And the princess title goes to....

I wanted to thank everyone for their comments in the princess t-shirt give away. I have over the past couple of days read many stories of triumph, courage and above all passion for running.

I feel your words and I wish everyone out there could experience in their lives a true passion for something. It's an amazing feeling.

With all the being said I will stop blabbing and tell you who won!

The lucky princess is.......drum roll please......

Aneta

Please drop by and congratulate her. Aneta is a runner and is hoping to run her first MARATHON in the fall! Not only that but she's cute as a button and will make the perfect princess!

Congrats Aneta, please drop me an email to get some details sorted out and your shirt will be on it's way!

To those of you who want details on this company or how to get your own t-shirt you can go here, so sorry for those that didn't win, I know how you feel, I never win anything! That's why I take things into my own hands and just order what I want :-), I have a feeling there is a running skirt order in my near future, after all I can't do my half marathon in just a princess
t-shirt, that would be silly :-)

If only weight loss was this easy :-)

Let me introduce my dog Taz and her amazing weight loss journey:

And here she is so many pounds lighter! That's what 45 minutes of brushing her does! I love her to death but I wish she didn't shed like this. I noticed that it was getting worse and worse and a brushing was long overdue, this is how I spent some of my afternoon yesterday. If only our weight would fall off like that :-) The positive is I burned a million calories getting all that hair off her :-)

After brushing her it was time to change because I was covered in hair head to toe and make dinner! I was craving vegetables all day, I knew that dinner would be heavy on the vegetables and light on the main course. I made Sauteed shrimp and rice with peas:

and a "everything but my kitchen sink" salad:
Salad included fresh crisp spinach leaves, mushrooms, corn, black olives, red onions, cherry tomatoes and a little italian dressing. It satisfied my craving very nicely :-).

I spent the majority of the day cleaning, I have started spring cleaning today and by the time the kids went to bed I was exhausted, but skipping my workout was not an option, so I gotter done :-).

This weekend will be action packed, Saturday bright and early the boys are going to their grandmas for the day and I am going to lose my "mother of the year" status! You see I am doing an overhaul of all their toys. We have a truck lined up from a family member and will be making several trips to the city dump. The clutter is driving me absolutely bonkers, if you are a mother of small children you will know exactly what I am talking about! Peter is cleaning the garage and I'm doing an overhaul of the house. We have a lovely romantic (insert sarcasm)day planned LOL!

Sunday I am heading to a dinner theatre with my mom (we have a date). I plan to get out for a run sometime early morning or mid afternoon before we go. I have to work off the dinner before I go. It's buffet style and I always tend to like to have a "cocktail" and a dessert. So if I work it off before hand I won't feel so guilty!

Drawing for the princess shirt is going to be Friday morning so I am going to have to cut off comments tonight at midnight. So if you haven't entered, you better hurry :-). Because I have been blown away by the amount of comments, I am going to have to use random.org to pick a winner. I would love all of you to win, but that would mean I would have to get Peter to get a part time job :-).

Until tomorrow my friends!

Finding confidence

I can't even put into words what yesterdays support meant to me.

You guys made me believe that this half marathon is possible and that I am putting the training in and for that I am very thankful.

I received a couple of fitness magazines in the mail yesterday (thank god for school fundraisers). Well when I went to the mail box and put them on the front seat of my car I was immediately drawn to the words "yes you can run a Half-Marathon, easy 8 week plan".

I came home put dinner on the table for the kidlets and started reading. I was suprised by what the schedules said. There were intervals of 1-3 miles, Cross training, and longer runs scheduled all adding up to being completly trained for a half.

As I looked at this writing I knew that I could do it, I found the confidence. I probably will not participate in the training they were writing about but knowing that I still have enough time to get the running part of my training done before the end of May, lifted a weight of my shoulders.

I told myself that I need to stop thinking that I am not training because I am. I need to get over the fact that there is more to training for running that the actual running part.

I feel stronger, I feel fitter and I know that if I can get out for atleast one run a week that I will be ok, because in 6 weeks I will be done my P90X program and I still have time to run.

Just because I am not running every day doesn't make me a failure and doesn't mean that I am not going to cross that finish line.

For now I need to focus on what I am doing and believe in myself.

Once again thank you for your support, it made me feel so much better!

Last night I did plyometrics and then I did something I haven't done in so long. I was in bed, lights out by 9pm. And I slept like a baby, I really needed that. I feel like I am dragging my feet lately and I need to make more of an effort to get to bed earlier.

Today I'm doing some spring cleaning, and overhaul of all my closets in the house basically. I will be working on that for the next few days and continuing my workouts in the evenings. I am also going to make a point of going to bed earlier. I feel so great today, it's amazing what a little extra rest can do for a body!

Every princess needs a glass slipper :-)

Wanna feel like a princess.....enter the t-shirt give away...what are you waiting for?


Click on the sentence above and enter to win, drawing is Friday!

I can do anything I put my heart and mind to

Wow so glad to hear so many of you went out and ran this weekend - how great is that! I just hope the snow keeps melting and I can make this a weekly adventure!

Last week's weigh in was horrible, so horrible I went about it in a round about way, I told you all that I had a big gain but I didn't tell you how much of a gain I had.

The number on the scale scared me and I did not want to report it to you. In my tiny little head anything over the 145 mark and I start to panic. My scale read 147 pounds and I just about flipped out. I kept it quiet because I don't want to be all about numbers, but it had me really scared.

I didn't pull out my measuring tape either as I just felt so defeated.

This week I watched what I ate, the tracking lasted a day, I didn't track past Monday, instead I just kept a close eye on what I was eating, and how much. All week I made an effort of never feeling hungry and never feeling over satisfied. In my books this was successful.

My workouts continue to be bang on and on Sunday I did the Kenpo part of P90X as well as a 7km run. I felt fantastic.

As I ran yesterday, in between filming :-) I couldn't help but start to panic. I really feel a constant "you're not going to be able to do it" and I don't like that! It's not me. I have been a pretty confident person, and have really tried to take my successes and "run" with them so to speak.

Because I have committed to my P90X for the 90 days (we started week 6 today) I am a little stuck. I know just how important this is for me and don't want to give it up. But on the other hand the training for the half marathon as far as running is concerned is just not getting done. I have not been back to the class I signed up for because right now it's just not a priority for me.

So I thought to myself why can't I hit the streets a couple times a week on top of the P90X. Just to raise my confidence level a little bit. So I am planning on doing one 5km run during the weekdays and then a 10 or more km run on Sunday which is my rest day. I need to do this and this week will be the test period, I'm going to see how I feel.

The one thing that I need to keep reminding myself of is the fact that the workouts I am doing at home are part of the training for my run. It's not like I'm sitting eating bonbons all day long and freaking out about the run. I'm actually putting the work in it's just a different kind of work.

So now to my weigh in. My weigh in this morning had me at 143.2 pounds that is a 3.8 pound drop from last week. I would say that I had a successful week. I feel much better about that number being under 145 pounds. Anything over 145 and I start to think I am a failure, I know in my heart it isn't the case, I guess you can chalk it up to fear of going back.

My measurements are also down from two weeks ago.

Chest down 0.5 inch

Waist down 1 inch

Hips down 1 inch.

So my friends, the moral of this story is I need to believe in myself, I need to keep fighting for the body I want and I have to remember that I CAN do anything that I put my heart and mind to, I've done it before I will do it again.

Running + Sun = Happy Syl!

Today I went for a run!!! An AMAZING run, the sun was out and beating down it's warmth.....so happy! I took along my camera and here are some videos from my adventure. It was hard to run with a camera, but anything for you :-)

Good Sunday morning....

and don't you ever forget it :-)

A whole lot shorter, a whole lot Blonder, a whole lot happier!

Well the trip to the salon was a very successful one in my eyes!

I told her what I wanted and she did something a little different because of how thin my hair is but I LOVE IT!!! I walked out of the salon so confident, such a great feeling!

I did a little photo shot when I got home and have pictures to share with you all, some are goofy, some are cute but I hope that I have captured just how happy I am with it...what you may not see is just how BLONDE my hair is...it's almost white..YIKES :-)

After the salon we headed to my mom's for dinner, I was able to get pictures of her dog Jasper, who I named my beloved Garmin Forerunner 305 after, here he is in all his glory!

A give away fit for a princess!

I have exciting news.....so exciting I just couldn't wait till Monday to give this item away!

Back a few months ago I was reading Meghann's blog as she was preparing for her the disney marathon. She had written a post in which she went to an expo to pick up her race package and bought a t-shirt. When I saw the T-shirt she bought I BECAME OBSESSED! I HAD TO HAVE IT!

I emailed Meghann to find out if this was a shirt that was only available through the Expo. She kindly responded and told gave me a link to the website . I quickly contacted the company and asked if they ship to Canada...long story short they do and my shirt is on it's way!!!!

I think I may explode!!!! this is what the shirt looks like: (it reads MY GLASS SLIPPER)

and the back:

It reads:

The race is my ball,
my running shoes are my glass slippers,
the finish line is my prince charming,
and the accomplishment is my happily ever after

Does this shirt just not SCREAM SYL!!!!! I will be wearing this shirt the day of my half marathon, it's perfect!

Anyway in my excitment I thought how great would it be for someone else to benefit! I mean I can't be the only one who would want one of these! So one lucky person will have this shirt shipped right to their front door courtesy of me! Once a winner is chosen I will contact the company again and place the order in your size and have it sent to you!!!!!

I'm not going to make you do anything crazy, just leave me a comment (maybe tell me how awesome I am :-)), to double your chances link this contest on your blog and spread the word. And a winner will be chosen by the boys pulling a name out of a hat! Contest closes Friday February 26th! Good luck!

***p.s. if you have added a link to your blog please leave another comment so I know and you have two chances to win :-)***

I got to dress up!

Today, I got to dress up! This is a BIG deal around this house, because most days you will find this stay at home mom in jeans and a t-shirt or work out clothes.

Matthew had a presentation at school in which he was speaking so I took the opportunity to wear a skirt and look cute...I know shocking!

Here I am:
I felt great all day!

The lovely Heidi asked two questions of me in regards to my earlier post, and because I adore her so much I thought I would address them right away :-)

1. why I was upset about a 4 pound loss. It wasn't that I was upset I was just simply trying to make the point that the scale is an EVIL BEAST :-) because 2 days prior I was 4 pounds heavier and it was enough to make me have to re-evalute everything and second guess what I was doing. So really I was THRILLED with the loss, just a little frustrated :-)

2. The second thing Heidi inquired about was the fact that I am natrually dark not blonde :-). I was born with BLACK hair and have a darker brown colour naturally. I highlight blonde because my husband makes me :-). Just kidding! Because I have really fine hair. I find that highlighting it blonde makes it look fuller, it's just a pain in the butt to maintain and very costly, but anything for my husband :-).

I had to search far and wide for a picture of myself as a brunette, it has been years since I have had dark hair. So I searched the vaults and what I found was rather painful but I will post it anyway, this is a picture of a darker and chubbier Syl!


Heidi, if you are reading you owe me one :-)

4

is the number of pounds that I am down since Monday...it's Wednesday people! I think I may burn my scale! Not sure what is going on with my body but I think I'm going back to weighing myself once a week, it's gonna push me over the edge :-)

Tracking has been going really well. I'm within my calorie range and feel perfectly satisfied in the eating, not too full, not too hungry, just right!

Today I am taking the day off of P90X we have one rest day a week and this week today has to be the day. I have too much going on and just can't fit it in. I will make up for it on Sunday, my usual rest day!

For those of you who have asked I am doing the classic version of P90X and just started week 5. Can you believe hubby and I have made it 5 weeks, incredible! I think we just both want to see what this program will do for us.

And a little competition never killed a couple. We currently show each other the muscle definition we have and say things like "look at my leg, I have more definition then you, well you may have more definition but I am cuter " :-). You should see the lines and muscles on Peters legs, he walks around flexing his legs and arms and I could really just choke him... I mean I'm really proud of him :-).

Also for those of you who asked about the brussel sprouts, I just put them in a roasting pan with some Extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and let them roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes and that's it! They are super yummy!

In other news I'm getting my hair done on Saturday along with my mommy, we have a date!. I have naturally dark hair and the roots are about half way down my head. When Peter says "you should go get your hair done I'll watch the boys" I know it's long over due! I can't wait to see what I come back with this time! my hairdresser likes to tell me "I'm not doing THAT, I have something in mind for you! I love to hate her :-)

Tales from the scale

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was a very busy day for me and it all started because of what I saw on the scale when I woke up. Now I know I said I'm not going to let the scale rule me while I'm doing the 90 days of P90X.

But and that's a big BUT.....if I am going to be honest with myself I do need to do something. You see and here comes the confession, I have not been tracking my food this past week. I felt by around Thursday that my portions must be off yet I still didn't sit down and fiqure out what I was eating and how much of it, I just kept letting it go until the ultimate test, which was the scale on Monday.

If I'm going to know if this gain is related to the P90X or not then I need to be honest, I need to put the work in and I need to do it a 100%. I need to do this because I am working my butt off with these workouts and I need to have the results of the hard work, that would only be fair :-)

So yesterday I did alot of work in the kitchen, I cleaned out my fridge, freezer and pantry and chopped, sliced and diced in preparation for the week ahead.

I also sat down with my tracking website and adjusted a few things, I actually dropped my calories and here is why, I have been finding that I am not making my calorie range and filling myself with not so good choices, like for example cookies or granola bars to make up the difference.

So I cut my calories back down to a more realistic range, and am going to assess it on a daily basis.

Here is what was for dinner last night for me, 1 cup sweet potatoes, 1 cup brussel sprouts, 1/2 cup shrimp, strange combo? maybe...but it was exactly what I was craving!
We started week 5 of the P90X with a chest, shoulders, triceps workout and it just about killed me. I immediately grabbed an orange after, some cold medication and headed to bed to watch some TV. I've been fighting a cold for the last few days, and it's making a turn for the worst, I may need to suck it up and see a doctor. I just thought if I pretend I'm not sick it will go away....

I am planning to stay in today and just hang out with Justin maybe get some laundry done, and try to get better. Tonights workout is Plyometrics - it's my favorite one, hopefully I can get through it :-)

Jump Jump for your love...

Yesterday we spend the day at a birthday party for the sweetest little 6 year old girl. I was excited about going because this was an opportunity for me to buy a "girly" present. I however did not buy PINK..I know shocking right? I instead bought the cutest little summer dress in blue, white and yellow, I wish they made my size, it was THAT cute :-)

We were invited to a community hall about an hours drive away from our house, but well worth the drive. I really wasn't sure what to expect but was very excited when we got there and realized it was a gymnastics studio. To my delight there were even trampolines that I was immediately drawn to.

Here's the evidence, sorry about the photo quality, I actually forgot my camera at home, I never do that!

This is me bouncing around, I worked up quite the sweat on that thing! Then it was time for lunch. We were having hot dogs, after all it is a kids party :-). I had one hot dog and alot of veggies with a little squirt of ranch dip. I didn't however have even one chip, there we so many different kinds, all looked so good. But I knew if I had one I wouldn't be able to walk away. Instead I ate my hotdog very slowly and mindfully (I love you Beck) and pretended my baby carrots were Cheetos :-). In all seriousness I did eat slowly and then when I was done I put my plate in the garbage and removed myself from temptation. I walked away from the table, down the hall and continued on with my bouncing :-)

To me this is a huge success!

Today I plan to clean out my pantry and fridge, do some meal planning and try to find a few new reciepes ...more on that tomorrow!

We have a stat holiday here so I have both boys home, gotta run :-)

Intruders!

Yesterday I told Peter that we should go visit his mom as we haven't seen her in a little bit, it's just been so busy.

The kids were excited to go see grandma and Matthew said "I want to sleep over at Grandmas with Justin". A instant smile grew on our faces as we got the ok from Grandma.

Perfect, we would drop off the kids and have a nice dinner to celebrate Valentine's day in complete SILENCE.

We dropped off the kids, went and got the supplies for dinner, stopped and got some wine and Peter also said "let's get ONE piece of cake and split it"...PERFECT!!

So we get home start dinner, open the wine and just soak in the silence while we can and the phone rings "we don't want to sleep over anymore, come get us oh and Justin misses mommy". So Peter says "we will come get you but you have to WAIT until we are done eating dinner".

Oh well I guess we can't have it all but we did have a nice dinner, before we sat down Peter says "what you're not going to take a picture?"...I guess he thought I didn't think it was blog worthy :-)...so here is what me and my handsome husband made for dinner.... oh and we had some California rolls to start with while dinner was cooking but Syl was STARVING and forgot to take a picture :-)

Roasted sweet potatoes, Edamane, green beans and fish:

Followed closely by dessert after the kids went to bed, we ditched the coffee and may or may not of replaced it with some Bailey's ....OMG so good! and we didn't finish all the cake, YAH us!!

Lesson that we learned out of all this: we eat alot less then we use to and when Grandma says "yes the boys can sleep over" DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE :-)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO YOU ALL!

I kissed a frog and found a prince!

I couldn't resist posting this picture:

In the spirit of valentines day, grab a kleenex and don't say I didn't warn you :-)

I have been with my husband for 16 years, I'm suprised he has put up with me that long! But in my defence it took him 7 years to propose...he's lucky I said yes :-).

I remember our first valentines day, he took me to a movie, when we got to the ticket booth he realized that he had locked his keys inside his car. We then proceeded to go to a store to buy scissors and other stuff to try and get the door opened. Once into the car we had already missed the show and decided to do dinner instead. It took 3 hours of driving for us to finally find a resturant that wasn't jam packed. Either way it didn't matter because we were together.

Other valentine's days passed and I would always get remembered, Peter use to go all out and have roses delievered to my work, and every year I would get mad at him for spending all that money on flowers that would just die.

A few years ago he got it right, after I told him if you buy me flowers again so help me!! He came home with two slices of cake and some gadget that made really good Vietnamese coffee. We put the kids to bed and just sat down, ate our cake, shared a coffee and talked. This BY FAR was the best valentines day on record. You know why? because it was such a small gesture and yet so very perfect.

This year I once again reminded him that I don't need a holiday to know he loves me. When I think about it he has already given me the best gift of all. He has let me make myself a priority. He has taken over the responsiblities of the children when I needed to get out and run. He has been at every run I have ever been to cheering me on. He has adjusted his eating habits to get in line with my new life style. He has eaten my experiements! He bought himself a bike so we could go on bike rides as a family. He has supported all my crazy haircuts because he knew that I needed to feel better about myself. He has come shopping with me as I dragged him through malls. And most recently he has started the most grueling workout in his history because I told him, you need to start looking after yourself and make yourself a priority. He even does Yoga :-)

This my friends means more to me than a dozen roses or a box of chocolates. To have someone by my side day in and day out tells me that I married the right man. I am thankful for him everyday, and no matter how much he tells me that I suck at punches and kicks when we do the Kenpo DVD, I know that he is proud of me!

I am by no means saying that our marriage is perfect, in reality no ones is, but to have someone that supports me in every single thing I do, every day, not just one day that is dictated by expensive flowers or marketed by a card company - he makes me thankful for the couple we have become.

I always knew that me losing weight would benefit me in so many ways, but if I were to be honest I would say that part of me lost my weight for my husband. Not that I wanted to be the trophy wife, but instead work hard to be confident standing next to him.

Happy Valentines day not only to my husband but to all of you out there, you mean the world to me! I will be back on Monday!

Wary of change

Wary of Change???? To me this is an understatement I would say TERRIFIED of change is more like it.

Isn't life alot easier just doing the same thing day in and day out and not being afraid that we will fail.

This is exactly how I viewed weight loss most of my life.

This last time I decided I need to make a change I dove in feet first and haven't looked back.

Along my journey I started out slow, first I needed to control my eating. I needed to be honest with myself and acknowledge the fact that I could not continue to put junk in my body and expect mircales to happen. If I was going to make this work I would need to make the adjustments not only in my life but in my kitchen.

I started out by cleaning every morsale of anything related to "chips" away, this was my trigger food - when I was angry I would eat chips, when I was sad I would eat chips, when I was happy I would eat chips, if the weather changed by a degree I would eat chips...get my point :-)

Once I was able to eliminate these foods and got a grasp of tracking what I was eating, I knew I could move onto the next step of my weight loss.

These changes in my kitchen were very scary. I knew that what I was doing would eventually catch up to my family. In the end when I look at the whole picture now the only thing that has changed is my grocery bill :-) Everyone has embraced fresh fruits and vegetables and they have become a part of every meal in this house.

Then came adding excersice to the mix. I knew that in order to lose weight this was a big part of the equation. I also was TERRIFIED. With two small kids how was I going to fit excersice into the mix? How could I put my needs above theres and make myself a priority without feeling guilty.

I started out slow, I would walk 20 minutes on my treadmill and then die of exhaustion :-). Later the intensity grew and I was up to 30 minutes. Then I started setting the PVR on shows that I really enjoyed and I would only be allowed to watch them if I was walking on the treadmill :-).

Then one January day last year out of no where I put on a old pair of running shoes and hit the streets. I ran for 3.2 km without stopping on my first attempt. I was so proud of myself. I took that feeling of accomplishment and "ran" with it. I then signed up for my first 5km run and spent the next few months training for this run. I completed it in 32:31 minutes and watching my husband and kids cheer me on was the best feeling in the world.

Making yourself a priority in life and fitting time in for yourself is very hard. If we all didn't have families or work it would be alot easier and we wouldn't be so afraid of change.

When I added excersice I remembered something my uncle told me when I was fat and miserable and telling him that i'm a mom I don't have time to workout (yet another excuse). He turned to me and said "Syl if you can't find 1/2 hour a day to workout and make yourself a priortiy then something is wrong and you need to change it!". I will never forget those words and they actually still inspire me every day.

Out of my fear of change my family has changed, the whole dynamic has changed. I have very fond memories of the hikes, the bike rides, the walks, the running around in the back yard, our whole summer was spend outside. I have given myself the gift of my family, I can now keep up to my kids, and this feeling and experience has nothing on a little fear of change!

This is how my life has changed and I have to say that it's changed for the better. I took the fear of my whole world being turned upside down and embraced it.

The only thing I am wary of now is my body catching up to my mind, because my mind tells me that I can run the "boston marathon" but my body is saying "hold on Syl, you are getting ahead of yourself" :-)

I will be back tomorrow with some "love".

"Hey OLD lady"

Last night I spend some time with Matthew playing the Wii fit plus, after the day he had it was a nice distraction. Matthew likes to do this kind of stuff with mommy. He has seen me through many different excersice routines and will take the Wii Fit over the shred any day :-)

As we were taking turns doing the work outs, he turned to me and said "hey old lady".... I reminded him that I am still a "spring chicken" and that he was not being nice :-) He said "mommy did I hurt your feelings" and I said yes you did from now on you should tell everyone just how young your mommy is...to which he replied "Daddy says you're really old".... somethings around this house will never change :-)

After tucking the boys into bed Peter and I went and did the Core Synergistics DVD, doesn't it sound painful...well it was! In my mind I kept thinking, so much for a "recovery" week. It was hard just like all the others, but we made it through it.

So there you go that was our evening !

I wanted to finish this post by saying that I am sorry if you haven't recieved a comment from me lately. My google reader is growing by new blogs that I have found, or new readers that have stopped by. I like to get to everyone but some days it's just not possible, I would assume that all of you are faced with the same struggles sometimes.

I like to read the whole post and provide insight from there (sometimes my responses are very long winded) with that being said it takes time. If I could read blogs and provide comments as a full time job I would love it, but sometimes my kids get in the way :-).

That being said just know I'm trying my best and enjoy reading about all of your journeys, keep up the great work, you inspire me every single day!

I will be back tomorrow with the third "real reason you can't lose weight".... You're wary of change.

Stop laughing I'm a weakling :-)

I have to say Thank you to everyone who stopped by and left a comment yesterday. It made me smile all day! I can't believe YOU are seeing what I am seeing.

It is so fun to have the hard work paying off and the changes that are happening to my body. It's funny because I never took weight training very seriously and didn't think it would change me this much.

Weight training has also taught me to completly ignore the numbers on my scale, my weight has been all over the place in the last 3 weeks and it doesn't matter, my body is changing and I couldn't be more excited!

I can feel myself getting stronger, truth be told I started out with 3 lb weights (stop laughing I'm a weakling :-)). Grew to doing some moves with 5lb weights and last week I picked up the 15lb weights and rolled with it for a few moves. I push myself but also know my limits.

Yesterday was Yoga, there are moves I can't do but it's coming. Every day it gets better and better and I get stronger and it feels less overwhelming. Doing the best I can is all that I can ask for! One day I'll be able to do the crane :-)

I am taking the week off my fitness classes, as it stands I still have a bit of a sore left side, although I think the yoga session yesterday benefited me.

Listening to my body, ignoring the scale and growing stronger, I think I'm liking this person I'm becoming :-)

Strength is not always in the numbers!

Week 1:

Week 4:

alright a little hard to tell from the pictures but this week is the start of week 4 of P90X, all I have to say is that I am so proud of not only myself but of Peter for sticking with it! It has definately not been a easy road but I know that when we get through the 90 days we will be very happy.

Not much change from the pictures but I definately feel tighter in the ab area. And not only that but I am feeling MUCH stronger. No longer do I feel fragile! There is still work to be done but I will take the changes and "run" with them!

Here are the changes in measurements

Chest - down 0.5 - PHEW :-) not much more room to go down there :-)
Waist - down 1 inch
Hips - down 2 inches :-)

I couldn't be happier, it has been really hard work and although I'm not seeing a huge drop in the scale the measurments are proof that my body is changing!

This week is what is referred to as "recovery" week. There is alot of Yoga and cardio and much less strength moves, not sure if it's going to really be a "recovery" week per say because Yoga is very hard and we are doing it twice this week!

On Saturday I set out for a run. I ran till I couldn't run anymore. It was rather chilly but I lasted 9km. I would have loved to go further but at about the 5km mark my left hip really started bothering me. I ran through the pain and when I hit home it got worse. I immediately went for long bath and felt a little better, but as the day progressed it got worse. It felt almost as though someone was stabbing me in my leg. I knew that P90X would have to be put away for the day and I needed to just rest. Along with last nights rest I also took today off. By mid afternoon it was feeling alot better, so I know that I will be ok for Yoga on Monday, the stretch may be exactly what I need!

It felt so great to get out there and run. I definatley feel stronger, and like I said if it weren't for the pain I would have ran further! I have NO DOUBTS in my mind that I will be ready for the half marathon in May. If this first month is any indication of the strength that I am gaining, then my friends, nothing is going to stop me from crossing that finish line with flying colors, I can feel it, it's going to be great!

I ran the Boston and did really well :-)

Hi everyone! It's Friday (thank goodness!)

this weekend things are pretty low key. Well except for Sunday when we are going to a friends house to watch football? Seriously what's the point of this game? Well besides the tight uniforms :-). I don't even know how those people score goals and have always wondered why it took so long for the game to end.....I guess I'm not the best person to invite to a gathering like this but my girlfriend has already informed me that we will not be watching, instead there is a pedicure in my future! So while the "men" watch the game, she will be making my feet all smooth and pretty! I can't wait!

Speaking of feet... these feet are gonna get moving and by moving I mean running! This weekend I am going for a run, let me tell you how it's going to go down...I'm going to put my shoes on, blow the dust of my Garmin AKA Jasper, plug my ipod into my ears and RUN and not come back until I can't run anymore.

I haven't run for a really long time and it's time, I miss it so much, so much so that I am dreaming about it! In fact, last night I ran the Boston Marathon, oh and I did really well :-).

What's even more exciting then that is the this up coming week starting Monday is "recovery week" with the P90X, which means there won't be as much strength training and more Cardio, Yoga and stretch, I am hoping that I am able to get some runs in during the week as well.

Have a great weekend, I'll be back Monday with progress pics and a run update!

Afraid of failure

Next up on The real reason you can't lose weight - you are afraid to fail!

(Again these are my opinions and how it has realted to MY weight loss journey)

Reading this part of the article the only thought that crossed my mind was "people aren't afraid to fail, but it's a hell of a good excuse and the easy way out!"

Harsh - YES - but so true!

I was afraid of so many things going into this journey of mine, but I knew that I had to push through all that if I wanted to be successful. My number one objective this time around is that I was afraid of regret. I no longer wanted to continuing regretting the time I wasted in my life. I wanted to turn things around and I think this single handly pushes me every single morning when I wake up. I have lived with regret for a long time and no longer what to do it.

When I decided that I would lose weight once and for all I had alot of reasons that I was afraid to fail, these are just some of them:

1. I was afraid that my relationship with my husband would change
2. I was afraid that I would lose my friends
3. I was afraid to give up the foods that provided me comfort and filled a void
4. I was afraid of change and how my family would adapt to it
5. I was afraid that I would gain weight
6. I was afraid that I would not have the support I needed
7. I was afraid that I would resent people who could eat anything they wanted and still be skinny

8. I was afraid of making myself a priority

again all excuses.

I can tell you right here right now TODAY while I'm still fighting to cross that finish line of weight loss, the above fears hold no truth.

1. my relationship with my husband has never been better, we laugh more, we smile more we enjoy life, do you know why? because half of the equation is no long MISERABLE, the half that was bringing the realtionship down now has self confidence and that makes a world of difference!

2. this did a complete 180! I did not lose one single friend, IN FACT my friends have found their own motivation and have fought through their own fears and are losing weight and changing their own lives!

3. missing the foods and afraid my void wouldn't be filled - complete and utter BS!! I would take happiness and health over a bag of chips any day!

4. Change has made a HUGE inpact on my family, infact my 6 year old son is doing the mother's day run with me this year and so is my husband and the grandma's! how's that for my family embracing change!

5. afraid of gaining weight - well this still lays heavily on my mind, but I try really hard to not let it get to me. I am confident that the road I travelled and the lessons I have learned will not lead me back to the place or the person I once was!

6. I have an incredible support system, it's as close as an email, a phone call, a quick coffee or a blog post away. I thank each an everyone of you that come here every day to support me, it makes a world of difference, I don't even know why this was a fear of mine!

7. I don't resent people who eat crap and fill their bodies with empty useless calories. WOW! The old saying "she can eat anything and still be so thin" brings a new meaning to me. Because I know that the fit person who is eating a chip here or a bowl of ice cream there, has either already worked it off or will later on in the day. Everything in moderation!

8. Afraid of making myself a priority! Wow has this ever changed. I am a very selfish person now. I need to be. I put my needs ahead not of everything or anyone is in this household but equal to. I am no longer on the bottom of the list because me being happy makes everyone happy. My husband benefits from it, my kids benefit from it and most importantly I benefit from it!

I think the important lesson to be learned from all of this is it's ok to be afraid, it's ok to feel like we have made mistakes, it's ok to question ourselves..the important thing is to NEVER GIVE UP! Wake up each morning and say "today is a new day, what am I going to do to make it a good one".

The real reason you can't lose weight

I read an interesting article in the latest Fitness magazine. I want to share my thoughts on it with you and how it has related to my weight loss journey. I may be getting a little personal in the next couple of posts but I knew I wanted to do it and knew that if maybe one person could benefit from my words then it will be worth while.

As a disclaimer I would like to say these are MY thoughts and MY experiences and I am not setting out to hurt anyones feelings and I just want you to know that in these writings I am not setting out to offend anyone, they are my thoughts. I am by no reach perfect but this is what has worked for me.

Ok now with that out of the way lets get started shall we...

The article I am referring to is "The real reason you can't lose weight"

The first reason they give is "you give up to soon" - I couldn't agree more, these are my experiences on this:

Often times we expect a "quick fix" . This is so very true. In my case I spend years stuffing my body with foods that were awful for me. Foods that lacked any nutritional value and foods that filled a void in my life.

A few years ago I had episodes that would wake me up at night and I could hardly breath. The pains in my abdominal area were so painful that I would pray that I would get a break. Most of these episodes happened at night and would wake me up from a deep sleep. These shooting pains would bring me to tears and I would just pray that it would stop.

The worst episode happened after my son's birthday party in which we ordered pizza. This pizza had loads of cheese on it and was very greasy. That evening I thought I would have to phone an ambulance, I was in that much pain.

The very next day I went to the doctor and got an abdominal x-ray done. You know what they came back with? you have gall stones and they need to be removed RIGHT NOW! What you are experiencing is gallbladder attacks. There are many reasons that people get gall stones but for me if I am being brutally honest with you, I can say that they were caused because of my food choices.

How could I believe that the crap I was putting into my body wouldn't eventually catch up with me.

So I go get my gallbladder removed and still choose to eat the way I use to. Not even this made me change my life style.

I decided that maybe I should go on a diet. This diet lasted maybe a couple of months at most. I wasn't seeing results and so I gave up.

If I were to be honest with myself I would sit back and say "I gave up too soon". It took years of doing and why was I expecting for the results to happen over night.

Alot of times we give up and are not willing to put the work in.

It took a tragic event (my dads passing) to put my life into perspective. My attitude has completly changed. I work hard every single day to get the results I want. I work myself hard. I watch what I eat and some times the results don't come. Sometimes I see the opposite. Some times at the end of the day I feel completly wiped, then I wake up the next day and continue my journey because that is MY only option, I wouldn't have it any different.

The way I look at it is giving up is the EASY WAY OUT. Why are we so afraid to succeed, why do we give into the easy route, why are we not worth the change, worth the happiness and worth putting ourselves first above anything else...you wanna know why, because it's easier. It is a sad reality. We get discouraged easily, instead of believing that we are worth the work and worth the success, one little tiny gain and we give up.

I cannot stress enough how much I would just love to get into a room full of people who belive they have failed and have given up and tell them YOU ARE WORTH IT, PUT IN THE WORK! This is not going to take a week, you are in for a long haul and only YOU can produce the result you want.

My weight loss journey has taken alot longer than what I expected but never once have I said it's too hard, I give up. Thru out the year and a half that I have been loosing weight I have taught myself how to fuel my body, I have embraced excercise, I have run in races, I am training for a half marathon, I am happy. My whole family has benefited from my experience. Why would I want to throw that away, because it's easier? NO WAY I am not done fighting, I will never give up and I hope that you will not either!

Tomorrow's topic : You're afraid to fail!

See the world through new eyes!

Love me some Tuesday torture! Another session of plyometrics followed closely by my evening class!

Lets talk about changes when we lose weight shall we! I have said many times there is nothing better than losing the weight and being able to buy the cute stuff off the shelves at the stores. Being able to pick out anything you want and actually trying stuff on in the stores.

I remember a time where I would go into a store pick up something in a 16 or 18 and just bring it home, try it on and if I didn't like it return it. I couldn't stand trying stuff on in a store because of the simple reason that the person helping me would want to see me in it. No thanks, I would rather not!

Alot of that has changed, not only in the clothing department but in other avenues of my life, like eye wear!

I have been suffering from headaches the last couple of months and knew that something was off...I couldn't put my finger on it but thought maybe it was to do with my eye sight! last week I booked an eye appointment and sure enough my perscription was way off and not only that but I have a stigmatism. No wonder my head throbbed from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed. Long story short, I now have new contacts and new glasses!

Picking out glasses was such a great experience. Before when ever I bought them I would look for glasses that didn't make me look FAT, you know try and trim down that round face of mine. It's much easier going into this situation and be able to pick out something that makes you look trendy, or pretty or expressive. The person that was working with me was very helpful and had nothing but compliments, she said I should always wear glasses because they just add something fun to me, and for once I didn't feel like the person was trying to make a sale! I went ahead and got the ones that she thought looked best.

They are definately going to take some getting use to but here I am sporting my new eyes! It's amazing how much things change if you let them!