Snacks That Surprised Me

Eating organic can definitely be tricky, especially when it comes to snack food. I'm fine with my regular meals: chicken, veggies, fruits, etc. but when it comes to quick, on-the-go snacks, it becomes very tempting to simply reach for those bags of chips and chocolate bars! Let's face it, strawberries are delicious, but sometimes I just find myself wanting some Doritos instead. At work tonight (I work at a drug store) I was browsing our chip/snack section, reading the backs of bags just for fun. Here are a few seemingly chemical-filled snacks that surprised me!

PopCorners (Sea Salt flavor)
Official PopCorners website: http://www.popcorners.com/
I've actually had these before, and they are DELICIOUS! The only ingredients listed (again, SEA SALT flavour. The other flavours are packed with nasty chemicals) are: yellow corn, sunflower oil, and sea salt. Who woulda thunk it?

Snapea Crisps (Snack Salad brand)
Official site: http://www.snacksalad.com/products.html
I figured these sun-dried peas would have something funky in them, but compared to most other snack foods they really have very little in them! Not to mention they're a source of calcium, protein, Vitamin C, and iron. Not bad for a snack food, right?

Cliff Bars
Official site: http://www.clifbar.com/
Being a university student who also works, I'm always looking for yummy energy bars. Unfortunately, a lot of them are high in calories and fat, AND consist of too many unpronounceable chemicals! Cliff Bars are certified organic (and certified DELICIOUS). There may be a long list of ingredients, but they're all good ones!



I'll continue adding to this post as I come across more delicious "healthy snack foods in disguise." :)

Week Four - April 11th

I stopped posting a blog every day because it just became too much! I'm so busy, I don't think I'll be able to post an update every single day for the remaining five weeks, but that does not mean I've given up on the Bikini Challenge! On the contrary, I am going stronger than ever. I've been working out every day (even if it's only 20 minutes of cardio or a toning circuit) and I am VERY proud of how well I've been eating. I'm having trouble staying away from starchy foods and carbs, but I've cut funky chemicals out of my diet completely. I would love to say I'm seeing results already, but honestly I'm not sure that I am. I'm okay with that, though, because to me this isn't just about losing weight, it's more about feeling good about myself and taking care of my body. I'm only 17, and I want to set the tone for how I want to live my life as I grow up!

Tone It Up workouts I've been loving:
Beach Ball Workout
http://toneitup.com/blog/2011/04/beach-ball-workout-bikini-challenge/

Ab Workout Circuit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ZTzUEtPTI&feature=player_embedded


Food I've been loving:
Steamed veggies (usually I steam cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots)
A little bit of tuna on Simply Fit 95% organic baked crackers
(crackers: http://content.melaleuca.com/ps/index.cfm?f=ps.productDetail&pid=9237&bt=9237)
Sliced bananas and oatmeal

Gold'n Krackle: A yummy, quick, (relatively) healthy snack!

Mmmm. So yummy! My new favourite quick, go-to, I-need-something-crunchy-right-now snack food is Gold'n Krackle's cinnamin and sugar strips! They're baked, low cholestrol, low fat, and no preservatives!

Here's the Gold'n Krackle website:
http://www.goldnkrackle.com/

I bought mine at my local London Drugs store. They were only $4! Yum.

Week Three - April 7th

Okay I'm really starting to slide! I didn't work out again today. But I have been keeping a close eye on what I eat! Today I ate:

- a whole bunch of strawberries
- a few dark chocolate covered cranberries
- chicken fettuccine (with lemon and broccoli. It was actually a lot of chicken, and not a lot of noodles at all!)
- one bowl of homemade macaroni and cheese
- one small glass of orange juice
- two bottles of water


Wow, it sort of looks like I'm not eating a lot. My days are sooo long, I sort of forget to eat... It's not that I forget to work out, I just get so busy, before I know it it's midnight! I'm working hard though. I won't lose faith :)

Week Three - April 6th

Exercise:
I didn't work out again today. I just got busy, and before I knew it it was 11:00pm and already in bed. I don't feel bad, though, because I work hard all day every day. I can't change my lifestyle overnight.

Food:
1 banana
about 8 GIGANTIC strawberries
1 piece of chicken
about 1/2 a cup of brown rice
a few pieces of dark chocolate
one piece of pumpkin pie

Tone It Up keeps e-mailing new, awesome workouts and I have yet to try them! Busy week. After Thursday and Friday I'll be back to a more normal routine. I feel a little discouraged, but I'm not going to let this little funk get me down! :) We all deserve a break, yes? This is about changing my lifestyle, not being perfect.

Week Three - April 5th

Exercise:
None. Long long day at school and work, I just couldn't fit it in today.

Food:
1 banana
about 5 organic rice crackers
1 bowl of homemade chili
1 piece of Hawaiian pizza (this pizza is surprisingly not too greasy or gross. It definitely tasted home made)
1 bowl of fruit salad (watermelon, grapes, oranges, cantaloupe, etc. etc.)
about 4-6 chocolate covered almonds (man, those things have a lot of calories in them! I had no idea!)
1 orange
a crapload of steamed green beans, red peppers, and carrots

I'm starting to feel the pressure of exam season. Tomorrow I'm going on the hunt for healthy snack food for those long study sessions!

Karena and Katrina sent out a lean arms workout, and an inner thigh/ab workout. Can't wait to try them! Tomorrow morning ;) booty call!

Week Three - April 4th

Exercise:
35 minutes of yoga (morning booty call!)
15 minute ab workout


Food:
1 banana
a few candies (I gave in, I admit it!)
about 10 organic rice crackers
about 20-30 organic, whole wheat tortilla chips (they were NASTY, but healthy...) with organic salsa (about 1 cup) and a teensy bit of sour cream (when I say teensy I MEAN teensy! Probably two tablespoons, I kid you not)
1 piece of parmesean chicken
a whole crapload of steamed green beans and carrots.


I'm getting close to Final Exams, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to avoid junky snack food (chips, cheezies, candy, pop, ice cream...). I'm trying my hardest! the best thing I can do is be aware of when and how much I eat "cheat foods" and make sure I keep exercising on a regular basis.

Week Two - April 3rd

Over the past few days I've been feeling discouraged and frustrated, but today I feel like I got my motivation back. We're 1/4 through the Bikini Challenge and I feel more excited than ever! The weather's starting to warm up, so I'll be able to go for jogs OUTSIDE and my classes are almost finished, so I won't be as exhausted all the time. Yay. I'm just, yeah, I'm very very excited to work hard.

Exercise:
45 mins cardio (dancing!)
Ab workout (I LOVE this TIU workout! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ZTzUEtPTI&feature=player_embedded)

Food:
Salad (lettuce, tomatoes, feta dressing)
Mashed potatoes
Asparagus
1 bowl of movie theatre popcorn
1 glass of iced tea
3 bottles of water

Booty call tonight! I'm going to do some YOGA tomorrow morning! I absolutely LOVE doing yoga in the morning. These are some of my favourite yoga videos on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xctBhj7TVc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcC8hZPwj6w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJQ9fKvmsu8

Week Two - April 2nd

I'm not gonna lie, today was a cheat day. I worked all day and I did not work out at all. I'm not even going to say I feel bad or guilty, because I don't. I work very hard, and it's tough to get a workout in every day. I'm a university student, too, so I have studying to do as well. I'm not going to make excuses, but it is tough, and I do feel okay skipping a day here and there.

Food:
3/4 can tuna (I couldn't finish, haha)
10-15 Premium crackers
a couple pieces of dark chocolate
1 egg, sunny side up
1 piece of whole wheat toast with butter
1 glass of orange juice
3 glasses of water
15-20 sweet potato chips (I checked the ingredients, no added chemicals or weird ingredients! yay!)

Week Two - April 1st

Exercise:
Skiing - I don't care if some people say it's "not exercise," I definitely got a workout today. My legs are burning more than ever! It definitely works a lot of muscles.


Food:
1 corn dog -  I couldn't help myself! It looked so delicious. 
1 bowl of ice milk
3 bottles of water

Okay, I know my "food" list looks TERRIBLE. I was up early this morning, spent all day on the ski hill all day and when we stopped for lunch I didn't have a lot of money and, honestly, didn't feel hungry at all. I grabbed a corn dog (it looked so delicious. I hadn't had one in years!) and a bottle of water, then off I went again! When I got home I had was really craving ice milk, so I had a small bowl, and then I laid down and had a nap and slept straight through dinner until now (1am). When I woke up I realized I hadn't really eaten at all, let alone anything healthy, and I tried eating a banana but for some reason I just don't feel well now. Oh well. We all have off days. Tomorrow I'm going to try and get up and go for a jog, maybe I'll feel better then. For now I'm just going to go back to sleep.

Week Two - March 31st

Holy moly today was busy. Thursdays suck for me because I'm up at 5, at school until 1, at work until 11, and don't get home until after midnight. I tried to sneak in a workout today but unfortunately didn't get to it until tonight. It's almost 1am, so technically it's TOMORROW! Today I definitely felt like going out and buying all the junk food I could find and just gorging myself! But I didn't. I'll of course give myself treats (I'm in love with dark chocolate!) but I know if I go on a binge I'll cancel out all my hard work, and who wants that?

Exercise:
Bikini strap workout
Bikini bum workout
Lean legs pyramid

Food:
1 slice of banana bread
Cup Of Veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cheese, carrots, celery, thousand island dressing for dipping)
A few pieces of dark chocolate
1 bowl of air-popped popcorn (about 1/4 cup unpopped seeds), a sprinkle of salt+vinegar seasoning
1 bite of a nasty salad roll from some terrible Viet restaurant
3 bottles of water

I'm exhausted! I promise tomorrow's blog will be longer.
Goodnight :)

Week Two - March 30

Today was a BOOTY CALL day! I totally slept through my alarm this morning :(. To make up for missing my booty call (technically I DID have to run for the BUS, though!) I went for an hour-long walk this afternoon. When you miss a booty call you have to add a mile to your run/walk/jog, but I'm pretty sure I walked more than a mile in that hour.

Karena and Katrina also released their Beach Bum Workout yesterday and it is fantastic! Here's the link to it on YouTube, if you haven't seen it already http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVDG5vyGpeU

Exercise:
1 hour walk
Beach Bum Workout
Bikini Strap Workout

Food:
1 cheese bagel with chicken salad (and a piece of lettuce)
1 large English Toffee from Tim Horton's
5 cheese pierogies with some sliced-up farmer's sausage (no sour cream, just a bit of ketchup)
2 bottles of water
A hand full of green grapes

Tomorrow is "try a class/DVD/something new." Tomorrow's a very long day for me (up at 5, out the door at 6, in class until 1pm, work 2-11pm) so I'll have to work out when I get home tomorrow night. Maybe I'll pick up a new DVD at work tomorrow! That'd be fun. I'd like to try something with dancing.

Week Two - March 29

Keeping a food journal has definitely helped me become more conscious of what food I put into my body. Whenever I stop keeping track of what I'm eating I just eat when I'm hungry, and don't think twice about what I've already had to eat that day, and often times that leads to me gorging on fat-storing carbs, junk food, and whatnot. I'm also notorious for eating only fruits and veggies one day and completely forgetting about protein, and vice versa. 


Food:
Green grapes (about 10-15)
Home made chicken pot pie
Taco salad (ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, a little bit of sour cream, a little bit of cheese)
2 bottles of water
1 glass of milk
1 bowl of air-popped popcorn (about 1/4 cup unpopped kernels, and 1 tablespoon of melted butter)


Exercise:
-30mins cardio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri5ENTTvkHU&feature=related (I love this video. It's not as great as going for a jog or hopping on the treadmill/elliptical, but it's definitely great for days like today when I can't get to the gym or go outside (we have SO MUCH ice here!))
-Tone It Up ab workout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo-BeL58_6w&feature=player_embedded#at=178




Today's challenges:
1. 30 minutes of cardio - Check!
2. TIU ab workout - Check!
3. Say "bye bye" to all chemicals in my diet - Meh. It's difficult, I'm not gonna lie. But I'm definitely working on it !


Basically, watch out for:
-Diet coke and most diet sodas
-Most flavored waters
-Splenda packets when you get your coffee (I don't drink coffee, so this one's not an issue for me)
-Boxed 'diet' foods
-Non-organic yogurt
-Sugar-free coffee creamers
-Some 'protein bars' and powders.  


-You should be able to pronounce all ingredients on the side of your packaging.  
-Avoid ingredients that you can't pronounce and splenda, aspartame & amp; sweet n low.
-Watch for high fructose corn syrup and hidden sugars in 'low fat foods'. 


This is definitely going to be a challenge for me, because I live with my family and so much of my food decisions are based on that, but I am definitely going to try. I want to be healthy and I want to put good food into my body. It's all about compromise. 


I'm off to bed now! Booty call tomorrow morning ;) (just got my booty  call email from Karena and Katrina). I'll probably do the Bikini Strap Workout (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2tzsjVfiz0&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL). Love it! 

Week Two - March 28

Phew, I am exhausted today! I didn't get a great sleep last night, but I woke up bright and early this morning and did a 30 minute yoga video. I didn't want to get up, but man did I feel great afterwards! It was wonderful starting my day like that. I do a ton of walking on weekdays (I'm gone for usually 14-16+ hours throughout the day, and I don't drive, so I walk a lot, especially across/around campus) and my legs are usually quite sore when I get home, but tonight I feel great and I honestly think it's because of the yoga this morning. Today I have the same relaxed-stretched-muscle feeling as I have when I finish a hot yoga class.

Today Karena and Katrina e-mailed out a new workout: the Lean Legs Pyramid!
20 squats, 30 lunges, 40 toe-touches, 50 second wall sit, 100 seconds jumping jacks, 50 second wall sit, 40 toe-touches, 30 lunges, 20 squats
Man, oh man, did I feel that one! I did this workout when I got home after work and I am definitely ready for a long, hot bath now! I think I'll do this one AGAIN tomorrow, I loved it that much, though! It was quick and straight-forward but I most definitely felt "the burn" haha!



Exercise:
30 minutes yoga
Lean Legs Pyramid

Food:
Apple oatmeal
1 piece of apple pie
1 cup mashed potatoes (and a little bit of salt)
1 can tuna, 10 rice crackers
1 bowl of Vietnamese food (Someone else ordered for me, so I'm not exactly sure what it was, but it was noodles, carrots, chicken, and lettuce, and some white vegetable cut into stringy pieces)
3 bottles of water
a ton of green grapes
a few hand-fulls of trail mix (munchin' while I study)

Overall, good day. I'm not really seeing any results yet (it's only been a week, mind you) but I am starting to feel different. I haven't been eating the healthiest over the past few months or working out this consistently, so my body has definitely noticed a change and is telling me so! But it's a good change. Hopefully over time this will become more of a lifestyle for me and less of a "challenge." I want to challenge myself right now, though, and push past my comfort zone. I do want to be a healthy person, and I do want to feel great and look great this summer (even if I don't sport a bikini at all). I'm feeling motivated and, most importantly, excited!

Week One - March 27th

I really don't have much to say about today, really. My workout was great today, and the whole eating-good-food-and-not-too-much-food thing is going quite well, actually. Today my mother brought home apple pie and ice cream and I respectfully declined :) Then she made chocolate chip cookies and I decided to save those for another day. Will power. BOO YAH! I want to make sure I treat myself so as not to go and binge eat, but if I start using that as an excuse I'll be "treating" myself more and more often, and I really dont' want to start backtracking. Anyways:


Food:
English muffin
1 egg, sunny side up :)
3 bottles of water
1 glass iced tea
Home-made trail mix (I buy my nuts and dried fruit in bulk)
Chicken pot pie
4 rice crackers

Exercise:
30 mins speed-walk+jog
Tone It Up's "Best Ab Workout Circuit" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ZTzUEtPTI

And to check in with the weekend challenges/guidelines:

1. Work out Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - Check!
2. No beer guzzling - Check!
3. If you eat out, eat healthy - Check!
4. Kick your cardio workout up a notch - Check!


Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful weekend.

Tonight I got another Bikini Booty Call! I think tomorrow morning I'm going to do some yoga tomorrow morning. The yoga DVDs I have are quite boring, actually. I've found some great yoga videos on YouTube. This is one of my favourites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bofQabiS3C4&feature=relmfu
It says it's for "sadness relief" but I find it's great for just de-stressing and relaxing in general. I love starting off my day with this class because I find myself so relaxed and calm throughout my day.

Time for bed! I want to be energized for my early morning booty call! ;)

Week One - March 26th

I'm actually LOVING working out, and look forward to it :) If I had more time in my days I'd work out even more! Today I had quite a long day at work and I'm starting to find eating healthy and not too much (or too little) tough. The store I work at has TONS of processed food and junk food, it's so tempting. I'm up early and home late, so it's going to take some planning to make sure I eat enough food throughout the day, but not too much, and make sure I'm eating good food.

Exercise:
Bikini Body Bootycamp (x2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3OPUcwNF5E

Food:
3 eggs (scrambled), fresh mushrooms, salt+pepper
1 small glass of strawberry/banana juice
Snap peas
Leftover shepherd's pie
1 can of tuna with 14 all-natural rice crackers
Sliced farmer's sausage
Trail mix (about a handfull)
Half a chocolate bunny (I gave in! But hey, I've gotta treat myself every once and a while, right? I gave away the other half of my bunny. Yay for sharing!)
3 bottles of water

Tomorrow I'm home all day, so my goal is to avoid boredom eating. I'm going to work out tomorrow as well. Just because it's the weekend doesn't mean I get to slack off! Hopefully it'll be warm enough to go for a run outside tomorrow. We still have tons of snow here, but if the sidewalks are clear I should be fine. I have tons of studying to do, so I'm going to use tomorrow to see what sort of snacks would be good for studying. I have a tendency to over-eat while studying simply because it's become a habit to snack and study now. Maybe I'll start drinking water and munching on veggies while I study. Trial and error! We'll see.

Tomorrow on the Calendar it says "Get Outside! 30 minutes cardio and an ab workout." Tomorrow's my only day off this week, so I will NOT be getting up early, but I will work out. I can't guarantee I'll be able to get outside because there's so much snow and ice and it's still very very cold here, but I'll try! Maybe in the afternoon it'll warm up a bit and the sidewalks will clear a bit. Fingers crossed! If I can't get outside I'll just hop on my treadmill for 30 mins :). I haven't decided which ab workout I'm going to do yet, but I'm sure I'll find a good one on the Tone It Up website .

Calorie Counting CAN help!

Sarah Dussault is a personal trainer, producer/host for Diet Health, blogger, and video blogger on YouTube, and I've been following her for quite a while now.

I've never been a calorie counter, and I know lots of people are against it, but in Sarah's new video she shares how calorie counting can be beneficial. In a nutshell, if you're eating more calories than you're burning, there's a good chance you're NOT going to lose any weight, no matter how HEALTHY you're eating. There is no one "magic number" that works for everyone, but each individual has their own "magic number" of calories he or she should be eating a day in order to lose weight AND maintain healthy eating habits.

She recommends keeping a food journal, and I know from experience that keeping a food journal can definitely help. I think it's important to be conscious of how many calories you're eating, but I've never counted calories or kept record of how many I was eating.

Watch Sarah's video and learn all about calorie counting: http://youtu.be/j8757Z-7dAQ

Sarah's channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/SarahsFabChannel
Diet Health: http://www.youtube.com/user/diethealth
Sarah's website: http://sarahfit.com/
Sarah on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/dietsarah
Sarah on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SarahFitFan

Week One - March 25th

Today my MOM signed up! Hopefully we'll be able to work together and support each other. My biggest weakness is food, so I'm definitely going to need my family's help in that respect, and considering my mother buys most of the groceries for our house, it's nice to have her be involved. My goal is to focus on portion sizes. My days are long and busy, and I eat quite frequently, and I need to watch HOW MUCH I eat when I do have snacks. I feel like I'm doing okay so far. I feel motivated and excited, and I'm ready to work hard! I did a 6 week fitness challenge with Sarah (www.youtube.com/sarahsfabchannel) and I kept a blog for that, and it was a great experience.

Karena and Katrina sent out an e-mail today announcing their first challenge. This week's challenges are to inspire and be accountable by sharing workouts, recipes, etc. on Facebook. This challenge is about "checking in" with them on Facebook daily (I felt like I was in elementary school, getting a "gold star" for doing a workout, haha) and hopefully inspire friends of mine and others in the Tone It Up community.

In conjunction with this challenge is a HUGE GIVEAWAY! 20 of those participating will win a copy of their DVD and a pair of Sketcher Tone Ups (worth over $82). Wooo! The 20 they pick will be people who tag them on Facebook EVERY DAY. Good luck to all :)

I also took my "before" picture today... yeuch. Can't wait to see what my "after" picture is going to be :)

Now to check in with this week's 5 challenges:

1. Do yesterday's workout (3 times) - Check!
2. Wake up and do 30 minutes of anything - X! I'm going to be honest, this morning I waaay overslept, so I didn't get my AM 30minutes in :(  But I have to get up early tomorrow for work, so I'm going to do 30 minutes on the treadmill when I wake up.
3. Dowload DJ Luv's workout mix - Check! Love this mix so much! I put it on my iPod :) 
4. Print out the motivation calendar - X! My printer's not working, so I didn't print it out, but instead made it my desktop background! Every day I update it by opening it in Paint and adding what workouts I did to it, and then re-setting it as my background. 
5. Change out fat-storying carbs for good ones - Check!



Exercise:
Bikini Strap Workout (x3)

Food/Drink:
Oatmeal
Low fat french vanilla yogurt
Blueberries
Large English Toffee from Tim Horton's
Homemade shepherd's pie (ground beef; friend onions; steamed peas, carrots, corn, green beans; mashed potatoes, butter, 1% milk; shredded chedder cheese)
Salad (lettuce, tomatoes)
1 glass 1% milk
1/4 cup popcorn kernels hot-air popped, 1 tablespoon butter


I just got an e-mail from Karena and Katrina with this weekend's challenges:

1. Work out on Saturday and Sunday - I think this one'll be easy for me, I don't have a busy weekend ahead of me.
2. Try jogging in intervals: 30 seconds jog, 60 seconds walk, for 10 minutes. - I'm going to do this tomorrow morning! Probably for 30 minutes, though. 
3. No beer or wine, opt for champagne instead. - I don't usually drink alcohol, so this one is no problem for me haha.
4. Choose low-calorie meals if eating out, and NO fried food.  - Currently, I don't have any plans to eat out tomorrow because I'll be at work for the better part of the day, but if I do go out I'll definitely watch it.


Keeping in mind all the e-mails, tips, and challenges I've received thus far, these are my goals for tomorrow:

- Wake up early and do a 30 minute cardio workout (probably interval jogging/speed walking on my treadmill)
- Eat NO processed food. We have blueberries, strawberries, mushrooms, and other goodies like that in our fridge, so I'm very excited to be creative when I pack my lunch/supper for work tomorrow.
- Do the bikini strap workout (x3)
- Drink TONS of water. I haven't been drinking much lately, and I really need to pay attention to that more.

Week One - March 24th

Alright, I've decided to keep a blog for the next EIGHT WEEKS, while I do Tone It Up's Spring Into Bikini Season series :)

First Five Challenges:

1. Do yesterday's workout- 3 times through. 
2. Wake up tomorrow morning & do 30 minutes of anything!  A walk, jog, yoga- a new DVD?
3. Download this amazing workout mix by DJ Lindsay Luv on your printable workout page!  (she is seriously awesome for hookin you up with this mix!  DJ Lindsay Luv )
4. Print out this CALENDAR to keep track of your workouts & the challenges!  (we will be releasing a new one in 4 weeks)
5. And... for all of you that saw this on facebook; Put those fat storing carbohydrates down and pick up the good ones

So, today I did ALL FIVE! 

Tomorrow I will wake up early and work out for 30 minutes :) On the calendar for tomorrow it says "Challenge Announced" so woo! I'm also going to take my "before" picture tomorrow. The biggest challenge is going to be eating no processed food, since I'm always on the go, but I'm going to try my very hardest. I'm so excited!