I'm back!!!

Hey everyone, Long time no see!

I will be trying to revive this little blog I've got here, if only for sharing stuff that is important to me. Hopefully I'll be better at this thing called blogging! We will see about that. :)

Quick update:

I've hired a personal trainer a year and a half ago, and long story short, I've lost 15 lb, gained muscles and lost tons of fat. Mainly, I went from a size 10 to a size 2. I'm still maintaining. Hiring a personal trainer was the best thing I could have ever done - it helped me change my lifestyle completely. I'm still going to the gym, on my own, almost every day. I run, lift weights, play sports, and love life!

Status Update

No, I'm not dead. Yes, I'm still here and doing well. I've got a cold now, but other than that, all's good. It's the Holidays, and of course, I'm busy as hell, so I don't have much time to update here!

But things keep on going real well for me. I'm still doing the big breakfast, medium lunch, small dinner thing, and it's working real well. I've slipped a few times and had snacks in the evening, but nothing too dramatic. I'm down to 125lbs - WOOHOO!!!! I've officially reached my goal! I'm so happy and proud.

Now I'd love to be able to exercise more. Doing exercise at home, even if at my own pace, gets really boring after a while. I'll look for some day classes I could take in the New Year. Yoga? Muai Thai Boxing? I'm already on the ice with the kids at least once a week, so that's not bad, but that's not enough. I'd love to be part of a hockey team again, but it doesn't seem to be in the cards for now. I'll keep looking tho.

Oh, another big thing - I've purchased my first size 6 pair of jeans this week. First pair of size 6 in over 10 years! So, so happy. :)

Weekend report

Hey ya'll!

Things are going well for me. I'm managing my weight quite well, even going down a bit this week (got down to 126, woohoo!). Of course that got me a false sense of security, and I indulged this weekend. But it's ok. I'm back on track today, and will stay on track all week. As long as I indulge only once in a while, I think I'll be ok.

I've been very active, always moving, always going somewhere. I've been stressed a lot too this past week. And I've had my monthly womanly thing. FUN. So I apologize, but yes, I felt like indulging this weekend was well earned. So there. :)

Exercising continue to be the hardest thing to do. It's not like I sit on my ass all day watching soaps... I'm active. Yesterday, I worked outside for 3 hours, racking leaves, packing them in bags, putting away my patio furniture. So that's something! I am just real bad these days at doing any targeted exercise. I gotta get back on that. It made me feel so good! I should remember that feeling and start doing it again.

Good news is I'll be going on the ice at least once a week with my hockey team. I'm coaching a team again this year. I'm really looking forward to it.

Later...

Yep...

I was away this weekend, yet again. Having boys heavily involved in hockey, our lives have been taken over by skates, hockey sticks and stinky equipment. We spend lots of time in arenas.. We have to leave early in the mornings, sometimes not returning home before mid afternoon. It gets tough at times to eat properly when on the run like that!

This weekend, we had a tournament, so it was more of the same... I think all considering, I did really well. I've been choosing the healthiest on the menu, the less caloric, the less fatty. And if I'm in a restaurant for lunch... I eat a big meal! And eat something real small for dinner. All in all, I think it's been good this weekend.

Now if I could only motivate myself to exercise more... I'm actually active, but it's been days since I've done some real targeted exercises. Time for Bootcamp again, me thinks.

Oups?

Wow, it's been a while since I last updated.

I don't want to make excuses, but will say I was gone for almost 4 days this past weekend/week, so not only was it impossible for me to update, but it was also tough to keep up with this self imposed diet and exercise routine.

Food wise, I think I did really good, except for that one night where I had quite a few drinks. But I'm not worried. My weight is good, my energy level is good, and everyone needs a night of indulgence once in a while, no?

Exercise wise, well, that's another story. During those 4 day, I walked and danced and jumped around a lot. So I guess that counts for *something*. It was not, however, regiment exercises like I usually do.

Oups.

Nonetheless, I think it's been a great 4 days, despite the irregularities.

I'm also considering switching my updates to once a week. I'm now down to 128lbs, and seem to stay there pretty consistently (I dipped into 127, went back to 129, stable at 128 most days lately). and I know at some point I'll have to eat a tad bit more. Honestly, I feel great where I'm at right now. 128 is good. I'd love to dip down to 125 again, perhaps even 120! I think I could very well do it, but I think it'd be hard to maintain. Perhaps I should do it in preparation for the Holidays, where I KNOW I'll be gaining weight. Temptations will be present at all times and every where around me.

I guess we'll see.

In the mean time... I can assure you, my one and a half readers, that I'm not abandoning ship. In fact, I'm proud of myself for what I have accomplished, and do not want to undo all this hard work I've done in the last 2 months.


“Where I am today, is where my mind put me, and where I’ll be tomorrow, is where my mind will put me.” -Billy Blanks

From Oct 7th to Nov 7th

So. It's been a month. Well, 48 days, which is more than a month. But I've gone from Oct 7th to Nov 7th. So I think it's time for a little update.

Back when I started this back in shape stuff, here were the goals I set for myself:

1 - not snack at night anymore, unless it is a piece of fruit, a glass of milk, or a piece of veggie.

2 - eat proper balanced meals, with a range of 1200-1500 calories a day.

3 - exercise daily

4 - loose 10 pounds

5 - fit comfortably in my size 8 jeans, without the muffin top.

What did I accomplish in the last 48 days?

1 - I do not snack at night anymore. Not even on healthy stuff. I did slip a little here and there, aprticularly when we went out, or were on vacation. But other than that... No more night snacking. And frankly? I don't really miss it. YAY!

2 - Yes, I have been respecting the 1200-1500 calories a day target that I've set out for myself. There were a few days that I went over board (vacation, illness, etc), but again, all in all, I did it. I eat proteins at every meal. I eat a big breakfast, a medium size lunch, and a small dinner. I have given alcohol up, except for a few drinks here and there on special occasions. So YAY!

3 - I think I've reached that goal, too. Again, a few days where I slipped here and there (sickness, periods), but all in all, I do *something* every day. So YAY!!!!

4 - I did loose 10 pounds!!! I even went down to 127, although I think this might have been my scale who was out of whack. But I am currently at 129, so that is 11 pounds lost so far. YAY!!!

5 - I do not have a muffin top anymore! My jeans are too loose, actually. So YAY!!!!

Concretely, here's what's been going on:

Oct 7
Weight: 61kg (140lbs)
Waist circumference: 86 cm
BMI: 22.93


Nov 7
Weight: 58.64kg (129lbs)
Waist circumference: 82 cm
BMI: 22.05

I am very proud of myself. And I feel so much better than I did 48 days ago. This motivates me to keep going, to keep my under 130 weight, to keep eating healthy and not snack at night anymore.

SO YAY ME!!!






“Where I am today, is where my mind put me, and where I’ll be tomorrow, is where my mind will put me.” -Billy Blanks

Back from vacation

Hey ya'll!

I have not updated this blog in a little over 5 days. I was away on vacation for a birthday weekend with my best friend! We had tons of fun.

I tried to exercise daily, and I think all in all, it could have been much worse. I did push ups everyday, did the plank at least once every day, and we walked tons. I also danced quite a bit. So on the exercise front, I think I did pretty good all considering.

On the food front tho....

Yeah, I pretty much blew it. The first two days were actually ok, and I think I ate relatively well and within my set calorie range. But then we went to a fair, and I HAD to try all that fried food... While I didn't eat lots, I still ate lots of fat and bad calories. I also had a drink (read four) for the first time in a month.

I weighed myself when I got back - 132lbs. I had expected to have put on at least 2-3 pounds, but seems like my body is still on my back in shape regiment. That made me happy. :)

I know when people are on diets, that it's important to indulge yourself once in a while, otherwise you are more likely to fell off the wagon and stuff your face, finishing the entire bag of cookies. So I guess for only 2 or 3 days, it was ok to indulge.

Now I am back on track, and doing really great. I am motivated, I am actually ENJOYING doing what I'm doing, and I am happy with the progress I've made.

So... GO ME!!!!

Loosing weight vs firming up

I've measured my waist line today. 34 in (86cm). Not bad. I was then compelled to calculate my BMI (Body Mass Index). A healthy range for someone my height is between 18 and 25. I'm currently at 22.9. Again, not bad.

Really, at my weight, my BMI, my age... I'm doing pretty good as far as staying in a healthy weight range.

That made me realize that what I really want is not so much loose weight - I don't really care about the numbers on the scale. What I really want to do is firm up, tone up, get myself back into shape. I want some muscle tone and no dangling tricpes on my arms. I want my tennis legs back. I want my belly to look half way decent (with two pregnancy, one of which ended in a c-section, delivering a 10+ pound baby, my belly will never look like I'm 20 again).

Mainly, I want to feel energize and good about myself.

I'm never going to be perfect. None of us are! And I know that. That's not my goal. Really, all I want is to feel good.

Already, after 2 weeks of watching what I eat and doing daily exercise, I'm already feeling much better. I feel I've got more energy, I feel more confident in myself and how I look, even if external changes are not yet there to see.

Isn't it strange that exercise does that to me?

I find all of this highly encouraging, and it makes me want to keep on going.

BOOOOOO!

I'm sick. :( Sore throat, headache. Blah. No fun at all.

Why is it that when we feel bad or sick, it's the junk food that puts us in a good mood, or make us feel better? Does it have to do with endorphins and all that stuff? Or is it purely psychological, as in our minds tell our bodies that we are going against the rules and being bad, and disobeying the rules always feels good?

I just had a bowl of ice cream - well, 1/2 cup, one serving, damn that's tiny - and some blueberries. My throat, my head, me, all of it is feeling a bit better.

Hopefully tomorrow the germs will not affect me so much and I'll eat better.

Not bad!!!

A few things:

- Things are going pretty well. I think I've found a good way to eat my calories during a day - big breakfast, big lunch, light dinner. It works well for me. The only tough thing is that I sometimes have to make myself a dinner separate from what the rest of the family is eating. That can be tough, and annoying at times. But it's worth it!!!

- I've lost 5 pounds since I started! WOO HOO!!! Not bad. That is really encouraging!

- I am struggling a bit with exercise. Doing that one hour tape takes, well, an hour. And I feel that all I do in day is eat, exercise and shower. I found some 10 min instructional videos that are not bad, and let me easily take it to a higher level. Thanks to my AppleTV, I can watch the Youtube vids and do the exercise in my living room rather than in my tiny little office. :) I feel like 10 min is not enough, and I end up adding other exercises to the vids, which is good, but ends up taking more than an hour. I love doing the one hour tape exercise thing, I really do, it's great for my entire body!!! It just takes so much time. I know full well that taking care of myself requires I take the time for it. And I intend on doing it. I'm just struggling with how to organize my schedule right now. But I'll figure it out.

- I went shopping today, and didn't have time to have breakfast at home before I left. I came back after lunch, too. It can be sooooooooooooo tough to eat well when you are out and about. But I'm proud of myself! I had a breakfast sandwhich at Tim Horton's (http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/menu/nutrition-calculator.html) - 440 cal later, it was not just carbs and fat. I manage to get a bit of vegetable matter in there with the tomatoes and romaine lettuce. With a multigrain bagel, eggs and bacon for proteins (I remove the cheese so in fact the calorie count is probably lower), a green tea to complete, I think I did pretty good!!! I was very proud.

Then it got much tougher for lunch. I was on the run so I did not have time to stop and get a salad at a restaurant or something like that. So I stopped at my very favorite snack place - Yogen Fruz (http://www.yogenfruz.com). I LOVE LOVE LOVE that canadian company. Anyway, I got a fruit smoothie which I boosted by adding some protein powder to. It was YUMMY, low cal, low fat and relatively satisfying.

Of course that doesn't make for a very big lunch, so when I got home, I got a snack, and I think things are going pretty well for today.

I actually may do this more often. I have felt for the last few days that I eat a whole damn lot between breakfast and dinner. Granted about 3/4 of my daily calories go into those two meals. But I feel like I'm eating SO MUCH. I end up eating dinner late, probably too late, which is no better than snacking at night.

With how today went - big breakfast, light lunch, good size snack - I feel like my eating has been spread out better before dinner. I know I'll be hungry for dinner at a reasonable time, as oppose to late in the evening.

Anyway... Food for thoughts! ;)

BLECH!!!!

I hate being a woman sometimes. BLECH!!!! I get horrible cramps, want to eat chocolate all day (but didn't! I'm so proud!) and don't feel like moving around very much.

BLECH.

So yeah, I busted my exercise regiment yesterday. All I did was stretching. I feel terrible, but my body could not be bothered with doing more than that.

I'll be better at exercising in a day or two, once the worse of "this" has past.

BLECH.

Yes!

Yesterday was a good day. I was able to do my bootcamp tape, and the time flew by! I only stopped it once to go get some water, as oppose to the 4 times when I first did it on Monday. WOO HOO! I also felt like it was bit easier, and that I was able to keep up much better. So yeah me!!!!

And today? I am not really sore! WOO HOO! I feel GREAT, actually.

I hope this continues!

I am wondering what I'll do for exercise today. A 5km power walk, or the bootcamp tape again? Decision, decision...

Aille aille aille...

Can chasing a 4 month old kitten who escaped outside be considered exercising? Can lifting two 11k (roughly 22 lbs each) boxes of cat litter, carrying them through the store, to the car, inside the house, down the stairs considered exercising? What about vacuuming? Believe me, with the curious 4 month old kitten we have, it's quite a challenge.

I love my cats to death, but the biggest con to having cats is definitely changing and cleaning the cat litter.

But back to this back in shape bootcamp business. My legs are still sore. Man they hurt. And you can ask anyone who knows me, I'm no wuss. If I say it hurts, it really fucking hurts. It's a bit better than it was yesterday, but I'm still sore like crazy. Which totally reinforces for me how badly I needed to take care of my body. How out of shape I really am in. If I am THAT sore after doing only an hour of video taped exercising, it was more than time for me to get back to doing regular exercise again.

I use to play ultimate frisbee once a week. I have been playing year round for 6 years. Last winter was the first season I had not played. And of course this spring and summer were totally crazy, so I did not play either. I miss it. I love doing exercise, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE playing sports. Before children, I played ice hockey for 7 years. God I loved it. I miss it like crazy. I had a chance to be part of team this fll, but the team was full, so no spot for me. I was disappointed, but it's all for the best. Seeing how sore I am today, 2 days after starting this bootcamp... I'm not sure how I would have handled playing ice hockey every week, at least not in the beginning. I do hope I'll be able to be an assistant coach for my youngest hockey team. That will mean being on the ice once a week for practice with them. I've been coaching his team the last two years. That was absolutely amazing.

This whole thing also made me realize - I'm old. Ok, 36, almost 37, is not old. But I'm OLDER than I was. My body's older. I realized I can't do what I've always done, which is go head first and full board with whatever I want to do. I need to take my time more with this exercising thing. My legs are paying dearly today for my over eagerness.

Today will be light exercises again. No I'm not already giving up. No I'm not throwing in the towel. I promise all of you 2 and a half readers (I'm the half) that I am really committed to this, and that tomorrow, I'll do that hour bootcamp tape again. But I need to let my body rest up a bit more today.

OUCH!!!

My legs are KILLING me today. My quads are so sore, I can barely go up and down stairs. Nevertheless, I am happy I did that bootcamp exercise hour yesterday. I may be sore today, but I feel GOOD. Good that I'm finally kicking my own ass to do something for ME.

Doing the squats today will be killer. But I need to do some lighter exercise today to allow my body to recuperate from yesterday's bootcamp.

So far, so good. I made some mistakes yesterday as far as how I spaced my calories throughout the day, but I am adjusting as I go, so it's all good. So far, my body is adjusting well. Granted I am not cutting the number of calories I am ingesting very drastically, so it's not so bad. It really is the HABIT of snacking in the evening that is hard to curb. But I'll do it. I know I will!!!


“Where I am today, is where my mind put me, and where I’ll be tomorrow, is where my mind will put me.” -Billy Blanks