Category Archives: California

Day 24: Barry’s Bootcamp

I love trying new exercise classes- I’m a bit of a junkie in fact.

There's a party on my feet

Lucky for me, there are so many on offer in San Francisco!

I’ve tried TRX, crossfit, spinning, barre, boxercise, boot camp, reformer pilates, hip hop (which is deserving of its own blog post- watch this space) and a whole load of other classes designed to sculpt, tone, pump, pummel and basically kick your ass into shape.

I used to go to the gym by myself or go on a solo jog, but I stopped for three reasons:

1. I was way more likely to back out of doing exercise because there was nobody else to let down, only myself.

2. I would do the same routine every time, so I would quickly get bored and stop progressing.

3. The cross trainer was featuring way too frequently in my gym sessions. Accompanied by a magazine and maybe an episode of TOWIE. In other words, I might as well have been taking a nap.

So I switched to group exercise classes and never looked back. I love the variation, the energy, the music, the accountability, the high fives.

(Note, I would only ever high five in an American exercise class. Most Irish people are suspicious of high fives. Plus the execution of the high five is difficult for us to master and causes a lot of embarrassment. I had to practice to get it right).

One of the hottest, trendiest exercise class in the city right now is Barry’s Bootcamp. When I heard that it was the class of choice for the Victoria Secret Angels, I knew I had to sign up. So my friend Mags and I decided to head along on Day 24 to try it out.

Barry’s Bootcamp is definitely styling itself to appeal to young, hot, fit club-going, 20- 30ish working professionals. Think low lights, and loud music. Think smoothie bar and branded tanks. Think beautiful people lazing outside the building on benches, wearing LuLu Lemon, executing near perfect high-fives and sipping on protein shakes.

As soon as I rolled up in my non-designer threads (I don’t own anything by LuLu Lemon) I was ready to be intimidated. But, nice surprise, the owner (James, not Barry) greeted us warmly when we signed in, the instructor walked us through how to use the equipment and shouted words of encouragement as we went through the workout and it definitely got our sweat on, which is the most important thing!

There were a few posers with their tops off, but I quickly forgave them. And nearly fell off the treadmill in doing so.

The Barry’s Bootcamp workout is a combination of treadmill intervals and weights work on the floor. You can take it at your own speed and you have a clear idea of what progression looks like.

I am definitely sore now, writing this the day after, which is what I want.

It’s an expensive class, but Mags and I will definitely be doing it again. It’s a great way to set yourself up on a Saturday.

And the exertion totally meant I had license to eat the below, right? Not a perfect day, but I tried to healthify where possible.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled and bacon. Coffee with milk.
Snack: Banana with 8 almonds
Lunch: A little of the following- Meat board (I am eating way too much cured meats, fact), slice of bread, arugala salad with Parmesan and fennel, Brussels sprouts, capaonata, glass of red wine. We had all of this in Beretta in the mission. Really tasty food, and a lively atmosphere. Dog friendly as well!
Dinner: Jamie Oliver’s meat loaf (minus the crackers, so paleo friendly), with green salad. 2x glasses of red wine.
Dessert: Red grapes and square of dark chocolate.

*Not the actual portion size of the meat loaf

Dinner guest

Days 21-23: MIA- most likely found in the granola aisle

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As you can most likely infer from the title of this post the past few days have been rough. So rough I haven’t been able to face blogging about them. And the lack of blogging, or rather the lack of full disclosure to the masses, most likely exacerbated the issue. If I had come clean, and faced the shame on day 21, I would have probably been able to bring myself back from the brink, instead of spiraling into the darkness… The nutty, oaty, cranberry-y darkness.

So, can you guess what caused this tremendous flying leap off the wagon?

Yes, granola.

I can hear you all sigh at your screens as you read this. ‘I knew this would happen. The way she talked about granola in the last post seemed slightly manic. Hysterical almost. A lady on the edge.’

And all I can say is you were right, how very astute of you, well done. Just, the next time, make sure you intervene, k? Wrestle the box out of my hands, if needs be. (It will probably be needed.)

So, what happened exactly?

I would say that over the past 3 days I’ve actually been 75% healthy. Lots of veg, lean protein, healthy fat. Exactly what the magazines tell you.

But the other 25%? I’ll give you the showreel- granola after dinner, granola for breakfast one day, granola as an afternoon snack, pasta (!) and eating ice cream out of the carton standing at the freezer (only one spoonful but it’s kind of the defining moment of those 3 days of madness).

I think the worst thing about this period was the feeling that I was out of control, that I couldn’t say no to the badness, that the granola had complete power over me. And then of course, there were the feelings of guilt and loathing. The beating myself up and telling myself I was a terrible person with no will power, who had just failed the 100 day challenge.

Needless to say they were some dark times, food wise.

But, I am happy to say I am back on track and committed one again to my 100 Healthy Days.

What helped me? Some words of wisdom from my roommate Venessa.

‘Have you ever thought about telling yourself nothing is off-limits?’ She asked.

‘Interesting question.’ I replied. ‘Never. That would just open the flood gates. I would be having carb fests morning, noon and night.’

‘Well,’ she said, ‘think about this. If you say to yourself there is no way in hell you can have that granola, all you’ll do is obsess about it and then eat the whole box.’

I nodded emphatically.

She continued ‘If you tell yourself instead, you can have a quarter of a cup of granola today, if you’re craving it, and then you can have another quarter of a cup the next day if you still want it, you kind of remove that sense of deprivation. And also the obsession.’

You know what, what Venessa said to me just made sense! And it allowed me to get back on track, almost immediately, funnily enough. Without wanting any more granola. It’s like the desire has been neutralised.

Funny how the mind works. You always want what you can’t have.

So, the next time I have an intense craving, I’m going to remember Venessa’s words and just have a tiny bit, with the thought that it’s there for me if I want it later. And I’m just going to focus on eating food that makes me feel good. Ie healthy stuff!

I’m not saying this is the end of my struggles, but it’s food for thought, and thought for food. (Haha dork).

And I’m now back in the saddle! Roll on Day 24!

Day 20: Snack Attack

Day 19: The perils of too much coffee

Day 18: Dolores Park life

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Breakfast: Low fat natural yogurt, raspberries, red grapes, 6 pecans, cinnamon, coffee with milk
Snack: banana
Lunch: Vietnamese chicken salad (grilled chicken with cabbage, carrots, pickled onions, peanuts), kale smoothie made with almond milk and almond butter. All from Delores Park Cafe (really tasty).
Snack: Apple
Dinner: Chicken with tomato ratatouille, cherry tomatoes, red grapes

The summers in San Francisco are not the best. It’s cold and foggy and you’re more likely to be investing in a sensible Northface fleece than a cute pair of shorts. The fog is kind of cool to see though- it rolls in over the city like a wave and hovers so low you feel like you could touch it. The San Franciscans have become so acquainted with it they’ve even given it a name. Meet Karl the Fog. It’s a definitely a love-hate relationship.

Anyway, SF summers kind of suck (which is a lot for an Irish person to say) but the SF fall can be spectacular- like this weekend! It was so hot, but with a light breeze so very pleasant indeed. I love the sun!!

If you’re staying in the city there’s really only one thing to do when the weather is nice- hit up a park. And my park of choice is Dolores Park. Not only is it in my hood, but it’s the most fun in my opinion, even with half of it under construction as it is now. It’s chock-a-block with people, dogs (sometimes cats), babies, birthday parties, acrobatics, hippies doing hippy things, hippies selling hippy things (like things 😉 ) and…people kicking back and drinking.

Beers in the sun, in a park. Is there anything nicer?

Before heading over to meet my friends I tried to steel myself against the lures of Delores Park by reminding myself of my goals, blah blah blah.

But as soon as we sat down and someone mentioned getting beers my resolve began to waver and the internal battle commenced.

‘Well maybe one, tiny, light beer won’t hurt.’ ‘

‘That skinny girl over there is drinking beer, how bad could it be.’

‘Drinking in the sun burns off calories immediately.’

And so on.

It wasn’t until another friend Katie refused the offer of beer in favor of coffee that I was able to calm the inner voice and say no myself.

And the good news is I still had a good time. Parks are fun without the drinking.

But it just goes to show that while I have won a few battles on behalf of healthy eating, the war with my old habits had yet to be won.

In other news, I got a hair cut today as well. It was really needed! Thanks Henrik, magic work!

Day 17: Tears and brunch

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Snack: Green juice from Pressed Juicery and Coffee with milk
Brunch: Smoked Salmon Scrambler from Toast in Noe Valley (eggs, smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers), side of fruit salad, coffee
Snack: Banana and 10 almonds
Dinner: Zucchini noodles and Puttanesca sauce (homemade)
Dessert: Red grapes

Today my Mom and Step-Dad left to go back to Ireland after 3 weeks of vacation here in San Francisco. I’m not going to lie- there were tears as we said goodbye at the airport. It was a proper Love Actually moment in fact. I kid you not, as I was waving them off at security ‘God Only Knows’ by The Beach Boys started playing, which is in the actual movie! That opened the flood gates for me. Thank God for sun glasses.

I loved having them over and getting to spend quality time with them. That’s one of the benefits of living away from your family- when you do see them you actually make a concerted effort to hang out and talk. It’s almost like an opportunity to get to know them a little better. So, I’m thankful for that. Now I just need to get my Dad, brother and sister over!

The folks wanted one last American brunch before they left so we went out to eat in my new fave brunch spot in Noe Valley – Toast. It has a laid back, diner vibe (no schmanzy SF brunch cocktails here) and the food is great!

I knew we weren’t going to be eating until 11.30 and I was up early so it was important to grab a snack beforehand. I decided to walk to Pressed Juicery for a green juice. It was yum! In it’s own green way. There was some apple and lemon in it as well, which makes it a little more palatable.

One of the tough things about brunch and healthy eating (aside from the abundance of pancake related dishes) can be the extras you get- ie everything comes with a side of hash browns and toast. My brunch strategy is to substitute with fruit salad where possible and to leave the toast behind. If something unhealthy is on my plate it immediately becomes a battle between me and my will-power. And I don’t want that type of confrontation in my life. See ya later toast, keep on walkin’.

I also made zucchini noodles today. I’ve been wanting to try them for ages. I made a puttanesca sauce to go with them, so they were very light. I used 3 small zucchini for 2 people, which wasn’t enough really. Next time I’ll use more zucchini and probably add chicken as well.

Zucchini noodles

Gonna miss these faces!!

Day 16: That Friday Feeling

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Breakfast: Scrambled egg whites and eggs, pineapple, berries, coffee with milk
Lunch: Mixed salad, roasted veg, Grilled chicken breast, balsamic vinegar
Snack: Pineapple, cherry tomatoes, sugar snaps
Dinner: Appetizer – mixed meat, main course – vegetable cassoulet (smoked chickpeas, corn, green beans) and arugula salad, 2 x glasses of wine

What is it about Fridays – you always feel like you want and deserve a treat! It’s the end of a hard working week and all you want to do is kick back with a glass of wine and something nice to eat.

Or, as has been my habit of late, go out for happy hour, not eat any food and finish up at around 1.30am in the pizza joint.

Guess what I did not do! (The pizza one).

But I did kick back with something relatively nice to eat and a glass of wine (x2). Not 100% healthy but I think it’s healthy enough. Just to be clear – I still want to live my normal life by going out on the weekends and going for dinners and drinks. I just need to healthify the norm.

It was a slightly special occasion as well – my parents’ last night in SF. And we had a lovely time!

We had an aperitivo in the sun at Noeteca in Noe Valley. Such a cute little wine bar if you’re in the neighbourhood with good food.

We then went to Precita Park Cafe in Bernal Heights. Sweet little neighbourhood, with a great dog park if you’re that way inclined, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it for a Friday night. Full of kids (actually the perfect spot for a family on a Friday eve) and they totally rushed us through our meal. The food and wine were tasty though.

Then afterwards we went back to my parents’ Air BnB to chill on the couch and watch TV. There’s something so lovely about doing this with your family – so comforting, so normal, so relaxing. So precious.

I’m going to miss them loads.

Also, one last point to show you what I’m up against when it comes to healthy eating.

This is what I was faced with when I walked into the work cafe this morning:

Death by doughnut holes…

Thankfully they also had this, so I was easily able to be healthy.

Yum!

Day 15: Reflections and Refocusing

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Breakfast: Low fat natural yoghurt, bee pollen, flax seeds, tsp dried cranberries, apple
Exercise: 30 mins PT
Snack: Acai bowl (frozen blended acai, bananas, strawberries, shredded coconut)
Lunch: Mixed salad with plain tune
Snack: Half carton of low-fat cottage cheese, crudites
Dinner: Mediterranean chicken (chicken with homemade tomato sauce and zucchini, peppers, onions and mushrooms) with mixed salad and avocado
Dessert: What I didn’t have was some of the Mitchell’s ice cream my parents bought. BOOM.

The acai bowl is more of a cup really. False advertising.

I am now in my 3rd week of my 100 Healthy Days in SF challenge – where did the time go?!?

This has prompted me to do some thinking and reflecting on how the challenge has gone to date and what I want to focus on for the next while.

Biggest learning for me has probably been that it’s not just a matter of saying you want to change a behaviour and relying on sheer will power to get you there. Yes, will power plays a part, obviously, and the more you practice using it, the easier it gets. It’s like a muscle, don’t ya know.

But I think you also need to think about pro-active, intervention strategies as well. Bad habits take a while to form and they can be steadfastly entrenched in your day-to-day life. It’s going to take some effort and planning to get rid of them.

So, one of my big focuses over the next while is to plan ahead and be prepared to meet the various challenges head on.

The second biggest learning is around FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). This will happen a lot!! You see someone else happily drinking a margarita in the sunshine of a Friday evening, or ooo-ing and ahhh-ing and smacking their lips over an ice-cream and a little voice inside your head screams ‘THAT SHOULD BE ME! I DESERVE TO BE HAPPY! HAPPINESS IS NOT FOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF A BAG OF STUPID CARROTS.’

What I’ve learned is that it takes a lot of shouting back at that inner-voice to get him to shut up. You need to constantly remind him it’s all for the greater good, that this is a new way of living, that carrots are tasty in their own way and that the person who appears to be having such an amazing time eating or drinking may not actually be enjoying themselves that much. (Although I’m pretty sure the people eating Mitchell’s ice cream are having an amazing time).

Funny note – my mother is obsessed with the phrase FOMO. She laughs every time she hears it and has started saying it as well. I’m trying to get her to start saying YOLO as well. That would make me LOL.

The third part of my reflections are around exercise. I haven’t been doing nearly enough. Partly because my parents are over and partly for no reason at all. Laziness most likely. So the next few weeks will focus on getting my sweat on!

Last note for today – do you know how to pronounce acai? I did not. Apparently it’s pronouced ah-sigh-ee. Morto for me, I was pronouncing it A-Kigh. Oh how the Californians must have laughed at me.

Day 14: The Take-Out Challenge

Day 13: Spotlight on breakfast cereal

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Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and egg whites, steamed kales, chia seeds, raw celery, tomatoes
Exercise: 1 hour PT session (leg day)
Lunch: Mixed salad, with grilled chicken and avocado, apple cider vinegar
Dinner: Brown rice and spicy eggplant with shrimp and chicken
Snack: Almond brittle

I didn’t photograph the almond brittle. It was only a tiny piece!

I read a really interesting article today from The New York Times, about the decline in cereal sales over the past decade. The reason cited are varied- millennials are too busy to sit down and eat meals in general so are ‘snacking’ instead (not this millenial!); people went crazy for bagels for a while; the number of breakfast options available in the marketplace are growing so people are branching out; and lastly people are becoming a lot more health conscious and don’t want to eat unhealthy food.

About 2 years ago I started seeing a personal trainer in Dublin (howya Gordon!) and one of his most important pieces of advice to me was to fix the breakfasts- ditch the sugary, processed cereals and concentrate on eating protein. Not only is it better for you from a nutritional standpoint, it will also help to balance your blood sugars for the day so you’re not craving the bad stuff.

I cried a little when I heard that.

Cereal and I – we go way back. Some of my most fond memories relate to cereal – my gran sprinkling on the sugar for me when we vactaioned with her in Italy, being so excited to eat Captain Crunch and Lucky Charms when we went back to visit Canada. I would happily eat cereal at all times of the day – it’s carby and comforting. Carbforting – does that work?!

But, based on his advice I did it, I quit cereal! Even the ‘healthy’ muesli I had convinced myself was OK. Instead I started eating eggs, smoked salmon and even smoked mackerel (there was a small bit of gagging the first time)!

I stopped short at eating chicken for breakfast, which is what his recommendation was. I think I nearly threw a dumbbell at him when he suggested it. Chicken!

And, you know what – I feel great for it and it’s one of the healthy habits I’ve managed to keep up. I rarely get sugar cravings, and I don’t feel hungry until lunch time. So great, it’s a healthy habit I’ve managed to keep up. I can safely say that my breakfasts are 99% clean. (Don’t you dare throw those Day 11 pancakes back in my face).

Note, I actually also try to avoid fruit sugars at breakfast, where possible. Even having too much fruit has an effect on my blood sugars (ie sugar craving).

Try it! And tell me if you have any good breakfast recommendations that don’t involve eggs. I eat them a bit too regularly.

The cereal selection in work. You have no power over me, cereal!

One of the breakfast options I want to try is this. It looks soooo good!

Avocado with eggs. Yum!

100 Days in SF

100 days of fun in San Francisco

Category Archives: California

Day 24: Barry’s Bootcamp

Days 21-23: MIA- most likely found in the granola aisle

Day 20: Snack Attack

Day 19: The perils of too much coffee

Day 18: Dolores Park life

Day 17: Tears and brunch

Day 16: That Friday Feeling

Day 15: Reflections and Refocusing

Day 14: The Take-Out Challenge

Day 13: Spotlight on breakfast cereal