Going For The Greens

Well, here I am again, after a three month hiatus from blogging, and a long period of ups and downs as far as my diet and exercise routine goes...definitely more ups when it comes to portion size, pant size and the numbers on my scale. In yet another attempt to get back on track I've signed on for the one month Skinny Plate Challenge to get my food intake back under control and at the same time add more greens to my diet. If you would like to join the Skinny Plate Challenge you can check it out here.

My first "skinny plate" meal,

1/2 salmon steak, quinoa,and some greens

...a spinach salad,

...adding a couple of handfuls of spinach to

 green up my breakfast smoothie,

...and waiting patiently for

 my garden to grow!

...two weeks in

...it won't be long.

Night Walk

You may have noticed that I haven't posted on this blog for quite some time. Blogging has kinda gone the way of my weigh loss and exercise journey...sputtering in fits of get up and go...to not moving at all. The only thing moving are the numbers on the scale. Unfortunately, while my exercise routine has been mired in a gully, my weight has been on a steady incline. I am trying to psych myself back into "moving" and with the days gradually becoming longer, I am getting out more...and now that all the Christmas "junk" is gone, there is no excuse for not eating better.

The other night, in anticipation of the forecast rain for the next day,  

Hubby and I cleaned the snow off the pond so we could get some skating in, 

something we haven't done in over fifteen years. 

Tonight, I walked back to check the ice

...it was perfect, 

although I didn't venture on it because of the mild temps over the last few days.

Notice the dark circles in the ice...

Close up they looked like giant eyeballs.

The night sky was beautiful!

I had a great walk and came home to

... a healthy meal

of fresh veggies with hummus,

a sandwich, orange sections and a glass of vegetable juice.

Getting back on track with healthy eating,

avocado

...a batch of yogurt 

...and seeds in my sprouter 

for extra greens next week, 

...one lonely candy cane, 

the last of the Christmas junk.

Happy walking,
Marisa

Finding Joy In The Going

Though they bear the weight of the world, 

let your feet proclaim their joy

…not just in getting somewhere, but in the going.
~Jeffrey Willius~

One Man's Wonder 

It seems that my mantra "just move," far from progressing to a new mantra "move more" has petered out over the past two weeks...with only sputtering bits of activity here and there ...only to come to a complete stop. I haven't walked in three or four days. It started a few weeks ago with the sound of an animal moving in the woods as I walked down the gully... probably only a large raccoon... ...but being unable to see in the darkness, it was just enough to instill the fear of walking alone in the dark. So for the past two weeks I've been trying to replace my morning walk with exercise on the treadmill, but getting up at 5:30 to walk is hard enough...getting up to go downstairs to run on a treadmill is a real killer... thus I found myself choosing to forgo exercise for some extra morning zzzzz's. Looking after a house full of preschoolers all day usually leaves me too wasted to walk in the evenings but I did get out last night for a beautiful fall walk.

I started out on my usual route but veered off to follow a trail that runs through the orchards and past a series of ponds, following as close as possible the path that is kept groomed all winter for the snowmobile enthusiast and serves as a cross country trail for us. I enjoyed my walk so much that I wasn't ready for it to come to an end, so, after stopping at the house long enough to deposit the spoils of my walk, (must remember to wear jacket with bigger pockets next time) I headed out again. 

...through the woods

...to the fields and ponds behind our house.

I love that someone placed an old chair

beside the pond,

a place to sit 

and enjoy the quiet.

It was not until I reached the ponds that I remembered it was deer hunting season, and while I make it a point  to never go into the woods when there are hunters jacked up with the prospects of bagging a deer, it was too late to turn back now.

I wasn't wearing hunter orange

but surely no one could mistake my bubble gum pink jacket 

for a deer?

A moment of serenity against our magic tree, 

an old giant hemlock in a little alcove in the woods behind our house
...a magical mysterious place for a kid
...or a kid at heart. 

I found the beautiful quote at the top of my page on a wonderful blog,

One Man's Wonder 

so stop over and check it out.

Jeffrey Willius has  a lot to say

...let him inspire you.

The Wind In My Hair...I Mean Streamers

I love love riding my circa 1940's Schwinn Corvette,

the wind blowing through my long silver locks

...well could be if I wasn't wearing my helmet

...but it did blow through my pink streamers,

which is almost as good as 

blowing through
my hair.

Sunday, the temperature took a sudden dip from the

humid  low 30's of recent days,

to a cooler and refreshing 24 degrees,

perfect for jumping on our  bikes

and exploring.

...an old farm road running through corn fields nestled between
the north and south mountain.
This road was very deceiving

...what appeared to be a downhill ride as we started
was just the opposite.
 I  first thought my brakes must be
sticking or that I was
stuck in the wrong gear.
But coming back was a breeze...weeeee...

There were lots of old derelict vehicles 

scattered in the surrounding woods,

but the hubby really liked 

this old

International truck.

 An old abandoned camp...

...with outdoor amenities, 

aptly  named

~The Shitter~

..fields of hay.

...hives situated throughout the orchards.

Maintaining a

good supply of pollinators 

is important to the 

apple growers.

The hubby wouldn't come within 20 feet

of these babies.

...a picnic in the orchard

followed by an 

"Anne Of Green Gables"

moment

...if only my hair were red.

Happy walking,

Marisa

Lets Get It On

Pineapple Salad

A bed of fresh salad greens and dill from my garden 

topped with mushrooms, peppers and pineapple

and sprinkled with sage flowers. 

~great with Mango dressing~

So many people bemoan the idea of  going on a diet or switching to a healthier life style with the mistaken belief that they will be required to give up their favorite foods and commit themselves to a lifetime of nothing but  rabbit food to eat. Nothing can be further from the truth. There is a wide range of foods to to enjoy. The secret is limiting the junk food, paying attention to portion size and tracking calories. I've found that using this free, easy to use online diet site, "Loose It.com" helpful in keeping track of how many calories I take in and how many I burn each day through exercise. Setting a daily calorie limit and seeing what I've eaten listed on my computer screen  in front of me helps me to choose foods with a lower calorie count allowing me to eat more ...thus I am not fighting pangs of hunger. But that doesn't mean you can't treat yourself to your favorite cheesecake once in a while, you will just have to cut back for the rest of the day or  increase the amount of exercise you do to make up for your indulgence.

Speaking of exercise, with Loose It.com you can even calculate the amount of calories burned doing "the nasty",  although I should point out that, according to Loose It, moderate sexual activity burns only 9 calories for 30 min. of activity and by stepping it up a notch, you can burn 15 calories for 30 min. of  vigorous sexual activity. Ho hum...just 15 calories ... me thinks the next time hubby gets randy and suggest we burn a few calories, I'm gonna pass him  Nordic walking poles and tell him to go take a hike ...and I'll go too....and burn 173 calories for 30 min. of Nordic walking...

"I'm ready babe...lets get some action on."

Happy Walking
Marisa

Riding The Rails...Sort Of

Sunday was a beautiful day to load up the bikes and head for the trails, 

an old abandoned railway that's been transformed

into part of the trans Canada

trail system.

The section we rode was along the Cornwallis River.

"The Cornwallis River Greenway"

The biking was easy going with 

no traffic to contend with

...only the occasional

walker/runner or biker.

We biked through the protected migratory bird sanctuary...but

only saw one bird. I'm guessing it must be a rare dodo bird!

Happy walking,
Marisa

Walking My Ass Off

I love singing the line in Bob Dylan's song, My Back Pages... 

"Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now,"

...for the most part, 

that's exactly how
I feel.

Weight has always been an on again/off again issue for me
...I love to eat
...and I love to relax in front of the TV
... exercise
...not so much,
a bad combination resulting in a roller coaster of 

gaining/dieting/gaining/dieting
over the years.

40 and fat!

48 and fatter!

The hubby looks like he's about to be crushed.

Although it was easy to justify eating with abandon and my lackadaisical attitude to exercise with "I'd rather be fat and happy than thin and miserable"...I was not happy.  But it was not until the pending wedding of my daughter five years ago that I finally took the bull by the horns made some life style adjustments. Having already bought my dress, a size 16 ... I woke up one morning and made up my mind that there was no way I was going to wear that dress. So, starting with an elliptical machine and weighs and watching what I ate, I managed to loose 30 pounds in time for the wedding... and kept it off except for a little extra  padding I tend to put accumulate every winter and have to work off as soon as the weather is nicer and it's easier to "get the move on."

Since my initial weigh loss I have added a treadmill, a reclining ab bench, a rolling machine and a weigh bench to my little home gym in the basement, but aside for little "workout fits," they generally just sit there gathering dust. My preferred exercise of choice for the past year consist of mostly walking. In March I started using Nordic walking poles and have grown to love them so that walking now without them feels unnatural. Lately, I have been walking my ass off...at least 5K every day...the ass is slowly disappearing, along with my arms and legs...too bad the belly and boobs are so slow to follow suit!

I have given away all

my biggie clothes,

  haven't

worn a

baggy "T" in years,

and now when I sing along

with Bob, 

it's...

"Ah, but I was so much bigger then,
I’m smaller than that now,"

Happy walking,

Marisa

For more Sunday Citars visit Tabitia at Fresh Mommy Blog.