Day Ten: Ooh double digits!

Ok, it's not the biggest milestone, but I'll take it! Ten days in...and going strong. 

It seems to be my biggest eating challenge is dinner. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are all under control (well, except that wily Snack Moster IS always lurking around the corner- waiting for me to let my guard down). Dinner is always something I must think about. Tonight decided to "take two" on the pizza and were much more successful! I don't mind a fairly plain pizza, plus we are horribly lazy, so we almost always just have caramelized onions on it. Mmm so good! I really like the crust the bread machine dough produces, too. I put less cheese on it that usual, and gave myself less than half (Jason likes a ton of mushrooms on his...eeep). I was going to have one piece and a salad, but I couldn't bring myself to eat more salad. Urg. I compromised and just had three small pieces. I noticed I felt full a lot longer with this meal too, which was nice. 

After dinner, Jason and I headed out to meet my little brother at a fundraiser he was doing at a sports bar. He's going to Ecuador on Monday, and the money is supposed to help get his group there a little cheaper. Very exciting trip though! Very proud of that kid. Lol...ok, he's 24, but he's still my baby brother! He wants to be a doctor, and this trip is geared towards people like him:)  At the bar, there were free appetizers like wings and little meatball thingies. Um..yeah..so not tempted! That was an easy one to avoid, fo sho. 

OH! Exercise! Do you think I forgot today? Perhaps no time? Too tired? Ah ha! No! I walked the walk today, as per usual on my day 2 at work. Ok, I'm getting a little tired of writing this, but it was another GORGEOUS DAY!!! I think mother nature approves of my new lifestyle, 'cause it's been this way every day since I started! Yup, totally bragging now. Walking in the sunshine next to a pond, watching the ducks come in for those graceful/awkward landings, hearing the fountain's soothing white noise, feeling the spring in my step from kickin' new shoes- you really can't beat it.  The icing on the cake was Jason meeting me there to keep me company. :) 

Stats for the Day:

Weight: 212 (not too surprised to see no change for a few days!)

Exercise: 40 min. moderate intensity

Day Nine: Hard Day's Night

Ohhh boy....things are getting busy around here! Definitely harder to find time to exercise these days. Had to do some banking stuff after work, and then ended up  buying some awesome running shoes- the best kind- ON SALE!! Jason got some too, and he said he wants to work his way up to running! Wow! So, I am thinking I should do so as well. Cooool! 

Eating was on par today, I'm happy to say. Breakfast: Raisin Bran, lunch: Nutribar and snack: grapes. OH! And those evil chocolate cookies were STILL in the staff room today! Would someone just EAT them please?!!?  I walked past an open package of them three bloody times to get to the printer! I was soooo tempted! Again, the Snack Monster's siren song could not suck me in. Which makes the score:

Tammy: 2

Snack Monster: 0

When I got home, I think my belly was despondent over not being fed chocolate cookies it was rumblin' so loud, so I had an applesauce cup when with a big glass of water. Oh, and this is nice! Jason made a trip to Costco, and bought a big bag of almonds. My big sis keeps hers in the freezer to keep 'em fresh, so I will try this. I read that almonds are great for leveling out blood sugar, plus the good fats and iron don't hurt! A handful of these will be a part of my after work snack now. Mmmm! Dinner was supposed to be homemade pizza, but we were gone too long and the dough turned into a revolting mess while it sat in the bread maker. The only thing we could make quickly was the tortellini and Alfredo (we are DONE with that dish for a long time!). We put the leftover chicken from the other night, and it was gooood. Of course, I took a MUCH smaller portion than usual. I am really trying hard to do this...watch my portions. I think this will be key after I lose the weight to maintain (along with exercise, of course). After all this, I don't want to go gaining it back as usual! 

Since it was such a busy day after work, I had to work out after dinner. I don't like to do this, but I am SO not a morning person. I can't imagine dragging my tired butt out of bed and doing anything more energetic than brushing my teeth. I rode the bike for 30 min...and I noticed that it's getting easier! My legs feel stronger, and I can pedal faster without dying. I can already see more muscle tone in my legs and arms. Doesn't take long for me to build muscle, that's fo sho! 

Tomorrow should be another walk day...in my new shoes!! Yay! Hmm...should check the weather. Every walk day can't be sunny and gorgeous, can it? Here's hopin' though. :)

Stats for the day:

Weight: 212

Exercise: 30 min. moderate-high intensity

Day Eight: Workin' out is hard to do!

So now into week two of the weight-loss extravaganza. Having worked out 8 days in a row, I have to say, I am NOT LOVING EXERCISE!!  I wish I was one of those lucky sods that just likes doing it. Not me. Not ever. I think, in the past,  I've gotten to the point where I feel jittery and odd if I don't exercise my muscles, but still never liked it. I am trying not to let that feeling of, "Oh lordy, do I really have to do this AGAIN?" beat me. I know I will eventually miss a day, but I don't want it to be because I was feeling lazy. That way lies...badness. :)

Ok, so my day! Yes! I ate the usual breakfast of cereal (Raisin Bran this time), and my nutribar for lunch. I eschewed the much-maligned carrots for my snack and chose some nice, crisp grapes instead. Mmmm. When I poked my head into the staff room I was a bit disturbed by the sight of multiple packs of chocolate cookies. Luckily there were also oranges! I had oranges instead. As I see it the stats thus far are:

 Tammy: 1 

 Snack Monster : 0 

Suck it Snack Monster!!

After work I was again very hungry, so I had an applesauce cup for a snack. Then Jason and I tried a chipotle sausage for dinner, hot off the grill, but I didn't like the flavour. I had a few chunks of boiled white potatoes (easy on the margarine!), salad and some of that macaroni salad from last night. I was ALMOST full by the time I finished. I imagine my stomach will start shrinking a bit soon. That will be  nice! 

That leaves me with my old friend exercise. Oh, how I loathe thee exercise. You mock me with your necessity for good health and weight loss. You will make me live a longer, better life, you heart-rate increasing, breath-taking, muscle-aching entity of evil!! Grrr!! 

Ok, I'm done. Ahh feel better now. Yes, so I did exercise today despite the extreme desire to do otherwise (and by otherwise, I mean sit on my oh-so comfortable ass). I did another walk in the park, this time with my friend and colleague, Kim. It was another gorgeous day (our weather has seriously ROCKED lately!), and walking with Kim was a real treat. Thanks Kim!! The time just flew by while we talked and walked. I was so surprised when she said we had to head back. Oh? Work? Righto! When I got home, I rode the bike for 15 minutes to get my heart rate up a bit and use the free weights. Really hard to get motivated to do that. Really. 

Another good day under my belt, I must say! 

Stats for the day:

Weight: 212

Exercise: 50 min. moderate intensity

Day Seven: One Week Down BABY!!

Woo hoo! I am very happy to say that week one is OVA! I figure...about 19 weeks to go. Oh, yes, I can do it! 

First off, I have decided to ditch the Wii as my method of weighing in. It was giving really wonky readings, and I was trying three times in a row to get a proper weight, or at least one that SEEMED proper. Guess I will have to go low tech and use a regular scale. Darn it. 

Ok, food first. Usual breakfast and lunch, and those yummy raw carrots for a snack. I came home hungry, as usual. I decided to treat myself to a bag of these "Preventia" cookies I like. They have high fiber and anti-oxidants...oh, and they are dark chocolate. Mmmm. The bags are pre-portioned, too, so no chance of over-indulging. Jason and I had to go grocery shopping after work, and I made sure to pick up yogurt, grapes, (oy) more carrots  and apples. This gives me a few more options when the Snack Monster is lurking about. At the store we picked up a roast chicken for dinner. It comes with two sides and a baguette. We get two meals out of it for $10.  Pretty good, eh? We are just so thrifty. Thus,  dinner was roast chicken, salad and a bit of bread and macaroni salad. I tried to go easy on the latter two, for obvious reasons. No dessert thus far, and I think I'm ok with that! Oooh progress! 

It as really hard to get a workout in tonight. We went shopping right after work, so no time there. I decided to squeeze it in after dinner was digested, so right around House time. I really, really didn't want to work out...but I did. It wasn't a long one, but I am happy I did SOMETHING. That makes a full week of working out every day! Yay me! 

Overall I am VERY happy with this week. I feel good, and even more, I feel energetic. I am excited about the prospect of seeing changes in my body and in the way my clothes fit. I don't dread the prospect of wearing shorts and tank tops knowing I will be leaner and fitter by summer! Jason is starting to follow along as well, and he's looking to eat better and exercise more...oooh it's contagious! 

I know that my weight measurement might not be bang-on now, with the changeover of weighing method, but I think it's pretty close. I did weigh myself on the regular scale at the start of this whole thing.

Ok, so here it is...

Stats for the day:

Weight: 213

Exercise: 20 min. moderate intensity

Day Six: Why am I doing this again!?!

Ok, today wasn't that bad. It was my "get back on track" day...not that I had derailed so far from the track yesterday. Today I was home, so I knew it would be easier to eat better. Although... home is where the Snack Monster lives, and it can strike at any time...wear away my will and force me to eat sweet and/or salty snacks. Ha ha! Not today Snack Monster! I ate cereal for breakfast and for lunch I enjoyed a nice bowl of a "healthy choice" chicken soup with rotini pasta. With a good dose of freshly ground black pepper, it ain't so bad. Oh, and I limited myself to FOUR crackers. I know! Such restraint! I got REALLY hungry after working out, so I turned to my old frienemy, the carrot, and a large glass o' water to curb the belly rumble. Dinner was steak (small portion for me), baked potato, salad and corn. I even tried a low-cal ketchup today (5 cal/tbsp) and couldn't tell the difference. I felt pretty full after dinner, but by nine I was hungry again. Still am. Drat. 

I think this was a very good day, especially since I did a longer workout. I TRIED to do an hour, but the ol' bod had other ideas. It was a really nostalgic workout today, actually. I dragged out my old step aerobics tape, Introduction to Step Training, I used over 10 years ago. I know this routine so well, I don't even have to really watch it. I remember when I first started using it in my 20s, I had a VERY hard time finishing the routine without stopping. I remember fast- forwarding through one section all the time 'cause it kicked my ass. Of course, it got easier as time passed. Today though, I was able to do it all no problem! YES! I am in better shape now, than when I started out exercising over 10 years ago. Makes me feel good. Take that 20-something-year-old self! I will admit, it was HARD. I looked in the mirror after, and it looked like I had suffered a horrible sunburn. My face was so pink! All my limbs were limp and noodle-like afterwards too. I may have to go easy on that routine at first. I am glad I knocked the dust of the old step though. 

Jason and I are doing our first shopping trip since I started this whole thing, so that will be a good chance for me to pick up some more fruit and veggies. The problem with the grocery shopping, is I will only have time to work out after dinner, and it's always a toughie to get off the couch after eating! Until then, there is only.....

Stats for the day:

Exercise: 45 min. HIGH INTENSITY (oh yeah, baby!)

Weight: 214 (no change for a bit, but I'm not surprised OR worried)

Day Five: Stayin' alive

I do love a good rhyme people...

Ahhhhh....what can I say about today?? Well, it wasn't a great day and it wasn't a terrible day. I knew it would be a challenge going out twice to eat in one day, and I was right. Oy. Ok, so let's just get down and dirty. I ate breakfast, which was a heroic feat because I had NO time this morning. So cereal was consumed at about 9:30. I was fine until lunch...most likely 'cause I was rushing around (as I am wont to do). My lunch date with two lovely friends was at a restaurant called Sammy J. Peppers. I was immediately confronted by a weeee bit of peer pressure to order a drink. I had water. Then I dove into the menu and tried to find something that wouldn't make me feel horrible afterwards from eating it. I think the pressure got to me a bit, 'cause I ended up ordering...ba ba bum...chicken strips and fries. I KNOW...not the best choice. I thought about a salad, but I generally hate restaurant salads. :( Ok, so I am still pretty happy since I didn't eat all the fries, and no drink. I drank three glasses of water instead...which garnered a bit of attention from our sweet waitress. She commented that she sure did refill that glass a lot. She figured I was the DD or something since I was  the only one not drinking, which let to a brief mention that I am trying to watch what I eat (and drink!), which led to her telling me about her current diet and plans to gorge on pasta on her "cheat day"!! Is everyone trying to lose weight here people!?!? I'm beginning to think that the whole world is trying to shrink down.  Ok, lunch done, nothin' too bad. I had a few hours at home between my (long) lunch outing and dinner. We went to Earls, a place I haven't visited in a lonnng time. I ordered a cajun chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato on a whole wheat bun (OMG so good! My new favourite sandwich!!!!). Again, I didn't order the salad (which turned out to be an apple cider vinagrette thing with apples and walnuts...which may make some people go "oooh!" but just makes me go "ewww"). So the sandwich came with fries....again with the fries! Ahhhh! I hardly ever eat french fries and here they cross my plate TWICE in one day! Small victory is I barely ate any, and once Jason had finished his weird apple salad, he ate them for me. Sweet guy eh? :) THEN it was back to my friend's house for some games....and...oh dear lord I can't even say it....chocolate cake with PEANUT BUTTER ICING!! Ok, lets focus on the victories here. I ate raw veggies instead of chips...yup...not one salty crisp slice of potato goodness crossed my lips! I did have a drink, since I hadn't in the afternoon, again, not here to deprive myself completely! Then it was cake time Ohh boy. Since it was my friends belated b-day cake I had a small piece. Not so bad. 

Ok, so it wasn't a perfect day for eating BUT I snacked only on veggies,  had only one drink, and I didn't finish either meal I ordered. I think that's pretty darn good! 

Exercise was hard today. VERY. I had to work out as soon as I got up or I wouldn't have time to. I knew if I left it for afternoon, I wouldn't do it. So, I hopped on the bike and pedaled like mad and didn't put down the weights for 20 minutes. Hardcore bike baby! Boooya! 

Tomorrow I am going to try to do an hour workout. Ooooh. 

Until tomorrow then...

Stats for the day:

Weight: 214

Exercise: 20 min. high intensity

Day Four: Temptations..not just Motown anymore....

Greetings on this day the fourth of my lonnng journey to shed some pounds. As the title of this post may have indicated, there were a few temptations today. I ate my cereal this morning and brought my nutribar and carrots for lunch. Today was a Professional Development day for us lucky teachers. Lotsa meetings  and, of course, temptation! There is always a breakfast for us on these days, and today was no different. I walked into the staff room with trepidation in my heart. What sugary treats would I see? I looked at the table  laden with food and saw it. My old nemesis: the chocolate chip muffin.  I forced my gaze from the sweet, chocolaty goodness (badness!!) and instead walked back out the door. PHEW! Bullet dodged...all limbs intact. :) Later, we had a snack break and I grabbed some grapes and walked around the school with some colleagues. Lunch was as usual, and I ate my oh-so yummy carrots along with it. Yes, I am getting tired of carrots...very. 

I was worried about dinner since we were going to my mother-in-law's for a little BBQ. I was fairly confident I could control my portions though, and I did! I had a burger, a salad of mixed-green  and a small spoonful of potato salad (evil, but so good!). Normally, I would have had a burger, and maybe also a hot dog and wayyyy more potato salad. Nena, my MIL, dropped a teensy bomb on me at one point. She had the fixin's for peanut buster parfaits! (Er...sorry, if that's some sort of copyright infringement on Dairy Queen). Mmmm ice-cream. Or, should I say, "temptation #2"!! When it came time to dish up, I took a very small scoop and a dab of hot fudge sauce. Hey, I'm not here to deprive myself completely! It was cold, creamy and sweet...and brief. I am not totally happy with my eating today, but I'm not terribly unhappy either. :)

As I wrote that, I realized that I haven't felt "full" in four days! Huh. Now, hunger I have felt. Not as bad as I imagined though. In the old days (of, sayyyy, last week), I hated to be hungry. If I felt even a momentary twinge of hunger I would search out a snack. I loved those 100 calorie bags of Doritos or cookies. I may still fall back on those, snack-wise, but I think I will try a healthier snack choice first. Hmm...hungry now. Lol...all this food talk!!!

I am quite proud of myself for working out today, I must say. Normally if I was going out after work, I would blow it off. Not enough time...I'd want to just relax after work, whatever, just "insert excuse here." Today, I was determined, knowing the BBQ was ahead, that I WOULD work out. I fired up the ol' Wii and did a weigh-in. I know some people only like to weigh themselves in the mornings, but I figure if I do it at the same time of day, afternoons are ok too. The first weighing was WAY off. It had me down 5.5 lbs. Um. Sure. I must have moved or something and thrown off the machine. I tried again and it came up with a more reasonable number. Then I hula hooped my way through  7 minutes. I am waiting for this to get easier! Will keep you posted on that. Next, it was to the bike. I have a recumbent bike, as I find them easier on bum and back. This time I watched a little Gossip Girl (ahh guilty pleasure). Had the free weights going as well. I think they are only 2 lbs. I have some heavier ones I may try later. I may be imagining things, but I think I feel more muscle tone in my legs and arms already! I know my body looooves to put on muscle, but this is fast. 

Overall, I'm pleased with the day, and my restraint against those temptations...working out despite having to go out after work. Yay me! :) Tomorrow brings new challenges to face. I am going out for lunch and dinner. Eeeeeep!!! My first time at a restaurant since this thing began. plus, the only time I will be able to work out is in the morning (which I loathe).  WISH ME LUCK PEOPLE!!! 

Stats for the Day: 

Weight: 214

Exercise: 32 min. moderate intensity

Day Three: So far so good!

Ahhh day three....lovely to see you! Another good day, I think. Wow, if every day is good, this blog might get kinda boring...hmm...maybe I have to add some drama! 

Eating for today was pretty on-par with yesterday. I had my cereal (All Bran Strawberry Bites...mmmm) and nutribar for lunch and carrots for a snack at work.  By the time I got home, my belly was a-rumblin'. This after-work hunger thing really sucks! I feared eating more raw carrots would put me in the mind to never eat a carrot again, so I was quite relieved when I spied a nice little zero fat yogurt in the fridge, and had that. Dinner today was a nice surprise. Jason made it! Gotta love that! I think there are fewer calories in food you don't make yourself, yes? We usually share dinner-making duties, but when he makes stew, it's allll him. I just stand around and inhale a lot. The house smelled so good when I got home! So, I had bowl of beef stew with lotsa veggies: carrots, celery, green beans and potatoes. I know you've heard my stance on vegetables and may be wondering how I could eat that, but, thankfully, these are the ones I don't mind eating! We also had french bread (again...huh...maybe we are eating a bit too much of this stuff!) and I had two small pieces to soak up the yummy broth. 

Again, I will say I am not dieting here. I am eating smaller portions and snacking less on fattening (but oh-so-delicious) food. Portion-wise I am really cutting back. In the past, I would eat until I felt really really full. Now, I'm trying to eat until I feel satisfied and no longer hungry. I am also trying not to eat when I'm not hungry...also very guilty of that. Boredom eating- I can't think of something to do, so I'll eat a cookie! Oh, I'm much more bored than that. How about 5? Watching TV? Eat some chips! Oh, I ate the whole bag without realizing it? Darn. I think we will try not to have the tempting food in the house to help with this. 

Ahh exercise. Did I exercise today? Why, yes I did! Today is my work day two, so I decided to walk to the park again. Jason was off today, so I asked him- in a flash of brilliance- to come to the school and walk with me! Lucky me, I have a sweet hubby, and he said yes. :) I met him outside the school and we walked the park together. It was another beautiful day, too, so that was a bonus. Jason really liked the park...I hope he'll join me again whenever he can. The funniest part of our walk was seeing some of my students skateboarding. I could see that "teachers aren't supposed to exist outside of school!" look on their faces. I know I will be bombarded with questions on Monday.  Like, "Was that your husband?" and of course, "Wow, how tall is he??" I love to weird-out the children. 

Where was I? Oh yes, exercise! When I got home, I also fired up the Wii for some hula action. Gotta say, I really feel it in my abs! 

One bad thing I discovered today....cheap-ass Payless "running" shoes are not the best thing to wear when walking on pavement. Yeah, I'm a little shin-splinty I think. I noticed about 1/2 way through the walk they were getting quite sore. I think I will actually have to spend some money on decent running shoes/cross trainers. 

So that's day three done! Why do I feel like I've been doing this longer than three days? That may not be a good thing! I am already thinking that familiar thought, "Ok, so I'm working hard...when will I see results?!!?" Patience, Grasshopper, patience. 

Oh, and I wanted also to mention that I got kinda misty-eyed yesterday after receiving some wonderful feedback from my friends. You all rock! I was a bit scared to share this, but now I am very glad that I have. :) Warm fuzzy feelings all around. 

Stats for the day: 

Weight: 214.5

Exercise: 42 min. moderate intensity

Day Two: Ow this kinda hurts!

Oy...I can't believe that my legs hurt from WALKING!! Has it been that long since I used those muscles?!?!? I really noticed it walking up the stairs. Ouchy! 

Aside from the occasional muscle twinge, today was a good day two. I had my usual breakkie and lunch, and brought carrots  for a snack. Wednesdays are my school's short day, so things went by so fast.  I didn't really have time to feel hungry! I ended up eating half the carrots after school while I walked through the mall to my hair appointment (hair looks fab, btw). I was hungry when I got home, so I ate the rest. Dinner was a bit of a worry for me today. Before this whole weight-loss thang, we'd bought cheese tortellini and Alfredo sauce. Eeeeep! So, that's what we had. So to mitigate the calorie overload of this combination, I had a small portion. MUCH smaller than the heaping plate I would normally have! As my nod to veggies (which , dear reader, I really hate) I ate a garden salad and a few more carrots. I had one and a bit pieces of bread. Usually I would scarf three at least! 

I have to say, I really hate the "d" word. Yes, dominos. No...lol...DIET. I don't believe in 'em. Nope. Thus, I am trying to apply a lil' portion control to my eating and not eating the same amount as my giant of a man hubby. 

Did I tell you my favourite no-guilt dessert? Hmm...I think no. Well, I have a raging sweet tooth that rivals any crack addict's need for, well, crack. I feel very unsatisfied if I don't eat something sweet after dinner. I start getting jittery and look in the cupboards for chocolate things...or I start contemplating making cookies. So, instead of eating chocolate, or cookies, or cake or any of the other delights I crave, I have a low-fat fudge pop! 40 calories. Mmmm. And if I am really jonesin' I will eat two. Crazy, I know. 

That leads me to my exercise for the day. Ahh...my old friend exercise. How I love thee...not at all. Yup, that's right folks...she hates vegetables and exercise. Awwwesome. But, I do it. And I did do it today! Yayy!! 

No walk due to the aforementioned short day, but once home, I rode my exercise bike for half an hour whilst watching the British series Coupling on my laptop (Thanks Troy!). It was a nice distraction from sore muscles and the lack of desire to be pedaling. I always use free weights when I ride the bike, too. I can burn more calories and tone my upper body, so why not? I really only wanted to do 20 mins, but I decided I wanted to do 30+ minutes of exercise more than I wanted to be a lazy ass. I finished off with a rather tiring session of hula hoop on the Wii (only slightly distracted from hip rotations by husband cursing for not being able to find the phone bill!). Then I weighed myself...and the Wii says I lost 2.5 lbs! Whatever...probably not real weight loss...we shall see! 

Overall, it was a pretty easy day to get through. I didn't feel really really hungry, and I exercised longer than I expected. Woo hoo! 

I think I'm going to have my fudge pop now. Ohhh yeah. 

Stats for the day:

Weight: 215

Exercise: 37 min. moderate to high intensity

Day One: Let's get this party started!

Phew! What a day. I have to say, it was a pretty good one. Of course as I write this, my stomach is growling at me. I think it's upset with me for not feeding it what it's used to! 

I started the day with my high-fiber cereal, and had my usual Nutribar for lunch. I know what you may be thinking. Those meal-replacement bars are crap! Well, I know I could do better for my lunch, but there are a lot of vitamins and minerals in it, and I am SO lazy it's all I have the energy and desire to bring! When I got home, I was really hungry. I chatted with my friend Karen on Facbook through it. I realized that if I had some raw carrots, I would have had a few of those. A quick call to my hubby (who, as luck would have it, was at the store!) took care of that, and they are nestled in my fridge for tomorrow. Dinner was tacos, which I ate with a soft tortilla. I would usually have three (sometimes FOUR), but this time I had two, easy on the meat and cheese, heavy on the lettuce and tomato. I took my usual vitamins- a multi and and two omega 3.

I'm pretty happy with my eating today. Oh! And I did NOT give into the evil staff room temptation monster today! There is so very often sweets and pastries in there, and this time it was ice-cream cake to celebrate a colleague getting married Saturday. A lovely co-worker even handed me a small piece, and I said, "No thanks, I can't today." !!! Big step for me. That and no after-school snack. :)

Ok, so eating....check. What about exercise, you may be asking. This morning when I heard the weather report, I had a brainstorm. I should go for a walk at lunch! Gorgeous weather,  45 min. lunch break, why not? I have never done this at my school, but I know of teachers at other schools who do walking groups at lunch. Hmmm. Perhaps! I meant to leave at 12 and be back at 12:30, but left 15 mins. late. Students needing me and that staff room celebration slowed me down. Luckily, I had a prep block after lunch, so I could still do the 30 mins. I was after. I think I will do this walk every day two that I can, since I have that prep after lunch. 

My school has a lovely park behind the grass field with a pond and playground. There is even a walkway that circles the pond. The sun was shining, and there was a light breeze. Perfect. 

My lovely walk took about 35 mins, which I was very happy with. At home, I also fired up the Wii Fit. I think I will use it as my scale for this journey. It weighed me in at about 217.5, which is less than I expected. Nice! I did the step routine, which isn't great cardio, then a 7 min bout of hula-hooping. I love the hula-hoop! You basically rotate your hips in a big circle, and the Fit measures your movements and counts your hoop rotations. I can REALLY feel this in my core. Better than sit-ups! Plus, it gets my heart-rate up nicely. This put my exercise minutes at 48. 

I toyed with the idea of riding the bike too, but figured I shouldn't push myself too much my first day. Don't want to burn out! 

I'd like to take a minute to thank my friends who have already checked this blog out and have given me such great feedback! And Troy, I am so excited for both of us to meet our goals!! Woo hoo! 

Stats for the day:

Weight: 220

Exercise: 48 min. moderate intensity

The Plan

Ok, so if you read that extremely long rendition of my previous weight gain/loss, you may be wondering, "So what now?"

Here's the plan:

Goal: I want to lose 40 lbs in the next four months. This gives me until the end of August 2009. My husband and I are planning a trip to Vegas, so that will be my reward. Well, that and a smaller, healthier body! 

This means I must lose 10 lbs every month, or 2.5 lbs per week (yeah, you math geniuses already figured that one out).

Workouts: I plan on starting out with 20 mins of riding my bike every day (with light hand weights for upper body), and adding step aerobics and weight training as I go. I hope to increase my bike to 30 mins/day. 

Food: I plan to decrease my portion sizes and reduce/eliminate any snacking. I will try to not eat after 7 pm. I want to eat more whole grains and fruits and vegetables as well. 

Motivation: My husband is 100% supportive and plans on working out with me as much as possible. This blog is going to be my BIG motivator. I am sharing with you my goals, and plans, and will post daily to update my progress and feelings about my weight loss. 

I am going to try my best to stick to this plan and meet my goal. 

Wish me luck! 

The Way Things Were

I suppose before I say anything else, I should tell you what brought me to this weight loss journey.

Like many people who struggle with weight as an adult, I was always a bit chubby as a child. I don't remember ever thinking about my weight until Grade 5.  That momentous moment happened care of a boy one year older than me. He walked up to me on the playground and said, "You know, you would be prettier if you lost weight." One small comment, and WHAMMO. Really? Am I fat? Ohh nooo! I went through a growth spurt not long after that, and was about a size 11 at 5'6 or 5'7. This is the smallest size I remember being after puberty. 

I remember in Grade 8 or 9 drinking slim fast every morning for breakfast. I thought I was so big! I was tall, broader shouldered and developed fairly early. My friends seemed like petite flowers next to me! When I was in Grade 10, my lunch was a bag of chips and a coke, and my friend and I would always weigh each ourselves after school. Sam was about 5'6, which was four inches shorter than me at the time. She weighed about 135, and I thought she looked great! Then amazon old me got on the scale and...159?? That can't be right! That's 24 lbs more! I felt like a huge whale next to my lighter friend. Throughout high school I felt fat. Even when we did body fat tests in P.E. and I came out as 24% (which is normal, btw), I felt too big. It wasn't until I was in university, that my friend Sarah, a fitness buff, explained to me that height makes a big difference in weight! Really?? It seems like such a basic idea, but I was clueless! Yes, she told me, you weigh more because you are taller. You are supposed to weigh more! When I think back to my 159 lb self always feeling heavy, I want to cry. I wasn't fat! Not even a little! Not then anyway. 

I should probably mention my eating habits at some point here. My biggest problem with food is I like to snack. As a kid I'd sneak cookies out of the kitchen and scarf them down five at a time. I never EVER just had one. I loved desserts, sweets and chocolate. I was always a binge eater. Eating chips, cookies or whatever in front of the TV was big. Mindless eating they call it. My mom always made us healthy meals with regular portion sizes, but it was the snacking that did me in. 

By the time I hit my one year at college after graduation, I had gained a little weight. Colour me happy when I got hit with mono and lost 10 lbs! What a great disease! Sure, I had the energy of a newborn kitten, but I looked great! 

I entered university with that slight weight loss still under my belt- so to speak. I met some very cool people, and had my best friend, Lara, with me. Three girls- me, Sarah and Lara- all struggled with weight. None of us was really overweight at all, looking back, but we decided to exercise and diet together. We would go to the gym near our dorm and walk at night with soup cans as weights. It looked pretty silly, but it was a lot of fun! We had sit-up contests and kept track of how many mins. we exercised every day. I remember buying jeans with a 32 inch waist and thinking that was pretty small. I think I may have weighted 170 lbs or so, but back then I never weighed myself. 

By my fourth year in university, I had some pretty bad eating habits. I would go all day without eating, and have a huge dinner (usually pasta). Partly this was because I was lazy, and partly because I never had much food around. I had student loan money to last the year, and I had to bus to the grocery store- a chore I loathed. I weighed myself just before a girls' trip to Hawaii, and I think it was about 195.  I felt like I was too overweight, but didn't have the energy to do much about it. 

When I finished that school year, I decided to start working out. Sarah made a mixed tape of music for me, and I did floor cardio and rode my dad's ancient exercise bike. For my birthday, I got a step and really enjoyed that once I got the hang of it. I managed to lose about 30 lbs. I felt fantastic and thought I looked great too. I remember being excited to fit into a large-sized shirt. For me, with my height and chest size, that was impressive! Of course, I gained some of that back a few years later...hmm...are we beginning to see a pattern here?

I think I was about 195 lbs when I met my now husband, Jason, and was just venturing to plus-sized clothing.  I wasn't thrilled with my weight, and started a workout competition with my friend Sarah. The loser had to buy the winner something after three months or so. I think I lost about 15 lbs. 

Fast forward and I moved in with my boyfriend, Jason. We lived together for a few years, and I noticed I was getting bigger and bigger! I weighed myself and discovered I was at an all-time high of  260 lbs! This number seriously scared me! I thought about what we'd been eating, what I'd been eating, and I was pretty horrified. I was eating the same portions as my 6'5 husband! We were eating whole boxes of cookies at one sitting! Half a 2L tub of ice-cream! I made cookies all the time and ate batter (sooo terrible, but sooo good!) and sampled 5 or so of the cooked ones. I was lucky I didn't weigh three hundred and sixty lbs! I decided to try a new step workout to motivate me. This was harder than my old workout, and involved a lot of lunges and this really high step. My face was always beet red after. But, slowly, this worked. I lost about 2o lbs. 

About six years into my relationship with Jason, he finally popped the question- Christmas of 2004. FINALLY. One of my first thoughts was, "Oh my god, I have to lose more weight!!" I desperately did not want to be a fat bride! I weighed about 240 lbs at this point. We planned the wedding to be in a year and a half, which gave me plenty of time to do so, I thought. Then my family got some devastating news. My father had a lump on his leg checked out, and it was cancer. Melanoma, to be exact. He'd waited so long to get it checked out, it had already spread into his lymph nodes. Now...this is the really hard part....when my parents told the doctor I was going to be married in 2006, the doc said basically, if we wanted my dad there, and in reasonable health, we needed to have the wedding MUCH sooner. This was such a shock. What does this mean? He might not be here in a year? A lot of tears later, we decided to move the wedding to that May. We changed the already booked dates at the chapel and the reception area. I had only 3 months to plan a wedding and lose some weight! 

I started exercising and eating less, but was only able to lose 20 more lbs in such a short time. Now, I may not have been a tiny little bride, but I had my dad there to walk me down the aisle (see pic) and dance with me. THAT is the most amazing thing, the most precious thing to me. We were really lucky and he had many months of feeling good before the cancer went into his brain and began to affect his body. We lost him March 10th, 2006. 

A  year into my marriage, I gained about 10 lbs back. My old friends "bad eating habits" and "no exercise" had caught up with me,  and I decided to try working out again. I hit our little worn-out gym in my building, rode my exercise bike and changed my eating habits. I ate a lot of salad and chicken, and stopped snacking completely. I didn't eat after 7 and watched my portion sizes. Over the next year I lost 30 lbs. This put me at about 200 lbs June 2007 (see pic). I was a size 13/14 and actually felt pretty good about that. Being tall, I still looked fairly slender at that size. (Small note about sizes and me: Since I am tall, and my body weight is fairly evenly distributed, it takes A LOT of weight either way for me to change sizes. This can be quite frustrating (or misleading, if I'm gaining!) since I must lose about 20 lbs to see a full size change! Grrr!) 

Of course, after that latest weight loss, I did my usual thing and stopped working out so much, baking more cookies, snacking more. Over the next two years I gained 20 lbs back. I am just lucky it's not more...in the last 5 or 6 months I've stayed the same weight. 

Here I am...220 lbs and totally unhappy with my body, my energy level and my health. I need to do something!!