Down 1.2 - I'll take it

I stepped on the scale this morning with much trepidation as I thought of my rollercoaster week, alas 1.2 down. I was pleasantly surprised.

Head is reset for a new week. As I'm in town all week this coming week the gym bag will be coming to work with that's for sure.

I caught an episode of The Doctors on Friday and they were talking about the right exercises for your body type. I have to go back and look at this again but it definitely caused a bit of light bulb moment.

Remember when I was seeing the trainer and I described these workouts that were super heavy in weight training and not so much cardio? While my endurance increased my weight nor measurements ever really changed that much.

When I first did the the half marathon walking clinic I saw pounds drop and it was mostly cardio.

I'd probably describe myself as an endomorph, I'm not so much pear or apple shaped, more hourglass (thanking the dna). I tend to hold weight everywhere, not just in my lower or upper half. I like to say I'm evenly fat. I don't fall into any of the other categories i.e. lean, athletic, muscular. At any rate it described low impact cardio as the best type of exerise for endomorphs. I truly believe cardio, weight training and stretching are important to everyone, thinking about all that can get super overwhelming.

So my focus exercise wise for this week will be low impact cardio i.e. walking, biking, rowing. My goal is a minimum of 30min per day starting tomorrow.

Total goals for this week is to consistently track and the 30min of low impact cardio per day this week. Per day might be a lot but I want to create a habit. Plus I have zero excused not to dedicate a minimum of 30min a day to this.

I picked up a All Bran brand of bar that I'll talk about more tomorrow. It has an impressive amount of fibre but I haven't calculated all the info on it yet.

Hope you enjoyed your Saturday.

Hugs!!!

Have to admit - dreading the scale tomorrow

It's been a bit of a crazy week this week. I have today off but the mission is to clean my house as my Dad is coming in this weekend.

So day 2 at Site was better food wise and I had cereal for supper as I was so darn tired. Wednesdayand Thursday had me dealing with a whack of little things that added up quickly.

My tracking has been less than stellar this week and I know I'm completely at fault for that. Choices have not been so great either. Old patterns die hard. What I love about WW is I will face the scale tomorrow and then it's a new week. Heck it's a new day today. Refocusing can happen with the next meal you don't have to wait for the next weigh in.

I'm in Calgary all next week so I'm in complete control of the week's meals and now that I've re-familiarized myself with what's available at site I can better prepare to return the following week.

I can certainly arm myself with fruit and healthy snacks so I don't make stupid decisions because I'm crazy with hunger.

I promised to share the good, the bad and the ugly. I'll return on the weekend with this week's weigh in and my reflections of what I need to focus on.

Enjoy your Friday, Hugs!

Coming to you from site for the first time!

Hello, hello,

I had to take my computer back to camp with me as I had nowhere to store it and shazaam I can access my blog from here. On the work network it's blocked.

OMG I forgot how hard it is to eat here. There's one cafeteria with very limited options and you can't serve yourself, nor can you ask for things to be prepared a certain way. What's there is all you get.

For lunch there was a choice of chicken nuggets or crispy pork chops, fries and veggies. I got the chicken nuggets as the pork looked super fatty. This is where I went wrong - I chose fries. I did ask for a small amount but I could have skipped that entirely and gone for just vegg. I did have a whack of green beans. Of course only when my plate was clean did I have the light bulb moment.

My eating pattern is so strange here as I'm up at 3:30am and work until 5:30pm.

For supper I got a little wiser I had a very small piece of sheppards pie and then all veggies.

That took me a little off guard today, as did the -10 and a whole whack of snow.

When we got off the plane the pilot warned us that the tarmac was icy and then he said "and it will remain so for the next 6-7 months" We all laughed but that could be for sure.

Met the new group I support, super nice but tough. Felt a little like a job interview in my first meeting. I think I won them over a little. I now sit in a different spot than before and I was a wee lonely this afternoon as I had no peeps around me.

Though I was greeted with enthusiasm all day as I saw people I haven't seen in months.

That will change as I get to know people and my old peeps are still here. I'll see a few tomorrow who weren't here today.

The game plan for tomorrow is to be wiser in the food choices and I'll be home by supper time. That will probably be cereal as I'll be so damn tired.

Hope your Mondays went well.

Hugs!!!

Always double check

Early post today as I was planning all my meals today and plunking them into my WW online tracker, I came to a realization.

I'm planning my supper to be cheemo bite size perogies, green beans and turkey bites. In the past Turkey Bites have been 1pt each. I bought them yesterday and my routine is the moment I get home I write the points on the container. Yesterday I calculated the Turkey Bites as 2pts. They've changed them and they're now 20 calories more per bite.

Important lesson to never assume things stay the same.

Just a note. My chocolate festivities of yesterday was not me going off plan. It was planned as I prefer to use my flexpoints as many days before weigh in as possible.

Today I'm not going to use any flexpoints, it's straight up plan points.

Tried the Blaster Pancake stuff today and it's good. This is a super fast process. It will serve well for speedy meals but I wouldn't replace my regular Coyote pancake mix for this. The fibre in the blaster pancakes is 1g, not as high as Coyote's 4g in the whole wheat mix.

I now have no excuses for mornings in a rush, it took less than a minute to do this.

That's all I got for now, might back later.

Hugs!

Happy Halloween!

I do love halloween, especially the wee little kids who are new to the whole thing. They're so in awe of the bowl of candy and the mom/dad trying to get them to say "trick or treat" totally priceless. I really enjoyed all the dressed up dogs that were along for the ride. There was one dressed like a fairy.

Best costume of the night is a tie between one girl dressed like rubik's cube and another dressed like a spider (down to the multiple google eyes on the hat). Both looked home made so top prize for sure.

Went grocery shopping this morning and only bought what could go in the freezer or what would be consumed this weekend as I'll be leaving at 4:30am on Monday and not back until Tuesday dinner. This will be my schedule until mid December and will resume again the beginning of January. I need to train myself to now grocery shop on Wednesdays. I picked up an extra bag of candy as I had no clue how many kids would be coming (a Saturday plus nice weather). It's now close to 9pm and no sign of a kid for the last 20min. So far I've had 28 trick and treaters. I'm surprised I'd thought there would be more.

I succombed to the candy bowl and have had 23pts worth this evening, thank goodness for flexpoints. This was a conscious act and I put every wrapper smack on the coffee table so I could track it. I tracked every damn point into my WW online tracker as it's all about being accountable. Now it goes into a grocery bag and it will come to work with me to feed all the boys. I tracked everything today so now I just repeat. I will use all my flex points this week as in the past that usually leads to better results for me.

I also read the weekly info on WW online, it's their version of the meeting. Doesn't matter how many times you hear it, it's good to hear it again. I wandered over to the section featuring weight watcher products and that saddens me a bit. The cakes, muffins, cookies are heavily processed. A friend had the muffin at work and I tried a bit. It was blechy. I've done the focusing on low point processed foods before. This round I want to focus on whole foods for the daily points, if things not so whole wind up on the list they will go under flexpoints i.e. the halloween chocolate.

I walked to the grocery store and back but as I said yesterday I'm going back to WW 101 and activity points don't come into the equation just yet. Now the focus is on tracking, water, fruit/vegg, milk, vitamins and oil.

I reset my weight on WW online as well. I usually always use the starting weight of when I first joined WW years ago. I decided to stop doing that. While happy that I've never returned to that weight, I've definitely flirted with it. I'm changing the tickertracker above to reflect that to. Plus I'm going back to tracking weight not pounds lost on that tracker.

Lynn and Angie - I will be posting my weigh ins. It's time to getter' done!

Saturday is my weigh in day and today I start at the beginning which was 196.8 this morning. Didn't make me happy seeing that number but I'll never see it again.

I had an odd food find in Walmart today the Organic Batter Blaster pictured above. It's true I read the indredients it's organic, it has wheat flour and 1pt per 1/4 cup serving (two pancakes). I was intrigued and when I went to the cashier she told me tried it and it was good. Her advice to make sure the pan is hot and to rinse the nozzle before putting back in the fridge. What I like about this is the single serving option as opposed to traditional pancake batter.

I'm going to try it for breakfast tomorrow morning so I'll give my review then.

Day one done, bring on day two.

Hugs!

What is starting back at square one?

In the years I've been writing on this blog I have often gone back to square one. A reset I like to call it. Looking at the number of "resets" I've announced none has truly stuck since the very first time I joined WW.

The problem with my resets is I don't really go back to square one. I usually declare a new attitude towards tracking or exercise and before you know it I'm back to resetting. I'm not truly following WW not dealing with what leads me astray.

What I'm going to do is truly go back to square one as in dig out my WW books and go back to week one. Treat WW like I've never done it before. I have this habit of knowing what to do but not doing it, sort of a WW apathy. "I know this program inside and out". Yeah I do, but talking the talk is not going to get me to goal. Joining meetings is not an option due to my resuming crazy flight schedule so it's up to me.

I used to journal a lot (not everything winds up on the blog). I think the key to not eating my feelings it to think them out. Am I hungry or am I bored, lonely or tired sort of thing. Count to 10 before opening the fridge or unwrapping the chocolate bar.

By no means do I think this will be easy but when I started this blog it was supposed to be about the good, the bad and the ugly on the way to goal. If I don't learn these lessons now I'll set myself up with a yo-yo pattern for a very long time.

I've got the half marathon at the end of May in the back of head also so this journey is about to get a little wild and crazy.

I know WW works so I have no desire to try anything else I'm just going to relearn it.

I want to thank all of you, the posters and the lurkers and the 41 people on my follower list. It's you who make me know that I'm not alone in this. You are all sources of inspiration so I thank you for that from the bottom of heart.

Let the journey begin.....

Hugs!!

Defining Moments and a wee bit random

Been out after work the last few times and haven't had time to blog...sorry about that.

It's been a bizarre couple of days getting back into the swing of my normal job after all the changes we've gone through. I'm surviving but I realized today something was bugging me as my eating has been stupid. I'm a total emotional eater and bad food decisions tend to tune my conscious brain to my unconscious brain. I'm not crazy about some of the changes and it will take me awhile to get comfortable.

I return to site on Monday and that's different too as I now support an additional group. This new group is rather high maintenance so I'm sort of building up my armor just in case. Not the best attitude to have I realize, but I'm tired and dealing the best way I can.

I finally watched Biggest Loser tonight and was a balling mess for the last half hour with Abby's departure. If you don't watch the show Abby was the one who had the most profound effect on me. She lost her husband, baby and young daughter in a car accident 5 miles from her home by someone who was speeding 2.5 years ago. I can't begin to imagine how one deals with that. I found her very inspiring from the whole dust yourself off and get back up philosophy. If I was her, I don't think I'd get up for a very long time. The thing that totally got to me was when she said she found life again.

It was a strange episode for me. The way probe into why contestants became overweight. As the black team was debating who went home and Abby gave all the reasons why the others needed to stay. She could go home because she found life again.

That truly got me thinking what's my reason for being overweight. I've never put any effort into that before as it's always been about fixing it not figuring out what got me here. I think it comes down to seeking the solace of food because I've never felt good enough, no pretty enough, not smart enough. My logical brain thinks that's incredibly stupid and to get over it. Unfortunately the logical brain is easily over thrown by the emotional brain. I've been in a funk for the past few months like I'm stuck. The stressful summer I had and the stuff that's been going on has made me hit the overload level. It doesn't help that I internalize everything. Tonight it all sort of hit me. What am I doing? If I want to truly live I need to get healthy.

On to other things - Had a fabulous lunch with H-Woman on Wednesday. Saw "This is it" Wednesday night and I was totally prepared to think it was stupid but it was really good. You forgot about the wacko jacko and saw the musical genius of the old MJ.

Thanks for letting me pour all that out and that's all I got for today.

Hugs!

Sometimes a weekend off isn't so bad

I started this weekend with a whack of things I wanted to accomplish, a small number actually got completed but that's o.k. Sometimes you need a weekend off.

I went grocery shopping today and demonstrated incredible will power to leave without Liberte Moka yogurt, it was on sale and you got extra airmiles if you bought two. I just chanted "no,no,no,no,no" as I walked down that aisle. I have no portion control with that yogurt and will eat it straight out of the container. I also no no no'd myself past the tortilla chips while extremely high in fibre far too easy to snack on.

Will power faultered a bit when lunch became the fresh 60% WW artisan bread came home (that was still warm) met the nutella on the counter when I got home.

I'm making work lunch right now which will also be dinner. I browned some extra lean ground beef with onion, garlic and shallot added the last dregs of Ragu spaghetti sauce in my fridge and added a whack of spaghetti squash. I haven't made spaghetti squash in ages and I realized I need to branch out in my winter seasonal vegetables. I'm open to trying other squashes I just need to find me some recipes.

I was watching Eat, Shrink and Merry on the food network the other day and I realized I hadn't cracked that open in awhile.

I'm geeked about the new "V" series. I loved this show when I was a kid. I'm normally a bit leery about remakes of old series. I loved the revamped Battlestar Galactica and based on the preview I just watched on abc.com of V, it feels promising.

A former co-worker wants my recipe for my uber popular Black Forest Cake and I'm conflicted. It's kind of my pride and joy, mostly created by myself (combining different variations) and I sort of want to keep it exclusive. Is that horrible? The odds of it being duplicated are slim, but I love people's reaction to this cake.

Got news about the Christmas party this year and all I know is it's most likely not going to be quite as a big shin dig as last year. So a snazzy dress way not be required, which isn't horrible it would save me some moolah.

Watching the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance Canada. I'm not going to post about it as I'm watching it on the Newfoundland channel so I'm many hours ahead of the rest of the country.

That's it for today....Hugs!

Back on the wagon

Hello!
I'm starting tracking today...again. I've been on hiatus for awhile and it's about time I get this thing started again.

I've been reading a lot about re-starts on the blogs lately and my guess is a lot of people are renewing their efforts and energy. This is weight loss stuff is definitely a battle with my self being my greatest enemy. I refuse to beat myself up about it, I know nothing is going to happen until I decide to do something about it. I'm resetting my tracker above as I want to start back at square one.

The coughing is getting better and better which is absolutely fantastic. I will be hitting the treadmill on Monday and starting the C25K. We'll see how the coughing goes but with two more days of rest I think I'll be good to go. I think I'll break out the yoga mat today and get my practice rolling again.

I had yesterday off and I did absolutely nothing, I stayed in my pjs all day and just chilled. Today I need to clean my house/do laundry, I was planning to do the grocery shopping today but there's a weird rain/snow mix falling from the sky and I'd rather not head out in that so I'll but that off until tomorrow or later this afternoon. It's supposed to be 7 degrees later and -4 tomorrow. The colder weather doesn't bother me.

I've been watching X-Weighted Families and while inspiring this show breaks my heart a bit. I was a chubby kid myself and yes while teased I don't feel I was every bullied. It was a different time then, there wasn't quite the media onslaught of "perfection". To see these 13 year olds trying to just survive childhood, their parents and lose weight I can see why it's all so overwhelming, heck it's overwhelming to me. It's so different watching adults deal with weight loss.

Alright so the focus today is stay OP as I'm just taking one day at a time.

Enjoy your Saturday!

Still breathing

I'm sorry I haven't been around much it's just been me focusing on getting well. While the majority of flu symptoms are gone, the cough is driving me bananas. I'm fine if I avoid milk and don't talk to anyone. The not talking to people thing doesn't really work at work.

I'm coughing less but I want it to go away forever. It's quite frustrating when someone tells you that you still look sick and when you go to say "no, no I'm fine" you errupt into coughing. My credibility is totally shot I tell you.

My weight loss efforts are on the sidelines which is also frustrating. I have this Friday off which is fantastic so I can get myself organized. I've been living out of my pantry as I haven't gone grocery shopping yet. I'm saving all that for this weekend as I want to break out the slow cooker and make some meals ahead of time. I've been flipping through "Fix It and Forget It Lightly" and picking out some recipes. I want to focus on flavourful as I notice if that is satisfied I can easily eat less. When it's blah I go hunting for something else.

On Tuesday my group is going team building, we're going paint balling. I'm not crazy about this idea as I think there's something wrong with combining team building and weapons but I'll go. I suggested bowling, civilized and the ability to have a conversation as many of the people who are coming are coming from all over Canada. I think this will go one of two ways - a) I get wiped out immediately and b) I discover my inner rambo and go into sniper mode. I'll report back on which happens.

Today I was typing to a colleague at site as I'm returning to that schedule shortly and she says to me - You should be here Wednesday nights and then you can go to TOPS with us. Yes, site has weight loss program, which I think is great but I'll never be there Wednesday nights. Plus I'm quite happy with WW, I was more disturbed by the suggestion. I would not describe us as friends.

Alright my peeps, that's all I got for today.

Hugs!!!!!

On the mend

I haven't sneezed once all day and I can breathe through my nose...whew it definitely feel like I'm on way to healthy again. The only thing remaining is a cough and it's not as bad as it was two days ago. A bit less in frequency but still annoying. It's not swine flu (thank goodness). Don't you love how every major health scare in the last few years starts with "flu like symptoms". All it takes is for someone to sneeze and one's thoughts go there.

I'm dying to get back to the gym but I know I should still take it easy for a bit until the cough is better under control. Changing bed sheets today resulted in a wee bit of coughing fit so slowly but surely it will get better. Mind you I haven't exerted myself much in the last few days. So I'll just take it day by day.

I went to bed super early yesterday as well and slept until 7am. I'm avoiding naps today as I want to sleep through the night so I'm ready for work. To keep myself entertained and awake I watched Wolverine on shaw on demand. Glad I didn't pay to see it in the theater. Still focusing on water and appetite is starting to return. Plus my head is feeling way clearer.

I'm just trying to focus on healthy habits as I return to healthiness so drink my water, eat my veggies sort of thing.

When I was in Halifax I bought this funky tea to go thing from Lululemon. It's double walled glass (with all the Lululemon phrases all over it) with a plastic sleeve on it so you don't drop the thing because it's hot. It's on my desk at work as I want to get into the habit of drinking green tea. They told me it was new.

That's the excitement of today soon to back to my weight loss persuit self.

Hope you enjoyed your Sunday...Hugs!

Knocked sideways

The last time I was here was Tuesday and I wasn't feeling so well. Tuesday was just the start, I've felt awful all week. I dragged myself to work Wed - Fri and each day at least 3 people said you should go home. I felt progressively worse as the week went on.

Yesterday was particulary bad as I was a coughing, sneezing, runny nosed mess and had a red nose to go along with it. I had a phone meeting I had to take part in and then left for the day.

I took a cab home and the minute I walked in the door I put my pajamas on and went to bed. I was absolutely freezing. Slept for 4 hours got up ate a little something and then went back to bed at 6:30pm. This morning I woke up at 7am. Got up had some breakfast (cream of wheat) and drank a whack of water (feeling mega dehydrated) and went back to bed at 10:30am. I then woke up at 3pm.

Eating has been a challenge as nothing appeals to me and I don't really have an appetite but I have to keep the energy up.

I think I'm on the mend. I feel a bit more clear headed and the sneezing is less. When I went back to bed at 10:30am the coughing was getting a little crazy so I took cold meds. I'm normally not a fan of cold meds as all it does is suppress symptoms but at least it lets you sleep. I'm just listening to my body today. I so want to be at least 95% by Monday. I hate being sick. I don't get sick often but when I do it's a doozy.

Just thought I'd check in and be back later more healthy.

Hugs!

Out for the count

I woke up not feeling all that great, sniffly, coughing, sore throat but I thought I could make the effort to get myself together and go to work.

I headed out into a pretty steady onslaught of wet snow. I waited for the bus, I waited for almost 40min. I was now soaked, cold and feeling even more blecchy and no evidence that a bus was coming. So I dragged myself home and called in sick. Changed out of wet clothes into pajamas and slept for a solid 3 hours.

Watched the local news tonight and there were 200 fender benders during the morning rush hour. Accounts for the missing bus and this is so typical for Calgary's first snow. It happens every year. I call it winter dress rehearsal, remembering how to drive on slick streets, finding your mitts, toque and the appropriate jacket.

I slept a couple of more times throughout the day and that definitely helped. I'm feeling better now just a cough that won't die (which is typical for me but nothing that magnesium won't fix), I definitely needed the extra day of rest. I'm sure it was combination of things, working like crazy then a whack of plane flights.

What sort of sucks is I had this grand plan to get back on the treadmill now that I'm back and get super focused. Hard to be super focused when any attempt at activity (I did shovel the snow this afternoon when I was feeling a bit better and it knocked the wind out of me) is a chore. I think that getting sick is a little signal from your body to take a minute and rest.

I'm going to bed early so I'll be good to go for tomorrow. I've missed my work peeps as I haven't seen them for a week and half.

I'm super gung ho to get going again on the learn to run. I took the book Running for Mortals with me on my trip and both the hotels in Montreal and Halifax had running maps available for the area. I didn't pack any workout clothes not realising that all the gyms in these hotels were included in the price. Knowing about the maps now let's me know there is a super easy way to incorporate a workout when travelling. There was a scale in my Montreal hotel bathroom which I've never seen before.

I have not stepped on a scale since my return as I all I want to do know is focus on feeling better and get back to normal.

That's all I got for today...hugs!!!

My Trip part 2- Halifax

The story continues, we left Montreal on Wednesday and when we got to the airport there were messages saying there was an emergency drill scheduled for 10am. That was in about 15min. My co-workers went off to Westjet and I went to Air Canada. I was just about to walk up and get my boarding pass and these alarms start going off signaling the start of the drill. Everyone in the airport had to exit and head into the parking garage. My flight was an hour later than the boys so I had time, they didn't. The minute the drill they had to hurry.

As I was waiting by my gate it all of a sudden started to pour rain, luckily that didn't happen during the drill.

The flight into Halifax was gorgeous. The colours of the trees were truly amazing all these reds, yellows and oranges. Now we have trees in Alberta of course but I've never seen the colours quite that vibrant.

When I got off the plane it was raining and by the time I got to the hotel it was still raining. I touched base with the boys and everyone was super tired so it was decided we were on our own Wednesday night. I attempted to look around but the wind and the rain soon forced me back in side and I ordered room service.

The pictures above were the view out my window the next morning. I gigantic Crown Princess cruise ship. Later on in the day I took a walk along the boardwalk and got a picture of the front of the boat, see how it dwarfs that building. This thing was massive. On the boardwalk I got high fived by someone dressed as a lobster. We had all seperated to do some shopping before dinner and I bought a hoody at Lululemon. The boys then made a bit fun of me and the fact that I paid provincial sales tax. I just said I was stimulating the economy of Halifax. I now get what all the fuss is about those hoodys, it's thicker than a regular hoody and super comfortable.

We went to the 5 Fishermen for a work event dinner on Thursday and I actually ordered fish, I don't eat a lot of fish in my general diet and if do it's frozen and breaded, so that was a big step for me. I did ask the server what was best for non-fish eaters. She suggested the halibut, it was awesome.

For lunch on both days we headed over to Pete's Frootique. I remember Pete from the CBC noon news where he's introduce the nation to different fruit and veggies, so I was totally geeked to go there.

Later on I was stopped and asked for directions and totally honoured that someone that I lived there.

Friday was our last night and we were done work. Again we all finished our shopping. I needed an extra bag due to the books I bought and I had collected some extra clothes that the boys brought me baring our company logo. So I returned to Lululemon and caught a canvas bag, an gym towel and a neat glass togo container with a strainer for tea. Again stimulating the Halifax economy. We then went to the tour at Alexander Keith's Brewery - very cute and it was just the three of us. I can imagine it to be even more of a hoot with a bigger crowd. We then had dinner at the Red Stag pub next door and closed the place down. I was drinking Keith's white and it was awesome.

We then headed to the Lower Deck which totally reminded me of the Ship n' Anchor in Calgary but it was definitely a wee bit different. One the maritime decorating and the cry of "Sociable" and everyone clinking their beer mugs (a number of times). I sang along and switched to Keith's Red. We closed that place down too and it was now 1:30am. The boys wanted to hit another pub and I decided to go back to the hotel. I did not want to be stupid tired on the way home the next day as I had a 6hr journey.

Saturday morning I woke up early with the intention to do more exploring before I had to leave but once again it was pouring so I packed and had breakfast in the hotel.

What I loved about Halifax were the people (super friendly), the water (OMG the humidity had me melting the first day but I grew to love that I didn't need to put on moisturizer and the history. Everyday I passed a cemetery were I was told Titanic victims were buried (that's the pick with the Lion sculpture), and there was this gorgeous church on Spring Garden Rd that apparently was once a fortress somewhere else.

It was quite interesting that you could buy fresh lobster and other sea food at the airport.

I would move there too in a heartbeat if I was transferred. I need to go back to fully explore this place too.

Trip home was uneventful with a lot of people coughing on the plane. I watched Terminator Salvation and the Coco avant Chanel. The minute we landed I could feel all the moisture sucked out of me as I walked into the dry air of Calgary. It was -7 and windy so definitely chilly.

Saturday I attemped to sleep in and woke up at 6:30am (well 9:30am Halifax time) and as the day progressed I felt a cold coming on. So I've just layed low consuming liquids. I feel better today so I just thing it's a wee cold.

That's all I got for now, back to work tomorrow.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving.

Hugs!!

My Trip - First up Montreal

Alright so as promised here's a recap of worldwind trip to the other side of the country.

Last Sunday: Woke up at 2:30am so just stayed up until cab arrived at 4am. When I walked out of the house it had started to snow, I was going to hear about that all week.

Paid $3 for an apple and caramel sauce on Air Canada as I just had yogurt when I woke up and I was starting to get hungry. Landed in Toronto and had a little less than 25min to get to my gate for my flight to Montreal so as I jogged through terminal 1 I was silently praying my suitcase would make the same trip.

For those that don't know Canada is a bilingual country and anything ruled by the federal government requires things to be in English and French. On my way to Montreal on Air Canada I'm very used to hearing the English version of whatever their saying and then the French version. It felt like the moment we hit Quebec airspace is switched to French first and then English. That began my "My French isn't so dusty after all".

Miraculously my suitcase arrived in Montreal and then I was off to find a cab. Hopped in the cab with a female driver (I've only seen one in Calgary) and she immediately starts talking to me in French. I did pretty well and only had to flip to English for a couple of words. I told her I need to practice and she suggested watching French TV. Not a bad idea. She had asked where I was from but after we talked she was surprised I was born in Calgary.

Through the whole trip the moment I said I was from Calgary people would say " I hear it's snowing there".

The hotel was great located right on Sherbrooke so just a few blocks from St. Catharine's street which is a shopping mecca. There is store after store after store. Two different department stores that specifically to Quebec. You could buy any name brand from cheap to crazy expensive. I accidentally found the Underground City (their link of stores located at basement level that link a whack of buidings that goes on forever). I came to the realization that this is where I should come when I build my goal weight wardrobe. Montreal is amazing, for the shopping, the food and the history. It made me feel like I was in Europe, the majority of the people are very chic.

This is stained glass window that belongs to a gym, c'est chic oui?

Everyone was nice and it was crazy to hear French and English intermingled everwhere. I was totally jealous of this family I observed while waiting for the Montreal flight. This one guy was seamlessly switching from each language as he talked to his mother and his friends. I want that.

My major purchases were grammar books in French and Eat, Love, Pray (in French).I walked into a few clothes stores bought nothing because I'm not staying the size I am and I was having issues with provincial sales tax. In Alberta we pay only the GST 5%, everywhere else the add an additional PST (Provincial sales tax). My goodness there H&M was goregeous, the ones in Calgary always look like they got hit by a bus. I walked through the first floor of the La Baie, The Bay and there purse section is four times that of the Calgary downtown store (and that's not a small store). I realized I could easily live in Montreal and if I were to be transferred tomorrow I'd happily go. I don't feel that often as I normally feel "nice place to visit". I adored the girl in Chapters who looked we up by phone number so I could get the 10% discount and asked me if I needed to update my address to Montreal.

I had dinner at 3 Brasseurs, a pub style environment as many restaurants I passed looked really romantic and I was dining alone as my co-workers were flying in from Fort McMurray later that night. I also found a fantastic bakery near the hotel and had an amazing cinnamon roll.

Monday we started work and I met up with my coworkers in the hotel for breakfast. It was quite funny how my coworkers were commenting on all the things available here and not in Fort Mac. While FM has 100,000 people due to it's location (far North) it doesn't quite have the same variety as a major city. We hit the food court of the Centre Eaton for lunch and it's massive. They were super excited about Thai Express, I have one in the building next door to mine but I went along with them.

For dinner we went to Gibby's located in Old Montreal, amazing!!!!!! The food, the service, the location. The building is 200 years old and the courtyard used to be the stable. We also had amazing wine and the most amazing Creme Brulee I ever had. It was airy and mousse like. We then walked around. My one co-worker is a massive Montreal Canadien's fan so we had to go find the Bell Centre after a few wrong turns we found it.

Tuesday was another day of work, we hit Tim Horton's for breakfast and the food court once again for lunch, this time I had a crepe. The rest of the day I didn't feel so well with a stomach ache. I'm blaming the crepe, never pick the place with no line at a busy food court. The boys (my co-workers) left me in charge of dinner as they ran off for the last day of Montreal shopping and I returned to the hotel to find alca seltzer. I picked a lovely Italian restaurant about 5 min from the hotel. I had a linguine in a rose sauce that was spectacular. I could eat about half of my entree and my stomach was hurting again so I called it a early night and the boys continued to explore.

Wednesday we were leaving for Halifax. I felt 100% the next day so had a chocolate croissant (from the fabulous bakery that I bought the night before and I strolled alone Sherbrooke to take some photos. What I love about Montreal is the mix of old and new as you can see in the pictures at that start of this post. It is truly an amazing city and I can't wait to go back.

It was raining on the way to the airport and that followed us all the way to Halifax.

I definitely need to go back as a tourist to fully explore. There wasn't a ton of time to play tourist as that's the challenge with work trips.

It's so awkward attaching pictures to this thing but I'll continue with Halifax tomorrow. There I drank a lot of Alexander Keith's finest and saw some pretty big boats.

To be continued...

Hugs!!!

I'm back and adore Montreal and Halifax

My body is still on Halifax time as I got home at 6pm MST, so I'm feeling a little wiped. I took pictures, not a ton but a few so in the next few days I'll give you a recap of my trip with pictures.

Didn't follow WW at all while away but I have food stories, especially Gibby's in Montreal and the 5 Fishermen in Halifax.

Can't wait to catch up with all of you.

Hugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 26 - Test is done and now I wait

Results should be out around Dec. 3rd. Why it takes them two months to mark tests that are fed into a computer escapes me. Saw a load of people from my company there, I knew a few of them were taking one of the two tests but I was surprised at how many there were. We should get them to let us write it in a boardroom therefore no need to schlep oneself to the University of Calgary at 8am in cold damp weather.

As far as the test went, I feel o.k - have no idea which way it went so we'll wait and see. This is exactly how I felt last time so that's not so bad.

Zipped downtown to pick up a couple of things and then straight back home to straighten up and start packing. At this time tomorrow I'll be in Montreal for 2 whole hours....yippee! I needed to buy an umbrella as I could not find one in my house, of course I get home and immediately find one that I left in a purse I haven't used in awhile - of course.

Camera is charged, cell phone is charging and blackberry is up next. (I'm brining the cell as that's usually the emergency contact number I have) I'm happy I decided not to bring my work computer, one less thing to lug.

So it will be about a 3AM wake up call pour moi tomorrow and I'll pre call a cab for around 4am. It's a 6am departure. I'm a rather be early than right on time type of person. So if I have to hang out in an airport for 90min it doesn't bother me. Thank goodness I'm a pro at sleeping on planes, loads of practice from going to site every week.

Saw today that the new Holt Renfrew opens on Oct.7th, I will definitely have to check that out as it's huge and looking awfully pretty on the outside.

I'm ordering pizza for dinner so there's no dishes nor pots that need to be cleaned as I'm also planning an early night.

So I won't be blogging but I'm taking loads of pictures to share with you when I get back.

I wish you all a fabulous week and I look forward to catching up on your blogs.

Hugs!!!

Day 25 - very snacky and a disclaimer

First of all let me say that when I said that I didn't remember making a goal to lose 30lbs by Christmas, I was "gently" reminded by my co-worker/ good friend T that I had agreed to go along with this plan, in fact I high fived her. So to my good friend T I say - Happy now? :)

Do you sometimes regret letting people know about your blog? Love ya T and you are fabulous!!!

So test review had gone well today but eyes are starting to glaze over. You can't really study as it's all case studies but you practice, practice, practice. I've gone over about 140 questions. I'm feeling good about tomorrow and so far I like this format way better than Test 1. Hopefully it loves me back. I did take my business card and write CHRP behind my name as a little motivator.

The day has been very snacky as I've had my nose in a book all day with the exception of a quick trip to Walmart first thing this morning. When I would surface I would snack. I had a strange fixation on Oreos, thankfully I have none in my house. I did walk to and from Walmart -roughly 3K.

I'm getting more excited about my trip but trying to stay focused on the test, once that's done I can be as excited as I want.

One question: All you Amazing Grass fans, I've ordered their stuff but want to know how to get the drink container. I've never seen it on their site.

That's all I got for today.

So if you have the time send me positive vibes at 9am mst time.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Hugs!!

Day 24 - Sometimes it's "meh"

Woke up to "Battlefield" this morning, I can't stand that song. I'm in a "why won't they play anything new on the radio" mode today. The slow Kelly Clarkson song, the Kelly Rowland song, Halo all irritate me now because they've been played a bizillion times.

It's a strange time right now as it's all a period of adjustment. Dynamics have changed which are starting to play out and seeing people in new light will make things very interesting in times ahead. It's amazing how quickly things can change.

Remember that project I've been on that created "the summer that never was" ended today. It's the source of the change as it was the craziest 3 months of my life, at times rewarding and at times you wanted to pull your hair out. Today we all moved back to our normal jobs and while comforting it also brought on the feelings of what happens now. Things are different. I don't have a lot of time to think about it as I've got the test and my trip straight ahead. I'm curious to see what the future holds.

I'm really looking forward to this trip and I'll do my best to make it on Thursday - my Halifax friends. I do have to stay conscious that this is a work trip as I get a little distracted about the idea of exploring Montreal and Halifax. I keep getting told I'm going to have a great time and I totally believe these people.

Once I get back the learning to run happens, and with a bit more of a regular schedule coming I now feel ready to focus more on my health goals.

Taking the day off tomorrow to review, review, review for the test on Saturday. So I'll definitely post in the next few days but then after that I'll be dormant for a week and then come back with pictures I promise. That reminds me I need to charge the camera.

Alright that's all for today.

Hugs!!1

Day 22 - I'm going to do it

I'm going to do it - the half marathon in May that is. Thanks for the encouragement by the way. I just need to get this test done and do my other side of the country trip and upon my return I will start with the C25k and then build from there. I'd rather not start the C25K until I get back home just to be consistent. These are some long days on this trip. I'll bring one of the training books with me on the trip to sort a training schedule (6hr flights are good for that).

I'll share this journey, because now that I've shared this with you all I feel a bit accountable.

Today I took part in a United Way fundraiser that consisted of a 3k walk, there was also a 5k run. On the way to work I was standing at the bus stop and then realized I had left my bag of stuff (runners, workout clothes) next to the front door so I ran home grabbed it and then ran back. Oh yeah I have work to do if I'm going to run/walk this 21km. I was winded by the time I got back but it was definitely a sprint more than a run to get back in time to make the bus.

After the walk today I heard my good friend and coworker telling another coworker that she and I are trying to lose 30lbs by Christmas. I knew she was doing that I don't remember setting that goal but heck why not try.

The Rachel Ray "fried" chicken is awesome out of the oven, not so great heated up in the microwave...soggy. So for the next two day I'll probably buy lunch (Sunterra Salad or Wendy's small chili & side salad).

I got me a goal....whoa

Hugs!

Day 20- Should I?

First off a congratulations to all the Melissa Road Race people, kudos on your 20km. Especially to H, C and D - I heard it was rough and you guys are truly heroes.

I met up with D and her husband (here from Ontario) for lunch today, it's been about a year since I've seen her and it was great to catch up. She told me she'd be back for the Calgary Half Marathon in May 2010. Then she said you should do it, when I shook my head she countered with - you've done a marathon. This has been percolating in my brain since then...should I? The last one I did I was not a happy camper, I was disappointed in myself and I hurt. Mind you the training for that race was greatly lacking. Then I thought about the marathon in Hawaii, that was by far the most physically and mentally difficult thing I've ever done. I pushed myself farther than I ever thought I could.

So I've walked two half marathons and one marathon. What if my goal was to run/walk a half marathon? I do better with a goal in mind. I've got time to seriously think about it. Serious training would have to start a minimum 16 weeks before hand. So that would be February, with Oct - January to actually learn to run. I have something to prove to myself. I have until January to sign up for the race at the cheapest rate. Goodness know I have all the gear already. This has the wheels turning my friends.

I felt a twang walking past the new Sport Chek downtown at all the training gear...

Stepped on the scale this morning and I was 2lbs down from yesterday...dang it. Why don't I weigh in on Sundays?

No biggy but this coming week all my spare time is dedicated to preparing for the test. So the focus on food is huge this week. In the oven right now is Rachel Ray's "fried" chicken (chicken, mustard, bread crumbs baking) and that will teamed with peas or beans for work lunch. I'm debating on tossing in some brown rice into that so I might but the rice cooker on in a minute.

The studying has been off and on this weekend, I've had a hard time focusing. So far practice questions are going well but I still need review time. Walking will be outside this week as every minute counts this week.

I'm definitely packing my running shoes for the trip next week, what better way to explore these new cities then go for a walk.

That's all I got for tonight, until tomorrow.

Hugs!!!

Day 19 - Up .6 WTF?

I was not happy when I weighed in this morning as the last thing I was expecting was a gain after a pretty awesome week. Of course I knew what was causing the gain....the dreaded TOM. I felt like I was retaining water when I woke up and had a general feeling of ickiness. The good news is I'm normally up about 2lbs at this time so .6 is not so bad. I just need to keep taking it day by day and I'm sure next weigh in my work will be rewarded.

Today I'm sticking close to home to practice test questions. I might need to swing by the local store to grab milk as that might not be able to wait until grocery shopping.

I'm planning to do the grocery shopping tomorrow morning. I have friends here from Ontario and we're going for lunch tomorrow. I have no clue on timing just yet as they're running the Melissa Road Race today so we'll wait and see. I need to plan the grocery list as I'm gone the following week so I don't need a fridge full of food.

I also need to start a pack list so I don't forget anything for my across Canada trip that starts next Sunday. It's one thing when you're packing for vacation, a whole different ball game when you're packing for work.

That's all I got for now, enjoy your Saturday!

Hugs!

Day 18 - running out of steam a bit

This week I brought my lunch 4 times, I hit the gym 3 times. 2 trips short on the gym visit goal of the week but I'm still happy I actually went.

Lunch was out with the team today, well to the food court in my building I had a Montreal smoked meat panini, this is one thing I'm going to track down when I'm in Montreal as I'm always told it's just not the same unless you have it there.

Yesterday's seminar was good and I was exhausted. Being up at 5am does not lead to a energized person by 10pm that's for sure. I met up with my friends at Milestone's. I did look at the online menu beforehand and picked out a salad but when I got there the last thing I wanted was a salad. The veggies were intense this week and I got meatloaf instead. It came with garlic mashed potatoes but I ate a smidgen of those and stuck to the side veggies.

So of course I peaked at the scale this morning. Wednesday morning I was super happy as it was heading in the right direction, this morning not as fantastic so it's water, water and more water today.

This weekend will be grocery shopping at some point and a whole lot of practice test questions as the big test is next Saturday. Not exiting but necessary.

That's all I got for tonight but I hope you all had fantastic weeks.

Hugs!!!

Day 16 - OMG I brought lunch 3 days in a row

That is a record my friends. I'm going to finish off the week and that will be the first week since probably high school (I'm not kidding) that I've packed a lunch for a solid week.

Jamie - thanks for the comment and Halifax bloggers if you're available I'll be in Halifax by late afternoon on Wednesday (Oct 7) and I'm leaving Saturday morning (Oct 10). I have no idea what my schedule is like on the Thurday or Friday. I'm sure I can swing a dinner on Wednesday or Friday if you're up to it. It would be fantastic to get meet some of you face to face.

I'm totally psyched about seeing the Atlantic ocean. I'm such a geek :)

Hit the gym after work and did 40min on the treadmill playing around with incline i.e 2min at 3, 2min at 4, 2min at 5 sort of thing but it felt good and I had no hamstring issues at all.

At 2pm I had a mega snacking urge (snackapalooza week) but I resisted and stuck to my Kashi granola bar instead. It was a tough battle but I'm happy I won.

It was a blistering 33 degrees in Calgary today so for dinner I just nuked scrambled eggs and had a piece of toast. I didn't want to turn on any ovens.

Tomorrow night I'm heading to a positivity seminar so I doubt I'll be posting but I'll fill you in on any aha moments.

That's all I got for today my friends, until tomorrow.

Hugs!!!

Day 15 - Going East

I'm psyched! The week before Thanksgiving (CDN) I get to go to Montreal and Halifax. I've never been further east than Toronto. It's a work trip as I'm covering for someone else, but I'm still looking forward to it.

I love travel and being single with no kids it's no real problem for me.

In Montreal I'm so getting to a bookstore to pick up french books. I need to keep my language skills up and some of them are getting a wee bit fuzzy. Refreshing my french is a priority as I can also use that at work. German and Russian are the next projects.

I'll be happy when my NPPA test is done as then I can focus a bit more on that.

Food wise doing well today and on plan. I packed a gym bag but came home instead thinking the weather is so nice and then I wilted on the bus home. OMG it's hot out there and plus 30 is expected for tomorrow. So yoga it is tonight, return to an air conditioned treadmill tomorrow.

First I'm going to watch Biggest Loser (I heart Canadian time shifting).

Hugs!

Day 15 - water, water, water

Water was the go to drink today as I was trying very hard not to go off plan and stick to my packed lunch. I made a vow to buy no food item today and I did it. But man I must have zipped off to the bathroom 10 times today. Don't you love when you fall off the water wagon and then get back on it takes awhile for your body to adjust.

I brought a salad with chickpeas, spinach, yellow pepper, snap peas, grape tomatoes, red onion and Kraft Fig Balsamic dressing...it was awesome. I definitely eat with my eyes and all the colours were fantastic.

Snack was baby carrots and hummous. Not bad, it has never been my go to thing to combine carrots with hummous but it was really good.

Workout#2 of the week was 30min on the super fancy treadmill in my company's gym. This thing is funky and had a personal fan (loved that). I had meant to go a little longer but all day today I could feel my right hamstring and from previous experience I know to tread lightly when that acts up. Plus I knew there would be more walking from the bus stop to home. I kept a super good pace and on a 1% incline but opted not to add any running.

Was pretty darn hungry when I got home so I made a fast quesadilla with 2 WW tortilla and a 1/3c of Tex Mex 2% shredded cheese, with a good bit of salsa on the side.

Tomorrow I'm debating on walking around the hood (5k) route or go back to the treadmill at the gym. I'm thinking hood to enjoy the weather before snow falls.

I caught the tail end of Rachel Ray on the treadmill tv and so want to make the "fried" chicken dish. She took chicken breast, slathered it with mustard (eliminating the egg, milk combo) and then coated it with self seasoned bread crumbs. She baked it on a cooling rack within a baking sheet so the hot air circulates the chicken. It looked amazing and protein is an area I need to improve in. I'm not so good and making sure protein is represented in my diet.

I find my cooking mojo to be kicking back in, it's been dormant for awhile and I've stuck to the same stuff day in day out. I'm writing ideas down as they come to me so I don't forget them on grocery day.

Alright must go study now...hugs!!

Day 14 -- the rain won't stop me

First of all let me clear about my last post, the focus is still very much on food and tracking. I'm categorizing that like brushing your teeth = mandatory. The goal this week for exercise is more a tracking on the calendar with stickers sort of thing.

Speaking of exercise, I didn't let the rain stop me and went outside for a 5k walk around my neighbourhood. I put on the Garmin to track my progress. My pace was an average of 9:41km, not bad but no as good as it used to be. I didn't look at the Garmin while walking instead I just walked. Discovered at my first step out the door my ipod was dead but that did not stop me. I always hit a bit of a zone when I walk outside. My mind goes empty and I just focus on moving and the surroundings.

Got home and had lunch, which was soup. My co-worker introduced me to Spoon Fed Soups here in Calgary, it's an online organic soup delivery service. Every week there are 3 new soups. I ordered "Richard" which is an organic lentil, lime and roasted garlic and "Uhleen" a corn & potatoe chowder with bacon. I hate making soup -way too much prep work for me. So I thought I'd check this out. Richard was for lunch and it was really good, at first I thought it was kind of cilantro-ey (I despise cilantro) but I think it was the lime I was tasting. There was also plenty of carrots, celery, tomato and red pepper in the soup. Had a piece of ryvitta with a triangle of light laughing cow cheese - yummy. The soups come in mason jars and you get a credit for returning the empties. New soups are listed on Tuesdays and I'm looking forward to see what's coming up. All the ingredients they use are organic by the way. All the soups are named after people and they've got a list of about 50 types on their website. Totally intrigued as to which 3 will be featured this coming week.

There's something about the onset of fall that brings out the soup craving.

I don't know if I told you guys that I cancelled my organic grocery delivery as I just found it hard when the majority of products I was buying could be found at my supermarket. There is something about picking out your produce yourself.

Just wanted to stop in and report that workout #1 is done.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

One step at a time

I can't even tell you what I've done since Wednesday, it's all a blur. I had Friday off which was dedicated to yard work and house cleaning. My Dad came in and we cleaned eavestroughs (it's truly a wonder how much gunk gets in there) and fixed the board that the meter guy busted.

Dad is now on his way home and my head is swirling. You see yesterday afternoon I watched an episode of Dr. Oz. I've seen this guy on Oprah before and I have all the books, but the format of the books kind of bugs me so I've never got all the way through one. Yesterday there was episode focusing on a 60 day challenge to get healthier and improve their "Real Age".

The part where he showed the healthy liver and the fatty liver was totally disgusting but drove home a point. When Bob Harper came out and said most people give up because they take on too much i.e. I must eat healthy, all my fruits and veggies, do yoga and exercise 7 days a week, instead of focusing on one step at a time. This happens to me all the time hence the swirling head.

I know I've used the excuse of tracking diligently as my first step multiple times and that one goes in circles. I realized I need a different focus for first step and that's consistent exercise. So my goal for this week is 30min for 5 days this week. This doesn't mean that tracking is falling to the side, no no it's just I want to use exercise as the goal.

I set myself a goal of getting to goal weight in 6 months, that was on Sept 6th. I haven't done much in the last two weeks to get me there so I've got to get my patootie in gear. Happily the work project is winding down and the free food has stopped which is fantastic.

I'm heading to the gym today for workout#1 of this week and I will post what I did.

Later...hugs!

New Year's resolution

Funny conversation with work mates tonight as we enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Keg and then we zipped to a second location for drinks. It was a good bye dinner as team mates are returning to their home locations and back to doing what they normally do. I was super stuffed so stuck to water as opposed to drinks.

It was a conversation about how we've all gained weight during this project. The long hours, crazy schedules and free food being tossed at us has been rough.

We're all sort of thinking that the end of this project is like New Year's. The plans to get back to normal eating patterns and back into the gym has begun.

It is interesting how we all think of our body image. One of my co-workers is tiny in my eyes and she was bemoaning the gain of 5lbs on her just over 100lb frame. I did at first look at her with the thought of "You've got to be kidding me, I have 60lbs to lose" but I realized it's not about that.

When I get to goal weight I'm very sure 5lbs would bug me too.

I know I don't like myself now as I feel sluggish and tired. It's all a product of the behaviour I've had since being put on this project. The stress combined with a huge amount of stuff to accomplish resulted in bad decisions with the free food. There is always a turning point where you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on the journey. That's the point I'm at. I've had enough and want to be on the right track.

Did you all catch the first episode of Biggest Loser? My favourite is now Abbey, wholly bananas to go through something like that...your family being wiped out by an accident and then being able to simply get up and keep going is pretty damn inspiring.

I'm intrigued by the format of Bob and Jillian working together (awesome) and the teams being strangers (awesome).

I did tell them about this blog and gave them a clue to find me. So if you do find me, know that you are super fabulous people and I am blessed to have met you and having the opportunity to get to know you. For those who are going home, you will be missed but friendships are now formed. To those who are here, I think we have even stronger bonds to face whatever the heck it is we're facing in the future.

Love ya!

Hugs!

Day 9 - First Saturday off in 8 weeks

I slept till 9am, it was so nice.

I tracked nothing this week but was miraculously down 1.7lbs. Of course, tracking started again today. I got lucky last week as it could have easily been bad.

Since my last post on Wednesday, things have been a little crazy. Work is still a bit nuts and now I'm going to be on this project until October after that it looks like a new project. I have a feeling it will be months before I return to my normal responsibilities.

I'm going to go grocery shopping tomorrow as today I'm going to make a meal plan to get through next week.

I'm also going to create a study schedule as that big NPPA test is in 3 weeks and that will be here in no time at all.

Since I had a late breakfast, I'm just going to let my body decide when the next meal is needed.

Have a fantastic Saturday!

Hugs!

Day 5 - Edamame...mmmmmm

So the other day when I was grocery shopping I discovered frozen edamame in my store's organic freezer section. Yippee, I love this stuff and it's my hands down favourite appetizer at Earl's. I had that for dinner.

Today went better food wise, however at 10am I was starving and it was too soon to eat lunch so I went down to Second Cup and bought a muffin. I ate half of it and tossed the other half.

What I need to do is master the morning snack so I have some low fat banana muffin mix in my cupboard and I'll make mini muffins with something added to them for some oompff.

I've brought lunch two days in a row, which means I'm buying tomorrow. The mexican potato casserole is getting boring. What do you do to keep work lunches interesting? I've always been terrible at creating interesting lunches.

Things are definitely quieting down at work with the exception of all the little tweaks that everyone wants this very minute and of course their stuff is so much more important than everyone else's stuff.

It hit me today that I'm writing the second test of the CHRP designation in a month and oh my do I need to get my act together on that one.

I've created a 6 month goal for getting to goal weight. Following ala Biggest Loser, of course I won't be working out 6 hours a day but I think it's doable. I'm scheduling my skin check and physical for April so that's added motivation i.e. the being scrutinized while naked and the dreaded weigh in at the doctor's office.

Alright that's all I got for today...hugs!

Day 4 - If only there was a pill to fight snacking

I successfully brought and ate my lunch today. I've taken it to work before and then happily went off with people to buy something. Not today I stuck to what I brought.

I was tripped up by some multigrain tortilla chips and a haagen daz ice cream bar. The ice cream wasn't so much a trip up as I went and bought it. Ridiculously stupid move on my part and to be honest I'm not sure what caused it. I kind of mused out loud and then had a buddy to go get one.

Got it together for the rest of the day and had 2pt V8 tomato soup for supper.

Still worked a long day today as what needs to be done never goes away. I did make a huge dent in what I need to do so that was a relief.

The goal for tomorrow is to stick to what I brought without any deviations.

Water wasn't too bad today either, I'm on the road to getting back to drinking enough.

Alright, I'm zonked so that's all I got for today. Until tomorrow....hugs!!!!

Day 2 - sleeping in messes me up

A second day of getting to wake up on my own and not to the alarm clock. Too bad that's all over tomorrow. Today was spent finishing laundry and making a mexican potato casserole for work lunch.

I normally make the casserole from a weight watchers recipe but I find it fairly bland. So this time I used taco seasoning. It's ground beef, red pepper, tomatoes and potatoes with a bit of part skim tex mex cheese on top. Layered like lasagna with sliced potatoe replacing the noodles. Works out to 6pts per serving.

I also found myself watching the first season of Big Bang Theory, a co-worker lent it to me and I got through the first two discs. Now I'm watching Top Chef - Las Vegas. The Food Network is food porn but it gives you such good ideas for trying stuff you've never tried before.

My trouble with sleeping in is that throws off my eating schedule. Late breakfast turns into late lunch, then late dinner and toss in some snacking in between. I try very hard not to eat anything two hours before bedtime. I did arm myself with some friendly snacks like sugar free jello, sugar free chocolate pudding and unsweetened applesauce.

I need to stop buying Liberte Moka yogurt, this stuff is my kryptonite for sure.

What I am happy about it is I have a plan for tomorrow. Need to pick up a parcel after work and they're only open to 6pm, so no gym tomorrow but definitely on Wednesday.

Back to work tomorrow, hope everyone had a great weekend.

Hugs!

A fresh start - Day One

I actually have the next two days off...in a row. I haven't had two days off in a row in 7 weeks. On Friday I worked from 6:20am to 9pm and yesterday I worked from 8am to 7pm. I'm tired.

I stepped on the scale last night and saw a super scary number which sort of got me back to reality. I've pretty much been living in auto pilot lately. This project is definitely on it's way to wrapping up, probably only about a week and a half to go. The crazy part wrapped up this weekend from now on it should be smoother sailing and a return to a normal schedule i.e. next weekend off.

On Wednesday I discovered I'm moving within my company. Same job but reporting to a new area and a new boss. That feels a bit weird but an overall opportunity for a fresh start in a sense. That will start when the project finishes.

A refocus on weight loss and getting healthy plus a brand new opportunity at work. It's an overall fresh start.

Today I'm taking it a bit easy as I've had a headache for 3 days (stress related), today I must go grocery shopping and that's about the only thing I have to do today. Plus with Labour Day off to I can spread chores out over two days instead of the frantic pace I've been dealing with for the past couple of months. I also really want to go for a long walk in the hood.

The gym can come back in my life next week as I should actually be finished in work in time to get there. Lately I'm still working when they close. The most important thing I need to start doing again is packing my lunch and snacks.

This is truly a fresh start so I'm starting back at day one. Today the goal is to track everything and stay on plan.

Enjoy your weekend my friends,

Hugs!

Brief visit

I've been away from blogland due to still working crazy hours and when I get home the last thing I want to do is touch a computer. My eating habits are crap and exercise is non-existent. Yes, the stress is starting to get to me. Alas not long until I can return to a normal schedule and once again have focus on a healthier me as opposed just trying to get through the day. Spirits are high though it's just slowing me down.

I'll be back to regular posting about my journey to goal soon.

Those potatoe pancakes I was talking about are only available at Ikea in their food section. They're in the frozen section and I think they're called Rosti, there is only one type.

I'm still reading you all though.

Hugs!

Why Tim Horton's rocks

It's not just the strangely addictive coffee, you see last year I bought myself a TimCard (reloadable) as I was tired of searching for change or having to use debit (service charges). Not to mention it speeds up the whole process as it's swipe and go. It got misplaced (probably in the bottom of a handbag somewhere) and I never really gave it a thought as I didn't go that regularly.

The other day I got a new one as I now go to Tim's daily for my two milk/two sugar coffee (3pts I refuse to give up) and breakfast on the weekends I have to work. Well tonight I decided to register my card so if it's lost I get my money back.

I had registered the old card as well but I know it's not lost well only lost somewhere in my house. At any rate I discoverd I could transfer the balance of my old card to my new card ($4.60). Awesome, that at least two more coffees. That just made my day.

Apart from that the day was alright got a fair bit done which means I may only have to work the morning tomorrow.

Saw another slight gain on the scale. I've been a runaway train lately and need to reset. Get back the mojo so to speak which I'm now once gain prepared for. Going back to day one. Which always makes me think of my favourite quote.

"I never look back, darling. It detracts from the now"

OMG, for dinner I had these amazing potatoe pancake type things that I bought in the frozen food section (look more like grated potato then a pancake) at Ikea. They're 1pt for two and I had them with a bit of tzatziki....delish I must say.

Hope you enjoyed your Saturday.

Hugs!

First day off in 8 days

Boy was I running out of steam, we're all working crazy hours. One of my co-workers is on day 11. I hope she takes time off this weekend. I return to work tomorrow and most likely Sunday and then we'll see when the next day off happens. The tail end of the project is in sight and I'm sure all of us are looking forward to more normal schedules.

I have been way off program and not terribly happy with myself. Someone said to me "everything in moderation" yup I know that. My problem has been forgetting the moderation and running with the everything. It's a lifestyle change not a diet so I am back on the wagon.

Today was not a day of relaxing but more a day of getting stuff down. I grocery shopped, did two loads of laundry, vacummed, dusted, mowed the lawn and put the sprinkler on.

Still to do is dishes and clean the bathroom. I'm pacing myself as I don't know when my next day off will be. Lately I've been so zonked by the time I get home, chores are the furthest thing from my mind that's for sure.

Now I have a fridge full of veggies so that will help.

So you think you can dance Canada has begun and I have the last episode on the pvr. I'm not so happy Emmanuel Sandhu is on the show. He bugs me. Alas I'm sure I'll find a favourite.

3 weeks ish until the next Biggest Loser...can't wait.

Hope all of you are well,

Hugs!!!

I'm here

Just smokin' busy...be back later

I did see that coming

Saturday's weigh in resulted in a gain, I wasn't surprised so I'll take it as a lesson learned. Got out of work at a reasonable hour yesterday so a few of us went to go see Julie/Julia. It was great, Meryl Streep is a genius.

Worked again today and I have no idea when my next day off is at all but there is 3 weeks-ish left to go on this project so the end of the tunnel and a return to a more normal schedule is in sight.

Also have no idea when I'll next see a grocery store. Work brought in Saturday's lunch from Subway and today's lunch from Swiss Chalet. Tomorrow will be back to food courts and I'm heading to the salad bar at Sunterra Market. I need to get to the post office to pick up a parcel as well.

One of my co-workers said he'd thought we'd all be burnt out by now, well I did listen to 3 songs on my alarm radio before I got out of bed today. The crazy work hours are starting to wear on people. Mind you once in the normal work week it's not so bad, the weekends are getting tougher.

Alright my friends that's all I got for now, but I hope all of you in storms path are safe.

Hugs!

Snack, snacky, snackiest

This is my work place right now, it's kind of like boot camp (not the fitness kind) more like dig in, head down and get'er done. Which means the snacks are getting out of hand and worse one's complete obliviousness to picking up said snack and noshing away.

It's ridiculous. Yesterday I bought a bag of chips for my team as it was late afternoon and no one was going home anytime, people from other rooms were sniffing about and got wind of the chips - they were gone in seconds. It's like a National Geographic special of some kind with a band of wolves descending of some poor creature.

The other day someone brought the 100cal Ah Caramel's and I had one unwrapped and half eaten before I knew what I was doing.

We've got this bizarre pace of crazy busy or hurry up and wait. The waiting part is killer because that's when you go looking for something to occupy yourself and why not eat.

Add in crazy hours i.e finished at 7:30pm yesterday, 6pm tonight - who knows tomorrow. Will be working all weekend again. So far averaging one day off a week and it's starting to wear a little. Planning is key right now. Last night I was washing dishes at 10pm.

The next time I can get myself to a grocery store I'm grabbing cherry tomatoes, carrots and some other types of bite size veggies. I will want to snack but if I have a healthy option next to me I will still have enough reason to grab the right thing. Stocking up on Smart Ones and Lean Cuisines might not be such a bad idea for the remaining weeks. Better than getting home late and eating your way through the kitchen as you try to think of what you'll have for dinner.

OMG I'm so psyched about the new season of Biggest Loser, in case you haven't heard there bringing previous contestants back again. I was watching Access Hollywood or something and they were interviewing a contestant who's the heaviest yet and I swear I saw Daniel from last season standing on the scale next to her. There going to the single competitor format (the original format) this season and I can not be more excited. I can't find pictures of all of the new cast to confirm who else might be from previous seasons.

Alright that's all I got for now.

Hugs!!!

Yet another suprise day off

Yesterday afternoon it was decided that I could take today off as my area wouldn't be too busy today - I have no idea if another will happen and I will most likely be working the weekend again.

This project will end but I've met so many great people that it will be a bit sad when we all go back to our normal jobs.

My friend's birthday dinner didn't happen as she was off by 2:30pm and I had no idea when I'd be done. It turned into an 11 hour day for me and by the end I had no desire to go home and make dinner. Instead I tagged along with two of my out of town co-workers and we went to the Keg for dinner. Yeah, not so point friendly at all and the Pina Colada (it was very good) I had probably didn't help but it was just one of those days my friends. I was tired and hungry and that given moment I couldn't give a flying fig about points. I had a lovely time with them.

Of course today that's a totally different story and I'm focusing on water and planning a lower point day to compensate for yesterday. I've already been to the grocery store and soon I will clean my house. Some other activity will be a part of today and it's a debate between a walk outside or some pilates/yoga.

I discoverd some new varieties of single serving Kraft Dinner today. (At Walmart for 97 cents each) I picked up Szechwan Spicy (5pt), Extreme Pizza (4pts) and Alfredo (4pts). I had the Szechwan for lunch and it was good and definitely had a bit of a kick. I paired that with some frozen organic peas and a small banana. KD might not be the most nutritional option out there but 3min in the microwave could help those days when I'm to tired to make dinner. I also picked up the waffles that Angie (found in the organic freezer section of my Safeway) was talking about the other day (2 for 3pts) that's not so bad and 4g of fibre. They must have had about 6 different varieties of waffles but these were the Pomegran Plus variety.

So far today I've used 10.5pts. So plenty of options for a pm snack and dinner.

I changed my goal tracker to include my original starting weight when I first joined WW. It's been a long journey but I've never gone back to that number but I still think it's important to recognize where I started.

Have a groovy day!

Hugs!

Home a bit early

Got home at 2pm today not bad since I left for work at 7:30am. Got a lot done today so we'll see what happens next week.

I've had a request to explain the Wendi Plan. In a nutshell it was created by a lady named Wendi who discoverd while tracking on WW that weeks she varied her pts per day she had a better loss. For example she noticed that weeks she had a birthday party (for example) which resulted in a higher point day followed by a lower point day it kicked her metabolism into gear.

Instead of eating your "whatever" pts per day you take your pts for the week add in your flex points and then divide unevenly throughout your week. I first discoverd it when I was trying to break a plateau and have found when I do it consistently it helps in my losses.

Google "Wendi Plan" for more detailed explanations.

Have a groovy Sunday.

Hugs!

Down .3

.3 that may not be much but it's a loss and I'll take it.
Yes last week was not my best but the beauty of today is it's a new week.

The office was full of snacks today and lunch was from Peter's Drive In, luckily it was my high point day on the Wendi Plan but tomorrow it's a low day. I will plan accordingly.

Bit frustrating today as it seemed a bit chaotic and I do need to go in tomorrow. There were people who wanted to come in later but I am of the thought I'd rather go in earlier and leave early. So that's my plan for tomorrow.

Plus if it's quieter in the morning I can be more focused.

Apart from that not a lot to talk about today but I hope all of you had a fantastic Saturday.

Hugs!

Snafu

Maybe I shouldn't have blogged about my good tracking behaviour for 11 days in a row as yesterday was not so good.

Pair repetitive work with snacks being put in front of you = mindless snacking. It also didn't help that I was less than impressed with the lunch I brought to work and didn't really feel satisfied - not enough flavor. This easily leads to snacking for me as I search for something to fill the gap.

I did get home and tracked everything so I'm proud of that. I have in the past just sort of skipped over a bad day and not record it at all. It was right back on the wagon. However I'm not sure how that will effect weigh in tomorrow.

Last night I was so tired and went to bed early then spent half the night listening to the rain pelting overhead. Tonight I'm going to bed early again to have some extra oomph for the work days ahead.

Today was better and I purposely aimed a wee bit low in pts. Tomorrow is my free day (weigh in first thing in the am) and I have to work the weekend. Today we made tentative plans to get lunch from Peter's Drive In tomorrow. If you come to Calgary this is a must place to go but not pts friendy. Everything in moderation as they say.

That's all I got for now.

Hugs!!

Surprise day off

My work schedule continues to be a bit crazy. Monday was spent waiting for information and Tuesday was looking a bit like the same. We were then told that the pace would increase at the end of the week which will mean working Saturday and Sunday. I'm cool with that as we got to go home and take Wednesday off.

Being off early on Tuesday resulted in a hunt for an opportunity for a manicure. That didn't go well as no spots were available in the 4 salons I and T looked at. I did make an appointment for today and then cancelled last night. I own at least 6 bottles of OPI and it wasn't that long ago I had a manicure so I can change the nail polish myself. I'm saving myself $20.

Tuesday also resulted in not having planned lunch as I was running around and found myself very hungry at McDonald's. Not so smart planning resulted in using up the rest of flex pts. That's o.k I just need to be very very focused for the next 3 days.

The tough part is now doing what I wanted to do on Saturday on a Wednesday. When I'm not feeling weekendy. Does that make sense?

Woke up without an alarm at 7am today and then off to the grocery stor and the fridge is ready for healthy meals. I've got today mapped out and I know what I'm bringing for lunch on Thursday and Friday. For me to bring lunch it has to be something I'm excited about so I'm going to make a sort of turkey stroganoff.

I've stopped my grocery delivery service. It was great but when it came right down to it - it just wasn't ideal as I always found myself going to the grocery store to get what they didn't have. I had previously scoped out my grocery store's organic section and everything I love is available there as well. Plus when I re-start my travel schedule that completely changes what I need grocery wise.

I've now tracked perfectly for 11 days and half way through day 12. I walked to the grocery store and back today too.

I've created a list of rewards for every 5lbs on my journey to goal. Small things for every 5lb mark (under $10) and bigger things for the 10lb marks. Right now I'm 5lbs away from my first 10lb goal on my renewed WW journey and that's a workout tote from Lululemon, not a bag but a tote.

One day at a time is my new philosophy.

Hugs!

The lawn is mowed

Yesterday I wound up going a few pts over my super high day due to lunch at a vietnamese restaurant. I guestimated on pt values and then got home and tracked down the real numbers. Couldn't plan ahead on that one as we were all going together and I didn't know where until half a minute before we left.

I must say this is where Daily Plate comes in handy. When the WW tracker doesn't have the item, I just pop over to Livestrong and find the nutritional value. They have a very impressive data base.

I've adjusted my daily pt goals to factor in Saturday so I'm still on track. Today was a normal pt day and I wound up having lunch at Ikea but that's what's so fabulous about WW is everything can fit in. I'm still on track.

I've already plugged everything in for tomorrow. Taking it day by day.

After a wee battle with my lawn mower I finally got jungle lawn taken care of and weeded the flower beds. Discovered the first foot of my lawn was already mowed????? A signal from one my neighbours? The lawn was shaggy not a foot long, I noticed one neighbour had a recently mowed lawn, perhaps they got totally into what they were doing and missed their property line?

Ikea was chance to catch up with my friend P who just returned from a month in Sweden. I picked up a bag of frozen swedish meatballs as a quick protein option (6 meatballs/5pts). I've ground turkey and pork chops in the fridge that I plan to make into turkey meatloaf and shake n' bake pork - also quick protein options for the week. I've got a fridge full of veggies.

I have a plan and I will stick to it.

Hugs!!!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go

First let me say.....Down 4lbs.....whoo hoo.

I've got to say when you follow the program it actually works. I went over my pts and flex this week that just shows that I probably ate less calories this last week then the preceeding weeks. Though I did wind up doing a Wendi Plan sort of thing with high/low variations on daily pts. So this week I'm going to follow the Wendi Plan and see what happens. It's always worked well for me in the past.

Yesterday was dedicated to grocery shopping and I had meant to mow the lawn but it was still a wee bit wet when I wanted to do it so it can wait for tonight or tomorrow.

Did eat a low point day to off set the poutine fiasco of the day before. However today is my super high pt day ala Wendi Plan (scheduled as far away from weigh in day as possible of course). I will focus on real food as opposed to a day filled with junk. The trick is also to track everything and not have a free for all day.

I'm very leary of all the 2pt snacks out there when you read the ingredients and it's all junk. Just because it's low in points does not mean it's good for you is my new mantra.

Alright I'm off to work but I hope all of you have a fantastic Saturday.

Hugs

The call of the poutine

So my first week back on WW is going alright, I've had some wild days due to lack of planning and some spot on days. Today was a wild one.

The team I'm working with right now includes one of our American co-workers. She's one American surrounded by Canadians. We do tease her a bit like today we told her she spelt colour wrong by spelling it "color". We've introduced her to timbits and explained a Coffee Crisp.

Today we were talking about poutine (french fries covered in cheese curd and topped with gravy - in case you don't know). So we told her we'd get it for lunch today so she can try it. She asked where we got it and we answered KFC. Of course the KFCs in the U.S don't have poutine. She asked us to get her a biscuit - the Canadian KFC's don't have biscuits.

I enter the poutine in my tracker after I ate it....23 points....whoa!!!!!!!!! I don't know what I was thinking, I wasn't expecting it be low in pts but I was staggered by 23. I drank a lot of water today after I plugged that in to the tracker.

She is not a fan of cheese so didn't really take to the poutine. So why do I have to be a fan of cheese??

I'm not beating myself up about it and it's vegetables for dinner. Still one day to go to weigh in and I must be an angel tomorrow. I have the day off because I have to work on Saturday so that might work in my favour as there will be no office snacks near me. Now it's all about damage control.

Beware the poutine.....

Hugs!

I keep thinking it's Sunday...

My timing is off today probably from working the weekend, for part of the morning I thought it was Sunday.

Crazy storm last night with booming thunder and mega winds, I have 3 giant trees in front of my house and at one point I was just thinking "Please don't fall over". Only one flower pot got knocked over so not so bad. It is a bit gloomy today so I opted to stay home and take care of house stuff. I've put off grocery shopping today as I can raid cupboards for a few days. I want to lay low as I have no idea if I'll be working next weekend too.

I tracked everthing and it was ugly yesterday (Tim Horton's, Panago Pizza, Starbucks) so I was even more determined to keep today on track and I have 10pts remaining for the rest of the day - which is plenty. I have a handful of flex points for the rest of the week. I guess I'm following a bit of a Wendi Plan week.

Stepped on the scale this morning to take a peak and it's heading in the right direction. Saturday will continue to by weigh in day.

Cosmo channel is running a marathon of The Fashion Show, think Project Runway. I've got the pvr picking that up as weekday tv sucks.

Tomorrow might wind up being a buy lunch day as I didn't go grocery shopping but I'm going to plan out my day in advance tonight and plug it into the tracker. I think this will also help curb any office snacking as I strongly suspect something will show up tomorrow as it's the first day of the new week.

So far there's been Tim Bits, individually wrapped cheese - gouda, havarti and etc.(God Bless whoever picked the Baby Bell Light), a caramel chocolate cake, cheese ball, chocolate, chips, cheezies and a variety of pastries from Starbucks. Yes...the will must be strong in this place.

For those having a holiday Monday - I hope your enjoying yourself. For those who don't - hope your week is starting off well.

Hugs!!

What a fabulous idea

At work at 8:30am this morning but I woke up at 5am and decided to figure out all the changes I'd have to take care of this morning. That totally helped as I got into work with a plan and all was done quickly. The rest of the time was spent fixing other stuff but all is good.

Left at 2ish and got a ride home from a co-worker that I've now had the opportunity to really get to know and she's fabulous. She came up with the idea to go for a manicure and pedicure on the way home. Awesome, massaging chairs and pampered feet and hands plus a quick eyebrow wax and I'm delighted.

I have the day off tomorrow and I have to catch up on house work and such. I'm living in chaos right now and I'm actually happy to tackle this tomorrow before another crazy week.

Next week I'm bringing my lunch and own snacks plus my gym bag everyday.

Until later....

Hugs!

So tired

It turned out I didn't need to do over everything today just tweak a few things. Today was a normal ish 8 hr day at work with a lot to do first thing and then a whole lot of waiting. At 10min to 5pm a whack load of work landed on my desk. The plan became go home and rest and come back tomorrow.

While I'm not super thrilled about working a Sunday, I am much happier to tackle these things fresh in the morning.

Eating was alright today, we had OPA for lunch but there where snacks everywhere. I didn't go crazy but I could have been better behaved. Tracked everything as best I could.

Now I just have to do it all tomorrow. I'm really really really hoping for Monday off.

Later