Healthy Living Jenn

25 Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:22:00 +0000

I can't believe it has been 25 weeks since this pregnancy has started. Time is flying by so quickly which I love and terrified about. Although this is my second pregnancy (I already have a crazy little 3yo princess), actually third pregnancy, had the miscarriage back in March, this one is just one of a kind.

I can't wait to meet this little man in January. I had my little girl at 35 weeks and she had to stay in the hospital for 2 weeks to get strong enough to come home. I pray and I hope everyday that I get to at least 37 weeks. That's only 12 weeks to go. OMG!!!! To say the least I have not done really anything to get ready for the room. Luckily my 3yo is in a regular bed which gives a crib, but I have not thought about painting the room, or getting things organized like cleaning out the room (all of our storage is still in there).

I'm hoping after our 3D ultrasound on Saturday I will have the will power to get at least paint colours for the room.

Any advice from anyone would be great to figure out how to get prepared. For some reason I feel so lost in what to do.

On how I'm feeling right now? I'm finally not sick and not nauseous. I have no energy though. This pregnancy has sucked every inch of energy out of me, I'm thinking this is a sign of what my days and nights are going to be when he arrives LOL. This is such an exciting and tiring time all at the same time. Again any advice from you ladies would be awesome, or any dads out there would love some advice.

I'm Back......

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:53:00 +0000

Hello everyone,

I'm so happy to be back. It's been about a month and half since I posted and I'm so sorry, but I have a good reason. Baby 2.0 will be due January 24th. Hubby and I are super excited about this happening and the reason why I haven't been around is that I was so super sick for the past 14 weeks. I will be 17 weeks this Thursday. I can't wait to post photos of this growing belly, which is very exciting.

I noticed with this pregnancy I was showing at 10 weeks and my belly is definitely growing. I'm not sure what I weigh but with being so sick, I know I lost some weight. I don't weigh myself daily only when I get to the doctor's office. So at this point I have no idea how much I weigh.

The working out has come to a small halt, because I was being so sick but I am slowly getting back into the gym, so I can get some cardio and small weight training.

Other than baby 2.0 is doing well and we are just trying to get through the weeks.

What is your advice to get through sickness? I've tried everything LOL.

I've Been Horrible

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:43:00 +0000

How is everyone doing? I've been so bad and have not updated the blog in almost a month. I've been sick the last little while to the point that I couldn't get out of bed. So I haven't been blogging and I took some sick time off work cause I was feeling so bad.

I'm slowly starting to feel better and I will be sending out a HUGE update on what's been going on in my life in the next little while...I PROMISE!!!!

I want to hear what everyone else has been up to. The weather here in the GTA has been HOT, so hot to the point that it is just humid and gross. At this point I'm not sure how people can live without A/C. I'm also back at work Full Time taking it easy as I couldn't even get out of bed two weeks ago.

Again please update me on how all you lovely people are doing. I want in on the action LOL.

Stay Healthy;

Jenn

Chill Out Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Sat, 26 May 2012 21:20:00 +0000

I have been on the go for the last few weeks that I have not written a post in a while and I truly apologize. It's my first weekend to chill out and I wanted to send you guys a quick hello and an update on what's going on with me. I have an announcement but I will have to keep it a secret for a little while, as soon as I can I will be letting everyone know :).

Right now the weather has been beautiful here in Ontario so I have been in the backyard everyday since our last long weekend. Our little one hates coming in so even dinner has been outside in our backyard.

How is the weather where you are? Hope it's sunny and warm like it is here and I hope you are enjoying every minute of it.

Stay Healthy;

Jenn

Being Called a Big Girl

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:08:00 +0000

For many years I tried to stay healthy by playing sports and staying healthy in general. I usually do not weigh myself because for me it's all about how my clothes fit and how I physically feel. For example if I can lift heavy things around the house without help or pick up my child without suffering then I know I am in a good place. I do not think about the skinny girl beside me in my eyes, it's all about how I feel.

I know there are many media outlets out there that talk about what "healthy" is. It's not the lightest weight you are but it's where you are comfortable and feel strong. I believe being strong and healthy are two great concepts that should be placed in the same sentence. I know I am strong but there are days I do not feel strong.

For those who have been following my blog you all know I suffered a misscarriage a couple of months ago and during that time it was stressful I still carry a couple of pounds from then. I'm only 5 feet tall so very short and any extra weight I carry, if it's on my hips, my belly, my face or my arms you will notice. Does it bother me HELL NO. Some people it does, I was speaking with a co-worker a couple of days ago and we were just speaking about how tall my daughter is for being 2 almost 3, she then said to me, "well you are a big girl, you are short, but you def big." I honestly did not know what to say so I said "thank you." I usually do not let words like that get to me, but for some reason it stung. I guess it's because she has known me since I was 22 and I was very skinny (not healthy buy skinny) and it's been 9 years so I guess in her mind she expected for me to stay that way. In all those years I went back to school and partied way to much, then I got married and had a baby, so yes my body did change but I am okay with it now.

I am aware of what my body has been through in the past and I now make food choices that I will not regret. I think that is one thing, is to never make myself feel horrible for picking up a slice of pizza or having a couple of glasses of wine, or a beer. I have accepted that I made those food choices for me, and that I will not or never regret them.

I guess this post was just for me to vent and get if off my chest. Now I feel better :)

See You Later....Negativity

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:48:00 +0000

The last couple of weeks I have been doing a lot of internal cleansing which I mean by reflecting on how my life is going, who is around me, my job and how I want my future to look like. I realized many things:

1. I have quite a few people who sounded like me a few months ago, very negative and all about themselves. The conversation would always turn on them and how horrible life is for them over what I am going through.

2. People around me are always talking about how they don't like where they are in life and that they can't do anything to lose weight or be happy.

I realized that I was becoming that person again by hanging around these people. I felt that my mindset was changing not for the better but for the worse. I was getting super tired where I didn't want to do anything. I was skipping workouts which I do not like to do. I was going back into that dark time again which was not good and I realized I needed to change and change fast.

I did not totally cut these people out but I have decided to try to change their mindset, if they wanted my help. Many of them said yes, please help me, I want to have those difficult converstations. Others looked at me like I had two heads or something, so for those people, unfortunately or should I say fortunately I had cut them out and in the process of cutting others out as well, just until they realize that we need to live up our lives and not be thinking about what everyone else negative is doing.

So I just need to say, "See ya later negativity" Hope you have a wonderful life, but I will be living my life up to how I want it, happy and free.

What do you do to take negativity out of your life???

Oh Stay tuned, I'm working on a 30 day challenge that I hope each and every one of you will join in with me :)

Stay Healthy;

Jenn

Not Feeling So Hot

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Sun, 06 May 2012 14:04:00 +0000

Sorry I've been MIA, I've been back at the gym and eating well but I can't seem to get this bloat out of here. I thought originally the bloat was from the miscarriage just going through the motions, but alas the bloat is still here. I have tried everything, so I think I'm going to make an appointment with my naturopathic doctor to see if I have any food sensitivities or anything that can be causing this damn bloat.

I have never had food sensitivities, well not that I know of and I think getting an answer will make sense to all my bloating and tummy problems.

Do you have bloat? If you do what have you done to get rid of it? Would love to read your answers.

Stay Healthy;

Jenn

Focusing on Me....

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:50:00 +0000

So I have been doing a lot of thinking of how I will be going forward with my fitness journey and I realize it's all in my head. I have focused on everything and everyone else and I realize I need to focus on me.

I have been a better head space lately since focusing on my own personal journey. I have been happier and have not many things bother me which is always a good thing. I have been looking at some programs to get me in shape and back to the true me.

Do you have any really good workout programs you just LOVE to do??? Please share, would love to hear what you guys LOVE to do.

Stay Healthy;

Jenn

Falling in Love Again

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:33:00 +0000

So today didn't start off to good. I woke up with a really bad migraine so I decided to stay home from work. Instead of just lying in bed all day I got my butt out of bed and headed for the gym. Before heading to the gym I had a small bowl of multigrain cheerios and some almond milk. It was all I needed to get through my time at the gym.

To be honest I am not a gym person. Even though having a circuit to do and my running intervals, I still feel lost when I am there. I feel very nervous being there. I need to realize that I am strong and that I shouldn't be nervous being at the gym. I need to read my Operation Beautiful Book by Caitlin Boyle to get more inspiration.

Although I was very nervous being there I got through it and I was so happy to be getting to the gym. I realize I needed that and how much fitness plays a HUGE part of my life. I have fallen in love with fitness again. Being at the gym sweating, I started to feel stronger by every rep I did with every drop of sweat I felt the true me. I am starting to believe that the real me is here and that it should be shining.

What do you to make yourself shine?

Back at It

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:53:00 +0000

So I've been back at the gym for a little while and doing the circuit. I realized once thing with all of this, and that is how much I MISS running. Yes that's right, running. I started doing interval running which consists of an on, off process. Here is what my typical intervals look like

5 mins high speed walk (to warm up):

30 seconds on at about 5.5 speed no incline

30 seconds off (This set is done about 5 times)

20 seconds on at about 7 to 8 speed

30-40 seconds off (This set is done 3-4 times)

I feel such a high doing this and I absolutely love it. I honestly love it more than weight training. I feel such a rush and I feel like my old self again doing this training. I'm hoping in the next month or so to increase the speed and the on/off set.

I'm going to have to email my trainer and talk to him and see what we need to do to adjust my circuit which will involve me to focus on my endurance through running and less weight training.

We also have been focusing more on our eating at home. I have focused so much on what Peyton was eating for dinner and focus on her eating habits that I really forgot about how Hubby and I were eating. Because of this we have let ourselves go and now we are focusing on what we are eating and how we are eating. For dinner tonight we had:

bow-tie pasta

chopped veggies which include carrots, mushrooms, onions, and green peas

tomato sauce

We were running late tonight so this was a very easy and healthy way to get our veggies with some carbs.

Many people have asked me if I count my calories. To be honest I used to and in the past I really beat myself up on what I could not eat because of how many calories. So instead of counting calories I decided to forget about how much the calories are in everything I eat but focus on clean eating and just eating wholesome foods for me and my family. Lately it's been helping and I'm already feeling a lot better and feeling stronger.

I'm feeling good and I hope you are all feeling good.

Jenn :)

Feeling Sore....In a Good Way

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:27:00 +0000

I decided to join a gym after being out of one for about 5 years and decided to join Anytime Fitness in North Ajax. So delaying my time in there I decided to get my one hour consultation with one of the owners.

I must say it was a wonderful experience. I am truly sore but Kam set out a very basic and simple circuit for me that I can adjust and grow on. My routine consists of:

15 Squats
15 Push-ups
20 Lunges
15 Seated Rows @ 50lbs
15 Leg Presses @ 50 lbs
15 Standing Presses @ 10lbs each arm

This circuit is to be done 3 times

15-20 mins of cardio after circuit

Let me tell you I am sore but I must say I LOVE this feeling. Crazy I know but I strive this feeling because I know this just means I'm getting stronger.

Like the words of Jillian Michaels "Pain is weakness leaving the body."

I'm already starting to feel stronger and I am excited. I hope you take this journey with me.

Jenn

Smiling

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 22:23:00 +0000

Well I am back and I am happy to be back. I have had a hard time the last few weeks but I am now back and now healing. I started to look around me to see what makes me happy.

I look at my amazing daughter that is growing and learning everyday which makes me smile.

I look at my hard working husband and he makes me smile.

I look at my friends on and offline and read the encouraging words they have sent me and it makes me smile.

I see now I have many really good things around me that make me smile and it makes me realize I will get through all of this. Smiling does many things for many people. Just saying hello and a little smile can change someones day, and it has in my situation.

I am feeling much better and realize that I am among many people who truly care for me and will help me get through whatever is going on in my life. So all I can say right now is to keep smiling.

Stay Healthy;

Jenn

Going Through Loss

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:05:00 +0000

I'm sorry I have been MIA lately, I have been going through some personal issues that I am finally feeling okay to talk about.

I recently went through a miscarriage and was devestated. We were so excited to find out we were expecting again to give Pey a little brother or sister to have it taken away a couple of weeks later.

My doctor called me in to speak to her and I had a very deep feeling that I was losing the baby. After she confirmed it, although I knew I still felt lost and hurt. I felt that I did something for it to happen. My doctor told me there was nothing I did it was a chemical pregnancy and it just happens. Although she was saying those words I still felt there was something I could of done to prevent what happened.

It has taken me a while to accept what has happened but I am feeling okay about the whole thing right now. I got confirmation from my doctor that was are okay to try again and that everything is back to normal.

I've been meditating and just trying to relax through this whole process and I hope you continue to follow me and if you have any advice to get through the pain don't hesitate to email me @ jenniferachung@gmail.com or comment.

Thanks for understanding and reading along.

Stay Healthy;

Jenn

Have Been Gone for a While

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:28:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,

Yes I know I haven't posted in a few weeks and I do apologize. Currently I am going through some personal stuff that is keeping me from blogging. I promise I will be back in a little while I just have to get through some stuff in the next few weeks.

When all this is over I will be a stronger woman, mother, and friend. I'm just a bit held back right now but will break through this dark time.

I hope you all continue to follow me and if you have any inspiring words or adivce to get through some rough times send them through to me, I would love to hear your ideas to get through rough patches.

I promise to keep you all in the loop.

Stay Healthy;

Jenn

Cooking...Going from Can't to Can!

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:42:00 +0000

I was always pretty good on picking things up right away. The one thing that I can't seem to do is cook. No matter what I try and I couldn't seem to figure it out.

This is the year of of no regrets and changes, right? So I decided to go from CAN'T to CAN when it comes to cooking. I know for some moms out there cooking is really easy but I was never really shown how to cook as a child. My parents really only wanted me to focus on school and sports and so that is what I did.

So this is my promise to you and myself that I will learn how to do this. This is my year to change and change for the good. I'm always going to need help from everyone, and I'm hoping I can get help from all of you.

If any of you have easy receipes for me to try I will try them and I will post about them. Although I must say my daughter is allergic to eggs and cane sugar so I will try to adapt to whichever recipe is posted.

Thanks and hopefully I can learn from all of you and I will go from CAN'T to CAN and WILL!!!

NYC I Came and I Saw

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:50:00 +0000

I must say NYC was beautiful. My friend and I lucked out since the weather was beautiful. We decided to stay around Times Square and stayed at Paramount Hotel on 8th and W. 46th St. For where we were staying I expected a tiny room with no space. To our surprise we had tons of space for our luggages and space to walk around.

We decided to just drop our bags and go right into Times Square, I must say wow, it was busy. I mean it's Toronto x 100. I loved everything I saw. I love the signs the lights and just everything about it.

During our stay we took the subway to check out some of the museums and also go down to Chelsea Market. While we were at Chelsea Market I checked a vegan restauarant I first heard about from Angela from Oh She Glows. She talked about it on her trip to NYC so I knew I had to check it out.

The food was delicious and fresh and just overall AWESOME!!!!

All in all I can't wait to go back and check out NYC in the summer when Central Park has their many festivals and when all the flowers and trees are bloomed.

Original escelator at Macy's made out of Wood

Outside the Gershwin Theatre right before we saw Wicked!

Organic Chicken and Sweet Potatoes at 9 Restaurant

What a beautiful city. It was just the recharge I needed to get back to the grind here in Toronto. Although the city was go go go, it was the relaxing vacation I needed.

Positive Thoughts...What Are Yours?

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:08:00 +0000

When I decided to start up this blog again, I had a few down days and I realized that I needed to change. I decided to change my thinking and start thinking using positive thoughts to change my mood. To be completely honest I was a very negative thinker. I always thought that nothing in my life can change and that what I'm going through now is how the rest of my life can be. I realized my thinking is where the change in my life starts and so on twitter I started to post positive thoughts with the hastag:

#positivethinking2012.

Any type of thought that would make me smile I posted to hopefully get someone else smile. It did help me get through some long days at work, even some long commutes (not liking the delays on the GO Train and on the TTC).

I'm hoping one of my thoughts will inspire someone to change their mental thinking and start thinking positive to change their lives. Remember it all starts with the mind to change everything else. Your everything can else can be changing the way you eat, changing how you see yourself when you look in the mirror. I know starting to thinking positively has changed the way I look at myself in the mirror. I know I am strong and even as much as 3 months ago, I did NOT think I was a strong woman, but this is helping me believe that I can be and that I AM.

What are some of your positive thoughts? Post them in my comments, email me or post them on twitter and don't forget to use the hastag #positivethinking2012.

Stay Healthy,

Jenn

Another Rough Day, But Staying Positive

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:35:00 +0000

Today was rough. From the time I woke up today until I arrived at home, the day just seemed to be off. I was really excited to apply for a job close to home and when I went online today the internal website was down. I was really happy to apply and the job was due today so as you know I was not very happy. Work has been rough for me the past little while but I will not let it get to me.

Although I was having a rough day, my friend Shantell through e-mail and she helped me feel a little bit better. She's one of the strong females I like to talk about. She has pushed me to fight for what I want and what I believe in. We met at work a few years ago and she had the opportunity to move on with her career in another Ministry which I am so proud of her for. She is also very crafty and I truly believe she is the next Martha Stewart, she is just that crafty. In my eyes she represents what a strong woman is. She is independent and always pushes everyone around to be strong in their own way. She has had to get through to me a few times the last few months because I have had some very dark days when it comes to my work/life balance.

If you ever need a boost or just advice, I recommend that you follow her, she is just amazing. She is truthful but also motivating.

I realize after writing this post, I think another staple to my blog is to feature strong women. Who knew writing things down would bring some awesome ideas. I already have a list of women in my head that I want to write about, and can't wait to share them with all of you.

Stay Healthy!!

Jenn

Some Ideas....Soon to Come

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:10:00 +0000

While on my daily commute into the city I was thinking of what to do with my blog. I'm hoping to post photos to go along with my posts as well as create some staples. A few ideas that I am thinking about are:

~ Fitness Fridays
~ Wordless Wednesday
~ Some Recipes

It's been a while since I've blogged so I'm trying to get my blog to look a bit nicer. I know it comes with time so I hope you guys come along and watch the blog grow and hopefully get better.

Rough Start but Great Ending

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:37:00 +0000

I must say today was a rough day. I woke up this morning not feeling like going to work. I felt exhausted run down and just blah. As I got to work it just went from bad to really bad. I was pulled in multiple directions without help for myself. The clock didn't seem to go fast enough and one thing I realized is that I was very low on my tea stock.

I will admit, I was never a tea drinker until I found DavidsTea. If you never heard of DavidsTea check them out here. If you have ever experienced them then you know what I am talking about. No matter if you are a coffee or tea drinker you will fall in love with them. They have tons of different teas and many of them are organic which is also an added bonus. Since I found them in 2010 I have my favourites and here is a list of just a few of them:

- Forever Nuts
- Movie Night
- Mint Chocolate Rooibos (I love mint chocolate ice cream and just smelling it is just DELISH).

Forever Nuts is my ultimate fave. This is my staple out of all the ones that I have tried so far. Let me say I have tried many and there are still SO MUCH more to try and I cannot wait.

The other three I purchased today are called:

- Organic Three Lemon Green
- Hot Lips (it smells like hot lips candy;)) and,
- Toasted Walnut

I'll probably try all three tomrrow, and I am super excited. Who knew I could talk about tea to this extent but I will say, they are my new love, and you can check them out, do. The people I have dealt with are awesome. Any twitter fans out there follow them at @DAVIDsTEA.

If anyone has tried their teas, I would love to hear your faves and give some suggestions on what you think I should try.

New Year New Me, Promise

noreply@blogger.com (JennC) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:55:00 +0000

Well I am back. It's been a year since I posted on my original blog Loving The Burn. It was a great start for me but I realized I didn't know what I wanted to really blog about. I had time to blog because I was home being on maternity leave.

I've been back to work for a little bit over a year and I have finally been able to manage my time and my life being a full time working mom, and wife. Unfortunately I have not been a very good friend to many people that have been around because I was not happy with me. This is the year I turn everything around and finally be healthy, through my mind, body and soul.

I hope you take this journey with me, I will be blogging about different workouts, foods that I enjoy (healthy and sometime really Unhealthy. Heay, I am human LOL).

I cannot wait for all you who have followed me before to follow me and again take this journey with me to happiness in our own way.