start of a great day - but not because of this week's weigh in!

It's my 11th anniversary today - hard to believe 11 years ago I walked down the isle to find my handsome husband waiting for me!  It was a perfect day!  Today is a stark contrast, but perfect in it's own way. For once, I didn't feel exhausted when I woke up to get my boy ready for school. It's warm enough in the morning to wear shorts already - love that! - and we were actually early enough to walk - not run - to the bus stop together. We had a fun game of I SPY on our way.

Today was the first day in weeks that I didn't feel the need to go right back to bed after sending DS#1 off to school. DS#2 usually wakes up 30-45min later, and we have a nice little snuggle in my bed before starting our day. Lately, that has consisted of me putting on his favourite TV shows and crawling back to bed for more sleep. What is wrong with that picture! This morning, since I was already up when DS#2 woke up, we had our little snuggle on the sofa before he asked for TV.  Some things never change. :-) But this time I'm productively writing this post and planning my day, instead of wasting my morning in bed.

Thinking back to my wedding, I recall how I had worried about my weight leading up to the big day. I had even joined the local Goodlife gym - only to have the membership go to waste as I hardly ever went.  At that time, my weight was about 25lbs less than now, and not much different than it had been most of my adult life. I've only felt really slim two different times in my life - once before I became pregnant with my first DS, and about 6 weeks after he was born. I was amazed at how easy the weight came back off.  Unfortunately, it didn't stay that way for long and my body crept back to it's 'comfortable' weight at around 160lbs.  Right now I'd be happy to be that weight again!

Week 6 update - still no diary, but daily logging of calorie intake as of Monday, LOTS of exercise!
BMI: 28.86
Weight: 83.0 kg

Looking forward to my parents arrival today for the Father's Day weekend. It also means I'll get to go on a date with my ever more handsome husband for our anniversary!  :-) 

Oh look, something shiny! (and I don't mean the Stanley Cup)

F O C U S - something I'm greatly lacking at the moment... Every time it seems like I've found the 'right' method to use to support me in my journey, I find something else!  There are so many options, some free, some under $100, some under $1,000 and still others that are financially out-of-reach!  Those last ones make it easy to just walk away. The other ones, which are much more plentiful, clutter my head with too many choices!  How will I know I've made the right choice?  And right now, I'm considering using more than one in combination...  Then I feel I'm making this much more complicated than it needs to be, and risk giving up altogether!

Tonight, as I was entering my calorie intake for today in the Biggest Loser for Wii game, I had to look up the calorie content of an Keith's Pale Ale (totally blew my calorie count, but it was GAME 7 of the Stanley Cup! How could I not have a couple beers? The pizza on the table found it's way into my mouth, too...)  The website that gave me the info I was looking for (since, as I was shocked to discover, there is no nutritional label on the beer case, or bottle!) ended up being www.MyFitnessPal.com - an online community where you can enter your personal details, your goal weight and per week loss. It then sets you up with the tools to record your dietary intake, exercise and other neat stuff.  Perfect supplement to the Biggest Loser program I started this week. (already had the game - let's get this thing going already!)

Then I thought "surely there must be a website that will help me with my meal planning?" - my ultimate need! And that's when I realized I'm distracted, AGAIN!  Look, something shiny!  What was I saying?

Starting to notice small changes - week 5 weigh in - looks promising!

I've noticed a shift in my thought pattern, and in how my clothes are fitting, this week. I'm encouraged because my clothes aren't feeling AS tight - I was expecting to see a drop in my weight on the Wii this morning, and wasn't disappointed.  :-) (see below)


Part of the shift is the realization that I'm really, truly going to HAVE to take action to achieve my goal. There's no way around that. I've been doing good things with my activity level and I know that's not enough. And I know as much as I would like to be able to spend hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars to get to my goal by summer's end, I simply don't have that kind of money available. 


Today I started filling out our family calendar for the summer. We've joined a local pool (the thing to do in Montreal's West Island apparently - I think it will be great fun!) and expect to be there most days, as well as some day camps and library programs for my boys, will keep us hoping during the days. Add in my two sports teams and masters swimming at the pool in the evenings - I'm going to need a personal secretary/housekeeper/chef/grounds keeper to keep up, not a personal trainer!  Oh yeah, that's just part of the job description of "stay-at-home mom"!  Too bad I can't charge $60+/hr, plus bi-weekly membership fees! ;-)


Week 5 update - no food diary, lots of activity, more conscious consumption:
BMI: 28.58  
Weight: 82.6kg  (going in the right direction at least)

It doesn't have to cost THAT much, does it?

Went to Gold's Gym yesterday, like I said I would.... Well, I didn't quite pass out, my reaction was more like "you've got to be kidding me!". To have a chance of reaching my 'aggressive' goal of 35lbs by end of summer, I would have to commit to 3 training sessions per week, for 12 weeks. Even at the bulk price (when buying 36 sessions), it was going to be well over $2K, PLUS the gym membership, which is not astronomical, but I could get a family YMCA membership for about the same.

So, with that idea out the door, I decided to inquire at the local Herbal Magic outlet.  Their program is pricey too, but I think there's more flexibility with products. The base fees include 3 weekly 'check-in's with a personal coach and nutritionist - a BIG plus for me as they will work with me to create a meal plan - something not included with the personal trainer at Gold's.  The 3 weekly check-ins, from what I understand, are to help stay accountable and to have the opportunity to 'get it off your chest', whatever 'IT' may be, to help reduce stress, etc and improve your success.  I haven't signed up for my initial consultation yet. I would be very interested to hear if any of you have had any experience with Herbal Magic? And/or Weight Watchers? I might check them out next, but their outlet is not as convenient.

Something I just thought of - I should check out what the local YMCA has to offer for training - they have child care available too, which was yet another cost with Gold's! Their location is not as convenient as Gold's, but if it costs hundreds less, would be worth the extra 10min drive.

You know I'm serious when...

... I'm willing to spend money to make my goal happen! Today I decided I will go to my local gym (happens to be a new Gold's Gym) and talk to them about hiring a personal trainer and nutritionist for 30 days. I want to see what that would cost me and if they can support me in reaching my goal of losing 20lbs in 30 days. I figure this way is best because they can incorporate the activities and schedules that I already have in my life, as well as account for my food preferences when working out the diet. Sure, I expect it will cost more than the generic Running Room clinic or online weight loss program, but the closer it fits my lifestyle, the more likely I will be able to stick to it and have the results I want. The added bonus is IF they help me get the results, then I'll continue with them to get to my ultimate, final goal of an additional 15lbs off by the end of the summer.

The way I see it, I'd rather spend money on getting my body back - this is just a temporary state for me, which is why I believe I'll be able to shed the first 15lbs fairly easily with the right direction - than spending my money on a new wardrobe!  First thing Monday morning I'm heading to the gym - if I don't pass out from the cost, expect to read about an exciting new adventure I'm about to embark on.

Did I mention I did a 5km race?

That's me on the right

Last weekend (May 28th) I ran my second 5km race of the season. This one was in Ottawa, my old stomping grounds for about 3 years and home to many of my friends and some family. We went to my Aunt's for lunch, and for convenience since she lives walking distance from the start line (nothing like using your family - LOL!). The drive up had been cool and overcast, so I decided to wear my long-sleeve shirt to run. By the time I walked to the race area, the sun was out and it was hot!  I couldn't believe I was sweating from walking and BEFORE trying to jam my way into the 9,000+ crowd of runners filling the street! For once in my life I was early and had to stand there, in the blazing sun, no sunglasses, long-sleeve dark shirt, squeezed like I was in the middle of the dance floor at a popular club on a Saturday night. At least in the club you can assume most are at least drinking age and around my average height - but out here, there were children and teens and couples and super short people and tall people - pretty much every age, shape and height could be found in this crowd, all huddled together on Elgin St.

I'm happy to report that I completed the 5km, in this crowd, with long-sleeves, in the blazing sun, in 32:05 min! When there are so many people around, it's hard to find and keep your pace, so I'm happy to have improved on my previous 5km from May 1st of 32:45. I crossed the line 97th/513 in my category (age/sex) and my chip time put me in the top 26% (133/513)! :-) I had hoped to finish under 30min, but improvement is good.

I think my next race challenge will be in Toronto in the fall. I'm debating between the 1/2 marathon distance (21km) or going for a personal best in the 5km event. There isn't a 10km event, which is too bad because that would have been my first choice.

It doesn't take much...

...to throw me off track!!  It has been 3 weeks, 3 WEEKS!, since my last update.  Would you believe what kept me from publishing my day 8 weigh in and diet diary was a glitch with Blogger!?  Every night after I posted the day's diet diary, I would open a new post to start filling in first thing the next day. It was my system and seemed to be working for me, for the first week anyway...  Then day 8 came and Blogger had crashed, lost my day 7 entry and I couldn't even log in to start over for day 8. That was it - that's all it took - and I've been eating poorly and not keeping track ever since!  yikes!

Well, not completely, I did still manage to do my weekly BMI and weigh in on the Wii (at least that didn't crash on me!)

Here are the stats for the past four weeks (including the starting point for comparison):

week 0 - the starting point:
BMI: 28.86  Weight: 83.4kg

week 1 - after one week of logging my food intake:
BMI: 29.00 Weight: 83.8kg  (UGH)

week 2 - no more food diary:
BMI: 28.82  Weight: 83.3kg (went down a bit!)

week 3 - still no food diary, but more activity:
BMI: 28.72  Weight: 83.0kg (went down a bit more)

week 4 - no food diary, lots of activity, no control:
BMI: 28.82  Weight: 83.3kg  (just shy of where I started...)

So, I may as well begin again...  I came across a program that I'm debating on whether I should purchase it or not. It's called Xtreme Fat Loss Diet - Rapid Fat Loss System and there's a full money-back guarantee if you follow the plan and don't lose 25lbs in 25 days. It costs about the same as the Running Room clinics, but it includes a full meal plan for the 25 days, as well as exercises and log book, etc.  Sounds like a pretty good system. I know what you're thinking, I hate falling for those online 'sales letters' that make you read for 10 screens before they show you the 'BUY NOW' button...  I'm going to do a search and see if anyone has blogged/commented about it online.  I'm pretty serious about shedding this weight and I feel ready to make that 25 day commitment!


I'll let you know what I decide. If you've heard about, read about or even tried this system yourself, PLEASE let me know what you think!  If I get started in the next couple days, I could be looking fab by Canada Day.  :-)