The sun is back after a rain-filled week…Hallelujah!
Eric and I took advantage of the nice weather to get outside for our first hike of the year.
We weren’t the only Canadians with Spring Fever! We could barely find a parking spot…
Ladies and Gents…meet Dwight K. Schrute! Or just Dwight for short. ;)
I picked myself up a Garmin Forerunner 305 at Costco this weekend!!
I have been wanting one for over a year now and my Polar RS200 has been broken for several months so I finally forked over the cash for a Garmin. Costco seems to have the best deal in Canada (aside from one sketchy website which I deemed was perhaps not the most reliable).
Eric couldn’t stop laughing at how HUGE the watch looks on my wrist. I had to explain to him that it’s a runner’s thing and I am PROUD to wear this beast!
If you are an Office fan you will understand where the Dwight name comes from. On the show, Dwight is known for wearing a huge calculator watch, which the Garmin kind of reminds me of. ;)
I can’t get over how many cool features this watch has. You can train or race against a ‘virtual partner’. This will be so motivational for me on solo runs. You can also upload all of your workouts and track/compare with the software. I still have half of a manual to read, but so far it has been quite easy to figure out! I can’t wait to use this on my 15km race this Sunday!
We tested out Dwight on the hike today. I set up the automatic pause feature, so the timer pauses every time I stop for a rest. At the end of the workout (or during) you can look at how much ‘rest time’ you had. It prevents the need to keep pausing and starting the watch each time you stop.
It was about 18C today and just perfect for a hike!
So peaceful.
Winter BE GONE!
We brought some of these on our walk for a snack:
Eric and I love going on hikes together because it gives us uninterrupted time to just talk about anything and everything…
We had one VERY interesting talk that I will be telling you about soon. :mrgreen: Oh, it’s a DOOZEY!!!!
We walked for an hour and covered 2.9 miles of hills, rocks, waterfalls, and rays…
We worked up appetites for lunch…
A protein packed spinach, lentil, hummus, and tomato Ezekiel wrap:
My breakfast this morning did an OK job of holding me over. Not as good as my first batch of vegan overnight oats for some reason (I may have just been extra hungry this morning though!).
An apple which was way too soft and not very good…(I like crunchy apples!)
and a handful of dried organic apricots and a dark chocolate:
I spent the afternoon organizing my bakery stock and taking inventory. It feels so good to get a jump start on the work week. This week is going to be VERY busy and EXCITING as I am training my first employee, meeting with the organic farmer’s market director, finalizing the new GF Glo Bar, and of course doing my regular orders!
In my last post, I told you that Eric is trying to kick something COLD TURKEY from his diet!
If you guessed COKE you were right!
And no, not the illegal kind of coke…this kind… ;)
Eric has been addicted to Coke since he was a young boy. In university, he often drank up to 6 cans a DAY as a way to be able to stay awake. He cut back a bit after university, but he still drank about 2 cans during the work day. I used to encourage him to drink healthier things, but he never showed ANY interest in stopping so I dropped it years ago.
Well, what does he do totally out of the blue last week??
He tells me that he decided to cut Coke (and all pop) COLD TURKEY out of his diet!!!!
He has not had a Coke since the beginning of our vacation in Florida, and not one sip at work. Apparently, his coworker bought him a Coke last week and set it in front of him and Eric didn’t even drink it after much teasing from his coworker. I was so proud when he told me this story I almost shed a tear! lol. I gave him a big, beaming bear hug because I am just so proud of him!
I asked him why he decided to do this all of a sudden and he said, ‘It is the one consistent thing in my diet that is bad for me and I realized that I could replace it with something healthier.’
When the craving strikes, he is trying to beat it by making tea or having 100% pure orange juice.
So far it has been working…BUT, he admitted to me this weekend that he is craving one REALLY BADLY and he is worried that he might crack and have one and then be hooked again.
I immediately thought of you guys and I knew that you could help Eric! I said, ‘MY AMAZING BLOG READERS CAN HELP YOU!!!!’ :mrgreen:
He needs the encouragement now more than ever and I was hoping that you guys could leave Eric a comment below and encourage him to stick with cutting Coke out of his life. Then he can read the comments when he is craving some. Actually, this could help ANYONE out there who is trying to cut something out of their diet. Eric REALLY wants to stick with it, but he is afraid that he is not strong enough!! Any encouragement you can offer is greatly appreciated. :) maybe those of you who are also trying to kick pop out of your life can offer each other support!
Today’s question- Do you have a story to share about pop/soda? Do you like it and have you ever tried to cut back? What about diet pop?
My story with pop is a simple one- I always disliked pop since I was a very young child. I have never been a fan of carbonated drinks for some reason! The only pop I ever drank was the orange or pink stuff…and I drank it very rarely because I always preferred juice as opposed to carbonated drinks. I know a lot of women who are addicted to diet pop…they drink about 6-8 cans a day and can’t kick the habit.
I love pop. I grew up on Diet Coke and I used to drink MANY cans a day. I kicked the aspartame and didn’t want to drink sugar pop so I just cut pop out all together. It’s hard. I seriously love pop and only allow myself one when we go out to eat which is fairly rare. I never thought of myself as addicted to pop but I was, I still am because I still crave it. It sounds like a weird addiction but it’s so true. And it’s not the caffeine, I switched to non caffeineated several times and it didn’t make a difference. Actually, it did because the caffeine withdrawl headaches were awful. I haven’t had pop for about a year now. I stick with mostly water and the occasional lemonade or iced tea. And V8. I wish him well and the pictures outdoors are beautiful!
Thanks for sharing your story…congrats on kicking the habit!
Diet coke was always a big thing for me at home. Never really liked the regular pop too much (too sweet for me). But diet pop just had that right mix of carbonation and sweetness….couldn’t get enough of it. It was always at home so I took full advantage, but I knew it was bad.
First year of university I ate on campus and was still drinking diet pop or ice tea (even worse for sugar).
But then when I moved into my own house I stopped buying it (mostly because it was too much for me to carry home for groceries), and I’d still crave it, but it wouldn’t be there so as a student without a car what could I do? I’d just drink some water or tea instead. And now I don’t need it at all. I still crave the carbonation slightly sometimes, but I don’t have any at home so I don’t drink it.
Every once in a while at a restaurant I’ll still get a diet coke (so maybe the habit isn’t kicked completely), but it’s more like a treat so it doesn’t really have a hold one me anymore.
I think not keeping things in the house is such a great tactic! If its not there you CANT drink it…at home anyways. Good work!
That watch is super huge. My in-laws bought me the Garmin Forerunner 405cx for X-mas (bought one for my husband, too) — which is equally as huge. But I traded mine in for the smaller FR60.
It has fewer features, no GPS, but I can’t stand the feel of the huge watch on my arm. That being said — hope you enjoy! It’s definitely awesome and well worth the heft. And, though mine isn’t as fancy, it has helped me log my long runs in marathon training <3
I like how they have different sizes to suit everyones needs…I personally don’t mind the size too much myself but everyone is different! Eric can’t even wear a watch at all because he can’t have anything on his arm.
oh man I was addicted to diet coke bad, back in the day, like 2-8 servings a day and I would crave it like no other. One day I just cut it out and went cold turkey… It gets easier and now the thought of it is gross!
Two helpful tips:
1. think of how much money you are saving that stuff is expensive!
2. Make your own “soda” this helps with the bubbles craving. Get sparkling water and mix two parts of the water to one part 100% pure fruit juice. It works well with apple, grape or pomegranate but I’m sure anything would be fine. This is also a great tip for people that love juice but want to cut back on the calories/sugar in it! It is seriously so yummy, it has a soda like feel but as far as I know sparkling water (or club soda) is just fine for you.
This is a great idea – I need to cut my diet coke habit!
Diet Coke addict here…..it’s sad, I just see the silver can and smile. I can’t say I’ve made a commitment to stop yet, but one of the things that motivates me most is the economics of it. Maybe if Eric puts the amount of money he’d pay for a Coke in a jar every time he wanted one, you guys would be on your way to another cool vacation?
love the way you think ;)
I used to drink diet soda religiously, but I gave it up a few months ago because I felt like the artificial sweeteners ramped up my appetite. Interestingly enough, ever since I did so my binge eating has been much, much less severe. But, I was even more glad I gave the stuff up when I found out recently that the stuff in Diet Coke can actually cause MS-like symptons in people sensitive to certain chemicals. Can you believe that?
And, not to use fear tactics to scare Eric into giving up cola, but scientists have begun to believe that cola can cause an increased risk of kidney disease. Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/health/nutrition/22real.html
i got the garmin 305 from my boyfriend for christmas – he calls it my “dick tracy” watch since it’s so big – but i absolutely love it!! i used the virtual trainer on my recent half marathon and it worked out really well [even beat my goal time by over 5 minutes!] :)
best of luck to eric :)
wow I never thought to use the virtual trainer during a RACE…very fun…might do that this weekend!
you can do it eric!
if you have a craving for the ‘fizz’ get some soda water, and mix it with some strong flavored juice. i like organic pom/blueberry/cranberry.
after a while of not drinking soda, if you DO have one, it tastes bad. too sweet.
good luck!!
was the talk about babies!!?? Please say yes! haha
I used to drink a fair amount of pop. mostly diet. But one day i just quit drinking it, I almost never have any pop now, and if i do on occasion i try to have Blue Sky Natural Soda
I used to be addicted to diet coke until I realized all the chemicals were causing my skin to break out and I was SUPER grumpy :?
YOU CAN DO IT ERIC!! There is nothing in coke that relieves stress or makes you happy. It’s totally mental. Plus, it’s really bad for your health: It has a PH of 3.4 which is strong enough to dissolve teeth & bones! It can also be used to take rust of pennies :?
Eric, just think of the 16 teaspoons of sugar in one can of Coke! Not only is the sugar bad for your teeth and weight, but sugar has a destructive effect on the body. And, without all that caffeine, think of how much less wired you will be and how much better you will sleep! A win, win situation! I try to drink ice water rather than soda, and if I want the fizz, I’ll have fizzy water, either with fruit essence (not sugared or artificial sugar) or with a little soda added. I also add frozen berries. Cucumber water is very refreshing also. Hope that helps, and hope we readers provide some help to you when we get some much inspiration from your lovely wife!
I lost 40 pounds in about 6 months from just giving up drinking things like coke and energy drinks. There are a lot of calories/sugar in those drinks and the sugar high isn’t worth it. I was basically a healthy eater other than that. I lost another 15 when I introduced more frequent exercising into my week (both cardio and serious weight training)
truly inspiring how changing one thing could do so much!
Go Eric! Just think…drinking coke is not going to feel even half as good as achieving success in the goal you set for yourself. You’ll have a couple of sips and realize that helping yourself provides soo much more satisfaction than that flavored sugar water!
Plus, I have a feeling you may hear some taunts from that coworker who brought you the can of coke if you don’t keep your resolution. Hearing “I told ya so” is NOT worth it ;)
I used to love a can of diet pop. One a day or a few times a week. I have cut it out as my last thing with aspartame. My husband also has cut it out and we no longer have it in our house. In the afternoon when he would usually reach for a pop, he now has herbal tea. I like to make Iced herbal tea’s to help curve that cold bev. craving.
All that caffeine, sugar, or aspartame is so unhealthy.
Give up the coke Eric! Big brother says so :)
We’ve cut it out of our diet pretty much as well and its worth it
I love that big brother is commenting :)
I just recently gave up my life-long Dr. Pepper addition and FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!!! I occasionally have a diet Coke, but not often. Now water with lemon/lime is my drink of choice. Huge change for me. You can do it, Eric!
Good job!
i kicked the diet coke habit by mixing lemon/lime or raspberry seltzer with a splash of juice (orange, V-8 splash or pom). all natural and ALMOST like drinking a flavored soda!
I love V8!
I didn’t know about the “pause” feature! Thanks :-)
He should definitely try a fizzy water!!
Woohoo Eric! You should arm him with a bag of sugar and a teaspoon and tell him to go to town (I read 10 tsps/can online today, but someone has already said 16?) when he has cravings! (haha, or not!) I cut out HFCS and all artificial sweeteners a couple years ago, and I basically stopped getting headaches, it was awesome! Something I LOVE to do is have club soda with a wedge or two of lime – people have already mentioned club soda/juice, etc. I bet you could totally sweeten a club soda drink with agave or something to make it more pop-like.
Your pictures of your hike are awesome! :)