WI Results and Trying New Things

A few things to note for today:

1.) Bloggette Cass over at Findingmybeauty always talks about her "Bran Buds" that she has in the morning and swears that they are what keep her slim and trim, so, I decided to give them a try. Got some bran buds on Saturday and had them this morning, and have to admit that they ain't that bad (i'm not cereal's biggest fan) and I think I'm going to have them atop some yogurt tomorrow morning and see if it works miracles on me like it has on Cass...



2.) Weigh in tonight results: I STAYED THE SAME. Not going to deny that I am a little disappointed, I was hoping to get to at least 193 so that I could say I had lost 40 pounds (39 lbs just doesn't have the same ring to it) *sigh* I know exactly what it was too - I ate all my weekly and activity points this week because I was so hungry all the time (too much activity maybe?) No bad choices though - here's to hoping that next week will be a big loss in light of tonight's results.

3.) Lastly, I did another awesome workout at the gym, 75 minutes on the elliptical tonight, and got an excellent sweat going on, see how gross and sweaty I got:





Yup - pretty gross if you ask me!

I've Got to Keep on Moving

Didn't break my stride at all today! I ran around running errands all morning like a crazy person - like literally ALL morning. I left the apartment at 8:00 am and didn't get home until 4:00pm! THEN, I put on my little pedometer and decided to take advantage of this lovely weather on BC's westcoast and did a 2 hour walk along the beachfront! It was excellent - even ran into a few old friends and made dates for catch-up with them in the future. For these little breaks in the walk, I deducted 1/2 hour off my "timed" time to be fair.

This is the pedometer I own (it's the 'walking advantage' (fancy!):



See, I walked a lot (this is just for the beach walk, and it's backwards!) - the proof is in the pedometer!

(over 13,000 steps and 6.3 miles!)



THEN, I got home and put on my gym gear and went to the gym. I don't know where I found the energy, but I managed to put in a 90 minute elliptical workout (and sweated like a pig!).

So, all in all today - I got 3 hours of cardio in! This is excellent considering I'll be in Toronto for 3 days later this week and wont be able to get in any cardio workouts. Although, I hear it's hot over in that part of the country, so maybe the humidity will sweat the fat off my body (a girl can only dream - right?)

Drunkin' "Me" Time

Yeppers Bloggies,

I finally took a "me night": drank a bottle of wine, had a healthy dinner and watched a romantic comedy in bed.

FYI - Leap Year is horrible - I wouldn't recommend it (even to us Irish folk).

This is how my night started:

Wine:



and then Dinner (rice-less stir-fry):



Oh - and a couple babybels.... nom nom nom:



I feel a tad guilty for not working out tonight - but my legs are telling me that they're tired and need a break.

So, tomorrow, I'll be up bright and early to get a cardio workout in.

Time to pass out! Night!

My Day is Like... A Roller Coaster Baby Baby

Today was a roller coaster of good and bad, here's how it went down:

After work I went to Subway to grab a quick dinner and ran into my high school crush (who is super cute and nice and now I remember why I liked him so much all those years ago). Anyways I saw him for the first time in a couple years and felt happy that I wasn't 233 pounds when he saw me. I showed you all my outfit today (green shirt, etc) - that's what I was wearing when I went into Subway, so I felt pretty confident about my looks - but he said nothing - no, "Lisa you look good" or anything which made me a little sad. So that was both a good and a bad moment.

Then, I was planning on having a "me" night, which involves a bottle of wine and a movie in bed for the night (with Subway), but when I got home I thought to myself - "Lisa, remember how you felt today when high school crush didn't mention anything about how good you look *sigh*", so I called up a good friend and asked her to go walk the beachfront with me. She told me she was on her way home from work and would be at my house in 30 minutes. Instead of sitting around and waiting for her, I dragged my arse to the gym and did a 20 minute elliptical workout, then when I got home we did a 2 hour walk.

BUT, halfway through our walk we succumbed to temptation and ate some brushetta at a local waterfront restaurant (so delicious) which I count as 12 points (yikes!) and therefore I counted my walk tonight as an hour and 10 minutes as the other 50 minutes were spent savoring delicious bread and tomatoes!

So the ups:
- I went to the gym
- I went for a long walk (with severe hills)
- Saw a good friend
- Didn't eat deep-fried food
- Saw an old crush
- I didn't snack at all today

And the downs:
- I couldn't make it through my walk without stopping for a bite to eat
- I didn't order a salad: I ate bread, cheese and oil! (12 points)
- I went over my daily points allowance
- My high school crush didn't say anything about how good I look
- I had cheese on my Subway sandwich
- Stayed out too late walking and am now going to be very tired for work tomorrow

So there you have it, my roller coaster day. I'm pooped!

She's Got Legs, and She Knows How to Use Them

Last night I was the Queen of grumpiness. I got home from work and all I felt like doing was lounging on the couch, vegging out and taking a break from having to be mindful of anything and everything.

Since my June goal is to gather 40 hours of cardio workouts (what a crazy frickin' goal!) and I had already done 2 hours on the 1st, I began giving myself excuses not to get my fat arse to the gym.

Finally, at about 8:30pm I decided that I should just go and do it and quit my whining.

While at the gym, I managed to get a peek of myself walking by the muscle men who were admiring themselves in the mirrors on my way to the cardio area and was like, "whoa - my legs are so skinny" and actually thought to myself, "I am bringing sexy back - yeah!" This gave me enough motivation to get myself going and get a great workout in. I managed to do 60 minutes on the treadmill walking at a pace of 3.1 - 3.5 for the full hour. In total I walked just over a 5K in the hour and had a good sweat going (keeping my heart rate in the target zone). All in all I felt good! So good in fact that I'll be back there again tonight, working my butt off!

Here's a teaser sample of my legs (cause I know how to use them):



Also want to share another photo, as I mentioned I went shopping last weekend (because hardly any of my clothes fit me anymore) and picked up a few tops. One such top is this booger green hippie-style shirt I got (on sale) from RW & Co (my favourite store in the whole wide world), check it out:



Lastly, although I am liking the way that my lower half is evolving, I'm still having difficulties with my mid-section, upper body and my neck! Check out my wattle:


I totally need to get rid of this. It's gross and bothers the carp out of me.

Leaving you with a little inspiration today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xuir2cpNuQ

Doin' it for ME

Philosophizing over a Yop this morning:



I've been thinking a lot these last few days about what is it that is making me lose weight and STICK TO IT this time around. I've concluded that the reason why I have been so successful this time around, and have stuck to both my eating and activity plans for the past three months is because I've simply decided that I want to do this for me, no one else, just me.

I have a few friends who are struggling with weight and other additions, and the only ones who have learned to manage their food / alcohol addictions are the ones who decided that they wanted to make a life change for themselves. These kind of things (life changes) you cannot do for anyone else because at the end of the day, if you care more about overeating than you do about being healthy, then you'll have your head in the fridge until the cows come home.

The bottom line in all of this - if you really want it for you - then you make it happen, no excuses. The want evolves into desire, which rotates into motivation which is the guiding factor of you staying on plan and achieving your goals. This is what I have found anyway and it appears to be working in a big way.

Looking Good and June Goals

Happy June everyone. I can't believe June is already here, how quickly the months fly by when you're losing weight (NOT!)

Over the weekend, I went shopping and purchased my very first print top (I know, it's hard to believe, but in the past I have always felt that wearing prints (as a fat girl) made me feel bigger - like I was wearing a moo-moo).

Well, moo-moo-no-more!



Yuppers, I am looking fine in a print top today (new from Rickis - size 12! purchased over the weekend on sale!)

Now, June 1 = June goals. Here they are:

JUNE 2010

1.) Break the 190's and get into the low 180's

2.) Fit comfortably into my size-12 black dress pants.

3.) Increase Elliptical resistance to 7 by July 1.

4.) Run an organized 5K in Vancouver

5.) Be able to run without stopping at a speed of 5.5 on the treadmill for 2 full minutes.

6.) Complete a total of 40 hours of cardio workouts for the month of June

Reward for Completing All Goals: Travel! Mini weekend trip with Friends or Family


I had a hard time trying to figure out what my cardio workout hours (total for the month) should be. I feel like 40 hours is challenging, but still attainable, I guess we'll have to wait and see. I love setting beginning of month goals. So much fun and even more fun when you reach them!