Update!

Rattle Me Bones 10K

PB - 1:01:06

October 25, 2009.

This morning...

This morning I am tired, cranky and having "period problems".

This morning I eyed up all the donuts and danishes at the coffee shop.

This morning I did not cave in.

Today, I will stay on program.

This week I will be successful at the scale.

Ready! Set! Go Gobble Gobble!

A few weeks into the school year I got a phone call from DJ's school. Apparently, every second nutrition break he was hanging out with a bunch of grade 3-6 students. DJ would race out of the Grade 1 door and head over to the far corner of the track. The grade 5 teacher called to tell me of DJ's fascination with this crowd.

Apparently, every day, DJ has been leaving his peers and joining in the grade3-6 track team practices.

The coach told me that he does not want to discourage DJr, but that he wanted to make sure my future track star understood he was too young to participate in the upcoming track team competition.

That afternoon, I sat DJ down and asked him about his track aspirations.

He was so cute. At first he thought he was in trouble. Then, I think I figured he was going to be banned from the team practices.

He smiled innocently at me and simply said he liked running with the big kids. It was good exercise and making him strong and healthy.

I congratulated him on his commitment and hard work. Then I gently explained how he could not compete with the school team...not yet.

He smiled. Nodded in agreement. Gave me a big hug and said, " That's ok mommy. I do not run for them. I run for me, cause I like it...and um, I run for you."

"You run for mommy?"

"Well mommy, I like it when you race and I want to race like you. But really, I just want to run with you when I get big and when I get better at running. Mommy, you go to your running class to learn to run - and I go to the running team to learn to run and maybe one day we can run together. I would really like that. Mommy, running makes you happy and running makes me happy and I like being happy with you!"

WOW. WHAM!

It really hit me how my transformation from being overweight, inactive and unhealthy has impacted my children.

My children see how I now take time for myself, and that physical exercise, working out, and taking care of myself makes me happy. Heck, it makes me happy, content, proud and at peace.

They see the benefits to leading an active lifestyle. Both the physical ones, and the emotional ones.

I am committed to keeping up with my new routines of working out, eating properly and taking care of myself. I am committed to being a positive role model for my three children.

So, this past weekend we all ran together. We entered the The Fall Colours Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot race.

And everything about it made me happy.

Pre-race photo!

Ready....Set....Go!

And we are off!!!!

I love this photo of the boys! DJ's facial expression is priceless!

DJ loved the experience. He was awesome!

Click HERE for more photos of DJ giving it his all!

Anderson was excited...and then got a little whiny ...but soon got his second win and finished on a high note!

Click HERE for more photos of Anderson.

Little Madigan ran the ENTIRE 1km on her own. She was so determined. When people cheered for her she would stop and clap! It was hilarious! This photo so captures her race with me loudly cheering her on every step of the race!

Her photos from the race are great! I love the one with her running and a man running behind her with his screaming child! Priceless! Click HERE to see all Madigan`s professional shots!

Here we are after the race. The kids were super proud of their t-shirts, their bibs and especially their medals.

I was just proud of them...and very thankful.

Happy be-lated thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadian bloggers!

My meals for the week come with pre-made photos!

Each week my parents have been residing at The Grimes Lodge - it is like a dorm for cancer patients while they are getting treatment. There is a little kitchenette where they can warm up foods. Since my mom cannot eat and there is no real cooling facilities, I have been trying to provide as many meals as possible.

So, each weekend I make a few meals for my family is an extra little to pass onto my dad! here is this week's menu:

Monday - Crock-pot steak with mushroom & mushroom sauce and cous cous and squash from our garden!

Tuesday - Tandoori chicken with mixed veggies and cous cous.

Wednesday is pizza night! Mommy has a 5:45 gym class and the boys have Beavers and Daddy has to rush home!

Thursday is yummy salmon loaf with grilled peppers and squash (the last one from our garden!).

Friday is kind of up in the air right now. We might go out for Pho soup?

This weekend is the Canadian Thanksgiving. Gotta finalize my plans...but it will involve turkey and stuffing and a pumpkin pie!!!

As for my other meals, I am tracking religiously. I am keeping within my points the best I can.

My breakfasts are going to include steel cut oats with PB and banana, or eggs with veggies and salsa or toast with apply butter. I am going to try my best to eat the bulk of my breakfast early, and then have a healthy mid-day snack.

My plans for lunch are pretty basic - mainly a salad with some sort of protein - tuna, chicken, tofu...something tasty, a bit of dressing and a fruit with yogurt.

I bought a huge bag of spinach to have afternoon green monsters - and I am loving a low-fat hot chocolate mix I got that is basically a point!

Last week I had a shock at the scales...SEVEN pounds LOST! Crazy, I know...but I think it all had to do with training and running for the half marathon! I am hoping for a loss this week... but if not, I will know that I have eaten healthy and within my points.

Check out more Menu Plan Monday entries at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

I did not get around to posting on Friday, but I cannot wait to tell you all about my new fitness program for October and November!!!!! Stay tuned!

Well, gotta run and get lunches made and kids into bed!

Peace out my dear Bloggy-friend! Sleep well!

WW - Say cheese!

Today's Wordless Wednesday is actually also a Wordful Wednesday post.

While the photos I am going to post all speak for themselves - a young family, travelling across Canada on summer vacation - having the best time ever - they do not express my gratitude and pride.

So far, we have taken approximately 140 photos and I am in many of them. In fact, I volunteer to be in many and throw the camera at hubby so that he can capture a special moment. This is a HUGE shift in attitude. Before loosing my weight I shied away from the camera. So much so, that there are months, and many special occasions that you would be hard-pressed to find a photo of me.

People always ask me to post before and after photos - and the truth is that I have very few photos of me - especially in the last year or so. I was ashamed of how I looked. I protected myself by being the one taking all the photos. Never posing.

Now, as I upload our adventure vacation photos, I am so very happy. Now, I am part of the memory. I am not just behind the camera. I am in the action!

Now my kids will have photos of me. Photos of mommy smiling. Confident. Joking around. Enjoying life. Playing with them. Goofing off for the camera. Relaxing. Happy.

We will all have fun memories captured of a family trip that we all went on together - that we all enjoyed. Images of their mother are captured forever, not only in photos, but also in their hearts.





















For more Wordless Wednesday entries click HERE!

Or if you prefer Wordful Wednesdays, click HERE!

Realistic, Attainable and Measurable

Yet another frustrating weigh-in last night. I am up a pound...well, actually, not "A" pound, but, "THE" pound. Yep. That pesky little bugger that I have been gaining and loosing for 10 weeks now!

Full stop.

Let's switch up our thinking, and look at this from another angle:



Hmmmm...... how about looking at it from this angle?





OK - that was not very pretty, but it did get me thinking of this whole weight loss journey a bit differently.

Those photos above? Well, those jeans are the same size I wore back in 2000. In fact, they are the smallest size I have worn since getting engaged - forget the whole multiple pregnancy excuse! ENGAGED!!!

(ok, my tummy is bigger, and the pants fit me a bit differently, but these pants were bought at a "normal" store, in a normal size, with no tears of frustration or feelings of just buying something cause it fits!)

So, perhaps I should not focus on the number on the scale, but on how my body is changing. I am leaner, stronger, fitter and I carry myself with a feeling of confidence that has been missing for a long, long time.

On Sunday I ran the furthest I have EVER run (15.8km) AND I purchased size 12 jeans.

Ya, the scale may be bouncing around the 166 mark - but I am not over eating, binge eating and I am trying to choose healthy foods. I am running 3 or 4 times a week, playing soccer, working full time AND being a full time SAHM. And my weight is not ballooning. It is not inching or catapulting up.

On Thursday our running clinic had a nutritionist as a guest speaker. She is a runner, and could easily relate to our running agendas, and she works with obese children. So, I really felt that she could relate to my struggles.

After a brief conversation she gave me a big hug and said, " Look at you! You look great! You are about to go for a 6k run! You have come a long way. But you are at a cross roads. It is very difficult to properly fuel your body to prepare and train for a half marathon while totally focused on losing weight. You need to decide if your goal is to reach your goal weight in the next 2 months or is it to successfully train, and complete a half? Maybe your new short term goal is to eat healthy and properly, and train - and then, after the race you focus on loosing the last little bit of excess weight. You may be pleasantly surprised how flipping your focus to be properly fueling your training and running your race to the best of your ability will allow your to meet your weight loss goals...but it will take more time. The key should be on refueling, repairing muscle and keeping healthy. Cutting calories and sacrificing your ability to train effectively will lead to huge disappointment. You need to set your goals."

Goals. My goals.

Well, for almost 10 months my goal has been to loose weight. Period. PERIOD. Perhaps I am suffering from tunnel vision?

I really want to train and succeed at completing a half marathon. Can you imagine the feeling I will have crossing that finish line - exactly one year from the time I could not run around the soccer pitch or run up two flights of stairs?

I have come a long way. Ten months ago, I could not even fathom running 1km let alone 22.5km!

OK. So, I need to set new goals. They need to be realistic, attainable and measurable.

What a coincidence, the weekly challenge at Amy's 15 Week challenge is all about goal setting and rewarding yourself for short term and long term goals.

Here goes:


Short term goals and associated rewards:
1. Run 3 times a week while on vacation (getting in each of my LSD Sunday runs as per my training program. REWARD - A new, cute running outfit!


2. Journal everything I eat while on vacation - The good, the bad, and the ugly. REWARD - A new sleek black coat I have been eyeing for a few weeks.

3.Enjoy my vacation and get to at least 1 WW meeting in the 3 weeks. REWARD - A pair of AMAZING red shoes I saw at Winners!

Long term goals and associated rewards:
1. Run the half marathon in September - and cross the finish line with a smile, or simply beaming with pride. REWARD - a day at the spa.

2. By Christmas day be 160 pounds. REWARD - Treat myself to a boxing day shopping spree.

Well, I think those are all realistic, attainable and measurable!

Your encouragement, support and well, prayers, are all appreciated.

I am not in a race to lose weight, I am building, defining and reconfirming who I am and what I want out of life, but embarking on a healthy lifestyle and a commitment to me.

WW - You've come a long way!

I have been asked for another before and after comparison - so, for Wordless Wednesday, here you go!

Me, on July 18, 2008.

The new me on July 21, 2009.

For more Wordless Wednesday entries click HERE!

Or if you prefer Wordful Wednesdays, click HERE!

Weekly Challenge Success

Amy's 15 Week Challenge has been keeping me motivated. After an initial weight gain the first week, I am happy to announce that I am down for the second straight week. At my last WW weigh in I was -0.5 pounds! Yippeeee!!!

The weekly challenges this week were pretty easy.

First, we had to fit in 20 minutes of running. Well, training for my half marathon allowed me to easily meet this requirement. Actually, Wednesday I participated in the 20 minute challenge at The Running Room. It was great fun and I got a cool running hat too!!!

The healthy eating challenge was also easy. Why? Well, just look at the recent shots of my gardens!!!!! The challenge was to eat "clean". As few processed foods as possible.

This is my second year gardening. I have 5 little plot that each measure about 5 feet by 8 feet. I cannot wait till all the plants are ready to harvest.

For breakfast I used fresh raspberries from my "fruity" garden to make an amazing purple-green monster! YUMMY!


Then I harvested fresh lettuce and spinach and swiss chard from my "greens" garden.

I made simply delish tossed salad. I added a some cottage cheese and left-over ham to make it really yummy good!

For dinner I decided to make a shrimp stir fry. I raided my "climber" garden for snow peas, green peas and a few beans.

Combined with fresh herbs from my "flavour" garden" I made a very tasty dinner!

Yes, it was a very lovely, clean diet all day! For my morning snack I ate an assortment of radishes from the garden and in the afternoon I used spinach from the garden to make another green monster.

This challenge really got me thinking. And I am now committed to decrease my consumption of processed foods and enjoy fresh fruits and veggies.

Thanks Amy!

15 Week Challenge - Week 1 review

I am always up for a good competition - heck, I never really understand why the guy next to me on the treadmill never realizes that it IS actually a race! So, I really thought I was pumped for Amy's 15 Week Challenge.

Well, let's just say, with one week down, I am doing myself NO favours!

In most competitions, tipping the scales in your favour is a good tactic to win...except when you are TRYING to lighten the scales. Yep, remember my lament about the pesky one pound I keep loosing and gaining - and then finally after 6 weeks, I lost 2 pounds???

Well, today, in my weekly challenge update email, I had to admit to gaining 2 friggin' pounds this week. Oh ya! I sure to win the competition with this great start!

Errrrrrrrrrr!

I am happy to report that I did complete Amy's Wednesday Workout. It was great - sure made me miss my boot camp course. In fact, I ended up doing this great ab workout on Wednesday and Friday and again today!!!!! Yah for me!!!!!

I am also happy to report I successfully completed the weekly challenge. We had to recreate one of our favorite sinful recipes to make it figure friendly.

OK. I started with a family favorite - Salisbury Steak - Without going into too much of the fattening detail, just think TABLESPOONS of BUTTER, and OIL, and a can of CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP, WHITE BREAD CRUMBS, and MASHED POTATOES...oh ya, just picture 9 billion comfort food calories on a plate!

So, here is what I did to make it very tasty, and a bit more healthily!

Ingredients:
Ground Turkey
Chopped up spinach, onion, red pepper & garlic
Shredded carrots and zucchini
Ground up mixture of All Bran and Oatmeal
Black pepper, oregano, basil and chili flakes
3 tablespoons no-fat cottage cheese
Ground flax seed

Mix all of this together and form your patties.

Spray your pan and then lightly sear the patties.

In a bowl mix in 1 cup broth, shredded onion and garlic and a little bit of spelt flour. Whisk and then once both sides of the patties are brown, add to pan.

Simmer till sauce thickens and the patties are cooked.

As the side dish, I omitted the regular mountain of butter-rich mashed potatoes and instead had a mountain of long green beans and one half a boiled potato.

Ok....DELISH! I think the secret ingredient was the ground up oatmeal and All Bran mixture - it gave the patty a wonderful texture since not off the pieces were ground up - and the taste with the sauce was very good! I am very pleased with how this old-time family favorite was tweaked to be more figure friendly!

Well, that is it for my week one update! I am looking forward to week 2 - and I am hoping the scale will show my hard work and all my running this week! Today, in fact, I ran 13.8KM...people, that is the longest run I have EVER done!!! I am so proud! In fact, I am even starting to feel confident that with sticking to my training schedule, the half marathon in September will be a very realistic goal!!!

Have a great week!

ME to WIN

Have you signed up yet for

Amy's 15 week Challenge????

NO???!!!!????

What the heck are you waiting for?????

Crap, if you sign up, then YOU could WIN

some of the awesome PRIZES

she has lined up...and well,

you are not ME, and well, um,

I want ME to WIN!

Pesky Plateau and 15 weeks

Ok - have a quick look over to the right side of my blog, the one listing my weekly weigh ins.


Notice anything?


Yep. For the last 6 weeks I have been gaining and loosing the same flippn' pound!

I have been struggling with my food plan and food choices. BLTs are killing me! Cheating, losing motivation and starting to get discouraged was my daily struggle.

After 41 weeks and 80 pounds loss, I was about to throw in the towel and go drown my sorrow in junk food. When, low and behold Amy, over at Amy's Quest to Skinny introduced a 15 week challenge!

(Amy friggn' rocks - you gotta read her story. She is an inspiration to me!)

This 15 week challenge promises to be challenging, motivating, fun and way cool!

Workout Wednesdays, Century Club Workout, Weekend Warrior Challenges, OH MY!

And, each week, there will be a Weekly Challenge. This challenge will vary in what is required but will always be related to healthy living. Participants will receive points for completing the task, and can earn additional points for photographing their challenge!

I could not sign up fast enough! This is sooooo going to help me get back on track!

Hey, how about you? You up for a challenge? Up to getting healthier, fitter and just feeling better? Go sign up today! Seriously - GO!

Come on! Let's join this challenge together and really support and help each other.

OK you pesky little plateau - WATCH OUT! I want you gone, and gone you will be!!!!!!!

Cursing Bonnie

Apparently, I have a "thing" for Bonnie! And now, I am cursing Bonnie and her cruel ways!

Sunday morning I met up with my running group. We decided on a nice easy 4km run.

My lovely running partner Lesley read out the route, "Down Merivale to Clyde..blah, blah, blah...turn left onto Bonnie...blah, blah, blah".

About 9 minutes into our route I saw a street sign saying "Bonnie", so we jetted left.

No one else did.

Lesley pulled out the paper and informed me we continue down Clyde, then turn on Bonnie.

Ok. Must be a crescent.

We back track back to Clyde and catch up with the back of the pack.

Down Clyde we go.

I look up and there is a street sign saying "Bonnie". Lesley and I take a left, no one else does.

So, as I am making the turn onto Bonnie, I shout out to the rest of the pack, "This is Bonnie! Turn left!"

No sooner had the words come out of my mouth with there was a painful yelp. I collapsed to the ground. I stepped into a pot hole/crack thingy on the road.

Twisted ankle.

So, apparently, given the fact that I kept trying to turn left onto Bonnie, I have some sort of issue with Bonnie. And now, as I nurse my tender ankle (slight sprain) I am super ticked that I am going to miss my soccer game tomorrow, I am upset I am going to probably miss boot camp and I am royally pissed that I may miss the start of my half marathon clinic that starts on Thursday.

Oh ya, I am mad. So mad that I am cursing Bonnie!

Errrrrrrr!

Ok, back to reality. Another reason I am upset is that I have been struggling with my food plan. I have been snacking, making questionable food choices and worst of all, my BLTs are out of control (Bites, Licks and Tastes).

I am already anticipating a weight gain this week based on my eating patterns and based on my monthly cycle - and now the curse of Bonnie.

It feels like a vicious cycle - I eat when I am upset, I cannot exercise to counter any extra calories and that makes me upset, so, well, I eat. Damn Bonnie!

So, this week my setting my food plan is more important than ever!

Here goes:

Monday

• Steel cut oats, banana, PB
• Apple slices with Allegro cheese and cracker
• Mixed salad with tuna, low fat dressing
• Veggies and hummus dip
• Grilled chicken and veggies with cous cous

Tuesday

• Steel cut oats, apple, cinnamon
• 1 piece WW bread with tomato and Allegro cheese
• Mixed salad with left over chicken and salsa
• Hard boiled egg, pickles and baby carrots
• WW 5 point frozen dinner

Wednesday

• Steel cut oats, blueberries, vanilla yogurt
• Pita bread with salsa and cottage cheese
• Mixed salad with beef strips and crumbled blue cheese
• Beef stir fry with Bulgar

Thursday

• Steel cut oats, banana, PB
• Crackers with tomato and cucumber with cottage cheese
• Carrot and ginger soup with crackers
• Apple
• Mushroom salmon with rice and green beans
• Popcorn

Friday

• Toasted tomato sandwich with a touch of mayo and cheese
• Kashi Go Lean and vanilla yogurt
• Baked tofu stuffed pita with a side salad
• Hamburger on BBQ with grilled veggies
• Popcorn

Here's hoping I can stick to plan this week...already I have been "eating away my ankle pain". And well, that is not good.

Well, off to ice and elevate my ankle in the slim chance I will be able to play soccer tomorrow night!

WW - Put me in coach, I wanna play!

What is Wordless Wednesday without a few words??!!!?!?!?!?!?

Last night was my first league game of the summer season.

Nothing could wipe the smile off my face!

Last year I almost quit the sport I love - but after an off-season of eating properly, taking care of myself and getting fit - I am ready to have fun again!

Last night was very rewarding, inspiring and motivating.
I have lost 81 pounds so far - only 19 pounds more to go!
I can do this. I will do this. I want to do this.
Yep, I am a contender in this weight loss game - and I am going to win!!!!

Put me in coach, I wanna play!

Oh! Ya, an extra bonus is that we won our soccer game last night!!!

Started. Completed. Very Happy.

Yep, my title says it all!

The race was quite an experience. The number of runners simply CRAZY!

Tracy and I kept mainly to our race plan. The first 4km were slow due to the pack. The run between 4km and 7km flew by. The crowds were amazing!

I did great up to about 7km and then struggled a bit - then regrouped and headed down the back stretch. I seriously think that the distance between the 750m left sign and the 500m left sign was about 4.5km - seriously!!!!!

The home stretch!

My time was very respectable and I am very happy with it, especially with all the weaving and running around people - I really pushed it at the end and sprinted to the finish line!

1:03:27

Now, onto the half marathon!!!!

I TRI'd my best!

Today,

I swam

biked,

and ran

away from old bad habits, emotional eating, over eating, poor lifestyle and

80 extra pounds...

...and I could not be more proud!

More details to follow!

Happy Victoria Day Weekend!

Gunna give it a TRI

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

My first EVER triathlon!

OK - let's take a moment and think about this!

On August 17, 2009, I went to my doctor and complained that my weight was out of control. I told him I had just had the WORST summer soccer season of my life and just walking up two flights of stairs was starting to become a struggle.

Now, on May 16, 2009, I am going to attempt a triathlon. The course is 100m swim, 11.5km bike and 2km run. It is actually called a "Try a Tri". I am so excited! What a complete turn around! I am now fit, active and ready to celebrate my 82 pound weight loss by pushing myself and proving to myself that I AM WORTH IT! I am nervous, anxious and a bit scared...but hey, that's what it is all about!

Wish me luck!!!

Fitness Friday - One step at a Time

Have you heard of the 10 000 step challenge? It is basically the thought that if you take 10k steps in a day then you are leading a relatively healthy/active lifestyle.

I remember before I started my weight loss journey, I placed my new pedometer on and honestly thought I would have no problem hitting the 10k mark. After all, I did not spend my day at a desk - I spent my day running after three little ones! Boy! I was shocked to see such a small number of steps.

I went on a mission to increase my steps.

I started taking the stairs. I started parking further from the door. I started walking errands instead of driving short distances. I started to "do" the front steps while waiting for the boys' bus each morning. I started to take two trips with grocery bags or with laundry - doubling my steps for specific tasks.

All of these "step inserters" worked. Very quickly the number of steps I was taking skyrocketed past 10 000! After about a month of consistently hitting between 13K and 16K (without including my daily exercise activity) I stopped wearing my counter.

Mission complete! Now, even without the counter I can basically tell when I have not taken my 10k steps - and I work hard to fit them in or push harder at my workout. I am addicted to steps!

At my WW meeting on Wednesday many of the Losers (I mean that in the best way!!!! Hee Hee) were talking about how morning exercise motivates them to eat right and stay on plan all day.

I started to analyse my situation. I can ONLY work out in the evening. If I did follow the suggestion of just getting up 30 minutes earlier each morning, then I would be going to bed at 9pm and waking up at 2:30am! Um....NO!

I started to curse my 4am to 8am dream job with the federal government - you know, that job where I get to interact with the real world, but I also get to be a full time stay at home mom. You know, the great job that I get to brag that I get paid to watch the news broadcasts and tell the Prime Minister of Canada and his staff what was reported by the media outlets each night. You know, THAT job.

When the leader mentioned that early morning exercise jump starts your metabolism and helps you burn more calories and have more energy, I was really fuming.

Then, I thought of my step mission.

On Thursday and Friday I dusted off my pedometer and securely fastened it to my dress pants and headed off to work - AND FOLLOWED MY REGULAR MORNING ROUTINE.

• Parked my car in the normal spot.
• Took the 2 flights of stairs to the exit.
• Walked the 3 blocks to my office.
• Take the elevator to my office - too nervous to do the dark stairs at 3:45am!
• Worked to get my reports done.
• Delivered my multi-media reports to the Prime Minister's office.
• Delivered the reports to the West Block of Parliament Hill - this is a 3 block walk - but best of all for the last 4 months I have not used the elevators - I run up and down the 4 flights of stairs.
• Walk back to the office, walk up my 4 flights of stairs.
• Finish my daily work.
• Walk down 4 flights of stairs to the main door.
• Walk the 3 blocks to my parking lot.
• Take the stairs to the parking garage.
• Arrive at home at 8:30am.

So, between 3am and 9am each work day I am walking approximately 4789 steps.

HELLO! Did you see the number of stairs my new active lifestyle has incorporated in it each morning? HELLO LOSER LAURA, there is your MORNING WORKOUT!

Do you try to incorporate activity into your work day? Do you subscribe to the 10k step challenge? If so, how do you work in more steps?

Like our leader Marilyn said at our WW meeting - Even the longest journey starts with a few small steps.

Each day, I feel like I am taking those little steps to incorporate more activity into my day and leading a healthier, better lifestyle - in hopes of it all being a life-long commitment.

And with that, I leave you with two photos that show that each little step towards a healthier lifestyle work.

April 9, 2009

April 9, 2008.

I sure have come a long way!

Thanks for your support everyone!

One step at a time!

Dear Kettle BBQ Chips,

I friggin' HATE you...well, actually, you are yummy good...and, well, there in lays the problem.

Well, at least you are all gone - and so are my Weight Watchers points for the next four days!


It is now after 9PM, I have to get up at early and be at work by 3AM...the Junos are on and I would like to watch them...but, well, my bed calls. I had a FABULOUS weekend and cannot wait to share it all with you.

Nighty-night!

WW - before and after (kind of!)

Oh! Oh! This wordless Wednesday has lots of words!!!!

I have been asked to post before and after photos. But I have 3 major problems with doing this:

1. I am not done my weight loss journey - I have come to realize that this is a life time journey and I am far from done yet!
2. There are so few photos of me - I think I have posed for more family photos in the last 3 months than I had in the last 5 years!
3. I have hit a bit of a plateau - perhaps posting some photos will help me break through it - my main "problem" is that I have really increased the amount and intensity of my workouts and that is leaving me hungry, craving food and grazing...but I will get it all under control. One good decision at a time!

So, here is the best I can do!

BEFORE

(yep, that is me in the far left corner, hiding from the camera!)



After


(yep, that is me, proudly posing while my son snaps a few shots!)

A few friends have also asked me about some of the weight/foody blogs that I have started to follow, so, in no particular order, here they are:

Amy's Quest to Skinny

Roni's Weigh

Bitch Cakes

Carrots 'N Cake

Chubbie Chica

Green Lite Bites

Healthy can taste good too!

Loosing to find Myself

Our Blubher Over Haul