Starting the healthy eating now

Well for the last half year I have totally fallen off the wagon both with healthy eating and with exercise and I am really feeling it.  I was feeling so good the first half of the early.  I had lost 40 lbs and felt amazing (and those 40 lbs are back on which is so awful and unhealthy).  Thankfully Jill will be doing a program in the new year....won't start till the kids are back in school so I am making the decision to hop back on the wagon and get a jump start to this program.  I refuse to start it at the weight I started it at last year.

I need to take it seriously.  all this yoyo dieting is so bad and I am getting older so I need to make the remainder of my life a healthy one so that I am happy!!!  I have lots of stuff coming up in the new year and I don't want to be doing the whole "if only i was smaller, if only I had lost some weight, what will I wear etc"  I am so over doing that stuff.

Since I keep saying that food is my addiction then I need to take it seriously.  I need to avoid the foods I feel trigger my unhealthy behaviour.  I will stop making excuses to not go and workout at Jills.  I bought 24 classes and I want to use them wisely.

Meal prep is key for me to have great success with healthy eating so I need to make sure I do that.  Weekly menu's and meal prep will become a healthy habit of mine.  Keeping a clean house to won't be a bad idea either.  I have 5 days off in a row and I need to stop wasting them.  The other area of my  life that I want to work on is saving money and paying down debts.

I have been marking myself off on my days off at work so that is why I need to be more careful with my money and budget more wisely.  I still enjoy doing things without all the OT so why bother doing it!!

I need to make a list of my trigger foods and do my best to avoid them:

Chips
Chocolate (unless dark)
trail mix
cake/cupcakes
candy

those are a few of my triggers I am sure there are more but these are the big ones.

Here is to a healthy and happy 2016!!!!

I need to be healthy

I have had such a hard time this last half of 2015.  I totally went of the healthy eating wagon and I can really feel it in my mindset, my joints, my mood, really everything.  I find I am short of breath and really the hips and one knee are so sore whenever I get up.  I am so over feeling this way and I am the only one that can change this.  I need to eat healthy and exercise daily.  Even if it is just going for a walk i need to do it.  I am going to start walking with my son when he gets home from school (whenever I am off work) so that he can get in better shape too.  I don't want him going through life feeling the way that I do cause it really sucks and he has so many other challenges in life that things that we have some control over we need to control it.

I am planning on trying to get to Jill's a few times during the month of december.  Starting in January I will hit up the gym on days I don't go to Jills and days that I am off.  I will try to do some cardio at least 4x/week but I really want to focus more on strength training.  I love the feeling of my muscles growing so between the 2 and clean eating I should get the weight off.

I need to make this a lifestyle change that will stick this time.  When I lost all that weight back in 2010 I felt amazing.  I need to not listen to what people were saying about me being too thin.  I need to do what makes me feel the best that I can be but also something that I can maintain.  What they don't understand is that I do have a food addiction so i need to eliminate certain foods from my diet.

those foods include:
chocolate
chips
cookeis
any type of sweet (unless clean)
cake/cupcakes
trail mix

Those are all the big trigger foods for me so I need to avoid them.  It triggers something in my brain when I have them and I can't stop eating.

Wish me luck and I will try to give weekly updates.

I can't believe it is just 16 more days til Christmas.  I still have shopping to do which is a bit stressful.  For my family down east I just have one niece left to buy for a to get my nephew a gift card to go with his other gift.

Well I am going to go shower now while the puppy is outside.

16 days

I have 16 days to do my best with clean eating and exercise before heading to New Orleans.  I want to feel good for my trip and I know that a healthy lifestyle will help me feel good.  I should be able to get 5 strength training classes in and the rest will be running/walking.  I am going to follow the couch to 5K program as I feel it would be my best bet to building up my endurance for running again (and I need to not let it slip again).  I am getting older and I so do not want to spend the rest of my life struggling  with begin unhealthy.  I really need to set a better example for my little man too.  I hear him and see him do so many things that I do and I don't want that for him!!!!

I have the tools and knowledge to lead a healthy lifestyle and I just need the will power.  I need to do this for myself!

The cleanse that I was doing (but didn't last the 4 weeks) did teach me a lot of things and I now know of yummy snacks to have which are healthy and actually filling (one of my fave's from the cleanse that I can see myself using more often is the 1/2 avocado with hemp hearts and pinch of sea salt on a rice cake….so good).

Meal planning and prep will be key in me having success with this and tracking what I eat.  I am hoping to be in a certain weight range come the new year so here we go!!

November

Well I fell of the cleanse wagon.  I had been doing so well and then boom, right on my face.  I have decided for the rest of the year I will just focus on clean eating and then maybe try the cleanse again in January.  I am determined to be in a certain weight range by the new year and can only do that with clean eating and exercise.  I need to get this under control.  I need to also get my house in order too.  I have 3 days off before heading back to work (finally feeling better…2 sick days).

Today I will focus on the Kitchen, make a grocery list, getting groceries and doing laundry.  I need to get better at this.  I can tell it is causing some strain on my poor husband and I need to use my time more wisely.  He has a big even coming up on saturday and will be stressed about it so I need to make sure to have food ready for him and the boys so he doesn't have to worry about that at all.

I am loving our new bedroom furniture so I need to make sure at some point this week I get out and find a paint colour that will look nice with the furniture.

Well I must get going and meal plan for the week.

Reflections on Week 1 of the cleanse

I was a little bit nervous heading into this cleanse because I thought I may not be able to eat the foods on the cleanse due to my fussiness but I was pleasantly surprised.  The food is amazing on the cleanse and I figured out that I can adapt things too as portion sizes are huge and with only me doing this it leads to tons of leftovers. I still have quite a few things leftover heading into week 2 so as I said before I will really have to sit down and think about my menu for week 2.  This has always been such a key for me to stay on the healthy eating bandwagon…menu planning and meal prep.  I really think that this cleanse will help me get my butt back in gear so get on the wagon again and just keep going and not look back.

On the exercise front I have done ok.  The runs/walks I did ok with but really want more strength training workouts.  I should be able to get 3 in next week (mon, fri and sunday).  The rest of the days I will use to run (saturday I have a 5K race which will be so hard but I am happy I am doing it),

The scale was un believable today when I got up.  I know a lot of it is due to the fact I have done a lot of night shifts this week and water weight but I was down 11.2 lbs…so crazy but I am so happy with those results.  This is the jump start I really needed to make me motivated to eat healthy.

Mentally I just feel clearer and have more patience then I do when I am not eating healthy which is another reason to keep this up.

Well I need to take advantage of the fact I didn't have to work my full night last night and get some work done around the house (mainly in our bedroom…we need to paint it before we bring in our new furniture).

Work and More Work

Not quite looking forward to this but I have to work friday and saturday night.  These are switches.  I will be so happy at 1930 on Nov 2 at 0730 when my crazy work schedule is over!!!!!  I know that switches that I have done really help me out but man it is so hard working that much in a row.  I have so much that I should get done around the house that I really need to take advantage of days off that I have.  Today does not really count as a day off as I had a horrible sleep and need to have a nap.

Things are still going well on the cleanse front.  still enjoying the foods and won't really have to make anything things weekend to eat as I have so much leftover from dishes I made earlier in the week.  I really need to look at stuff on sunday to see what I will eat next week so I can make a grocery list. I need to remember to take my weekly menu to work so I can make some photocopies of it (no ink at home).

I went to Jills today.  Had a great workout.  I just wish I could always go 3-4x/week.  I love the format of our workouts.  it is hard to go that often with my schedule.  I would love to go on sunday but it would be on my way home after nights but I should focus on a run instead as I have a 5K race on the 31st.  It will be a walk/run race for sure but it may give me the motivation I need to run more then I have been.

Well time to try and nap.  Have a great weekend.

mid week cleanse update

I can't get over how much I am enjoying this cleanse.  I am really liking the foods and I now know for next week to just pick and choose a few of the dishes and make those and have them through out the week since they make such big servings (will save some money doing it this way).   I feel like I am sleeping a lot better then normal.  There really isn't the time spent thinking about stuff which is awesome.  I go to sleep relatively quickly.

Exercise is going ok.  I have ran for 3 days now and tomorrow I get to go to bootcamp which is awesome.  It will be fun to see how everyone else is making out.  I probably will do my measurements when I go to class on monday.

I am not really missing the coffee and pop that much which is surprising.  Other then the 1 slip with 1/2 a bottle the other day I haven't touched any more pop.  I thought for sure I would have headaches for days but so far so good.  Just one day and I don't know if I can really blame it on the lack of caffeine.

I will probably take a look tonight at what is suggested for the menu for next week and make out my weeks worth of foods and make a grocery list.  I love having all these ideas for the meals on this cleanse.  It really makes it so much easier to get back on track.

The scale has been going down really fast but I am thinking it could be because of the time I weighed myself on the first day.  Oh well when I weigh myself on sunday I will use that total for week's 1 results.  I had eaten so bad over thanksgiving that I am not surprised that the weigh came off like it has. I know that it will slow down now.

off to make supper for the little man.

Clean Eating Cleanse

So before thanksgiving I was doing great with eating clean but  then we went home for thanksgiving and I fell off the wagon face first.  So on sunday I started the clean eating cleanse that has been all over Facebook.  I started 1 day earlier then the girls in my bootcamp class as I was starting my set on sunday.  So far I have been pretty impressed with what I get to eat and only 1 item I just could not eat.  I am going to make tweaks when I am pretty sure I won't like a certain dish.  I did make a soup though that I wasn't sure what I would think since it had Kale in it but I was pleasantly surprised by how great it tasted.

This cleanse also includes no coffee and no pop.  Last night I had about 350 mls of diet coke and I think i could have done without it.  So no more diet pop till the cleanse is over and even then I will try to avoid it as much as possible.

I finally got up a bit earlier today and went for a 3K walk/run.  I am hoping to get out 5x this week.  I wish I could get to bootcamp more but due to my crazy schedule that won't be happening.  I won't be there until friday.  When I go next monday I will do my measurements.  I want to try and do them 1/week during this cleanse.

I am going to be working 4 nights in the next 5 days so I need to make sure I pack more snack type items in my lunch so I won't be tempted to deviate from the cleanse.  It will be so awesome if I stick to this for 4 weeks.  I do know though that 1 night I will have a couple of drinks as it is a big fundraising dance that my husbands hockey team is putting on.  I need to be careful not to drink too much as I am sure my body will be extra sensitive since I am going to be eating such healthy foods.

speaking of healthy foods I need to make my supper for tonight.

Happy Cleansing :)

Week 2

I am now on my 2nd week of trying to clean things up in my diet/lifestyle.  as you know I had a great first week and just from avoiding my trigger foods I am down 7 lbs!!!!!!  that is the added bonus of eating healthy.

I had a great class at Jills today and am a little bit sad that I will be missing a few classes while we are away.  I just need to make sure I do some of her daily challenges while away and get some form of activity (run or walk) each day that I am away.

I also need to work on my attitude at work.  I tend to get caught up in the moment when talking about someone etc and I really want to stop doing that.  I would not want people to talk about me so I am sure they feel the same way.  It makes me look bad if I gossip etc.  This will be a goal that I want to reach by the end of the year.

I have a concert to go to in 11 days.  I would love to have 15 lbs off but realistically I am hoping for 10 lbs.  I am really looking forward to this concert.  2 great canadian country singers will make for an awesome show and going with my good friend/concert going buddy.

I have a lot to do today and tomorrow so I should get going…heading to the mall to see if I can get a couple of outfits to wear when down east.  Another reason why reaching my goal weight will be so awesome…having more fun shopping for clothes :)

Reflections of week 1

So I did it.  I complete my first week of being clean.  It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be.  I feel amazing and really want to keep feeling this way.
things that I believe helped me get back on the wagon:

1.  meal planning and menu prep
2.  a lot of self talk
3.  taking this addiction seriously

Entering week 2 with a positive mind set and lots of motivation to eat as healthy as possible while we are away.  Hopefully I will have a positive post when we get back home.

Stay on the wagon!!!!

1 week almost complete

I can't believe that I made it through my set at work without falling off the wagon.  That is such a huge accomplishment for me.  Now just to make it through the 6 days of being away.  I will just need to make sure that I have lots of healthy options for myself and that i remember to avoid all trigger foods as they make me slip into a very unhealthy state of mind (which I do not want to be in again).  It really helped to that I wasn't really thinking what I was going to eat each day but that I had everything ready to go and just had to grab.  I am a big believer in menu planning and meal prep!!!

I just sent an e-mail to drop down to the 5K race instead of the 10K on the 31st.  I know i won't be ready for the 10K and just need to build up for the 5K.  I will start doing more running tomorrow (which will be hard when I am away but I will make it happen).  I will be going to Jills tomorrow and then it will be over a week before I am back.  I will need to try and do some stuff when we are away.

I need to make a list of stuff I want to get done over the next 2 days before we leave.  I want a relatively clean house when we come back.  I will make a reasonable to do list so I won't feel overwhelmed.  I will need to head to the mall too and get myself some fall clothes as I don't really have much.  I am still wearing flip flops so I may get myself some type of shoes to wear down there.

When we get back from our trip I will be doing more reading on the cleanse that I will be doing for 4 weeks.  I don't think I really have anything planned (except the hockey fundraiser) so I should be able to stick to it almost 100% (provided there aren't too many weird dishes….I am sure I will have to make some substitutions when it comes to veggies and fish).

Well I should get going and make my to do list and maybe start working on it.

October

I can't believe that it is October already.  Time is just flying by!!!  I have just 2 more shifts to go and I will be off for 2 weeks.  We will be going to visit some family for 6 of my days off which will be nice.  Like I mentioned it will be hard to avoid those trigger foods but I must do it.  I have 4 days under my belt which I am happy with.  I am feeling so much better after just 4 days.

Exercise I still need to work on.  I just couldn't get myself out of bed to go for runs before my day shifts.  I think I will just plan on going to the gym before work.  I may have more motivation to do that then running outside that early.  I just wish the gym opened right at 5 instead of 530 (well they usually are open by 515 but 5 would work so much better for me.  I went to Jills fora bootcamp class today and it was good but hard.  I need to make it there as often as I can.  I hope to do some strength training at the gym too with previous workouts she has given me.  I want to get in the best shape of my life and start 2016 feeling great about myself

We have to have our vacation requests in by November 1st.  I already know 2 sets that I want off and I am so worried I won't get what I have asked for.  if I don't I just hope that I will be able to get switches.    I have the Nashville trip and then the trip down east and boots and hearts.  2 big and expensive events that I really really need to have off!!!!

have a great weekend :)

3rd day done

Well I made it through my first day at work since making the commitment to clean up my diet and eliminate the trigger foods that make me binge.  I was met with some challenges though.  We had cake, cupcakes and cookies for a girls last day of work to go on Mat leave and someone had brought in some of those mini eggs.  I love those so much but I did not cave.  I stuck with what I had brought to work.

I didn't get up and do my run this morning.  I need to really try and do it tomorrow morning.  I had such a hard time falling asleep last night even though I was so tired.  Hopefully  I have an easier time falling asleep tonight.

I have my lunch bag all packed with a couple of extras in there like I did today.  I switched up my celery and hummus for grapes and almonds and I found having a banana after my supper worked well. I was hungry after my husband and I went on a short walk so I had an apple and PB.

Well I should try and settle and fall asleep.

Day 2

I am writing this entry as I am in bed and feel pretty good.  I only had a couple of moments where i felt out of control mentally but overall it really was a good day.  I feel somewhat in control and I need to keep telling myself that I am the one in control and I won't let my emotions ruin my quest to have a clean lifestyle (well almost clean…I will still enjoy my beverages…they are not the problem….certain foods are).

I ended up getting a 4K walk in after supper with the puppy.  Until she gets better at walking I will try to do the longer walks with my husband.  This was the longest walk I have done with her and overall she did not bad.  We really need to figure out how to use the gentle leader.

Tomorrow will be interesting to see how everything goes.  At work our breaks are usually all over the place but I need to focus on eating just what I have brought to work and nothing else.  I will get a coffee or tea if a craving hits.

Well I need to try to get to sleep soon.  I am hoping to get up extra early tomorrow and do my 3K route.

night

Day 1 complete

I know it seems silly to day day 1 complete but for me it is a huge accomplishment.  Not only did I eat completely clean I avoided diet coke too which is a huge huge thing for me (and no headache yet…I am still having coffee so that is probably why no headache).  I had the shakes, I feel miserable at points (which is usually when I would have just caved and binged on a few of my trigger foods).  When I feel like I am losing my mind I just need to reflect on things and realize that there are a lot worse things that could be going on in my life and figure something out to do to take my mind of it.  Like go for a walk or clean something (at one of my lows yesterday I cleaned the bathroom which made me feel good).

I have planned a menu for the week and hopefully I can stick with it.  Work used to be so easy for me but lately I have just been going crazy at work.  I need to make sure I have enough food with me so I have something to grab when I feel like I want a snack.  Not having a pop too will be a big change so I may need to bring extra water.  3L instead of 2.5L should be enough.

I am going to give myself big monthly rewards too.  I have to avoid the trigger foods though if I am going to get the reward.  As a food addict I really do need to avoid these foods and not even give in.  It will be interesting to see how I make out over thanksgiving while at my parents and being on the road for hours.  I need to make sure I have lots of healthy snack options and gum!!!!  My first reward which I will get if I complete October being completely  clean will be a pair of hunter boots.  I saw a pair yesterday when I was at the mall and I think I want a pair.  They aren't the high ones  but the lower ones which will be good for my massive calves I think!!!!  With a pair of the socks that you can get with them they will be good for winter boots too.

I didn't do any exercise yesterday which could be part of the reason I was having a hard time with my mood so today since my husband was going to be working in town I was able to go for a run which was great.  I really!!! need to make sure I get up the next 2 days really early so i can get a workout done before going to work.  If I feel like it when I get home maybe we can take our puppy for a walk (like 5K)  We need to really walk her more then we do!!  I need to try and get some workouts done at Jills too since I will be gone for a few days.  I may do friday, sunday and monday and run the rest of the days.  I should try to do some type of strength exercises while down east if possible.

I found out that for my birthday I will be going to New Orleans!!!!  Huge thing and it was on my bucket list.  We are just going for a few days but I really don't want to struggle figuring out what I am going to wear because I am overweight.  9 weeks plus a couple of days before we go.  hopefully clean eating will be my lifestyle at that points.

I have a few things I would like to get done today since I start back to work tomorrow.   Clean the kitchen and my room (new bedroom furniture will be here this week I think).  oh and I need to do some laundry too.

Food Addiction

So I just read a very interesting article on line and I recognized myself in the descriptions in the article.  I have known for a while that I have an addiction to food but today I am going to beat this addiction.  I have made a list of all the trigger foods and how they make me feel when I consume them.  it isn't something I need to avoid temporarily, I need to avoid them forever.  I can't give in and have even one bite.  As soon as I do that it releases something in my brain and makes me crave it even more and then the binging happens and I want to stop this.  I am miserable in so many ways when I give in to my addiction.

I know what to do it is just a matter of putting on my big girl pants and just doing it.  I want to beat this addiction and reap the  rewards of doing that.  It is going to be hard when I go down east but it isn't something I can put on hold any longer.  The weight keeps piling on and I keep feeling worse and worse (mentally and physically).  Each day that I am successful with this the stronger I will get to avoid my trigger foods.  It is such a huge step but I am jumping in with both feet and no looking back.  I will take it each day at a time.

Instead of buying a journal I will document how I do on my blog.  I will write my entry at the end of each day which will include what I ate, what I did and how I feel.  I also need to avoid spending so much time on my computer :(   that is a huge problem too.

Well I must go and get ready for my day…going to go to the mall and get a few things and maybe I will look for something to indicate how many days I have been "clean".

Here is to a rewarding journey :)

Get Back on the Wagon

Wow, the first few months of the year were so good.  I was eating healthy and getting a lot of physical activity and I was feeling great.  Then I fell flat on my face and have not been able to get back up.  Mind you I have tried but have not been able too.  I know that it really hurts my family when I am not making healthy choices and after how I have felt the last couple of days I need to put a stop to the unhealthy choices.  I need to get it through my head that it will take time and I just need to take it one day at a time.  The rewards of having a healthy lifestyle are so numerous that I need to do this….for me and for my family.

I am now wishing I had gone to bootcamp today but 2/3 days won't be a bad thing.  I will make sure sunday and monday I am there and work my butt off.  I will be able to go on saturday too (just the way my schedule goes).  I need to start running again too.  When I am not doing bootcamp I need to work on getting my running back too.  It will be tough at first but if I just stick it out I know it will become routine again.  STOP MAKING EXCUSES!!!!!

Today I am going to be working on purging our room and getting it ready for the new furniture to come.  I will be getting rid of some clothes and then packing away the clothes that I am not wearing right now.  I will be throwing some stuff out too that I haven't been wearing in a long time.  I know it will feel good when our room is finally done.  It has been a long time coming.

Tomorrow will be meal prep day and I should really try and get all my meals done for the week.  I want to feel productive on my days off.  Time is just flying by and I need to stop wasting the precious time I have and use it to make myself a better person so I stop wishing for stuff and actually feel accomplished :)

Here is to a good and productive days off!!!!

Struggles

I feel like I have totally fallen into the habits that I had last year and it is making me feel so awful both mentally and physically.  I need to pull up my socks and get back to eating healthy and exercising daily.  I know what I have to do I just need to be strong and do it.  I need to be done with putting it off.  If I keep putting it off all that hard work I did for a few months will my undone and I sure don't want that.  Today marks 8 weeks til we leave to go for boots and hearts and I so want to be in the 140's when we go away.  Tomorrow I am having a party for someone but that does not mean that I have to be totally off track.  I am sure there will be healthy choices and I need to make them.  Everyday I don't have things planned I need to be 100% on track and then when I have events 80% on track.  I do have a lot planned for the summer months so I need to be so careful.

I did go for a 3K run this morning which is a good start.  Tomorrow I need to get up early so I can try to get a 5-6K run in before the party.

Back to being healthy or I am worried I will have a miserable summer!!

June Challenge

Nothing like helping get back on track then a challenge :)  yesterday was a bit rough for me…adjusting to life with a new puppy but I am feeling much better today and am ready to kick ass with this challenge.

I am going to really focus on planning my menus and just eating what I have written down.  I always have enough food so why would I need extra food???  I am pretty sure it will take me a good 3 weeks to get rid of any cravings.  I feel like may was not a good month at all when it came to eating but I really want to work on getting the healthy focus back.

I went for a 4K run today and it felt great.  I had gone 3 days with no running and I really missed it and could tell by my mood that I hadn't exercised for a bit.  I ordered the body beast program from beach body and I am very curious to how it is.  It wasn't crazy expensive so I thought I would give it a try.  I love the muscle that I have built and want more.  I just need to make sure I follow my training for my half marathon too.  I may not be able to really do a 100% job on the body beast til the fall but we will see how it goes.  I think the workouts are only for 30 min which really is not that bad at all.

Well wish me luck for getting back on track and kicking some ass with this challenge.

Here I go….

I had all intentions of jumping back on the wagon yesterday but after supper I fell flat on my face mid jump.  Picking myself up and dusting off today.  I am trying a new approach which is the fact that in 16 weeks I will be doing my 8th half marathon and if I have any hopes of having a PR I need to eat healthy for the majority of those 16 weeks (few events will prevent me from eating at home but will try and make healthy choices).

I don't quite get why I am struggling again.  I was doing so well and then for the last couple of weeks it really has been a bit of a struggle.  I feel so off when I am not eating healthy so why would i want to make those choices???  Such an inner struggle and I feel like my little man is picking up on that.  I need to help him make better choices but try not to focus so much on what he eats or he will deal with the same disordered eating that I have and I wouldn't with that on anyone.

I went for a great walk today and will be making some meals for my 2 days at work.  I need to get back on track with planning my weekly menu's and doing meal prep.  I have said it so many times that it really is key for me to do that.

Well I am going to enjoy the rest of today and will stay on track.  Each day that I do the better I feel.

Getting Back on tracK...

I fell off the wagon hard the last couple of weeks but today I am dusting myself off and jumping right back on.  work has been stressful, not working out because I am so tired etc…all silly excuses and I am better then that and I am so glad that I went to Jills today.  I did the workout…all of it and it made me feel better.  I just need to get right back into the menu planning and meal prep and it will really help.  We have been having so much junk at work so I just need to avoid it.

I am hoping to get an 8k run done tomorrow but not sure how my tummy will do.  I am hoping that if I am on track today (which I totally plan on doing) I will feel much more optimistic about getting it done.  Tomorrow is officially my first day  of training for my half marathon in september.  I am pretty sure it is #8  which is awesome.  I want to stick to the training plan almost 100% and it would be so nice to have a PR for this race (I think 2hrs and 4 min is the best time I have had but will have to check that out to make sure).

Well I have a bunch of cleaning to do so I should get going.  Have a great weekend!

a bit of a set back

So I had my first set back since January and I am slowly getting over the mental affect it had on me and was 100% on track yesterday and today I feel so much better for it.  My set over mother's day weekend was so busy and on mother's day we ordered out.  I should have stuck to my guns and just ate the food that I had bought for myself but I caved and it led to a push off the healthy wagon.  I went crazy with the snacks that came to work.  We had a bistro the next night and again I lost all self control.
I am telling myself that it is in the past and just start eating healthy again (which I did yesterday and somewhat the day before).  I need to keep remembering how great I feel now that I have been back on track.

Today started off great with a 3K run and an awesome 75 min workout at Jills.  It felt so great to be back with the girls and having a kick ass workout.  I also am going to be doing an 8 week accountability challenge with Jill which will hopefully help me get the remaining lbs off and reach the weight I want to be at (or at least be really close to it).  I have planned my menu up until next wednesday and after my appt at 1230 I will head to the grocery store to pick up the necessary supplies.
I also went to hot yoga last night and had a great sweat session.  Tonight I will go again and another class on saturday (hope to do a 7-8K run tomorrow morning too).  Being active makes me feel great so I need to take the time out of my daily schedule and do what I have planned.

Well I must get ready for the day (take a much needed shower) and have some lunch before I head out.
Have a great long weekend everyone.

May Goals

May 1st, wow!!!!  I am excited that we are in May (really excited for today because a friend and I are going to the Luke Bryan concert tonight which will be amazing.  He puts on a great show!!).  The grass is turning a great shade of green, the trees are starting to bud, the weather is warmer etc.  

I am going to use this post as one to reflect on the past 4 months and how far I have come with my weight loss journey and kind of regroup to help get the remaining 20 lbs off my body.  

Back on Jan 1st when I started to get back on the healthy lifestyle wagon it seemed like it was going to be such a hard journey.  I had been struggling for a few years to get back on but to be honest something just clicked on Jan 1st and I jumped with both feet on the wagon and haven't looked back.  I am not saying that it has been all easy but I am so motivated which really helps.  

exercise:

I have been going out to Jills pretty consistently 2-3x/week and really working hard with the workouts that she provides for us.  Even when I had my back injury I still went and modified my workouts.  Now I am back to doing the ones she has provided.  When I have a lot of shifts on weekdays I tend to get up before work and head to the gym and do some workouts that I have from previous programs that she has provided for me.  I am feeling stronger and for sure can see some definition.  I have also started running again and will be starting officially training for my 8th half marathon which is in september.  Knowing that I have this race coming up + the weather being nicer = motivation to run again.  I am really hoping to have a good race and then my next big one will be the around the bay 30K.  I really want to do that one.  Maybe if I have all these races to train for it will help me stay on the healthy wagon (well that and plus how amazing I feel when I nourish my body with healthy choices).

food:

Menu planning and meal prep.  These 2 things have been so key in my success is getting the lbs off.  I take the time to think of fun things to eat and then more time to prepare them so they are basically at my finger tip and don't have to scrounge to think of something to eat and then make it.  

I have reached the point that I have roughly 20 lbs that I want to get off and just need to focus on planning the menu's and prep the meals and hope that the weight comes off.  I will keep doing everything that I have been doing and hope for the best.  I do like where my body is right now but I know it can be better and I am willing to do the work to get to that point.

Something I try to do is still go out and eat and enjoy the one meal out.  I don't get dessert and I don't go crazy with my choices but I haven't banned it completely from my life.  I just make sure that I get right back on track which is something I have always struggled with and really am working on this.  I will not let one meal derail me and I will not have a cheat day.  If I had a cheat day I would just feel gross and it isn't really worth it.  

Tonight is an example.  We will be going out for supper and of course I will be having a few drinks but I will get right back on track as soon as I get home.  I don't want to go too crazy cause I want to run 7K and go to yoga.  

Have a great weekend everyone.

Days off…a great thing

Well the last 2 weeks have been so busy.  Between the nashville trip, doing an OT shift, and then a pick up at the beginning of my set I can say that I am really looking forward to my days off.  I actually marked myself off in the schedule so I won't be called by work if they are looking for OT.

Exercise has been really good this week and mostly independent because of what I have been working.  Just not able to make it to Jills classes so I went to the gym instead and really feel like I had great workouts…especially yesterday because I had time to do some intervals on the treadmill after my strength training.

I had my weekly menu done for the week and meal prep done which made it very easy to gather my foods for my 5 shifts.  Tomorrow will be the day that I plan my menu for next week.  I only work 3/4 of my next shifts…took a v-day on friday for the LUKE BRYAN concert.  This will be the 4th time I have seen him and he does such an amazing job each time that I am so excited to see him on friday evening.  Tonight we are going to friends house and I will be having some wine.  I need to watch how much I consume.  I really want to be feeling ok to go and workout at Jills tomorrow.  I am hoping to get 4 workouts starting tomorrow out at her place.

I went for a 6K run when I got up this afternoon and it was my best time yet for the 6K.  I even had a few walk breaks in there when I felt I needed them which really helped me be able to run a bit faster in between the breaks.  I think I will try for 7K next saturday (so I will have to watch what I eat/drink at the concert).

My WI yesterday was amazing….I did have some stomach issues when I first got home from work so I am not sure if a lot of it was water weight but I am still going to go with that result.  I was down 4.6 lbs for a grand total of 42 lbs.  That is so crazy.  I tried some clothes on and even just in the last 2 weeks those clothes are much looser.  I actually asked the person in charge of the scrubs at work to put me down a size.  I am for some reason not quite ready to go to that size but I happen to have a pair at home with me so I will try them on and see what I think.   I have 17.2 lbs to go until I reach my goal weight.  Even if I went with the weight on the scale today I am still under 20 lbs to goal which is such an amazing feeling.  When I started this journey in January it seemed so far away and really I have done so well and am feeling so amazing.  I need to remember this and not fall off the wagon like i did last time.  I love exercising and feeling strong while doing it.  My big focus last time was on the running when I reached a good weight but I am determined this time to do strength training 3-4x/week and as many of Jills classes as my schedule allows.

On my days I will for sure have to do some major house cleaning.  Not much was done since getting back from Nashville.  Just too busy with work to do it.  I will work on a to do list today. (I really don't want to be hung over tomorrow!!!!)

I want to try and come up with some new meal ideas.  I made a tuna salad with tortilla strips and had some lettuce with it and it tasted amazing.  Tuna is one of those things that I like but if I eat it too often I get turned off.  I hadn't had it for ever and I think that is why it tasted so good.  That is what I am having again tomorrow for lunch.  Things like that are good for lunches in the summer.  I need to start writing my recipes in my book so I will have them at my fingertips and rotate through them.  Pinterest is such a great site for healthy recipes too.  I want to utilize everything possible to help my maintain this healthy lifestyle.

Well have a great weekend everyone :)

weekend musings

I cannot believe how nice the weather has been since getting back from Nashville.  It was so warm when we were there that I was worried about how the weather would be when we got back.  Thankfully the weather has been in the teens everyday since being back.  Today is amazing sunny and warm…yup I will take that!!

Nashville was everything and more that I had hoped for.  I did the best I could with eating and managed to get some exercise in.  I did a couple of treadmill interval workouts and I know I did a ton of walking and dancing.  When we got back I got right back into my healthy habits with eating and exercise.

I did an OT shift on thursday night which kind of threw things off a bit with what I had planned for my workouts but I worked with it.  Things are not always going to go as planned and I am becoming more adaptable with these little changes in my schedule and not letting it make me fall of my healthy habits.

Exercise:
this week I have done running, yoga and a couple of classes at Jills and one strength training workout at home.

Food:
Made a menu and followed it.  When I felt like I was still hungry I have started to eat a boiled egg which helps.

Weight:
so when I got back from Nashville I weighed myself and was not surprised to be up a bit.  With my eating good and exercise I did my official WI today and was down 0.8 lbs from my WI before nashville.  I have lost a total of 37.4 lbs since Jan 1st.  I feel amazing.

I have a stag and doe tonight which should be fun.  I have to behave myself as I want to run 6K in the morning.

Have a great weekend

another goal met

Last night I could not get myself feeling satisfied when it came to food.  I had my usual snack but I still felt so hungry.  I ate a lot more in the evening and between the food and weather I feel so hungover today :(

I got up early and headed out for a run at 7 am.  The one day I could sleep in and of course I wasn't able too.  I guess a week of waking up at 5 didn't help.  Technically I slept about a little over an hour longer then I had been all week.  I did a 6K run.  I haven't ran that distance in a long time and really it felt pretty good.  Very happy that I was successful with this run.

Up until last night my eating has been good even though I had to buy 2 meals through the week.  It is amazing when you eat 99% home cooked meals how different boughten meals taste.  I much prefer the home cooked meal :)

I am pretty sure that I have enough food to do me until we go on our trip for myself.  I will have to buy stuff for the boys but I am good for me.  Speaking of the trip I met my weight that I wanted to be for this trip.  I had a great week for loss…3.6 lbs which totally shocked me as I was and still am feeling a little bit bloated but I was 159.4 lbs!!!!!  that is a total of 34.8 lbs since Jan 1st.  I am feeling great.

I have a lot of exercise sessions scheduled before we leave and I really hope that I get to all of them.

I can't believe 3 more sleeps until we leave.  It seemed like it was going to take forever to get here since we started planning a long time ago but finally our trip is just around the corner :)  just one more shift tonight too and then off for a week.

End of March

I cannot believe that today is the last day of March.  These 3 months have gone by so fast.  I have to say that these 3 months have been exciting and a bit of an adventure.  It all started on Jan 1st when I told myself that I would try and be healthy again.  Menu planning and meal prep have been a huge part in the last 3 months.  Finding foods that keep my diet fun and interesting has been a bit of a challenge but I was up for that challenge.  I was hoping to have 30 lbs off by the end of the 3 months and I met that goal which makes me extremely happy.  I have gotten back on the exercise wagon too and when I went for a 4 K run this morning I felt like I am getting back into the swing of things when it comes to running.  I was actually able to run the entire 4K which is something I have not been able to do for months.  I have a half marathon schedule for september so it is motivation to keep up with the running.

I am going to start making monthly goals for myself and reward myself each time I succeed with reaching the goal.

April goals:

organize my house

find new recipes to try

be more responsible with my spending

work on spring cleaning

strength train 3x/week

run 4-5x/week

yoga 3x/week

These goals are pretty realistic since I am already doing a lot of them but when I look back I want to make sure that I have done them all.  Now I just need to think of a reward.  Weight loss won't be a goal as I know that it will come eventually and don't want to set the numbers.  If I eat as clean as possible and exercise that is all I can do and I am sure the scale will continue to go down.

I really do want my house to be much more organized.  Such a struggle for me.  I need to set small tasks because when I set big ones I just start feeling overwhelmed and don't want to do anything at all.

well I should get going.  I am so tired.  the last 2 days I have had education days and then worked 4 hrs of OT yesterday.  I will be so happy when this set (start thursday) is over.

Race weekend

I can't believe that around the bay is on sunday.  My goal for next year is to be trained for the 30K.  I so want to do that again, but for now I am excited for the 5 Km race.  I feel somewhat trained for it but I know that I will not get a PR on sunday.  I will just be happy to run 5K with my husband and it doesn't matter what my time is.  I had really gotten out of running and am just happy to be getting back into it.  I have a half marathon booked for sept so I will be motivated to keep up with the running.

Work has been busy for 2/3 days and I work again tonight.  I must say though that after being off with my injury I am happy to be back at work.  Even though things can make it suck at times overall I love my job.

I have been doing well with keeping up with my strength training too.  On wednesday before work I actually went to the gym and did ST rather then just running.  I did 3 different things before each day shift.  I did intervals one day, ST the 2nd day and yesterday I ran 4K outside (have not done a run before a day shift in a long time and it felt so great).  I went to yoga on monday night and can't wait to go again on sunday.  This week did not really give me the chance to go.  Once hockey is done for my husband I may be able to go to some later classes on my way home from work if they are offered on the days it would work for me.

I have a 2 day course next week which really cuts in to the 5 days off thing I usually have going on.  So no OT shifts for me which is ok since I have the best easter schedule for getting the OT.  friday and sunday night.  I did a switch which means I am losing out on 4 hrs of OT but that is ok.  Normally I like working nights but this thing I have going on with working 3 days 1 night feels great when the 3 days are over and knowing I only have 1 night ;)  not sure how often this will happen but it will be nice to do it every once in a while.

Still doing awesome with the meal prep and menu planning.  I was all set for the week which feels so awesome.  I even had a menu  made for the boys too which is helpful.  what did suck though was how much we spent on groceries when we went earlier in the week.  I haven't spent that much ever for a week I don't think.  I am going to try and get most of the groceries where they do price matching.  I have an awesome new app on my phone that you can just find the items on sale at different stores and show it to the cashier and they will match it.  I don't think my local grocery store does it so I will have to find somewhere else to do the majority of my shopping.  the produce is always awesome at my grocery store so I need to find somewhere similar.

Well I had another loss on the scale this week.  I was down 1.6 lbs!!!  I have lost 31.2 lbs since Jan 1st. I really hope I reach my mini goal on April 8th (the day we leave for nashville).  This seriously is the first time I am going away where I am not freaking out about my weight before we are leaving.  I am happy with how well I am doing and doing my best to make it a lifestyle change.  I am amazed that my 40 yr old body is doing what it is doing.  I want to be healthy from now on and can't allow myself to slip back into old habits.  I really need to help my little man too be more healthy.  He has been packing on the pounds so I need to help him with this.  What a struggle though with a fussy boy who is on meds that can cause weight gain.  We really need to help him stay active which may help get some of the extra weight off that he has.  I will talk to the paediatrician in June when we have the appt.

Well I hope everyone has a great weekend.  Mine will be working one night, menu planning, some meal prep?, housework and the race!!!

Spring in in the air...

So tomorrow is the first day of spring.  We are having ok weather but it is nice to know that the end of winter is in site and even if we get some more snow I know that it won't last.  I need to make a spring cleaning list and make sure that I do each of the tasks on it before we go on our trip.  I want a nice and clean house when I come back from our trip.  Some of the items will be daily tasks but I need to have a 2nd list of bigger things that need done like washing the cupboards in the kitchen (lots of dust etc), cleaning the fridge etc.  Then I will have a weekly/daily list of things that need to get done.  I am determined that by the end of the year I will have my house in much better order then I ever have which will be such an accomplishment for me.  it will be so great to be able to know that my house would always be clean incase people just stop by.

I am almost done my set of work and it actually has been going ok.  yesterday I had a bit of a set back with the other side of my neck/back but it is so much better today.  I am having a bit of an issue with my left knee too.  Nothing major but it keeps wanting to almost give out which is a weird feeling.

Exercise:

I have been doing my running, yoga and going to Jills.  This week has been a bit harder as I have been working this week.  I am going to do my best to make it out there in the morning after work but I am nervous to even say that since the last time I was thinking about doing that I was in the accident.  I went for a 4K run when I got up today and it was great.  The best one I had on that route which makes me feel great.  I am doing good about getting my workout in before my day shift too which makes me feel good.


Food:

Still doing good with the clean eating but I am allowing myself to not feel guilty about going out to eat as long as I make the best choice with the menu provided and then being back to clean eating.

Mood:

It is amazing how being healthy can make your mood so much better.  I feel more relaxed, and just a happier person.

Weight:

I did my weekly WI today and was down 2.2 lbs for a total of 29.6 lbs.  I can't believe that I am almost at 30 lbs loss.  I remember when I first started I kept thinking how can i get as much weight off as I had wanted too.  I was so discouraged.  Thankfully I took each day at a time and look where I am now in the 3rd week of March.  I want to keep this up and come the summer I wont' have to keep think how I need to lose weight.  I have said this before but I need to say it again.  if I reach my healthy weight I want to stay there.  I know the older you get the harder it is to get the weight off but right now it is still going good so i will just keep doing what I am doing and know that eventually I will be at a healthy weight for me.

Awesome week

Well this week has flown by and it was a pretty good week for everything.  My back still has its moments but overall it is doing much better.  I have a bunch of tyl 3's stocked up incase the 12 hr shifts (which I start again on monday) do a number to my back.

exercise:
well this week I have gone to Jills 3x and will be going again on sunday.  I am doing the warm ups and the intervals that she throws in during the classes but I am still picking and choosing the type of exercises I do.  I try and do every muscle group and Jill helps me out with deciding what to do.  I won't go back the the Rx workout until I make it through my first week back to work ok.  I have also amped it up in the running department as of today I ran 4x outside this week.  2 3km's 2 4Km's and today I ran 5 km's and I must say I am so happy with how I have done.  I think I will go into the race on the 29th feeling somewhat prepared which will be better then last year.  I am going to have 4 yoga sessions in by tomorrow too.  I love that they have the studio so much warmer now (it is a the temp that it is supposed to be).

food:
even though I have eaten out a few times in the last week I have made smart choices and haven't fallen off the wagon which usually happens to me when I deviate from what I have planned.  I think because of that I have had such a long term issue with yoyo dieting.  I just get right back to clean eating with my next snack/meal.  I have done some meal prep but tomorrow I will be doing even more.

I am feeling so amazing and that I am back in the grove of making the healthiest choices that I can for the majority of the time.  I am trying really hard to just tell myself that this is how I want to eat from now on and every once in a while have a meal out with friends/family and not feel really guilty about it.  What I need to avoid are all the packaged snacks that are like a drug for me and cause me to just keep eating more and more of those things (chips, chocolate bars, cookies etc).  I even had an amazing scone yesterday when I went out for high tea with a friend but that was the only thing of the dessert menu that I had and just had the 1 scone.  I normally would have had 2 of them and tried the other little squares that were brought out.  I knew the scone would be a 10+ so that is why I went with that option.

I still am not doing very well with keeping the house clean.  Not sure why it is such a struggle.  Before we go to Nashville in april I need to get everything cleaned up and organized!!!!

Well I have to leave for yoga in 10 min.  Have a great weekend everyone.

update

Usually I try to blog every week but last week just got away from me.  I have still been having some issues with my upper back and neck but am slowly getting back into regular workouts.  I weighed myself on the 6th and wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I had my 1st gain of just 0.2 lbs the week prior so when I saw the number on the scale on friday I was so shocked, a very happy shocked.  I had lost the 0.2 lbs plus another 3.6 lbs.  3.8 lbs in one week.  I also had reached a mini goal that I had set for myself for when we went to the garth brooks concert.  My next mini goal is for when we go to nashville which is just 4 weeks and 1 day away.  I can't believe how quick that is coming up.  Now that I have it written down I will get my butt in gear.  

My plan is to go back to work on the 16th.  Even though my neck is still causing me problems I can't stay home forever.  I will not know how work will make it feel until I actually go to work.  I have a dr's appt on friday and I am going to make sure I get some tyl 3's as I still need to take them on occasion.  

I am keeping it really clean in the kitchen but because we have been away a couple of days I haven't really done a menu yet for this week which is something i need to work on.  Menu planning has been so key in my success.  On the exercise front I have been going back to Jill's for the strength training but just modifying it a bit.  Feels great to be doing that gain.  I also had started running on the treadmill last week and today I did my first outside run in a month and I thought I did pretty good.  Because the race is just a couple of weeks away I need to get out running more.  Tomorrow before K leaves for work I want to try and do 3K and then once little man goes to school I will go to Jill's.  Hopefully it isn't too much all at once.  I guess I will know tomorrow.  

Well I should get menu planning.  Tomorrow will be a busy day with buying a shower gift, going downtown to get something and the exercise too.  Oh and I am reading a text book for a course I do at the end of the month.  Time is just going to fly buy and before I know it I will be on a bus to Nashville!!!!!

Reflections on February

So things had been going great for the first couple of weeks of february and then on the 20th I was rear ended on my way home from work.  This has led to a very stiff and sore neck and upper back.  I have been trying to stay active but but I think for the first few days I did too much and now it gets more intense with very little activity.  I tried to go back to work on thursday but only lasted for a couple of hours and had to come home.  On friday I spent a few hours at urgent care and ended up getting some pain meds.  Have a physio appt and family dr appt on tuesday.  I was going to do some hot yoga today but went for a walk which made things stiffen right up so I cancelled my yoga for today and tomorrow until i get looked at again.

Needless to say this has really put a halt on my working out which is not fun.  I am still doing ok with my eating though which is good since normally I would have given up by now and had some crappy food.  I weighed myself yesterday and was up 0.2 lbs.  My first gain in 8 weeks.  I am actually not upset by this because I though it was going to be more of a gain.  I just need to keep it clean in the kitchen and do some walking and then hopefully I will get some answers on tuesday as to what type of activities I can do.  How am I supposed to work a 12 hr shift if I can't even do a workout for an hour.

Well I need to do some menu planning for the upcoming week and make a grocery list.
It is not fun being injured but I know it could be worse and I will take a few weeks over a more serious issue.

An intense 7th Week

Wow what a week I have had on the exercise front.  My husband was supposed to go away for 5 days but these plans fell through.  I feel really bad for him that this happened as he was really looking forward to playing pond hockey down east.  This ended up being good for me though as I was able to get tons of workout/yoga sessions in that I wouldn't have been able too.

I did 4 sessions with Jill which were pretty intense but at the end of the 4th day and my final yoga session I felt like i had successfully completed a challenge (a challenge I put myself through).  Not only did I do this but before my 2 days shifts I made it to the gym.  One day I did intervals on the treadmill and yesterday I did a strength training workout.  I am so happy that I finally was able to get myself out of bed early enough to go to the gym.  Today I did more intervals.  I am really hoping that on saturday I will be able to get out and do a run outside.  It feels like it has been a while since I have done that.  I just want to make sure that I get some outdoor runs in before the race at the end of march.

My eating continues to be spot on and it makes me feel so good.  I have a few things made which will make the extra 2 shifts that I am working this week easier food wise as I have pretty much everything made and will just have to grab things and throw it in my lunch bag.  Thankfully I bought a bunch more quest bars which will come in handy for my night shifts.  Tonight will just be 1/2 of one but then when I have the sleep days and go to work I want to make sure I eat a full one as I tend not to have 3 full meals but just 2 and then the rest is more snacks.

My WI was excellent.  I am so happy with the result.  I was down 2.2 lbs for a grand total of 21.6 lbs.  I still have 37 lbs to go but that is so much better then what I had started with.  I am feeling now like I have lost that much.  When I look in the mirror I can see that I have lost weight.  The key for me is not only are the lbs coming off much I am making sure to do lots of exercise too trying to get things toned too.

Well I have an appt soon so I should go get ready for it.  Have a great thursday :)

Week 6 recap

I feel like I have been eating healthy for a long time now but it has only been 6 weeks.  It is amazing in a short period of time I was able to pull myself right up on the wagon and I feel like I have a good seat and won't be falling off.  When I do have situations that are not really in my control I just need to make the smartest choice at that moment and just get right back to eating my clean food.

I need to work on getting activity in before I work my 2 day shifts.  It is just so hard to get up at 5 but I know if I start to do it I will feel so great after I get a workout in and it will become easier each time I do it.  I don't work days until next tues and wed so we will see if I can accomplish this goal.

Still doing great with the menu planning and meal prep.  On the weekend I need to make a menu for next week and get my groceries on sunday.  Monday is a holiday here so I need to have all my foods for the week purchased.

This weekend (actually starting today) is going to be filled with my workouts and yoga.  I am actually looking forward to that.  I haven't been to yoga since friday and my body is really missing it (even though I have only done 4 classes.  I am going to be going to Jills 4 days in a row which is going to be crazy but I know she will have me working different muscles so that is good.  It actually workouts since next week I will have to do any strength training on my own because of my schedule.  I will go from mon to the following sun without one of her classes (will pull some of the workouts she has given me in the past and go to the gym).  I really want to find the motivation to do a good workout at the gym for resistance training incase I can't make it to Jills this summer.  I don't want to lose the muscle that I am building and it will be good to have some independence.

So I knew it wouldn't be a big number on the scale today for my weigh in.  I didn't even think I would lose anything but I did.  0.6 lbs!!!!!  I had 2 pretty big weeks in a row so I will take the .6.  I am down 19.4 lbs in 6 weeks.  That is so crazy.  I am feeling so great.  I know I need to stop focusing so much on the number but I have 2 weeks to get 5 lbs off to be at the next level of weight.  I like starting each month at a different level!  I will get Jill to do my measurements on the 27th.  Instead of doing it every week like I was I will do it every month now.

I have so much housework I need to get down over the next 5 days.  I really want to get it done.  I will feel so accomplished if I do.  I think today will be a laundry day.  There is a pile of it (especially with all the working out I have been doing…lots of dirty workout clothes).

Well I want to finish my coffee while checking things out on the computer.  Always love finding new ideas for meals etc.  Have a great long weekend (for those that have one).

5 weeks

I have been doing so well the past 5 weeks with healthy eating and exercise.  It is so crazy how amazing I feel and really 5 weeks is not a long time.  I need to start each morning with telling myself that I will make healthy choices for myself that day and resist any temptations as they are not worth it.

I have been rocking the menu planning and meal prep.  Does it every make it easier when I know what I will be eating for all meals and snacks.  That is what I will be working on today.  Planning next weeks menu.  I need to do it for the kids too as the hubby is leaving for 5-6 days on tuesday.  I want to make sure that I have all the necessary items in the house incase we get snowed in etc.  I will still be able to go to Jills provided that little man has school.  I have Chris on the weekend so that will help me on the weekend to get my workouts in (depending on when there is hockey).  I am hoping to get some yoga classes in too.  I am loving yoga and feel like I could do it every day but I won't do that.  3x/week with be my max (next week I won't be able to do it as much but hope to get 1-2 classes in on the weekend if I have childcare).

I can feel myself getting stronger during my workouts at Jills.  What a great feeling.  Doing pretty good about getting out there 2-3x/week.  I am doing something crazy this week.  I will be going tomorrow and sat.  I have never done her classes 2 days in a row.  At least the workouts focus on different parts of your body.  My arms I really feeling it today which is a good feeling and not a surprise (did a lot of exercises yesterday that made me well aware they would be feeling like this today).

We have had quite a bit of snow and it was chilly out this morning and I have turned somewhat into a wimp when it comes to the weather so I went to the gym as soon as the bus came.  I had a pretty good workout which I will do again on monday (before work if I get up early enough and have time).  I did some running/walking on the treadmill.  I did a 5 min warm up and then jog for 2 min/sprint 1 min/ jog 2 min/ walk 2 min and repeated this until I hit 40 min.  I am pretty happy with how that went and I found I had to really push myself.  Physically I was fine but I found I needed to really talk myself into it and kept saying that I could do it.  On sunday I am hoping it is warm enough to do some running outside before work.  I want to make sure that I don't just rely on the the treadmill.

I had my week 5 WI today and was so happy with the results.  Down 3.2 lbs.  I have lost 18.8 lbs since Jan 1st.  I am feeling so good.  I just really need to stay this motivated.

Have a great thursday everyone :)

Strength Training and Hot Yoga

Still doing great on the healthy eating front.  I am really enjoying it.  It makes me feel great and plus I feel smaller then when I started the whole thing on Jan 1st.

Today was a busy day on the exercise front.  I went to Jills this morning and did 75 min of her strength training (a hard but good one).  Then at noon I went to Hot Yoga!!!!!  I had been doing it for a bit a few years ago but then the drive became to much and I stopped going.  We now have a studio in my little town and I am so happy about it.  I wasn't sure how good it would be.  I went to the open house friday night but did a fundamental class today which was a good intro since I haven't been in a few years.  Wow did that room get so hot.  I LOVED it!!!!!  I am glad I bought the year membership.  If I can go at least 2x/week awesome any more then that would be an added bonus.  It just stretches everything and I just feel fresh since I sweat so much in that class.

We had 2 very busy shifts at work.  I just hope the nights aren't as bad.  I will just have lots of snacks with me to keep me on track.

I will be happy to have another set behind me.  2 shifts my next set and then off for a week.  Should be interesting as I will be home alone with the kids as Kevin is heading down east for pond hockey.  I just need to make sure I get the exercise in during the week incase I don't have my step son with us to watch the little man.  i can always do workouts from Jill that I have saved or that I have in my binder.

Well I hope everyone has a great super bowl sunday and I hope for a good night at work :)

Thoughts on the "intense" 4 weeks

Jan 1st was the beginning of the intense program that my trainer set up for 5 of us.  She didn't tell us what to eat but did give us some challenges in the exercise department (I didn't end up doing them because 1. I went to her house at least 2x/week for strength/resistance training 2.  tried to get some running in for my cardio.  I do have all her e-mails saved that have the challenges in them incase I can't make it to her house, run outside or make it to the gym (it is winter after all).  We had to send in daily food logs (I did ok with this but didn't send one in everyday but could recount what I had since I made weekly menus).

In these 4 weeks I have been eating clean.  Wow does that ever make me feel great.  Physically  and mentally i have noticed a huge change.  I also have noticed a change in my strength.  That is very exciting for me.  Each class I push myself and will be going again on sunday.  I will continue to go to her house when I am not working as I need that motivation and then 1x at the gym to get 3 days of resistance training in.  I am trying hard to build up my running endurance too.  I am a little bit upset with myself for letting it get to this point but I know that I can and will build up to where I was before.  I just really need to set up a program to get me ready for the 5K race at the end of march.

As far as the "diet" goes… I really hate using that word as I want it to be a lifestyle change not a temporary solution.  I haven't had to many times where I have gone out an found it difficult to eat clean.    This is an area that I will work on and usually I know where I am going out to eat in advance and will look at the menu so I can plan ahead.  Even if the options are not the best I need to have the 1 meal and then get right back on track.  This is where I really struggle…just like someone with an addiction 1 bite can send me into a spiral which is why I try to avoid things but I know that I can't always do that.  I just will have to limit the eating out (which only happened 1x in Jan which is great).  Menu planning and meal prep has been key in helping me this month and I will keep this up for sure.  Having lots of snacks in my lunch bag for work has really helped me too.

Still need to work on having my house clean and organized.  my running and this will be what I had to my goals for Feb.

Now the results.  I was going to weigh myself on Feb 1st plus today but I will just use the weight that I have today.  That way I will have 4 weeks in total for Feb.  So after my run I got on the scale and almost cried when I saw the number…I was down 4.4 lbs this week.  I was totally shocked as I had a big week the 1st week then small for the 2 after that and now I very good loss this week.  My total for the month was 15.6 lbs!!!!!!  CRAZY but I put in the work and am willing to keep at it.  I have to say I have never felt deprived this whole time.  I am so thankful for this jump start and can't wait for the next month.  I always have a number in my head but will take it 1 day at a time.  Always eat clean (or as clean as possible) and try and get some form of activity in for the day when possible.

Well I must say that January has been a great month for me.  I have gotten the focus back for my health which makes me feel very happy!!!!  Excited to see what February will bring (hopefully an organized house).

11.2

11.2 is how many pounds I have lost so far in Jan.  I will do my end of the 4 week challenge WI on Thursday (measurements on wed) but also will be doing a WI Feb 1st (can't believe that is next sunday!!!!!!)

I just finished up my set at work which was pretty steady and am very happy to have some days off.  I was asked to work OT tomorrow but declined since I am excited to get out to Jill's for my workout.  I will be able to go 2x this week which is awesome.  I have made a weekly plan for my workouts and we will see if I am able to stick to them.  I really want to get 4-5 days of running in either outside or an interval session on the treadmill.

I made my weekly menu and will be doing the meal prep tomorrow.  That has been very key in me being able to stick to healthy eating so far this month.  I have been doing it for over 3 weeks now which makes it feel more like a routine.

I need to stop thinking so far ahead and just focus on each day.  This is not about a diet and how much weight I can lose.  It is about having a healthy lifestyle in so many different ways.  Now that I am getting a bit more comfortable with the eating, I will work on the activity and also my daily living (like having a clean and organized house and getting our finances in order!!)

I need to make a chore list of things I hope to accomplish on my days off.  It will be a long list and I will work away at it.  Time is just flying by so I need to take advantage of each second I have so I don't have any regrets.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and I am just starting mine :)

10 more days

Wow, in 10 days the 4 weeks of the "intense" program will be done.  I am so happy that I have done this.  I needed a good jump start to get me on the healthy wagon again.  I am just feeling so much better.  I will feel even better when I get my running back as part of a regular routine but I know that it will take time.  I am working towards my 5K race the end of March.  My goal will be to do this race in under 30 min.

Today and tomorrow will be spend doing meal prep's and some house cleaning.  Right now I just wish I had a magic cleaning want and of course one that purge's too.  We so need to do a major purge.  I should make that a spring challenge for the 2 of us.  Go through every room and get rid of things that we don't use regularly.  I need to go through all my cupboards too and figure out a way to better utilize the space that I have since doing the renovation on the kitchen.

We are working on figuring a way to get rid of some everyday debt too.  Hopefully the plan we think will work will be accepted.  It will be nice to start fresh and get rid of some credit cards that we really don't need to use.

Well I should get going.  Need to take advantage of these 2 days that I have off…well I must admit that if they call me to work days tomorrow I will go in.  I will make sure to have food ready that I can just grab and go if I get that annoying 6 am phone call.

post night workout

After my night shift last night I headed out to Jills and actually did a 60 min workout.  It was hard but I am so happy that I actually did it.  Tomorrow I won't have time to workout as I am going to a conference in TO.  

I made myself breakfast and lunch and a snack to take with me to the conference.  1 to save money and 2 so that I will be able to stay on track.  I have been feeling so great that I don't want to blow it by not eating healthy.  

On sunday I hope to get a run in.  It felt good yesterday to get out and do a 4K run/walk and I want to keep it up.  everyday that I don't train I want to do a run.

i don't really have much to talk about today.  Hope to have a great weekend.

Week 2 results

I really wasn't expecting a loss this week but i am down 1.4 lbs.  total of 10.4 lbs in 2 weeks.  Pretty amazing if you ask me.  Not sure how I am in the inches category but I know when I was measured yesterday a few things were down…just not sure how much.  My mood is pretty great compared to how it was when I was eating crap.  My motivation is still up there so I hope it keeps going.  I keep reminding myself that it is a lifestyle change.  I don't need that junk food in my diet!!!!!  I had many days of eating it so I know what it tastes like and I don't really need to have it everyday.  I will be very select when I have a treat as it tends to make me spiral out of control.

I need to figure out how to get some type of exercise in the days that I work days.  I had 3 this set which really made me miss my workouts.  I know I will figure something out.  Even if it is just intervals on the treadmill at the gym.  I used to run outside early in the morning but now for some reason I am too paranoid to do this.  I should be able to do it before work.  Maybe I will try this next week on wed and thurs.

Had a great workout yesterday at Jills.  I thought for sure my legs would be killing me but it is my upper body that is really sore.  Probably from the chin ups, push ups and the rows (with a 30lb weight!!!!).  It is funny how I grab a weight I think I should use and she gives me one double the weight.  That is what I love about her, she pushes me harder then I would ever think of pushing myself.

I am working on my menu for next week.  I am trying to come up with some fun foods and I need to make sure to go through the 2 new cook books i bought a couple of months ago from blogs that I read.
Keeping the meals exciting and tasty will help keep up the motivation.  I really am loving having the lime juice on my foods.  It really makes the taste jump right out and have lots of flavour.

Well I need to go get the kids something quick for supper…treat supper for them tonight.  even though I wish I wasn't buying it for them i am in between nights, don't feel like cooking and there is hockey right at 5:30.

Have a great thursday everyone :)

day 10

This morning started off early for a saturday.  I went to the gym bright and early.  I did about a 40 min strength training workout from a collection of workouts I have from Jill which seemed like a great workout.  I added 2 ab focused workouts to it.  I am loving the strength training and for my cardio I am going to start doing some running on the treadmill for those days that are just to cold to run outside (which have been a lot this month).  I have a decent interval training one written in my workout book so will hopefully try that the next time I want to run and have time to get to the gym (I may try to get out there early monday morning before I go to work…hopefully the doors will be open just a tad bit before they actually open which will be great or maybe I will do that tuesday and do a ST workout in my basement before work).  I want to make sure to get 3 ST workouts in each week).

I will be working on meal prep today as I am working the next 5 days (3 days and 2 nights).  I want to make sure that I have everything ready so I can just pack it all up which makes for a more successful week of eating clean then if I have to think about what I will be having to eat the day of.  It is one thing to make the menu but another thing to do the prep.  

I am loving what I have been having for suppers lately, so simple but yet so good.  just a meat and some veggies but with fresh lime juice which really adds a yummy flavour.  It doesn't seem like much but it is satisfying which is so important.

well I am going to do some more browsing on the computer while I drink my coffee and then get some housework, meal prep done.

Have a fantastic friday :)

Week 1 results

I full week of eating clean and getting some exercise in and I feel great.  More then great actually.  I had 2 workouts at Jill's and this morning I went to the gym and did one of the workouts she gave me in the past.  Lots of legs and shoulder work with a little bit of triceps.  I actually felt pretty good at the gym and stronger then when I had gone in the past.  I had been doing some classes with Jill since December so I am sure that is why it felt a bit better.  Still not a lot of cardio workouts since it is so cold but I need to get some running in.  I may try and run tomorrow outside as long as the windchill isn't crazy (I don't think it is supposed to be).

My eating has been almost perfect…my lunch yesterday is not something I normally would have had but since I was eating out I tried to make the best choice that I could.  Next time (and I knew I should have done this) I get a salad I will ask for dressing on the side.  I don't quite get why the drown the salad in dressing.  It actually takes away from the enjoyment of eating the salad.  You really don't need that much on it to make it taste ok.

I am working on my menu for next week and will get groceries tomorrow and will do the prep on saturday.  I am working 5 shifts this week so I want to make sure I have enough meals made so that I can just grab them.

Now for the WI…down 9 lbs!!!!!!!!!  I know that is a pretty big result but I was eating that bad that I am not totally surprised by that result.

My plan for week 2 is to maybe do a ST workout at home before a day shift, out to Jill's one day and to the gym one day.   I hope to get 2-3 days of running outside too.  I really need to try and do one run after working a night shift since I don't want to be running outside really early in the morning.  sounds pretty reasonable.

I need to keep reminding myself each day that eating clean makes me feel great and when I include exercise with it I feel on top of the world.

My menu for today:

greek yogurt protein pancake with 1/4 c blueberries

turkey shep pie with 2c of romaine lettuce

red pepper with hummus

chicken with lime juice and 1 tsp honey and broccoli, few red peppers and onion

smoothie (greek yogurt, almond milk, tbsp of PB and banana)

sounds so yummy as I am typing it.

I need to go get my measurements done by jill, get to the bank to get my debit card fixed, make a to do list for my days off, and try for better luke bryan seats for this concert May 1st :)

Have a great Thursday!

Day #5

Time please slow down a bit (well now that we have freezing cold weather the time can speed up til spring then slow right down).  So I am going on day 5 of this 4 week "intense" challenge and after 4.5 days of eating clean and getting some training classes in I am feeling amazing already.  I need to remember this feeling.  I had a peak at the scale this morning and was happy with the result.  My official WI day will be wed or thursday.

Today was an awesome workout (as it always is with Jill).  I know my shoulders and arms will be feeling it tomorrow.  Because of this crazy cold weather I probably will hit the gym a couple of times to do some running on the treadmill.  I won't be able to go right to bed tomorrow so we will see if I make it there or not.

Yummy meals were made today which should help me stay on track for Day #5.

Well I should go.  Need to get ready to go to work tonight for night 1/2.

A new year

Wow, I can't believe we are already in the 2nd day of January.  Sometimes I wish time would just slow down.   Instead of making yearly resolutions I am going to make goals for the month.  If they are just monthly goals I won't feel as overwhelmed and I may be more apt to achieve these goals.

1.  Give 100% to the 4 week challenge that I am doing with Jill.  Seriously, it is only for 4 weeks.  What I hope to take from the 4 weeks is that I will incorporate resistance training to my weekly workouts and that clean eating will become part of my lifestyle again.  I need to stop putting the crap into my body.  When I eat clean I feel great, when i don't I feel miserable and it shows to those around me.

2.  Weekly menu's.  This will not only help me to eat clean and stay on track but it really should help with finances too.  I need to stop with the daily trips to the grocery store!!!

3.  Start running again.  For the month this month if I can get out 3x/week I will be happy with that.  I need to remember that I haven't been running that often so it will take months to get back to where I was.  Plus I have a bunch of extra pounds on so it won't be as easy.

4.  Try and tidy things each night and do a really good clean 1x/week

5.  Do laundry 1x/week and that includes folding and putting it away.

6.  Work on a plan for finances.  Save money for myself and start putting some away for Matthew every 2 weeks (or look into a plan for him so he will have money in his future).

7.  enjoy life, don't sweat the small stuff.  Take time and breath before saying or doing something that is stupid or that I will regret.

This holiday season brought lots of emotions for me.  I felt sad because I was working the entire cmas time and then my husband went to work for 2 of the 5 days that I was off and I just felt that we didn't really do anything as a family.  We ended up having a great time as a family (minus Chris who was with his mom) by going to 2 hockey games for the world junior championship and then spent the rest of the evening ringing in the new year with friends.  I am so thankful for being able to do that.  I had so much with with my family and friends.

I will try and give daily updates on how the challenge is going which will include my food diary and what I have done for activity.

I love this saying and I think that it was brad paisley that said it "Tomorrow  is the first blank page of a 365 page book.  Write a good one."  I will try to remember that each day.  I should write it out on something that I will look at each day.  Maybe I will make an inspiration/motivation board and put it above my dresser.

Here is to a great and successful year :)