Tracking does work

I was down .08 today and you could have knocked me over with a feather. I wasn't expecting a loss at all.
I'm happy now I just need to keep going.

I was listening to some of the ladies chat before my meeting began and there was a discussion about if one should eat their 49 weekly points. One woman was saying for 3 weeks she was stuck and then our leader told her to eat more so she used her points and lost 3 lbs this week. Now I believe it's up to the individual to figure out what works for them. However those points are there to be used.

Not eating enough points has not been my problem recently so we also talked a bit about tracking again. It was the topic for last week's meeting but today our leader asked how it went for people. There were about 3 people who said they had 2lb losses thanks to tracking.

I know I am far more successful when I track and though I've had a hard time with that lately today is day one. My goal is track everyday this week. That's 7 days, it can be done.  Apart that drink water more than other beverages and move daily. I'm keeping it simple to establish habits and not overwhelm myself.

Yesterday after I posted I headed outside for a walk. It was fantastic. I did an old route that was a little over 5k and I just felt like I was zipping along. Nothing like activity to clear ones head.

Today my walk to the meeting and back from grocery shopping was a 45min walk all together and I did 40 min of yoga this afternoon. I miss yoga. I can get in the habit of doing it (just like tracking) and then there's a blip and it takes me awhile to get back into it.

It was also the one year anniversay of our leader Tony at our meeting location. That hit me in a funny way. Hmm...another year and not at goal. I immediately stopped that way of thinking and realized that it might be taking me awhile to get to goal but I've learned so much about myself along the way and more importantly I contine to learn about myself.

The weather should be nice tomorrow so I think I might take my walk/run outside.

Since a new month starts tomorrow I'm going back to stickers on the calendar. I want to see how many days I can go in a row sticking to plan and a visual reminder is helpful.

Alright my friends I hope you had a fabulous Saturday.

Hugs!!!

Getting back on the wagon can be difficult

Lately I start my week with incredibly good intentions and then it falls apart. It hasn't always been this way but I'm finding it difficult to get back into the game.

My two days in Edmonton were good. Tuesday night I was a bit tired as I was going off of barely sleeping Sunday night into work on Monday, sleeping so so in my camp room on Monday night. I did some racing around downtown Edmonton to get my registration pack.

I went to bed a little early Tuesday so no gym. Wednesday was full conference day and then dinner out.

I didn't go to the hotel gym once. So my gym clothes just got a nice little undisturbed trip to Edmonton and back.

The conference it self had some great moments and some disappointing moments probably typical of all conferences.

Got home yesterday later than expected due to snow in Calgary so my flight was a wee delayed. When we landed there wasn't any snow but it's snowing this morning.

I find myself back to old habits exactly like I did the last time I got closer to the 168 mark.

I know this can't continue if I want to hit my goal. I need to do some more soul searching to get myself together. I should start by changing out of my pjs and going to the gym.

I did move my vision board last night. I had started this awhile ago and it was always behind my bedroom door. I've accomplished a few things on it but it's not completed. I want to make the focus more on health now and I've moved it to a location that I see everytime I walk into my bedroom. So I'll see it when I get ready in the morning and when I got to bed a night.

I pvr'd the Royal Wedding and watched it when I got up. So much better this way. I could skip through the boring bits (idle chit chat of the commentators) and just focus on the wedding and the kiss on the balcony (two kisses!). I got teary as I always cry at romantic moments. I think they are such a cute couple and Kate's dress (by Sarah Burton - I was right!) was so incredibly gorgeous and she looked fantastic.

I'm not giving up on my goals I'm just having a moment. The other thing I'm coming to realize is that this is just not the push to goal but a commitment to living a healthy life forever.

My super star self will be back and more focused then ever...very soon.

Spring cleaning

Happy Easter everyone,
I hope you are spending yours however you wanted to.

I spent it cleaning my house. I've been neglecting my housework duties along with my weight loss duties over the past few weeks. Hmm perhaps a correlation.

I've vacummed, mopped floors, dusted and numerous loads of laundry (clothes, bed sheets, towels etc). I'm waiting for the last load in the dryer and then I start steaming pillows, sofa pillows and comforters. It's been very cathartic. It's also my workout for the day as I'm continuously going up and down stairs. It's probably odd bevahior for a holiday but it had to happen this weekend.

Tracking day two is going very well. My Easter treat was a caramilk egg that I've had for weeks waiting for today. It's tracked and accounted for. I'm kind of proud of myself of saving it for today and not opening it earlier. I'm back to daily weighing as well. In my two week hiatus I avoided the scale and realize I am one of those people that like to weigh daily as I find it keeps me focused.

Still to do today is take out the garbage and pack for the conference I'm going to towards the end of the week. It will be weird taking a suitcase to site as I have it down to a backpack there and back. The good part is the suitcase is specifically conference so it can stay in my office and I don't have to lug it to my camp room.

I'll be up super early as I'm back to my normal routine of flying out Monday morning. This week will have a challenge as the conference is Wednesay and Thursday so I'll fly directly from work to Edmonton on Tuesday night.

From Tuesday night to Thursday lunch I'll be at the mercy of restaurants for dinner two nights and then breakast and lunch at the conference for two days. Wednesday night will be dinner with a few colleagues who will also be at the conference at a restaurant called Moriarty's. I'm assuming named after the character in Sherlock Holmes. Happily there's a menu online and I've looked it over. There are definitely healthier options. Tuesday night I'm hoping for a food court and a perhaps a Subway.

The bonus is it's an HR conference so gobs of women which will probably mean some ligher fare options. I can't remember what they served when it was in Calgary last year. I will keep it together there will be no repeat of the foodapalooza of last week. I plan to make good use of the hotel gym.

I will be hitting the camp gym tomorrow night.

Hope you enjoyed your Easter Sunday.

Hugs!!!

Back on track - day one

Yesterday I was an activity tasmanian devil.
I walked to the gym and did 60min on the treadmill with 15min of that being running and then I switched to incline work. I then I went to the mall to pick up a few things and then made my way to where I had to vote. That was a bit of a schmozzle. I don't think they were expecting that many people to take advantage of the advanced poles. I then walked home.

Had a nap and then looked at the gorgeous weather outside (windy but sunny and no snow) for a 45min walk. All in over 1000 calories burned. I guess that was my version of a last chance workout before weigh in.

Today I went to the meeting and weighed in at 171.4 that's a 2.8lb gain over the past two weeks. I had the weigh in woman who tends to be a little snarky. Right before I got on the scale I looked at her and said I'm expecting a gain please don't judge. Of course she said we would never do that. Yeah uhuh.

The topic was apropos as it was about tracking which I've been very negligent at lately. Tracking is huge for me. I know lots of people don't like it. I know that if I do it I'm more successful. It served as a good reminder that I have all these tools at my disposal so I might as well use them. When I don't do it I'm just lying to myself.

I've tracked brilliantly today so that's one day down. I had moments of wanting to snack and I just stopped and thought "Am I hungry?". If the answer was no I walked away.

My only activity today was walking to weigh in and back as I thought to take it a wee easy today after yesterday.

I created an Operation Butterfly spreadsheet to have an at a glance look at points, activity and for the first time ever I've added mood. I've built these spreadsheets off and on in my weight loss efforts and I do find them helpful. I've told you that lately it's emotions that have been ruling my eating so why not keep an eye on that as well. I still had copies of previous spreadsheets and the last one ended weight wise where I am right now. Yup it's time to put pedal to metal.

Tomorrow will be going outside as the gym will be of course closed on Easter Sunday.

I've been clearing off my pvr to make room for the royal wedding on Friday today. I remember getting up as a little girl in the wee hours of the morning to watch the Charles and Diana wedding. Thank goodness for modern technology. While the coverage is getting a wee annoying now I can't resist the romance of it all. If I had to bet on it my guess is the dress will be designed by Sarah Burton. I've been loving the Issa dresses Kate Middleton wears though...wonder if you can get this label in Canada? Hmm...should cut out a picture and put it on my vision board. That would be an awesome addition to my goal weight wardrobe.

I hope all of you had a fabulous Saturday.

Hugs!!

Random thoughts in meetings

For the last two days I've been in all day meetings with events happening afterwards as well. So it was good food, trapped in a room and no gym.

In fact I haven't been to the gym all week. I'm definitely out of my routine.

In these two day meetings we were discussing lessons learned from one project before we get full swing into the next project. As these discussions progressed I thought how a few of the points brought up could directly apply to my journey and my difficulties lately.

Right decision maker identified - Me vs the food cravings
Right tools and resouces - Meal plan, track, exercise plan
Communication - track, blog, fill out my journal
Accountability - stop goofing around and put your money where your mouth is
Documentation - again tracking, talking about positive behaviours on the blog
Integrated schedule - workouts a priority not an after thought.

For the past week I have totally thrown the plan out the window. I've identified that emotional eating is my primary battle. I was a textbook case this week.  I downloaded a book about emotional eating on my Kobo. I'm not too far in to it yet.

I've been ignoring a whack of stress lately that's been building for sometime and it was making itself known in my behaviour. So instead of working on it I've opted to make stupid decisions food wise and not moving my patootie. Then my eating and lack of activity causes even more stress because I'm disappointed in myself.

Ingredients for one heck of a viscious circle I must say.

Tomorrow I will sleep in, go vote and then off to the gym. I will meal plan for the next 3 days and make a workout plan that is sustainable for next week which includes going to a conference on Wednesday and Thursday (there's a gym in the hotel). This weekend I will organize my kitchen and do a sweep of anything that's not on plan that's sneaked back in.

I normally carry my 10% key chain with my 25lb and clapping hand charms on my actual keys. I took it off to carry it seperately as a better anchor.

Tomorrow is one day before weigh in. I will make sure to set the alarm for Saturday as I'm going to weigh in no matter what. I need my meeting. I know I'll see a gain but that is the consequence of my actions. I know how I got there and how to fix it. I'll keep reading the book and do the exercises and work on my self control and finding a better way in dealing with my emotions as opposed to eating them.

It's a slip not a disaster.

Hugs!!!

Being at home is hard

I had my deep think (which took longer than I probably declared on here) on what leads me astray. I felt positive to get back on track and thought being at home would help get back in gear.

The polar opposite is happening.

I didn't realize how at one I've become with the rhythm of site.

Yesterday  I had all day meeting with amazing food. I had breakfast at home. I got to the meeting and there were mini pecan danishes (don't have those at site) so I had one of those and a mini cherry danish. I had brought a big bottle of water with me but that didn't make an appearance until later in the day.

Lunch was provided which was a beautiful salad, roasted veggie salad, pasta and sausage plus some super cute mini desserts.

Then I went out to dinner. I'm in the city I can go out for dinner - even though I had food at home to prepare dinner but it was a long day and I didn't want to go home and cook. It was just bad decision followed by bad decision.

So that"s why I declared yesterday a disaster.

Today I tried again. I had breakfast at home and had planned on a small chili and side salad for lunch. I still had that but I saw the new half size Garden Sensation salads. I know they're evil but for some reason I thought a half one wasn't so bad. I should have stuck to the side salad.

I could have stopped there.

I had to go to yogen fruz it's been 6 months since I had yogen fruz.

It's completely ridiculous behaviour. I feel out of sorts being back in the city.

At site there are temptations but there are far more temptations here. By the time I get home on Thursday night I'm one day from weigh in so I can keep myself in check. All these days at home in a row is a little overwhelming.

I haven't made it the gym once because it's not as easy as site or on my days off.

I didn't really think it would be this hard so I'm not prepared.

All is not lost by any sense of the imagination. I can turn it around. Of couse I'm turning it around right when I have two days in an all day meeting. I can do this.

Earlier today I read a blog on my phone of someone who was posting again after being away for awhile and finding themselves having gained back weight. They questioned if they should continue blogging and felt bad about posting what they perceive as failure.

When I read that my heart broke a little and I thought you owe no accountability to me as your reader. I know when I started this blog it wasn't for anyone it was an outlet for me. I'm not paid for this and I'm not a motivational speaker. I found as the followers increased that I didn't want to come on here and talk about a miss step. Today I realized why not. We will all have miss steps and backward slides. The most important part is dusting yourself off and trying again.

It's when I completely stop trying and completely given up is when I've failed myself. The only person I am accountable to is me. There's no reason not to share that I'm human and I make mistakes. I will learn from these mistakes and be a stronger person for it.

I'm not giving up so if you're having a difficult moment I hope you don't either.

We get what we put in. I put in less than a good effort then I will not see results.

Enough said.

Hugs!!

Best laid plans

Today was a disaster food wise, I was not as mentally prepared as I thought I was.

Moving forward, not dwelling bring on tomorrow.

Hugs!!

Why don't I remember to take a picture?

Slept in till 9am this morning, looked out the window and saw there was snow...again.

Yesterday I saw a robin and a seagull and today there is snow. Whatever but hopefully this is the last of the stuff we need to shovel.

I opted to make a little brunch which was french toast with two pieces of whole wheat bread, my french toast mix was one egg, 3 egg whites and 1 tsp of sugar. I didn't wind up using all of it but I tracked it that way. I topped the finished product with 1 tbsp of maple syrup. So yummy.

Instead of lunch I had a mid afternoon snack of Asana yogurt (first time trying it - I like it even though it's higher on Propoints it was 4 for 175g) and a banana.

Activity today was 30min of yoga. I'm feeling a little sore today from Iron Reps yesterday. At one point I realized I had a sore upper bottom. It must have been all those squats and lunges.

I had 13 propoints for supper so I made a baked potato topped with whollyguacomole, light sour cream, salsa, green onions, two sliced of turkey bacon and tex mex shredded cheese. This was yummy as well.

There might be an apple for dessert.

Finished day two completely tracked and on plan.

Monday is planned breakfast wise but I don't know what's happening for lunch. I'll be in a meeting at that time and I'm not sure if lunch is provided. I'm going into this thing blind as I haven't seen the agenda. Lunch will determine dinner.

Of course after I finished eating my fabulous meals today I realized I should have taken a photo. I'm so bad at that and have no excuse as my iphone is always near by. I do think that might be a strategy to get through my 3 days of meetings on plan is take a picture and post it. That's a bit of an extra reminder to keep it on the on plan side.

Kind of happy about not having to get up super early to catch a plane tomorrow but there will be more prep time required for working in the corporate head office for the week. One can't do t-shirt and jeans which is my uniform at site and two need to put my face on. Site make-up is definitely more natural. I need to make my own breakfast as opposed to walking into a cafeteria. I need to go check bus schedules.

I hope you all had a fabulous Sunday!

Hugs!!

Went to the past, now focusing on the future

Well the future was off to an auspicious start when I slept through my alarm and missed weigh in. I set the alarm but I guess I also managed to turn the volume down so it didn't wake me up. So annoying but it's happened before which is why I usually test the volume of the alarm but I didn't do that Friday night. Duh.

I used my bathroom scale to record a weight in my weekly tracker. According to my scale I'm up 2lbs. I'm not going to add it to my side panel as there's always a discrepancy between my scale and their scale. Their scale is usually lower than my scale. So I'm going to take it as a missed there. Now that's done I focus on next Saturday's weigh in.

I also wrote down my goals for the week:

• Conscious eating - will this get me closer to goal (take a minute to evaluate that I'm hungry and not eating emotions...baby steps)
• Minimum 2L of water
• Minimum 30min of activity for 6 days
• Track everything

Today is a new start so I got up and had a homemade egg mcmuffin. I scrambled an egg in a ramakan added two pieces of capicolla ham (cut up) and topped with a bit of Tex Mex shredded cheese (1/3 of a serving). Cooked in the microwave and put it on a toasted WW english muffin. All together 6 Propoints. I had that with a glass of milk and cup of coffee - 4 Propoints. That kept me sated for a long time.

I then headed to the gym for Zumba. I walked to the gym in the slush/snow and turned my heart rate monitor on 126 calories burned in 16min. I forgot to turn it on about 2 blocks - dang it.

At Zumba I haven't had this instructor before as the last time I went to this class there was a sub. I was all over the place as I found her style a little hard to follow but it was still a whole lot of fun and I burned 434 calories. I also stayed for Iron Reps and burned 335 calories doing that.

I then went to Safeway and focused on veggies and lean protein. I also just bought stuff for the next few days as I can easily pop into the grocery store mid week. I figured that was a way for me to avoid boredom as I often get in a rut food wise. I picked up a premade Sante Fe Salad (7 Propoins) for lunch as I knew I'd be ravenous when I got home. It was lovelyI and I followed with applesauce (1 Propoint).

I walked home from the grocery store and turned on the heart rate monitor again but I think my sportsbra interfered as I got home to an alert saying check heart rate monitor and had burned 1 calories in 20 minutes.
Now I have 11 Propoints left as I'm sticking to my basic 29 points. I think I'll one cup of spaghettie, organic sauce, added veggies and some homemade garlic bread (one piece of whole wheat toast with a little garlic butter). That should finish me off for the day.

I did get a really nice invite from one of my friends to go out for dinner but I turned it down. I've had 2.5 hours of exercise today and tracked everything diligently. I had a planned dinner so I didn't want to introduce an unknown today. I want to start this week of right. It's going to be step by step.

For the rest of the night I'll clean off the pvr a little and do some reading.

Hope you all had a great Saturday!

Going deep

As I mentioned before I've been reading Jillian Michael's new book "Unlimited". I haven't finished it but yesterday on the plane home I had a bit of an aha moment which I'll get to in a minute. I have a feeling this will be a long post so I apologize in advance.

The last time I posted I talked about being a bit bored with my routine. I don't think that was completely the truth. Well it was at the time but the more I think about it I think I'm heading more in the direction of self sabotage as I'm seeing some behaviours of the past starting to come back.

Last week I bought a 3 month journal and dropped my goal weight by 5 pounds to 135 on the Target Weight app on my iphone, I was looking for different thinking that would shake me up a bit. It hasn't been working.

This past week my tracking has been random and I already told you workouts have been sporadic. So while reading this book I got to the part where Jillian talks about fear of failure and when sabotage or giving up are the easy out.

In my history with WW 168 was the lowest weight I hit after starting at 204lbs, as you know for the past few months I've been slowly making my back there and for the past 4 weeks I've been bouncing around just over 168. The past history of hitting 168 was I got there (Yippee) then I slowly gained and a year and a bit later I was at 196.2.

Reading sections of Jillian's book made we think a little deeper. She does talk about going back and figuring out what causes the blockage because we are a product of our environment.

I have been the chubby kid all my life to varying degrees of chubby. When I look at pictures of me a little kid I wasn't obese but definitely a little bigger than all my little friends. My parents certainly did the best they could but both them experienced WWII (my mom was 42 and dad was 50 when I was born). They both experienced true hunger not knowing where the basic necessities to live would be coming from and knowing it could be wiped out in a heart beat.

They eventually immigrated to Canada and had me. Something they never lost was food is not to be wasted in other words there was no such thing as not cleaning off your plate. My Dad was all about control but my Mom not at all. She thought a soup bowl of whip cream was a perfectly acceptable snack for her and I...each. I'm not blaming my Mom at all, she just did what she thought was right. Portion sizes were not something that factored into my family's meals. For Mom it was sweets and for Dad it was meat and potatoes. Then my parents started to fight and I think that's the moment food became comfort. When I was 13 they seperated. Which still to this day I thought a good thing. However during that time I started to get a bit bigger as even though I thought it was a good idea it's still  traumatic for a kid. Mom was now my primary care taker and completely in control of my food.

My relationship with food has always been emotional which I did learn from my mother. If I was having a bad day or she was having a bad day well the meals of the day would be a bit more decadent. I did let my weight affect my self esteem and I spent a good chunk of my life trying to be invisible. I stayed at the same weight for a long time probably about 30-35lbs more than ideal. Then my Dad got sick with colon cancer by far the scariest period in my life and I spent all my time near the hospital. Thankfully Dad came through just fine. I probably gained 25lbs during that thanks to stress, hospital food, restaurants and fast food places because when he was in the hospital I never left his side.

Fast forward to when Mom was diagnosed with dementia and passed away. That was rough on a whole different plane. You don't get better from that it's just going to get worse and it did where she didn't know who I was and when she passed away I mourned twice. The first time was the mother I knew as she was just a shell when she passed. The second time was the corporal being. Food became comfort once again.

What life is without a whole whack of emotions?  

I was doing WW the whole time but the focus wasn't there so I stopped for awhile and then I went back and that's when I finally made my way to 168. Then I think the fear hit me. All my life I had been chubby I didn't know myself as a skinny person. I was still 28lbs from goal but I had lost 36 at the time so I was past the halfway mark and I freaked out. Then I started to gain and gave up on meeting and went online. I did online for about a year. During that time life happened I changed careers (emotional) and I had break ups (how can I possible be happy with someone else if I'm not happy with me).

I thought online would be more convenient and for many it is. I got lazy, I thought I knew the plan in and out and I did I just didn't follow it. I finally realized I needed the accountability of someone else's scale and I went back to meetings and started my journey again at 196.2lbs.

Here I am back at that 168ish mark and find myself sabotaging myself again. Emotions have been a factor it was the 9th anniversary of my Mom's passing last week topped with my furnace stopped working sometime last week so I came home to a 10c house yesterday (it's repaired and I now have heat) I had ice cream and cookies for supper. For the past week it's like I threw the program out the window for no good reason. The good part is I can recognize this behaviour now.

In other areas of my life I'm fantastic. I went back to school, I got my CHRP designation, I love the company I work for and I love my job. So besides being single, the weightloss thing is the only thing not done. It's my final hurdle and it's a big one as it's tied to my identity and self esteem. I know I want it and I need to kick the fear.

I feel like the universe is talking to me as I start reading this book and everywhere I go there seems to be an article or a mention of accomplishing your goals and facing your fears.

I don't expect weigh in to be great. I stepped on my scale and 171 was looking back at me. I think I'm a cross roads sort of. I know I can do this so I need reconcile my logical brain with my emotional brain before I find myself back at 196 or 204. Getting healthy isn't scary and what's holding me back is ridiculous as it's me. I'm in Operation Butterlfy, I've spent far to long being a caterpillar.

You all know I love a re-focus so that's where I'm at right now.

I don't care what the scale says tomorrow, it's going down from here.

Thanks to all of you for being a sounding board and a constant source of support.

Hugs!

Zonked and maybe a little bored

I haven't been to the gym all week. In fact my last working out on purpose was Sunday. I've just been zonked at the end of the day and felt more like eating dinner and then reading till I fell asleep. Eating wise has been alright, not perfect really but not horrible either.

I will be going to the gym on Friday though as my soreness from the last Iron Reps class seems to have lasted for a shorter period of time. So I'm looking forward to going again. In fact I'm kind of looking forward to exploring more classes next week as I'll be home to try them. I want to go to Zumba on Saturday too.  I think I need better workout plans for site. Hitting the treadmill or spin bike is starting to get a little boring. Well that's when I can actually get a treadmill as they're in high demand.

I did downloaded another book on my Kobo called "You are your own gym". I figured this might give me some ideas for exercises I can do in my camp room as our gyms are often kind of full.

What I need to do when I get home tomorrow or Friday morning is meal plan. It might not be a bad idea to dig out the slow cooker and maybe make some veggie chili. Perhaps some sort of casserole as well so I'm more prepared for the week.

My focus just took a little mini-break as it needed a wee rest. Now it's gang busters till goal.

Hugs!!!

Wasn't expecting that

Hello my friends

Last night I was reacquainting myself with Jillian Michael's Master your Metabolism when I decided to log into Kobo to check out another book. I was happy to see her new book Unlimited available in e-book. I started reading that instead. I'll hold off on giving any opinions until I'm done.

My day full of meetings went well today and then just before I was going to hop into a cab it started to pour rain. It lasted about 15 minutes but it was very dramatic.

I landed at site a few hours later to crazy snow. I wasn't expecting it. My fault as I checked the weather a few days ago so I left my toque, gloves and snow boots at home. I'm hoping it warms up a little. The good thing is I don't need to outside much.

Next week I'll be working in the city all week. It's been 5 months since I've done that. I for sure need to be prepared for that in terms of packing my gym bag and check out more of the classes at the gym not mention have a menu plan for dinners. I'm so spoiled only having to fend for myself 3 days a week. I'll still have a 4 day work week and 3 of those days are meetings so time will fly for sure.

Hope your Monday rocked.

Hugs!!!

Spring has sprung?

It was +12 when I headed out for a walk today. It felt like a walking day so I did a few minutes under an hour and burned 447 calories. There's still blocks of snow out there that will take a few more days to melt but I could hear water running into the gutters all along my route. I checked the forecast and it looks like plus temperatures all week...here's hoping it's here to stay.

Slept in today as it was a late night last night.

The game was good, a little slow at the start but I was so proud of Calgary last night. It was the last game of the season and even though our beloved Flames did not make it to the playoffs the arena was filled with Calgary Flames jerseys and definitely a sea of red. Quite a few Vancouver fans as well which made we wonder if that many Flames jerseys showed up at Canuck/Flames games in Vancouver.

We headed to the casino afterwards to wait it out for a cab and few hours of enjoyment on a slot machine.

Tracked everything diligently yesterday and repeated that today. Now I'm wondering what to have for dinner.

I must now go put clothes in the dryer and decide on dinner.

Hope your Sunday was awesome!

Hugs!

Going back to what worked

Hello my friends,

Yesterday was a rather long day with all the stuff I had lined up. Skin check went well and next year's appointment is booked. Zipped into the grocery store afterwards and grabbed a couple of things.

Got home had a little rest and then walked to the gym and got on the treadmill for 45min. After that I went to the 45min Iron Reps and upped the weight a bit. Wowsers am I feeling that today.

597 calories burned during the walk and the treadmill
352 calories burned during the iron reps

Then it was off for a spot of a lunch at a new coffee shop on 17th ave called Waves. It's a cute place with loads of seating and a boardroom you can rent. The girl at the till lacked a little customer service as she was easily distracted but other than that a I'd go there again.

Then it was off to help M unpack in her new condo. Stayed a bit longer than I had anticipated and enjoyed the pizza dinner (domino cracker crust). Probably not the best idea the day before weigh after 7:30pm.

Today I weighed in at the 2nd meeting as I opted to try to keep my usual hours before last food intake and weigh in. I was down .6, which is cool. I had an  all over the place week so the results refleceted that but it's a loss. I didn't stay for the meeting as I was starving.

I picked up a 3-month journal, thanks to Enz for the her comment. I think I'll try that as well use all my electronic tools to look up info but track on paper. I then headed to MacDonald's for breakfast as I needed to eat.

I am treating today as a treat day. I did this back in the day of first joining WW and had some success with that as it kept we focused for the rest of the week. I'm tracking it though as that's key.

So simple goals for this week:

• Track everything
• Focus on activity at least 5 days this week (30min minimum)
• 2L of water per day minimum
• Take my vitamins

Yikes, 4 goals for the week but they're relatively simple and really the basics of WW.

Tonight is shaping up to be dinner at Ed's on 17th. I've walked this place probably hundreds of times and never eaten there. Quite looking forward to that as it's a Calgary landmark. Then it's off to hockey game and it's a late game. I might have a nap today.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be 11C so I'm planning to take my walk/jog outside for the first time...

I'll keep you posted. Hope your Saturday is fantastic.

Hugs!!

Let the weekend begin

Hello my friends,

My week is now done and I start my weekend.

Time has flown this week. Of course I already told you I re-acquainted myself with the treadmill on Monday.

Tuesday I got distracted by Biggest Loser. I found the twitter conversations about this quite interesting. Some people wrote on how Kaylee doesn't seem to be part of the girl team. Which made me think..she was on the red team. The girl team was created on the black team.

Other tweets about how Jillian and Bob are better than the other trainers. I think that's just stupid. For one thing Jillian and Bob have had 11 seasons of this show. I think Brett and Cara did a great job and introduced a little something new. Jillian is leaving after this season. There are plenty of trainers out there who do great jobs for their clients.

Wednesday I hit the treadmill again and wound up jogging for 5 min non stop as I playing with a program on the treadmill. I then got back to my room and watched Breaking In. I thought it was funny.

I never had eggs for breakfast this week as quite often there's a line for the hot food. Never a line for the hot cereal. I was taking the 5:45am bus all week and the kitchen opens at 5:30 well sometimes 5:15 so I'm kind of squeezed for time.

Two times this week due to a little bit of snacking well more like inhaling half a bag of trail mix I just grabbed something from the pack lunch kitchen for dinner. That day it was a banana. Last night due to some cookies in a meeting I had a piece of raisin toast.

My tracking has been deplorable but I've been keeping an eye on the scale. I would say 80% of the time eating well.

I've been quite zonked at the end of the day so blogging was put aside for sleep.

Not sure why I haven't been tracking so great. I'm wondering if I should go back to the paper journal as it can sit on my desk as a constant reminder as opposed to remembering to log in to e-tools.

Tomorrow I must be up early for my annual skin check, then I'll pop into the grocery store to just pick a few things and come to make it to Iron Reps. After that it's off to help a friend move in to her condo.

Saturday is weigh in and then a hockey game later on. I'm a bit bummed about the hockey game as my Flames didn't make the playoffs so it will be watching their final game of the season. I guess I'm now rooting for Vancouver when the playoffs begin.

Hope your week went well and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Hugs!!!

Back to the treadmill

I did not sleep well at all last night. I was in bed by 7pm and read till about 7:30pm. I put my sleep mask on to block out the light and attempted to go to sleep. It wasn't good. I kept hearing cars slip and slide on the slush outside.

My alarm came far to soon this morning. My usual cab driver didn't pick me up today it was a different guy and he was 20min early. I was ready but I knew my co-worker wouldn't be so we went to Tim Horton's and I got myself and her a coffee.

Got to the airport and I had a ticked but she didn't so after she put a great deal of effort in contacting the emergency numbers we have for this (which no one was answering) she got herself on the plane.

The day flew today. I had my oatmeal when I got to work and for lunch I had a Smart Ones Santa Fe pizza. It was alright but a bit disappointing. She came by with some trail mix in the afternoon which was a welcome afternoon snack.

When I got to camp I serioulsy considered changing into my pjs but instead I changed into gym clothes and headed to the gym. I got on the treadmill and tried to ressurect my walk/ job combo. Dancing With The Stars was on the tv with no sounds so I kept my focus on that as opposed to the time on the treadmill.  I've come to the realization that I quite like doing walking/ running intervals so I'm just going to keep going with that and challenge myself when it gets too comfortable.

After 30min of that I went to dinner and the pickings were slim. I didn't want pork chops or chili or pasta. So instead it was spoonful of baked beans, a handful of spinach with a bit of dressing, a bit of tomato and jello. I squeezed two quarter lemons into my water.

Tomorrow I'm going to break from my normal breakfast routing at work. Normally I get the hot cereal of the day but tomorrow I'm going to get eggs. I want to see how a higher protein meal sets me up for the day.

Tomorrow's workout will be pilates and yoga in my camp room. I want to alternate cardio with strength/flexibility.

Now I'm just going to watch Castle and then it's to bed for me.

Hope you had a fantastic Monday!!!

Hugs!!

It's melting.....

The mega snow has finally stopped and it's actually pretty nice outside if you don't look at the ground. The weather will stay warm this week which means fast melting and a mess. I feel for those who are at a risk of flooding.

My snow removal people came and what I guess is a 17 year old (by the looks of him) did a so so job of clearing my sidewalk. Mind you a whack of it had melted but he missed about 6 inches on the side of my steps so I went out and cleared that up and then dug a trench along the sidewalk.  The way they left the primary sidewalk the road would be melting on to my sidewalk. I also shovelled the side path (which they don't do as a part of their service) for the mailman and my neighbour to collect my mail while I'm gone. I have a little OCD when it comes to shovelling sidewalks. Sometimes these guys have been great and sometimes a little meh. So my friends at Canada Yard Pro not so so sure I'm going to go with you next winter.

I also went into the backyard and dug a path to my back gate so I could take out the garbage. That was a workout my friends as this is fairly wet snow which makes it far more heavy. My shovel was picking up blocks of snow. That was my workout for today.

I saw that we in Canada can finally see Jackie Warner's Thintervention as I accidentally caught on the W network. Not sure if it aired on any other Canadian channel. I so miss the paper copy of TV Guide. In Canada they stopped printing it ages ago. I find shows by random now.

I'm liking the shows that don't make weightloss a competition. I'll always heart BL but Heavy and this show bring another element. I find a lot of inspiration with people on Heavy as you get more of a glimpse of what's lead them to where they are. While BL has so many contestants you don't quite get that much. On Thinervention I'm not so sure there's anyone to relate to necessarily as the personalities are rather interesting of the 8 people on the show. I have Jackie Warner's book "This is why your fat" on my Kobo. I'm working my way through it, not sure if I'll adopt it as a I guide but I love information on weight loss and fitness in general.

Remember those Girl Guide cookies I was telling you about how I could keep them and not be tempted. Who was I kidding? I dove into one box yesterday came to my senses before the whole box was gone and then tossed it plus the closed box in the trash. Drastic? Maybe, but I wasn't going to take them to work and I don't need cookies in my house. As my friend T so eloquently put it "food of the devil sold by angels". I'm happy to part with the money as I was a Girl Guide once and enjoyed the experience but I don't need the cookies. To be honest as I proceeded to eat 6 of them I didn't think they were all that good either. My trigger was feeling a little bored and lonely...a dangerous combo.

Today is going far better as I try again at the 7 day chip. One thing I did do is I tracked all the damage. I'm re-evaluating my goal. My goal is stay on plan this week. That means tracking, focusing on healthy and drinking my water. One of the things I really like about Weight Watchers is everything in moderation. I'm 34.8lbs down from the very first day I walked into WW. For me the program works so it's just going back to basics. So my goal of tracking everyday this week is still on point. My operation butterfly is in full gear.

Now I need to get sorted for work. The plan is to be in bed by 7pm and read till I fall asleep. My alarm will be going off at 3:30am.

Hope you all had a fabulous Sunday.

Hugs!!!

Next winter I'm buying snow shoes

I got a bravo sticker and today's WW meeting just because I was there. There is so much snow outside you'd think we're in the middle of winter. The picture is a shot of my back yard but if you look at the garden light that's how much snow had fallen overnight. The snow from before had not completely melted yet.

I trudged through fresh snow on the way to weigh in. Snow depth varied depending on the wind but I'd say the average was about 15cm on the way there. OMG I was exhausted by the time I got there as I was walking on snow the whole way (it looks like I was the only one up and out by 8am). It took me longer to get down there soI just popped in to Safeway and grabbed a reduced sugar chocolate milk and yogurt then I went to the meeting.

I almost thought why am I doing this as I was on my way there but then stopped that thought as I haven't weighed in in two weeks. One thing I'm definitely realized is I need the accountability of the WW scale.

I vetoed the gym though as the snow kept falling and it was hard enough getting down there I didn't want to wait and see how much snow would be on the ground 2 hours later.

We had a sub leader which always I wasn't so sure about. Weighed in and I was up 1lb. I'm cool with that. I'm still in the 160s and it could have been much much worse. I'll have that off by next Saturday.

The topic was along the lines of that you're not alone in your weight loss goals and then we discussed the differance between a buddy and a friend. A buddy being someone who has the same goal and will help you stay dedicated and you'll help them. A friend could be a buddy but not necessarily a benefit to your weight loss goals - depending on the friend of course.

You could so tell this woman was a school teacher at some point. She kept making references to having kids which doesn't appeal to me as I don't have any. I'm happy she's just a sub.

When I walked home again my original footprints were quickly disappearing under the snow. My advice to Calgarians is stay home unless you absolutely must go out. I saw quite a few vehicles have an issue.

I did think that snow shoes would have been handy and that might be something for next winter. Walking in snow is one resistance workout. I was soaked in sweat when I got home, thank goodness I was wearing my gym clothes.

I am feeling yesterdays Iron Reps today even in the areas I thought I had gone a little under weight. I think a date with my yoga mat will happen a little later.

Not sure what I'll do on Sunday perhaps dust off a workout dvd.

Hope your enjoying your Saturday,

Hugs!!!

Day 1 of 7 and everyone is talking about the weather

Hello Everybody!

I opted not to go grocery shopping first thing this morning and chose do it after the gym instead. Breakfast was a bowl of multigrain rice crispies and coffee.

I made it down there in time for the hatha yoga class so I gave it a try. I'm always a little suspect of gym yoga classes as opposed to a yoga studio class. I've seen this group exercise instructor before and she also does a zumba class and an Iron Reps class.

All in all it was pretty good. I definitely go to a suburbia gym as in the class where everyone from students from the local high school to senior citizens. I'd say the majority were over 40. My knee wasn't the only one making a few cracking noises as we changed poses.

I totally felt the tightness in the my shoulders during that hour and I should really make an appointment for the acupuncure/ massage that the last massage therapist I saw told me about.

Next up was Iron Reps and I stuck to beginner weights as I'm still sorting out where my level is. I'm so in between. Lower body can handle intermediate for sure. Upper body depends as bicep curls I can go intermediate but triceps I'm beginner.

After the class I headed to Walmart and then Safeway. However I first went to Subway for lunch as I wasn't going to go grocery shopping when hungry. I had a 6" ham on 9 grain whole wheat with cheese and fat free honey dijon sauce plus a bottle of water.

I finally found the ground turkey again. The old brand I bought is no longer there now there's a Safeway version. I bought two just in case. I stayed away from all treats as I'm on day one of my no desserts/ sweets pledge.

There was super fit guy in front of me at Safeway and I was analyzing his purchases. Oh please-I know we all do this. He had a super healthy array but when he got to paying there was an issue with his chip card so I thought I'd be there for awhile.

Of course I get home and find two boxes of girl guide cookies in my mailbox. They are still sealed and I will tuck them away. I do strongly believe in everything in moderation so I'm not going to throw them out or give them away. They will remain as my one day a week treat day after the 7 days are over. My one day a week treat is one treat not a full day of them. More importantly I tracked today.

I weighed myself on my scale this morning and it put me exactly 2lbs up of my last weigh in at WW. So we'll see what tomorrow brings. I kept my heart rate monitor running for the walk to the gym, yoga and iron reps and there were 564 calories burned. The majority of which in the "fat burning zone".

Every where I went today people are talking about the weather as there's a winter storm warning for Calgary and 10-25cm of blowing snow is expected by tomorrow evening. Fun...not.

Hopefully it won't cause me issues with weigh in and I want to got to Zumba and Iron Reps again tomorrow. This time round I'm going to use what I learned today in Iron Reps and up the weights for the body parts that need more challenge.

Supper tonight was two poached eggs, 3 slices of Lilydale "Ham/Turkey Bacon" at 2ppts for 3 slices and a handful of grape tomatoes.

Oh and I bought my first pair of shoes on Shoe Dazzle (pictured above) as my project butterfly is still in progress (caterpillar to butterfly mission that started with my trip to Vegas in August). I told my friend K that I would foray back into online dating this summer so I asked her to help me with profile pics when we get there. The shoes sort of screamed "Hello Butterfly" to me.

Though I would have loved to have a beer right now instead I'm having club soda with lime in a beer mug instead.

We shall see what the scale gods have in store for me tomorrow.

Hugs!!!!