FAQ’s: Installment 5!

Evening everyone! :D

I must say my mood has picked up a lot since last night. I am feeling more like myself which is always nice. It always helps that it is Friday night of course!

I am a bit sad because I was supposed to go out for my friend’s birthday celebration tonight, but since I am still feeling a bit dizzy and whatnot, I didn’t think it was a good idea to go to a bar!

As promised another installment of FAQ’s:

If you missed any of he first 4 installments, please see here to get caught up!

34. Hayley asks, “First time commenter here as well, but I’ve been reading your blog and following along since you started it a few weeks back. I do admit to checking about 4-5 blogs a day but yours has quickly jumped up to the top of my list as the first one.

One question for you (or anyone else who might know what’s going on). I take a once a week intense bootcamp class and sometimes, as was the case this past Monday, towards the end I feel completely nauseous and a little dizzy.

I have a small snack before I go (usually a teaspoon of peanut butter) and eat well throughout the day, so I don’t think that’s it. Is it possible that I’m not drinking enough water throughout the day? Any feedback/advice is really appreciated!”

• Firstly, thank you for your sweet comments about the blog! :D Regarding your question about why you may be getting dizzy towards the end of your bootcamp class- Feeling dizzy at the end of a workout is generally not normal and is probably a sign that you are pushing yourself too hard, however, I am not qualified to answer such questions with confidence, so I found these suggestions from the Go Ask Alice website:

• Eat a snack prior to exercise. If you have less than one hour before your session, fewer than 200 calories is recommended. A piece of fruit and a couple of crackers work well for many people. Your snack can be a bit larger if you have two hours or so until your workout begins: one small plain bagel with jam, a piece of fruit and a yogurt, or two or three fig bars and a cup of milk or juice.
• Drink 16 oz. of fluid 2 hours before an event. This promotes hydration and allows enough time to excrete any excess liquid.
• Drink fluids during exercise. Weighing yourself before and after exercise can help determine your sweat rate, and how much you’ll need to drink.
  • If you lose 1 lb. per hour: drink 4 oz. every 15 min
  • If you lose 2 lbs. per hour: drink 8 oz. every 15 min
  • If you lose 3 lbs. per hour: drink 8 oz. every 10 min.
  • If you lose 4 lbs. per hour: drink 10 oz. every 10 min.
• If you are exercising for longer than 60 minutes, add some fuel to your water with a sports drink. These fluid replacement drinks include glucose and electrolytes (sodium and potassium) to help with fluid intake and absorption.
• I would also wonder if you are getting enough calories in your diet as a whole? if not, this could be contributing to the light-headed and dizzy feel that you are getting.

35. Kristie says regarding my Journey To Health posts, “Awesome post. When I first started out on my weight loss quick a few years ago, the idea of having to exercise for the rest of my life seemed completely daunting. But after seeing results not only on the scale but also in clothing size, in energy levels, and in how I felt about myself both appearance-wise and ability-wise, exercise began to slowly seem like less and less of a burden. Now I ENJOY exercise and have (nearly) no problems committing to it almost every day. I love the way I feel after a workout and that feeling alone makes it completely worth it. I can’t imagine life without being active anymore. I feel so sluggish and unhappy if I go through brief periods of not working out. I’m seriously SO glad I discovered the greatness of exercise. You’ve completely and perfectly summed up how my thought process about exercise has evolved.”

• Thank you for sharing your amazing experience!!! It is great to read from others what an impact a healthy lifestyle has made in their life. :D Keep it up!

36. Leah asks, “Do you hang onto the treadmill when you walk at 15% incline?”

• The answer to this is easy: No! I have always been strongly against holding onto machines when doing cardio. It makes it less difficult. I have always thought if you have to hang on, then simply reduce your speed/incline/resistance to make it at a level you feel comfortable at. It is one of my pet peeves at the gym too! If it feels tough at first just slowly work up to it until you feel comfortable. :)

37. Jess says, “Haha, turkish delights are so gross! They had them all over in New Zealand and I got one the first day I was there…eww! They were like too think jelly, like way to thick, jelly jello maybe? gross :D”

• hahaha….that is EXACTLY what they tasted like!!! Jelly-Jell-o!!! Ick!

38. AGS says regarding mandatory nutrition labeling in restaurants, “I’m not for labeling. As much as we’d like to think it is useful to make choices, this is (1) a poor way to socialize people about calories and (2) a rediculous imposition on the restaurant industry. Sure, Starbucks can easily post calories because its items are the same day-in, day-out. What about restaurants where this is not the case? Most of the time when I go out, the food that I order (let’s just say it’s some kind of stuffed pasta) is a one-time feature that day. So what’s the restuarant supposed to do?

 

• Thank you for your thought-provoking comment! You bring up many good points. I totally agree with you that poor nutrition is the real problem. As a society, we need to do a much better job to educate individuals with proper nutrition and health information, so then they are armed to make well-balanced choices on a day to day basis. I think a nutrition course should be mandatory in all schools!

39. Jennifer says, ” hope you’re back in action soon!!!! I live in Iowa and as far as I’m concerned, Jack Frost can stick it!!!! LOLQuestion – Does Sketchie bite at all? We adopted a 2 year old cat recently and when she doesn’t want pet, she bites……just wondered if Sketchie’s behavior is similar? Blog subject thought – cat habits, litter preferences (how to keep the smell at bay), cat food, etc”

 

• LOL “Jack Frost can stick it!!!!” hahaha….thanks for the laugh, I needed that! Regarding your question about Sketchie- he does bite, but he bites VERY gently. It is a bit hard to explain but its almost like a love-bite, he does it to warm us that he doesn’t like something (for example, when we rub his belly- he hates that!), but he would never hurt us intentionally. A lot of cats are ‘iffy’ about being rubbed in certain places or even touched at all. Sketchie only likes his chin and neck rubbed….that is it!

40. halie shares her embarassing moment, “Well, just this morning at the gym, I was on the treadmill doing a quick walking warm up before my run, and I stepped off to turn the fan on and I left the treadmill going at 3.5 mph and when I came back to it I forgot I left it on!!!! I didn’t fall but I sure looked like a dork trying to gain speed and not face plant on a moving conveyor belt! But I do lots of embarrassing things like that!”

• haha I have done this one too many times!!! :D Thanks for sharing, now I know I’m not alone! haha.

41. ttfn300 shares her embarassing moment, “cute title, bummer of a fall :-( umm, on my first run in boston i fell and got a nice gash on my knee… a few days later i was walking home at night, went to walk around a tree to avoid people in the sidewalk and apparently didn’t see the low hanging branch… ouch!”

• I must admit I have done this one too many times too! lol. I am glad I am not the only accident prone one (well not really glad that you are too, but you know what I mean!) ;)

42. Kaneil says, “If it makes you feel any better, I made your pumpkin apple streusel muffins last night and ate plenty of batter PLUS several mini muffins. :-) They were delicious! I used organic cinnamon apple sauce instead of oil and they were great! I also made them into mini muffins since they’re for our office Thanksgiving Potluck today – and I don’t think anyone needs a giant muffin in addition to the every thing else!”

• Ohhhh I am so glad you made the muffins! They are one of my favourites! I hope they were a hit at your work party :D

43. Lisa’s Rant says, “I’m a total clutz and tend to trip and fall quite often. I slipped on ice last year and the same thing happened to me. My most embarassing moment recently (not this week) my zipper broke in my dress at work. Like the total back of the dress was a zipper and it just popped open. I dashed to the bathroom and had to sit there and wait until I was rescued by my coworker who found safety pins and a jacket for me to cover up with.”

• Ahhh I hate when embarassing things like that happen in public!! Thank God your coworker had safety pins!

44. Leah on the horrors of restaurant food, “Since one of my jobs is working in a restaurant I SEE how the food is cooked and it has put me off of a lot of food that I would generally eat at restaurants. For instance… don’t be fooled by all veggie burgers on the menus.. I was horrified when I saw one coming out of the deep fryer one night! And grilled chicken sandwiches? Nope.. deep fried as well.. they are thrown on the grill after deep frying to give them that “just grilled look.” Think of all the prep work that goes into restaurant food.. deep frying food cooks it quicker, thus getting it out to the customers quicker! The sooner customers can eat, the happier they are.Main point: make sure you INSIST that your food is not deep fried. Make up a story that you are deathly allergic to some oils or peanuts (that may be in oils) and demand that your food is grilled.”

 

• Wow this is so eye opening! I would be horrified if the food I asked for to be grilled was deep fried before being put on the grill! I’m sure it has happened to me many times too. Thanks for the info!

45. Melissa says, “I am sorry to hear about your fall! If it makes you feel any better, you have given me the gentle shove needed to start actually taking the stairs consistently. I do it at school and work, 8 and 4 flights, but not in my apartment, 29 flights very often. but your posts convinced me that its worth it, every time, especially as the cold will limit my everyday walking around the city! I am pretending I live in a 29 floor walk up. haha. Besides two minutes after I do it, I forget it ever happened.”

• That’s great!!! I am so happy that I could inspire you to start taking the stairs. :D Eric and I decided a while back to never take the escalators if there were stairs, so we rarely ever take an escalator when we can walk! We figure we have healthy legs, why not use them! So many people take the elevator or escalator just out of habit but it is easy to break. We take the subway quite often in Toronto and we are always one of the few who take the stairs…it is quite interesting when you think about it.

46. girlrunningaround says, “Candy Corn? Love it. But the mallow pumpkins are even better!”

• I think I am in love with you because I love the mallow pumpkins even better too!!! haha I am a huge candy corn fan. I recently bought some Christmas candy corn from bulk barn. Red green and white! Instead of mallow pumpkins, I got mallow santas and trees. Jealous now? ;)

47. Erin says, “When I saw Olivia Wilde on the red carpet I formed a girl crush on her! Haha, she is so beautiful in that dress. I love how all sides of my brain start flowing during your posts (you know the fashion side food side etc…..)”

 

• I love Olivia Wilde too, she is so stunningly feminine and beautiful!

 

 

 

 

48. Mary asks, “Anybody have good foundation suggestions? I’m not a foundation girl, but need some for my wedding next year :-)”

 

• I am actually looking for a new foundation too! I haven’t found one that I am really satisfied with. If someone has any suggestions I would appreciate it as well!

49. Regarding all The Office comments:

• I am so hapy that I have so many Office fans on this blog!!! Eric and I have been obsessed with it since the very first pilot show. :D We were the ones that convinced all our friends to watch.

 

 

 

 

50. ttfn300 asks, “wow, another great quote… where do you get them???”

• Thank you!! I am sorry to say I don’t get them from any websites in particular. I just google motivating and inspirational quotes and browse through sites until I find my favs. I am pretty picky about quotes so sometimes it can take me a good 10 mins. before I find the right one! :)

51. Beth asks, “Hi guys! I bouht a Kiehl’s face cream today, read the ingredients when I got home, and was very disappointed to find it has parabens! Angela – I know you use a Neutrogena moisturizer, but I think I need a cream for the winter. Can anyone recommend a face cream that is void of parabens and other possibly harmful ingredients?

• There is a great website on paraben free products here!

Now for my Stirfry-dinner!

It was delicious! :D

You can see the big chunks of garlic here:

I sauteed for about 15 mins on med-low heat.

Serve with brown rice and Ezekiel toasted bread as a grain-base.

It was just delicious!! And so satisfying! A nice, relaxing Friday night dinner with my hubby. Sketchie wasn’t too far away either. lol.

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Sorry everyone, I don’t have time to do a Love it or Hate it poll recap tonight (those FAQ’s took a while!), but I will recap it tomorrow!

Also, stay tuned tomorrow for a special “Foods that Fight Cancer” post!

Let the weekend begin!!!!

“Acquire the courage to believe in yourself. Many of the things that you have been taught were at one time the radical ideas of individuals who had the courage to believe what their own hearts and minds told them was true, rather than accept the common beliefs of their day.”
~Ching Ning Chu