This weeks weigh in: 174.6lbs A NEW LOW! I can almost taste 90lbs lost. 2lbs away. I lost a full lb this week and I really wasn't anticipating any loss at all. Last weekend was besties weekend at the cabin (I'll get more in to that later ) and I only went to Zumba once this week. I did not workout on the elliptical, I didn't walk the dog and to add a cherry ontop - TOM! I also got drunk for the 2nd Saturday in a row. I've been stressed and really did have allot of fun! I did maintain my pre-portioned meals like a champ this week. I packed healthy protein and high-fiber lunches and snacks all week and didn't stray at all. I drank my water too. The evenings were busy with work and life so I was able to avoid being bored hungry in the evenings. It's funny how one week like this can seem so easy and then the next I feel like I'm on the verge of falling off.
The Besties weekend was AMAZEBALLS! Mama G tells a good version of the story here: Musings of a Manic Mama. That would be me that bruised her ass off. We knitted, played games, drove around on the frozen lake, ate, drank, danced and shared some deep **** between the 4 of us. I love these ladies!
Friday night, we all stayed up until the crazy hour of 11pm. WOOT WOOT wild girls I tell ya. Saturday, 3... maybe 4 am. I dunno, I was DEERUNK! The evening started out with a lovely dinner. We have this restaurant chain in Western Canada (Colorado and Washington in the US have a few too) called EARLS. It's trendy and reasonably priced but it's not the most amazing food ever except for one menu item:
Grilled Chicken and Baked Brie Ciabatta grilled chicken, melted brie, roasted apples, spinach, sweet fig jam, garlic mayonnaise, house baked ciabatta. Photocredit: Foodosophy
Sweet Mama Jama. This is like crack to me. We did a fabo job of recreating it since anytime the besties go there we all order the same thing. We had it all planned out, made it from scratch and nailed the fig jam too!
Soon, after dinner the drinking began. Shortly after was the kitchen dance party. Then the 20 year old neighbors invited us over. We debated and even warned them that we were 10+years older than them but they were game and we showed em how to win like a boss! We hitched up the kayak to the back of a quad, crammed 4 bodies on it and went whipping around the frozen lake at 60km/h at 1am. I screamed and laughed my ass off! AWESOME. Then we played some cards and consumed a few more bevies before draggin our butts and the kayak home. I was feeling it the next morning but it was well worth it. A 10 out of 10. Sigh, I wish I could spend every weekend at the lake. Some pictures for you all. Yes, I am wearing a housecoat on the kayak. Smells wore a blue one. Man, we are too cool.
Winston our snowman - the only man allowed to join us.
SCRIBBLISH!
Imagine whipping hand-break turns all around a frozen lake - while blasting this song:
The new Bestie Theme Song. MIA - Bad Girls Do It Well.
I feel badass. I'm so not. lol
Yesterday the besties went for brunch in celebration of MamaG's Bday. It was loverly! Later in the afternoon Smells and I headed off to the ski hill. She hadn't bee skiing in years either but ruled the hill! The weather was fabulous on top of it all. 8 degrees Celsius... in February. What!?!??! I swear that I heard a goose yesterday evening. Those feathered friends never dare show up here before April it seems. Spring may be on the way to Alberta! Sweet jeebus I am ready.
I read a blog from Stephanie at Dreams of Skinny High Heels. She was introducing a friend of hers Jen.
Jen has been through a long weight loss journey and had just started blogging. She is not a bandster. It doesn't matter to me at all. This gal has lost and kept off over 100lbs. She's another hero to me just like any other person who has committed to lifestyle change, had successes and struggles and is honest enough to share them both with me. I appreciate all of you bloggers and so appreciate the individuality of each of your journeys. I am on page with some of you and not at all with others but all of the tips, tricks, advice, laughs and support has been a big part of my journey and success. THANK YOU!
The longer that I have my band, the more that I feel like it is a shock collar. That it is more of a mental thing than a physical thing for me. Yes, I have had things get stuck and I do not eat and drink at the same time (mostly) but that is about all that my band changes for me. I rarely feel restriction and can eat just about anything that I want in whatever quantities that I want. The fact that I went through surgery in the first place has been the driver for me. Why would I do that to myself if I wasn't 100% in? I committed to changing my lifestyle. Saying all of this also makes me feel like I am discrediting the band itself and I certainly do not want to seem ungrateful at all but I feel that it is me that makes food choices, me that kicks my ass in to working out and me that struggles mentally with moving forward and not backwards. All of these things are why I choose to selectively tell people about my band. I do not shout it from the rooftop because honestly, I do not want MY hard work and progress to be attributed strictly to my band. I want the credit dammit! Is that selfish? I do believe that if I hadn't gone through the surgery and hadn't had check-ins with my nurse, surgeon and dietitian that I wouldn't be near as successful as I am today. So I am thankful for all of the experience and knowledge that this whole banding process has given me and because of that, I love my band.
Take Care All!
:xena_banana: I am so ready!!! I filled the pantry and fridge with everything on my dieticians shopping list, Ive got my box of kleenex, heat bag, Gas-X strips and blanky ready and waiting near the couch along with the FANTASTIC INFO for reading that was sent by TOMANDER. (My shout out!!) My laundry is done and the house is clean. Ive cleared my schedule of everything non-recoup related and I've got my bag packed for Tuesday morning to take to the hospital...... and still another 2 sleeps.
I am going to busy myself over the next 2 days by concentrating on my post-op diet and pre-op exercise regiem and making sure that I didnt forget to do that thing Ive already done but keep reminding myself over and over not to forget to do it!
I'm psyched to get the hospital stay over with and probobly more worried about that part than anything else. I do not do sleepovers and the Mr. cant stay at all!
This too shall pass and soon enough I will be back at home, back to my kicking ass and taking names... 1st on the list is MUFFINTOP!
CHEERS and Good luck to those who share the 18th as thier BandBirthday! And to the rest of you all too!
Jen
This week I weighed in at 191.6 lbs. I've been camping the last 2 weekends with the next two planned for the same. This means THINKING about just how much grazing and drinking that I will allow myself to do!
It's tough but being outside all day long makes me enjoy the exercise part of things quite a bit! I've dealt with the fact that the Birthday goal will not happen. 185lbs in 6 days.... nope, but that's okay! First weight goal I ever set, I never hit. Meh, moving along now.
Back a few weeks ago I mentioned how the Mister and I went back to my hometown to celebrate my Grandparent's 64th anniversary. My Grandparents remind me of a few things that have been spinning around in my head these days, so I thought I would share... Turn on the sap machine!
I love my Grandparents! My parents were divorced when I was 4. This had no effect on how much time I got to spend with my Grandparents. I have one Grandpa, one Grandad, one Grandma and one Nana. I was a lucky kid! My Nana passed away a few years ago and I miss her terribly but after a good chat and a few comments this last weekend, I am pleased to see that she lives on in each of us girls in the family. The men in our lives may contest that the statement is a positive thing but they better just shut thier mouths.
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Brother, Sister and I with Nana.
My Nana was a fun yet stern woman. She play acted with us, let us make giant snow Easter Eggs and decorate them with food coloring all over her yard. We picked her crab apples for her and helped paint her fence allot but the funny thing about it is that it never seemed like work. Her husband, Grandad always lived in the bush. He was a hard working man. I never spent a whole lot of time with him as he constantly was working on something. I have a huge expectation about people and work ethic because of all of my Grandparents. I think that the ideal man image was set in my head back as a kid by my Grandad, my Grandpa, my Dad, My Step-Dad and my Uncle's. The perfect man to me is a combination of them all. Thank goodness that I found a perfect close match!
Sister and I with Grandad
My Grandparents are pretty religious and we spent allot of time at Church with them. They were older than Nana and Grandad and we were expected to be on our best behaviour or we would get the threat of the 3ft wooden spoon on her kitchen wall. It never actually tanned our asses but the threat of that giant spoon was enough to straighten out the worst of us. They used to take us to the lake, let us help plant and harvest the garden and although Grandma bought the sister and I matching dresses for every occasion and forced us to sit under the hair dryer with the pink foam curlers in before church, we still loved them. When my brother got married in Mexico last year my Grandpa sent these words of wisdom. "Be kind to one another, talk about everything and listening to each other is the most important thing." For a man who has been married 64 years and is 90 years old, he sure is relevant to today.
The Mister and I with Grandma and Grandpa.
I have such fond memories of my Grandparents and alas, time is slipping away. I want to see them more, I want to be there for them as thier health deteriorates and thier minds fail them. I know that they know just how much I love them and how much I admire them. I've got some great strong roots and a solid foundation for years to come. I've learnt many things from all 4 of these people and hope to be somewhat like all of them...when I grow up...one day.
I promise I won't write sappy posts often, I just really love these guys!
Now go hug your Grandpa, call your Grandma or if they are gone now too, remember fondly!
Cheers,
I am finally home. 2 lbs heavier at 202lbs. Back face first into the swing of things. Work, home, BandLand. I got home Sunday afternoon and since stepping foot off of the plane, I am re-commited!
I had my first fill Monday. It was STRANGE. I am not a needle person AT ALL (see Surgery Day entry) and was terribly nervous! I had the sweats and everything! The Dr. offered to slowly explain as he went along to help set me at ease. REALLY?! Hell no, I don't want to see a big needle penetrating my belly!
I closed my eyes, made small talk and TAH DAH!!! He was already checking to see if it actually went in to the port by taking it all back in to the syringe. The weirdest part about it was feeling my port slide around along my muscles until he found the point. I've somewhat "babied" the port site from day 1. I was scared to sleep on it, scared to have anything rub on it or bump it. He was REALLY going at it. It didnt hurt at all. It just felt very strange.
So, here I am with 2cc of saline sitting around my stomach, feeling no different. A little anti-climactic almost. Dontcha Think?
Back to cardio and even a little ab work this week. I hurt!! It feels pretty good though. I am back to cooking my own food in my own house, prepping lunches and NOT DRINKING!! Planning ahead and being successful and NOT beating myself up over enjoying the last few weeks either.
I loved being in newfoundland and I miss it (and the family most of all) already. That kind of atmosphere is no good for the scale but good for the heart!
Here is a new recipe for trial!
Kale Pesto Penne
1 bunch kale
de-vien kale and chop roughly. Place in steamer w. a sprinkle of sea salt
Steam until wilted and dark green.
juice of 1/2 Large lemon
2 Tsp EVOO
1/4 c walnuts
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of dried red chili
When Kale is steamed, add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until fine. Add more lemon juice or evoo to taste.
I serve this over whole wheat penne w. sauted chicken, peppers, onion, garlic and broccoli. Just toss it all together.
I also like to use red chard, spinach and any other green for this pesto. So good and so fresh!
Take Care for now and dont beat yourself up over living!
FINALLY! The scale moved. I weighed in at a nice 192lbs this morning. 70lbs down from my heaviest and 32lbs since surgery. Things have slowed allot lately and I know exactly what is causing it! I found this post this morning when catching up and certainly can relate! lol. I am just 4 months out and i should be thinking this way still. I am not, and I still do not have restriction so.... I plow on!
i-want-to-be-baby-bandster-again c/o my idol - LAP BAND GAL!
This post of mine is not on a TUESDAY! GASP! I was too busy hiking up around huge biggish mountains with Sparms. We went out on Monday for a Tuesday morning work meeting. We hiked 4km on Monday afternoon and 4km yesterday on our way home. I thought about quitting once. Then I thought about how proud we would be of ourselves at the top. I thought about how there was no way either of us could have done this 2 years ago. I thought about my determination through all of this. I thought about how great my ass must look to Sparms as she climbed behind me and that finishing this climb would only make it even nicer. I also thought that there has to be an amazing view waiting for us up there because why else would people put thier bodies through this crazy crazy shit. It was a little scary. The 2 of us, alone, in the middle of bear and cougar (not us lady cougars, real ones who stalk people and pounce from nowhere to swallow you up after shredding your skin with one swipe of thier massive claws) territory.
Jasper National Park is HUGE! We are but specks in the landscape next to the giant lodgepoll pines, the long winding rivers, the peaks, the valleys... just so so small and insignificant. Not that day. We were not insignificant. We were two fat girls who have come a long way in the last two years. Such a long way that we climbed a mountain, as small as it may be in comparison to the great pyramid mountain, it is still a mountain that we conquered.
and the view was most certainly worth it all!
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Back to reality today. This blog and work took up most of the morning and the forecast is very similar for the afternoon. Tomorrow I will clean house and pack for an awesome long weekend spent camping with my Mister and my Daddy! Who cares if there is a provincial fire ban on right now! Who needs a fire? Not the girl who is capable of climbing a mountain! I am sure I will make it work! I can do anything!
Cheers!
Now that I have your attention... lol.
I woke up last Tuesday with an extremely sore back, neck and shoulder. My shoulder has been bugging me for weeks. Well actually months when I look back. I think that it may have something to do with my drooping bust! Anyone else out there face shoulder or back problems with the shrinking and sagging boobies? In true Jen fashion, i kept denying that I needed to have it looked at and I waited until it was unbearable. I couldn't even turn my head. I made an emergency call to a nearby acupuncture and massage clinic since Sparms Bestie had popped in last week and recommended the place. The Dr. called me back shortly and could slip me in shortly. Grand! Except for the fact that I had never have had acupuncture before. I have a huge-ish tiny little fear of needles. When I was a kid it was horrible. I would be completely put under at the dentist and would have a tiny needle poke in my fingers at the clinic when they needed to take blood samples. Thanks to the Pre and Post-Band process, I have been getting over it slowly. I decided that if I could go through with fills that acupuncture couldn't be too terrible and I was DESPERATE!
He gave me an assessment by checking my pulse in both wrists and taking a look at my tongue. I then undressed and lay on my side on the table. He came in and inserted the first needle in the back of my neck. Not too bad at all. I can handle this. I barely felt the needle go in. He then began to twist the needle around asking me if I felt anything. All of the sudden, ZING! He hit something. It was almost like a little shock and I could feel my body almost immediately let go. He continued on to my shoulder, arm and leg. He then applied a medicinal herb to the tips of the needles and lit them with a torch and left me for 20 minutes to relax while the needles warmed my nerves. I could feel the release. I was thankful.
He then came back in and wanted to try cupping. Hmmmm, cupping? Yes, cupping. I think it sounds like a dirty thing. lol. But I accepted. He then took small pieces of cotton, lit them on fire and threw them into these softball sized glass globes. He immediately stuck them one at a time to my shoulder, arm and back. As the air cools, a vacuum is created and your skin is sucked into the globes. He applied 5 and again left me on my side for about 20 minutes in the cozy, dim room. I could feel the tension melting! It was amazing! I finished the session with a fantastic aggressive massage and headed off to work with some relief and some pretty big hickeys! I only got one picture and it's not a great one but at least you get the point.
Anyway, i went back again on Friday and felt pretty decent over the weekend but woke up with some pain today. I will definitely go back!
I got one work out in last week before the shoulder knocked me out and spent the entire long weekend camping on the river eating GARBAGE! I had licorice, a hotdog, chips and some drinks too! All of that and only one pound gained. I weighed in today at 183lbs. The loss of 80lbs didn't last very long but I am a lucky lucky girl. Camping really brings out allot of my old habits and this weekend I didn't win the mental battle, nor did I try too hard either. Regardless, I am getting back on the elliptical as soon as I finish here! I did not put my pj's on when walking in the door to curl up and watch the latest Love in The Wild that I PVR'ed with the attention seeking pup. I got dinner together, checked in by blogging and am now on my way to finish up the last of the camping laundry and finally - GET MY ASS IN GEAR!
I leave you with a shot of one of my favorite places ever to camp;
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Cheers;
This morning I weighed in at 195.6lbs. Up .2lbs. After the 3 meals out last week, 1 night at the bar (including dinner of nachos) with the Besties at the Donnie Dumphy concert, out again Saturday night for an old friends Bday (more drinks) and 3 missed workouts, I assumed that I would have gained more. NOPE! Thank the friggen stars! With all of the habits that I have changed, BOOZE is not going anywhere soon! I do miss beer and cider and gin and tonic but Ive replaced those relationships with gin and diet cran and red wine. I am a red wine WHORE! I love to drink, I love to socialize and I LOVE to have fun! I know, I know, some people would say that you don't need to drink to have fun..... I DO! I am 28 (for another month) and have no children. I want to live it up while I can! I know people talk about the "last supper" allot. This is how I feel about booze. I am going to drink all that I can before I get into MOM mode. The day after my 30th Birthday we will start trying for munchkins. Until then, I will continue to work my ass off, eat well and hope that this continues to balance off my love of liquor and the weight loss! A girl can dream right? Still happy that all I gained was .2lbs!!!! We shall see how this week goes. EASTER is here and that means the 3rd annual BESTIES trip to the cabin! I can not wait!
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After the stressful last few weeks at work, I need this! I need an afternoon in the sunshine with my gals, walking around on the trails, blaring the tunes while having a few drinks and pretending like I never have to return to the city and to working for a living!
AND TO FOLLOW THE CROWD: the workout sweaty mess glow from yesterday. The elliptical kicked my ass after 2 days off and an upped by 10min program. I had sweat in places that I never knew could sweat!
Cheers!
UGH - February SUCKED! From Wednesday to Sunday I drove 1500 km for work. I am glad it is over. Just in time for me to fly out to Toronto this Sunday for a week-long Conference. Then... ah, yes then.... I will have one glorious week in Newfoundland. Work has been crazy and to boot I was hit with a terrible cold this Sunday. Monday and Tuesday have been spent "working" from home.
All of the time spent on the road did not make it easy to keep up with my routine at all! Exercise was fit in by a few short trots around unknown bushland at -30 celcius looking for geocaches (I think thats where I found this damn cold) in 3ft deep snow. I stayed overnight at a volunteers house where she cooked dinner of porkchops, egg noodles and mushroom gravy. This meal is not something that I would usually eat at all so I politely informed her that I didnt eat pork when I showed up with a roasted turkey breast and a salad. I did push some noodles and gravy around on my plate so as not to offend her. She was fine with it. The turkey breast actually made 3 meals for me with plenty leftover for my travel buddy while on the road. We had a picnic lunch overlooking the Grande Cache Moutain View with the turkey tit and some cheese and crackers.
To my surprise, the lack of exercise and the lack of GREAT food options totally didnt hinder anything. I think it had to do with the amount of stress that I have been facing in the office these days being deminished significantly by the view, but I HIT 60lbs down yesterday morning weighing in at 201.6. This morning the scale said 202.4lbs and I should really count todays weight as it is my Tuesday weigh in day BUT I do believe that the extra .8 of a lb is all mucous that has filled my lungs and sinuses overnight so I am celebrating the success today.
I have metally prepared myself and Sparms Bestie to be at the gym at our hotel every morning next week for some cardio. We all know what kind of food options are going to be facing me at the conference and I will not cave. I will dabble but not cave!
On a more positve note, I tried another new recipe.
FAUX-TATO SALAD - from the Atkins Diet I am guessing. It was passed on to me by a friend and I made my own adjustments to it. It was FAB and even better leftover! It is a heavy recipe with the mayo and the bacon but a nice indulgence for a side salad on occassion. I did not count the calories!
1/2 head cauliflower cut in to bite sized pieces
1/4 c diced red onion
2 stalks celery chopped
1/2 c ff greek yogurt
1/2 c lf mayo
1tsp salt
1tsp pepper
1tsp german mustard
1TBSP dill - use whatever spices you would like!
1/2 lb turkey bacon (I am sure you could use ff ham too)
4 hard boiled eggs chopped fine
about 14g of protien per half cup.
boil califlower for about 5 mins with lid on. DO NOT OVERCOOK! It shoudl still be sort of firm. Plunge in cold water to stop cooking - drain and set aside.
saute bacon, add onions and celery until golden.
Place egg, mayo, yogurt and spices in large bowl and combine. Add bacon, onion, celery and cauliflower. Mix well. Let chill for at least one hour before serving. It had me fooled!
Take Care All!
Week 18?!?! I weighed in at 191lbs this morning. I told you it was the stress and once it was gone, so would the extra few pounds I have been carting around. Another day late blog this week. I may just change to Wednesdays every week!
Last weekend the Mister and I joined my Dad and his girlfriend for a long-weekend of camping. First trip out of the year! We tried out our new to us 1969 tent trailer. She aint pretty but it was amazing to not have to lug all the camping gear back down to my basement when we got home!
I walked 2 out of 3 days, minded the snackies the best that I could and indulged in a few beverages too!! I relaxed with Sparms and the Mister, played cards and caught up with my Dad and his girlfriend.... PERFECTION! Now back to life and what a busy week to try to jump back on the wagon!!!
In trying to jump back on the wagon, I have to get back to routine. My routine is as follows:
Breakfast: 0630hrs: 3/4 sunnyboy cereal + 1/4c Blueberries + 3Tbsp soy milk. (When it is done cooking, I add skim milk powder and benefibre to it. I make a big batch on Sunday and put it in the fridge in individual containers. still and individually portion for the week.)
1030hrs: 1/4 cottage cheese + a few veggies OR 1/4 c greek yogurt + 1/4 c fruit puree unsweetened
1230-1300hrs: I used to eat spinach and veggie salad with a small can of tuna daily.. until I found what the suggested amount of tuna consumption is. SCARY! Now I take leftovers. Most chicken breasts are 5 or 6 ounces of meat. I usually save about half or so from dinner and take the salad, grains or beans that are leftover.
1500 hrs: I usually have a cheese string and a few pieces of broccoli or snap peas for the ride home. An apple, celery, carrots. Protein and fruit/veggie.
1800hrs: I like to make a good meal for dinner that the Mister and I can sit down together to enjoy. We do schedule Friday as out eat out night and that keeps me cooking during the week most of the time. I get home from work at 3 or 4, start dinner and get on the elliptical then off to the dog-park. I like to do the elliptical when Mister isn't home because I feel like when he is in the house, the time passes slower. I am wondering what he is doing upstairs and it just makes it difficult to get in my zone! Once I am in the house and done everything for the day, I want to relax. I can not put off exercise to this point. It will just NOT happen! After dinner, I do the dishes and put the leftovers in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. This is the ideal schedule and routine for me. I thrive in it! I just wish I could master longer runs with it! It will never end... I may just have to accept that.
Here is a super easy and tasty chicken recipe. Hummus stuffed chicken.
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/4 c hummus
1/4 c light feta
1/4 chopped kalamata olives
1 Tbsp pepper
2Tbsp chopped tomato
non-stick spray
tin foil
Butterfly chicken breasts and pound them out. Mix hummus, feta, olives and tomato.
Spread 1/2 mixture on each chicken breast. Roll up chicken breast, sprinkle with pepper, roll it tightly in the tin foil. I cooked these on the BBQ on medium heat for about 40 minutes turning every ten or fifteen minutes. I am crazy about chicken being SOOOOO done that I think you could get away with less time. I served the chicken with grilled curry cauliflower and roasted asparagus and yellow pepper pasta. TASTY!
Take Care,
I've been on a ride these last few weeks. To me it feels like months but looking back on the facts, it's only weeks. I've been on the road like crazy, there's been occasion after occasion and I hit the road tomorrow again until Friday. Me, the open road and GAS STATION FOOD! I have a late meeting tonight and am not sure that I will get all of my snacks for the road together but I will try! I have fresh veggies waiting to be chopped, individual yogurt and cottage cheese cups to fill, turkey sausage to cook and eggs to boil. This is great road food and it keeps me away from the jerky, chocolate, chips, licorice and pastries that I used to love so much. My pretty new water bottle has proven to be worth its weight in novelty and this steers me clear of the road stop coffee that always has those great flavored creamers! Sounds like a great plan huh? Now to deliver it! Wish me luck!
I weighed in this morning at 195.6lbs. Not a budge from last week. this can be directly attributed to the 3rd Annual Besties Trip to the Cabin!!! I don't mind! It was WELL worth it! 2 whole days with some of the most beautiful women in the world. Games, Fireworks, FOOD, DRINKS, Campfires, Giggles, Chats, a Hookah (Imagine Arnie Schwarzenegger (yes the last name was in spellcheck, wtf?!) saying that one, cracks me up) and the GLORIOUS SUNSHINE! It was hard to leave Sunday. I love these gals! They are my cheering section, my counsellors, my confidants and my BESTIES! I do have a great life!
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I've set some goals that I want to put out there to help with accountability. I've always shied away from a weight related goal because none of this has been about the scale for me. It's about health and lifestyle change. In spring cleaning mode recently, I checked a few other things off of my TO DO LIST. Set up a savings account for the 30th BDAY Besties Trip next year, cleaned out the closets, got the Mister to fix some things and started a new To Do list. Figures, right?
GOALS:
1) Food Journal Again! I have never been good at this but I really want to be. I see the value and I will start again this morning.
2) Lift weights 3 out of the 5 cardio days. Baby Steps!
3) Get back into PodRunner interval training. 5 Weeks to 5K. I liked this allot and am excited to see how much easier this will be for me 40lbs lighter and a whole lot healthier and disciplined.
4) 185lbs for my Birthday in June. (10lbs in just under 6 weeks). Easy goals! A clear picture!
Planting the sweet peas this morning and got lettuce in last night. The cucumbers are started in the house. I am ready summer, come stay for a while!
Last years sweet peas in early July
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Cheers!
Week 7 was pretty good! I had a cold that ripped me off of my schedule for cardio but I got two days in before I left for a week in Toronto. I walked allot to see the sights and make it to the different restaraunts that were reserved for us. I still didnt make the greatest choices though! We ate out every night and had pastries and chinese buffets offered in the conference. I knew it wouldnt be good so Sparms Bestie and I picked up a few groceries for the hotel room to be prepared. We had oatmeal and blueberries with soymilk every morning and packed snacks of protien bars and cheese sticks for snacks. There was plenty of herbal tea available too. I did make some terrible dinner choices (not unlike these deepfried pickles) and did cave to a few of the snackies offered. I also discovered something that doesnt sit well with me anymore. POPCORN. I have never been sick at all since surgery. I have not had any reactions to any food or drink... nothing yet. I guess there is always a first. My stomach felt as though it was in knots. Something I dont intend to relive! Goodbye popcorn!
The Pickles = AMAZING! Snooki knows her deepfry!I
I did make SOME terrible dinner choices but ate at least half of what I normally would at almost all meals. We also did a ton of walking around the city to see the sights and took advantage of the pool a few nights too!
Then, the worst of it - the booze. The days were so stressful and the nights so amped by the excitement of being with all of the staff from accross Canada... that I did ingest copious amounts of liquor.
That being said - I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! I missed weigh in last week and was pleasantly surprised to discover a milestone in 200lbs on the scale this morning. I can live with that!
I am now in Newfoundland for a week. I am sitting in the warmest, welcoming home that I have ever been in and having my mind unreel from an exhausting and exciting work week in Toronto. I have no motivation. I think I left it in Toronto. I am exhausted but at the same time, feel that my time here is limited and I dont want to miss anything. Walking here is natural, not forced so I am optimistic that I will kick it up a notch or 4 tomorrow. Maybe a hike up signal hill!
I have to remind myself that it doesnt always have to be all or nothing! I struggle with this allot and find it easiest to explain in food terms. Sheesh, whoda thunk it!? lol/
If I am eating a bag of chips and get halfway through, I always say to myself, "you ate half of it already Jen, might as well finish the whole thing." In terms of getting off of my schedule, I tell myself, "you already missed 2 days this week Jen, just start again Monday."
This is the type of thinking that slid me so easily in to my 262lb body. Despite my faltering from the schedule, I am still doing just fine and it is only within myself that I will find the motivation to keep it all going.
Hoping that you all find your motivation,
Weigh in day: 187lbs. The scale has not moved.
So I am back into the swing of things for 3 more days until I hit the road to go camping again this weekend. This weekend will be purely a social event without ANY work included or even thought about! The weekend in Jasper was Amazing! We met 50 New Canadians from all over the world and provided them with thier first camping experience. I truly have had a renewal of love for my job. I forget sometimes when I am stuck behind my desk under mountains of paperwork. The real ones are much much more amazing!
In bandland, things are at a steady pace. I have been lacking in my exercise routine with work being so busy. My food choices were terrible this weekend travelling in a van with 3 young adults for 800km. I was easily influenced and all to quickly made the foolish excuses in my mind that all of the junk that we packed was really for them. Pffft, I'm not kidding anyone! I got home later Sunday evening and had a grilled chicken breast with salad for dinner. Monday, grilled shrimp and pineapple skewers with some brown rice. Tonight, stuffed peppers and Turkey sausage. I also got back on the workout wagon lastnight too so I can't complain. I am course correcting! I learnt that at my fancy staff summit earlier this year.
Last week, Sparms bestie and I were talking about the dating world for people our age and people our weight. The matter of assumption about fat people being lazy came up in conversation and it pissed me off, so I thought I would share. Really, a person like me who has been active and healthy (besides being 250+ lbs)for most of their life is automatically pegged for being lazy. I am and have always been anything but LAZY. I personally, can't stand a lazy person. It is one of my pet peeves and maybe that's why this whole topic makes me angry. I am just curious about how many of you out there have been pigeon-holed into the bon bon eating, soap watching, couch surfing fat girl?
And what do I plan to do about it? Nothing! Continue to workout my frustrations!
Cheers all!
This weeks weigh in: 175.4lbs. Down .6lbs this week.
I went to a step class Friday. It kicked my ass and I loved every minute of it. Trying to use the toilet or climb stairs on Saturday SUCKED but it was that good good pain. I sweat my ass off through a tank and a t-shirt! GOOD STUFF! Phew!
Work has been crazy and although my daily eating habits are just fine despite being out for work dinners almost every week night for the last week and all of this week too. At one of the dinners, I tried a few bites of a hot dog A HOT DOG!!! I haven't had a hot dog in forever. It smelled horribly delicious at the table next to us and I wanted mine with mustard. Tons of mustard. I had a bite and it was all good. Not quite what I imagined it to taste like but I settled on the compromise that since it was not a 10 out of 10, I would only have a few small bites and leave it alone. Well, I did have a few small bites while keeping up the conversation with a few folks. I must have been distracted because on my 3rd bite, about an 1/8th of the way in to this guilty pleasure, I felt a funny swallow. It was too big. I was going to get stuck at a work dinner. FABO!
I quietly (couldn't talk) excused myself, went straight to the bathroom and was horrified to see 5 little girls playing around in and out of the 2 stalls. There was a line up! I could not imagine letting these innocent little darlings watch me lose my lunch into the garbage can, but it was coming. I couldn't open my mouth to tell them to hurry or get out of the way... so I waited swallowing hard, rocking the cold sweat and pacing. Finally, they left and I went straight in to the stall and effortlessly just spat it right out. Not to go in to TMI but this piece of hot dog that was causing all of this, was the size of a small pea. My vitamins are bigger than this. WTF? Lesson learned. Farewell hot dogs... I will miss you but my ass will not. Apparently, I have tricked myself in to believing that they taste a whole lot better than they really do.
This weekend the hubby and I are hitting the slopes at Marmot Basin. A whole weekend away together... alone! I don't know if we have ever done this. I am really excited about us being able to share another hobby! I love the Rocky Mountains and I love Jasper, Alberta almost as much as I love the ocean. There is something to be said about a heard of elk greeting you at your door in the morning and the surrounding views of the Rocky Mountains. When I was younger I used to dream about building my own little cabin way up there in the bush with a zip line just for me to take my trips to town for supplies. Although I still love the idea, I know that I would never survive! lol.
I love the outdoors and am so fortunate to live where I do. The promise of this will get me through this week!
Check out one of the Travel Alberta Commercials:
If anyone ever wants to come visit Canada for a BOOBS tour - let me know! lol. Sadly, I will not be making Chicago this year. I had hoped to but with the wedding in April (38 days until departure to be exact) and an awesome week-long road-trip with the Besties to Vancouver Island in July, I won't be able to afford it. It doesn't help that September is black out month for all of the field executives at work either. Maybe 2013!
More news; My Mom had decided to have Bypass surgery in May after the Mexico trip. She has started a blog and when she figures out how to send me a link, I will share it with you all. I am really excited for her and she has worked really hard at all of this for a while now. She is down 30ish lbs so far and I only see her working harder and harder. Allot of the work has been on her own and she has even been trying to motivate some of the girls that she has met through different nutrition and psych classes that she has attended. I am proud of her and cannot wait for her to tap in to the wonderful world of support in blogland! Stay tuned!
Take Care all and please keep your fingers crossed for me to escape the weekend without injury!
This morning I weighed in at 193lbs. Not a budge from last week. I am a little dissappointed I have to admit BUT I did not gain. I'll take it.... I guess. I'm hoping that I really did lose a few pounds but the stress is weighing me down. Stress gone = POOF - 3 lbs?!?!? Let's keep our fingers crossed.
I've been fighting the mental fight these days. My meal choices have been decent in most cases BUT I just seem to be hungry late at night allot lately. I am using my herbal tea and novelty water bottle to combat the late night troll that wants me to snack on the Mister's chips and snacks. I have been successful so far but I feel like I may cave at any moment! I keep telling myself that it isn't worth it. That my sunnyboy breakfast will be waiting for me in the morning. That I am not REALLY hungry. Thing is, I think that I am!
I purchased a soy based chocolate protien powder yesterday. I am hoping that, at 140 cal and 19g of protien per serving, that one of these bad boys might help me feel fuller through the evening. I have been struggling with my protien, especially on the road and the extra help couldn't hurt! Yesterday was my first crack at it but I worked until 10pm and couldn't tell you if hunger was one of the things swirling around in my brain! I will try again today and see how it goes. It seems that anytime that I think that I may be in control and getting the hang of this, the signs tell me that I need to work harder! More exercise, less waivering and this too shall pass... right?!
This week the sun is here and the temps will stay in the 20's !!! We are off to my hometown on Saturday to celebrate my Grandparent's 65th anniversary! Grandpa is 90 and Grams is only a year behind! Sunshine, Family and Country Roads!!! Next week, Sparms Bestie (we work together too) are on our way to Jasper for a meeting! HELLS YES! ROADTRIP to PARADISE!
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Take Care All,
