Why don't I eat meat?

FRIENDS!

Man, I've been busy. Keeping up with this blog is tough, but I was just inspired by a coworker to write a new post. Standing in the kitchen, a coworker was talking about how much he loves KFC and how much hate there is for it and he wanted to start a KFC Support Group (all jokes). I then said I wouldn't eat it even if I did eat meat, so then another one asked me why I don't eat meat.

Whenever I get this question I always hesitate for a second thinking to myself, how do I approach this person. I have only been here a few months and don't ever want to come off as preachy or judgey about ones food choices so I told her about how I interned at the Canadian Meat Council years ago, which solidified my thoughts on wanting to become vegetarian and since then (almost 3 years ago) I have learned so many more reasons why we shouldn't be eating meat which has just continued my support for this lifestyle.

SO; I'm going to write a blog about why I don't eat meat and what the implications of eating meat actually are because, most people are ignorant to the real hard facts of doing so. I am going to use that word a lot, ignorant. It comes with a lot of bad connotations, because people automatically think it comes as a negative. Not knowing something is ignorance. We can't know everything, I don't know everything and am ignorant to many things in the world. So take it all with a grain of salt, but I hope that every person that reads this comes out with thinking twice about what they eat because as they say "You are what you eat!"

In the past year I have been on this amazing food journey. I watch lots of food documentaries, read a lot of food articles, and have been really trying to educate myself on what is in my food and what the heck am I eating. Food has become my favorite topic to talk about; I even find myself talking about it on dates, which is weird, but I like it.

I do have to admit, I am technically a pescetarian (which means I don't eat any animal meat, but I eat fish, I also eat animal by-products like milk, eggs, yogurt). Although, after recently watching a documentary called Food Choices on Netflix and it truly opened my eyes to eating fish and the implications mass fishing does to our environment, and of course more specifically, our oceans. I also hardly ever have dairy. I don't drink milk (Almond Milk FTW), I eat vegan cheese, I don't use mayo. I do use butter every so often and eat eggs, but organic and free range.

I could go on for hours on this topic but I thought I would maybe just list off some facts about the meat and animal agriculture industry you might not know about!

• Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation. That means, farming animals for meat produces more greenhouse gas emmissions than EVERY SINGLE VEHICLE ON THE PLANET.
• Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day
• 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef. 
• Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction
• For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill
• Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction
• 82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by western countries
• Each day, a person who eats a vegan diet saves 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 sq ft of forested land, 20 lbs CO2 equivalent, and one animal’s life. 

If you got through all of that, props to you. Seriously. Now, some of you may think these facts are false, but please just google "Animal Agriculture Facts" and read a few articles. These are all cold hard facts that the agriculture industries do not want the general public to know.

Let me summarize: Farming animals takes water to keep them alive and drinking, land to have them roam and feed (if they're lucky), land to grow their feed, vehicles and exhaust to transport them and their meat, forests and trees destroyed for more land for them, in which they all produce tons of horrible emissions into the world. Which is all a very very sad reality.

You want to solve our environmental issues? Cut down on your meat consumption. Eat vegan a few times a week, buy organic, buy your eggs from free range farms where you can see all the little chickens running around.

Be smart. Please don't be ignorant. Our environment and the world cannot sustain this kind of lifestyle. It is impossible.

SOOOOOOO, with all that being said; I started off on this vegetarian and food lifestyle change because I did not agree with killing animals for food. We can find protein in tons of other foods like beans, nuts, peas, lentils, and organic soy products. Be creative with your foods, be smart about what your eating and how it won't just effect your waistline, it effects the environment, the sustainability of this planet and the well being of all animals. 

I will leave you with links to some of the best resources for facts and helpful tips to transition to being a smarter eater!

PS. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, this is just mine. But before knocking this off as just preachy junk, read up on this stuff, because you may be more convinced then you think!

http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/19/57-health-benefits-of-going-vegan/

https://authoritynutrition.com/top-11-biggest-lies-about-vegan-diets/

http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/

https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-factory-farms-and-environment

#TeamAwesome

Happy Friday Friends!

Don't Friday's give you the best feeling ever? The feeling of friend hangs, maybe a few cold brews, sleeping in past 5:30am. Although weekends always feel so short by the end of them, they are a great chance to unwind, even just a little bit. I like to stay busy, but I also love napping. I think this weekend will be the perfect weekend for an afternoon nap on Sunday, mostly because I know I will probably be a little hungover from Halloween festivities the night before.

So, this post is called #TeamAwesome, and you may ask, what the heck is that! Well, it is a group of dedicated runners who will be running in the 2017 Ottawa Race Weekend! We are online champions of the race weekend, helping spread the word about the weekend, encouraging others to race, and sharing our training stories! It's an absolute honor for me to be apart of this incredible group of runners. As I have mentioned before, my running story only started a year ago. Being selected to be apart of this team is so encouraging, and I will do my absolute best to help others achieve their goals as well.

I have continuously trained for running. Some weeks are a little more lax than others, but I am always in the mindset of training; even though the race is about 30 weeks away! For the next 15 weeks, I am going to try to get one short run/hill sprints in a week, and one long run. The 15 weeks leading up to the weekend I will really only be focusing on running, running and running! I need to up my distances, as I have never run a half marathon. So this should be interesting!

I currently have an injury that is not allowing me to train at my best right now. My current injury is pretty funny actually, so don't laugh; I stubbed my right baby toe last weekend so hard that I am currently limping when I walk, it hurts so bad. I am worried I may have done some serious damage to it. No shoe feels comfortable and even walking hurts. I am currently taking it slow. Doing some short runs and still going to the gym 6 days a week. I am hoping to hammer out a long run this Sunday, but will have to take it slow.

SO, what does #TeamAwesome mean for me and this blog? It means I am going to be posting a lot about my training, group run opportunities, and trying to encourage all of you to get out there and run! It is the cheapest exercise you'll ever do, and it does so much to your overall health, why not get out there!

If anyone has any questions about the Ottawa Race Weekend, training for certain distances, or just wants to go for a run with me, shoot me an email at deniserollin@gmail.com! I want to encourage all of you to get out there and run!

This year's race is going to be EPIC, as it is Canada's 150 birthday! Can you believe it?

So, in the meantime, I am going to nurse this baby toe back to health, drink lots of water, and get ready for the best run of the year! WHO IS WITH ME!?

How low can you go?

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

I don't mind Tuesday's. They're not as horrible as Monday's and they get you a little closer to the 'freakin' weekend.

Today I'm going to talk about......WEIGHT LOSS. Last night at my soccer game, I had 2 old teammates re-join our team that have been busy with their lives for the past year. They didn't recognize me. I said hi when they walked up, they responded back, but not like they would have. One of them saw one of my tattoos and was like "Uh, DENISE?? I didn't even know it was you, how much weight have you lost?"

I have honestly been getting a lot of that lately. Not so much of "Who are you?" but more of a double take. This blog post I am going to be pretty honest with my weight loss, because there are SO many people out there that are currently where I was or know where I'm coming from.

K, all judgement aside beside because I'm going to be pretty real right now. When I weighed myself in February of this year, I weighed 212 pounds and was wearing a size 12/14. I never owned a scale before that, and started working out a few days a week in October, so who knows what my weight was a year ago today. I shed several tears that day and wondered how I had let myself go so much. I have played soccer once a week since I was 13, I ran about 5 times a YEAR, I tried to eat healthy, but where did I go wrong, when did I stop caring? I didn't work out much, but how did I get this heavy?

It was a wake up call for me, big time. I started going to a small City of Ottawa gym in October. I would use the machines, run on the treadmill for 10 minutes, do some squats, and call it a day. I never changed my diet in those months though, practically eating whatever came my way. I think I had learned to only look at myself from the shoulders up and telling myself, it's fine, everyone is different.

That day in February I was like, this is not my life anymore. I can't allow this to be my life anymore. I took my first class at Iron North the first day of March and never looked back. I struggled those first few months, let me tell you. It made me realize how unhealthy, out of shape and FAT I was. I had been the type in the past to always be in relationships and make them my priority, but I was now changing my life and not allowing that to be my reality anymore. I have been single for over a year now and it has been the best decision to just focus on me, my health and not shitty men anymore.

I had to do a complete overhaul of what I was eating. I now limit sugars, bad carbs and any processed foods. I tend to eat smaller snack type meals throughout the day, and stock up on proteins and vegetables. I cheat every now and then, don't get me wrong. But loosing weight is 20% working out and 80% what you eat, so I had to be honest with myself and what I was eating.

So, I am now officially down 56lbs and am a size 4. I have gained a lot of muscle mass, but I am happy where I am. I would LOVE to get down another 16lbs, but it's tough when you're weight training a lot. My weight fluctuates between 152lb and 157lb during the week.

God. I cannot believe I'm publishing that number. The number that scared the shit out of me so much that I decided to overhaul my entire life. Wherever you are in your weight, nothing is impossible. When I first started at the gym with my monthly membership I thought, wouldn't it be nice to loose maybe 20lbs? Be able to run a 5km without dying? Maybe lift heavy? Now, my goals are different. I signed up for the Ottawa Race Weekend Half Marathon yesterday, I want to be able to do pull ups without a band, I want to deadlift over 215lb (my old weight, really) and I want to be able to do Spartan next summer! All of these things were never in my range of sight last year, but they are now, and I'm so excited to conquer them all, because I know I can!

Thanks for reading this and not judging me, because we all need that one push, that one thing to start us, right? Mine, was reading 212lb on my scale.

RUN FORREST, RUN!

Hey Everyone!

I haven't posted in about a month, but life got pretty busy and overwhelming, so I took a break!

I started a new job at the beginning of the month and was thrown into probably the busiest week ever. We had two giant events during my only 2nd week here, 1200 people through the doors in 10 hours with a small team of 6 was a HUGE undertaking, but it went super well and I am very happy to have a prestigious event like that under my belt.

NOW; the title of this entry is Run Forrest, Run! So if you didn't get that I was going to talk about running, go back to bed. (Sidebar: I'm the most sarcastic person you'll ever meet ever, so don't ever take an "insult" on here as so.)

I've always wanted to be considered a "runner". About every 6 months in my 20s I would go out for a run, die in the first few minutes, walk a bunch during my run, and come home to only realize I went 2km. I never stayed on it so I never got better. About this time last year I went through a breakup, and ran the 5km race during the Ottawa Army Run the next day. It was probably the most perfect thing to do right after a breakup. It wasn't what I wanted to do only 12 hours after, but I was doing it with a friend and knew I couldn't back out. I ran the 5km race in 37:50, which at the time I was so proud of. I remember thinking after my run "I can do this, and I should do this. I should really stop ignoring all this weight gain and actually try to do this." I think that day was my turning point in becoming healthier, I truly believe in that 37 minutes was when my mindset changed to wanting to be healthy. A year later, I am in the best shape I have ever been in my entire life, and continuing to have better endurance, get stronger and run faster.

Fast forward to a year later, and I can run 5km in 25 minutes flat. :|

In the last year, I have committed to running a few times a week. Starting in March, I started training for the Ottawa Race Weekend 10km race. I would run between 5km-8km 2 times a week, and would do a 10km run on Sunday's. The first time I ran 10km took me 1 hour and 11 minutes. My time with running 10km has fluctuated a bit, running it in 1:06 during the race weekend and being just under an hour when training. The organizers almost had to cancel the race weekend due to the extreme heat, so I am just happy I finished with that time. About two weeks ago I ran 10km in 55 minutes. So, almost 10 minutes down from my race weekend time.

I am finding everytime I run, I get a new PB. My fastest time only occurred last Sunday. Sunday's are usually my rest day, but by 7pm I was antsy to exercise and move around. I decided to go out for a brisk 5km and start off strong. I ended up finishing 7km in 35 minutes, so having ran the first 5km of that in 25 minutes. I was SO excited about this time. I have been trying to get closer to a 5 minute pace time forever. My pace is usually between 5:25 and 5:45, so to finally have hit 5 minute kms successfully was a big moment for me. I realized I just had to really push myself.

I have now signed up for the Ottawa Race Weekend half marathon. 21.1kms. I am very excited for this race and have no real expectations for myself just yet. I am going to continue with my running program (1-2 times a week) and really try to stick to that through the winter (Ahhh, winter running!). By the time March comes around I'm going to increase that, increase my distances and hope for the best come May!

I have realized in the past year that running is definetly a passion of mine that I will continue with. I am not a crazy runner, I don't have all the right gear, I don't always produce the best times, but it makes me happy so I'm going to keep running and continue to get better!

I will close this off with the most flattering photo of myself that I have (not)! This is my crossing the finish line of this year's 5km Army Run. Which is when I could really see how far I came in the past year (10 minutes better, to be exact)!

Breed Specific Legislation

I know I said this blog would cover health and fitness, but if you know me, you know my love for dogs. I practically like them better then I like people. I'm the type to stop you on the street and ask to pet your dog, or come to your house and get right to the floor to play. So if you have heard about this insanely idiotic Breed Specific Legislation in Montreal, you can assume my frustration, and utter sadness for this decision.


So, you may ask, what is Breed Specific Legislation (BSL)?
"Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is a law that bans OR restricts certain types of dogs based on their appearance, usually because they are perceived as “dangerous” breeds or types of dogs. **It is a common misconception that BSL refers only to breed bans."


Research has shown that BSL does not limit the amount of attacks by dogs and does not improve safety to people from dogs. I can list of article after article of this evidence, but I won't, because this post isn't about trying to convince people that BSL is wrong, inhumane, and DOES.NOT.WORK!


To me, the solution won't be simple, but can stop the deaths of thousands of dogs, which to me, is the ultimate win. I used this analogy with a friend earlier today; cars are dangerous hunks of steel that you drive really fast next to other cars and people. You have to go through stages of getting your licence, ensuring you understand the rules and laws of the road. After you get your G1 you're allowed to drive, but with another experienced driver with you. Over the next 8 months you learn how to properly drive. After that, you get your G2, yay! You can now drive on your own with your licence and registration, but have to continuously follow laws and rules set out to ensure no one gets hurt or injured. The more you drive, the more you know and the smarter you are of the rules of the road (this can be argued for some dumb drivers, but you get my point.)


So, when handling something potentially dangerous, that law ensures you are licenced, registered and have been prepared for driving. So, why can't we have a system in place to ensure all animals owners are licenced, registered and have been prepared for owning this dog.


I know it is complicated but if we had people in power who fought for this type of thing, it could happen. My dog is a terrier mix, hyper, fast and very energetic. But I love her so much that I do everything in my absolute power to ensure she is safe, people that come into contact with her are safe and that she is a friendly and behaved dog.


It is utterly heartbreaking to see this happening and I can't put into words how sad this makes me. I would own 20 dogs if I could, but my current situation does not allow for that. I donate to the human society all the time and am an advocate for adoption (DON'T BUY FROM BREEDERS!!!), and animal welfare.


I may be a bit biased, but I seriously don't understand how anyone could make this decision and have it be a law, basically putting to death thousands of deserving and loving dogs that just need a little TLC.


In conclusion, here's my nut job of a dog; Rae. She is a Boston-Terrier Bulldog that will lick your face off if you come too close to her. A lot of people cross the street when they see her. They have no idea what breed she is an automatically see her face and get nervous. I let anyone that stops to pet her, but warn them she's a kisser. She is like all other terrier breeds, big lovers who just want a warm bed and an owner that will protect them.

Please help reverse this BSL by signing this petition https://www.change.org/p/denis-coderre-stop-a-bsl-bill-pit-bull-ban-in-montr%C3%A9al, tweeting, donating, supporting and getting the word out. You could also go to Montreal and adopt one of these poor babies in shelters that may not be around too much long.

Thank GOODNESS it's Friyay!

TGIF!


Regardless of being currently cold and rainy, it is Friday, which is basically the best day of the week for most of you. It means possibly sleeping in, catching up with friends, or taking part in some much anticipated plans of BEAU'S OKTOBERFEST!


I am heading there tomorrow with some friends and planning on staying the entire day. I am so excited for beer, food and live music! I will most definitely be cheating on my Real Food Reset, but life is about balance, and I bought these tickets before I signed up for the food reset, so commitment, right? I have promised myself I will not feel guilty about it, I will enjoy my day, and get back on track first thing Sunday morning.


I finally made my first recipe last night from the Real Food Reset meal plan. All this week I have just been making super quick meals, while following the rules set out, because I have had no time to make a proper meal. Last night I made this amazing baked sweet potato thing (all recipes are from Stephanie Kay, I take no ownership of these, check out her blog for more amazing recipes!).


I'll quickly run over the recipe; it was super simple to start, head to the gym and come home to continue.

• Stab a sweet potato 3-4 times with a fork and wrap in aluminum foil 
• Bake for an hour at 400
• Heat up a tsp of olive oil in a pan, mix in onions, peppers, garlic.
• Add in a can of black beans.
• Add spices according to your taste; I like me some spice so I put cumin, pepper and basil.
• Smush some avocado in a bowl with pepper
• Take out said potato; slice it down the middle and put on your panned ingredients!

VOILA!

It was SO delicious, so filling and so fresh tasting! I made two potatoes and enough filling for a second meal.

One more shout out I'd like to make this morning is LVD Fitness. They are an Ottawa-based fitness apparel company that makes some super cute, functional workout wear. Iron North is a huge supporter of them, and you should too! Read their story here to learn more about WaterAid, who they have partnered with. It's a great local company that is trying to make a difference! Here is me in my new crop top I bought at the 1 year INS party! It's comfy and I can wear it working out and out with a jean jacket. Except that it is now almost OCTOBER which means sweaters, pants and SOCKS....

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Despite the somewhat chilly weather, get out there, because soon we will have a few feet of snow on the ground.


Signing out,
D

The Burg

Well, let's get on with this first post; shall we?


WHERE DO I SWEAT?
Iron North Fitness! PEDAL.RUN.LIFT.STRECH
INS is an independent gym in THE BURG owned by two fabulously fabulous young ladies named Sam and Jenna. These two are some B.A moms who started this studio a little over a year ago. Last month they hosted their one year party at the gym and celebrated with members, family and friends. If you're looking for a community feel to a gym, this is your place!


As their motto says, they host tons of different classes so that you can expand your athletic abilities. Instead of just going to a gym, doing a short run on the treadmill, using some machines and going home, this place offers it all in one spot. They have spin classes (which are actually amazingly fun and not as scary as most would think), Run Club, Lift and Strength type classes (death by MetCon), and a yoga studio.


Around the end of 2015 I attended some classes here, but never got a membership. In March I said "K, I don't want to feel this way anymore" and got a membership. I go about 5-6 times a week, with most days doing an early morning and evening workout. This place has become my safe-haven, my stress reliever and my go-to gym. I cannot tell you how much this place has changed my life. In March let's just say I weighed too much to even mention here. As of today I am down 50lbs, with tons of muscle added. I can attest that this place changed me.


My favorite saying lately has been "Do it, because you can." Lots of people in the world are not as fortunate as us able-bodied people. So don't be lazy. Get up, move your buns and have a great time doing it. It may take a while to find your niche, but once you do, trust me, endorphins are a real thing. So is working out with a bunch of amazing people!


WHAT DO I EAT?
Let me explain; I am pescatarian (which means I am vegetarian, but I eat fish occasionally). I became a vegetarian a little over two years ago for many reasons (that's another post). I refrained from fish for the first 6 months but realized that was really hard and unrealistic for me.


Everyone has their own diet and own way of doing things, and this one works for me. I don't care if you're a meat eater, a vegan, gluten-free, what have you. All I suggest is that you are smart about your food. Think about what you're eating. Think about what is going into your body. Fueling your body should be done with thought. To be honest; if you're constantly eating stuff that comes in a package and out of a box, you're doing it wrong.


I try to eat as clean as possible. Right now I am doing the real food reset with Stephanie Kay hosted by Pure Yoga Westboro. It's a 28 day reset on the way you cook and eat. The plan gets you to eat everything in it's whole and original form. Cooking with fresh ingredients is the key to this plan. I have mostly been eating this way but I really wanted to get down the nitty gritty of clean eating, and so far this program has taught me tons (it started 4 days ago).


A little example of what I eat is; lettuce wraps with organic tofu and vegetables, some Ezekial bread (bread made from organic, sprouted whole grains) with avocado, hard-boiled eggs, veggies and hummus, lots of bean salad, sweet potatoes and smoothies. You CAN eat well and it taste good. Don't get me wrong; I love beer, but only drink when I have a function and I love pizza. I try to treat myself to a cheat night every few weeks. It's all about moderation. In fact, I am going to Oktoberfest in Vankleek Hill this Saturday and I plan on drinking lots of great beer and eating some yummy food. But I will then work my butt off at the gym this week and next!


Well; I think that's it for me! I will definitely be delving into my workouts and eating in the future, this is just to give you a sense of the amount of work it takes to really be successful in loosing weight; keeping it off and being healthy. It's not about a quick fix; this is a lifestyle change that has made me a healthier person; physically and mentally.


Signing Off,
D.

Oh, hi there! *White Girl Wave*

Hey Everyone!


First off, if you're reading this, thank you! I know I am just a regular ol' person trying to live life the best way I can, and to most my opinions and thoughts probably don't matter, but in the past year I have drastically changed the way I go about this crazy thing called life, so I thought I should write about it.


A few months ago an old friend told me I should start blogging. I frequently post on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter about the progress I've made, the way I work out and the things I eat, so I thought; what the heck. If I can inspire one person with the way I do things, then I have met my goal.


Some of things I'll probably be covering are my workouts, my meals, my favorite spots to do these two things, and maybe an op-ed every now and then (because Trump really grinds my gears).


Stay tuned for lots of exciting (at least, I think they're exciting) posts!