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We’re Back….And We Have Grown!
First I want to apologize for our absence! It has been about a month since we have posted, mind you we do have a very good reason. Our family has grown by one! Yes baby Alia Alexandra Faltenhine arrived on April 12, 2012 a whole 11 days early. The HealthyHfx family is now 4!
I am sure that Lisa will be blogging like crazy about her delivery and everything that has been going on since then. So much is new and I forgot how much work babies are. It has been a while since my son Elias was a baby lol. No matter how much work and how much sleep you lose, it all goes away when you look into those eyes…..as they start to squint just before they start to screech, and then it all comes back lol. But seriously they are worth every sleepless night. The moment they are born they just take those little hands and wrap it around your heart and they never let go. And I would not have it any other way.
I am not going to make this a long post, just a quick update on everyone else. Lisa is doing three things. 1) Caring for baby, 2) Feeding baby (she has a great story for this one), 3) researching in google,every last thing that may be making Alia cry. I told her to check her iphone, I am sure that there must be an app! If not then boy do I have an idea for someone.
I am doing my best to help out with Alia and make sure Lisa gets some rest and takes care of herself. I was out of the gym for the first two weeks baby was here, but back in there now. I have all the muscle soreness and funny walk to prove it. I have also been working on more cool things for us to get involved in and then share with all of you. Oh ya I also put together this new place we call home www.HealthyHfx.com. With the help of my good friend Ray, we will be making this into a one stop shop for fitness,nutrition and motivation and the odd rant! Or two! Or……
Elias is having a crazy summer. He is off in BC with my sister and her husband. They own a company that is in the forestry business. So Elias is starting off tree planting for about 6 weeks and then his uncle will be plugging him into many other jobs within the company. It is going to be really hard work; however it can be really good to the bank account. Best part is there is nowhere to spend the money. I am really proud of him for going out there and I am sure that he will do very well. Everything Elias does he does well. He has grown into an amazing young man and I just can’t wait to see where his life journey takes him. I hope closer to home lol. I miss him like mad!
Ok you are caught up. I have made notes on some great blog post ideas and will get right to work! Thanks for hanging in there and we will work hard to keep you! Lets have an amazing healthy summer!
Meal preparation: How to make healthy eating faster and easier.
We have talked about the importance of meal and ingredient preparation on the blog before and I could go on and on about the importance of it when it comes to healthy heating. It makes meal time so much easier. Can you think back to a day that you did not have anything prepared for lunch or dinner and you ended up making a bad decision and either eating fast food or skipping meal time all together? Below are some of the things we do to make meal time easier.
For me the most important “tips” are taking a few hours each Sunday or Monday evening to prepare and organize food and making my lunch and snacks the night before, I guarantee if I don’t make my lunch the night before, chances are my sleepy butt is not getting out of bed early to make lunch.
Here are things that work for us, let us know anything that works for you.
Prepare all your food once a week: We buy our groceries for the week on Sunday and we take about 1 hour each Sunday afternoon to prepare, I cut up all my veggies and store them in Ziploc bags or Tupperware so I have easy snacks during the week and salads can be made quickly. I cut up my celery, broccoli, slice up my peppers and chop up spinach if needed. We decide what meat we will need that week and any meat that needs to be cut, we cut right away and freeze in a Ziploc bag. This way our meat is already cut up for meals like stir fry’s On Sunday we also cook a batch of rice or quinoa, for lunch or dinners, we boil eggs for snacks, we cook up chicken breast or ground beef to add to lunches or dinner and store everything in an air tight container in the fridge for the week. Cooked meat and eggs when handled, packaged and stored properly should stay good up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Have a menu planned out for each night of the week: This will save you from last minute shopping trips, and you will know what you must take out for dinner the night before or that morning.
Start early when possible: The less work during the stressful dinnertime the better. To make dinnertime quicker, during the day when kids are busy playing, in school, during nap time or anytime you have a few minutes, do your prep work.
(Example: If making sweet and sour chicken cut meat into cubes, cut up veggies and make sauce. Then put each in a separate bowl and store in the fridge until dinner. Salads can also easily be made ahead of time.
Make your lunch the night before: As we are preparing dinner we also make lunch for the next day. Or plan to make a double batch of your dinner and have the leftovers for lunch. This will make your mornings much easier.
(Example: As my chicken and sweet potato is cooking in the oven, I make our salads and wraps for lunch)
Oatmeal can be made the night before: If planning oatmeal for breakfast, make it the night before and store it in the fridge. Oatmeal can be warmed up in the microwave and protein powder and berries can be added once warm.
Make yogurt parfaits the night before: If planning to have a yogurt parfait for breakfast or snack make it the night before. Layer your yogurt, berries, protein powder and oats in a container and store it in the refrigerator, mix just prior to eating.
Prepare cheese: If I know we will be having pita pizza’s later in the week I grate my mozzarella on Sunday or if my weekly snacks have 1oz of cheddar cheese I cut up my cheese in 1oz portions so it’s easy to grab and go.
Bake your own protein or granola bars for snacks: This way you can keep all the ingredients natural and healthy and you have lots of bars for your weekly snacks. You can find our favorite protein bar recipe here.
What is Wrong With This Picture?
This post does not have a direct connection to health. When we started our blog we wanted to build something that would help people become healthy and hopefully be a source of motivation. In doing so we are also going to pass opinions on some topics to hopefully create conversation.
If you watch the world news, you would have heard about the US soldier that is being accused of killing 17 people in two Afghan villages. The 17 people consisted of men women and children, and I think it goes without saying that the soldier has some severe mental issues. However I don’t want to write about the soldier or the crime. I would like to write about the media and ask, why?
Two days ago I was in the gym getting dressed after my workout and shower. There was a major news channel on TV, and the news person started talking about a show that would be coming up later in the day. The show was going to be about this horrible tragedy with a special effort to showcase who the victims were. The news person asked “Why don’t we have pictures of these people? We should put a face to the crime”. This really bothered me.
Why does this channel think that we need to put a face to this awful crime? What business is this of ours? If the families of the victims want us to know about their loved ones, they will share their story! Then I started wondering how many people die in Afghanistan and the news does not ask who they are. In fact they don’t even mention it.
I started looking for information and it didn’t take me long to find an article that quoted stats from a survey conducted by the Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan and the WHO (World Health Organization). The survey was said to have taken place in 2009 and the findings were shocking to say the least. It said that 37 children die every hour, and every 30 minutes a woman dies during childbirth. To quote just a few of the stats: only 37% of the children are vaccinated, 54% of children are malnourished, 38% of children suffer from anemia and only 27% of Afghans have access to clean drinking water. I am not going to say that the news has never covered this story; however I will say that a newsperson has never asked to see a picture of any of the 1,000’s of people who’ve already died.
It is important that all of us know what goes on in the world, and news channels are our window. I would just like to see them do it in a more humane way. I’ve had enough of the sensationalism. This was an awful crime and the only reason we know about it is because an American soldier stands accused. The news should report the story and just leave it at that. Don’t look for information on the victims, let their families be. If they want you to know, they will share.
We live in a world that has more than enough wealth to rid the world of hunger and poverty and yet more people die from over eating than under eating. What is wrong with this picture?
Dear Running….
I miss you.
Do you remember….
All those Saturday morning long runs that took us from South endHalifaxto North endHalifaxfollowed by our coffee dates…
How you made my heart beat faster with every incline…
All the evenings we spent together in point pleasant park watching the cruise ships leaving and seeing the sun set on the harbour…
The time we made Glenn join us in the resolution 5K run and he complained his legs where burning? he just doesn’t “get you” like I do…
All the anticipation and sleepless nights prior to our race day dates…
How I would curse you for aches and pains but I kept coming back for more…
How I hated wearing my winter running head band because it made me look like an Alien…
All those windy winter days that I hated you, and all those warm summer nights that I loved you…
How every time I decided it was time to head home you gave me my second wind and we kept just kept running…..
How adding a few new songs on my iPod instantly made me want to head outside and run…
The high you gave me after every encounter no matter if we met for 3km or 21km…..
The time I though running a 10K with the flu was a good idea and I almost needed to be rescued by the paramedics…
Running, we’ve had some great times you and me.
And I just want you to know one thing: I may have had to give up on you due to pregnancy but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you, we will be reunited one day soon.
I can’t wait until the day that I can feel your shin splints and burning IT band once again. I can’t wait to run with my daughter in her stroller, I hope she loves you as much as I do.
See you soon running, and until then please tell your friend walking to make things a little more interesting around here.
Lisa
Now I am Tired!
Hey it’s Lisa, remember me? You may have noticed I’ve been MIA for a while, my last post was December 29….sheesh talk about slacking on my blogging duties.
Thank god Glenn picked up the slack around here and posted a few things since then.
I’m having trouble writing lately, I always think of topics I want to talk about but then I try to write them down and…..nothing, my mind is blank.In part, I believe this is because my brain = mush and all I can think of is the baby that will be arriving in about 9 weeks.
I’ve been feeling amazing my entire pregnancy and I still feel that my energy levels are high. But for the last few weeks It’s like I’m moving in slow motion, and for this reason I feel like I’m not getting the most out of my days.
Before pregnancy a typical day would look something like this:
Wake up feeling energized. Go to work. Hit the gym at lunch. Teach a class or go for a run after work. Make dinner that was planned out that morning. Make both our lunch’s for the next day. Catch up on blogging and emails. Go to bed and read a chapter before falling asleep for the night.
Now I feel that it goes something like this:
Wake up and hit snooze 1 million times because I woke up 10 times during the night from hip pain or to use the washroom. Be late for work because I spent 10 minutes fussing over what to wear, nothing fits me anymore. Skip my lunch time workout. Remind myself that exercise during pregnancy may help during labour so hit the gym or go for a walk after work. Get home and realise I forgot to plan dinner AGAIN so tell Glenn he needs to go to the grocery store or we are eating subway…..AGAIN. Throw together lunch if I feel like it. Sit on the couch and think about all the productive things I could be doing. Go to bed feeling tired and read 2 pages if I’m lucky.
Ok so the description above may be a little exaggerated but since entering my 7th month of pregnancy I’ve noticed a huge difference in my mind and body. Most of my days are still quite busy and active; I still teach a few fitness classes per week, I attend pre natal yoga and get to the gym pretty regularly. After 31 weeks of being pregnant I’m just now starting to feel pregnant and I can most certainly tell that baby has had a growth spurt over the last couple of weeks, with the extra weight resulting in a slower pace during my workouts and a few aches and pains that I’ve never experienced before.
Oh and baby brain is real people, I’m in a permanent state of mental fuzziness and by that I mean don’t tell me anything you want me to remember…it ain’t happening.
I realise the tone of this blog sounds negative and don’t get me wrong I’m grateful to have felt so great this entire pregnancy and I know the biggest changes have yet to come, I can’t wait to meet this little baby. However seeing and experiencing the mind and body changes are hard on me. I don’t do well with feeling lazy, unproductive, whiny and the size of a small whale.
I really need to snap out of it and enjoy these next 9 weeks of pregnancy this may be my only baby and I really want to enjoy it. The reality is I’m still productive, I do still exercise 4+ times a week and I’ve only gained 18lbs so far which I’m very happy with. Sure I’m craving a good long heart-pounding workout, the kind where my limbs are shaking at the end….but those workouts will one day be part of my days again.
Does this sound familiar to any mom’s out there; did you feel like your body started slowing down on its own at some point of pregnancy? How did it make you feel?
Lisa
Don’t Give Up Now!
So we are now almost half way through February. Winter is almost all over and we’re thinking about spring and the warmer weather. Many of you are thinking about going south in March. Those of you heading south are probably doing well with the healthy eating and exercise. I’m not saying you’re necessarily enjoying it, but the thought of being in a bathing suit is enough to keep you from any sugary snack. However most of you are hitting that plateau and considering giving up!
For god sakes don’t give up!! This is when it all counts. You’ve been doing so well for almost two months. Your digestive system is thrilled and your body on the inside is thanking you. If you have made good lifestyle changes, then you have had some weight loss. More importantly, that loss has come from your body fat. I’m sure you have worked some exercise into the schedule and for that you have been rewarded with some new lean muscle and a more effective metabolism. This has added a few years to your life and started to lower many of those levels your doctor told you to work on (blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose etc). Your resting heart rate is now a bit lower and things are working a bit easier on the inside of that machine! All is looking amazing!
Then out of nowhere comes that damn devil on your other shoulder that starts to ask why the hell are you doing all of this? Come on you want that bag of chips, grab that can of soda! Don’t listen to that angel looking dude on your other shoulder, what does he know? Well that dude knows how your body really works! He/she knows that all of that crap that you want to eat does two things. First, it starts to break down that amazing machine that is designed to work efficiently for over 100 years and it makes a bunch of people rich!! Who, you ask? All the people in upper management at the companies that manufacture all of that crap! They don’t eat what they make because they want to live longer to enjoy the money you’re giving them!!!
Since we are on the subject of money let’s talk about that gym membership. You joined up in January and this time you said you will keep going. No matter what, you will make time in the day to get to that damn place. You will walk in the doors where there are many just like you and also regulars that can’t wait until February when most of you give up and it stops being busy!! That’s right ,many people that start in January will be done before March. Do you know how much money this makes fitness centres? Part of their budget is based on how many people will join only to give up and keep paying. They decide that they don’t need a bigger gym as 1,000’s will join and only 100’s will come regularly. What a great money maker! Each and every year they can bank on this happening, and I mean BANK on it. What if people stuck with it? What if the majority said I am not going to give up! My body is worth the work and the energy. I feel so much better after working out then sitting on my ass after work and watching Dr Oz tell me to do this.
I’ll tell you what would happen if people stuck with it. The obesity rate would drop! Childhood obesity would drop because we now teach our kids how to eat and be active. Taxes would go down because all the money going to the budget to cover medical expenses for preventative diseases would plummet. Grocery stores would carry more real food and less processed. More people eating healthy creates a demand for more farmers. This will create jobs and lower the price of healthy foods. I think you get the idea! I love how this sounds. People living longer, and enjoying their age not giving into it. Who says you can’t look 30 at 50!! You’re only as old as you feel.
FOR GOD SAKES, THIS YEAR, DON’T GIVE UP!
Health is a Team Effort
We are really excited about 2012! So many things are happening. We are having our first child together (a girl), we are working with some great groups on health and wellness and my son is close to finishing University. I mention my son because I know that he is going to do amazing things and I cannot wait to see him fly!
I’ve decided that 2012 is going to be the year that society turns the corner and moves toward better health. We have gone in the other direction for long enough. It’s time to turn around, and go back to a much better place. The key to this turnaround is team work. After years of working with many different types of people, one thing is clear, self motivation when it comes to exercise, is not abundant. Very few people have what it takes to stick to a healthy diet and go to the gym, hit the streets, or bust it in the living room as much as they should. Even some of the best leaders in our society struggle when it comes to their own health and well being. Just as teamwork is crucial for a company, it is also the foundation of a healthy society.
This is our simple challenge to all of you strong self motivated individuals that have no problem taking care of that machine we call a body. Offer your help and support to someone close to you that may need it. We all know someone that has tried many times over the years to get healthy and has continually failed. Ask that person out for a Green Tea or coffee and tell them if they want to change, you’re there to help. People need to be held accountable by someone who cares about them and that they care about. Maybe it is going to the gym with them or for a walk a few times a week. Offer to go to their house and help them throw out all the food that’s stopping their success. Offer to take them grocery shopping and teach them how to make meals in advance of the week. This makes life easier and limits the excuse that being healthy is too difficult and time consuming.
It’s time that we all join together to help one another get healthy. Our health care is out of control and if we don’t work to prevent disease then the disease will bankrupt us. If you think the financial crisis in the US is bad, wait until health care is costing governments 70% of their budget, or more. Don’t think it won’t happen because we are already almost at 50% of the budget.
So lets start by helping someone close to us. Turn one life around and then ask they do the same. Eventually we will all be closer and healthier, with a balanced budget to boot!!
New Year’s 5K Challenge
![Resolution Run_new_v2_med[2]](http://healthyhfx.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Resolution-Run_new_v2_med2-300x213.jpg "Resolution Run_new_v2_med[2]")
Last year Glenn and I signed up for the 5K resolution run that happens each December 31. The idea behind the resolution run is to start the New Year off on the right foot by establishing an active lifestyle right from the start.
We wanted to save a bit of money this year so we decided not to sign up for the Resolution Run but rather start our own resolution challenge and keep a 5K as part of our annual December 31 tradition. This year we are asking you to join us in starting this new tradition.
On December 31 or January 1 we want you to start 2012 in a healthy way and walk or run 3-5K. So bundle up your family and head outside. If 5K is too much for your family commit to 3K. We want you to set a goal and achieve it. Think of how great it will feel to start the New Year 6600 steps ahead of last year! (There are about 1320 steps in a km).
As weather may influence your decision, we are giving you options; choose December 31 or Jan 1. You choose the distance 3K or 5K and you choose the speed, walk, run or a combination of both. (Walk 2min run 1min).
We are planning on doing a combination of running and jogging on December 31 rain or shine.
Let us know your plan and how it goes.
1+1= 4
We have some exciting news to share with all of you; this is not a healthy living post but its good news that we are excited to share. A few months ago we wrote about our engagement and apparently we like doing everything at once around here because not only are we getting married, we are also expecting our first child together. So actually our family is growing to 4; although Elias spends most of his year in Toronto going to university, we are excited to be four on holidays and vacations. We are already looking forward to having Elias come home and babysit….JUST KIDDING ELIAS.
My little brother will be the regular babysitter; he just doesn’t know that yet.
We are beyond thrilled to bring a little healthy baby into this world and love him or her forever and ever and ever and ever.
Rest assured we will continue to post healthy living post on this page; Healthyhfx isn’t turning into baby central, just a first little post about how pregnancy has been going.
I’m currently 21 weeks along. So far I’ve been very lucky, I felt really good in my first trimester and other than a few nauseous moments and a bit of cramping I had a great first trimester.
First trimester weight gain: 2lbs
My second trimester has been a breeze, any energy that was lost during the first 12 weeks has come back and my fussy food moments have gone away. During the first trimester I found myself being extremely picky with food, from one meal to the next I had no idea what I was going to feel like eating, I had a serious aversion to meat which is not good when living with a meat loving protein king, I got allot of my protein from eggs and cottage cheese.
One of the biggest adjustments I’ve had to make has been changing my workouts to make them less strenuous. I really enjoy my intense workouts and now I’m finding myself getting out of breath much easier, and my muscles just don’t seem to be able to do what they used to be able too. Busting out 100 squats or 25 push ups used to be no problem, but this little nugget just doesn’t let me do that anymore. I’m still going to the gym regularly and teaching spin class but my running has turned into a run/walk program or a lower impact cardio machine like the elliptical, and I’m continuing to do resistance training however I’m keeping my weight lighter. …I really miss my intense workouts.
During this last week I’ve found myself starting to get forgetful and being really clumsy, apparently this is something I can look forward too during pregnancy, I’ve heard it may get worst. However all these things are so minor I really can’t complain, my pregnancy has been amazing so far.
Weight gain so far: 8lbs
We are very happy to share this news with all of you and I welcome any helpful advice or suggestions from any parents out there. I need all the help I can get.
When is Santa’s Birthday?
So let me first say that Lisa and I are not ignoring the blog. We are actually working on our new website!! This site is going to bring so much more information to all of you. We are very excited to build a great resource that will hopefully help people change their lives and also challenge people that already have. We will announce the new site very soon!
So back to the topic at hand. I really want to know what day Santa’s birthday falls on. This time of year all we see are commercials and programs showing Santa at work, and getting ready for his one night trip around the world.
All year round we are blackmailing our children into being good! Oh don’t say you don’t! When the kids are acting up and you have tried everything else, you shout out, “you better smarten up because Santa is watching!” Oh yes you do lol. We tell them that Santa always sends us a note to make sure that our kids have been good, before he approves their list. Maybe you have not used that one, I do, so you can borrow it LOL.
Point is that it is always about what Santa can do for us! When is it ever about Santa? So I thought about it and everyone has that one day of the year that we are the special one, our birthday. It is time that we all give Santa a birthday. We can just pick a day later in the year and tell our kids that it is Santa’s birthday. Have them draw a picture or write a poem. Maybe get them to write him a letter asking how he is doing and wishing him a great birthday. Even better, tell your children that Santa does not want a gift. He would just like them to help someone else. Imagine a day of children doing good deeds for others, and loving it!
I think you get the idea. Christmas is all about family and children. It is really hard for kids not to want things at Christmas. So let them want and let them have a blast. You should love every minute of it. Then on Santa’s birthday, just ask them to give back and help another.
Maybe we can start something amazing!
