I'm back and the blip

I had mega computer issues while in Edmonton which resulted in not being able to access the internet, hence no blogging. I missed you guys.

I hit my first blip since re-committing to WW. I wasn't good all the time and I wasn't bad all the time. I made healthy decisions and unhealthy decisions.

The treadmill at the gym was broken and the hotel gym was pretty sad.

Activity was pretty much non existent as the days were long, tracking was abandoned, water was pretty good, flossing and vitamines were on target.

I am totally expecting a gain at weigh in tomorrow and that's o.k. This is a blip not a train wreck. I'm a mega back on track immediately.

I'm not beating myself up about this. I had a pretty enjoyable time being stuck in a hotel for 3 days.

This Monday we start a fitness challenge at work. Every 30min of exercise count as a point. If you get 8 pts in a week you get your name in a draw for a prize. Plus there's a prize for the highest number of pts during the challenge. I'm so in.

All right my friends I'm now off to catch up on your blogs.

Hugs!!!

Time just flew

My day went pretty fast today, I was busy and all of a sudden it was 11am and then it was 3pm. I was just trying to get organized before heading off to Edmonton and man that sucks up a lot time.

Actually packed my lunch today and stuck to my pre-planned day really well. I bought a box of the WW 1pt bars Chocolate Caramel on Saturday. I had one in my lunch bag and when I got the 9am munchies (I have breakfast at 5am) it totally hit the spot and I was fine till lunch.

Came home and immediately went to the yoga mat. I tried the new dvd yesterday and I really enjoyed the warm up portion and then it got wicked fast. I guess that's why they call it power yoga. The dvd is definitely a keeper but I think I need to work my way up to it. Tonight I went back to the Namaste dvds.

A long time ago I went to a yoga retreat given by Kate Potter, she's the one who created the Namaste series. I had off and on tried yoga up until then. I adore her work and felt the need to brush up if I was going to do 2 days of yoga. So I kind of crammed yoga. I would do the warm up and the main part of one episode followed by the warm up, main part and savasana of the 2nd episode. I would do this twice then I would start with 2nd episode and add it to the 3rd episode, repeat and so on. I learned to really love it and didn't make a total fool of myself at the retreat either.

I'm doing this again and starting at the beginning. It works out to 40min of yoga and sort of easing myself back in to it. I've lost a lot of flexibility and it feels fantastic to stretch out those muscles. My shoulder is getting better a little every day. It doesn't hurt it's just lost a bit of range. The dvd is coming to Edmonton as I want to do this daily. The runners are coming as well so I can take advantage of the hotel gym. According to WW online 40min of yoga is 2 Activity pts - that's neat.

I'm also introducing flexpoints into my week, just a couple so far as I do want them as security when eating out.

What will be difficult for me is I'm a daily weigher, I stand on that scale every morning to track my progress. There will be no scale until I get home Friday evening. I've only seen a scale in the hotel I stayed at while in Montreal. That will an interesting experiment on my part.

Alright my friends, I never did that pack list on the weekend so need to go do that so I'm somewhat organized tomorrow.

Hope your day was fantastic.

Hugs!!!

Sunday surprises

I was puttering away just about to do load two of laundry - bed sheets when my friend T phoned. She was on her way to a pedicure and asked if I wanted to come along. I thought why not.

Got the pedicure and then zipped into Walmart. She had shopping to do and I picked up some stuff as well. I got a jar of popcorn kernels, T's suggestion. I forgot that 3 cups air popped is one point. I can't even remember that last time I air popped popcorn. This was today's afternoon snack after I searched my basement for my airpopper. I'll a bring some to work tomorrow as well as a good low point snack.

I also picked up a box of frozen Prime stuffed chicken breast with prosciutto and swiss (4pts per breast), I thought it's a good quick protein, the box was $10 for 3 breasts but I still thought that's not bad as chicken is expensive. I also got a pack of Skinny Cow sundae cups - cookie dough flavour - 2pts per cup. I'll review when I have a chance to try them.

At the meeting yesterday I bought one of the new points calculators, of course I didn't have it with me while shopping so I've now put that into my bag.

I recently started my regular post grocery shopping routine which involves calculating the points and writing them with a sharpie on the container before putting the groceries away.

I opted not to go for a walk as I wanted to enjoy my beautifully soft tootsies for a day but yoga is definitely on the schedule as soon as laundry is done.

Looking forward to not having to get up insanely early tomorrow as I'm staying in town the next two days as I'll be away for the rest of the week. The computer is coming with me so I hope to still blog.

Oh yes on target to be tracking and being OP for day 15. They say it takes 4 weeks to make or break a habit. I'm half way to creating some very healthy habits.

Hope your weekend was fabulous.

Hugs!!!

Lazy Sunday - not exactly

I had an unplanned 2.5 hour nap yesterday, right after lunch I felt a little zonked so thought I'd lay down. Yeah, that kind of killed all my chore plans for yesterday so that's now all been moved to today. Apparently I needed the rest.

So on top of house cleaning, laundry and making a packing list for my trip I also want to head outside for a walk as it should be about zero celsius at 1pm plus I want to try the new yoga DVD I got from Lululemon. It's called "power yoga for happiness 2 with Eoin Finn - surf edition". This is the dvd I walked in on when I was at site that week and thought the gym was empty till I saw the girl on the floor. I'm not a surfer but the blurb on the back of the dvd also says it's good for "landlubbers".

I watched the last 10 min of it as she was on the floor and I was on the treadmill. The ocean was in the background and that's one thing I'd love to do one day - yoga on the beach. It's 2 Dvds with 6.5 hours of yoga with one long routine broken into 7 routines ranging from 85min (full routine) to 34min. Apparently also good for all levels as well. I also enjoy that the instructor is Canadian or maybe just lives in Canada.

Since I've been back to meetings I haven't really been using much of the 35 flexpoints, the max so far was 6 in one week. I've always believed they are there to be eaten but now I'm a little scared to go there. I know that's stupid as I had great losses before when I used them. I'm debating to I use them on purpose or use them for emergencies..have to give that a think.

Alright I better get laundry started, might be back later but if not have a fabulous Sunday.

Hugs!!!

Down 1.8 - 5lb sticker!!!

Had no idea what the WW scale would say today, when I stepped on my scale this morning I got readings that said 189 in pajamas and 191 in my nike sweatpants and t-shirt.

I walked to weigh in and when I stood on the scale it was 191.2, down 1.8. For a brief nanosecond I was disappointed as I was kind of hoping for 189. Then I realized the following things:

*Down 1.8 is exactly what I need to be on track to be at goal by July 10
*I would normally be up a couple of pounds this week thanks to the hormone fueled snackapalooza.
*That's 5lbs in two weeks on program. That's half way to 5% off of my body.

Heck I should be doing a happy dance. When Clare handed out the 5lb stars my hand was the first one up to say I get one.

This was a rough week. I was crazy busy all week and a wee bit (some days not so wee bit) stressed. Water was not fantastic and neither was exercise. In all honesty I thought I was hanging on to program by the seat of my pants. Yesterday there was cake in the kitchen, chocolate mocha cake. I shaved off a sliver of that cake and savoured it - then I wrote in my tracker.

The week in review:
Tracking 7/7
Flossing 7/7
Vitamins 7/7
Cardio 3/7
Yoga 1/7
Water - Technically 7/7 but my goal is 2L per day and I got 6 cups.

At the start of today's meeting we had a bit of guest speaker. Darlene who is another WW leader lost 160lbs in 2 years. She told us some tips that kept her on track. This included tracking, making it a priority and moving more.

What really struck me was when she said the key was attitude. I totally believe that. A positive attitude has been my focus for the past few weeks. I have to 100% believe I can do this. This means letting absolutely nothing get in my way.

On Friday as I was leaving a couple of co-workers where saying that Friday is pizza night in their houses. Of course their both skinny but I thought no pizza the day before weigh in. I thought I can have pizza on Saturday.

Today I got some Yves soy pepperoni, a pillsbury pizza crust and I'll make my own pizza tonight and way less points then ordering one. The other thing we talked about in the meeting was staying satisfied.

I'm still focused and I will rock Edmonton this week as well.

I'm wondering how the x-weighted weigh ins will work. The site still says week one. On the show you never see their first week weigh in. There's nothing on the site explaining the weigh in either. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Alright my friends, I'm going to go fill my water bottle. Enjoy your Saturday!

Hugs!!!

Oy vey what a week this has been

My new 3 month tracker is now completely up to date and it did go into a ziploc bag on the trip to work this morning.

As I was watching Biggest Loser last night I was thinking how I'm not rooting for anyone. There are no personalities that appeal to me and I started wondering if people are now being picked for how heavy they are. This is the biggest cast they've had. Normally in the finale you some amazing transformations. I get the feeling the finale this round will only be the first step like it was for Shae.

I could not sleep last night, I tossed and turned forever. At one point I looked at my alarm and it was 1:30am - not a good time to get up. I finally did fall a sleep and woke up thinking I wonder what time it is now. It was the time I'd normally be standing at the bus stop. Aaack my alarm did not go off. I jumped out of bed and then forced myself to stop and think. I grabbed a glass of milk and took my vitamins. I grabbed a granola bar and tossed into my bag. Then I got dressed and called a cab.

Where a granola bar is not a fantastic breakfast I didn't want to run out the door and hit the food court for breakfast. I was in a super time crunch as I had a meeting first thing this morning as well. I did go to Opa for lunch with some work mates without knowing the points and was a wee surprised when I looked it up and it was a whopping 13pts. I didn't eat the entire thing but I'm counting it at the full points. The good news I had the room in my day due to my low point lunch. I will still finish today on track despite my not so great start to the day.

I did buy a new alarm clock on the way home as this morning's snafu has happened a few times now. One more day till weigh in - the first weigh in of the challenge as well.

I'm hanging in there.

Hope you are too :)

Hugs!!!

Noooooooooo!!!!!!

This was my reaction this morning when I went to retrieve my 3 month tracker from my work bag. It was wet. Apparently I didn't close my water bottle properly and my tracker acted as the sponge. Of course everything else in the bag was dry. Before breakfast I was ripping paper towel to place between the pages.

At lunch I decided to go buy a new tracker as I really want this thing to be a nice record of the next 3 months. I popped into the meeting downtown to get it. I didn't have my weigh in book but I told them my membership number, where I weighed in and my leaders name and they finally agreed to sell one to me. I did find out that you don't have to prove membership to buy the food products. My friend who does WW online was with me so that's cool news for her.

This morning I wrote out my day on a piece of scrap paper. Tonight I'll copy all the info from the old tracker into the new tracker and from now on that thing is going into a ziploc bag and then into whatever purse or bag I'm carrying around.

It's now for sure I'm going to Edmonton next week. I'll be home Mon leave Tuesday night and come back Friday night. Eek that's almost 4 solid days of eating out. I will make wise choices and ask for things done my way. I will be hitting that hotel gym every night I'm there. I'm staying near the airport so I'm doubting food options will be abundant. I just need to make it work. My room isn't confirmed yet but I think it may have a mini fridge. I can use that to my advantage.

I'm perfectly on plan for day 12 and even thought I left work late I still hit the gym for 40min on the treadmill. I was so not feeling like it but I sucked it up.

Just finished dinner and watching Biggest Loser on the pvr. Then it's a hot bath.

Hope your day went well my friends.

Hugs!!!

The call of the snackapalooza

Hello!
Hope everyone is having a great week. Just got home and I love landing in the dark in Calgary. All the lights are so pretty and they go on forever.

My two days at site went well. Didn't touch a french fry, used 6 flex points on Monday but that's it and I'm under 2pts today (I'm trying not eat 2hrs before bedtime) though I may have a glass of milk. That's 6/35 on day 4 of WW week.

I was sitting at my desk today and I actually felt the snackapalooza vibe kick in. I felt a little different and then there was the instinct to go find food. Well I had a bag of celery sticks next to me so I ate a couple of those and wrote "Discipline above Desire" on the bottom of my tracking page. I'm watching that closely and will be viligent. Day 11 of tracking dang it and I want to make it to Day 14. This has to be the first time I've recognized the urge before actually inhaling something like a chocolate bar.

Water was a little tricky on Monday but I got the 6 glasses in - I normally shoot for 8. Today I'm on target.

I made up a 30min yoga practice to do on Monday as my computer couldn't get an internet connection for me to log in to myyogaonline.com.

I was on the plane thinking do I really want to lug my computer and my gym bag to work tomorrow. I then thought don't be an idiot, you can handle lugging your computer and gym bag to work tomorrow and you haven't done Cardio since Sunday.

If you're interested in the recipes I pictured the other day, I did put the links on the posting the day before or go to www.cookwithcampbells.ca and you'll see it.

Alright my friends I now need to take out the garbage and unpack.

Until tomorrow...hugs!!

Yummy

Alright I'm back. Meals are completed and safely stored in the freezer as individual servings. I had the Mac n'Cheeseburger Casserole for lunch (the round dish), it was yummy. The Chicken/Broccoli casserole looks pretty good and that will be lunch one day this week.

Got a 54min walk in just a wee over 5km. I had to stop and give someone directions which caused a wee delay. Dishes are washed and cab is booked for tomorrow morning, so now all I need to do is have supper, but my clothes away, pack and roll out the yoga mat.

I'm bringing my travel mat to site this week. I'm thinking I'll have to work later tomorrow as I've got loads to do but I'll bring the mat even if all I do is 20min of legs up the wall.

I'm totally on plan for Day 9 in row so far and I'm planning to repeat what I did last week at site.

I made mulitple attempts at a before photo and none turned out well, curious light angles (windows), only getting half of myself, a bit blurry. I'll probably try again next weekend.

Hopefully my camp room's internet connections works this week so I can post tomorrow (couldn't last week) but at any rate I'm sending you all positive vibes.

Take care of yourselves and I'll talk to you later.

Hugs!!!

Sunday morning

A plus temperature day once again in the city of Calgary, which makes me want to go for a walk outside rather than go to the gym. A warm Chinook needs to be embraced in the month of January especially after the uber cold weeks we've had so far. Nike+ and I will be spending sometime together today.

I figured out what I'll do as my fitness challenge from home. While I was working out with the trainer months back there was a routine called the Filthy Fifties. It was a set of 6 exercises you had to do 50 times. I'm going to take that and combine with the x-weighted one. Today I'll do 20 lunges (each side), 20 squats and 20 lay down stand ups. It looks like the one they posted online is different than the one they did at all the challenge locations so I think I can create my own.

I'm going to wait a little while till I tackle that and I'm going to go for a long walk outside, yoga might be thrown in there as well. I need to start with the recipes I'm making today and first up is to pre-cook the chicken so I'm going to take care of that now. Plus my before pictures will be posted today as well.

So I'll be back.

16 people are part of the group Bloggers Unite on x-weighted thus far. OMG I'm so happy and so excited to see what we're all going to accomplish.

I'm heading into my snackapalooza week but I'm arming myself against it. I've been on track for 8 days in a row I'm not going to throw that away and I'm armed with mantras to make me stop and think:
Will this get me goal?
Discpline above desire
Sabotage is not an option

As I said I'll be back later...hugs!!!

More musings

Well I got as far as laundry and the cooking will have to wait until tomorrow. After I posted earlier I had a nap as that walk in the wind was exhausting and then straightened up the house.

I didn't do the fitness test of the x-weighted challenge yet and I plan to do it tomorrow at the gym. Thankfully there's a stopwatch on my ipod. I'm not 100% sure I'll follow it exactly as I have a knee that will not appreciate the jumping lunges, normal lunges are fine so I might do walking lunges instead as there is speed involved with how fast you can get up and down. I got the activity pamphlet at WW today and I had to smile that the runner on the cover is the one I wear - Mizuno Wave Alchemy. I'm taking that as a sign.

I want to post my before pictures as well, so many of you have bravo! I just need to find my little camera stand to get a better angle. I used my measurements from last week when I took them. I didn't think there would be a signficant difference in one week. I'm going to take them again in February just to see. I did the math so to hit 145 by July 10th that's 1.8lbs a week so doable. I tried to log in to figure my way around all the stuff on the site but it looks like more and more people are entering. This is totally awesome, I hope they tabulate the number of lbs lost as a nation at the end of this.

Speaking of doable - totally on plan for the 8th day in a row. The only thing left to do is floss.

I have to sometimes laugh at the plethora of weight loss related things in January. Today I walked into Walmart and their seasonal section was all weight loss related. I was half expecting Valentine's Day.

I tried the Kiehl's last night and so far pretty impressed but I'm going to give it a bit before I post a review. The weather has improved a great deal but it held up in wind really well. It looks up North is warming up to as it's supposed to be -6 to -12 next week - that means no long johns - yippee.

Hope your Saturday went well, later.

Hugs!!!

X-Weighted challenge begins and week 2 WW weigh in

First of all I started a group on the X-Weighted Challenge called Bloggers Unite, if you're taking part in the challenge check it out and feel free to join. I'm Cowgirlwarrior on there as well. I figured we support each other here so why not in the actual challenge as well. A whack of the challenges are all location focused so I thought I'd open it up a little. There is strength in numbers me thinks. Don't forget to sign up today or tomorrow.

Down 3.2lbs today..whoo hoo! I weighed myself on my scale this morning and I was 192 so I was a wee disappointed that at WW it was 193 but a loss is a loss. I walked the 15 blocks to Starbucks and then the 3 to weigh in plus I walked home with 20lbs of groceries on my back and into 33km winds. Many sidewalks were treacherous so I give myself extra points for remaining upright the whole way there and back. That was one heck of a workout I tell ya. I'm starting my $20/pound jar to save up for the new wardrobe plus it may help stay more accountable knowing moolah is on the line.

My X-Weighted goal is 145lbs which lines up with WW goal weight perfectly. I think this may be a match made in heaven my friends. I'm using my WW weigh in as the record for the challenge as well.

So my week in review:

Tracked 7/7 days - 178/175 pts - 3/35 Flex points (I ate under a few days so that reduced the flexpoints used - not on purpose just wasn't hungry)
Water Goal 7/7 days
Cardio 4/7 days - Earned 8 activity points
Yoga 3/7 days
Vitamins 7/7 days
Flossed 7/7 days

My shoulder is getting better but not quite there yet so I'll stick to yoga and cardio this coming week but I'm adding a hill workout to the cardio that I'll post more about later.

All in all I'd say one heck of a good week.

I decided to go with making two recipes this week as opposed to 3 and I remembered I had a turkey chili in the freeze. I browsed through all my WW cook books and just wasn't inspired so I decided to look on Cook With Campbell's. I decided to make the Mac n' Cheeseburger Casserole (7pts per serving) and the Easy Chicken and Broccoli Divan (5 pts per serving) - got to love when they actually include the nutritional info. I have a short attention span with recipes and if there is a long list of ingredients I lose interest. These are all fairly straight forward. I picked up all the ingredients and I'll make these later - photos to follow I promise.

Great quote on the board at the meeting today: "Trackers represent a record of what we've eaten, not a record of when we're perfect". I loved this as in the past it was not uncommon for me not to write something down because I didn't want to admit it.

I need to rustle up some lunch, start laundry and start prepping those two recipes. Will probably be back later as I feel I'm forgetting something.

Hugs!!!!

Well that's an idea

Happy Friday my friends, it was a bit funny today as everyone at work was tired and very much looking forward to the weekend. Then we all realized it's only the first week after the Christmas break. The way we were acting you'd think it was months since we had a break.

As I was leaving today I asked my co-worker/friend T to wish me a good weigh in at which point she said "You know what you should do". She suggested that I reward myself with $20 for every pound I lose as the Jenny Craig's, Dr. Bernstein and Herbal Magic plans with all the extras often cost the person an average of $20 per pound (she used to be a consultant for Herbal Magic). Then a little light bulb when off in my head, I could use that as a way to save up for the new fabulous wardrobe that I'll require. After I weigh in I go to the mall and right past my bank - there could be something to this.

I did go to Kiehl's and they did not have the trial kit but I left with a few things that I'll be testing out:

Ultra Facial Cream (travel size)- "light textured hydrator leaves skin comfortable and visibly well balanced, particularly in harsh weather conditions"

Ultra Facial Cleanser - "cleanse skin and remove make-up, without over drying"

Cucumber Herbal Alcohol Free toner - I use this now but bought a smaller bottle to pack

I'm going to try it all tonight and see how it feels.

Completely on plan for day 7 in a row and I've now hit the water cut off and no food will be eaten until after I weigh in tomorrow. Now I'm going through my WW recipe books in search of 3 recipes that I'll make over the weekend and freeze in individual servings. This is to make bringing lunch and handling the "I don't have a clue of what to have for dinner" scenario for a few weeks. I'm on a planning binge so why not add meal prep.

I'm looking forward to weigh in tomorrow and I'm hoping that will inspire my efforts for next week. Tomorrow I'll post my results for the goals of the week and post new ones. The 25 degree warm up we had today is starting to make sidewalks a wee dangerous so I might be taking the bus to weigh in and only have to deal with a few sidewalks.

Only a few hours until the X-Weighted Challenge begins...I went to check if there was a new blog entry and the site is down. Hmmm I hope they're preparing for the whack of people signing up tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...hugs!!!

Kidnapped by aliens?

Day 6 and still completely on plan, I'm starting to think I was kidnapped by aliens and had some sort of mind meddling. Typically by today I'd be out of flexpoints, probably over points for the day and now planning a super low Friday.

I've been on plan for 6 days in a row, I still have 30 flex points and no plans to use them as it's too close to weigh in. Plus today I had issues which would normally give me justification to sabotage myself. This morning my bus never showed up resulting in me having to take a cab to work. I had a pretty busy day with a conference call that made no sense. The gym bag made it to work today and I hit the treadmill for 45min after work.

I forgot my tracker at home with my pre-planned day which had me worried for a second. I've taken that thing with me everywhere this week and put it on my desk open to the days page. I didn't stray from the plan at all.

Got home, had dinner and then a lovely bath with the Body Shop's coconut bubble bath and now I'm good until bed time.

My true test will be when snackapalooza hormone fueled week hits. It looks like I might be in Edmonton that week for work which adds a challenge. I've already been thinking that the hotel will most likely have a gym.

I don't if I told you all about the $250 dollar bonus I got this summer for all the work I put in. I was allowed to expense something worth $250 and at first I depated something practical like grocery gift cards but then I settled on a lululemon gift card. That's part of my goal. I don't want to use it now I want to go in their fitter and show off my hard work.

Speaking of Lulu, I checked out the website yesterday and discovered they carry the yoga dvd that I interrupted at site on Monday. I ordered it as I like the style and it reminded me a bit of the Namaste series.

Tomorrow I'll come home after work and do yoga, first I need to stop off at Kiehl's and investigate some skin care options. The cold weather is drying me out like crazy and what I have is sufficient for Calgary but not for Northern Alberta. I normally use Origins or Body Shop and I'm finding just not quite moisturzing enough. Kiehl's has a line specifically for cold weather and apparently a trial kit.

2 sleeps till the x-weighted challenge....are you getting excited?

Hope you all had a fantastic day!
Hugs!!!

Still going strong

Day 5 of this week and I'm still on track. Food wise completely OP today. Drank 2L of water by 3pm too.

Between the taking out the garbage, putting my clothing donation out the door and planning my day in the tracker I left without my gym bag. I'm not phased by it as I'm exhausted and think a rest day may not be so bad today. Besides I'm in first week of WW (again) so the fact that I've tracked everything, stayed OP, taken my vitamins every day, flossed and have logged more workouts in this week then I have in a long time- I'm doing alright.

I've truly surprised myself in how I've switched on this week. I was talking to my friend T about it and she said "It happens". I guess it does, now of course the trick will be to keep at it.

So I came home after work and watched the season premier of The Biggest Loser, wowsers they keep pushing the bar don't they. I'm still somewhat surprised no one has died on that show by taking someone over 500lbs sticking them on an exercise bike and saying O.K bike 26.2 miles on the first day.

I wandered onto the WW boards today and saw a thread where people were taking about the show and comparing it to Taking It Off (the predecessor to X-Weighted). While I'm always in awe of the finale of Biggest Loser the concept of the show can't really be done in real life. Not working for months and spending the entire day in the gym, not exactly feasible for the average person. Taking It Off and X-Weighted focus on people in their everyday life and dealing with fitting the workout into the day to day to life.

Of course I'll still watch BL and be inspired as always. Talk to you later,

Hugs!!!!

I did it, I really did it

Stayed OP at site anyway, if you're a frequent reader of my blog you know I have a difficult time eating at site with the daily french fries, desserts and all sorts of not so healthy options.

Well this time I did it, I didn't have any snacks on the plane out and when I got there Monday morning I had Special K for breakfast. I did have a lunch meeting and ventured into the main kitchen but I filled half my plate with veggies and had one scoop of beef ravioli. I got veggies to nibble on for the day. I never touched them, not once did I snack. They put a water cooler 4 feet behind my cubicle so water was totally on plan.

My workout didn't quite go according to plan. I was super tired but I changed my clothes and I went to the gym. I saw that it was dark so I walk in and turn on all the lights. Then I see that the tv is on and it's yoga. Then I notice the girl on the floor on her yoga mat doing Savasana. OMG did I feel bad so I quickly turned off the light above her head and then I just stood there. She was smack in front of the weights and the treadmill is noisy so I thought I could just wait her out. She then opened her eyes and told me to go ahead and do whatever I wanted as the noise didn't both her. So I hopped on to the closest thing, that was the treadmill and just started walking. My strength day turned into a cardio day. We did have a great discussion about the various styles of yoga. She was telling me the only workouts she really does is power yoga and her body was fantastic.

For dinner I dipped into the flex points but I haven't been eating any of the activity points I've been collecting and I still have 30 flexpoints left for the week.

I was telling this story to another co-worker and she said to me - why don't you do yoga on Mondays that would probably be better given that your up for 13 hours. Duh, I have a travel mat and there's enough room in my camp room to roll it out on the floor. I think I might try that next week so I might be revising my workout plan. I spoke to soon the other day when I said my shoulder wasn't sore, it's sore.

Next day had Special K for breakfast and packed my lunch in the "to go" kitchen. So I put together a chef salad - vegg plus an egg plus some cheese. I had an apple as an afternoon snack. I did have snacks on the plane home as I knew we'd be delayed so I had a granola bar and a bottle of water. I got home shovelled my sidewalk (workout for today) and had a bowl of cereal for supper. I still have 2 pts remaining but I honestly don't feel like eating anything as I want to go to bed soon.

I've tracked everything for the past 4 days so I'm at the midpoint of this week. If I can stay on track I should have a pretty fantastic first weigh in on Saturday. I'm planning out tomorrow and the gym bag is coming. I'm not to keen on weights with my sore shoulder so I might just stick to cardio and yoga this week.

4 sleeps until the x-weighted challenge and I was trying to think of a fitness goal over the last few days.

Saturday I find out more about this Momentum challenge that my leader briefly mentioned last Saturday.

All right my friends I'm going to continue to ride the positive wave I'm on.

Hugs!!!

Sun, snow and plans are taking shape

Hello my friends, hope your Sunday is going well.

Slept in a bit today and got up at 9am.

I did do some yoga last night and got half an hour in. My right shoulder wasn't so happy during the whole thing. Probably about a month ago I woke up with a sore shoulder from sleeping funny and I now seem to not have quite the same flexibility as before. I'll need to work on that and more yoga should help. I didn't feel any soreness today so I'll keep going.

Today I finished my laundry, got the clothes together that I'm donating and washed the dishes. Then I talked myself into going for a walk as today was a cardio day. The forecast kept saying it would be -7 but everytime I checked it was closer to -16 with -20 windchill. A bit later on it warmed up so at about 12:40pm I headed outside. I figured I'd warm up as I went anyway. I left the Nike + at home as I wasn't concerned about speed. I did my 5K route in the hood and just tuned everything out. I love it when I'm in the zone with my Ipod just singing along in my head and not another thought pops up. So 50 minutes later I was back at my front door. Not my fastest 5K but then again I didn't care about speed my base layer shirt was soaked.

It was a nice walk with some added stability exercises trying to navigate snow packed sidewalks.

I've having a hard time getting the points in today as I slept late and had a pretty low point breakfast. My veggies/fruit have not been so good today yet either so when I finish this I'm going to make a Green Monster but supper might be cheese and crackers. I also have some leftover lasagna but I'm not sure I want a full meal later as I need to be in bed early tonight. My alarm will going off very early tomorrow as I head back to site. I've got 6pts to get rid of and that's not eating any activity points or flex points. Update: Solved by adding two packs of Activia and some agave nectar to the green monster.

I'm going to do some yoga again tonight and pop in the Namaste DVD this time. I'm definitely starting from scratch again as it feels like I lost all the flexibility from months of not doing any yoga.

I've got my strength workout written down for tomorrow. If I head back to camp around 4pm I should have the women's gym (a small room) to myself. So here is the plan for tomorrow:

Warm Up - 15min treadmill brisk walk

5 Rounds each of:
15 Sit ups
15 Push ups
15 Dumbell Squats with two 10lb weights
10 Dumbell Swings with one 10lb weight.

I pulled this from the workouts I did with the trainer way back when. This is from the very beginning also as I do consider myself starting this all from scratch.

In terms of my week of workouts this is what I've figured out so far.

Saturday: Cardio
Sunday: Yoga
Monday: Strength/ Yoga
Tuesday: Yoga
Wednesday: Strength/ Yoga
Thursday: Cardio/ Yoga
Friday: Cardio/ Yoga

So this Saturday I only had a wee bit of Cardio so that's why I did the 50min walk today. I might alternate Sunday/Saturday depending on what's going on. I would like yoga to be a part of my routine daily and plan do to 30min well closer to 22min if I do single episodes of the Namaste series, maybe a little longer on the weekends and as my flexibility improves. This is the plan for now and I'll plan the specifics as I go. I stopped using coloured dots in my daily journal as the ink messes up the next page so I switched to colour coded check marks instead. Saturday mornings I'll post the tally from the week before to check my progress.

I'm wondering if the X-Weighted site will crash next Saturday with all of us gung ho about this challenge.

Alright my friends not sure if I'll post while at site but I wish you all a fantastic week ahead.

Hugs!!!

The Start

Alas I almost forgot why I was waking up to an alarm this morning and then I remembered - ah yes 1st meeting.

I would normally walk the 14 blocks to the meeting but this morning it was dark, -20 windchill and sketchy sidewalks so I took the bus. I decided to take the one that would get me to the mall at 8am so I could swing by Starbucks and then to sign up. I was thinking get there early as I'm sure it will be crazy.

Well I was early alright in fact had to wait outside for about 10min. Signed up pretty quickly as doing it online ahead of time totally saves time. Weighed in at 196.2 not sure if that's a Christmas gain or the fact that I was wearing more clothes than my traditional bathroom scale weigh in. Rediscovered my weigh in uniform (sweatpants and a t-shirt) which will now be worn every single weigh in to keep that consistent.

The leader Clare actually remembered me and gave me a bravo sticker for returning to meetings. Slightly embarrassing as that happened in front of the group but also heart warming at the same time. Two other women got bravo stickers because when they walked in they were saying they did not want to step on the scale. Recognized a number of faces and the group was not so big. Normally this meeting is full and there maybe 12 of us there. Then I found out that next week starts the no fee registration fee deal for in person paying. The deal I got was online registration. So it's important to be early next week to get a decent seat.

I did walk home though so kudos to me for that.

Of course the meeting topic was resolutions and Clare posted 4 things on the board:

1. To eat smarter I resolve to:
2. To move more I resolve to:
3. To make the most of my meetings I resolve to:
4. To build helpful habits I resolve to:

We discussed making specific, realistic, attainable goals so my commitment to the above is:

1. Track everything for the next 3 months and eat cleaner
2. Plan my workouts ahead of time and actually use my gym membership
3. Go to the meeting, ask questions when it hits and not hope someone else asks it instead
4. Manage my thoughts as they become my actions.

Someone said "Fail to plan, plan to fail" and that struck a chord with me.

I did pick up a memory card and while I can't always take pictures of what I eat (no camera rule at site) I can take pictures of my tracker in my room at site which I may do as an extra step of accountability to keep on track there as I go back Monday.

The pictures above are my plan to stay on track:
The daily journal with the dots - track behaviour and consistency of good behaviours
The paper clips - for my pounds lost visual paper clip chain to put on fridge
The pencil case - to house my 3 month tracker, workout book and journal so it's not destroyed in my luggage
The stickers - are for the wall calendar I used to track activity there and I may do so again or may use them in my journal for stellar achievements like hitting all my goals in a week.
The Red floral-ish coil notebook - this is the workout book so when I get to the gym I have something small that will help me remember what I was going to do as I'll be planning that ahead.
The blue coil notebook - this is my meeting notebook, I write the recipes or some other tidbit of info from the meeting.
The 3 month tracker - which will be my best friend from now on.

In terms of a goal weight I have no clue I know I said before 146 because that's what I need to stop paying. As I've never been skinny I have no clue what to put, I'm curious what the X-Weighted guidance will be on a a goal for 6 months and I'll probably work from that.

As far as today goes I've very on track for OP day and so far I have 30min of walking under my belt. My plan for this evening is a nice yoga practice. I've neglected this and I need it. Oh and I need to take my measurements. When I first joined WW I didn't do this and always regreted it.

Alright that's all I got for today but tomorrow I'll post my workout plan for this week.

Hope your Saturday is fabulous.

Hugs!!!!

It's not a resolution - it's a goal

Happy 2010 my friends,

Hope all your New Year's plans went how you planned. I wound up going to bed early as I was yawning like crazy by 9pm.

Today I've just puttered so far, doing laundry and reading Shape magazine. I have Fitness, Self and Women's Healthy yet to read. Everytime my friend's kid has a fundraising event with magazine subscriptions I take full advantage.

At one point last night I decided to go find my old weigh in books and then I stopped myself. I know what my original starting weight was but I don't need to re-visit that information as this is a fresh start. I did find a whack of journals that I've started in different periods of my life. All mentioned weight loss and then whatever else was going on in my life at the time. It's definitely time for that subject to be laid to rest. It has often been my "resolution" but now it must be more concrete than that and be a goal.

In 2009 I completed the HR Management Certificate, I got the CHRP designation and though I started my current job in 2008 I had my one year anniversary in November - and I still love it and more importantly in these economic times - I still have it. All of these were goals I achieved so now I transfer that energy to getting to goal weight. I realize it won't be easy but neither were any of the goals completed in 2009. I am pretty happy that I've never seen that original starting weight again.

I go back to WW meetings first thing in the morning tomorrow but I've tracked everything today. Why wait was my thinking. I won't stay for the new members part after the main meeting as I don't need it. I'm not a new member just a returning one.

I'm looking forward to it and I'm a wee bit nervous. I remember the first time I joined I had no idea what to expect. I know that it will be nothing but positivity but I'm determined this is the last time I have to "re-join" and that's where the bit of nervousness kicks in. So 2010 is dedicated to getting myself together.

I also sat down and tried to figure out a work out plan for myself. I can work in 3 cardio workouts, 2 strength workouts and 3 yoga workouts per week. The cardio/strength can be combined together and my yoga practice is home based so it's incredibly feasable now it just needs dedication. Cardio can be the gym, going outside or a workout dvd. Strength can be going to the gym or a dvd. I'm not considering yoga to be a workout so much but more as a wellness factor. Don't kid yourselves yoga can be a workout depending on what you do.

I'm going to test it out this week before I post more details. I want to work out any kinks.

All right my friends the focus of this blog is back to getting to goal as it was originally intended.

A toast to 2010 and may we all complete our goals.

Hugs!!!

And it begins...again

Hello again my friends, and Happy New Year's Eve.

I'm officially caught up on all your blogs and I'm totally motivated by your motivation and happy to hear Christmas celebrations went well.

My Greyhound adventure on Dec. 23rd was interesting. When I got there I noticed they had combined the smaller town gate (i.e. Olds, Didsbury, Carstairs eventually getting to Edmonton) with the semi direct bus to Edmonton (via Red Deer). The line was gigantic at the gate and I quickly realized most of these people were trying to get to Edmonton. My bus to Olds did board on time at 3pm but I was sitting next to a guy on his way to Edmonton. He had purchased a ticket for the 1:30pm bus to Edmonton but I guess Greyhound doesn't actually count the number of tickets they sell for each bus. Once the bus is full it takes off and then all these people have to wait for the next one. Sort of reminded me of cattle. This bus takes 5hrs to get to Edmonton because it's stopping in a few towns along the way so originally he was expecting to be in Edmonton by 6:00pm ish now he was arriving at 8pm. The funny part - he was taking the bus to Edmonton to catch the train to Toronto. My thought was - dude you should have flown. I did suggest to him that next time if he takes the bus pay a little more and get a reserved seat ticket that's a way better chance of actually getting on the bus you want.

The week with Dad was great, I had my nose in a book almost the entire time and read all of the Kim Harrison books plus the Patricia Briggs books I got for Christmas. I didn't touch the Beck book as I think I'll be doing that tomorrow. Watched a lot of CBC and realized I do enjoy Stephen and Chris, and Fashion File.

My grand New Year's Eve plans are to put on my PJs watch some movies. I have a lovely bottle of wine in the fridge. I have no desire to do anything else.

I registered for WW meetings online today as I could save the registration fee that way. I also pre-paid for 12 weeks.

My memory card died so I couldn't take pictures of some of my "stay on track" plans but I'll tell you about them for now and pick up a new card on Saturday so pictures are coming. I borrowed one idea from Skinny Me and that's the daily planner/journal idea of tracking my progress. Congratulations go out to her on her engagement as well :) I've come up with the coloured dot thing to track my cardio, strength training, yoga, vitamins, staying Op and flossing. I'm really good at sticking with these things for a certain period of time and then I abandon them. I want to track why I abandon. I might overtime put this info into a graph - yes I am a total geek and damned proud of that.

The vitamins, flossing and staying OP are daily goals. I still need to sort out a plan for the cardio, strength and yoga that's realistice for me and doesn't cause me to get overwhelmed and abandon the whole thing.

I will purchase a 3-month journal when I got to my first meeting on Saturday as well. I've always preferred those to the one week ones.

I once (a long time ago) had to weigh in at a different meeting because I couldn't make my usual one. At that meeting they gave each person a chain of coloured paper clips. One clip for each pound you lost. At one time I had a chain of 25 paper clips on my fridge. The clips came down when I lost my weight loss mojo. I want to put the clips back on my fridge and even make a chain to keep at work as a visual guide to keep me from straying.

Of course there's also the X-Weighted Challenge that starts next week. Normally I'm not so good with challenges but I think this one will be different as it's really a challenge against myself. If I were to win a prize I'd think I'd go for the gym equipment. Training with Paul and a make-over with Fred would be fun but over quickly. I've watched the show since it first aired and I know the biggest part is overcoming your own demons.

I've reset my weigh in on the sidebar of this blog and I'll reset the tracker above the title also once I have my starting weigh in.

It's pefectly realistic for me to hit my goal weight in 2010 and heaven help me I'm tackling this head on for the last time. Third time is the charm - right?

All right my friends, if you are going out tonight please be safe and may we all reach out goals in 2010.

Hugs!!!

Back from the country

Just a super quick post to say hi and that I'm back in the city. I'll post my adventures with Greyhound tomorrow and after I catch up on all your blogs.

My little grey cells have been working on ways to keep me on track with this whole weight loss thing and I'll share more about that tomorrow.

Hope all your Chritmas celebrations were wondeful.

Hugs!!!

I adore you guys

I'm totally inspired reading all your blogs lately and the plans to get back on track. I love the journals, the stickers and all the planning that's going on, as I'm planning the same.

I've been going non stop since I got home from work just taking care of all the house chores before I leave tomorrow. I've dusted, hoovered, done laundry, put dishes away, folded laundry and took out the garbage (which involved digging out the gate as it was wedged in by snow). Last week I flung my garbage over the fence because I couldn't get to the other side. Not an option when you're trying to get to the recycle bin.

I'm tired now I tell ya. Tomorrow is steam mopping the kitchen and the bathroom floor, hemming a pair of sweat pants that I already owned and packing for the trip. I'll probably nap on the greyhound.

I'll have a week to think of a good year ending post as I'll be back on the 30th.

I wanted to make sure to stop into today to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy 2010.

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

One more day

Until I'm off for Christmas vacation. I had planned to just get organized today like go through my email, clean off my desktop, do anything that could be done early so when I come back on the 4th it will be organized.

Best laid plans I tell ya. I was busy with other people's stuff. One of my co-workers needed help covering another co-worker's stuff and it just seemed like little fire after little fire. When I answered my phone people were surprised I was there. So you were calling me hoping to get the message?

I swear tomorrow I'm not answering the phone and closing the door. Because the day was busy I had no desire to hit the to-do list at home. There is stuff I need to do before leaving on Wednesday afternoon. Right now I have no desire.

The good thing about leaving it for tomorrow is that it will have to be done. No excuses. I don't need to leave until 1pm ish on Wednesday so I'd like to get all the chores done Thursday night so I can zip to Sport Check in the morning (right when they open) to pick up a pair of sweat pants.

I did find an unbelievably good little snack today. I hit the Yogen Fruz and got a small non fat Key Lime Pie. OMG it was yummy even with it snowing outside.

I'm so psyched about rejoining WW meetings when I return from my Dad's and then a week after that is the X-Weighted challenge. I'm feeling good my friends.

I will post again before I leave so I'll save my holiday greetings for then.

Hugs!!!

It's decided

After much deliberation on this blog I've definitely decided to return to meetings. So on Jan. 2 I'll sign up for Weight Watcher meetings for the 3rd time. My mom died between the 1st and the 2nd so I'm not disappointed about myself for that. There was stuff to deal with.

Starting the new job curtailed the 2nd time, it took me awhile to adjust to the longer hours and earlier start. I can't use that as an excuse though because I need to make this a priority. I thought I could do this on my own and that's not the case. I need the accountability of stepping on someone else's scale. Plus I like the stupid stickers, the key chains, the charms and the booklets. So on that Saturday I'll go to the meeting I used to go to. I'm not a 100% sure that Saturday morning will stay my meeting time as there are a few evening options plus I work super close to the downtown one.

I think the nail on the head on making this decision was reading about Kate's success. Now I'm a total loner at meetings but I do enjoy being part of the group. The weird thing is the first time I saw the Tiffany Key I immediately thought of getting to goal. So I might copy Kate and when I hit maintenance I'll get the Tiffany Crown Key pendant with the oval link chain. When I get there it will have been a life long battle and I think I deserve a little bling. Of course that will be for when I get there.

When I first joined WW I weighed 204lbs got my WW 10% key chain at 184 and eventually got to 168. Then it was a long process of putting it back on. I'm now 194. I've had that key chain attached to my keys since the day I got it. Today I took it off.

This is a new journey now and there will be a new keychain dang it. I do remember seeing a whack of people sign up in January and then by March disappear. I'm in it to win it.

Saw the Alberta Ballet's Nutcracker today and it was lovely. I always get goose bumps at the Sugar Plum fairy part.

Hope your Sunday was wonderful!

Hugs!!!!

I'm cool with that

Today's weigh in results are +0.1. Yes that's up .1 of a pound. I'm wondering if I should have just exhaled on the scale maybe I could have maintained again. I think my saving grace was being busy this week which included racing around.

At any rate I'm ridiculously pleased with that as I was saying yesterday food was a battle this week. The two days at work this week won't be bad as hardly anyone will be around which also means no cookies.

The week at my Dad's house will have no cookies, chocolates or convenience stores. He is kind of funny as he'll give advice on how to lose weight but then tell me I'm not eating enough when I don't want to finish the giant serving he's given me.

The Beck book is coming with me as I'll have 12 days starting Wednesday to just chill with a book or mulitple books. Did I mention my Dad has 3 channels. I'm going from my digital cable (which has nothing on lately anyway) to 3 channels and it's only the CBC that really comes in clearly. So as I said loads of time to read.

This morning I got up had breakfast, looked up the next bus and scurried down to MEC. It wasn't crazy busy at all. Got my Dad's fleece jacket, a calendar and pair of Kahtoola Microspikes (pictured above). I've heard really good things about these things plus reviews on mec.ca rate it 5 stars. I got a pair of myself too. I might try them out this weekend as sidewalks are still not in great condition and more snow is coming. Not sure if Dad will buy in to the whole concept of snow chains for your shoes. So I'll make sure to keep the receipt just in case he rejects the whole idea.

Zipped up a couple of blocks to the Safeway downtown grabbed milk as that's all I really need for the week and then went in search of a bus home. Decided to see if the bus that gets me close to home was coming soon so I called transit and it said next bus in 4min. My other option would have been a different bus that's a few blocks from home.

It just seemed like everything lined up today. This also means I'm completely done my Christmas shopping anything else is just gravy. I'm going to the Nutcracker Ballet tomorrow and I'm kind of excited about that.

Alright my friends take deep breaths today if you're heading to a mall, stay safe, stay sane and have a wondeful Saturday.

Hugs!!!

Wild Ride

I mean food wise, for the past week I've been super busy at work and for the last 4 days have had lunch bought for me as I've been working some co-workers who can expense their meals as there in Calgary this week so they just add my lunch in. Of course my two co-workers are male so the food choices haven't exactly been salads. I haven't been finishing the meals so not sure if that helps.

Between the cookies and gift baskets filled with food arriving at the office it's been a bit wild. Water consumption has been minimal. Don't ya just love Christmas.

I expect the scale will show a gain tomorrow but I'm cool with that. That doesn't mean I'm writing everything off until after Christmas. Oh no getting back on track starts now.

I am again seriously considering going back to meetings after New Year's though. Plus there's usually a promotion in January so perhaps they'll waive the sign up fee. I'm feeling I need the weigh in book, the journal and the meetings again.

I know I waffle on that all the time but we'll see. All I know is that when I went to meetings I had better progress. Lately I've been feeling like a snuffleupagus and I'm not liking that at all.

I do work on Monday and Tuesday and then off on Wednesday until the New Year, but I'll enjoy those couple of days to get sorted at work so that when I come back after Christmas it won't quite as much of a gong show.

I'm feeling very positive about 2010 as I've reached some major goals I had, one being finishing my HR certificate and the other getting the CHRP designation so I'm thinking from now and through 2010 the focus will be on getting healthy.

Alright those are the musings of today. Have a fabulous weekend.

Hugs!!!!

Cookie Monster's soul mate

I just pulled the third tray of whipped short bread cookies out of the oven. I took them to work earlier this week and I promised more for tomorrow. Plus I used cookies to bribe someone in to calling me back with info so I owe some cookies too.

The butter was a bit softer this time plus I whipped them for a little longer and they are super light and fluffy this time. It's bizarre really, same recipe and slightly different conditions turn into something different.

This time I sprinkled them with some red sparkles when they came out of the oven. I made them a wee bit more festive this time.

Glitterati - We must chill during the holidays. I'm back from Dad's on the 30th and don't return to work until the 4th.

Many Canadian blogs have been posting about the X-Weighted Challenge starting in January and I am so in. You can register online or in select cities. I'll most likely do online on Jan 9th.

I love the show and have seen tremendous results. Of course staying focused is key. I'm thinking that combined with Beck's Diet Solution read a bit slower could definitely help me.

Many are heading off on their Christmas holiday so if you are I wish you all the best.

In the meantime I'll most likely be posting until the 22nd.

Hope interesting things happen to blog about...hugs!!!

Little surprises

So my good friend and co-worker T, keeps leaving these little mystery packages on my desk saying do not open until Dec. 25. Today my new boss gave myself and team member little Christmas presents. I just think it's all so nice and was very pleasantly surprised that's for sure. I was expecting this at all.

I only have one thing left on my list and I need to go to MEC which will probably happen this Saturday.

Tomorrow The Body Shop finally re-opens in the mall downtown and I'm thrilled as I desperately need under eye concealor and I love their lightening touch. I've tried all the imposters but nothing works like this.

What I'm truly looking forward to about Christmas at Dad's is sleeping. I sleep like a baby at this house and it's got something to do with the country air, zero sound and zero lights as we're in the middle of the country. I'm so rested there and I so need it as apparently I'm going to be smokin' busy from Jan to Aug at work.

Sadly nothing else to report. I did step on the scale this morning and was happy to only see a half pound gain. I can definitely handle that.

Hope you all had a fabulous day.

Hugs!!!

Sleepy

I'm tired today and not entirely sure why. Could be the 10hrs of work teamed with the warming temperatures. When I left this morning it was -20 (-26 with wind chill) and when I left work it was -7. It definitely takes it's toll but I'd rather be tired then have a headache.

I had no idea they debunked the losing heat through your head. Oh well it sucks when your ears get cold.

I think I need to start the Beck Diet Solution from the start again as my behaviour has been far from good. Definitely snackapalooze teamed with a wee bit of stress due to being busy and dealing with change. We recently moved offices and I've been adjusting to a new space and moderately irritating things like not being able to scan anything.

I definitely eat my emotions that's for sure.

Today the uber boss was talking about a fitness challenge focused solely on exercise. Everyone puts in $10 and then you track every 1/2 hr of exercise as a point. When you hit 10 your name gets entered for a draw. I'm totally in if they decide to do it. While I suck at blog challenges I might do better when it's with the people you spend the bulk of your day with.

It's going to be a long week with tons to do so my hard core exercise effort may not return until when I'm back from Christmas vacation. Funny it's just in time for New Year's. I'm not a big fan of the New Year resolution because if you really want to change something why wait for New Years. So really all I can do is take it day by day.

I'm going to spend a week with Dad for Christmas. I adore my father but sometimes we're so a like we drive each other bananas. A solid week together which hasn't happened in a year and a half could be interesting. I'm aiming for calm and relaxing. He turned 87 a few weeks ago and while you would never in a million years guess he was that age (could easily pass for 60ish) I'm conscious of how much time we will still have together. Of course I could get hit by a bus tomorrow, when your time is up - your time is up. I would like appreciate these moments.

Alright my friends, I hope everyone had a fantastic day.

Hugs!!

I don't get it

It was very cold today with it being -28 when I left for work. I was wearing my sleeping bag jacket. It's the long goose down coat from Lands End that makes me think of a sleeping bag. Plus whenever I wear it I'm so toasty warm I could nap anywhere. Seriously I almost fell asleep on the bus to work and the bus home.

I should try putting this thing on when I have insomnia.

Winter is serious business and lately the freakishly cold weather (Edmonton had -46C this weekend that's base temperature, factor in windchill and your heading into the -50C) means you have to dress appropriately to avoid nasty things like frost bite or hypothermia. It absolutely amazes me when this woman got on the bus this morning with nothing covering her head. She had a scarf around her neck and her hair was styled just so. Up to 50% of your body heat can be lost through the top of your head. I looked around the bus and everyone had something on their head except for her. It would be fine if she was hoping in and out of a car but she was waiting for the bus outside.

Yes I get the vanity but when the weather gets dangerous I just thought this woman was an idiot. You can fix your hair when you get to work.

We're supposed to warm up rather dramatically as Wednesday is calling for a +1C so that means all Calgarians better have their advil/tylenol on hand as that tends to cause headaches for many people. It looks like it stays plus for about 3 days which will then cause winter driving chaos part 2 as snow will melt and then freeze. Remember people - sufficient stopping distance is key.

Food was pretty good today but I do find it hard in cold weather that's for sure add in that it's foodapalooza week for me and it's just plain dangerous.

I baked my first batch of Whipped Short Bread cookies of the season which will head to work tomorrow. Then I'll need a second batch for other work mates on Friday.

Plus I want to make a new cookie recipe that I found, might do that tomorrow.

Stay warm my friends and don't forget your toque.

Hugs!!!

Brrrrrr

It's -28C out there today, colder if the wind picks up.

Tracked everything I ate yesterday, I did have wee little free for all yesterday but it's recorded and I planned a wee bit of a anything I want day. Today has a been a wee battle with the christmas chocolate but I'm winning and still on plan.

It took me an hour to talk myself into bundling up and shovelling my sidewalk. I did it and then my neighbour swung by with cookies. There some type of chocolate apricot mixture. Happily I'm not a fan of chocolate mixed with fruit. Another friend gave my ginger spice cookies yesterday, I'm not a fan of those either. So as long no one gives me shortbread I'm good on the resisting cookies.

I do need to do some Christmas baking but today which involves shortbread. I didn't really have the get up and go. I might bake one version still today and bring it to work tomorrow. I'm cool with it if it goes straight to somewhere else.

I should also make some turkey meatballs or do something with the ground turkey in the fridge.

Alright not a lot to say today, stay warm my friends.

Hugs!!

Holding steady

Stayed exactly the same on the scale this morning. Which I'm totally o.k with given that I haven't tracked anything since Monday and didn't go to the gym once.

I do have to get over my block of going to the gym in cold weather. It's not like this is going to end tomorrow as winter doesn't technically start until Dec. 21 so there could be another few months of this.

Tried a new bread at breakfast. It's Dempsters Healthy Way with Pre Cardio something or other. I got the whole wheat version and it clocks in at 1pt for a slice thanks to 5g of fibre. I think it's a keeper as it tasted more like normal whole wheat bread than the cardboard versions. Every now and then I don't want seeds or nuts in my bread.

Ran around with my friend P today. Hit Ikea for meatballs, rosti, napkins, vanilla tea lights (cheap and they make the best) and a couple of other little things.

Next stop a classic bakery in the city where I picked up a Bavarian rye bread.

Then zipped to the local German deli where I picked up the potato dumpling mix, gravy mix and various chocolate with marzipan (that goes in my Christmas stocking).

Then to the grocery store where I just picked up what I forgot yesterday.

Not bad for -27 and the very quick race in and out of the vehicle.

Got home and watched part one of the revamped Alice that was on my pvr. Realized I recorded part two on a channel I don't get. Luckily it's replaying tomorrow. Bought 3 tickets for the Nutcracker ballet, one for me and two for P and her daughter. That's my Christmas present to them.

Downloaded a whack of Christmas music off of Itunes as I've been feeling the spirit and wanted to listen to some classics.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be a wee colder so it's a good day to clean the house, get some Christmas baking done and pack the gym bag for tomorrow. I can get at least 3 gym visits in next week and that's my goal.

Hope you all enjoyed your Saturday.

Hugs!!!

Hair of the dog

Woke up a wee bit hung over from the company Christmas party last night. It started at 5:30pm and I left at 9ish.

Lost count of the diet coke/vodkas I was drinking but I still had my wits together as there was a glass of water and a few sips of straight up diet coke in there. Fairly positive I didn’t do anything embarrassing. Smart planning that today was a paid day off. Finger food was the menu and didn’t do too bad there. Most importantly I had fun and that hasn’t happened in a long time. Laughed a lot so that has to count as an ab workout. Got home drank a big glass of water and took a Motrin.

Stepped on the scale this morning as it wasn’t so bad.

Felt not so bad, a little dehydrated but not sick. Got dressed and went to the post office to pick up my new passport now good until 2014. Hit Wal-Mart and Safeway and stocked up on vegg, fruit, protein, soup, a few frozen “emergency” meals and other sundries.

The snow has been falling continuously and it’s supposed to be stupid cold tomorrow (-20) today it stayed around –11.

As I’m home all week next week I wanted to be prepared food wise. I think I’m ready there. Had a two hour nap in the afternoon and paid close attention to the food today. This included drinking a lot of water.

Not sure what will happen with weigh in tomorrow but I embrace whatever that number says.

Tomorrow I meet up with my friend P and we’re going to IKEA. I want to pick up a few boxes of their frozen Roti potato pancakes and the meatballs – a fast protein with a side of frozen vegg and I’m good to go.

Finally watched the Biggest Loser finally on the pvr. Is it just me or did you hate Rebecca’s hair as much as I did. I far preferred her as a brunette. I realize she wanted to be shazaam but I think red would have suited her better. I thought she looked a little gaunt plus older but good for her for winning. Tracy looked a little freaky too.

Excited about the new season Jan. 5. I love that they don’t make you wait forever.

That’s all I got for today.

Hugs!!!

Whacky weather continues

Worked late today and got a ride home but wowsers light snow on top of packed snow made a white knuckle trip going up hills.

To Enz – I am in the field of the CHRP.

So site this week was interesting, when we landed on Monday the pilot said the current temperature was –37C…brrrr. I didn’t want to get off the plane. It did warm up to a balmy –26C.

The next day was worse, at lunch it had to be –40C with the wind as your skin screamed the minute it came in contact. By the time I left it was –20 no wind and you felt like you could take your gloves and toque off.

I had long johns on the entire time. Thankfully I own multiple pairs thanks to half marathon training in the dead of winter a few years back. It did feel like I was wearing snow pants the whole time.

Eating was so so this trip as the cold weather definitely makes you want to eat. It’s like a hibernation thing. Worked late Monday and by the time I got to camp all the treadmills where full so I just went for dinner and to bed.

Due to working late no gym today. Tomorrow is the Christmas party right after work so no gym. Friday we’ll see but apparently the weather is supposed to be super bad again. We can’t catch a break lately. I don’t back to site until the New Year so that means I am in control of my food for the next few weeks. Which means I need to get to a grocery store and not sure when that’s going to happen.

Your up to date on me, hope all of you are doing well.

Hugs!!!

Quick note…I passed

Remember way back in October I was talking about this mega test. Well the results were waiting in my mailbox when I got home. I passed!!!!! Which means I can now put the letters CHRP behind my name.

Be back tomorrow with tales of the site and –40C

Hugs!!!

When the weather outside is frightful...

Multiple pictures for you today and probably a longish post. The first picture is the promised advantages response card. My apologies I can't get it facing the right way on this and for some reason pictures won't load from live writer.

The 2nd photo is my favourite Christmas decoration. It's an advent candle holder and the angles spin when the candles are lit. It's completely hand carved and a German tradition.

The 3rd picture is what I wound up doing yesterday. My friend T called and asked if I wanted to go for a pedicure. I asked if she was willing to drive in the crazy snow. She said yes so I said yes and it also resulted in a manicure. Normally I go with light colours on my fingernails. When I do it at home I make a royal mess of dark colours. I thought why not do something different with a professional doing it. We'll see how long it lasts when I get to site.

The final picture is of the wee birds taking advantage of neighbours bird feeder in the crazy winds and cold. Determined little guys I must say.

My major activiy yesterday was shovelling my sidewalk. The east side barely had any. The west side had a gigantic snow drift that made the lawn, sidewalk and road look like one mega pile of snow. The deepest part was one foot and it took me awhile just chiseling away inch by inch until it was done. I was trying to time my shoveling with the wind but I did get a face full of snow at one point when the wind shifted.

I left at around noon for the mani/pedi and got home at 3pm with only having had breakfast. I was starving. I weighed out some high fibre tortilla chips, added some 2% tex mex cheese and had nachos for a 3pm lunch. The late lunch totally messed me up it just launched a snacking instinct. The damage wasn't bad and I wound up using 5 flexpoints. Today I will totally on plan as I will again save flex for site and be mindful of what I put on my plate.

I decided to change my goal weight yesterday after re-familiarizing myself with some of my WW stuff. 146 is the high end of age/height range and I think that's perfectly reasonable goal for now. Once I get there I'll be able to determine better what's right for me. I have no idea what 146 will look like on me so I'm looking forward to finding out. I also added the dates on weigh in list as I just wanted to be a bit more specific. November was me trying to figure out how to do this again. I'm planning to get this ball seriously rolling this December with my weigh in yesterday.

As I mentioned the other day I've been working my way through the Beck book. The day one activity was the action response card (reasons you want to lose weight). I keep these in the book as I kind of bookmark.

Day 2 was pick two reasonable diets, the 2nd is for if you hit a wall with the first one. No brainer that number one is weight watchers online and my number two is still weight watchers but going back to meetings or following filling foods only a la old Core program.. I know that's a little wishy washy but when I follow the points I try to use my everyday points for nutritionally sound food and the flex for treats. I've been successful with this program before and I will again.

Day 3 is eating when sitting down or stop grazing I take it as. I do eat sitting down, on the sofa in front of the tv. My plan now is to eat at the dining room table and make meals an event not a hobby and eat mindfully. I will set a placemat and maybe light a candle at dinner to make it more focused. I'll start that at lunch today.

Day 4 is giving yourself credit in other words don't beat yourself up. Celebrate the small successes too. I'm pretty good at that usually. I recognize where I go wrong and the focus on the future. "I never look back darling, it distracts from the now" - Edna Mode.

Day 5 is eat mindfully and slowly, this for me is combined with day 3.

Day 6 is find a diet coach, well that's where you all come in. I use your blogs and comments for inspiration and help.

That's as far as I've gotten so far. I'm not going into mega detail as you should really read the book if your interested but I'm sharing my impressions. So far I'm finding it super similar to the tools weight watchers gives you too but it's nice to see it phrased differently.

I know a few other people are checking this book out right now - what do you guys think?

I'm bringing my runners to site and once again have a date with the treadmill. Next week does have one challenge being the company Christmas party on Thurday but I will have a plan for that as I can plan ahead. Activity is on list of priorities this week, along with tracking and getting the H2O in. I will keep you guys updated on that. Apologies about the mega paragraph, of course in compose it looks one way and when posted it does it's on thing.

Stay warm and enjoy your Sunday...later!

Hugs!!!!

Down 2.1lbs!!!!

I'm pretty darn happy with that I can tell you. Mini post just to update you on the weigh in. I shall be back with more later as I got further into the Beck book last night and have thoughts I need to type.

Hugs!

Blizzard Conditions

We knew it was coming but I have to admit I was a bit flabbergasted when at 8:30am I looked out the office window and felt like I was standing in the middle of a snow globe. It seems Fridays are cursed in Calgary. Last Friday was ice everywhere and today drifting snow and minimal visibility. The picture is from out my front window, not sure if you can make out the drifting snow.

One co-worker was hoping to fly to Newfoundland later - not happening. Another co-worker was planning to drive to Edmonton - not happening. Winter is in full swing and so are road closures.

By 10am we had a call from the boss to go have our potluck and then head home. The trifle turned out fantastic but there were only a handful of us there. I left it in the work fridge in hopes they'll finish it on Monday. Far better than taking it home when blechy weather, howling wind and the desire to hibernate takes over and eats it straight out of the trifle bowl.

I was home by 12:30pm and amazingly my amazon order arrived about an hour later. So I now have the rest of the Kim Harrison - Rachel Morgan Series to curl up with. Boy did the Canada Post dude look tired.

Temperatures are expected to be around -25C this weekend and I plan to stay put. Yes, eventually -25 won't phase me but right now I'm happy to play winter wimp. I am not even going to try shovelling the walk until the wind quiets down. Some parts of my sidewalk are a bit bare and some parts look like there is a few inches of snow.

Food has been alright this week, last night I did wind up eating the leftover custard but my activity points of the week covered that. Due to some challenges this week I won't have a spectacular loss tomorrow as I was hoping to but it will be a loss. If there are going to be higher point days, they definitely need to be further away from weigh in. Next week I will have no dinners out and no pot lucks. I did track everything this week which is a bit of a victory. I wrote out my Action Response Card a la Beck book today and I will post that tomorrow.

Things I need to work on next week is once again water. I also need to be better prepared to schedule gym visits even if the weather is bad or plans go awry.

Tonight I tried the Chicken Quesadilla Smart One - 4pts, one thing is that it's 4pts per serving and there are two servings in the box. Of course the front of the box shows a picture of two halfs. It was tasty with a roma tomato on the side and spritz of balsamic dressing. Definitely a small serving compaired to their 6pt varities.

If your out and about in Alberta, be careful and stay safe. Until later...Hugs!!!!

When plans go astray

Busy, busy day today and some unplanned events.

Day was alright, tracking went well then a late day meeting and then tiredness ruled and I went out for dinner with my friend T instead of hitting the gym.

The dinner worked out as that’s what flexpoints are for not to mention it was great to chat with T and I had 8pts left for dinner on top of that plus I had 8 activity points. I’m guessing I’m out of flexpoints for the next two days but I have 7.5 activity points still banked.

Got mega kudos at work which makes me very happy. I did an amazingly speedy lunch shopping trip that got the secret Santa present out of the way. The chocolate cake for tomorrow’s trifle assembly is baking as I type. Raspberries are defrosting in the fridge.

For the crazy work I did this summer I got a wee bonus and decided to use it on a lululemon gift certificate for myself. I went with a gc because I’m not at a size where I want to invest a lot in lululemon gear but I’ll get there and then treat myself.

The plan for tomorrow is now stay perfectly on plan and hit the gym. Not to mention play close attention to water.

I’m so close to this weigh in and I don’t want to blow it.

It’s going to be an early night again I think. The Beck book will have to wait until perhaps this weekend but I will keep you in the loop.

Hugs!!!

Winter has arrived

Food at site went better this time around. I definitely used some flex as it’s difficult when you’ve got a 14 hour day going on. But I’m still on track.

Did 5K on the treadmill Monday night. Didn’t have a single french fry either. Stuck to protein and veggies mostly actually. Trying to work my way through the Beck book. Last night I was out like a light by 7:30pm. This is what happens when you’re up at 3:30am.

Winter hit with a vengeance, not so much at site but yesterday anyone flying out was delayed due to nasty weather in Calgary.

Luckily no issues flying home tonight but woke up to a mini blizzard. I think long johns are going into the bag from now on. 

I will pack my gym bag and hit the company gym tomorrow. I’m on track to a decent weigh in for the first time in a long time. It’s amazing really, when you follow the program it actually works.

Alright it’s going to be an early to bed night again so I’ll talk to you later.

Hugs!!!!

8.2K today

I went grocery shopping and left with only what I needed which is a major victory this time of year. Safeway has almond tarts at Christmas and I love, love, love these. A few weeks ago I came home with a pack it’s bad news.

I will have them at Christmas (in moderation) and not before. I want complete focus until Christmas, partake in only my absolute favourites (the list is short) and then back on plan. My favourites include those tarts, chocolate covered marzipan and that’s about it. My family doesn’t do turkey and my baking goes out the door to neighbours and the office.

I came home with a few Smart Ones frozen meals as emergency dinners. My favourite is the fettuccine with broccoli, but I picked up a few new ones the quesadilla and the Florentine lasagne.

I walked a total of 8.2K today, 3.7k to and from grocery store and the 4.5k walk around the hood this afternoon. This earned 5 activity points today that will stay banked.

All food today is in the tracker and I’m on goal to hit my target points again no flex. I don’t want to eat anything after 6pm as bedtime will be 8pm as I have to catch the Monday plane in the wee hours of the morning.

I’m saving all the flex points for site in case I need them.

Hope you’re having a fabulous Sunday.

Hugs!!!

Not one flex point for the first time…ever?

My mission yesterday was to stay focused and I happily report I did. I stuck to points, I tracked everything and I drank just over 2L of water. I didn’t use a single flex point which is my normal (we’re talking years) habit.

I weighed myself this morning and it said down a 1lb, definitely in the right direction but the true test is Saturday.

I did feel snacky last night and my witching hour is usually after supper. So when I felt the urge I distracted myself with a facial. I exfoliated, used a mask, a serum and moisturized. I also painted my toe nails.

Now I can’t give myself a facial every day but I thought it was a good start. I can change my nail colour frequently though.

I’m just passed the introduction of the Beck philosophy in the book, I think I hit my first activity today.

Writing this Windows Live Writer today, I keep hearing about it so I thought I’d try it. Which means I’ll have to add more pictures as apparently it’s way easier using live writer.

The Nike sensor and I will be calibrating it on our way to the grocery store and then I’ll head out for a longer walk later. It’s supposed to be 10 degrees today. I must enjoy it while it lasts.

Might be back later.

Hugs

No more peanut butter/ chocolate for me

Alas I was up .2 this morning. I had an altercation with some mini reese's cups last night brought on by a "last meal" kind of vibe. The reason I bought these things is they're 1pt each that's great if it wasn't a trigger food. I tossed the remaining ones and no more for me.

There are definitely some foods that need to be off limits for me. The everything in moderation is not working in those areas.

I seriously debated mentioning this at all on this blog but to not admit it to you means I'm not being honest with myself. Plus so many of you are so honest with your efforts that it would disrespectful to you to not do it myself.

New week starts today and breakfast is in the online tracker. I had wanted to test out the nike sensor today but a sheet of ice has fallen over my city and sidewalks/roads are treacherous. The gym is a 15min walk or a 4 block walk to the bus stop. I'll see how the day progresses as I expect once the sun warms up that will melt. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm so if all else fails I'll go out then. If I'm stuck inside today I'll break out the yoga/pilates.

Today the focus is also on water. I've completely sucked at that lately. I have a litre sitting right beside me right now.

My amazon order arrived yesterday afternoon with "The Beck Diet solution" book. I'll be cracking that open today, what I like is it's based on cognitive therapy. I definitely believe the mind is a positive tool. I'll definitely share my experiences with this book.

Shaking off the negative and focusing on the positive.

Hugs!!

2 in one day!

Yes I felt compelled to blog again.

The renew passport option that the Canadian government now offers is awesome. I had to get passport photos so I just went to the place next door to the passport office. Didn't need the pictures to be signed by anyone because you don't have to for a renewal. Waltzed into the passport office with my old passport and the form I downloaded and shazaam my new passport should be in my mailbox by Dec. 12th.

Then I decided to go the mall to pick up a new journal. I also picked up a new book - Kim Harrison's Dead Witch Walking. The front of the book had a shout out from Charlaine Harris (who writes the beloved Sookie Stackhouse novels) so I couldn't resist. The mall is under mega renovation but you can see a glimmer of what it will be when done.

I walked from one of downtown to the other.

I discovered a Betsey Johnson store smack on 8th ave. That's very new for Calgary and it's a bit odd to see Betsey on one side of the street and homeless people on the other. It's this new complex across from the Bay called fashion central. It looks like quite a few new stores are moving in as construction was a booming.

On the way home it started to snow, the sky is gray and I think it's a good day to chill with the book. Right now I'm actually watching the Biggest Loser - where are they now. What better inspiration to get myself refocused.

More importantly I've tracked everything damn thing I've eaten today. My new week starts tomorrow but why wait a day to get back on the wagon. I wanted to start right away.

Stay warm my friends.

Hugs!

If it was easy everyone would be doing it

Sorry I've been MIA, been a bit busy and plagued with a headache as the weather is changing.

While at site I did attempt the first day of C25K, wowsers that was hard I didn't get all 9 reps in but kept walking. I realize my fitness level has suffered with no regular exercise but this doesn't make me want to give up it makes me want to beat it.

Since then I've had a crazy week. Today is a flexday and the major plan is drop off my passport renewal form and maybe head down to the Body Shop as they have some sort of 3 for $30 deal going on today. I'm obsessed with the lightening touch as an undereye concealor. I've never found anything that comes close to it.

I got the Nike + sensor the other day and now I just need to callibrate it. While I love my garmin I can't use mine on a treadmill and as the weather gets colder and sidewalks get more treacherous I need something to use indoors.

Food this week has been so so and if anything inconsistent. The cookies have started to show up in the office and they live right behind my desk. Happily I'm only there 3 days a week and we're moving soon so hopefully the cookies will live somewhere else. I haven't been totally bad and really don't think I'll see a gain this week but I'm fairly positive I won't see a fabulous loss either.

I use to have fantastic focus on weightloss and then I lost it and it's a been an ongoing challenge trying to get it back. I hate being fat so what the heck is stopping me.

Maybe I do need the accountability of someone else weighing me in as opposed to just me and the bathroom scale. I almost went to a meeting on Wednesday but then told myself you haven't truly embraced online.

I ordered the Beck Diet book after reading about it on other blogs. I know I need to get my focus and emotions in check. I know what to do I just need to get myself to do it. From what I've been hearing about this book I think it helps you figure that out.

My attitude is not defeatist, I'm just a bit frustrated.

I do have absolute faith that I'll figure this out - I just want that sooner rather than later.

Hugs!!

Yummy spaghetti sauce

Ran to Safeway this morning to grab all the fixin's for the Chocolate Raspberry trifle and I realized I had my days mixed up. The potluck is on Thursday so that buys me some time. I think I'll bake the cake part today as it can sit in the fridge until Wednesday night assembly.

When I got home I browned up some ground turkey added half a red onion and some organic roasted garlic spaghetti sauce. I let it simmer for an hour and it's yummy. That can be a few meal options this week on spaghetti, other type of noodle, spaghetti squash or a WW bagel as a "sloppy joe".

I didn't get to the mega laundry so that's on tap for today.

Point wise I'm aiming for a perfectly on point day. I did walk to the grocery store and back but I think I'll head out again when the clothes are in the dryer.

Then it's packing to get on the plane Monday morning. I have a plan for this trip to stay on plan and get in my exercise but I'm not going to jinx it. I'll report back on that.

I've got all the new Prisoner episodes on the pvr so I'm watching that in the background.

I'm so looking forward to the two Biggest Loser's this week especially the where are they now episode.

Hope your Sunday is going well.

Hugs!!!!