Food plans?????

Workouts for the past week

Monday- Cybex maching (30 mins)

                Stationary bike (17 mins)

Tuesday- Walking (25 mins)

                 Stationary Bike (13 mins)

Friday- Spin Class (50 mins)

Total Calories Burned: 1331

I gained two pound this week.  I am extremely embarrassed by this I almost didn't want to type it out but I know I need to be honest with my. For the month of July I am up 1.5 pounds I wish it was down.  I will try to increase the time I spend at the gym and add weight lifting.  As for my food intake something is not working, not for the lack of trying.  I will keep you updated on what my action plan will be. 

What type of diet/lifestyle eating plan are you on ?  (South Beach, Weight Watcher, Atkins, etc)  Do you count calories?  and Do you find writing down what you eat helpful? 

Two years ago

It was around this time, two years ago that I lost 50 pounds. It was such a proud moment in my life but I thought by now I would  have lost another 50 pounds but sadly I haven't. Since then I have been struggling to even maintain the 50 pound loss even thought I am trying to lose more.  In  the past couple of months I even gained some back.  

This week I have been super hard on myself especially about my body, life and not losing more weight.  This needs to stop!  It's not getting me anywhere, in fact it's  making me depressed and feel horrible about myself.     I think it's time I think about all the good things that have happened in the past 2 years and eight months since I have started this weight loss journey.

1.  I have kept off the majority of weight.  Currently 35 pounds down

2.  Went on two trips down south Mexico/Dominican Republic and both times I didn't have a problem with the seat belt ( I would have if I didn't lose the 50 pounds)

3. I have ran 2 (5km)  and 1 (2km)

4. Went back to school for Personal Support Worker and had excellent grades while working full time at the restaurant.

5. I have been going to the gym consistently for over two years (between 2 to 5 times a week)  It's a lifestyle now.

6.  Tried over 10 different  work out classes at the gym including :  Body Pump, Body Flow, Step Class, Spin, Body Compact, Body Attack, Body Vive, Skip it, Zumba, Body Jam and New Body

7. I haven't given up even if the numbers haven't changed much on the scale.

8. Lost over 40 inches

9. I am able to do 20 half push up.  I couldn't even do one before!

10.  The majority of the time I eat healthy!

I realized sometimes I strive for perfection which really doesn't exist and I am problaby not alone in this.   Some weeks we are going to be super hard on ourselves and think why aren't we further in life?  Why haven't I lost more weight?   What's wrong with me?   But maybe, just maybe this is where we are suppose to be right now and if we are patient enough and work hard enough we will get where we need to be.   

3km or 8km?

I really wanted  to run the  5 km Army race in September but I waited to long to sign up.   I looked for other 5km's in September and the only think they have is either a 3 km or 8 km.   Should I run the 3km? or should I just suck it up and run the 8km??  Decision Decision......

Weigh In

I stayed the exact same.  I was hoping for a loss but I have been feeling stressed the last couple of days and not sleeping very well so I know next week I will see a loss!  I hope everyone is having a good week.

Weight in delayed a day



I thought this was great quote to get us through the blah days!

Today is a new day!   I didn't get to sleep till 4am my brain wouldn't shut off.   When I woke up today I was scrabbling to get ready for work I didn't have time to weigh in (I have to use the Wii and it takes a couple minutes which I couldn't spare)   I only had a two hour client today so I had more then enough time to go to the gym. I did 30 mins on the Cybex and 17 minutes on stationary bike.  I felt so much better afterwards.  I was literally dripping with sweat.   I realized that I need  to incorporate  higher intensity workouts not only for weightloss but it is a great outlet for my anxiety.

 Workouts from the past week

Monday- Volleyball (6o mins)

Tuesday- Spin Class (5o mins) Weights (15 mins)

Wednesday- Waterpark lots of swimming

Thursday- Light walk (30 mins)

Saturday- Golfing with out a cart (2 hours)

Total Calories-1925

This week in the summer challenge is a 100 lunges a day!  Yikes lol I will keep you posted. http://www.youtube.com/user/dietsinreview?feature=results_main

Also I have been trying to 100 miles for the month of July just in exercise.  I have completed 42.9 miles to date.   I know I am not even half way there but there is seven days left in the month  I am certainly going to try my hardest to reach it.

Blah....

Do you ever have one of those days, when nothing is really wrong  but you feel unhappy and just not yourself.  Well today is one of those days.  

I am not one of those people who is overjoyed  to go to work but usually once I am there I'm content  but today it was humid and sticky and I didn't want to be there.  I just wanted to keep to myself which is kind of hard when you are bartending. (insert sad face here)

 I am glad to say I didn't turn to food  but I did have a couple of wondering thoughts about going to McDonalds after work  or buying some ice cream but I resisted the urge.  

This summer has been one of the best summers I have had in years but I guess everyday can't be filled with fun activites.  Blah....  Tomorrow is a new day and it's my weigh in day. 

What do you do when you are having "one of those days" ?

90 foot Waterslide- Calypso water park

My cousin is in town for a couple of days and I haven't seen her since she was 3. (she is now 21) I made a suggestion of  going to the water park today since  it has been super hot and Rob and I have been meaning to check it out. So Rob, my cousin, my sister and  and I all piled into the car and 30 minutes later we were at the park.   ( Btw- It's Canada's largest water park and according to MSN the worlds best water park!)   

We had a lot of fun!   Lots of swimming in the wave pool and jumping into the waves which is a great workout.  The line ups for the slides were long we only went on two.   The second slide we went on was super scary!!   First of all we had to walk up 9 flights of stairs so you know it was pretty high!   As I was in line I started to feel very nervous thinking to myself there is no way I can do this, it's so high up.   But then I took a couple of deep breaths and thought there are some many things  in my life that I have  been scared of and I pushed through and I did it anyway; and really this is only 30 seconds of my life. I knew at the end I will  be proud and have such adrenaline rush.   So I took the plunge and went for it.  Let me tell you I screamed the whole way down and I think my heart was pounding for a while afterwards lol.    But I was so happy I did it!  

Whether it's with exercise, food, dealing with my emotions or trying something new once I set my mind to it I am 100% in!   Of course it's not easy and can be scary at times but the end results always wins.  

Here's a couple of pictures of the water park

Robby and me

My cousin Kate and yours truly

The blue side was the one I had my doubts about to put it into prospective make sure you look at the people at the bottom.

I would like to add my sister and I brought healthy snacks with us to the park fruit, cheese, olives and bottle water.  But I sure was hungry when I got home. It was a leftover kind of night.   

What type of healthy snacks do you bring when your going on a day trip?

Weigh In

Yippee!!  I lost 5 pounds this week, with hard work and my focus back I knew I could do it.  

Workouts last week: 

Monday- Spin class (50 minutes) and 30 minutes of volleyball

Tuesday- 30 minute walk

Wednesday- Yoga (60 minutes)

Thursday- 30 minutes walk

Friday- Cycling (20 minutes) Weights (10 minutes)

I would love to hear how you weighted in this week. 

Melting

I just got home from working a patio shift,  I literally sweat out a pound!!  Thank god I wasn't too busy otherwise I would have been just a big puddle at the end of the night.  I cannot believe how hot this summer has been?    Don't get me wrong this summer has been fabulous and I have been doing so many fun things but I hate to say it we need rain desperately, everywhere there was grass is now this crispy yellow straw. 

(Poor Grass this is what it looks like all over Ottawa) 

For the last 12 days we had "The Ottawa Bluesfest" there is over 200 bands that go every year.  I was able to make it to four nights.   I saw John Mellencamp, Blue Rodeo, Our Lady Peace, Snoop Dog, Lauryn Hill, Sam Roberts, LMFAO, A$AP Rocky, Dragonette and a few others that I can't remember at this moment.    It was great to bump into old friends and  hangout with a pretty awesome group of friends.   Rob was able to go for one night too!  I love spending time with him, it's hard sometimes when we both work shift work we don't always spend tons of quality time.  http://ottawabluesfest.ca/lineup/by-day/?date=2012-07-11

In other news I finally figured out how to add tabs to my blog, thanks to Youtube!  You can pretty much find tutorials on anything, which is perfect for me since I'm a visual learner.  So I have altered my blog once again.  One day I will be completely satisfied. 

I ate really well this week and worked out 5 times.  Tomorrow I will write out my workout routines which will include my current weight.   

I know this is a small victory but when I was at the Bluesfest my friend offered me a deep fried Oreo I quickly replied "no thanks".   I know it would have tasted so yummy but I would have felt sick afterward. I am very proud that I didn't!  

(Can I get a high five for not eating this???)

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and trying to stay cool!

My weigh in is tomorrow I am looking forward to seeing what number appears.  Until tomorrow.   

Night

Yoga on the Hill

This afternoon was wonderful, I did something I have been wanting to do for years!    I tried yoga outside for the first time.   I have been practicing yoga for over 16 years now but doing the practice outside was a grounding experience.   On top of that it was beautiful day, it was free and it was at The Parliament Hill.  (For those of you who are not Canadian I live in the Capital of Canada and The Parliament hill is a historic site and a site too see! )  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_Hill

I got to experience it with my lovely cousin.  It was a great memory to share.  It was an hour long at noon with the sun beating down, sweat pouring down my face, with 1054 other people.   The instructor was amazing and quite funny!   You could feel the calming and positive energy.  Despite the flying beetles, the uneven ground and the sweat going into my eyes I loved every minute of it and I can't wait to do again!    They offer it every Wednesday at noon for the summer.  They are also trying to reach attendance of 5000 people!  

I hope you are having an amazing week!  What is something you have done recently that you been wanting to do? 

I'm posing for the camera lol  Not the greatest shot of me but it's the only one  my cousin took

This is my cousin Amy,  I love doing workouts with her.  She is such a good friend.

Crowd shot (The Parliament Hill in the background)

p.s I felt like a movie star when I looked up I realized onlookers were taking pictures of us yogis!

Weigh in

In two weeks I have gained 4.5 pounds I know this is from my binge eating.  I am obviously not happy by this weight gain but I need to be honest with myself.  I could run away and be in denial or I can continue fighting this battle.   Being planned and organized is important to me and this has been a success in my weight loss.  Lately I  feel like I am all over the place.   

Here is  a list to get me on the right path again.

- prepare meals a head of time

-making sure there is nothing in the house I can binge on

- Talk out my feelings

- Turn to exercise when I am feeling the urge to binge

- Go to an OA meeting

-Keep ahead of my housekeeping (this is not food related but it stresses me out when the house is not clean which then leads to eating)

I know what I should eat and I know what I should stay away from.  There are some food I can't have any of  example: chocolate, pizza, chips and baked goods these are my triggers and there are other food I know I can have in moderation jello, pasta, rice.  I just have to DO IT!  I am starting now!     

I worked out 2x last week burned a total of 630 calories.

Time to get ready and go to Spin Class. 

What are some weight loss tools you need in your weight loss goals/success?

Writing it out

First of all, I will like to say that I am participating in a month challenge too!  It is to complete 100 miles in the month of July.  It could  be running, biking, walking or even the elliptical.  I have done 8.5 miles so far and I look forward to completing this goal. 

In other news my eating has been horrible and I need to change and fix that!  Food is such an awful  addiction!  I had willpower for so long and I feel like I have given up.   I think I just got sick of saying  "no" to foods all the time.  I must have said "no" hundreds of time, whether at work, home or with friends and family.   I feel like a little kid stomping my feet saying "why me!!??  IT'S NOT FAIR!"      

But I am not a five year  I am 32 and I need to accept that I do have a problem with food and  I always will!  I know there are tools out there to help me such as: OA, keeping a journal, counselling etc.  This time  I know why I am over eating\binging  I feel out of control in a certain part of my life and food is something I can control.  It's my best friend, it's reliable, comforting and enjoyable and it is always there when I need it.   Well at least for that 5 to 10 minutes I'm gorging myself.  Then I feel out of control, disgusted and disappointment.   And the cycle continues.  

 I will conquer this food addiction it will not get the best of me.   This is not going to happen right away but I am going to take the steps to get there and keep you posted.

Thanks for reading my rant. 

Enjoy you weekend :)

Hiking, Cottage Country, Ten week challenge

I hope all  of my Canadian friends enjoyed their Canada day weekend. I sure did! I will get to the details in a second but first I want to share a few things. 

1.  I accomplished my goal of 100 push ups in a week.   I even did my last 25 with a few drinks in me, but It still counts right?  This weeks challenge is to have half you plate filled with fruit and veggies.  This will be a bit more challenging but I am certainly going to try!  If you want to follow the summer challenges here's  the link. 

http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/06/courtneys-summer-challenge-kicks-off-10-weeks-of-fitness-and-fun/

2. I got a new part time job in my field.  I start orientation tomorrow, I'm looking forward to my new adventure.  For those of you who don't know I took Personal Support Worker last year in school (Health Care Aide)   My new job is working in Home Care.  I am look forward to the experience which will help me gain the skills I will need when I pursue nursing.

3.  I accomplished one of my three month goals. 

I went hiking with my sister in Pink Lake it's a beautiful trail.  It was 2.5 km but with a LOT of stairs and a lot hills.  To make sure I had a good workout I  ran up the stairs and by the end I was a sweaty mess.  I even got my sister to do it. 

 

This was the view of the trail.  The water was so clear!!   

A picture of me after running down the stairs

A aerial view of the trail

"I'm king of the world!"

At the bottom of the stairs

Beautiful!! 

If you love these photo's my sister took them.  You should check out her website http://www.rebeccaquinn.ca/

My Canada Day was amazing I got to spent it at a beautiful cottage with old friends and new friends.   I tried to make some healthy eating choices such as turkey sausage, whole wheat buns, salads,veggies and fruit  but of course I did have some cookies, chips and ice cream.  

p.s my sister took the cottage pictures too ;)

I would have posted a few more pictures but it wouldn't upload!  I was almost ready to throw my laptop off the balcony!  

I didn't weight myself on Monday since I was away.  I decide to wait until next Monday, that way all the "extra drinks" will be flushed out.

My exercise for the past week:

30 minutes on the treadmill

100 push ups throughout the week

90 minutes of hiking

50 minutes Spin Class

Happy July 4th to my American friends.