (ie: junk food, in particular junior mints).

29 more fabulous days to go! :)

- Brianne

The Triple

Allison and I have been using a sticker system to keep track of our workouts on our home calendar. Each sticker represents either a class at the gym, a run or any other cardio of at least 45 minutes.

Previously, we have attempted the "double" - one Body Pump class followed by one Spin class. The double can be both terrifying and exhilerating at the same time.

As you can see, last Sunday I did the Body Step & Body Flow double - the t.v. and ice cream are my stickers :) You will also notice that on Tuesday there is a ridiculous number of stickers...

I decided to attempt what seemed like the impossible: the triple. I ran 5km on the treadmill, then did the Body Jam class, followed by the Body Pump class. It was 3 hours of hell but I was determined to pull it off. During Body Pump I could feel my knees starting to tremble during the squat track (why did I put so much weight on the bar?) and the lunge track nearly made me keel over. But I did it - in full!

Although the picture is a few days old and the stickers are not up to date, I will have you know that I also pulled off a double yesterday - Body Step & Body Pump. It was fabulous!

In other news, I have a pair of white shorts that I bought last summer in size 8. I tried them on in May and I could not get them done up. Yesterday I had this urge to try them on again. I try to resist these urges because sometimes the aftermath is detrimental, but something told me the results would be good. The pants fit over my butt and I was able to do them up (zipper and all!) - but they are still a little tight so maybe 2 more weeks and I'll be strutting my hot ass in white shorts all over town. ;)

- Brianne

The Scale Is My Friend

I had 2 great posts planned out for this week. Last weekend camping really wiped me out and so I was too lazy to post all week. I would post them today, but the accompanying pictures are on my computer and I've given Allie and Costin the apartment for the weekend because I'm awesome.

Not to worry though, I have thought of a third post! Yesterday I stood on the scale (a rare occurrence) and the number was a whole 4 digits less than last time! 4 whole digits! After 4 days of beer (a keg of beer), wine, cheesie poofs, guacamole, burgers, sausages, bbq pork and BIRTHDAY CAKES (plural, yes!) I still managed to kick my own ass!

How did this happen? Last Thursday I was taken out for birthday lunch TWICE and I did not hit the gym afterward... I was sure I was a goner. In compensation, hit the gym for 2 hours on Friday before we left Ottawa, and 2 hours on Saturday before we took the boat to Guyland. 2 stickers for each day! I guess it also helped that Richard made me haul wood for an hour on Sunday... and then spent Monday kayaking on Ramsey. However, the amount of beer and wine would have far outweighed any physical activity.

Yesterday, I also realized that I am now at 15kg (33lbs!!!!) for my Body Pump squats. My Body Pump addiction is still running strong. Today I also plan to try my first Body STEP class at 10am... When I think of step classes I think of middle aged house wives in leggings and body suits. Perhaps I should invest in a similar outfit?

- Brianne

So after a weekend of dancing, fun, and some major running I have these very weird pains in both my legs that are similar to the growing pains I experienced as a child. Now I would write this off entirely as "too much running, not enough stretching", but really it's been two days of the same type of pain and I can't stop thinking that I may become a gigantress soon. This could be in response to the many "you're tiny" comments I received while in England. My body is either trying to prove itself by growing very tall or its really breaking down at the realization that the Marine Corps Marathon is only four months away.

Four Months? I am supposed to run 42.2Km in four months? Why did I sign up for this again?

Oh yes. The Marines.

I have a tiny crush on men in uniform. Okay, a large pounding crush on men in uniform. I love them. So for them I am dedicating my 42.2km run straight into their waiting arms. I even had some Marines I met in San Diego promise to be there and they can't break this promise since it's as good as a Scout's Honour in my books. How can I make this leg pain go away so that I can be ready for this?? Ice doesn't really cut it for entire legs throbbing away in large amounts of pain and I'm not even mentioning the fact that my butt is slowly getting in on this pain as if it were sad to be missing out on all the action. Perhaps it's time to stop consuming copious amounts of gin on long weekends and ripping it up on the dance floor late into the night. That's it, I'm blaming the gin. But what is a health freak to do when there is no way in flaming helicopters that they are giving up the delicious taste of alcohol? Here are some tips I found on the vast interweb:

• Try alternating alcoholic drinks with low calorie non-alcoholic drinks or water.
  
• Ask for low calorie / diet mixers where possible.
  
• Make your wine into a spritzer (a longer drink), or your lager into a shandy - both have fewer calories.
  
• Substitute your "alcopop" for a shot of spirit and a low calorie mixer - about a quarter of the calories! (I don't know what this alcopop is, but I want one).
  
• Plan your alcohol into your daily calorie quota so you can enjoy a glass or two. If you know you will be drinking during the weekend, try to save some calories each day in advance, so you can eat normally before you go out.
  
• Don't be tempted to skip meals to allow for drinks, as alcohol won't satisfy your hunger. In fact, alcohol lowers blood sugar levels (it prevents sugar that is normally stored in the liver, as glycogen, from breaking down). A drop in blood sugar levels sends signals to the brain you are hungry. With alcohol in your system, willpower can go out of the window and the snack attacks kick in. Eating a proper meal before you go out will line your stomach and slow the rate at which alcohol absorbs into your bloodstream, keeping you in control of how much you eat and drink.

Why is this all so grim?

I need a drink.

-Stevie

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

I took the dogs out this morning on an adventure. I've been reading this Cape Breton Hiking Trails book and I've come to the conclusion that the author/hiker is a complete liar.
Finnegan, Muppet and I were in search of Devil's Hill Trail and it's promise of a waterfall at the end of the hike. No such luck as the "possible" old road we were to follow was flooded. We did, however, come across a picturesque gravel pit, complete with people's household garbage and a few short trails leading to more illegal dumpings. We got our hike in, just wasn't as scenic.

- Carrice