Yesterday ended up being a perfectly on plan day. After dinner I even had calories left over and could have some Skinny Sticks with a diet Ginger Ale! I'm really pleased as well by the amount of activity I was able to fit in on Thursday and Friday. Today I'm thinking about taking a break from working out because I'm heading out shortly to get a bunch of errands done. I may end up squeezing it in later on but if I don't, this will be my break day. I also have a lot of stuff I want to get done in the garden today. It's sort of spitting rain right now so I'm not sure how much of that I'll get done exactly. Overall though, I'm really pleased with myself this week. Hopefully, I'll still be pleased with myself on Sunday night, weekend's are the toughest for me. We'll see, fingers crossed!

I so rock this week!! Every morning this week I've worked out. I feel so good about that.

I'm totally pooped right now though. As you know, I've been working at convocation over the past couple of weeks (on the Thursdays and Fridays). It's a lot of running back and forth for a few hours at a time so it's been a good little bit of extra cardio for me. I'm tired but I feel good about it. My colleague who runs the framing service is an awesome person so I totally don't mind giving her any help I can with the service. She's a super help to me when I have my events.

Yesterday's eating was super awesome on track stuff. I kept the calories low, the fat under control, the water was okay (not great - I'm working on it) and the exercise was happening too. I'm really going to work hard this weekend to not fall into a trap and overeat because I'm not working. I'm planning to do a lot of errands and gardening this weekend. The busier I can keep myself, the better I'll do. The lack of routine can be potentially dangerous for my program. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll not be tempted into being a bad food girl this weekend.

I had another early morning this morning. My workout was finished and I was eating breakfast by 6 a.m. Not bad huh?

An odd thing happened this morning though, by the time I was getting ready to go out the door, I was famished. I'm normally okay until around 10 a.m. or so when I have a snack at work. I had a banana before I left for work and was fine until lunch. This was good because I was working at convocation again this morning. I did this last week too and was feeling a little beat up after it was done as it's 3 hours (almost) of running around in the gym while our framing service is on. Right now, I'm eating my lunch and I feel okay. Last week, my hips were really bugging me by the time we finished. The aches may have been related to TOM which isn't an issue this week.

Yesterday was a good, on plan eating day. Today's going well so far, even with the extra banana. Last night, we were sitting at home watching TV and I noticed that I'm developing visible muscle tone in my calves. I was actually a little surprised, although I shouldn't really be because I've noticed that I've lost a lot of weight in my legs. I'm pretty impressed and happy about it. It's a small non-scale victory but it really encourages me to keep going and expand my exercise program so I'll be seeing muscle tone in other places too!

early riser

This morning I jumped out of bed. I did not linger and barter with myself (just five more minutes)...I got up, got dressed and worked out. It was a good one too. The twinge in my back that I experienced earlier is gone and I'm feeling good.

Yesterday's food was on track. Our dinner was delicious and low-fat, as I thought it would be. We had a great stir fry with turkey breast and tofu plus tonnes of veggies over brown basmati. yum! I'm still working on the low-fat thing this week. The nice thing about it is that when I really watch my fat intake, everything else just falls into place as far as my numbers go.

I'm feeling much more dedicated to my program this week than I have in a couple of weeks so I'm hoping to see some results on my next "measuring Monday." I know that I said a few weeks ago that I was going to try to focus more on overall improved health rather than numbers but...the numbers are fun. I can be feeling better, physically stronger, energetic, etc. and that's all good but boy, feeling your pants get baggy and seeing the numbers on the measuring tape go down is way better.

It's sick, I know, but there it is!

Some days I love the Yahoo Fitness Tips:

Train Your Brain

Exercise more than your muscles to stick to a fitness plan -- be a winner at the mental game. Preparing your mind along with your body is pivotal for accomplishing your goals. Try writing a personal mission statement and tape a copy to your refrigerator, the dashboard of your car, your computer -- anywhere you can see it during the day.

back on track

Monday was definitely a good, on plan day for me. I worked out in the morning and was really careful about my food, more careful than I’d been in a few days and it showed in the numbers. My fat intake was way better than it had been.

We had a bunch of errands to do last night after work and didn’t have a lot of food in the house so we decided to eat out. I had to do banking and get some groceries and make a couple of other stops in the west end so we ended up at the Chinese buffet I’ve written about before. I was super careful about my choices. The last time we’d been there I’d treated myself to an egg roll with some plum sauce. I did not do this last night. I kept with veggies (lots of them and they were super fresh and delicious!) and lean meat. When I got home and figured out the numbers, I ended up being right on track and the fat thing was under control.

Tonight we’re eating at home so the fat thing shouldn’t be a problem. Eating low fat at home is really easy; it just gets tough on the outside. We don’t keep fatty foods in the house anymore so we won’t tempt ourselves.

When I woke up this morning, my back was a little sore. I slept very soundly last night so I think I may have just been in a weird position or something. I took it very easy when I worked out this morning and I could feel my back loosening up after I was done. I’m glad that I did exercise despite my back. It would have been really easy for me to just say “to heck with it, my back’s sore” and miss a morning. I’m really trying to keep with my goal of exercising 6 days out of 7, so far, over the past few weeks; I’ve been able to keep with that one.

I had such a tough time getting out of bed this morning. I’m not sure if it’s because its overcast and rainy again or because I had a really difficult time falling asleep last night. Whatever it was, I really had to push myself to get downstairs and onto that bike this morning. My arms are still store from the gardening I did yesterday. It’s my forearms mostly; from the shoveling I’m thinking.

Today is my measuring Monday and I weighed and measured myself. My measurements haven’t been changing all that much over the past few weeks, a half-inch and there but no radical movements. Overall I’m doing okay though and I’m noticing the change in my clothes every week. I noticed that my bicep measurement was up instead of down this week; I must be getting muscle-y there or something from my weight work.

For those few weeks during the end of April / beginning of May, the scale didn’t change much at all. This morning was no different, I was up about a pound but down 2.5 inches overall from last week. I’m not beating myself up over it though. I know that part of it was not working out on Saturday in combination with the free day. In future, I’ll definitely work out on the free-food day to try to counteract the negative results. I know that my fat intake was a little higher than I would have liked last week too. Calorie-wise, I kept pretty much in line but I really have to get back into concentrating on keeping the fat as low as possible.

Here is this week’s Progress Prompt:

Now that summer has started (at least in some areas), what are your thoughts and feelings about wearing a bathing suit? Have you purchased it yet? If so, what does it look like? Where did you buy it? How did you feel when you bought it? Do you have a pool where you live and do you plan to use it regularly?

Unlike a lot of women who are my size, I’m not uncomfortable in a swimsuit. In fact, in preparation for our trip to the Maritimes, I bought two new bathing suits last summer. I love the water and even though I’m a big fat woman, I don’t let that keep me from the pool. When we were in Toronto last month, we went swimming and I noticed that the new suit I bought last summer is kind of big. I probably won’t buy a new one this summer. If the new ones get too big to wear, I have two older ones that I think I can make do for one more summer. I’d much rather wait and get a new one when I’m down another couple of sizes. The smaller ones are kind of old and worn out but I think I could get one more summer out of them. The suits I bought last summer are definitely “big girl” suits with the little skirty deal and everything. They are really nice fabric and I like the colours and patterns but I’d rather be able to wear my older, smaller ones.

One day, we’d really love to put an in-ground pool in our backyard. In the meantime, we do swim at our little-old-guy’s place (he’s in a lovely apartment complex that has a gorgeous pool).

The rain held off and I got a workout in my garden this afternoon. You can see some photos here.

Food intake was much better today than yesterday, no goodies, no sweets, just good meals and lots of activity. I still haven't worked out but I'm heading off to do that now. I did get a terrific workout in the garden this afternoon though. My arms are a little sore from the lugging and digging I did but it was really invigorating and the yard is shaping up really nicely. It did get quite hot and muggy though so I was sweating a lot and had bits of grass and weeds stuck to me. I was not looking very pretty!! The back-spray from the weed-whacker was sort of nasty.

Anyway, I'm off to ride my bike and watch the Simpsons. Hope you all had a great Sunday too!!

after the rain

I half expected to wake up this morning feeling lousy with a food hangover. It had been so long since I'd had anything like M&M's that I wasn't sure how my body would react. Luckily, I woke up feeling good. I'm not sure how things will measure up this week after the free day yesterday but I'm not worrying about it too much. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, I'm really trying to keep my focus on overall health and not get too bogged down by the numbers. The numbers are always in the back of my mind now though so that's good, but I'm not getting obsessive.

Today is back on track day. I think that the rain has let up. I awoke to the sound of the fog horn from the harbour and it's quite misty outside right now. I plan to work out today and get some more gardening in. Our house is over 50 years old and the yard was (I think) basically neglected for the 30 years prior to us purchasing the house in 2000. We've done some work on it but there's a long way to go. I've been focusing on the flower beds and my hunny is working on the lawn. The rest of it will have to wait until we can afford to do some major work (like ripping out the entire back yard). I think that there was a hedge along the back fence at one point. The bushes are overgrown and about 12 feet high now. We had a 100 year old willow that had to be taken out last year (unfortunately it was rotting) but we didn't have the stump removed. We'd like to do that but, you know, it all costs money. The nice thing about owning your own home is that you always have something to spend money on. Anyway, I'm going to move some stuff around today if the rain holds off. It should be easy to do while the ground is nice and soft and muddy. I notice this year that the gardening isn't as exhausting to me as it was last summer. It's also a good way to get some extra exercise in and I'm enjoying being outside again.

free day in the rain

Today ended up being a workout break day. When I found out that my hunny wouldn't be working today, I planned for it. My weekly goal is to workout 6 out of 7 days. I'd worked out the previous 7 days so I was due for a break.

We had a great day together, we slept in and vegged out this morning. We went out for a late breakfast and did some errands and then spent the afternoon just hanging around the house. I got laundry done and we watched the tube. It's been raining here all day today so we didn't get much done outside. He had mowed the lawn last night and I had most of my weeding caught up so there wasn't much to do. I did, however, did a hole this morning, in the rain. Rain definitely makes digging holes in one's garden much easier. My aunt gave me some peonies for my garden and I wanted to get the bush into the ground asap. It has little buds on it and might flower (hopefully) this year if it doesn't go into too much shock from the transplant.

I really enjoyed running around and doing errands in the rain. I'm just feeling so good about myself lately and am so full of energy, the rain felt great. I felt great. I still feel great, although I'm a little full from dinner. Foodwise, we decided that today would be a "free" day. For breakfast, I kept pretty much on plan, I had a delicious turkey club sandwich. The turkey was all white meat and really tender. I almost never eat bread anymore so it was a great treat for me. Because we had breakfast late, we didn't bother with lunch. Our little old guy called up in the afternoon and asked if he could take us to Boston Pizza for dinner. We'd never been, the one here has been open about a year but because it's primarily a sports bar, we put off going until the no-smoking by-law kicked in (May 1). It was pretty horrible, but I'm not surprised, corporate pizza is almost always bland and terrible. I know that I won't be going back. Fortunately, we ordered two small pizza's for the three of us, salad and diet cokes. We had leftovers of everything. The pizza was okay but the service and the atmosphere was terrible. Also, it was full of yuppie families. I'm not a big fan of dining amongst small children (which is one of the many reasons I don't have any!) so that was kind of a drag. I did notice though that the men who were in there with their children and wives were oblivious to everything except the ball games which were on strategically placed TV's throughout the dining room (yay, just like home I'm sure!).

When I got home and figured out my calories, I was pretty good. The fat content was a little higher than I would have liked but not disgusting. I did treat myself to some M&M's to munch on tonight though and I'm not counting them!! I figure that it's my TOM and it's been dreadful and I'm going to enjoy them. Tomorrow the free day's over and I'm back on track. Today's been fun but I'm glad that we don't do this every weekend anymore.

sticking with the program

Yesterday was a perfectly on plan day with extra exercise. Not bad huh?

I worked out in the morning and then, later in the day, I spent a couple of hours literally running around in a gym. It was convocation the past couple of days and our office offers a diploma framing service to new grads (they return their gowns to the gym and can get their diploma framed while they wait). It's a well-oiled production machine but it means that we all have to hustle our bustle and I really boogied. I was so glad that I wore my sneakers. I was really sore by the time the morning session was over but I feel good now. I expected to be a bit stiff and sore this morning because I really felt it in my calves and hips yesterday but I feel pretty good.

Eating was very good yesterday. We barbecued again last night and had lots of smoked/grilled goodies with rice. It was deliciously low-cal. We ate kind of early and later on, both of us were craving something "sweet" and I know that we were both wanting to go to Dairy Queen but neither of us would say it out loud. I'm so proud of us because we did not go to Dairy Queen for a treat, instead, we had a fat-free jello pudding cup. Yay us!

I think that feeling like absolute crap once in a while is good for you. You can't truly appreciate how good normal feels until you've felt really yucky. I felt really really yucky yesterday and today, while I'm still feeling fragile, I feel so much better.

I did workout this morning although it was a gentle version of what I usually do. I felt good for doing it and after having not worked on my arms yesterday, I really felt it today when I was working on them. I'm not sure what my plans for the weekend are yet. I plan to keep as busy as possible. Being busy helps me stay on plan and over the weekend, I need all the help I can get!!

I'm so glad that I worked out this morning, early. I woke up feeling good, a little tired but good. Got lite-version of workout in, had excellent breakfast (with lovely fresh strawberries)...morning was sailing along... tickity-boo. TOM had arrived yesterday and felt not horrible, which was odd, I'm usually a crampy mess for about first 12 hours. Then, mid-morning today, blammo, felt like crap. The cramp truck hit me in a bad way. I knew I was going home for lunch today so I didn't have any food with me, I took a calcium/magnesium pill and an ibuprofen in an attempt to feel better and just ended up feeling worse due to pill / empty tummy combo. When I got home for lunch and actually ate, the pills had kicked in and I felt much better. I am very glad that I didn't wait until after work to workout though because it just wouldn't have happened.

I'm thinking that this may have been because of yesterday. It was our little-old-guy's official birthday yesterday and we had to take him for groceries. After groceries, he announces that he'd like to go for dinner, never mind the fact that we had a huge dinner thing for him on Sunday, spent a small fortune on steaks, etc...he wants to go out. Stupidly, we agree to go to (of all places) Denny's for dinner. It was gross, the service was lousy, I could see our meals sitting under the warmer for what seemed like forever before they arrived (the place was dead due to construction on the street outside the restaurant) and, like most restaurants, things at Denny's don't "work" when they're quiet. He really enjoyed dinner but ours was gross and I think that may have been why I felt so awful earlier today.

Fortunately, it's passed and I'm feeling good now. Tomorrow will be even better and soon, TOM will be gone for another 3+ weeks or so. Sometimes it's just not fun being a girl!

The Wednesday Weigh-In was a smidgen on the late side this week but here it is...this week's topic is "Craziness"

What's the craziest workout and/or diet you've ever tried?

I think that I've mentioned this before but I think it was the cabbage soup diet. Do you remember that one? You made a huge pot of cabbage soup, it had lots of veggies and a tomato base and that's all you ate for a week or something. By the time you got through the soup, you'd never want to see it again. I can't remember if I even lost any weight on it, I just remember hating the soup with a passion by the end of the week.

Blogger has been doing upgrades and for some reason, my page was completely wonky earlier. Re-publishing seems to have fixed whatever the issue was. Odd huh?

Yesterday was another great, on plan day. I am continuing to do early morning workouts and I find that this helps to keep me on track for the whole day (most days). I hate to think of undoing the good that the exercise does by over-indulging in something.

We did go out for dinner last night, to the Chinese buffet we like. I know that some folks have trouble keeping in plan at a buffet but I don't see it as a chance to make a pig of myself. I look at it as an opportunity to enjoy a large variety of foods. Fortunately, this one has a great selection of veggie dishes and non-sauce-laden protein options so I always walk away satisfied.

I've been thinking a fair bit about how much better I've felt over the past week or so. I know that it's down to the food and fitness stuff but I wonder how much of it is the vitamin supplements kicking in. I've been taking a Calcium and Magnesium pill plus a multi-vitamin for a few months now and I wonder it's taken until now to really work. Another benefit/side effect of this lifestyle change seems to be my allergies. Actually, I've had a lack of allergy symptoms this spring. This is surprising because I'm usually on the Reactine and sneezing my head off by now. This spring, so far, I've had almost no symptoms, other than a couple of mornings of red / sore eyes. I now wonder if my susceptibility to pollen was increased because some kind of deficiency in my diet (or if some processed food that I used to eat caused this)? I'm not complaining about it but it sure makes me scratch my head a bit, wondering.

deviations

This week is going great, food-wise and activity-wise. I’m eating really really well and exercising every day. Last week I met all of my goals and have challenged myself to keep them again this week. The water thing is always a struggle and I want to continue to exercise at least 6 days out of 7 because I feel so much better when I do it!

I am not exactly sure what happened to me at the end of April / beginning of May. Throughout January, February and March, I didn’t have a lot of trouble staying on program. I mean, like everyone, I had occasional slip-ups (personally, I like to call them “treats” and then I get over it and get back on track right after) but nothing like what happened for those couple of weeks earlier this month. I got back on track last Monday and feel so much better for it.

I half-suspect that I was fighting some weird bug or something last month. This bug may have weakened my resistance. This may sound like an excuse (and hey, let’s face it, it is) but I didn’t go whole-hog off program. I just lost some of my consistency. I’ve learned that consistency is probably the most important part of this journey.

I may also just been hit with an attack of the lazies and spring fever got the best of me. Whatever it was, it seemed to be an epidemic because I noticed that many of my loser buddies experiencing difficulties around the same time. Being back on track feels so good though that I think you may need to deviate from your program occasionally (for brief moments anyway) to help remind yourself why it is that you’re doing this in the first place.

I know that the deviations are what are going to keep me on this for the rest of my life! What I try to do now is plan them out and time them. For example, if I want ice cream, we’ll go to Dairy Queen for a cone and eat it outside of the house. I’m not bringing a litre of ice cream into the house because I’ll just want eat the whole thing. A small, measured amount out of the house fulfils the craving and gives me a treat without leading me into too much temptation.

weekend wrap-up

I survived the weekend!

Today was "measuring Monday" for me and I'm down another inch in my chest, that's 11 inches in total now, plus 8" I've lost from my waist and 10" from my hips!

I kept on program pretty much all weekend long and got a lot of exercise. I worked out every day and then I did a tonne of housework and gardening. I even did some painting. We had screen doors installed last weekend. For our front door, we were able to purchase a standard sized aluminum door. Our side door (the one we use all the time) is a non-standard size so we had to get a wooden one for it. It's a gorgeous door but it needed painting. I put the primer on it this morning and it took me two hours (partly because the door is now hung and that made it a little difficult and partly because it has a lot of spindles and fancy details on it. That in itself was a bit of a workout. Right now I can feel muscles in my legs that I didn't know I had. I'm not sure if that's from the weeding or the painting or both. I just know that I really moved my butt this weekend and am feeling great about things.

Progress Prompts

Are fresh vegetables and fruits on your food plan?
Absolutely. If they weren't, there is no way that I could have come this far!

How many servings do you consume every day? Do you think you're eating enough?
mmm..I have fruit and/or juice with my breakfast, every day. I have a piece of fruit for my mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. I have raw veggies with my lunch each day (and usually some cooked veg too) and fruit with lunch as well. Dinner is always veggie heavy. We generally have four or five different types of vegetable (at least with dinner) plus onion, garlic and ginger. We also eat a lot of fresh herbs. Fresh produce is a very huge deal in our house.

We know how vital vegetables and fruits are to our weight loss program, yet we have a hard time getting in all our recommended amounts in. Why? Were they part of your diet as a kid? Any tip or trick on getting all our vegetables and fruits in?
I'm not sure why folks have trouble with this. They are so delicious and filling when they are fresh. I think that a good trick to purchase produce several times a week instead of just once a week. If you buy a huge pile of it once a week, by the time you get to the end of the week, it's probably not very tasty or fresh anymore and you'll not enjoy it much. Fresh produce was very much a part of my childhood although my mother wasn't big into variety. She ate a lot of green and yellow beans, carrots, corn, peas and salad (consisting mostly of lettuce, tomato, cabbage and celery).

My tips for getting more fruit and veg into your day is find things that you really like and have them for snacks. Fruit or vegetable juice is a great way to do this! Have a small glass of juice and a piece of fruit for a snack...or some raw veggies and a low fat dip with your meals. I think that variety is pretty important too, don't be afraid to try something you've never had before. It may turn out that something you thought was weird and gross is a vegetable that you'll really love!

post dinner wrap-up

My folks are gone, the kitchen's cleaned up, the lawn furniture is put away and we're getting ready for the season finales on Fox tonight.

Our family dinner party went well, everyone enjoyed themselves and we stayed totally on program. I made dip for the veggies with fat free yogurt and it tasted delicious. Everything was yummy and healthy and I kept my calories to a minimum. I also got a bit of gardening done (which I hadn't planned on doing so that was a nice surprise) and feel great for the exercise. I may or may not actually work out tonight, the weeding and hoeing probably burned enough calories to keep me on track. It was really nice being outside all day long too, the weather was perfect, everything was just awesome.

One more thing before I run, I noticed that this summer, any top that I pull out of my closet fits. A few are even on the too big side! It's a great feeling, knowing that I can fit into practically everything in my closet!!

I'm having a busy but good day so far. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner tonight and I had thin-crust mostly veggie pizza. I was wearing my "new" jeans tonight. Because they are still a little snug, it was a good way to control my appetite. Not just because the waist was digging me a bit but because it served to remind me that I really want them to get as big on me as my last pair of jeans got. When I figured out the calories I still stayed pretty much on plan. I had a little higher fat than normal but the calories were in line.

I got the rest of my housework done (yay!) but none of my gardening (boo!). I also have not yet worked out but plan to do so this evening. I must admit though, the level of cleaning that I had to do to get this house up to snuff was really a work out in itself!

Oh, btw, I did one of those hilarious make-overs at iVillage the other day. You can see the results of it here. When my mum's over tomorrow I'm going to see if she'll let me do her too. It's a lot of good, silly fun and I urge you to all treat yourself to a giggle and do one too! If you do, I'd love to see your Before & After shot.

dusty workout

The long weekend traffic wasn't as disgusting as I expected! I got my errands done much quicker than I thought I would.

I'm a little ashamed to admit to how filthy my house was. The downstairs of our house was a bit of a wreck. We've had a handy man in the past couple of weekends doing some work so I haven't done any housework and because of the work, the place got really really dusty and grungy. The downstairs looks fabulous now though. I did a completely thorough spring cleaning on the whole downstairs, everything's shiny and dust-free and organized. I still have the upstairs to do but it's not as bad as the downstairs was. It'll probably take me an hour to do it tomorrow while I'm doing laundry. The cleaning really made me work up a sweat, felt good though. I didn't tuckered out doing it (I used to!) and I got it done a lot a lot faster than I used to too. Tomorrow I have some gardening to do too (hopefully). I'm sure I'll use muscles doing that which haven't been used in a while.

My extra-long weekend is off to a great start. I got up at my normal time and took my hunny to work. When I came home, I did my normal morning workout (it's so easy to put it off and put it off when I'm not working and then I'm scrambling to get it in later). I'm so glad that I did, I kept pretty much to my ordinary routine and I've been working in our computer room / office this morning, sorting out papers and stuff. I'm going to run out and do some errands in a bit. Between the running around and the housework I need to do today, I'll be working out twice!! Hopefully, tomorrow will be a bit of a veg out day. I'd hoped to get into the garden to day but it's been raining this morning so I don't think it's going to happen.

Yesterday I had a totally perfect eating day. I'm so happy about that. We had a great barbecue last night, grilled veggies and some smoked tofu and turkey breast. It was so yummy and quite low in fat and calories. I'm going to work really hard to stick on my program today. It can be difficult for me when I'm off my routine but I'm hoping that won't get the best of me today. Wish me luck, I'm off to fight the pre-long-weekend mobs!!

I hate to brag...

I'm having an awesome week so far. I feel much better this week than I have in ages. I feel like my body is finally totally back to normal after the abuse I heaped on it during those "lost weekends" at the end of April and beginning of May.

I have slept so well the past two nights; I have more energy than I've had in a while. My workouts feel amazing, I'm really sweating and working and pushing myself and am loving it. I've also done really well with my food choices this week. Overall, I'm keeping up with my goals for the week and hopefully this will show me some excellent results on my next measuring Monday.

This weekend we're having a family BBQ at our place and at first I was nervous about it, about the food. I realized though that my parents and our little old guy are all watching their fat intake and just because we're celebrating, it doesn't mean that we have to pig out on fatty food, we can pig out on healthy stuff. We're having steaks and baked potato, grilled veggies and I'm going to do a huge tray of veggies with low fat dip. We will be having a cheesecake for dessert (the little old guy requested it for his birthday) but I'm going to make sure that we have a big bowl of fruit salad there too.

non scale victory of the week:

Yesterday I realized that I’ve been spending way too much time yanking my jeans. They're really getting big on me and it was getting annoying while I was out running errands yesterday. I was sure that I was still too big to get into to my old jeans (two sizes smaller) so it was kind of bugging me because I really can't wear these new-ish ones any more (I bought them last summer).

When I got home last night, I thought I’d give them a go anyway, if they were too small still, I’d have to work that much harder to get into them so I could ditch the baggy ones. Last year, I threw out almost all of my “thinner” clothes, stuff I’d not gotten into in a while. For some reason, I hung onto 3 old pairs of jeans. The one pair is brand new with tags still on. When I pulled them up, I could actually get the button done up. I'll probably not be able to get the fly up for a little while longer but I can actually button them!!

I tried another pair on, one that I'd worn a fair bit and had "broken in." Not only could I get the button done up, I could zip them up. They're a little snug but so tight that I can't wear them. I'm so happy. I honestly never thought that I'd ever get into them and still am not sure why I hung on to them, I’m just so glad that I did. They’re 2 sizes smaller than the ones I can’t wear anymore!! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again I’m sure, I can’t agree enough with whoever said, “nothing tastes as good as fitting into smaller clothes feels!”

post-birthday report

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 36 and it was sort anti-climatic after 35. Jumping from 18-34 to 35 to 54 seemed traumatic almost, this year, my birthday wasn't a huge deal to me. We did go out for dinner last night though and had a great time. We went to our favourite Chinese buffet restaurant after work. I managed to stay pretty much on plan. I went a smidgen over on my calories because I treated myself to some chocolaty dessert. I also gave myself a day off from working out in honour of my special day.

Today I worked a 1/2 day and spent the afternoon running errands. I saw my doctor and we chatted about what I've been doing with my fitness program and she was really impressed with what I've been able to accomplish since January. I have a very very excellent and cool doctor and I love her a lot. Her words to me were "that fuckin' rocks, you go girl!" I'm going to check in with her once a month for a weigh-in. She said that some of her other patients do this too and that they find it helpful. I think it'll be good for me, she can weigh me, check my BP, make sure I'm on the right track.

After my appointment, I took our little-old-guy shopping. After we got our groceries, we went back to his place and put his stuff away, scooted over to my place to put our stuff away and then picked my hunny up at work. We went to Swiss Chalet for an early dinner and had a great time. It was so nice to be out getting our stuff done before the rush. I also stayed on plan today, perfectly and had a great workout before work. So far this week is going really well and I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Wednesday Weigh-In for May 14th

Previous to trying to lose weight/get fit has there ever been a time in your life when you felt really good about your body?

As an adult, I didn't get hung about my size. I was a 10 pound baby, born to farm-stock type Irish parents and was always a big kid. As an adult, I learned to accept and even love my body. I don't hate my fat body right now. I love that I'm feeling better and getting healthier with each day that passes and that's why I'm getting fit and losing weight. It's all about the health aspect as far as I'm concerned. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving that I can get into old clothes that I'd out grown and I'm looking forward to possibly getting down to a size where I don't have pay an arm and a leg to find stuff that I like. That kind of stuff is like icing on the low-fat cake for me. I'm concentrating on being as fit and healthy as I can possibly be for as long as I possibly can. I want to live to be a very old, very happy, very healthy lady!

monday madness

Had perfectly on plan day yesterday.

Ate perfectly well rounded, low fat, nutritious meals.

Exercised in a very productive way which left me feeling good.

Despite this, I was in bed, asleep, by 8:30 p.m. last night. It's very odd. I've been dragging my ass around for a few weeks now. I'm going to see my Doctor tomorrow and see if she can shed any light on it. The ass dragging is also to blame (I think) for the lapses over the past two weekends. I'm confident that she'll be able to tell me what's what. It's not actually the reason why I'm going to see her but I think I'll talk to her about it anyway, two ailments for one or something.

I didn't work out this morning (that's now two mornings in a row for anyone keeping track). I'll probably do it as soon as I get home like I did last night. Last night's workout felt terrific. I actually went over a quarter of a mile further than I had been doing recently and the weight work was quite invigorating. I'm doing some research on other exercise options at the moment. My schedule doesn't really permit a gym membership at the moment (there are no 24 hour gyms in my town and 7 a.m. is just too late for me to start in the morning). I'm looking into those "Walk away the Pounds" videos. If you have any experience with them, good or bad, I'd love to hear about it. I need something a little different to shake things up a bit on the exercise front.

weekend aftermath

Despite the fact that my clothes are fitting better and I’m feeling pretty decent, the scale has not moved this week. Honestly, I’m not totally shocked by this. Two weeks ago, we were away for the weekend, last weekend, we went off track significantly and this past weekend was a bit of an eating washout.

Fortunately, I kept my activity level fairly decent so that may have helped to counteract any negative effects from my eating. Until Saturday night, I was doing really well. After I was finished working, we went out to eat, and we had breakfast out yesterday…and then dinner out. So we had 3 meals, which were not exactly perfect nutritional choices. This activity has to be snipped in the bud. I’ve put my foot down this week. No eating out this week.

Eating out itself isn’t a horrible thing to do. What is bad is eating stuff that has too much fat in it. That’s been my downfall the past two weekends. I’ve definitely gotten better at keeping my portions down and I fill up much faster than I used to in the past so things are sort of controlled. When I sit down afterwards though and figure it out on FitDay, it’s bad. The fat portion of my pie chart is just gross. I did go over in my calories both Saturday and Sunday (Saturday wasn’t as bad as Sunday) but only a smidgen, the fat content was way higher than I normally allow myself (and I usually find my allowable fat intake it to be a very manageable amount).

It’s such a numbers game, and I’m trying hard not to get discouraged by them. The scale, I don’t worry about because I know how much better my clothes are fitting. I’m going to try to focus on just being healthier this week. I want to be smarter about my choices; I want to plan our week’s worth of meals out. Last week, I did pretty well with the exercise and water. I’m going to keep at that this week.

Working out is going well for me, which is good. I’m enjoying it and I’m being consistent with my workouts. Last week, I exercised 6 out of 7 days. I’m going to try to stick to that. Ideally, I’d like to do it every day but I figure I can give myself a day off here and there without too much difficulty. I must admit that I find it tough if I take more than 2 days off though. It’s a real struggle to get back into it if I’m off for more than that.

Goals for this week:
1. exercise 6 out of the next 7 days.
2. keep working on increasing water intake.
3. keep a close eye on the amount of fat I’m ingesting.
4. don’t worry about the scale so much.
5. focus on feeling healthier!

busy weekends and more victories in my closet

I'm still here. Yikes, where did the weekend go. I never did get around to posting yesterday, I wasn't home long enough to put anything of note together. My hunny was working on the computer (doing upgrades and the like) all day so is the first chance that I've had to sit down and write.

The stomach bug I had on Friday didn't hang around for long and I was able to work yesterday. It was a long day, physically quite gruelling but I survived. I noticed that my energy level and my strength was much greater than it was the last time I worked a large event. While setting up we had to move a lot of tables and display cabinets around, put shelving units together, run around a lot, here and there...and it didn't tire me out. I felt great actually. It did get quite hot later in the day and that affected me more than the lugging and slugging. I think I still had a touch of the bug because I was knocked on my ass and had to sit down for a bit by mid-afternoon.

Today we had errands and stuff to do. I did laundry all day it seemed and I packed away my sweaters and dug out my summer clothes. I was really thrilled to discover that a pair of capris that I had bought on eBay last summer now fit me. I was so disappointed when they arrived last year and were too snug on my bum and thighs. I just wasn't comfortable in them at all. Today I pulled them on, zipped them (with ease!) and they fit terrifically. I have noticed though that some of my everyday pants are getting ridiculously big and I'm feeling quite a bit thinner through my hips lately. I haven't tried absolutely everything on yet. I did try on a couple of pairs of shorts that were banished to the Rubbermaid bin last summer and found that they fit too. This is the first time in as long as I can remember that I haven't dreaded pulling stuff out and trying it on. When I was packing my sweaters and other winter stuff away I found myself hoping that it'll all be way too big in the fall when I pull it out again. Here's hoping!!

When I woke up this morning I felt great.

I got out of bed, I worked out. I ate my breakfast, made my lunch and then I showered. While I was in the shower my stomach started misbehaving and I suddenly felt really sick. I got dressed, went down to see my hunny when he came home for his breakfast and to pick me up for work. When I walked into the kitchen he said that I looked pale and asked what was wrong. I had to reply that I honestly didn't know but that my stomach was quiet upset and I'd been in and out of the bathroom for about 30 minutes. Needless to say, I ended up staying home from work, went back to bed and feel much better now.

Feeling better is a very good thing because I have to work tomorrow. I don't ordinarily work Saturdays but there are a lot of big events going on this weekend that I'm helping with. One of them is outside, in a tent so I really hope that this doesn't reappear tomorrow...whatever it was. I have a feeling that it won't. I'm a little tired right now but otherwise okay. Whatever I had is now gone I'm thinking. There are so many bugs and germs floating around my office (and I know that I've been fighting something off and on for a couple of weeks now) that I'm just relieved that it wasn't more serious than it was.

Spring is nice, I'm glad that the weather is warmer, I just wish that the warmer weather didn't make all the bugs and germs go crazy on us.

complimentary situations

Compliments are so nice. You can wake up feeling fat and frumpy and stuffed up and yucky and a few little words can seemingly whisk all those negative feelings away. They can't do much for the stuffy nose but even the snot seems more tolerable after some compliments.

Yesterday, I received several compliments on my outfit. I was really happy about this as I was feeling thin already and it reinforced these feelings. Not that I need reinforcement though. I know that I'm feeling better, I know that I'm healthier today than I was four months ago. It's just nice sometimes to have someone else notice the fruits of your labour. And as we know, this kind of work requires much fruit and labour!

This morning when I woke up, I could hardly lift my head off the pillow. I was tired, my eyes did not want to open and my sinuses were completely plugged. I knew it wasn't allergies, it felt like a cold. My head felt like it weighed a tonne. I didn't work out this morning because I could barely walk a straight line. I did get my butt into the shower though, got ready for work and dragged myself into work. While I was still in my jammies and crawling around upstairs, my hunny came home to pick up something he forgot (he drives cab and leaves the house at 5:30, he comes back at 7:30 for breakfast, picks me up and takes me to work so when I heard him come in at 6:15, I was surprised). I went to the top of the stairs to see what was happening. He popped his head around the corner to tell me what was going on and stopped, mid-sentence and said, "you look a lot thinner standing there. Your legs look great. Must be from all the bike riding." He also said something about trying to work my day so that I could talk to folks from at the top of staircases all day but I digress.

Compliments are wonderful. They can make you feel warm and fuzzy inside (after the requisite: "scanning for sarcasm...it's clean!" ** exercise) and help to keep you on the right track.

** see The Simpsons - Summer of 4 ft. 2 (season 7, episode 25).

thin days and naked bodies

I've been keeping at my goals for the week so far. Eating and exercise is going well and I've been doing really well with the water. I just keep increasing my intake a little bit each day so I can avoid drowning in it!

I'm feel particularly thin today, which is odd, because yesterday I felt fat. Every time I looked in the mirror yesterday my face looked really chubby to me. Ordinarily I wear pants to work but today I wore a skirt and my newish shoes shoes and just feel thinner than normal. I think it's because the top I'm wearing with my skirt is one of my old tops, a size 4X, which I couldn't wear without a sweater for like, two years. I also wore this outfit on Easter Sunday and felt pretty good then too. I'm just really enjoying that feeling of being able to get into stuff that I "out grew."

Over the past few months, I've become addicted to a show on the Discovery Health Channel called "Taking it Off." It's a series that followed 8 people in Edmonton over a six month period as they started a weight loss / fitness program. They were all starting at different weights and fitness levels. Each episode shows them meeting up for a "support" session with a nutritionist and a weigh-in with a trainer and in between, they follow 2 or 3 folks during their week and demonstrate how they are doing as far as their fitness programs, family issues, work, etc. It's quite engaging and everyone in the group takes a different approach to their fitness program, some are doing Body for Life, some are doing the Zone, some are working with personal trainers, etc.

Last night, I flicked into it 1/2 through an episode I'd never seen (I've seen most of them, this was an early on show that I'd missed) and one of the participant women was talking to her girlfriend about her weight-loss / gain and her relationship with her husband (the counselor had opened their weekly discussion by asking how their body image affected their personal relationships). I was surprised to hear both of these women remark that they only liked to have sex with the lights out and under the covers and, that if their husband's touched their naked asses, they would touch the same spot right after so they would know what it was that he was feeling (and if it was okay I guess). It sounded like they were still really uncomfortable with their bodies.

This struck me as rather odd because not only was this something that I'd never done, it was not something that I would ever think to do. I guess it sounded weird to me because a) I know what my fat ass feels like when I touch it already and b) my hunny knows how big my fat ass is and he loves it anyway (and lately, he's been commenting on how it's getting smaller). (The lights-off thing is something I could write a novel about but I won't!) I could almost imagine doing this if you were with someone new and you'd been able to hide your ass from them before they got to touch it. The likelihood of this happening is pretty slim (no pun intended!). I think that women worry too much about what men think about their naked bodies. Most men (decent men, like the wonderful ones we surround ourselves with -- right girls?), if you ask them, will say that they are just so happy to be in close proximity to a naked women (particularly, according to my hunny, to be close to naked girl nipples) they don't care about stuff like stretch marks, cellulite or fat asses.

You would think after spending the past number of months reading the journals of women of different sizes and shapes I'd be used to hearing about stuff like this but it still surprises me when I hear it. It still makes me feel a little sad. I hope that these women who are getting fit and healthy like me, are also working on the inside as well as the outside because in my opinion, a healthy self-image is way more important than numbers on a scale.

too true key word search

I checked my stats after sending that last post off into the ether and found the following search string from google:

diet+through+the+week+and+eat+on+weekends

I'm obviously not alone in my weekend struggles!

It's a very good thing that I woke up full of piss and vinegar this morning because if I hadn't, I'd be laid out under my desk right now.

As I've mentioned before, I work in a building which is over 160 years old and is silly with stairs. This morning, I've been running (not walking) up and down stairs, hauling boxes hither and yon. Heavy boxes. Boxes full of printing stuff. Paper is light when it's just one sheet, when it's 5000 sheets, it's darned heavy! It's not been killing me though, I'm giving the stairs and the boxes the good fight and I'm winning. I'm not sure how many calories all of these stairs and boxes are burning but it's probably more than I did working out this morning.

Foodwise, nothing has tempted me today so far. A coworker just got back from a trip to Tuscany and has been offering some yummy looking Italian chocolates but I've resisted and feel good about it. Kicking the asses of candy, boxes and stairs feels pretty good!

Wow, getting up this morning was not the struggle that it has been the past week or so. I had a great night's sleep last night and feel pretty good this morning.

Kept right on track with my eating yesterday and I feel pretty good about that. I also kept my water intake up for the day. This morning I was back to my regular workout routine. I did my weight work and 4.11 miles on the recumbent bike so I'm pretty about that too. Overall, despite the fact that it's raining and I forgot my office keys at work, I think it's going to be a good day. It's definitely starting out that way anyway! If it stays this way, I should see some definite movement on the scale (and with the measuring tape) by my next weigh-in. Wish me luck!

gonna see Dr Phil

Oh yikes, one more post...three in one day (that's crazy!). I forgot to mention this earlier but I'm going to see Dr. Phil in September! He's speaking at a motivational seminar in Montreal and two of my colleagues and I are going. Besides Dr. Phil, there are some other amazing speakers and it looks like it's going to be an amazing day, just the thing we need. I'm pretty excited about it. I used to really not like Dr. Phil at all (when he was on Oprah), but I've really enjoyed some of his shows recently and can appreciate his no-nonsense, common sense approach to most problems. So, yay for me and Dr. Phil!!

Lunchtime already. The day is just flying by for me today. This is a very good thing, considering how yucky I felt when I woke up this morning. I just could not drag my butt out of bed. This has been going on for over a week now. I did get up (obviously) but things seemed to conspire against me getting in a full workout. I really had no energy when I got out of bed but I pulled on my workout gear and went downstairs. This was a struggle because my back was slightly "twingey" as I made my way down the stairs. I got to the living room, turned on the TV and went to get onto the bike...I heard a big nose and felt my foot hit something...the potted plant that I had moved yesterday so I could open the patio doors, was now on it's side, next to the bike. When I drew my foot back to climb away from the bike, I dragged potting soil with it. Charming. I keep a small broom-vac thing in the kitchen (fortunately) but had to get the beater bar off of it and put the hose attachment on it to clean up. Lucky for me, the poor plant needed a drink or it would have been a huge mess. By the time I got the hose on (without breaking any nails -- not sure how that happened but I'm glad about it) and cleaned it up, my time was seriously slipping away and my back was bugging me. I did get on the bike eventually but I only did 2.5 miles. If I'm feeling up to it tonight I'll do another 2.5 and some weights.

I weighed and measured myself this morning and am happy to report that I haven't gained anything. I'm happy about this because there was no way I was expecting a loss and I'm relieved that I didn't see a gain (either in inches or ounces). I'm completely committed to staying on program this week and on the weekend. I'm going to be very busy with work next weekend so that should make things easier. Being laid up on Saturday just messed me up.

Goals for the week of May 5:

1. Increase my water intake (so far today that's going well). I've let that slip over the past few days and I think that it was part of my problem, I was tired because I was a little dehydrated.
2. Really really watch my fat intake. Calorie-wise, I didn't go too far over what I should have but the fat numbers were higher than I would have liked so I want to curb that this week.
3. Exercise every day this week, even it's just a little bit. I feel so much better when I do and I'm not likely to indulge bad cravings if I've exercised (I can't stand the thought of undoing that effort by eating a Mars bar or something equally bad).

Today's Progress Prompt is about books:

What was the latest weight loss- or fitness-related book you've read? Do a book review. Did you like it? Why or why not? List a few favorite such books.

The last "diet" book I purchased was probably the first one I purchased, The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet.

I can't say that I finished it though. I started reading it last year after seeing a review of it. I thought that maybe, it might apply to my hunny and I. For starters, the book I bought had some information about how to go about their program but there were many references to their centre and the other books that they have published. It was sort of an ad for the other products that they have. I didn't finish reading the book and didn't end up following their program. When we ended up starting our program, we went with a low fat plan and it seems to be working for us.

I never did workout yesterday. My back was bothering me all day. Today I didn't either because, while I felt a lot better than yesterday, I was still feeling tender and didn't want to injure myself further. I also had a bit of a headache and upset stomach today, it was odd, I just felt off. I did keep busy though. My hunny cleaned the outside of the windows and I did the inside and I did a tonne of laundry, all weekend as I hobbled around, I was pushing laundry baskets with my feet (or at least it felt that way). I pulled all of my sweaters out of drawers and cupboards and washed them all so I could get ready to pack them away for the summer. I'm sort of hoping that I won't be able to wear most of them in the fall, that would be really nice. A few them are already quite baggy and it would be pretty sweet to have to give them up by the time the cold weather is here. I'm really looking forward to getting my summer stuff out because I know much of the stuff that I couldn't wear last year is going to fit now.

Foodwise, I didn't give in too badly to the munchies. I went over on my calories both yesterday and today but I'm not beating myself up about it. I'm thinking that it's possibly why I had a headache today, I do know that my body has become accustomed to a set number of calories and it's really not liking it when I go over. I guess it's good thing because it'll (hopefully) keep me from straying next weekend. Weekdays are not a problem for me, weekends can be brutal. I think if I had been feeling better my resistance would have been better. Actually, I'm sure of it. Oh well, no more excuses...tomorrow is a fresh start...back to working out and no more snacking!!

I have not yet worked out today. I'm not actually sure that I will. I've been fighting a cold all week and this morning I woke up with a stiff back. I have had this happen before and I know enough when it twinges in a particular spot to keep moving and stretching and try to keep it from seizing up. Despite my best efforts (and much ibuprofen) I'm seized up on my left side and am hobbling around like a little old lady. I have managed to get some wash done and to do some tidying up around the house but not much else. I had to drag myself to the drug store this afternoon to pick up a few things and that very nearly did me in.

I'm trying to hard not to munch out while I'm semi-laid-up. It's hard though. I did snack on some Skinny Sticks before lunch and then had some string cheese this afternoon that I don't think I really needed. It's just a comfort/boredom thing I think. I'm hoping I'll feel better tomorrow and will snap out of it. Cross your fingers for me!!

I saw this on Yahoo this morning. It made me feel good because we eat a tonne of garlic and onions in our diet. Thought you might find it interesting too:

How Garlic and Onions Promote a Healthy Heart

Way back in the first century A.D., Dioscorides, the Roman who codified Greek herbal medicine, wrote in his Materia Medica that garlic "clears the arteries." And the ancient Indian Ayurvedic text Charaka Samhita holds that garlic "maintains the fluidity of the blood, strengthens the heart and prolongs life."

Modern researchers have confirmed that both raw and cooked garlic and onions contain compounds that inhibit the tendency to form artery-clogging blood clots, thus lowering heart-attack risk. There is evidence that a clove a day may also lower elevated levels of blood cholesterol, as well as high blood pressure, although not all studies confirm these benefits.

Other allium compounds have been shown to inhibit cancer in the test tube and in animals. In population studies, people who eat more alliums have lower rates of stomach and other cancers. Garlic appears to stimulate the body's production of an enzyme called glutathione-S-transferase, which helps detoxify potential carcinogens. In a major five-year study of more than 35,000 women aged 55 to 69 in Iowa, garlic was the single most protective food against colon cancer. The women who ate garlic more than once a week had a 32 percent lower risk of colon cancer than those who ate less than a clove a month.

Garlic's sulfur compounds may offer particular protection against cancers of the breast, esophagus, prostate, skin and stomach.

I don't know what has been wrong with me the past two mornings but I have not been able to get out of bed and thus, have not worked out before work. I did do it last night, after work (and had a great time -- really enjoyed it, it was nice and sweaty!) and plan to do it again tonight after work. I realized today that I worked out 26 out of 30 days during April. The only days I didn't were the travel days when we were away and I did do some swimming and a fair bit of walking during those days so it wasn't like I was laying around like third base!

I haven't noticed any dramatic shifts on the scale or the measuring tape recently. I have made small movements though and actually lost a little this week despite the break last weekend. Not sure what I'm doing for the weekend. We have a guy coming to fix some plumbing stuff at the house tomorrow so I have to get my laundry done tonight because the area he needs to be working in is where my washer is. Hot fun on a Friday night huh? I don't mind though, the more I get done tonight, the less I have to do this weekend and I can hopefully veg out on Sunday!

mmm...a few minutes ago I tried to access this page and was told that it was under construction. A few moments later, it was back up...very strange.

Foodwise, yesterday kicked ass. Stayed totally on program with calories to spare and that included having dinner at Swiss Chalet with our little old guy. We took him for groceries last night (we had done ours on Tuesday night) and while we were at the big Loblaws store, I noticed that they had the TGTBT entrees on for $1.97. I don't usually go too nuts over products like these but I do like to have them on hand for lunch on the weekends so I picked up a few. I'm particularly fond of the Chicken Szechwan so I got two of those.

Yesterday turned out to be an okay exercise day too, what with my bike in the morning and the walk at lunch plus shopping...I moved a fair bit. This morning, I was moving really slow and didn't work out. Tonight, my hunny has a dentist appointment right after work so he'll drop me off at the house before he goes. I'll have the house to myself for an hour or so to exercise while Dr. Phil is on. I'm quite interested in seeing it today because it's about the aftermath of a major weight loss. It's called Big Changes, Bigger Problems, should be interesting.

By the way, my voice is coming back, the cold bug seems to be avoiding me and I'm feeling better for being back on program for the past 4 days so I'm pretty happy today!