Friday, November 4, 2011

Weigh-In

Sitting at 187.6 lbs

That's a loss of 4.4 lbs from the end of September.

Rejoining the gym this weekend. Yep, probably shouldn't have left, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I've been having a really tough time personally with my relationships- everyone is in turmoil and all I want to do is save the day. I can't and it feels terrible, some even blame me for making them feel worse when all I do is try to help.

It is time for me to focus on myself. Losing some more pounds will make me feel better about myself. I'm hoping that working out not only shapes my body, but will help get my mind in shape as well.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Grocery Haul

Good Afternoon ALL!

So far, I am enjoying the Weight Watchers program. It is hard to get used to counting points instead of calories, but I am learning. Having the website and the iPhone app really makes a difference for me.

My fridge was looking mighty bare, so I went grocery shopping this morning.

I rode my bike about 15 minutes to the store and another 15 back home. It is a little windy here today, so it definitely got my heart rate up!

Here's what I ended up with today... (the pictures aren't great)

overview

Egg Whites
Low Fat Sour Cream
Fat Free Strawberry Greek Yogurt
Fat Free Plain Yogurt
Broccoli
(5) Green Giant Simply Steamers (these are so good and all veggies)

Crimini Mushrooms (in the brown bag)
Cantaloupe
Lettuce
Strawberries
Lemons
Kiwis
an Orange
an Apple
and Garlic

Yum, lots of healthy food for me this week!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Weigh-In

Previous Weight: 198.8 (about 3 weeks ago)
Current Weight: 192
Loss = 6.8lbs

HURRAY!!!! That is my lowest number yet! I'm not sure how this happened...

Thursday, September 22, 2011

New Plan

Well, I did it.

I joined Weight Watchers Online to re-kickstart my weight loss. I joined 2 days ago and I must admit, it has been difficult to adjust from counting calories to counting points. I'm getting the hang of it slowly, but could use any advice people are willing to give me!

I have a weigh-in tomorrow, if things continue the way they have been this week- it should be a good one.

Wish me luck on this new plan!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Deja-Gym

I am contemplating re-joining the gym...

I know... I hemmed and hawed about stopping my membership in previous posts and ultimately decided to discontinue it. I thought that my home gym was enough and running outside would be more inspiring. However, it has not been the motivation I need to keep me going. Maybe I need that $50 coming out of my account every month to get me going.

I'm going to give my home gym one last valiant effort to get me back on the weight loss train. Then, if I still can't get myself moving. I will look into gyms.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Farm Trip

There is a program at my office whose mandate is to provide people in the inner city with low cost, local, organic vegetables. How can that be? Low cost and Organic- those words don't usually go together!

Well, the program organizes farm trips every Friday and you basically work for food. People get paid in "sweat points" which are like money and you can use them for our market, community dinners, or boxes of produce in the winter.

I am a member of the program, so I went out on Friday to the farm. We helped the farmers harvest beets, carrots and pumpkins. The group is also provided with a healthy lunch and some veggies and free run eggs to take home. It is an amazing program that helps promote food security and teaches people where their food comes from. It also supports eating local and supporting organic farmers.

This program is amazing! Here are some pictures from my visit. Hauling pumpkins was a workout and I could feel it in my muscles in the evening!







Sunday, September 11, 2011

I Live!

Just wanted to drop a line to let all you lovelies know that I have not fallen off the wagon and gained back all 22lbs I lost! I'm trying to keep up with all of you. Life is starting to slow down in some ways and speeding up in others.

I think about this blog everyday and want to get back to writing and being serious about continuing to lose weight and be healthier. I really enjoy reading other blogs and journeys. I love interacting with all you people too.

I have been staying active. Not as much as I would like, but still out and about. I tried a few new things...

...like golf!

And intense ocean hiking! Phew- climbing ocean rocks is rough work! Especially with a giant backpack. 

I hadn't stepped on the scale in a long time- probably over a month. I was nervous about how much I may have gained in the month of avoiding the scale and not counting calories. I was estimating the scale would read 205. When I finally stepped on this week it said 198.8! Happy to still be in the 100s. Basically I have been maintaining in the time away from blogging.

I have been giving some thought to a new plan. Maybe WeightWatchers? I still have some thinking to do.

Hope all is well in the blogging world. Be good to yourself and each other! Hope to write again soon.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Not So Weekly Review

Hello.

Not to much to say really. I've been having a pretty rotten week. A lot of relationship woes in the last few days and mostly today. Not sure how to proceed.

I'm resisting the urge to eat for comfort. However, I'm not really eating a whole lot of anything. Feeling just ick. Been doing my regular biking to work and errands. Also got out for a little baseball yesterday.

My weight was down from last Friday, not much- but it was lower.

Feeling pretty low and unmotivated.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Check-In

I just wanted to write a small post about my absenteeism this week.

If you are a regular reader, you may know that I weigh-in on Fridays and do a weekly review on Sundays. I did neither this week.

Life has been throwing me some curves in the past little while. New job. A move. Relationship woes. A car accident that landed my mother in the hospital. Familial depression and illness.

I'm really trying to keep it all together and doing a decent enough job I think. However, I have been overworking myself. Trying to prove I deserve this amazing job. Doing my housework, plus my mother's house and yard work. Fixing other people's problems and ignoring my own- as usual. I'm not so much complaining, just venting. I'm resilient and I know I can get past all this.

My eating hasn't been great. I try to keep myself in check though. I need to realize that eating doesn't solve my problems. In the long run, it just makes them worse. I know this, just need to put it into practice.

I still move myself on a regular basis- walking/biking to work and errands work related. Tennis. Yoga to calm my nerves. I even jumped on the elliptical last week! etc. I know it is not enough to lose, but it is enough to not gain. Exercise isn't really my problem- the aforementioned terrible eating habits are.

So, until I get my bearings headed in the right direction... I will try to post more often. But I can't promise it.

I'm off to the grocery store. Good fuel only in that cart. Maybe a haul later?

What do you do to battle fatigue?

Monday, August 1, 2011

Weekly Review

Today was a Canadian holiday- so today is the end of my week.

It is still hot here and very humid. My apartment is so hot that it makes me sweat just walking around. I have no A/C and only 1 fan.

I am happy to report that this week I managed to do something physical everyday. Whether it was walking, biking, or something totally new- like kayaking. I did something everyday even in the heat.

I managed to get out and do a couple of totally different things this week. One thing was kayaking, which I already talked about. The other was tennis! I have never played before and was a little discouraged because of all the running around. But, there is a court near my home. So, we got some raquets and headed out.

We were terrible! Haha. But, we had fun and it was a great workout in the sun. I hope to go again soon- maybe when the sun goes down :)

Eating was pretty good this week with the exception of Wednesday. I binged on gummie bears and BBQ almonds. No, it wasn't worth it and I had to see the red OVER symbol on my calorie counting app.

Last Week's Goals
1) Get on Elliptical- :( I looked at it... but did not use her.
2) Yoga 1x (yep), Strength 2x (yep), Run 1x (not this week)
3) Track- yep! Only once did I go over 1600 this week

Next Week's Goals
1) A Loss on the scale
2) Yoga 1x, Strength 2x, Run 1x
3) Get on the elliptical at least once

Have a great week everyone!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Weigh-In #25

Previous Weight: 199.4
Current Weight: 197
Difference: -2.4 lbs

Finally a loss! I've been waiting several weeks to see this! Let's hope I can stay motivated and keep it up since a long weekend is coming up and that means a lot of BBQs and beer.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

EDIT- did anyone notice I put -1.4 originally? Wow- this is much better!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

New Experiences- Kayaking

On Tuesday night, the Mister and I decided to take advantage of a new local summer program in our city. We went out to the nature reserve and went kayaking.

Now, I have never been kayaking before and I am not a great swimmer. So, I have been skeptical about the whole thing. I always thought that it was super easy to tip over and be upside down in a boat in the water. Nightmare! Mister has been out a few times and really loves it. So, I thought- let's do it! Conquer a fear. Try something new.

Well...




...I loved it!

I know in the past, let's say 2 years ago, I would never have gone. I would have made every excuse in the book not to go. But, as I have become more athletic and confident in my skills in the exercise department- I am willing to try a lot more things. I think that is one of the greatest things about getting fit and healthy.

I am not totally sure of the calorie burn for kayaking. But it is a decent workout. It's not running, but it is along the same lines of biking at least- just in the upper body department.

I encourage people to try sometime new. You never know! You might find your new passion. I will definitely be going out on the water again sometime soon!

What new exercise have you tried lately?

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Weigh-In & Weekly Review

I'm testing something out.

I'm thinking of amalgamating my weigh-in and weekly review into one post. I have a feeling that my new job is going to keep me very busy, so I may not always be on time with posting my regular installments. In a way, I like this idea. But, I also enjoy posting on this blog and connecting with all you wonderful people. More posts= more chances to connect. We shall see how it all pans out.

Anyway, on to the weigh-in!

Previous Weight: 199.4lbs
Current Weight: 199.4
Difference: 0 lbs

Well, no loss, but no gain. A maintain.

I've noticed a few posts this week from at least a couple ladies regarding the loss of motivation- Need to Get ME Back talked about losing her gung-ho. Lisa at Challenge Accepted also spoke about exercise losing its' shiny appeal. For the past several months I have really been slacking on weight-loss. I totally relate to these women and what they are experiencing. For me, I really hit a mental wall. I got under that 200 point and (mentally) I thought, that will do for now. But, it won't really just do. I am not where I want to be and I am not on the schedule I want to be on. My New Year's Resolution for the past 10 years has been to lose weight. I really meant it this year. I want to lose 50+ lbs by the end of the year. I have 30 left to lose.

So why have I stalled? Am I afraid to succeed? If I lose the weight, I finally have nothing to blame for holding me back from life? I just don't know. I keep setting goals and only halfway achieving them each week. They are not unattainable goals, but sometimes they seem so far off from where I am.

I'm trying, but sometimes my mind just defeats me.

Anyway, enough of the pity party organized by derailed thought. Haha!

This week it was so hot. But, I managed to walk for 45 minutes every week day. Yesterday, I got out for a run in the early afternoon since it really cooled off. I ran 2.5K (about 1.5 miles). I'm running between 10 and 12 minute miles. I'm using NIKE+ with GPS on my iPhone and I'm not sure how accurate it is. At first it said I was running 8 minute miles, but I know that is not right! haha. Running felt good. Ran the whole thing without stopping, hoping to go a bit longer next time.

I also did yoga at home and am trying to coax my partner into it. He is thinking about it.

Last Week's Goals
1) Loss- No. A maintain. I'll get there.
2) Yoga 2x, run 1x, walking- YES!!!
3) Track and Limit- Yes! -

Next Week's Goals
1) Get back on the Elliptical!
2) Yoga 1x, Run 1x, Strength 2x
3) Track and Limit to under 1600


Hope all you good people have a good week. Be kind to each other!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Weekly Review

Ok. So, it's Monday. But it is also review time!

I have been pretty beat from this hot weather we have been having. It is getting between 35 or 40 C with the humidity. That's between 95 and 104 F. Bleh! So sweaty.

This week was mostly good for me and my plan. I had a couple off days. But generally I am happy with the way I turned it around this week. Eating was good- still needs work, but good.

Exercise lacked but it is also getting back there. I got out to run and did a lot of walking too.

I started a new job today and I am very excited and anxious about it. It is a lot of responsibility (the most I've ever had) and it is actually something I could see myself doing for awhile and actually enjoying it. I am pretty intimidated by it all though. I'm trying to be positive about it though.

Last Week's Goals
1) Loss- nope
2) Easing back into exercise- yep! And a 2K run to boot!
3) Tracking Calories- Check (5/7 days)

Next Week's Goals
1) Loss (please?)
2) Yoga 2x, run 1x, walks
3) Tracking calories and limiting intake to 1500-1600

Good Luck to me and all of you!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Weigh-In #25

Previous Weight: 199
Current Weight: 199.4
Difference: +0.4lbs

I guess it takes a while for your body to get back in the swing of things. I expected a loss, but a gain of 0.4 is not much of a gain. I know that I am doing all the right things at the moment and it will only get better from here on out.

I'll tell you all about this week and how I got back on track on Sunday. But right now, I want to share with you how to eat pasta while on a diet.

Once and a while I get a craving for some heavy carbs. I love cooking pasta because it is so easy and always looks like you spent a lot of time on it. I tend to use a bottled marinara sauce and add all my own veggies (onions, garlic, basil, zucchini, bell peppers, etc) and spices to it. By bulking up the sauce with veggies I don't need to add meat to it- shaving off a considerable amount of calories.

While watching my calories, I measure out my pasta carefully with one of these below. It's a pasta measure- giving you the sizes of 1-4 servings. This is for long pastas like spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine, etc. For other types of pastas I use a scale. Pasta is so calorie dense, you really need to watch your serving size. The servings at Olive Garden are enough to feed 2 people. That's why you always have leftovers for the next day.

Another trick I use- make enough servings for the amount of people dining. It is usually just me and my Mister- so I make 2. No leftovers or going back for seconds.

Here is a dish I made myself the other day when I was dying for a little gnocchi.

There is about 1/4 cup of marinara with 2 TBSP of light ricotta for the sauce, 1/2 cup of gnocchi, mozzarella on top and some basil. For a grand total of....

270 calories!

Pretty good. Add a big side salad and you meal is filling and complete. I was totally satisfied.

Eating low calorie or low points doesn't mean that you have to eat bland food. You just have to get yourself into the kitchen and get creative.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

I'm Bringing Running Back. Yeah!

I haven't gone out for a run in a long time. I was running regularly before I canceled my gym membership and moved in with Mister. Of course, I have been super busy watching all the seasons of How I Met Your Mother... but still. I have not made time for running.

I planned it all out last night. I laid out my work out clothes and set the alarm for 7am....


That's the sound my phone makes- not overly intrusive.

So, I rolled out of bed. Drank a glass of water. Got dressed and headed out to the road.

I figured I would be super out of shape. I expected to run a block or 2 then walk a block and continue this way for my anticipated route.

Well... good news! I ran my whole route! I shocked myself. Granted, it was only 2K. But I haven't run in about 2 months. I was so proud of myself.

Here is my route.

Hopefully, this week is the boost I need to get back on track. So far the week is going splendidly! I'll update you on Sunday as usual!

Have a wonderful hump day!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

My Trip to the Farmer's Market

I got out the the local, big farmer's market this past weekend for the first time this summer. It is about a 25 minute drive from my house, but it is worth it. It will be even more worth it next month when everything is in season.

I like shopping for produce at the Farmer's Market because it is fresh from the farm. Some veggies still even have dirt on them. There is a huge variety and a sense of helping the local farmer.

I started the day off with some fuel- PB on toast and some coffee to go!


Summer tunes are essential to the drive.

I got to the market around 8am. Still a little drowsy.

The market wasn't too busy at this time. It was nice and easy to maneuver.

I was done all my shopping by...
Then I headed home to show off my loot!

The loot includes:
-a dozen free range, vegetarian diet eggs
-3 Zucchini/summer squash/courgettes (call them what you will!)
-a bunch of Asparagus
-a bunch of Kale

I can't wait until there are plenty of string beans, tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, melons, etc. August is a great month for the farms and gardens.

What is your favorite summer fruit/veggie?

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Weekly Review

Good Evening... or Good Morning, because most will be reading this entry tomorrow!

I had 5 days off this week, so I planned to do some fun things and get some house chores done. I did a good job balancing my time between things I wanted to do, and things I had to do. If only I could balance my eating that easily!

Anyway, eating wasn't very good this week. I don't know what it is, but I just cannot get back on the healthy eating bandwagon. I try so hard and have such good intentions on Monday. But, by Tuesday I am eating loads of junk. My willpower is nonexistent these days.

I managed to ease myself back into exercise this week- very slowly... but I'm getting back to it. Doing a lot of walking and some elliptical. Hoping to integrate some yoga and strength in this week.

Let's look at the goals for this week:

1) A Loss- nope, a gain.
2) Various exercise 3x- done! I went for 3 walks and used the elliptical for 30 minutes.
3) Eat at Home- done mostly. My mom took me out one day- of course for fast food- she loves fast food! However, I ordered a salad on the side and a Coke Zero. Overall, not a terribly high calorie meal- about 500 or so.

Next Week's Goals:
1) A Loss- please God let there be a loss!
2) Continue to ease back into regular exercise- maybe a run/walk one morning before it gets hot out.
3) Ease back into tracking calories and limiting intake

You will notice that I said "ease" a lot in this entry. I'm starting to think that maybe I can't go all or nothing. I have to gradually remove things from my diet or replace them with healthy alternatives.

Slow and steady wins the race!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Weigh-In #24

Previous Weight: 198
Current Weight: 199
Difference = +1 lbs

Booo.

That is all.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Small Grocery Haul

I love grocery shopping. I like to go to all different kinds of shops to purchase what I need. I frequent supermarkets, box stores, specialty grocers, organic markets, farms, and farmers markets. I like to scope out new products and good prices. So, it is no wonder that I really enjoy reading/watching grocery hauls on YouTube and on blogs I follow.

Here is a small haul from yesterday.


First, I went strawberry picking at a local U-Pick Farm. I got 4 Litres of berries. That's about a gallon. They are small and beautifully red. They are oh so sweet. I love fresh berries off the bush!


I went to a couple stores (Costco & Walmart) for these items:
20 small bags of Food Should Taste Good Chips- Multigrain and Sweet Potato
1 Orange
1 Apple
A can of Lemon Pepper Tuna
1 Cucumber
Three Grain Loaf- really dense bread
Mini Gnocchi






Then I scored at the local library. They were having an old book/magazine sale- I picked u 5 Cooking Light mags for 50 cents each.



My Mister and I play 2 games at the grocery store check out. 1) We set up all our items on the conveyor belt and decide if we look healthy or unhealthy. A lot of box food = unhealthy. Veggies/Fruits and fresh meats = healthy. 2) We both guesstimate how much the bill will be. Winner gets nothing but bragging rights. haha.

Do you like grocery shopping? Or do you have to make it fun? 

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

A day in the life of my plate...

What did you guys/gals have for breakfast/lunch/dinner today?

Breakfast
Coffee in my new mug!
 
Green Monster
Toast with Margarine

Lunch
 
Hummus, AkMak crackers and Carrot Sticks
Snack for the Walk Home
Gelati. It was so hot out on my long walk!


Dinner
Sole with Herbs, salad, carrots, and sauteed mushrooms
Snack
 
PB&J

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Weekly review

Hello hello! I am back again for the review. I've been trying to use my Iphone Blogpress app, but it keeps telling me it can't publish! Makes me so mad!

Last week I went a little out of sorts and didn't set any goals an didn't talk about previous goals. So let's get back into it!

Last week went as well as any week has lately I suppose.

It was Canada Day on Friday, but I elected to stay in as I went out the night before and had a few drinks. I usually limit myself to one night every other week to have some drinks with friends and choose low cal options.

I hoped back on the elliptical this week. I did 30 minutes on Friday and worked up a sweat. I'm hoping I can keep it up.

On Saturday I hit the beach for the first time in over a year. I tried on my swimsuit the night before to see how it fit. The top is kind of baggy in the mid-section, but other than that it fits fine and I feel a lot better in a suit now than a couple years ago. We didn't swim- just laid out and tanned. I'm the only one who didn't get an awful burn. Silly girls.

Here's a bad pic of me tanning!

The part I'm the most insecure about in a suit are my legs. They are ghostly white and my upper thighs are just all around big and a bit dimply. I am getting more comfortable in shorts, but booty shorts in public are something else. Just something I need to work on- confidence and cardio! I've been thinking of tanning in a booth, but I am just not sure. I feel like it is such a waste of time for me. Getting ready, driving to the salon, changing, putting lotion on... all to lay in the bed for 2 minutes and then go home.

Anyway, I noticed something on the beach. No one has a totally perfect body. Even the skinniest girls have some cellulite- I checked! Some people just carry themselves with more self esteem than others and it really shows. Some women are my size and in bikinis- more power to them!

But I was feeling pretty good at the end of the day! Must have been all the Vitamin D.


Anyway, let's set some realistic goals for this week. It will boost my self esteem.

1) a loss on the scale
2) various exercise 3x this week
3) meals made at home

 Do any of you tan in a tanning bed? Would you reccommend it to me?

Friday, July 1, 2011

Weigh-In #23

Previous Weight: 200.6
Current Weight: 198
Difference: -2.6

Hurray! I am down to my pre-vacation weight! That's a relief! Now I just need to get back into the swing of exercising regularly.

My Mister is off visiting his parents several provinces away. They run a mountain lodge and it is peak season out there, so they asked him to come lend a hand. In a way, it will be good for me to be alone. There will be no ordering in food, lots of veggies in the fridge, I can exercise whenever I want without worrying that I am being loud, etc. I hope I can get my butt in gear!

Now this is scary...

I am going to the beach tomorrow! EEK! More to come on this in the Weekly Review- stay tuned!

And I wanted to share a meal with you. This is a piece of sole that I baked in the toaster oven (yes it can be done!) with some margarine, salt and pepper, and some herbs from my garden (parsley and chives). I also had a salad with butter lettuce and lolla rose lettuce on the side with balsamic dressing. The whole meal was only maybe 200 calories. A nice light lunch.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Not So Weekly Review

You heard mostly how my vacation week went, so I will tell you how much Sunday went.

I walked in a Pet Walk-a-thon to raise money for the local humane society. My team- made up of myself and 2 other friends, raised $550 all together! We are very proud.

Today we walked 3K with pups in tow. I walked a friend's 9 month old Miniature Australian Shepard and totally fell in love with her. Her name is Kola.

She made a friend with another friend's big lug- Thunder.





There were lots of prizes and freebies. I brought some treats home for my little kitty (the one who eats blinds) and got some special doggie food for my brother's dog who has a kidney ailment as well as lots of treats for Kola's mom.

Kola and Thunder enjoyed Doggie Ice Cream.... Thunder demolished his in one gulp, Kola was a bit more cautious...




But loved it in the end!

Here she is keeping watch over us with tons of animals in the background.




It was a long day, but a fun day! I'm super proud of my team for working so hard to raise money for a great cause. We are avid supporters of the Humane Society- my kitty came from there 4 years ago.

I got too much sun and ended up with a burn on my chest and arms. I even wore sunscreen! I'm exhausted now and already took a nap to sleep off the effects of the sun.

Kola was exhausted on the way back home to her Mommy too.

Hope everyone got out to enjoy the weather this weekend!