Things are going awfully well…

I’m eating lots of food and not obsessing with every single calorie (although I have a rough idea to ensure I eat enough which for me is 2000 cals ish )..

This week I lost 4lb. That makes 11lb since January 2nd. Overall, since 60 Day Fitness Challenge 1 started I’ve lost 41 lb. I’m happy with that!

I pretty much stopped craving most junk/processed foods and meat a couple of weeks into turning vegan and although I still love the smell of anything-that-once-had-a-pulse cooking, the thing I miss the most and still crave on occasions is cheese.

Why is this? Why do I still NEARLY put a cube of cheese in my mouth when making a meal for my daughter that contains cheese and why do I still remember those cheese highs with great fondness?

I began to do research on this… what was it about cheese? To me, pre-vegan, it was my biggest trigger food, I was well and truly addicted to it.

Who do I turn to when I need to find out scientifically researched and proven information to do with food and our bodies? Dr Neal Barnard of course! The one man on TV, is beyond a shadow of a doubt, a truthful and interesting man, passionate about sharing the information he knows..

This is one of the most fascinating lectures I’ve listened to about food and it solved my anxiety about why I had been so addicted to cheese..

And it starts with “How to magnetize a baby”…

ENJOY!

C xxxxx

I’m down in the mouth today. I didn’t put weight on but I only lost 1 lb which considering the amount of effort put in has shocked me a little. I have to learn to cope with and move on from disappointment and harness the negatives into positives so next week I expect a decent weight loss… I’ll work even harder to achieve that.

And as if there was someone watching over me when I needed it, this morning I crawled into the Irving Gas Station, hard on empty. I went in to hand over my $20 and one of the ladies there grinned at me and said “congratulations”. We chatted and she told me she had clipped last weeks 60 Day Fitness Challenge article in the Progress Bulletin for inspiration. “I used to be 450 lb” she told me. “I had my stomach stapled and went down to a size 8″…..”but over the years some of the weight has crept back on and I need to lose 100 lb”. She told me that “today” the ladies at the Irving were on the first day of their own 60 day fitness challenge.. “no creme eggs now” were her parting words (last year everytime I fell off the weight loss wagon I’d head to that Irving gas station and scoff Cadbury’s creme eggs!)

That was a hugely positive re-enforcement this morning and I am sooo grateful it came

Thank you Irving gas station lady!

iPod communication device- finally I am one of you...

I’m not a person who has to have a lot of things… I don’t have an MP3 player, cell phone, cable, satellite, fine furnishings or lots of shoes.

Saying that I will be envious of your clean and tidy house and car, your neatly mowed lawn and your well behaved dog.

I will also be envious of your iPod Touch..

For years now I’ll admit that my eyes have become greener when at the bottom of your e-mail it is signed off with “sent from my iPod”. When I’ve seen you giggling at the gadget in your sweaty palm I’ve wanted to rush over and tear it from your hand and say, what… WHAT? And then of course those funny little digi-squeaks as you catapult yet another Angry Bird and that on Facebook the word “mobile” appears at the bottom of your status updates..

I’m envious of YOU… you being a significant percentage of the population.

FACETIME IS AWESOME!!!

And to make matters worse multiple iPods inhabited my house over the Christmas holidays when my Hobbits generously received a shiny new IPod Touch each from their Dad. Copious amounts of fun apps were shoved under my nose at every possible opportunity and usually at my expense. This was when I discovered a wonderful app built into the IPod Touch called Facetime. It was a real-life Star Trek communicator (only higher-tech) in disguise… anyone else who has an iPod, iPad, MacBook etc can communicate by voice and video freely wherever there is an available wi-fi connection.

And then my wish came true..

My birthday arrived and so did an iPod communicator (grin) from a wonderfully special friend.

I’m now one of YOU! And I’m loving it!!

Paula Levy did an article on our 60 Day Fitness Challenge here at Lighthouse Publishing
in this weeks Lunenburg County Progress Bulletin

Well whadda-u-know…. first week back at it and I lost 6 lb… I’m rather pleased with that! That means I lost the 5 lb that accumulated around my person over Christmas (I did indeed eat 10 mince pies in 2 days, drank like a fish and ate huge quantities of vegan cookies that my friend Jana made me) + an extra 1 lb which makes my weight loss journey back on track!

It was difficult not eating turkey or ham over Christmas especially as I cooked this for my girls who were really looking forward to it. BUT it wasn’t that bad, really…. I had a delicious plate full (OK 2 platefuls) of sweet potato, sage stuffing, vegan gravy, asparagus, roasted parsnips, julienne carrots, brussel sprouts, portabello mushrooms, cranberry and mandarin sauce and a fairly tasty grain alternative to turkey!

I was glad to see that my employer, Lighthouse Media Group, started the second 60 Day Fitness Challenge again as soon as we went back to work on January 2, 2012! Lots of people participating again which makes it fun… It’s all done on an honour system and we do not have to share our weight/weight losses as it’s not a contest. It’s more a way to be inspired by the successes other people have. Tina Hennigar once again is brave enough to be the person who stands up in front of us and motivates us with weekly challenges… last week she brought in a great idea for salad in a jar!

We’ve set up a Facebook Group for anyone who wishes to join in from home, anywhere in the world. Click here!

All time heaviest 345 lbs
Weight at 1st 60 Day Challenge 312 lb
Weight at 2nd 60 Day Challenge 282 lb

Weight today 276 lb

C xxxxx

I’m putting this up to motivate me- it’s a photo that I dislike immensely. Bleh!
I’m hoping that after losing another 25 lbs these jeans will fit…

We’ve started another 60 day fitness challenge at work and having lost 32 lbs the last time around of course I want to keep on losing the weight… after all there is still WAY over 100 lbs to lose

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 60 DAY FITNESS CHALLENGE BOOKLET

There is one thing I really hate about my body…. my big belly. After 3 kids (2 of which were 10 lbs when born) and a huge weight gain after the third which saw my weight rise at it’s highest to 345 lb, I’ll never have a pretty belly, even when I’ve lost another 100lb. I’ve accepted it and am coming to terms with it….

BUT being big and wobbly should NEVER stop people doing what makes them happy and now that I’m feeling more positive and getting healthier I’d like to embrace my belly-ness and wobble away the inches, having fun to achieve my next goal rather than telling myself “when I’ve lost another 50 lb I’ll start doing that…”

My goals over the next 60 days will be

a) To lose 25 lbs
b) To walk 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week (it’s just $20 for a months pass at HB Studios Sports Centre)
c) To begin toning waist, abdominal, thigh and arm muscles and improve coordination while having fun and feeling liberated (2-3 times a week)
d) To fit into a pair of jeans again (last time I could wear jeans was over 15 years ago) I bought size 20W jeans back in September and I THINK these may fit after losing 25 lbs..!

I’ve given much thought to how I can start to tone my abdominal muscles. Should I try and do some crunches but the constant repetition of regular exercise would leave me cold.. it has to be fun!

And then I remembered one form of exercise that embraces belly-ness, where soft belly-ness is rather more preferred than sculpted abs, that people of all ages seem to have great fun with and I’m gonna do it..

I’m gonna learn to BIG belly dance…. my goal will be to learn some basic moves in the privacy of my home, using free lessons on YouTube, start whittling away at my big belly and have some damn fun!

REMEMBER…

“Dance like nobody is watching…” WOO HOO!