HOW EMBARRASSING!!!

So just in case you didn't already know just how cool I am, I'll tell you.  I AM SOOOO COOL.  We had a blizzard here yesterday morning lasting a few hours and dumping piles of snow.  So much so that I couldn't get my car all the way into my parking spot in front of my condo so I had to leave it on the street.  I got up nice and early this fine cold, snow-filled Saturday morning to go to the gym for Barbell Blast class.  I left even earlier so I could unearth my car and hit the treadmill for 30 minutes before the class.

At home, I got gym ready from the waist up so that when I got to the gym I'd just have to change from my jeans to capris and big boots to runners.  I pulled my hair into a ponytail and put on a baseball cap.  Because it was chilly, I pulled my toque on over top of my baseball cap.  I travel down to the gym and hop on the treadmill.  I'm feeling good.  I increased my speed, increased the incline, Girl Talk download blasting in my iPod while I watch Will & Grace with the subtitles.  I'm enjoying myself!!  I felt confident.  I sauntered out of the fitness machine area and downstairs to the exercise studio where the barbell class is.  I'm the only one in there so I pull out a mat and start stretching.  Another girl comes in, followed by the instructor.  Then my friend Lindsay comes in and sits down next to me and says "nice wooly cap".  Whaaaat????  I raise my hands up to my hat.  And what I feel is not my baseball cap, it's my toque.  I just did 35 minutes on the treadmill and sauntered around the gym and the whole time, I was wearing my toque!!!!!!  I quickly pulled it off and then laughed my ass off for five minutes.  I took pictures when I got home.  I'm hoping that it wasn't quite as noticeable from far away because my toque is also white.  But for sure the people on machines around me saw it.  Oh ugh!! Oh yeah, I am just too cool.

Weight & Weights

I weighed in this past Monday at 217.0 which is a gain of 0.8 pounds.  I'm not worried though.  I stayed within my points and don't really have any explanation for the gain so I'm not going to feel bad about it.  I haven't been doing great with the water so I really kicked that up over the last few days so I think that gain is gone already.  Phew!  

I've been doing really great with the activity too.  I went to barbell class on Saturday and did 40 minutes on the treadmill.  Tuesday evening, I did 30 minutes on the treadmill and I went to boot camp class!  My friend Lindsay came with me again.  Yay!!  There were some tough moments but I felt awesome after.  So great when I know I'm meeting someone because then I know I won't change my mind and couch instead :)  That brings us to Wednesday (today).  I had a horrible day and more than anything, I didn't want to go to barbell class  and I really just wanted to grab some crackers and a block or wheel of cheese and settle in with the remote.  I thought about it all afternoon actually.  I knew that I would feel so much better after barbell class than I would after a block of cheese.  That's the ONLY thing that got me out the door.  Tonight I did 20 minutes on the treadmill with really loud Girl Talk playing on my iPod, then did barbell class.  My arms feel like jello :)

I've been doing great with eating & tracking.  Yesterday I started making my own salad dressing using the Epicure seasonings & mixes.  Good timing because I think all the ones in my fridge are past the expiry date.  It really tastes so great and is so much better for you.  I love that it will be fresh every week.  Spinach salad with mushrooms, red onions, red pepper and the vinaigrette has been delicious.  I really want to get a little more adventurous and creative in the kitchen to avoid the boredom. Boredom leads to blocks of cheese.  NOT GOOD!  

Off to enjoy my Vanilla Rooibos tea before bed . . . Zzzzzz.

Maybe I'm Back?!

I hesitate to speak too soon but I've had a great morning.  Last night I was sitting on the couch going back and forth between bawling and feeling empowered.  Yes, I'm crazy.  I was thinking that it is high time that I got back into activity.  I was loving my Barbell Blast class every Wednesday and Saturday.  Then a few commitments got in the way of three classes in a row and I never went back.  Not just to the class but to the gym at all.  Last night, I was trying to talk myself up to go to Barbell Blast this morning and just as my confidence was waning, my friend Lindsay wrote on my FB wall "fancy going to Barbell Blast with me in the morning??"  That decided it.  I was going to go and because I was meeting someone, I would not bail.  I got up this morning and the weather channel reported the temperature at -34, with the windchill, it's -44.  If I had not committed to meet Lindsay there, I would not have gone.  It was so cold the car felt like a brick and it squeaked every time I turned the wheel.  If I wasn't so frozen, I probably would have laughed!  I got there early enough to do 20 minutes on the treadmill first, 45 minutes in the class and then another 20 minutes on the treadmill after.  I left feeling GREAT!!

My next plan was to make an eggs benedict that I keep seeing on Natasha's blog over at Girl Stuck in a Rut.  She always posts these fabulous food pictures!  I was unable to find asparagus so I borrowed an idea from a brunch restaurant that I love called Cora's.  They have a mushroom & brie eggs benedict that is amazing.  I used a WW english muffin, instead of the asparagus, I sauteed mushrooms, onions and spinach.  Instead of the brie, I used one wedge of laughing cow cream cheese.  For the hollandaise sauce, I used the package that Natasha recommended  (Hollandaise Sauce Mix by Mayacamas).  I found it in the organic, gluten-free type section.  I made it with skim milk and 2 tbsp of butter which is miles better than the packets that call for 1/2 pound of butter!!  This was so delicious I wanted to lick the plate and when you are craving eggs benedict, this is an amazing alternative.  I kind of think I'm going to do this every Saturday and now I need an egg poacher.  I used a pot of boiling water hence, the odd-shaped eggs :)

SO SO SO GOOD!!!!

Now I'm going to make myself another "latte" and finish watching the first Sex & the City movie.  After that, I'll be productive . . . perhaps :)

Michelle

Upbeat? Umm . . . NO.

I'll lead with the positive . . . I was down 1 pound on Monday.  I was actually pretty thrilled because my goal for 2011 was to lose an average of a pound a week so . . . SUCCESS!  Hopefully I'm on track to lose another one this week :)

I'm in a funk, a mood, a pit, a terrible spot really.  I can't quite put my finger on why.  I could definitely list a few things but why are they bothering me SO MUCH right this minute?  It's not like these things are brand new this week.  Engaged little bridezilla sister, crazy mother that's recently back in my life, bit of job stress, exhaustion, loneliness at times.  None of it is really new but I guess I feel like they are all stacked up on top of each other at the moment rather than dealing with one or two at a time.  When I feel woe, I annoy the hell out of myself.  I feel weak and pathetic.

The "after".  So wish I'd take a "before".

What's odd though is how successful I was over this past week and a bit.  Usually when in a funk, I eat & couch.  I did neither.  I managed to track my food, lose a pound and cross a bunch of things off of my to-do list that have been there for ages.  It started last week.  In my last post, I talked about getting through piles of paperwork and filing. That big task snowballed.  I installed shelves in closets, went through my kitchen cupboards and medicine cabinet, returned library books and other borrowed items, got a few of my own things back.  I cleaned my condo well and have kept it that way (I can never manage this for an extended period of time so this is pretty great!).  And the final thing . . . I took possession of this condo that I'm in love with on January 24th, 2010. On my list of things to do to the place was to get rid of the horrible sliding glass shower doors with the swans on them.  Yes, SWANS.  I don't know why but this task seemed so daunting.  Never mind that I've painted the bathroom, the bedroom, ripped out carpet and installed laminate flooring.  The shower doors seemed hard.  I was sitting here on Sunday afternoon admiring my tidy living room when I thought "f*ck it, how hard can it be??".  Six minutes.  That's how long it took me to uninstall the shower doors.  Six minutes.  I WAITED A YEAR AND IT TOOK ME SIX MINUTES!!!  Took me 20 minutes to scrape off all the excess caulking but that was nothing.  The next day I bought and installed a shower rod and a brand new shower head that feels like rain.  Oh how I love it!  I also ordered a replacement dishwasher which should come on Tuesday (YAY!!)  I made some spaghetti sauce for the freezer and a stir fry that was delicious.  I also downloaded an excel spreadsheet to make a budget and so I can track every penny.  My mood is actually picking up just by listing off my week's successes!!

Now if only I can really get into that little thing called exercise . . . then maybe I could lose 1.5 pounds and get out of the funk!!

Oh . . . and ps. - thanks for all the messages of condolence for the loss of my auntie.  Really appreciated.

Michelle

PPS - UPDATE! -- While I'm sitting here in the pit contemplating going to the Barbell Blast class that I haven't been to in two months, a friend of mine messaged me to see if I'd go with her in the morning tomorrow (Saturday) so now I'm gathering my gym stuff and getting ready for bed!  Here's hoping this is going to kickstart the exercise again :)

False Start . . . Sort Of

Me & Auntie Lee-Anne

I had a big plan.  Tracking PointsPlus, activity, water & sleep.  The day I started (Monday), my Auntie Lee-Anne passed away.  She did have terminal cancer, we knew that.  But she took a rapid turn for the worse.  She was at home one minute and a few hours later, she passed away at the hospital.  It was a very strange week after that.  She lives far away from me but I've gone to visit my Dad, grandparents and her  once every 12 - 18 months.  At first when I heard, I was immediately worried about my Grandma & Grandpa.  They are in their 90's and have outlived their daughter.  They are devastated.  Then I worried about my Dad because he was so close to his sister all his life.  They were buddies.  It was so fun to watch them in their 60's teasing each other like they were teenagers.  And oh, they could laugh.  That's where I get it from.  It wasn't until Friday that I thought about myself and how much I would miss her.  The next time I go to visit, she won't be there.  This is my favorite picture of us because I'm a good head taller than she is.  The first picture we took looked silly so in this one, she's trying to look tall and I'm practically holding a squat.  Ahahahaha!

Anyhow, the activity escaped me.  I wanted to be at home.  I spent a lot of time talking to various members of my family, none of them live near me.  I spent time emailing.  And I spent time in front of the fireplace with tea.  I did great with drinking water, I somehow managed to track and stay within my points.  How??  I HAVE NO IDEA!  There was even one day that I told my friend that I would eat my arm if I could salt it.  And sleep, really, solid, good sleep just didn't happen.  But for the first week of counting PointsPlus, I did very well on the scale.  Down 4.4 pounds!!!  I was so pleased!  It motivated me to just stick with it.  Even if all I can crank out at the moment is tracking and water, then that's what I'll do.  

Over the last couple of days, something wonderful has happened.  An organizational motivation has overtaken me.  This doesn't happen often so I have to seize it and run with it!!  It started on Sunday.  As a result of my dishwasher dying and needing money for a replacement, I decided I needed to go through all my paper (read: mail, bills, receipts) to find all my blue cross medical receipts to send in to my work benefits for my cheque.  I bought this condo a year ago this month.  I haven't filed a thing since.  The "basket" I keep all this stuff in eventually turned into a laundry basket.  Yes, I am ashamed of that.  I put a DVD on in the bedroom and started to sort everything on my bed knowing that I couldn't walk away from it without finishing or I"d be sleeping on the couch!!  I got it all done (it took hours) and I sent away my receipts, got everything ready to do my taxes and filed everything else where it belongs.  Last night I tackled my hall closet with by installing a floor to ceiling shelf and turning it into a utility/pantry closet.  I want to stay on this roll!  Next up, the junk drawer. . . . eek.  What makes this even cooler is that I find that the more organized I'm getting and the more I get rid of, the more organized I am in my eating.  Hmmm . . . there may be more to that old saying "cluttered house, cluttered mind, cluttered body" . . . or something like that.  Anyhow, it's working and I"m excited!!

Until we meet again . . . 

Michelle

Cutie Pie Picture.  My cat George usually tries to get between me and my book for some attention but this time, he was just peering intensely around for about 15 minutes.

I, Michelle, do resolve . . .

I have been procrastinating with this post because I feel like I have so many resolutions and I didn't know how to organize it and was likely over thinking it.    Hehe - one would be to stop procrastinating.  Anyhow, I have so many resolutions but really, they're all goals and they all boil down to taking better of myself.

I'd like to lose 50 pounds in 2011.  I think it's doable.  I usually put so much pressure on myself to lose 2 pounds a week (or more) and when it becomes to much to control, I fall off the wagon HARD.  So I'm not going to do that.  Fifty pounds in 2011 comes out to basically a pound a week.  I can do that.

The Big Plan:
1.  Tracking my Points Plus.
2.  Activity, activity, activity.
3.  Water!
4.  Sleep.
5.  Be consistent with all of the above!  I don't want an all or nothing approach, I want it to be manageable, doable and I want to have a life while doing it.

Mini-Goals:
1. Vitamins.
2. Trying out a new recipe every week or every other week.

Ultimately, I would love to have a closet full of clothes that are the same size, the size that fits!!  I have some projects that I'd like to conquer this year like the closet situation, having less stuff.  I don't need a bigger place, I need less stuff!

My next WW meeting is January 10th so I'm so hoping that they have the PointsPlus program here now. I may call tomorrow and see if the office is open and if there is a meeting tomorrow night but I expect not because the holiday fell on the weekend.  For the activity, I've taken up a January challenge by Syl for 30 minutes of activity five times a week for the month of January.  I plan to get back to my Barbell Blast classes on Wednesday and Saturday.  I was loving that class and then one week I couldn't attend either class and I just stopped going.  Any break in my routine and I let it all fall apart instead of just carrying on.  I also have a variety of DVD's that I could do as soon as I get home from work.  Shred, Bob Harpers's Pure Burn Super Strength, & Jackie Warner's Xtreme Time Saver Training.  The bonus is that all of these DVD's have 30 minute programs on them so I can't miss!!  I also have the Wii Fit Plus and a friend gave me her EA Sports Active: more workouts for Wii because she won a playstation.  YAY!!!  I'm excited to try it out.  And let's not forget Just Dance 2 which I love.  I even bought a smaller coffee table so that it's easier to drag out of the way on my own so I can work out.

I'm sure I will add to this as I go and there are other things I need to work on outside of weight loss and sometimes things overlap.  Hope everyone is doing well with their goals so far!

Happy 2011!