Bob Harper is making me sweat! - weeks 7 & 8 weigh in

I've never actually watched a full season of The Biggest Loser, but I like the concept and picked up a previously-viewed copy of the game for Wii from Blockbuster (seriously, who would rent the game for a week?). I have to say, I'm enjoying the workouts - they really make me sweat, and the part I like most is that the 'game' automatically schedules the workouts into the calendar. So all I have to do is check in each day and see what workout, if any, I'm scheduled for. Then I just have to click on the workout and it sends me right into it!  Couldn't be easier. Wii Fit Plus has pre-determined workouts too, but I found there was a lot of switching the remote from hand to pocket, etc. which kept interrupting the flow. TBL workouts only change the remote when necessary, and actually accounts for which hand/pocket it is in for the next routine. Certainly has a better flow.

Making progress with my diet. I signed up with MyFitnessPal.com and have started using their diet diary function. What I like about it is there is a huge database of nutritional information for all kinds of foods - that OTHER PEOPLE have already gone through the trouble of entering! It's great. Today, for example, I had a Danone Creamy yogurt - in there. I had a Caramilk ice cream cone - yep, it's in there. Tim Horton's tea and coffee, various combinations - although that one I had to create my own combination, but there were all kinds already there!  And the other great thing, once you create or use an item, it is added to your 'favourite's list' so then it's super easy to add to another day's entry.  Love it!

Week 7 update:
BMI: 28.55
weight: 82.5kg

Week 8 update:
BMI: 28.30
weight: 81.8kg (wahoo, broke the 82kg mark!!)

Happy Canada Day!!

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)