Leaving on a jet plane

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So we have settled on dates for my UK trip!!  I will be going in September...14 weeks from today I will be there!  I can't wait :-)  I will get to see a great friend of mine that I haven't seen in over a year.  I will be booking my flight tomorrow I hope.  I will be putting a countdown ticker on my blog and am going to do some serious exercising/healthy eating kicking butt over the next 14 weeks.  I am not expecting to get to goal by then, but 20 pounds would be sweet!

I have THREE fitness "dates" this week and am excited about all of them.  Anyone local wanna make a date for Wed or Thurs night for a walk or run?  I feel like I'm in the zone again.

Off to spend the evening with Sir Google - my trusted travel advisor :-)

Losing weight helps you look good in clothes...Exercise helps you look good naked

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This was the quote from the Weight Watchers weekly that I got at my meeting this morning and I though it was so fitting. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about exactly this.  People tell me I look good.  People have asked me if I'm at my goal.  I think to myself (and depending on how well I know them I'll say it out loud) "Are you crazy???  Have you SEEN me naked??"  Sure, with the right clothes and the right supportive undergarments (aka gut-suckers) I look OK fully clothed... in my birthday suit, however, not so much.  I sometimes look at myself (no folks, I don't stand in front of the mirror staring at myself all the time!) and wonder how to fix what I've done to myself.  The weight loss, I think, was the easy part.  But it's what's left behind that is going to be my problem.  Those of you who have lost a significant amount of weight know what I'm talking about.   I won't get into gory details and you will NEVER, EVER see pictures :-)  Stay tuned as I may talk more on this topic and steps I started looking into taking to fix the problem.

Exercise
I have a love-hate relationship with exercise.  I have never hit that point where I truly love it.  I am always glad that I've done it - I get to the point that I'm glad I went to the gym when I start sweating (I'm not much of a sweater, so I know I'm working hard when I really sweat at the gym).  I find I get bored.  I am OK with the treadmill - especially now that the cable is hooked up to the personal TVs at the gym - I like to watch HGTV (don't get that channel at home), so I try to time my workouts around some of my fav HGTV shows for motivation.  I do the stepper - not because I love it, but because it earns me more activity points than any other cardio machine at the gym.  I love the rower - but, alas, it earns very little points.  Strength training I am learning to like.  No TVs on the machines though ;-) 

This week I am hoping to get out "running" twice.  Maybe three times if I can find another "running date" for a third time.  I have a running date with one friend on Monday night and another friend on Friday night.  I am still looking into running programs here in the city and am also trying to convince my physiotherapist that he needs to get his running program started soon - ideally I'd join his program as I think he could keep me motivated (and injury free!!).  I am hereby committing to 4 days of exercise this week.  That would be twice what I did last week (shame on me, I know).  Will you hold me accountable?

Food
These past two weeks I have found myself losing control.  I thought I had a handle on eating and could not track my food for a few days and still be OK.  Four days in Bangor, I think I did well.  The scale showed a loss last week of 0.7 pounds, which I was happy with.  Then it was out to supper with the girls from work, out to lunch with a friend a few days later, then a work event out of town...I really let myself get away with way too much these past couple of weeks, resulting in a 1.5 pound gain this week.  I think I need to get back to basics.  Not restricting myself, but just making sure I track 100% and try to avoid situations that I cannot control.  I'm not saying we have to be in control 100% of the time, but I don't think (personally) I can let myself get into these situations this frequently and still see success on the scale. 

Blogging
I have been very negligent with my blog lately.  I used to have these inspiring thoughts to blog about all the time.  Lately I seem to lack the creativity to write.  It's not that I'm ignoring you all, I've simply had nothing new to say...and some things just aren't worth repeating!  How do you all come up with blog topics/ideas?  Some of you are clearly natural writers - I find I can write, if I have a story to tell... Some people's daily lives are just blog-worthy all on their own :-)  Are there any topics you'd like me to cover?  Any questions you may have for me?

PS - not sure if anyone else is having issues with posting comments on Blogger, but if you would like to comment on this post and Blogger won't allow it, please feel free to email me:  righttobarearms@gmail.com.  I would love to read your thoughts!

Getting the urge to run again

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I had a great weekend.  Spent some time with my little lovelies (nieces, ages 7 and 10).  They begged me to take them on a bike ride (them on their bikes, me in my sneakers), so I eventually relented.  We walked to the BLT trail, along the trail for a couple kilometers and then back to the house.  I didn't realize until now just how far we went!  Thankfully the kids had their bikes!  We went a little over 7 kms.  At some point along the trail I got the urge to run.  I used to get this urge quite a bit, but running on the treadmill just doesn't feel right.  I've kinda lost the urge to run lately, so it was nice to get it back.  Don't get me wrong - I am by NO MEANS a runner.  But, I've always had the desire to BE a runner.  I've tried the treadmill, but never really much outdoor running.  I have to say, running on the trail felt great!  I felt like I could run fast and long...but unfortunately, I was suffering from a headache...realized about lunchtime that I hadn't had ANY coffee (duh! there's the source of my headache!).  Hoping to take another stab at running the BLT trail again this weekend maybe.  Ideally, I'd like to take a learn to run class like the one offered at The Running Room.  I think I have decided what my next goal will be - actually LEARNING how to run!  I want to be one of those people who gets a runner's high.  I want to want to get my sneakers on to go for a run - morning, afternoon, evening...you name it!  I really NEED to find an exercise that draws me in and so far most exercise bores me. 

Walking your butt off...literally

Pin It Well, I guess walking is a great form of exercise.  We figure we walked about 12 hours (average) each of Saturday and Sunday last weekend.  I am figuring (hoping!) that this counteracted all the treats we had over the weekend.  I actually LOST weight this week (0.7 pounds) - yay!  After my return I earned 29 activity points (Tues-Fri), which is what I would normally earn in a full 7 days...whew, I'm beat! 

Still no pics of my Bangor purchases...the week's been nuts.  I may give you the readers digest version over the weekend though if I have time.

So lately I've been giving more and more thought to maintenance and the end of THIS journey (not the end of my journey...really just the end of this leg \of it).  In some strange way, I've been enjoying this journey and all it's brought me - it really has shown me what wonderful friends and family I have and how supportive they all are.  I am closer to my goal than I have ever been (well, except on the way UP ;-) and part of me is afraid.  What will happen when I'm done?  What will I look forward to?  What will my goal be once I've reached my goal?  Any thoughts from you folks out there? 

Homeward Bound

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I got home from Bangor tonight and I realized it's been almost a week since my last blog post!  Shame on me!  My excuse for the past few days is that I've been shopping in Bangor for new skinny clothes.  I am pleased to report that nearly everything I tried on either fit or was too big!  I consistently bought my "smaller" size that I have been wearing lately.  Also, I have officially outshrunk Lane Bryant.  Love the store, but tried on their size 1s (strange new sizing...assuming that's a 14) and they were too big...think I will cut up my LB credit card and return to the company.

Food-wise...I sucked this weekend.  It started with Dysart's on Friday night and ended with Uno's Chicago Grill today (trip #2!)...which is now my absolute favorite US restaurant...surpasses even the Olive Garden!  I did not count points while I was away and I also did not watch what I was eating.  I did drink plenty of water and tried to keep my liquid calorie consumption to a minimum, but food..that was another story.  Last night for supper I had...well, never mind.  Enough of that.  Tomorrow I am back to "normal" and plan to hit the gym hard for the next four days.

Shopping wise...GREAT trip!  I have to head off to bed now...work will come early tomorrow!  I have lots of photos to take to show my shopping haul, so I'll upload tomorrow once I get it all sorted out. 



The green monster!

Pin It Made myself a smoothie tonight - mango, blueberry spinach with Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla and maple syrup.  Strange combo, but it was good!  I love the unsweetened Almond Breeze (1 point+ per cup!)

Supper was another salad...I put a couple of the chickpea balls on top (note to self, they do not microwave as well as they bake...use oven next time).  I am loving Craisins on my salads lately...so nice and sweet.

I'm not sure what's going on this week.  I find I can't stay away from food!  I'm on the "see food" diet it seems...I see food and I want to eat it - the good, the bad and the ugly!  I also have ZERO desire to work out.  I walked Sunday, took Monday off and today I did 21 minutes on the Wii fit..21 minutes!!  Pathetic...  I need someone to kick my patootie...

Not so successful

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So my grand plans to not eat after 8pm and to limit my treats to one per day were not as successful as I had planned.  So many days this week I didn't get home to even start cooking supper until after 8pm...makes it hard not to eat when you haven't had supper yet!  The one treat per day went OK..until Friday when I forgot I'd had a brownie during the day and then had some dark chocolate at night.  Good thing it's a new week!

I lost 1.1 pounds today at my weigh in.  Not fantastic, but not bad either.  I'm still averaging 1.3 pounds per week overall.  The good news is that I am now 29.9 pounds away from my goal weight!  I still haven't decided if I will go all that way or stop before I get there (in consultation with my doctor).  I am very receptive to what others have to say in this regard - if I start getting comments that I'm losing too much, I will take it to heart...  I don't think I'm in danger of getting to that point anytime soon though!  I looked in the mirror the other day and noticed that with my new haircut, my HEAD looks smaller...and my shoulders/neck area are smaller for sure.  The rest of me...meh, not so much.  My main areas of concern are my belly area and my upper legs.  I might have to investigate foods I should be eating to get rid of belly fat since that seems to be where it's all concentrated now!

I had some more of my Litehouse salad dressing tonight.  I made an amazing spinach salad with craisins, blueberries, light feta (did you know it's the same # of points+ as regular?!), mixed beans, cucumber, baby bella mushrooms, orange peppers, red onions....soooo yummy!  Nearly as good as a salad from Pete's Frootique.

So folks, any suggestions on something I can try this week to shake up my body (food or exercise-wise)?  My exercise is limited because of my shoulder and tailbone (cardio has been my go-to exercise lately - walking outside or treadmill and stairmaster).

Finally, some reviews!

Pin It It's been a while since I've done any new food reviews.  Tonight for supper I tried two new items.  First was the Veggie Patch Falafel Chickpea Balls and I dipped them in Litehouse Sesame Ginger Dressing.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the chickpea balls (even the name through me off!)  They were very good!!  I'm not sure I would pay the price I did for them again (and they were on sale), but I'll happily finish the package I bought tonight.  The dressing was amazing.  At only 20 calories per tablespoon, I will be buying it again for sure.  Don't be thrown by the nutritional info on their website - it does not match the bottle (same with the chickpea balls).  Chickpea balls were 4 points+ for 4 balls and the dressing was 3 Tbsp for 1 point+ - a real bargain.

I forgot to post about my baked peanut butter oatmeal that I made on Sunday morning.  It was AMAZING!  Not sure if it's worth the 5 points+ per serving...one serving just wasn't that filling.  I tried it topped with some of Gina's pumpkin butter (another new recipe I tried this week) and it was good, but for a 7 point+ breakfast...a little disappointing.  I will try playing around with the recipe to see if I can lower the points a bit.  I think once I get my PB2 in the US next weekend I'll be able to make it for much lower points.

And now for something completely different

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I am trying to mix things up and do things a bit different this week to try and trick my body into dropping some poundage ;-)  Things are going entirely too slow for my liking.  I started by having a larger breakfast, medium lunch and a small supper (usually I do the reverse).  I'm going to aim to not eat after 8pm (missed it by 10 minutes tonight...oops!) and I'm also aiming to have only ONE treat each day (sometimes I have more, even while still being within my points).  I am going to sit down tonight and try and plan out my meals for the next four days to take some of the pressure off on a daily basis.

Happy Monday everyone.