I can't believe I did that...

There are so many things that I do now that I never did 60 pounds ago. Even at 215 pounds I am not afraid to try anything anymore - I feel that my fitness level is high considering my weight and I have worked up to a pretty good level of endurance. I do many things I always wanted to at 270 pounds but was too afraid to try. I can do a 90 minute yoga class, I can run on a treadmill for 10 minutes straight, I can swim 2 km without stopping, I can bike 80km in one day, I can hike for hours up in the mountains and many more 'fitnessy' things. Yesterday I did something I never thought I would.. my husband is an obsessed fisherman.. he would fish every spare moment of his life if he could. Since he works out of town for 4 days and then is home for 4 days on a regular rotation I know he tries had to curb his fishing to spend time with me when he is home.. but I see the longing in his eyes to be out at the river (or ocean in the summer). So, on Tuesday I took him to the fishing store and pointed out that they had some pink chest waders.. and I told him I wanted to come fishing with him. Now any chubby chicks out there know that any type of overall contraption is probably the least flattering article of clothing out there... and waders mean you wear the thick overalls over layers and layers of warm clothes. I was nervous to try them on but the XL ladies fit me just fine and I think I look pretty darn cute in them!!

We fished on the river near my in-laws place for two days and I actually really enjoyed it. Both days involved several hours of hiking through the bush carrying all our gear (not to mention the actual fishing) so there is definately a leel of fitness involved. I did not catch anything but the look of happiness on my husbands face of having me get excited about his passion was reward enough for me! I am looking forward to getting out there again next week.

Ok.. on to my favourite topic, FOOD! I am still doing great and have lost 6 pounds in the past two weeks. I have fully embraced the clean eating plan that I have been feeling out for the past few months. Here is the basic gist of what I am doing.

- no (or very little) processed food, including sugar, white flour or products containing them

- 6 small meals throughout the day (2-3 hours apart)

- protein and complex carbs at each meal

- plenty of water/green tea

- any meat or eggs are purchased from local organic growers or caught by us (fish, prawns, oysters etc..)

To most people I explain this to it seems a little harsh, but I have been working up to this for almost two years in small baby steps. I have (perhaps irrational) a fear of growth hormones and antibiotics in mass produced meat. My husband (and almost everyone I know) does not share my concerns but he supports me and I eat so little meat that I feel the extra cost is worth it. Of course I am not perfect (or I would be at my goal weight by now!) but this is the eating plan I strive for and when I have two weeks of clean eating, like I am celebrating now, the way I feel tells me I am absolutely doing the right thing for my body. So if anyone is interested I took a couple of pictures of the first four meals I have prepared for tomorrow.

I bought this small slow cooker for $12 and it is perfect for my morning steel cut oats - I can put it on low before bed and I wake up to perfectly cooked oatmeal - I add different fruits and a bit of agave nectar and cinnamon..mmmmm! I will have this at 6:30am before heading to the gym.

Next meal will be at 9:00 right before I start work. I will probably have the 3 egg whites and carrot sticks with some homemade vinaigrette to dip them in as well as an apple. By noon I know I will be starving so I will have my butternut squash spinach soup (made a big pot and froze 12 individual servings) with 3oz chicken breast. 3:00 will be the next meal of salad with half a can of tuna mixed with low fat yogurt and spices as well as some chips I made from a whole grain tortilla. When I get home at 6:00 I will have dinner - here is a picture of the salmon burgers we had tonight.

I mixed a can of salmon (that we canned ourselves in the summer) with 1/2 cup cooked quinoa, an egg, onion and spices. Put it on a whole grain bun with tomato, lettuce and some tzatziki sauce I made and it was delicious. Around 8:00 I have my last meal which is some homemade low fat frozen yogurt with fruit or a smoothie with skim milk. It is amazing that I really don't get hungry again after this last meal. The trick is to not allow yourself to get hungry during the day, when I get hungry any thought of finding a healthy option flies out of my head and I just start grabbing whatever is near and quick. So, to make this work I have been keeping my fridge full of easy to grab meal components. Today was my 'Sunday' so I prepped everything for the next five days - cooked a few of the chicken breasts I bought at the market, boiled a dozen eggs, made some quinoa, made salad dressing, made pita chips, cut up the veggies, made soup and portioned it. All this prep work should make for a successful week of packing my own lunches. I have left room for my kitchen creativity at dinner time - lots of great things to work with and recipes to try out.

I have been counting my calories everyday and even though it feels like I am eating all day long, I am still staying very close to my 1500 calorie goal!

Here is to another successful OP week!!