Exercise recap~

I did the first day of my week. I'm super excited for this week to be over since we will be on vacation starting this Friday.

This weekend we had Cole's brother Adam spending the night. Adam is disabled-he has Autism, Tourettes, and a list of others-he is 30. We played Wii most of the evening and next morning so that was really fun.

A pic of Adam chowing down on baby carrots.On Saturday after Adam left we took a small nap and headed out to our friends Kelly & Rodney's house for supper. It was so good - They made Spaghetti pie, garlic bread, salad and cake. Yum~ We were going to play games and Wii but once we get around chatting the time passes so fast.

I got in a walk on Sat morning and Cole & I went for a walk together on Sun morning-the weather here is so nice right now -its unbelievable.

We emailed out early invites to our friends and family for the wedding just to let people save up money if they wanted to go-its in the Dominican. I'm getting really annoyed with family who want us to marry here or my hometown. I'm about ready to let everyone know once and for all that this is our day and we are doing what we want.

I was so excited to get a package in the mail. I had one a contest over at one of my favorite blogs. Cincimom11

My package included all this :

A digital skipping ropeA super awesome mugTwo huge cans of soup. I love winning stuff :)

Today during work two friends and I walked on our two 15 min breaks around the building, I walked home, went for an hour long walk and did 15 mins on the exercise ball.

I made up a schedule where just about everyday I will walk for at least 30 min and one day I will do 15 min on the ball and the next will be 15 min on arms.

I made a commitment to myself to also take better care of my skin. I've started exfoliating twice a week and applying lotion after my showers. Is there anything like this that you plan on committing too?

Hello? This is your wake up call~

Today I got the ever lovely wake up call. I don't know if I ever really had that moment where I knew I had to lose weight. You know the "its now or never" type thing. I've just always wanted to lose weight. Every week since I was 16 I would be trying a new diet. It sorta defines me-sad but true.

Then today at work we had some student nurses come in with their teacher to take blood pressure readings. As you can see from the pic I didn't do so hot. I have a really high blood pressure and it totally sucks.

I guess I really enjoyed the not knowing. It was a simpler time-haha-It is a huge motivator for me to step my exercise into gear. I feel I really have a handle on my diet. I always try to get all my servings, choose the right types of food-whole grain, etc. My exercise is something that I have been struggling with.

In the fall I did so good with exercise and honestly that is when I see the biggest results weight wise. Today I went for an hour long walk after work and felt great. I need to make time for exercise every single day for me-FOR MY HEALTH.

Here I am after my walk-my face is both cold & sweaty at the same time-so cold out. I took a copy of the healthy food guide and this wheel thing that will tell you how much you would have to exercise to burn off a food item. For example for 1 plain chocolate bar (40 grams) 215 calories you would have to Walk: 54mins Swim/Jump Rope : 24 mins Cycling: 31 mins
During my walk I thought of all the reasons I really want to lose the weight and keep it off. A small list includes :

• To lower my blood pressure
• To someday be a healthy mom
• To look good in my wedding dress/at my beach wedding
• So Cole could have a hot woman (even though he thinks I'm hot now)
• To not feel bad about myself
• To feel good shopping for clothing again
• To not feel embarrassed of my size
• To do things I want to do ex: down hill skiing-get really winded climbing back up the hill
• To lose my double chin (the ban of my existence)
  Two important things for my list are to be around for my niece Gabby

And my nephew Benjamin. Seriously have you ever saw such gorgeous children? They are healthy, happy, funny and we are truly blessed.I've made every excuse in the book to get out of exercise and really and truly I am the only one suffering from it. I need to put this ahead of everything else and to kick the excuses to the curb. This is too important to let slide year after year. I deserve to have all the things I want and I'm gonna get them.

Finally a loss~

Well my weigh in was last night and I lost 2.2 pds. I am so happy. Yesterday the weather was so perfect. I walked for a total of 3 hours.

I came home from work, put on so comfy clothes, a big floppy purse and set out. I walked for like two hours-I did stop into a store to get Cole's valentines present but mostly walked. It felt so good. Later I walked for an hour to my meeting. I am so loving having a clear sidewalk for a change. I knew I would miss outdoor walking but I really didn't know that it would be to this extent.

I decided to finally stay to a meeting and they had a substitute leader there so I still don't really know if I will like the meetings on Thursdays or not. Oh swells~

Today I woke up @ 2am with bad p pains and a little nausea so I called in sick to work. It is a huge bummer because Cole is there now and when I called to tell him he said ah that sucks I did up your desk for valentines day-he is so romantic I so wish I had felt good today-would have been nice to have my roses & chocolates at work-haha.

Yesterday I did two things to try and get me out of my comfort zone with regards to my last post. One being only really eating while sitting and therefore sometimes going too late between meals, snacks and another is dressing down in public.

Years ago when I was of an healthy weight I used to love wearing comfy clothing and just going places, seeing where the day took me sort of thing but I haven't done that in forever. Its one of those things you don't even really remember missing until you do it again.

You see if there is ever any chance I'm going to run into a store I will have jeans or dress pants on, be showered ( well I'm not really giving this one up, haha), maybe have on jewellery, you know the deal. I guess I once I gained my weight I didn't really want people to mistake me for a slobby fat person.

So yesterday I put on my yoga pants, a big comfy sweatshirt, my sneakers and a big floppy purse and I set out where the day took me. I mostly walked but I did stop into the bank and a couple of stores and you know what? It felt amazing. I think I will be making a habit of this. And on the way home I had a snack while walking-look at me I'm growing as a person-hopefully shrinking my waist too.

Jammie Day~

It feels so weird to be up by myself in the middle of the day. I have a small headache and I believe it may be from too much sleep and the sun, haha.

I don't seem to know what to do with myself. I did my workout on the treadmill this morning-I did a interval walk-jog workout and it felt great to get back at it. I weighed myself on the scales there and if they are right I may have gained 3 pds-boo. I think I'm going to start going to the meetings on Thursday night so I'll find out for sure then.

I ate breakfast with Cole before he went to bed, did dishes, packed lunches, washed towels, had a shower. I dug out all my things to scrapbook so I'm going to do that after my post. I think I'm going to straighten my hair later too so that when I shower before work I'll use a shower cap since I have to be to work for 5am.

Tomorrow after work I'm going to lunch with my friend Kim to celebrate her birthday. I know most days won't be as quiet as today so I should be enjoying it. I can't believe how much I have changed. I used to love spending time alone.

As promised I have some pics :

The cookbook I asked for so excited to dig in.A pic of Cole & I from the weekend.

Last night I made a Chocolate Chip Cheesecake to surprise Cole-he loved it.My Awesome new Sneakers that Mom got me for Christmas. I had planned to buy them for myself and when I opened them I couldn't believe it cause she didn't know what ones I wanted but picked out the same ones-Moms know best. They look so cute with jeans.And last but not least my uniform for today. God I love Jammie's and I'm not afraid to say it-I love, love, love Jammie's.

Treadmills and nagging~

I was reading a great blog last night What a slurge and she discussed not letting her co-workers know she was dieting.

I have such strong opinions on this topic I decided to discuss it right here. Since I have been dieting for over half my life I have tried every approach known to woman.

The secret diet, telling everyone, telling a few, etc. I haven't really struck a good balance when it comes to this. I seem to always tell a person I always wish I hadn't.

In the present tense it is a co-worker. I had a momentary lapse in judgement a while ago when she told me she struggled with dieting and told her I joined Weight Watchers.

I didn't tell her this for any particular reason I think I felt she needed to know that someone else was in the same boat. Ever since it feels like she is really struggling with dieting and she is constantly telling me about going to the gym, what she eats, etc.

I don't want to seem uncaring or cold hearted, and I certainly don't want anyone to think I judge them for what they eat-I am the last one who could judge believe me, but I also don't want my eating habits brought up on a daily basis. She mentions these things around others and it just makes me uncomfortable.

Not to mention I've lost 25 pds and she says so how much have you lost so far and I'll tell her and she doesn't say yeah I can tell or you look good or anything. If only I could turn back the clock.

In other news-I've given up walking outside. I have trackers but my legs are still too afraid to fall and it took me forever to do my walk yesterday. It really sucks because from mine and Cole's walk on Sunday morning in the snow my legs are still sore so it really makes for a good workout.

I decided to use the treadmill provided in my apartment building. I so depise a treadmill but at least it has a tv in there.

The room is surrounded in mirrors so I can stare at my ass while working out-haha-should help with portion control.

I'm doing a Christmas Gift Card Exchange on the Weight Watcher Website and I've gotten three so far. One had 4 awesome recipes with the points and everything already tallied and in another card I got a string with 1 inch braided and a little saying.

It says : "What does an inch mean? Here are a few lengths of thread-Just one braided inch. It may look quite small but when you find yourself in a pinch consider the inches you've lost (But how gaining them is a cinch!) When the going gets tough look on this thread and know you will get there-inch by inch.

This is so cute and clever-I have mine on my wrist right now and may replace it with a black one-goes with more-haha. I thought it was so neat.

I so love getting mail :)

The Weekend~

This weekend went by in a blur. Working overtime doesn't seem too bad while I'm doing it but it sure doesn't leave for much downtime or rest.

While I was at work on Friday night Cole got a lot of our housework done and decided to try his hand at baking and choose to do Ginger Molasses Cookies. They are really good.

I had plans with my friend Kim for breakfast and a little shopping so I decided to forgo my usual nap after work.

We got a few things done and with my online shopping I think I way ahead of the game. I did some Christmas baking myself since we are having Adam's party next weekend. Still have more to do but here's what I made so far.

Thumbprints, Peanut Butter & Jar Crumble Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. I'm proud to say that the baked Chocolate Chip Cookies went into the freezer so fast I didn't even get a pic-they are a weakness-not to say I didn't try a couple-lol~

That night Cole and I got an appetizer tray from M&M Meats and enjoyed some Christmas movies with our munchies and had on all the Christmas Decorations. I wish I could do this every single weekend-its the best.

On Sunday morning we headed out for our walk and man it was freezing-lots of snow had fallen during the night.

Here I am in three layers of clothing and my snow trackers on~

This was at 5:30 in the morning and people usually drive by us like were nuts.

Judging from this pic we probably are-this is the point where I'm thinking why did we bring the camera? So cold.
Had to move around to get warm~

Cole managed to warm my heart by making me a heart in the snow :)

During the walk I got so hungry and thirsty.

Cole did too~
This is right before we went to get coffee-so hot-so nice.

Seasonal Issues.

This coming weekend I'm doing overtime on Friday night. Then on Saturday I plan to make a few recipes from my new Weight Watcher recipe books. A few new recipes for the winter are just what I need.

This time of year has proven to be a challenge for me already. December came is with 0 degree temperatures and I've already found myself more reluctant for my walks. Yesterday I bundled a big scarf around my face and it helped. (I don't really care what I look like on these walks, haha)

I need to figure out some home workouts that burn enough calories so that I don't feel guilty forgoing my walk. I so hate the treadmill so that might keep me motivated to keep them outside.

Its so amazing that in a few short months how much blogging has impacted my life. I can't believe the amazing bloggers out there and how much they actually care about me. Thanks so much everyone who reads, and comments to my blog.

Next weekend we are attending three holiday parties. The first one is Cole's entire family meeting for their annual Christmas Party. The second is one we are hosting for his brother Adam's 30th birthday party and the third is my friends Christmas Party. I'm going to do some baking for them and for the one we are hosting there is going to be veggies and healthy options :)

This time of year can be so frighting but I am making a promise to myself to not forgo my exercise, no matter what else happens. Do any of my fellow bloggers have any strategies they are planning?

Hauling butt-my butt~

Wow-I can't get over how long this week has been. I'm going to work on Friday to get some overtime pay for Christmas. I'm gonna see how I do and maybe do it the next couple of weeks so I'll have lots of cash for the outlet stores.

I just got back from my morning walk and I'm really proud of myself. I've been pushing myself to go for longer walks and to walk faster. In all my years of dieting I've never pushed myself in an athletic way.

I know that lots of people don't like The Biggest Loser because its dramatic weight loss and sort of unrealistic to regular people but I have to admit I'm addicted. I love watching the transformations and I usually pic someone who was my weight in the beginning and love seeing what they look like smaller.

Watching the show and reading different blogs has got me motivated for the future. Its really making me plan some goals. I'd love to run a 5k, go hiking, etc. These things couldn't have been further from my mind before but now they are starting to seem attainable.

One definite benefit to exercise is that I've never felt better, I'm actually getting up an hour or more before my alarm and I'm actually rested. I'm looking forward to my weigh in tomorrow-hopefully it'll show all the work I did this week.

Good for her!

I just got back from my morning walk, it is so cold here right now. I love walking in the cold, as a fat chick I love having the excuse to wear lots of layers.

Cole can't understand how much I hate to work out in front of people or for the matter how much I hate for people to even see me sweat. I don't think its strange at all. A few years ago we joined a gym and I worked out 4 times a week for 9 months with practically the same people every day and still hated it.

I can't imagine what it must be like to have body confidence, to not feel the need to use a throw pillow to cover up your stomach, to not have to pull down on shorts that climb up your thighs, to not make sure that your thighs don't make a sound while walking, to not step lightly out of fear of walking loudly, to not feel paranoid when on a Ferris wheel that they are working extra hard to balance your weight.

Cole says people will look at me exercising and think "good for her" but I really don't know, maybe they do, the real question probably should be "why do I give a rat's ass?"

No matter what I'm not giving up my walks, they are so good for my well being, I'm dreading snow and ice but I got a pair of trackers on the weekend so hopefully they will work. I'm sure my confidence will build in the next weeks, months, year as I continue on the journey~

What I gained on vacation.

After a week of being on vacation I got weighed today. I gained 2.4 pds. I knew I would gain. I didn't react in the way I would have in the past. I would have avoided the weight in and then avoided next week, etc, until I quit. Today I marched right in there and got weighed.

2.4 pds is not the end of the world and I don't want to be in the kind of situation where I can't enjoy myself on vacation. Not that vacation is centered around food but we did enjoy some of the restaurants we can't get in Canada.

I had such a great time chatting with my mother. I sucks to be so far away from her. Since I only get to see her once or twice a year I literally hardly sleep when I am visiting cause I don't want to miss out on a moment.

My mother is 5'0 and about 120-130 pds and has never really had to struggle with weight. When I told her that I was scared to get weighed she didn't understand. She said "Why? You didn't eat bad." She doesn't realize that eating at IHOP and having a few coolatta's is bad for me. She doesn't know the daily struggle of having to measure and think about every ounce of food you consume. I envy her.

Mom is really supportive-she bought me some weight watcher products. Here in Canada we can't get hardly any weight watcher products, I couldn't believe the ice creams in the freezer in the states, so yummy, such little point values.

Looking forward to my walk tomorrow-I am proud I only missed two walks. It is so surprising how much I missed them and how not being on my regular eating schedule has messed my whole system up. I'm also looking forward to catching up on some of the blog posts I missed while away.

Thank God for Don't Walk Symbols

It is my third day of vacation and I still haven't shaken my headache. The problem? I think I'm not getting enough water!!! Today I will definately focus on this. I can be so good at getting my water in while I am at work, I have to get more motivated to change my habits when I am on vacation.

Knowing that I would probably be going a bit over my points while on vacation has motivated me to walk a bigger area. Instead of my regular route I have went further down the hill by three roads and therefore when I am looping around I have to walk further up the hill to get home.

It is still chilly out but I definitely don't feel it. You would think it was July with the amount of sweat dripping off me while I am huffing and puffing up the hill. On a definite plus side, when it really is July I will have some more weight off and probably won't look like such a hot mess coming up the hill.

On another plus side-I think my shin splints are gone. I was having them for months and ppl on the weight watcher forums were saying maybe it was my sneakers. I'm hoping for new sneakers for Christmas so I didn't change them yet. But the splints are gone! Is it possible that I was just carrying too much weight on them? I know I am! haha but I wonder if that was the reason for them?

Maybe I'm a slow learner.

A while ago I read a study that proved that it took 3 weeks to form a habit. So I figured I would try this with exercising. Even at my heaviest weight, dare I even type it, 265 pds, I was the type of person who walked, slow but still I did.

That being said, in the past I never enjoyed exercise. I would come up with any excuse not to do it-headache, sore stomach, paper cut, whatever. Whenever I watch The Biggest Loser and they lost quite a lot of weight and have to carry it while they run a challenge I think its no wonder I hate exercise.

Anyways I thought that it would take me three weeks to form the habit of exercise, but you know what it really didn't-for me it took longer, more like 3 months. 3 months of walking 5-6 times a week and now I can honestly say it is a habit, and one I enjoy at that. I get home from work do the dishes and before I know it I am half way dressed in my exercise clothes before I even realise what I am doing. At any rate I'm just glad I didn't give up sooner than the three months because I have been sleeping so much better with the walking and the fresh air.

Another month bites the dust.

Got weighed on Friday-lost another 1.6pds. That is my new favorite number-three weeks this month that is what I lost, haha. This walking must be paying off. So for the month of Oct I lost a total of 6.8, not too bad if I do say so myself.
We had friends over for supper on Friday evening. I made Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Vegetables, Rolls and Double Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert, it was so good. Kelly, who we had to supper, is also in Weight Watcher but only has a little to lose, said how can you have these sweets around and still lose weight? And honestly this is one of the most successful times I have dieted and I think a big part in that is that I allow myself to have what I want on the weekends so its not going a long time missing out.
A woman at weight watchers just got her 25 pd sticker and she said to our leader, how many pts are in a coffee creamer cause now that I lost 25 pds I'm thinking of having one. She has lost 25 pds in a little bit of time by depriving herself. I have a coffee every night.
I want this to literally be a lifestyle change and I don't plan on going the rest of my life not having the foods I enjoy so I incorporate them in to my "diet".
Next Friday we start a week of Vacation-I cannot wait. We decided to go visit my mother in New Hampshire for a couple of nights so I will try and get some Weight Watcher Products we can't get here in Canada.

This is me (now?)

Well the other day I had a small slip up, but moved on. One weird thing that I do when I eat something unplanned or over points? I hide the evidence from my fiance. Don't get me wrong its not that Cole would beat me, haha, or for the matter even notice but I find myself washing out the dishes or hiding wrappers and I think-what a complete weirdo I am. What would possess someone to do this?
I went for a walk yesterday morning and while at a stoplight this girl who also has blonde hair was wearing the same exact yoga suit as me, only about 10 times smaller OUCH THAT HURT, we probably looked like a before and after pic. In a years time I hope to be the after.

Strike a pose.

This week was of course Canadian Thanksgiving. I hosted for the in-laws which may be some sort of self-destruction since I love my cooking, and have since been surrounded by the leftovers. I actually did pretty good considering. I didn't come close to eating as much as I would have in the past and have been trying to use positive self talk. Instead of being disappointed in myself for eating too much dessert I will focus on the fact that I didn't eat any of the Halloween treats or chips I had put out for my guests. I really think that this has made me really good the rest of the week with my walks and eating. In the past I would get myself so worked up in a negative manner that I would just start continue over-eating until I completly wrecked my entire week. Weight in is tomorrow morning so we'll have to wait and see. I did notice that my double chin is getting smaller and for anyone who knows me this is a major deal for me. My fiance is obsessed with taking pics and a double chin is hard to hide.

Quality time for 1

I love my fiance with all my heart, really I do. We work together, live together, pretty much spend every waking moment together. I need a few minutes to breathe. A lot of ppl would love to have my problems, haha. Our car is in the shop and while he usually goes to the gym in the mornings he has been joining me on my walks and it is nice but I think I just got accustomed to that being me time. I'll get over it. I have gotten in so much exercise this week and have been following my points to a t, hopefully it will pay off on the scale. This week has felt so long compared to last week, I am looking forward to the long weekend-I am having thanksgiving for the in-laws here so that will be even more challenging for me with the weight loss as I will be the one with the leftovers. Did I mention turkey is one of my favorite foods? I have lots of favorites.