The Numbers are In!

I have been saying for some time now that I should check my measurements to see the progress, so here they are:

Chest: 45.5" (previously 46")

Ribcage: 41" (same)

Waist: 43.5" (previously 45")

Hips: 45" (previously 47")

Thighs: 23.5" (previously 25")

Upper arms: 13" (previously 14")

As you can see, there is improvement across the board! I am very happy with this. I am also happy to say that with having been on vacation the past 2 weeks and doing Thanksgiving/Christmas/wedding celebrations, I still managed to stay the same weight. No gain is definitely awesome!

I plan to keep improving and these results are encouraging :)

And the Journey Continues...

As you can tell, I am not driven by a scheduled weigh-in (I don't believe that the focus should just be on the numbers on a scale). I decided this morning that it was time to do another one and my weight is now at 207.8lbs. Again, it is going down, so I really can't complain. This past week I was only able to do 2 classes at lunch (Circuit Training on Monday and Boot Camp on Friday). I was in a meeting with a client that was on site and it ran into the Wednesday class. Great thing: I was upset about it (which means I really wanted to go to it ~ a definite positive!).

My eating habits? Still need improvement...but again, I refuse to focus on the negative as there are lots of times where I am being conscious of making better choices. Doing it some of the time instead of never is a good thing. Baby steps...I can even say that my cravings for the Tim Horton's ice cap is disappearing. I am not missing them as much on a daily basis anymore. In the beginning it was a daily "pep talk" to stay away from them and I gave in more than I would like to admit. But hey, I am kicking the habit and am down to one a week (sometimes I have a 2nd, but it is becoming a rare thing). I am starting to not crave junk as much (although tortilla chips and salsa are still rough), so I am getting better with my choices.

I am also trying to go to bed earlier on a daily basis. I was horrible about staying up late almost every night, which leads to more eating and not enough rest. A horrible combination that aids weight gain. I am trying to get to bed between 10-10:30pm (no longer midnight or later) and am still struggling to remember to drink more water during the day at work (I get so focused on tasks that I forget until I start to feel thirsty). I am contemplating programming in some "alerts" on my computer to prompt me to up my water intake. That might help...

Breaking the 210 Barrier

It has been a while since I last posted. With the minor surgery on my foot (to remove a mole - not cancerous, so no worries) I missed a week, then I got hit with gastro which took me out of commission for another week...yadda, yadda...I finally got back into the swing of things 2 weeks ago. I am happy to report that my weight this morning was at 208.6lbs. I have gotten past 210 which makes me really happy! Yes, I still struggle with food choices now and then, but I continue to focus on the positives. Just like anyone else, I'll have a night where the salsa and chips call out to me (and I admit I will answer the call). However, on the whole I am trying to get better with my food choices (the last few days I have gone for nuts rather than something "junky"). I should up my daily water intake (I noticed that I have gotten bad with that the past week). The positives: I continue to see my weight go in the right direction, I am noticing that my clothes are getting looser and looser (I now need a belt for a few pairs of my jeans) and I am starting to wear things in my wardrobe that were too tight to wear. It's like a whole new wardrobe in some cases (some things haven't been worn in a few years because I was also pregnant not all that long ago). I have even been getting comments from several people at work saying they are noticing that I am slimming down (and I've been working there nearly 3 months now). My brother's wedding is in less than a month. I am not sure if I will have hit the 200 mark (or gone below it) by then, but I already feel better about the way I will look in that killer dress I got!

I will have to take some measurements soon to see where the inches are coming off and how many! I am due to update those. Plus, I should probably post a new pic of me because even I can see that I do not look as round as the initial pic I posted when I started this blog :)

Take it one day at a time and celebrate all the little accomplishments ~ they will get you to the bigger ones!

Less and Less

A quick "check-in": I am now at an even 210.0lbs. The number continues to go down, so I am happy. Slowly, but surely I will break that 200 barrier! I will have to take my measurements and see how they compare to the ones I did in the beginning. It would be nice to see if the inches are going down too (I suspect that they are, but by how much I have no clue). I am a very happy camper! I still give in to cravings every once in a while, but am better about not snacking a ton. I don't beat myself up about it. I am still working on a consistent sleep schedule because not going to bed at a decent hour can cause overeating and not getting enough rest means not enough energy to really push myself in the cardio classes. I am still a work in progress, but I am getting better each day and have a positive outloook :)

Feeling the Results

I have been keeping up with the classes at work and am starting to see that I can do more and more each time (gotta build that stamina!). My weight has not changed since that last weigh in, but today I put on pants that I haven't worn since before the summer because it's cooling off. They used to be quite tight and by the end of the workday were really uncomfortable. I am happy to say that when I first put them on today there was more room AND even at the end of my day, there is still room. I am not driven by the numbers on the scale because I know that muscle weighs more than fat, so as long as I feel the difference in the fit of my clothes, I know I am still making great improvements. As I start to tone the muscles that were not being used in forever, I will feel (and see) the difference in my shape (something that is often overlooked by people who are fixated on their weight). I am happy to say this journey is going well.

As for eating, I am trying to make as many of my meals for work as I can (I have bought very few meals since starting this job). It's really helping too. I will not sit here and say that I have it all under control because every once in a while I cave to chips or fries, but I am eating better overall and enjoying eating well. I plan out all my snacks for the day and make sure I drink plenty of water. I will get to a healthier size and weight and doing it slowly and sensibly will keep me from that awful yo-yo effect. It's not like I have lost 50lbs or anything like that, but I am making better choices and my body is thanking me for it (even while I sit here feeling sore from my circuit training class today).

On Track...

I am happy to say that since the first Boot Camp class I have taken a class on each of Monday (Cardio Martial Arts - basically a Tae-box kind of class), Wednesday (Body Sculpt - a class with weights) and Friday (Boot Camp). After walking around like a grandma last weekend, it was MUCH easier this week. Now, I was starting to feel like I was already noticing a change in my body (some things actually felt a little less snug around the waist). I was wondering if it was just wishful thinking, so I decided I should weigh myself today. I am really happy to say that the number that showed up was 211.6! That's 3.6lbs in 10 days! Woo hoo! I am so excited about that. I am enjoying the classes (even though my stamina leaves a LOT to be desired right now and my muscles crap out pretty quickly during some sets) and find that because they are at lunch I am nowhere near the point of saying, "Oh, I'm too tired to go". I spend the mornings watching the clock and feeling quite excited about my workout time. Plus, I am preparing good meals and snacks to fuel myself properly. I have gone from having a Tim Horton's ice cap once a day to once a week (a major change in sugar and calories!). I plan to eventually phase that out to even less (baby steps). My journey is starting off well...I am pushing myself, but also listening to my body (not the voice that says give up) to ensure that I do not injure myself by trying to be Superwoman on Day 1. I am feeling the burn and the soreness, but not the pain...gotta keep going!

Ooooohhhhhh, the Burn!

I survived Boot Camp, but my shoulders are no longer speaking to me. I am glad I went and look forward to next week, but my body quivers when I do some movements. I can't wait to be at a point where it starts to get easier (the push-ups were killing me!!!). I loved the punches, but the push-ups...OUCH! ;)

The Beginning is Near...

I am now at my new job and really happy with the switch I made. This is my third week there and I am proud to say that only once did I buy my lunch (and even avoided the more junky stuff by having a turkey sandwich). They have cardio classes at lunch and I had planned to start yesterday, but it was cancelled. So, tomorrow has become Day 1. And what class will I be taking? Boot Camp! I am ready to feel the burn...and to walk around like an old woman all weekend long ~ lol. 

I weighed myself quite some time ago and the heaviest I was ended up being 218.1lbs. Yikes! So I decided that if I am going to start exercising, I want to know what my starting weight is. I weighed myself last night and came in at 215.2lbs. I think that paying more attention to my food the past 3 weeks has helped. There is also a water cooler at my disposal at work and I make sure I drink plenty of water during the day. This keeps me from consuming more calories than I really need. I am pleased with the fact that I am heading in the right direction despite a hiccup of gaining. This kind of journey is not always perfect and I know that. I would be more worried if I continued to go up, but I am now heading back down, so will continue to do things that will help that trend to be the rule (rather than the exception).

Here's to FINALLY starting the journey I was hoping to engage in this year!

Wake Up Call

I have just gone through a drug screen and physical for a new job. Why am I telling you this? They found glucose in my urine...so it seems I have diabetes! Considering that I never had it before my pregnancies and there is no history in my family, I am thinking that if I can get my s$&% together, I can eradicate it. A few years ago I was refused life insurance because my glucose levels were in the pre-diabetic range and my doctor told me that losing about 15lbs would fix that. I am hoping that this will be the same case. I still have to have an official follow-up with my family doctor, but I am gonna have to start making changes immediately. Time to really make good eating choices and get the exercise routine started. Now it's a bit more serious as I really don't want any complications from having diabetes. Can you say "Wake Up Call"?! It starts this week...I'm going to take advantage of the fact that I have some time off between jobs and start getting a routine going. One change at a time...

All Talk No Action

Quite literally I have been all talk and no action. Time is quickly passing me by and I continue to be annoyed at my state. Let me get real for a minute ~ I have to learn to stay away from ice cappuccinos at Tim Horton's as well as Doritos Cool Ranch chips. Those 2 items are a major downfall for me. I need to learn to say, "No!" when my husband asks me if I want something from the dépanneur when he heads out to get something. In fact, I am going to have to ask him to not ask me. I also need to be better at staying active. Right now it seems so hard to get started, but I have to remind myself that once I get a routine, I can stick with it (after all, I was pretty good in the past when I had a regular routine). Yes, it's harder with a full-time job that takes me out of town once a month, a part-time job selling Tupperware and having 2 little ones that I want to spend time with (and somewhere in all that I also want to spend some time with my husband). I think a really big thing for me will be to figure out the best timetable I can. I should just do my workouts on the weekend during the daytime (and then find a couple of openings on weeknights). My 4 year-old will do the Zumba with me ~ she loves to dance around and totally loved it the one time we did it together. I am going to beat this laziness that has become part of who I am!!!

The First Step...

Alright...enough is enough. It's time to get this going. It's nicer out now, so I should make an effort to go for walks and enjoy being outside. The warmer weather is causing me to crave salads and fresh veggies (a really good thing!). It's time to listen to that craving and go with it to make sure I start eating properly. The first step for me has always been to start eating better. Once that happens, I am fueled properly to add the exercise to my routine. Funny thing: once I start exercising I start to crave the healthier choices (see how it all works together?).

I plan to be more meticulous with planning my meals (especially what I take to work, including the snacks I need during the day). This is the week to start getting things in motion. I am tired of being tired. I am tired of being annoyed by my less than firm body (especially the ab area). I am tired of not feeling like I am the best version of me. The only one who has the power to change it all is ME!!! Here we go...

Back to the Start

Okay, so I have been completely lazy the past 2 months and have not progressed at all towards where I want to be. I could list a whole bunch of reasons to why I am at this point, but they'd only be excuses. Yup, they are EXCUSES! I am not looking for anyone to give me a break. I am upset with myself and should give myself a good talking to. I have not made the effort to do the workouts at home. I often find myself on the couch thinking about how tired I am...Gee, I wonder why? And then I end up staying up later than I should. What does that do? It shortens my hours for sleep (which is detrimental) and means that hunger pangs hit when I would be sleeping (which means more calories consumed). Any changes since I said I was going to start getting healthier? The only one is that I am 1 pound heavier (yup, I managed to go up to 214.6lbs). I know it's not a ton, but it's still in the wrong direction. If I let this one slide and then another and another, next thing you know I will have an additional 10-20 to worry about!

What to do? Time to start writing down a schedule I plan to stick with. Time to plan out more meals (including adding new things to the repertoire to keep things interesting). I also need to sacrifice a guilty pleasure of mine: Tim Horton's ice caps! They are yummy, but filled with sugar and lots of empty calories. No more daily stop on the way to work (I managed to drive by today without stopping even though I thought about it). My waistline (and my wallet) will thank me later...

Now that it is warming up, I need to spend time outside. If anything, my girls will love that! Go for walks, take the girls to park, just get moving! I am going to make this work...come hell or highwater!

And here is something to think about:

The Best Way to Stay Accountable

I figured something out last night: if I tell my 4 year-old that we are going to exercise, she won't let me NOT do it. Once you tell her someting, it is pretty much set in stone (this is why we never tell her when we are going to see her cousins until we are packing up to leave...heaven forbid we tell her the day before and we wake up to one of us being sick!). She was hopping around last night saying she wanted to exercise. I then said that we could exercise together and even dance a bit. She got very excited and talked about it the whole time until I put the Zumba DVD on (we did "Rush" which is only ~25 minutes). She got in my  way a bit, but she was so cute trying to do the moves. It was a lot of fun and I still broke a major sweat. She kept yelling out, "Mommy, we're doing it!". So cute! We got to do something together and I got my workout in before she went to bed which meant I actually got to relax after she and her sister were down for the night. I sat down to watch "The Biggest Loser" feeling satisfied that I had done what they preach (even some exercise is better than none).

Falling Off the Wagon...

Argh! Since coming home from my trip I have done no workouts and my eating choices have been a bit all over the place. Add in that I was sick this weekend and am still suffering a scratchy throat with a developing cough, I am not happy about how things are going. So, I am going to wait until next month to check my measurements (there's no point if I haven't put in the effort to whittle away the inches). I am gonna get this going, I swear! I went shopping yesterday and once again got a lot of great food (salad greens, meat, fruit, veggies, etc...). I think I will do my cooking later at night when the kids are down so that dinner is ready for the next day. Once I start doing that, the eating will become more regulated (and less expensive!).

I also want to get my home in order and purge it of all the unnecessary stuff we have. That will help a lot too because I keep feeling guilty like I should be cleaning stuff out instead of doing other things. I need my physical and psychological health to match ;)

Going Home

Today I am heading home (yay!). To celebrate I started off my day by doing 30 minutes of cardio. So I did what I promised myself I would: I fit my workouts into my business trip. Now I have to head out to meet a client and then head to the airport to go home to my family (can't wait for the hugs and kisses!).

It's Not Easy Being Good (While on the Road)

I started my business trip yesterday and I was exhausted at the end of the day. I had originally hoped to do my workout at the end of the day, but had no gas left in my tank. However, I made sure to get up early today and started my day with that workout! Yay! Because the hotel room had a DVD player, I did one of the workouts from my Zumba set (I did "Exhilarate"). I was not going to go home without having used my workout clothes that I packed. I plan to get up early enough tomorrow morning to do another workout, although this one will be in the fitness center (so probably about 30-45 minutes on a cardio machine). I will not use my business travel as a cop out to not do what I need to do. Now, I just need to balance out the eating (not always easy when you are eating in restaurants for 3 straight days)...I'll get a handle on it as my trips continue...For now I will revel in the fact that I stuck with my guns and did that workout this morning.

Quick Hiatus

I cannot do my workouts for a couple of days...I am bummed! I got 3 skin biopsies on my back today and have fresh stitches (not to mention some throbbing going on). This means a) no showers for 2 days because the dressings have to stay dry, and b) no strenuous movements that could cause my stitches to rip out (ouch!). So, I will be quite silent this weekend...

 

I have a business trip next week, but made sure that I booked hotels that have fitness centers. I plan to bring my cross trainers and workout clothes. One of the hotels even has DVD players in the rooms. I will definitely bring a Zumba DVD with me (I may even bring a portable player for the other hotel...we'll see).

 

Have a great weekend!

And So It Starts...

Tonight was my first night working out at home and as I am writing this I can feel the sweat dripping down my back and chest. Success! I did the "Activate" DVD from the Zumba Fitness series and was happy to hear songs I have heard before. I have to admit that I LOVE ZUMBA! I have been doing it on and off for several years now and can honestly say it is the most fun I have ever had doing cardio (well, other than when I used to play basketball). I love salsa music and can't help but want to move when I hear it, so this is a perfect fit for me. If I keep up with this, I am sure that I will start to see the changes I want to see. 

I guess that would be my biggest piece of advice to people out there: find something active that you LIKE. If you don't, it's much easier to skip and find excuses to not do it. So tonight was my first night trying the workout at home and I must say it was pretty good (and I am very glad I had my water bottle handy ~ phew!). I am excited to see what the other workouts are like in the DVD series...

In With the Good...

So I went grocery shopping today and focused on getting some healthier food (I was mainly on the lookout for fruit and snacks). I bought chicken breasts, fruit, some granola bars (after checking the labels to make sure they weren't just full of sugar), mixed nuts (without salt), yogurt, cheese and some deli meat (yes, they can contain quite a bit of salt, but I'd rather eat some meat and cheese as a snack than chips to quell my salt cravings). I am now vowing to make all my lunches for this coming week and packing all the right portions for snacks to keep myself fueled all day. one step at a time...once the junk is out of our place, I'm gonna work hard to keep it out!

Being a Tupperware consultant has allowed my to get pieces that will help keep my food fresher, so I made sure to take the time to put things in the right containers (for the fridge, freezer and pantry), so that I do not throw out any of the great stuff I got!

Time to start using some new recipes to keep things interesting...

First Round of Measurements...

To give some context to the numbers, I should mention that I am 5'10", so I am not looking to lose 100lbs. I am looking to break through the 200lb barrier and stay under it.

Current weight: 213.6lbs
Chest: 46"
Ribcage: 41"
Waist: 45"
Hips: 47"
Thighs: 25"
Upper arms: 14"


Ugh! Time to whittle those numbers down!

So Begins the Journey to a Healthier Life...

I am about to embark on a new journey: one of getting healthier. What does that entail? Eating better and exercising, which should result in some weight loss, more energy and a leaner, meaner me. I have a friend who plans to do the same and we have decided to keep up with each other's progress along the way. We live in different countries and time zones, but that is not a problem.

I plan to post how I'm doing with workouts (am I enjoying them, am I discouraged) as well as how the eating habits are going. I even plan to (*gulp*) list my weight and measurements at regular intervals to hold myself accountable. Will start soon...just you wait!