Time..............

Today was my last class of yoga :(  I really enjoyed it.  Our instructor sent us away with a tip sheet and some ways to decrease stress.  I am going to miss that class.  At the beginning of each class we would have to pick a card with our eyes closed and focus on that during our sessions.  I thought it was very fitting that my card for the last class was titled time.  Take time for your life. 

It seems I never have enough time.  Time for my family, work, housework, organizing and me.  I really, really need to work on making time.  It seems like every minute of my day is full.  I'm going to try to work on that.  I need more time for my children and for me and I really need some time with my hubby.  We never have time for us.  I really miss it.

Food Journal October 26, 2010

• 1 - 12 grain bagel with light cream cheese - 6 points
• 1 banana - 2 points
• 1c Weight Watchers Vegetable Soup - 0 points
• 1c spinach salad w/ y.peppers. tomatoes, cucumbers & mushrooms w/ 1tbs of vinaigrette - 1 point
• 1 grilled cheese sandwich w/ Dempsters body wise bread - 5 points
• 1c skim milk - 2 points
• 1 Fibre Plus Bar - 3 points
• 1 sm. orange - 0 points
• 2 slices of Dempsters Body Wise toast w/ 2 tsp of becel and 1 tsp of sugar free strawberry jam - 3 points
• 2 egg omelet w/ spinach, mushrooms, y. peppers, tomatoes and 1/4c of low fat cheese - 5 points

Total Points = 28

Exercise

1.5 hours of yoga

What Happened?

Sorry for not posting over the weekend.  It was one of those lazy weekends.  I did some cleaning and shopping for groceries but mostly just relaxed.  Finished a book and stayed up way too late watching TV but it was worth it.

Yesterday was a really crappy day.  I was so tired from staying up too late that I just had a give up kinda day.  I tracked my food but made really unhealthy choices.  Let's just say I was 27 points over!  Yeah!  Shocking!  Damn you KFC and Ferroro Rocher! 

I really don't know what I was thinking.  I was tired and work is severely stressing me out and I just gave up yesterday.  Not an excuse I know.  I chose to buy the big box of chocolates when I could've just bought 3 (I did only eat three though because my teeth hurt so much) and I chose to get KFC instead of cooking something else.  I just didn't want to.  I wanted to be in my misery, eat my greasy treats and generally feel sorry for myself. 

Today is another day!  I almost considered not even tracking yesterday but I didn't want to lie to myself.  I couldn't believe it when I added up the KFC dinner.  31 points!  For supper!  Aaaarghhhh!  I was so mad at myself when I figured it out this morning!  I think I had a mini panic attack!  LOL!

It's OK though.  I messed up.  I made a mistake and the next time I feel like going crazy, I will think about this.  I may decide to have the KFC but I will pass on the chicken fries and the gravy and have a salad on the side.  I can do this!  It's all about real choices and being true to myself!

Also need to start exercising.  I said I would do so on the weekend but I did nothing!  I'm gonna do it today!  My hubby fixed our treadmill so that will be getting used more often too.  Time to get myself back on the wagon! 

Food Journal October 25. 2010

• 1/3c of oatmeal w/ tbs of maple syrup - 4 points
• 1 chicken breast - 3 points
• 1c steamed white rice - 4 points
• 1 piece of garlic toast - 5 points
• 3 Ferrero Rocher - 5 points
• 2 KFC chicken 1 breast and 1 wing - 11 points
• 7 chicken fries - 12 points
• 1c of french fries w/ gravy - 8 points
• 1 hot chocolate - 3 points

Total Points = 55

36/35 points used for weekly allowance! 

Exercise

Nada

Food Journal October 22

Just want to log in my journal today.  Super tired.  Long day.

Food Journal

• 1 1/4c of Strawberry All Bran w/ skim milk - 4 points
• 1c of steamed white rice - 4 points
• 1c clam chowder - 4 points
• 1 1/2 chicken breasts - 5 points
• 11 almonds - 2 points
• 1 Fibre Plus Bar - 3 points
• 1c ww linguine - 3 points
• 1/2c veg spag sauce - 2 points
• 15 cactus cut potatoes w/ dip - 5 points
• 1 Chai Tea Latte - 2 points

Total Points = 34 points
6/35 Weekly Points

Exercise

None - Rest Day

What Does Success Look or Feel Like to You?

That was the topic of our meeting today.  Many different answers.  Success to me is actually looking in the mirror.  I used to avoid mirrors at all costs!  I hated when I would see my reflection in a full body mirror.  I used to be surprised at how I looked.  I didn't think I looked that fat.  I sure didn't feel like how I looked.  Now when I look in a mirror I like what I see.  I'm not where I want to be yet but I know I will be soon.  So my question to you is, "What does success look or feel like to you?"

Weigh in was great and very surprising.  I lost 3 pounds last week, which brings my total pounds lost to 23.6!  Amazing!  I passed my 10% goal and now I get to pamper myself a bit.  Woohoo!  I also need to think what my next goal will be.  I will let you know.

Food Journal

• 2 scrambled eggs - 4 points
• 2 slices of Dempsters Body Wise toast with 2 tsp of becel and 1 tsp of sugar free strawberry jam - 3 points
• 1c of Campbell's Healthy Harvest Tomato Vegetable soup - 1 point
• 1/2 turkey sand on Dempsters Body Wise bread 1 tbs of no fat mayo - 4 points
• 1c salad with vinaigrette - 1 point
• 1c skim milk - 2 points
• 1c salad with lemon - 0 points
• 1 1/2 slice of trimmed pork loin - 3 points
• 1 c whole wheat spaghetti - 3 points
• 1/2c of low fat spaghetti sauce - 2 points
• 1 banana - 2 points
• 2 Astro zero yogurts - 1 point
• 1c of skim milk - 2 points

Total Points = 28

Exercise

1 hour of hip hop class - completely intense

Food Journal October 20, 2010

I went for my run!  It was raining but great.  I ran continuously for 3 minutes!  I feel great!

Food Journal

• 1 1/4c Strawberry All Bran Cereal w/ skim milk - 4 points
• 1 apple - 1 point
• 1c of salad w/ ch. tomatoes, cucumbers and vinaigrette - 1 point
• 1/2c brown rice - 2 points
• 1c cooked carrots - 1 point
• 1c cooked gr. peas - 2 points
• 1c skim milk - 2 points
• 1 Fibre Plus Bar - 3 points
• 1 banana - 2 points
• 2 egg white omelet w/ spinach, yel. peppers and 1/4c of low fat cheese - 3 points
• 1 orange - 1 point
• 1c skim milk - 2 points
• 2 pieces of Dempsters Body Wise toast with 2 tsp of becel and sugar free strawberry jam - 4 points

Total Points = 28

Exercise

W3D1 of C25K challenge - 30 minutes

Interruptions..................

First of all, sorry for not posting yesterday!  Crazy day.  Let me tell you about it.  All was fine until I got a call from my sister.  Her and her boyfriend had gone out of town on Friday and spent the night in a hotel.  The next day she went to go and checkout and get her security deposit back.  Instead what happened was they had charged her for another night and security deposit.  She realized this when she got home.  (they were 2.5 hours away from the hotel)  She then called the hotel and they told her they would just put in back in her account.  So she waited and waited.  On Tuesday, she called me because the money was still not there.  I told her they can't just put it back in your account, they need your debit card for that! 

She was really upset (understandable) and now their vehicle wasn't working and she would not be able to get back to get her money back soon.  (she has 2 kids and really needed the money) She asked if she could borrow my van but she does not have her license and my mom's driving record is not great and has caused plenty of rows between me and my husband when I lend my mom the vehicle. 

I was really stuck in a rock and a hard place.  If I told my mom no she would be mad at me and most likely hubby.  If I loaned mom the van, guaranteed I would not have a pleasant night with my hubby.  I was really torn.  I wanted to help but how could I?  I ended up finding someone to work the afternoon for me and drove my sister myself. 

We got to the hotel and it took an hour to clear things up.  In the end she ended up getting all of her money back, including the fee for the night she was there!

I had a great time with her.  It was the first time in 8 years that we got to hang out.  (we had some difficult times in the past which I will not talk about here)  We did some shopping, went for dinner, bitched about our parents (no one understands your parents like a sibling) and just had a great time.  It was a blessing to spend time with her and have such fun doing it!  All my other siblings live far away and I never get to see them.  Her and my relationship has been so strained in the past few years but I really felt like we reconnected and that was so nice.  Thanks Ang!  You are awesome!

The impromptu trip threw me off my game though!  I didn't get to yoga last night and I got home so late (11:30) that I also didn't go on my run this morning.  I am going after work though.  I brought my running clothes so I don't have any excuses!  I also went way over my points yesterday which pisses me off.  The culprits were the 2 coffees I had.  (8 points)  We also went to Moxie's for supper and I did make healthy choices but they have no nutritional information on-line.  While searching this is what I found:

We have attempted to collect nutrition information for this restaurant and received the following reply:

" Thank you for taking the time to inquire about Moxie's nutritional information.  Detailed nutritional information is becoming a more frequent request from our guests, and it is a challenge that we are not yet quite prepared to meet. At Moxie's, our ongoing philosophy is to constantly look for ways to improve the quality and value we offer our guests, and this results in recipes that are constantly evolving. The benefit of this approach is great food at great prices, but the downside is that we are unable to accurately track the changing nutritional information for the 300 or so recipes that we make every day. This is a project that we look forward to tackling in the future as we grow into a larger company, but it is not yet something we can manage."

Best regards, Moxie’s Home Office

Lame!  Not something they can manage?  Well I guess I will have to manage not eating there anymore.  Plenty of other restaurants put out their info, so they can too. 

I had to estimate the points for what I did eat there.  Hopefully they are close. 

Food Journal (October 19, 2010)

• 1-12 grain bagel w/2tbs of light cream cheese - 7 points
• 1 Lrg. Double Double - 4 points
• 1 Kashi Dark Chocolate Cherry Bar - 2 points
• 1 Banana - 2 points
• 11 almonds - 2 points
• 6 sm. pieces of naan bread with mosaic dip (vegetarian dish w/ roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, red peppers and goat cheese)  5 points - estimate
• 1/4 of roasted beet, pine nuts, goat cheese and arugula salad w/ a half chicken breast and vinaigrette - 4 points - estimate
• 1 Lrg. French Vanilla - 4 points

Total Points = 36

18/36 Weekly points used so far!  Eek!  If I hadn't had given in to the coffee, I would've been OK!  Tomorrow is another day!

Exercise

None, unless walking around with shopping bags counts?  Maybe?  Probably not! LOL.....

My Feet Keep Running......

I went for a run today!  I dragged my ass out of bed and made myself go.  It was hard.  Week 3 of C25K program is:  5 minute brisk walk,  and 2 reps of jog 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, jog 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes, 5 minute cool down.  I couldn't jog continuously for 3 minutes but I am going to repeat W3D1 until I can.  I also followed with a 15 minute stretching routine afterwards and it felt so good!  Especially my calves.  All in all, I had a good day.  Now for a cup of tea and a couple of chapters before bed.  Goodnight all.

Food Journal

1 piece of high fibre toast w/ 1tsp of becel - 1 points
1 1/4c of Strawberry All Bran cereal w/ skim milk - 4 points
1 Subway Chicken Teriyaki sub 6" - 5 points
1 banana - 2 points
1 applesauce cup - 0 points
1/2c of grapes - 0 points
1c of salad w/ 1tbs of vinaigrette - 1 point
1 baked chicken breast - 3 points
1 c brown rice - 4 points
1c of green peas - 2 points
1c of cooked carrots - 1 point
2tsp of butter - 2 points
1c of skim milk - 2 points

Total Points = 28

Exercise

W3D1 of C25K program  (30 minutes)

Wandering Around.....

Good day today.  Plenty of sleep.  Got to watch all the Grey's episodes I missed before church.  Spent the day with my family.  Walked everywhere.  Grocery shopping done. Enjoyed a French Vanilla coffee.  Talked to a good friend.  Had a great dinner with the in-laws.  I love Sundays!

Food Journal

• 2 pieces of high fibre toast with 2 tsp of Becel - 3 points
• 1c of 1% milk - 2 points
• 2 apples - 2 points
• 2 poached eggs - 4 points
• 1 1/2 pieces dry rye w/ 1tbs of peanut butter - 5 points
• 8 deep fried hashbrowns - 2 points
• 3oz of ham - 3 points
• Medium French Vanilla Coffee - 4 points
• 1c chicken and broccoli - 2 points
• 1/2c of beef chow mien - 3 points
• 3 pieces of ginger beef - 2 points

Total Points = 32 points
4/36 weekly allowance points used.

Exercise

2 hours of walking. 

Good day today.  Tomorrow time for a run.  Can't wait to get back at it!  Goodnight.

Food Journal for October 16

• 1 1/4 cup of All Bran Cereal w/ 1% milk - 4 points
• 2c of spinach salad with almonds, dried strawberries and 1tbs of vinaigrette - 3 points
• 1 turkey sandwich - 6 points
• 1 orange - 1 point
• 10 baby carrots - 0 points
• 1 apple - 1 point
• 1c 1% milk - 2 points
• 1 cup of ww spaghetti, w/chicken sauce and 1/4c of low fat cheese - 8 points
• 1 cup of spinach salad w/ cherry tom and yel peppers and 1tbs vinaigrette - 1 point
• 1 cup of 1% milk - 2 points

Total points = 28

Exercise

15 squats
15 lunges

Rolling with the Punches..............

Well hello there!  It's been a long time!  LOL.  I've been pretty busy since I wrote last and I know I have been slacking off.    The only thing I stuck to was my Thanksgiving dinner!  I said I would have 12 points for dinner and I did. 

Last week I have been struggling with my journaling and portion sizes.  I have been making good choices, just not righting them down.  I know a few days I probably went over my points but don't know for sure since  I didn't journal!  Aargh! 

I think I just convinced myself that I knew what I was doing and it didn't matter if I journaled or not.  But........it does.  This can be a slippery slope if I continue this way.  Soon I will be telling myself that I don't need to exercise or I can eat out just this once, twice, twenty times and I will be right back where I started!  I don't want that.  I just need to remind myself that this is a journey, some places will be hard to get to, others easy.  I'm not going back!  I am moving forward.

This week I've committed to:  Jounaling (in my journal and on this blog) and recording my exercising as well.  This way I am not only accountable to myself but to all of you as well. 

I did go to my meeting on Thursday and it was great!  I lost 1 pound!  Which brings my total pounds lost to 20.6!  I am 0.4 pounds away from my 10% goal!  I can't wait.  I can tell too because I tried on some of my old jeans and I could easily put them on.  I bought a pair of jeans when we went to Nova Scotia last year that I can wear again.  (They were only worn once)  and a couple of old jeans that I had that I can wear again.  It felt so good to pull them on and not have to jump up and down to fit into them!  I also have some shirts that I can wear again and that makes me feel really good!  See, another reason to not go back! 

I also read something really interesting from WW that made sense.  It explains rapid weight loss in the beginning and talks about plateaus.

There are some predictable patterns to everyone's weight-loss efforts.  In the first few weeks, it's normal to see quick losses.  People talk about this as water weight.  But what's happening to cause this loss of water weight?  When you reduce your calorie intake, your body responds by releasing its stores of glycogen, a stored form of carbohydrate found in the muscles and the liver.  Glycogen holds water, so when it is burned for energy, it releases water.  Since you're eating fewer calories, your body starts burning up its glycogen stores, and then, after they're gone, your body starts burning fat for energy - which is exactly what you want to have happen.  But, because fat does not hold water and it takes twice as much energy to burn fat, you'll see slower losses on the scales.

How I like to think of this is each pound I lose is harder to lose but the reward is much greater.  Goodbye fat!!  I will post my food and exercise tonight before bed.  Bye for now.

Listening....

I am finally out of my slump.  Ever since I sprained my ankle on Monday I have been depressed.  I think it was a combination of having my period and spraining my ankle that led me to be in the dumps.  Today was the first day I woke up without feeling blagh.  Yeah me!

I was really bummed out about my ankle.  I did go to yoga on Tuesday but I didn't go to my dance class and I didn't run at all.  Listening to my body and not forcing myself to workout anyway was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  It feels a lot better today though.  I can actually put on a shoe and walk without a limp today.  I just have to be careful how I turn it.  I will work out on the elliptical tomorrow and we are going to go swimming so that should be nice.  I hope I will be able to run on Monday because I really miss it.

I lost this week!  Even though I was depressed and couldn't exercise, I managed to not overeat!  I did have a cookie on Monday though and it was delish!

I lost 1.2 pounds which brings my total pounds lost to 19.6!  I am 1.4 pounds away from my 10% goal!  Hopefully with this next week I will make it! 

Thanksgiving is upon us and that could be a dangerous time for me.  I love to eat special dinners.  This time I am planning the meal and sticking to it.  No overeating for me!  This is what we plan to have:

Turkey (of course)
Stuffing  (made with low sodium chicken broth instead of butter)
Buns (from scratch)
Steamed carrots and green beans
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Baby greens salad
Gravy (none for me)
Cranberry sauce (not canned, I make mine from scratch)
No crust apple pie
Baked cinnamon pears with oat topping

Everything I make will be made with healthy ingredients instead.  Splenda in place of sugar and very limited butter.  Everything except the buns.  (Jeremy and the kids begged for 'normal' buns please!!!!!!!)  So I will be making regular buns.  I have decided to allow myself 12 points for this dinner.  I probably won't get in any exercise that day since I am making dinner but I will basically be on my feet all day. 

We will be going to my dads for Thanksgiving and I am really looking forward to it.  I can't wait to go to the Running Room so I can get some new shoes! 

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Chrys

Grrrreeeeeeaaaaattttt...........note the heavy sarcasm.

So earlier I mentioned I fell while running this morning, turns out I sprained my ankle.  Fantastic!?  I am really bummed out about it.  I LOVE TO RUN!  I DON'T WANT TO TAKE A BREAK!  Wah, wah, wah, whimper, sigh. 

OK, silver lining.  It is a minor sprain, I won't be able to run for a week tops.  Just have to RICE it.  Yes, RICE.  Rest, ice, compression, elevation.    In the meantime, I will still go to yoga and hip hop.  I will not start the C25K program over, I will start where I stopped.  Really hope it is better by Friday, I really hate missing my runs. 

I should let myself have a treat though right?  Something chocolaty?  All within reason right?  Maybe, I will think about it.

Falling Down........

This was a great weekend for me.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and I got to spend it with my family.  My daughter had a Dance-A-Thon on Saturday to help raise funds for competitions and such.  She had fun, she danced on and off for 10 hours!  While she was there my son, hubby and I walked around and enjoyed the nice temps and beautiful day.  That night both kids went to their papas house and I got to spend a nice evening with my hubby.

Sunday we went to church and then to the studio to do some repairs.  It was a nice weekend. 

I did manage to go for my run this morning and halfway through I fell and lightly sprained my ankle.  I finished my run and my ankle did not hurt.  It hurts now though.  I have iced it and am trying to keep it up as much as I can while at work.  It is not swollen and only has a slight bruise so I am going to stay off of it for a couple of days. 

All in all I had a great weekend and I am still going strong.  I start my yoga class tomorrow and will continue strength training. 

Makes me feel...........

Weight Watchers Tip of the Day:

Invest in a well stocked spice rack.  Spices add flavour to food without adding calories.

Went to my meeting lastnight and I was a bit disappointed.  I still had a loss but it was a loss of 0.4lbs.  Which brings my total weight lost to 18.4lbs.  I really wanted that 10% goal but I know it is achievable and I will be there in a couple of weeks.  I think the reason why it wasn't a 'big' loss is because it is my time of the month.  I always tend to bloat a lot during this time.  We will see next week!  I just gotta keep my chin up.  I still lost so that is great.

My hip hop class was really fun lastnight.  I am definitely getting better and there is a really great group of women there and they make it fun!

I got home late lastnight and didn't get to bed until 10:30 so I didn't go run this am.  I am going to go and run tonight while my son is in dance.   I'm really excited about it because fall in the valley is one of the most beautiful seasons here.  I am so excited to run somewhere different and it is beautiful out today!  20 degrees is awesome for October.

When I got home last night I was talking with my hubby about how I feel.  For the first time in a really long time, I feel good about myself.  I'm proud of myself for sticking it out, working out and most of all running.  Everytime I feel a little down I think of all the things I can do now that I couldn't before and it makes me smile every time.  What a confidence booster this journey has turned out to be.