Ugh...Mandarin...never again...

I may have been able to do it a couple of years ago, but not anymore. Not since i became a healthy eater who's hopelessly addicted to working out. I've learned my lesson - never eat at Mandarin EVER again. Today was my 26th birthday and my grandparents wanted to take me out to Mandarin for dinner. I hesitantly agreed to this and thought "Ok, i can do this and eat healthy." Despite my efforts, i felt sick after eating there and threw up in the car.

As a good friend of mine once said: your body's like a Lamborghini and in order to keep it running optimally, you need to give it the best high performance fuels.

Speaking from experience, it holds true. Once you get your body used to healthy eating and home cooked meals, there's just no going back.

Top 3 workout tips

{ Stats }

Starting weight: 175lbs
Current weight: 135lbs
Weight lost: 40lbs
Body fat: 14%

Dropped 6 pant sizes - from size 13 to 7

{ Top 3 Tips }

Use your time wisely.
With a busy schedule, it's not always easy fitting in that 1 hour workout. This can be averted if you strategically fit in your workouts. My personal favorites include biking or rollerblading to work and quick 15 minute full body kettlebell workouts. They're short but just as effective!

Eat to lose weight.
Keep energy levels high and the weight off. Eat every 3 hrs (5 meals/day) and drink lots of water. As a rule of thumb, each meal should consist of a handful of carbs and a handful of protein. Keep your portions small and delicious.

Don't get bored.
Challenge yourself. Try new routines that activate different muscles and keep your body guessing. This not only keeps things interesting, but will also help you stay motivated, prevent workout plateaus and get you faster results.

Seaweed Noodle Salad Recipe

I used to buy this salad all the time from the supermarket but after being sold a not so fresh batch, i decided to make my own. It's way cheaper, guaranteed fresh, sanitary, tasty, and all those good things...

Sweet, tangy, with a hint of hotness and garlic taste that packs a punch, this salad is low fat, low calorie, a good source of protein, iron, calcium, sodium & other minerals and vitamins.

Best served cold.

Ingredients:
• wakame seaweed noodles
• 1 finely sliced hot chili pepper
• 4 finely chopped garlic cloves

Seasoning:
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ground black/white pepper to taste
• mirin
• rice wine vinegar
• olive oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:
1. Rinse the salt off seaweed noodles.
2. Place noodles in boiling water for 4 minutes.
3. Drain water. Mix in garlic & chili pepper.
4. Add seasoning to taste.

Tiesto: Elements of Life

I've been looking forward to this one for quite a while...

After much excitement and anticipation, Tiesto's Element's of Life cd was released today!

I couldn't wait to go to the nearest HMV so out of convenience i just bought it off the itunes store.

I knew the cd was going to be amazing after hearing his first single - In The Dark, which btw was an experimental collaboration with Christian Burns, who Tiesto met on MySpace.

As a departure from his previous albums - In My Memory (2001) and Just Be (2004), Elements of Life is different in the sense that it combines rock, trance, and electronica and is more about song based numbers. This music will definitely get you going on the dance floor. Just imagine the energy of seeing Tiesto live in concert. Now that's a must see!

Track listing:
1. Ten Seconds before Sunrise
2. Everything
3. Can You Feel Me
4. Carpe Noctum
5. Driving to Heaven
6. Sweet Things
7. Bright Morningstar
8. Break My Fall
9. In the Dark
10. Dance4Life
11. Elements of Life

The Cardio Challenge

Need some extra motivation to do cardio? Sign up for the Cardio Challenge. This community of avid cardio goers racing to Halifax are guaranteed to keep you motivated. Whether your goal is to pass the person in front of you or stay on the leaderboard, you're bound to do more cardio and shed some poundage in the process!

I certainly have! I started this challenge after meeting Brendan Fox back in September of last year and have been going strong with it ever since. With Cycling, rollerblading, running, walking, and the elliptical as my main forms of cardio, i've managed to stay on the leaderboard and am currently in 5th place. Once you start, it's surprising how much this thing can delve into your competitive nature. Especially when i get email notices telling me that i've been passed by someone. That just makes me want to do more cardio so i can pass and race ahead of the competition!

Seven Point gets a redesign

Energized on the outside. Relaxed at the core.

How To Adapt Nike+ To Any Shoe

The one downside to the nike+ run sports kit is that it's made to be only compatible with nike+ shoes. I do very much like the seamless integration of sports, music, and technology aspect of the whole thing. However, I already have a couple of pairs of relatively new running shoes that i should be wearing so it got me thinking....how can I attach the nike sensor to my existing shoes?

...that was when I found a double use for my Knog Frog light!

Just follow these simple steps to convert your micro light into a nike+ sensor suit:

1. remove the LED light from the silicon outer.
2. put the nike+ senser in place of the LED light
3. loop and hook the frog light outer around your shoe laces and voila!

Or if you're not so into that idea, Marware makes a neoprene/rubber sportsuit that holds the nike sensor and using velcro, attaches to the shoelaces of your favorite pair of running shoes. (cost: $9.95)

The Race Is On

I can't believe theres only 21 days left 'til the dirty du. The colder weather and shorter days have made it a bit more challenging to get outside but overall, the training has been going really well. I've been biking lots, sometimes to and from work. I'm feeling pretty confident about that part of the race. No worries there. However, i've never been much of a runner so that has been the goal for the past month or so; to become a better runner. When i first started training, i remember losing my breath after running for only 3 minutes but things have improved since. I've learned that the keys are to be efficient, pace yourself, run with good posture, and most importantly, BREATHE. It makes a huge difference. Every step must count. Performing the Energy Flow seven point warm up before running has upped my athletic performance. Not only can i run longer and faster, but I finish feeling energized and free of any muscle soreness.

My competitive nature tells me to push myself harder so i can win this race (or at least place in the top 3) but being my first race i think finishing will be an achievement in itself. We shall see what happens......

I'm excited.

Knog Frog

It is so true that the checkout counter is the perfect place to trigger impulse buys. One of my most recent and best impulse purchases was the Knog Frog Micro Light.

Designed by Knog, this micro LED bike light is compact, lightweight (12g), and unobtrusive. Characteristics that'd be desired by those who want to travel light. The flexible silicon body encasing the light resembles a frog (hence the name), is waterproof and stretches, making it easily mountable on objects 10-32mm in diameter. With a press of a button, it can easily be set to continuous or flashing mode.

I tried it out last night and found the light to be very bright for its size. Perfect for my 25 minute ride home. Of course this is no substitute if you are looking for a light that'll illuminate the road for you. Its main function is to help you be seen. This is especially effective if you use the flashing mode. Nobody's gonna miss you. It also has a lithium battery that claims to have a 160 hour battery life, which is pretty sweet too. I highly recommend getting one.

Price: $9.99
Available at Duke's Cycle @ 625 Queen St. W.

Fibre dosage

During my travels through the Loblaws bread section, i came across a new product:

Oroweat Whole Wheat Tortillas

These pack as much as 8g of fiber per tortilla and are great for eating on the go.

Take these ingredients:
• grilled chicken breast or turkey
• organic spring greens
• jarlsberg low fat cheese

....and wrap them inside the tortilla
If you're a fan of melted cheese, microwave the roll for 30 seconds. Enjoy :)