Some things I noticed:

• I have very little heel to butt movement! My heel doesn’t come up past my knee.

See:

I thought by not lifting my legs off the ground much that I would minimize impact on my joints. But according to various videos on the web, heel to butt movement is a GOOD thing.

Shown here:

Note. Proper heel to butt movement is on the right (after instruction).

What I also noticed:

• My toes don’t point upwards as much with barefeet vs. with sneakers on, supporting the Nike Free theory.
• I also bounce too much

Also apparently landing on the balls of your feet at your centre of gravity is much better than landing on the heels of your feet.

I appreciate your comments and thoughts on my running form! Wow it is such an eye opener to see this on video of myself running. I hope that I can learn about proper form and hopefully minimize the wear and tear on my body!

Thanks for your patience

Angela

Good Saturday morning, Healthy Hotties!

Sorry about the late morning post; I have been working on the new website since 8am this morning! I. am. so. excited. for. the. launch.

So when can you feast your sweet little eyes on this new website?

This afternoon!

Yes, that’s right. The official launch of Oh She Glows will be coming to an Internet near you this afternoon. That is, if all goes well. And when does technology ever mess up? Exactly. Never.

I’m not sure where exactly I got lost along the way, but somehow this week’s To Do list turned into this:

What the heck!?

So yesterday, I had to revise and compile:

Do I spy a new website in the background!??

There is a page 2 but that is a secret for now!

Starfrit Nutritional Kitchen Scale

When I opened this and took it out of the box, I will admit I thought it felt pretty cheap at first and I questioned whether it would be accurate. However, after a few tests, it did seem to be consistent. Time will tell once I start using it!

I purchased this scale for Glo Bakery, so that I am able to measure accurately! I will not be weighing my daily food. I have no desire to do so.

Dr. Phil on Weight-Gain Traps

On Dr. Phil the other week, he featured the top weight gain traps. Here they are in no particular order:

1) Being in Love

Did you know that people tend to eat 33% more when dining with another person?

2) Lack of sleep

Less than 70% of people get 8 hours of sleep each night. Studies show that women who weigh the most tend to get the least amount of sleep!

3) Stress

Foods that help fight stress: Bananas, grains, leafy greens, turkey

4) Menopause

5) Medications

Personally, most of them have affected my life except for Menopause! lol. I have been on certain medications that caused me to gain weight easily. Lack of sleep definitely makes me overeat, so that is why I try to get 7.5-8 hours each night.

And being in love- I definitely think it can make you gain weight. I am so comfortable with Eric that I could easily go overboard with the eating and not even think about it. That’s why I firmly believe that my decision to live a healthy lifestyle is a personal choice and not an artifact of ‘looking good for someone else’. It has to come from within if you are going to stick with it!

Have any of these weight gain traps affected your life?

Remember you only have until 5pm EST to submit your entry for the 30-Day Shred!

See you this afternoon for the website launch!!! whoohoo!

I am off to make a Green Monster…I have been up for 3 hours and haven’t had brekkie yet…bad bad Angela!

“What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life.” ~ Leo Buscaglia

I thought I would start off tonight’s post with my 20th FAQ Installment- twenty baby! Pretty crazy.

FAQ Installment 20

Missed 1-19?

162. Kristen asks, “Hi, I am sorry, but I am new to the blog, so I was wondering if you are all ready married? I have been looking at your beautiful wedding pictures, but then I saw that you are trying to slim down for your dress.  Sorry about being so confused, I am just curious.  Thanks!”

I am sorry for not clarifying this! I totally left my new readers out in the cold on this one. I can only imagine what you were thinking. Lol. No, I didn’t leave Eric for a rich sugar daddy! Eric and I were contacted to model in an upcoming wedding photography workshop. In preparation, I am trying to drop a couple pounds so I can zip my dress and feel my best.

163. Sarah asks, “I know you use almond butter instead of peanut butter, but I know that you’re trying to also save some money. When I looked at the prices the last time I went to the store, almond butter was nearly twice as much as peanut butter. I know you’re making your own now, so it would be cheaper, but I’m wondering why you made the switch to almond butter?”

I chose almond butter over peanut butter because almonds are nutritionally superior to peanuts. Let’s take a look at their nutritional profiles below:

This is a chart comparing Barney Butter (made from Almonds) Vs. Peanut Butter: (Click to enlarge)

As you can see Almond butter is higher in fiber, calcium, iron, Vit E, Magnesium, and is also lower in saturated fat.

Further, I always buy raw almonds over roasted. Here’s why:

“Roasting nuts at a temperature higher than 170F will cause a breakdown of their fats and the production of free radicals. When nuts roasted at the high temperatures used commercially are consumed, the free radicals they contain can cause lipid peroxidation-the oxidizing of fats in your bloodstream that can trigger tiny injuries in artery walls-a first step in the build up of plaque and cardiovascular disease.” ~World’s Healthiest Foods

164. Marianne asks, “Just curious – is the sodium content for the Green Monster mostly from the almond milk? I was just surprised at the number.”

You got it! The majority of the sodium comes from the store bought Almond Milk (150 mg per cup). Sodium is lurking everywhere! For example, Kellogg’s raisin bran has almost 350 mg of sodium per cup!!

165. Hallie asks, “Those burgers look great! I was curious, does your hubby eat the same things you do for dinners etc., or do you usually have his-and-hers meals? (Don’t mind me if you’ve mentioned this before, I’m a semi-new reader.)”

That is a great question! Typically Eric eats whatever I cook. lol. He doesn’t cook so he typically eats whatever I put on the table, which is great because I have got him eating tons of new foods. He absolutely loves veggie burgers now, for example! He eats St Ives veggie ground round in spaghetti as well. There are foods he doesn’t like (he hates soup for some reason) so stuff like that I will just eat myself. He has come a long way from his university diet of chicken fingers, grilled cheese, and Delissio Pizza! He used to hate vegetables with a passion. This firmly supports my theory that the more you present a food to someone, the more they will eventually start to like the food. Familiarity is key. Other times, I just serve him food and don’t bother mentioning what is in it. I’ll serve him veggie beef spaghetti sauce and he thinks it is ground turkey sometimes! Lol.

166. Michelle asks, “Were you sore at all after using the elliptical?”

Not one bit! *smiles* I am happy to report I did not feel one twinge of pain. It is a great feeling.

167. Kristine asks, “I have a question:  are you trying to lose a specific amount of weight?  Do you KNOW that you gained weight since your injury and how much weight you gained or can you just feel it and you are trying to get back to your “perfect wedding dress weight?”  Sorry, that sounds confusing, haha, but I think you know what I mean!   Hopefully!  I just don’t know if you are going by specific numbers or on how you feel! Thank you!”

I decided to kick the scale a while back and I knew if I weighed myself now, it could start up the bad habit again. That is the last thing I wanted. The way I see it is, I knew I gained a bit of weight because my dress was tight when it hadn’t been last August. I know that the weight will be gone when it fits again. I asked myself, then why do I need to know a specific number? I don’t. That is the beauty of it. I prefer to go by how my clothes fit me now, rather than by the often infuriating daily scale weigh ins.

168. Alice asks, “I’ve been doing the Kath thing with kale and toasting it in the oven – even unseasoned it is like chips. I don’t have the guts to smoothie it – though if I did it would probably have to be buried in mango or raspberry or some other delicious fruit… Would raw cacao compliment the bitterness or be an abomination?”

To be honest with you, I really don’t know. I tend to think that raw cacao is pretty bitter, so I would tend to think not. But perhaps a small amount would work. Personally, I find that bananas are the best thing to hide the bitterness of the kale. Smoothie combinations are hit and miss; you just need to take a leap sometimes to find what you like best. They are not a one size fits all. But it is so pleasing when you literally throw in random stuff and it comes out tasting great!

169. Carrie asks, “I would appreciate some tips on how to give up my sugar addiction.”

See my Crap Free Week posts, where I talk a little bit each day on beating my sugar addiction.

170. Wiggs asks, “Could you explain to us a little bit about how the exercise machines calculate the calories burned, and how reliable this measure is?”

I actually use a Polar Heart Rate Monitor, the RS200 model. I love it and have had absolutely no problems with it. The strap goes around my chest and then I wear the watch. I also bought the Foot Pod that measures running distances, but I only wear it when outdoors. I have noticed that the exercise machines tend to overestimate my calorie burn by 50-150 calories. It varies a lot.

Thanks for all the great thought-provoking questions! Keep em coming!

Afternoon Snacks

Pre-gym:

Workout:

My workout today was the elliptical once again! For some reason, today’s workout went at a snail’s pace. Well, I know why it did. It was because all there was on the TV was sports news, and two bad soaps. I didn’t get to see Thr Dr’s and I didn’t have any workout music! Makes for a slow workout…but I’d still take it any day over an injury.

• Duration: 37 mins
• Incline 12, resistance 10
• Feel the burn: 349 kcals
• Max heart rate: 178 bpm
• Avg heart rate: 161 bpm

Post-workout snack:

Spelt cereal + low fat soy milk + raisins. After this bowl I had a few more handfuls Hey, I had to finish the ‘crumbs’! lol.

Wedding Dress Plan: To help control portions, I used the smaller cereal bowl as opposed to the bigger one I normally use. Remember- smaller plates trick the eye to thinking you are eating more food!

 I also had a carrot with a couple tbsp. of avocado spread on it. Sorry about all the carrots lately, our fridge is desperately empty right now!! I am using up every last veggie and fruit.

I loooved this combo!

Dinner:

The spread:

• 1 Amy’s Veggie Burger
• 2 handfuls baby organic spinach, sauteed in Kraft light balsamic vinagrette
• 2 tomato slices, sauteed in the above
• 1/2 cup frozen mixed veggies, boiled
• 2 raw carrots, drizzled with balsamic vinagrette
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 avocado

Wedding dress plan: My ‘bun’ tonight was the delicious bed of spinach! I swear I enjoyed this bed of spinach more than actual bread. I saved about 150 calories by using the spinach in replacement of the bun.

Eric didn’t eat all his veggies because I forgot he hates vinegar and I drizzled the vinagrette on his veggies by mistake. I happily cleared his veggies off his plate and had another 1/2 cup or so. Eric goes nuts over these veggie burgers though. They really are amazing and worth every penny ($7 for 4 patties!). And yes, I have contemplated making them myself…some day!

Dessert:

A juicy Orange! YUM!

Angela’s Friday Challenge:

Did anyone try the mirror challenge today? I sure did. And I thought I would post some geeky pictures to document it:

 Yup, I felt silly. But I admit it did put a little bounce in my step.

 Negative thoughts POOF-BEE-GONE!

Oh She Glows Announcements:

1) For the Canucks- “10 reasons I love Canadians: From ‘eh’ to ‘zed’” from I Am The Beholder. This post cracked me up!

2) You only have 2 more days to enter for your chance to win a copy of 30-Day Shred. What? You are getting sick of reading this? Well, I am damn near sick of posting about it! lol.

3) The launch of the new and wonderful Oh She Glows website is set for either tomorrow afternoon or Sunday- stay tuned for updates! I am going to work on it now to polish it off. I can’t believe we Eric put this together in a week!

Have a super fun Friday night everyone!

Happy Friday afternoon!

Man, it is warm outside today! Almost 16C and SUNNY! The snow is going, going, almost gone. I have been waiting months for this. I heard on the news yesterday that the cold weather is supposed to be over now and it should be getting nicer and nicer from here on out. That’s what I want to hear! Don’t forget this week we turn the clocks ahead…that means an extra hour of daylight at the end of our days.

I am currently blogging outdoors on the deck- sans jacket!

Awwwww……

I had a delicious lunch around 1:30pm today…

A leftover Sweet Potato Pinto Patty in a tomato bun + a dallop of Solgurt:

With a large carrot, chopped and sprinkled with Sun Dried Tomato and Herb seasoning.

Dessert was a banana, sliced and sprinkled with cinnamon (cinnamon helps control blood sugars, thus preventing cravings):

I ate this lunch fast, and my mouth wanted to still keep going after I was finished. I had some tea and decided to call my stomach’s bluff. Sure enough, in 10 mins. the ‘hunger’ disappeared.

Wedding Dress Plan: Again, I skipped the traditional whole wheat bun @ 200 calories and opted for the tomato slices. This saved me about 180 calories at lunch. Slowly but surely these changes are adding up, but at the same time I don’t feel like I am missing out. Interestingly enough, I find that I am being MORE creative with my food choices as a result!

I think this is the key to weight loss- making healthier substitutions for your favourite foods. Coincidentally, this is also the theme of my up and coming Glo Bakery! Stay tuned this weekend for a healthy spaghetti with over 60% less calories!

Yoga

I did 12 mins of ‘Yoga for Pain Relief’ over at www.yogatoday.com! It was good, but like LeahI skip over the beginning breathing stuff. I still have not trained my mind to be patient enough yet. I skipped to minute 13 and went til about 25 min. mark. There were some good stretches and poses in there! I loved the grasshopper! lol.

What I have discovered with yoga, is that I start to get very bored when the instructor carries on the same pose for a long time, or keeps going back to it over and over. Does anyone else experience this?

I find I stick to yoga best when they keep mixing up the poses and switching things up. Then I am not thinking about when I am going to be done! If anyone has some good video suggestions for instructors that constantly change it up, I would be interested in learning about them!

I am going to get ready for the gym now! I will be watching The Doctors while I am there…hopefully it is a good one!

Angela’s Friday Challenge:

Do you have a habit of looking in the bathroom mirror, either at work, home, or a public place, and say negative thoughts to yourself? Do you often say things like….’Oh gosh I look terrible!’ or ‘My hair is a disaster’ or ‘I look tired today’…? I find myself doing this from time to time and it is time to break the negative talk to ourselves!

My challenge to you today- and this weekend- is to smile at yourself, genuinely, every time you look in a mirror. As you smile tell yourself something positive (either outloud or in your head)….

Something like…’Hey hot mama, looking fine today!’ ‘Gorgeous blouse!’ or simply ‘I am working every day to create a healthier ME’

Now go do it and report back how it went! I am going to do it myself.

See you tonight for my new food scale and FAQ‘s! I will also be revealing when my new website will Launch this weekend.