Meetings, Food and Exercise Oh My,

Well, we're down to 339 days and in some ways I feel like I'm making progress and in others I feel like I'm treading water. I've not been into a Weight Watchers Meeting since late March!!! I had every intention to go on Saturday, but I couldn't drag my sorry ass out of bed in time to get there! My meeting starts at 9:45 am I usually like to head out at about 9 so I have plenty of time to line up and weigh in. It's means getting up at 8am... I'm not a morning person so I need that extra time to get moving. So I decided I'm going to switch back to Wednesday night meetings, 6:45 pm totally do-able!

Today I was reminded that it is Administrative Assistants(Secretary) Day. I am a Library Technician but I get lumped in with the Office Girls since I work in the Office an hour each morning. We are being treated to a lovely lunch out on Wednesday. So guess what I won't be doing that evening? Yup, I guess I'll be trying to get into WW on Saturday morning again. I know the meetings can make you more successful at weight loss... I haven't weighed in in weeks now and I suspect I'm up, my body feels like it is.



Mini Broccoli Omelettes from Skinnytaste

Food still isn't quite there yet, but still improving. There have been a few more better choices, less BLTs (bites, licks, tastes). Strangely, today was what I call a "hungry day". No matter what I ate, I just wasn't satisfied and still felt hungry! I actually arrived at home with an empty lunch bag! I usually have a piece of fruit or some vegetables still to eat. I even ate the pack of almonds I had stashed in my purse. On my way home I had to pick up a few ingredients for the recipe I wanted to try for breakfast this week (see yesterday's post for link). I did well in the grocery store. Damn it, Costco finally got me this time! I broke down and got that vanilla soft serve in a cup! I was hungry and unsatisfied, until I had that sweet, sweet soft serve. Oh my it was bliss, I enjoyed every spoonful! Suddenly that sense of being hungry was finally gone! I had eaten protein at breakfast, and snacks so I don't know what was wrong with me!!!

On the up side, Saturday I started week 2 of my C25K program, for this week besides the 5 minute warm up/cool down, the program has me running for 90 seconds and walking for 2 minutes. This increases the total run time from 8 minutes to 9, I've also tried to increase my walking speed to 3.7 and running to 5.5. Tonight I did day 2 and I'm still managing nicely with the program!


Not only did I run today, I took advantage of the sunny, warm day and hit the path behind the building I work in and managed to get in a 32 minute walk! In terms of exercise I'm happy with my progress.


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Long Live Skinnytaste!

Have you heard of the website/blog called Skinnytaste? In the last year I've become a huge fan of the website. Its full of fantastic, waist friendly recipes. The author not only slims down the recipes, but she also gives you all of the nutritional information, and the Weight Watchers Points Plus values. Not only are these recipes are skinny, but they're tasty too.



This weekend I made two of our household favourites. The first was for a brunch I attended on Saturday, I took yogurt and a batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from Skinnytaste that are a hit no matter where I take them.



For tonight's dinner I made Baked Broccoli Mac and Cheese. I love dishes like this because there is enough for tomorrow's dinner! It's nice to come home and not have to think about what I'm going to make. We also love pasta in this house!

Some of our other favourite recepies for the site are:
Baked Ziti
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

After I pick up a few ingredients I'm going to try these Broccoli and Cheese Mini Egg Omelettes

- thanks for reading!

Better Day

343 Days to go and I've had a much better day than any other this week so far. I felt more upbeat, not so tired and a little more motivated.

Eating was much better today, not perfect... But getting back to where it should be. Today I came home from work and did what I should, I got on the treadmill! I completed week 1 of the C25K program! It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, the runs were not that hard or too long. I'm looking forward to starting week two where the runs get a little longer.



We had some fun at work today, it's been spirit week and today was hip hop day. Here's my friend Tracey and I all dressed up for the day!


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Frustrating Cycle

Not another great day for me. I woke up just feeling like shit this morning. There's no other way to put it. I wok exhausted, on the verge of a migraine and a little nauseous.

Lets review what I do when I'm having a little pity party... Oh yeah I eat way more than I should, and things I shouldn't eat, and I sleep. My cravings were riding me hard today and its really hard to ignore that devil on my shoulder when I don't feel well. I managed okay until late after own when I managed to get my hands on some cookies. Yup I ate five.

I came home from work and I slept for an hour and a half.



We tackled a different section of recreational
tonight, see still some snow on the ground!!!

That nap led to no planned dinner, so when Todd and I got home at 7:30 from our hour long walk. There was nothing ready to be cooked or eaten. For me that lead to a disorganized meal of crackers, tea, a toasted banana sandwich, and a pop-tart. Let me assure you pop-tarts are not worth the 5 points each.

I know that when I ate well and exercised regularly and was at my goal weight I felt AWESOME all the time. I had energy, I was abler to ignore my inner devil most days and I wasn't coming home from work and sleeping for a few hours, like I have been for months now.

I need to work harder to break this cycle! I know the key to my success is getting out of this eat-sleep cycle!


- thanks for reading!

345 Days to Go, A Wasted Day?

I really need to stop letting how I feel dictate how I behave.

It's been a dull, dreary day actually so far it's been a dull dreary year! If its not cold and snowing its cloudy and wet! I think the nice day we had yesterday was spring and it's over now!



Being a dull and grey day just had me dragging my ass all day. I was tired, no spring to my step which had me giving I pinto my cravings before 9:30am! I had two cookies, jelly beans, and not just one of my low point snacks at home but three!



Not only did I give into my sugar cravings but instead of getting n the treadmill when I got home from work, I went to bed instead. I had a good two and a half hour nap (the advantages of not having kids).

To redeem myself I did hop on the treadmill at 9:30pm, doing week 1 day 2 of my C25K program. Some of you might think I'm crazy, but I'm a night owl! It was a good run, it felt good... A lot of my "good" runs are often late into the evening. From time to time I'll run in the morning but I feel so slow, I can't breathe and I just don't seem to move right.


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346 Days To Go, My Kryptonite

Boy, it's been a long day! I ended up having to work through the day with no lunch break, as there was no coverage. I'm okay with that when it needs to be done.

On the way home I stopped into Costco for a few odds and ends we needed. Oh my, it was soooo tempting! It was finally a beautiful, sunny day, the thermometer in my car was reading 15c!!! Just this past Friday we had an unheard of Snow Day in April! Why was Costco so tempting? I seem to have this psychological association between a warm, sunny day and... SOFT SERVE, my Kryptonite! There's nothing like a vanilla cone OR a "diabetic coma in a cup", aka caramel sundae on a warm sunny day. Honestly Costco's soft serve is THE best.

NSV (non-scale victory) for this girl I walked out sans ice cream! It was tempting!



Before I cared about my diet and weight, on a nice warm day I'd often hit the DQ drive in just down the street from work. I could tell you that at that a medium dipped cone was $1.83. That I could drive a stick shift AND eat a Blizzard at the same time.

Have I given up my Kryptonite? Never, but it's just less frequent, smaller sizes, often in a cup (gotta save a few points), and NEVER while driving. I've pretty much stopped all drive-thru activities except to grab the odd steeped tea at Timmies.

Bonus NSV for today, Todd called me at work and he actually suggested we go for a walk after work! He NEVER wants to go walking/running with me I almost always go alone! So I got dinner ready to the point I just had to go in the oven we drove to one of the nearby recreational trails and walked for a good hour! That was a nice end to my day.
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Boy, That Hurt

I'm currently fighting the urge to go stuff my face, being hurt does that to you.

A little background: I'm a 3rd Degree Black Belt in ITF Taekwon-Do, I've been involved in TKD since 1997, and up until my injury I was also an instructor at the TKD school I attended.

Its amazing how small things can hurt you pretty deeply sometimes.  This morning I'm cruising Facebook to discover that this weekend there had been Black Belt testing at my Taekwon-Do school.  Boy that hurt, to find out via social media that such an important event had gone on.  That some of my classmates and also students were celebrating such a big milestone in their Taekwon-Do journey.

It seems silly but a couple of hours later I'm still really hurt, that I didn't warrant an FYI, a heads up, or an e-mail that testing was going on... I would of liked to have been there.

Teaching at our annual outdoor training day

Now I admit, I've not stepped foot into the dojang as a student or an instructor since late summer when all of of this pain with my foot came to a head and I just couldn't be active in that way anymore.  In November, my school hosted a tournament and I was asked to be involved and kept in the loop.  I was there, I helped with set-up, admissions, and participated as a center Judge in the rings during the tournament.  I've not really heard a peep since, its amazing how quickly you get forgotten sometimes.

I think what makes this hurt stronger is that back in February I received a call from my Sabum, the owner of the school.  He wasn't calling to see how I was doing.  Nope, I help manage the school's Facebook page and he had a few concerns about the look and moderating membership.  At the end of the conversation he asked me "Have you forgotten how to put on a dobok?"  This whole phone conversation bothered me a little, that there was no contact in over three months, only when something was needed.  That after months all you can do is ask me if I've forgotten how to put my uniform on?!!

So with that phone call and now finding out through Facebook that I missed an important event really hurt my feelings.  Its also solidifying the fact that I don't want to go back... yet.  Now that my foot seems to be doing okay (I'm testing it in slow measures, and TKD can be really hard on your feet), my first goals are to start running and to get those extra pounds back off, then go back to TKD.

Right now I'm really not regretting my decision not to rush back.  At this moment as things stand,  I don't know if I want to go back.

C25K Week 1, Day 1

I did it! I've done what I promised myself I would do, eat right, track my food and start exercising (learn to run program). I feel very good that I've kept my word!

Today was the start of my C25K Program (Couch to 5km), I knew when it came to running that its been too long, and I need to start over again. It's a little frustrating starting from the beginning again because I know how far and how fast I used to be able to run. When I first started running it was all an experiment!




The first day of the program had me doing a 5 min. warm up, followed by 20 minutes alternating 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking, wrapping up with a 5 minute cool down. I spent a total of 30 minutes on the treadmill, walking at 3.6 and jogging at 5.4 (I am a slow runner!), in this time I managed to travel a distance of 3.2 km.

Yay me! Now to just keep putting me foot in front of the other on this path I've put myself on.


- thanks for reading!

349 Days to my goal deadline. Tomorrow is the start of my new Weight Watchers week and its my self imposed start over/fresh start day!



My first (and only) 1/2 marathon

Before I initially lost my weight I never pictured myself as a runner. I think the only time you would of caught me running would of been from a ferocious tiger or maybe out of a burning house. After I lost my first 20 lbs I started walking, which surprisingly slowly turned into running. The next thing I knew I was registering for events like Run For The Cure (5k), Ottawa Race Weekend (10k), Perth Kilt Run (8k), I even did a HALF MARATHON, the Army Run.



My last race, 2012 Perth Kilt Run

Then I started to experience pain in my left foot. This started a cycle of physiotherapy, seeing a sports doctor, back to the sports doctor, an MRI, and back to the sports doctor. Where I received a diagnosis of Sinus Tarsi Syndrome. The end result the best treatment was a x-ray guided cortisone injection into a small area between the heel and ankle bone. This whole process started at the end of July and the injection finally happened March 22nd. After a couple of days of taking it easy I was ready to re-start my running journey! Then my back went out.




So I'm finally ready to REALLY start over. See, my iPhone is primed with some of my favourite music and apps. I love the Nike+ GPS app, I am usually self disciplined and use that and my interval timer (walk/run cycles). Tomorrow I'm going to try something new, a true-tried C25K program (couch to 5k). If followed properly it'll take me from 0-5k in about 8 weeks, running 3 times a week. Have any of you had success with a C25K program?



After 2012 Ottawa Race Weekend 10k

It's year I'm not putting any pressure on myself, I'm not entering a single race/run until I actually am ready.

Tomorrow will be day one of this C25K program!


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Location:Ready to Run - 349 Days to Go

Meltdown Countdown Day 350

Yeah can I get a do-over? Instead of eating the way I should I ate the way I wanted to. What's the end result? I feel guilty and I feel like crap. Great combination eh?
I keep remembering how GREAT I felt when I was at goal, eating healthy and working out almost daily. My rational side says I want to do what it takes to get there my emotional side makes me not give a shit and shove junk into my face.




Oh yeah saw this picture if me today, it was taken during our DR trip at the end of February. I'm hoping its just what the sideshow has done to the picture and that I really don't look that big from behind.
Day 350 was a waste of a day.

Edit to add, I just showed this to Todd and he made me feel a lot better about myself. He started saying that can't be me!!!! Thank you hon you're a sweetie!

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Where Did My Motivation Go????

February went well...

March went pretty well... I was quite disciplined almost all of the month.... March 18th I finally got the cortisone injection I needed to help deal with the pain in my foot (I've had sinus tarsi syndrome). I was getting psyched/stoked to start running again!!!




My birthday rolled around just before Easter, I was surprisingly in control that week! On my birthday, I had a mini-cake waiting for me at my desk (a surprise from my custodian). I shared some of it and slowly enjoyed the rest throughout the day. The girls in the office also treated me to birthday cake, I was able to turn down a slice of that knowing I had a special, home made cake waiting for me upstairs. That night Todd took me out for dinner, my food choices were excellent, and we did indulge and share a desert! The next day was another co-workers birthday and another cake successfully turned down. That night I went out with friends and they treated me to Swiss Chalet, another place that can be very good on the points budget. The day after that, was Good Friday I went shopping with a friend in the States, we had lunch out again... Fantastic planning and control on my part for lunch and snacks I packed.



Todd is trying to eat ALL of our dessert

It was that night that things started going downhill... I had some treats hidden at home I had received as a birthday gift. When I was in the States we were in Wal Mart while I was hungry... A few too many treats made it into my shopping cart. I am always so WEAK when I'm shopping and hungry!!!



Friends of mine took me target shooting for my Birthday

I know I have to take responsibility for my poor choices and only I can put the food into my mouth. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself by Saturday night, because somehow on Thursday I had thrown out my back. It started with a dull ache earlier in the week and by Friday/Saturday it was waking me up in the night, sitting hurt, standing hurt, lying down hurt and extra strength Robaxacet couldn't touch it!!!. So yeah I was feeling pretty pathetic. When I feel sorry for myself my first instinct is to eat. When I'm not well, my instinct is to eat.

Things started to calm down on Easter Monday and most of the week was good but this past Friday it started up again. I finally got into the massage therapist today and its feeling pretty good (even before the massage). I've been using this as my excuse for almost two weeks.

I've not exercised once even though I probably could of gently waked on the treadmill. I've been using it as an excuse to come home and nap for a few hours. Last week I didn't track my food at all, nor was I making the right food choices. This week I finally started tracking again, but I'm finding it hard to make those excellent choices I was making prior to my Birthday.

I have decided that I want to be back down to 150lbs by my birthday next year. I want to use this blog to journal almost daily, a sort of countdown to goal. Also to help keep myself accountable. The entries can be as simple as what my Non-Scale Victory was for that day to what challenges I'm facing.

351 Days to my Birthday Meltaway Celebration!!!

- thanks for reading!

Foods From Costco

Earlier this week I had the desire to wander around Costco I wasn't actually there to do my groceries I just felt like walking the aisles.

I came out with two food products not only on sale, but good points value too for those of us on Weight Watchers.



First, turkey pepperettes, Costco used to carry these but for the longest time until this week's trip you could only get pepperoni ones... Higher in PP values. These were not only $3 off but they come in at 1PP per pepperette! That's a tasty high protein snack, I like to pair one of these with a 1PP low fat string cheese. They're also great sliced thinly on an angle, put on a whole wheat English muffin with a little tomato sauce and cheese and cooked in the oven. A nice little mini pizza! Very satisfying with a salad.



Next, these frozen chicken cordon blue! I'm not big on frozen dinners and convenience foods. But these taste great, cook up in under 30 minutes and come in at a very reasonable 6PP! Pair this with steamed broccoli or green beans and whoila a low point, quick, filling dinner. Not only a good points value but this week on sale for $7.99 and with 8 pieces in the box, that's barely $1 per piece of chicken!

- thanks for reading!