I don’t believe sustaining a super lean body is realistic or enjoyable. That involves a super clean diet and a strict gym schedule and although I love working out, I do not diet because I LIVE TO EAT (and I workout to eat).

I don’t really workout at the gym. I just cam-whore.

I’m sure my co-workers think I starve myself because I always eat healthy but little during the day and then disappear to the gym and come back to my desk with a face that is still red and sweaty but I go home and cook myself a gigantic meal for dinner then snack all night long. Some of my newer blog readers think I’m super healthy (only 80% of the time, okay) but little do they know that I indulge in poutine weekly, chocolates and desserts almost everyday and way too much fruit (sugar galore) and Goldfish crackers. Some people think my obsession with training is unhealthy but I know how to listen to my body and they don’t spend everyday with me so I think they are too quick to judge. People on Twitter call me a hypocrite when they see me tweeting links to health and fitness related articles followed by a picture of a poutine. A salad may look prettier in pictures but a poutine does look disgustingly delicious!

GASP!!! Are those chicken thighs and not skinless, boneless chicken breast?!?! I hate chicken breast.

• I take days off from the gym.
• If I really don’t feel like working on that day, I simply won’t work out. And that usually happens around Nov-Jan when I am super busy. I don’t use that as an excuse because I still make it to the gym (just not as often) but I use that time to recover since I workout pretty hard the rest of the year. No sweat.
• If I feel like eating something deemed unhealthy, I just do it.
• I don’t stress myself out with diets.
• Because I’m not trying to lose weight.
• I’m not always disciplined.
• I “cheat” often. And I don’t feel guilty because I know I stay balanced with exercise and healthy eating.
• There are days when I just have no energy or motivation to push hard at the gym. And I don’t.
• I do sometimes do long steady-state cardio for recovery.
• Or I just go to the gym so I can zone out on the bike, relieve stress and listen to my music.
• I love my body and am always satisfied when I look in the mirror.

I believe in balance and LIVING. We all have different body types, lifestyles, goals and different factors governing our lives so just because I’m doing something, doesn’t mean you should be doing the same thing— and that’s why I don’t really like writing about how to exercise and what to eat; only how to stay motivated. People take articles too seriously and don’t realize that one training method or diet may not be realistic for everyone.

Ever since I reached my goal weight years ago, my goal now is to maintain and of course, look good at the same time. It took me years to find out what works for me which resulted in love and pride for my body AND my life– no deprivation and guilt but only a whole lot of love and satisfaction.

If sacrificing time in other areas of your life to workout so you can look good AND eat more, then DO IT. If bikini competitions and dieting makes you happy, DO IT. If running marathons makes you happy, DO IT. If building mass makes you happy DO IT. Just because you are “doing too much cardio” or focusing too much on weights and can’t even run a 10k or not cutting out refined sugars and gluten from your diet like all “healthy people are expected to do.” WHO CARES. I’m guilty of the first and the last.

Well maybe we should care a little but in the end, we are responsible for our own health so if you want to make those changes do it for yourself. But who cares about those criticizers and know-it-alls says.

Find YOUR balance that makes you happy.

…and you know I’m too busy to write proper entries when I start doing surveys…
1. Last food you ate?

Apple, cinnamon steel-cut oats with flaxseeds and almond milk.

2. Last beverage you drank?
What else?! Water of course. Drinking water is the best detox you can do to your body.

3. Last workout?
5 x 50s:10s full body circuit + a 12 minute AMRAP.

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• MONDAY- 50s:10s full-body circuit + AMRAP.
  

  Monday Costco Run. Right after I left, I realized I forgot to buy eggs and egg whites. Boo. I had already made a trip to the farmers market for other fresh fruits and veggies.

• TUESDAY – Rowing, swings, HIIT on the bike and something I haven’t done in a long time: an intense core workout. I rarely do core specific workouts because I already do a lot of compound exercises that require core strength. Abs are made in the kitchen.
• WEDNESDAY- Did a toned-down version of one of my favorite full-body circuits. I worked out with my boyfriend and he bought his home-made hurdle that was so high that I was scared to jump over it! Well, I did it once but I couldn’t do it again because I kept freezing! I’m going to practice next week! My workout goals are always to do what he can do but better. Hah.

  

• THURSDAY – Upper-body circuit with my BFF a.k.a. ultimate workout buddy but my elbow was bugging me and I couldn’t push or pull without discomfort so I did plyo instead (double-unders, lateral jumps, burpees…). We ended with some Tabata core exercises. I can’t wait until our next workout because we are going to do our dreaded burpee and kettlebell pyramid!! Puke.
• FRIDAY – 8 rounds of tabata on the bike, steady-state biking (a.k.a. I just wanted to listen to new music I loaded on my iPod) then ended up with a couple rounds of HIIT. Triceps. Technique (handstands). Lots of stretching and foam-rolling.
• SATURDAY – Rest day. Was going to do Bikrams in the morning but didn’t know all the classes were cancelled.
• SUNDAY- Active rest day with A LOT of walking. It was such a nice day so we went for a walk around downtown and decided to walk all the way to the other end to Chinatown to buy groceries. I’m sure Boyfriend had quite the workout carrying it all back for me— he’s lucky I didn’t buy my usual groceries like my millions of yams.
  

  Sundays are the days we cook whatever is left in the fridge so dinner was a mix of Chinese, Japanese and white food. Miso soup with fish and udon, ong choy with fermented bean curd sauce (my favorite dish!), and baked fish with Boyfriend’s experimental rub which turned out yummy. And uhh… a piece of bacon leftover from this morning.

Notes:

• Next week.. split-training is starting again! I’m pretty excited.
• I have a bunch of gym dates though and I think we are doing circuits with different groups of people so it’s going to be hard but I will work something out.
• Whenever I load new music on my iPod, I find that I do more cardio (biking) because I just want to listen to my music. I try to keep it to 20 minutes max and always do HIIT or Tabata.