Fitgirl Chronicles

Some food lately.....

Walnuts & Almonds and a Mini Go - my snack lately.  

  

Beautiful wild roses on my walk.

 

Tessa and family on an evening walk.

I found this good article on  Maria Shriver's blog, written by a former Shape editor,  Valerie Latona

5 Reasons You Need to Work Out -- Starting Today!

Salad and Beef Stirfry.  

 

Less pasta more veggies.

 

 Poppy Seed dressing.

 

Corn on the cob, crimini mushrooms, bean & beef burrito,bocconcini cheese & kalamato olives.  A weird combo; using up some leftover.  

 

A great site with lots of great articles.  Real Simple, The 30 Healthiest Foods, By Liz Welch and Lindsay Funston

My new purchase of "cow" corn holders. How cute are they?

More salad.....

 

 

 BBQ burgers and salad.  I was proud I only had half of the burger.

 

More Prairie Sky..... 

 

When I look at the sky I feel grateful.

 

Great article from Robert Holden on writting a gratitude journal, Your 100 Gratitudes, the joy of saying thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

Some Baby Steps.....

OK, Like I said before I am celebrating those little teeny weeny baby steps in the right direction.  

This week so far:

• I am not going back for seconds.
• I am eating smaller portions.
• I am blogging. (yeah)
• I am not in denial.
• Even though my dog barfed at 4:30 in the morning, waking me up. My house is a complete disaster (no clean laundry, messy, messy, messy.)  And the rest of life is kicking my butt off and on this week.  I still managed to cook a meal each night that was full of vegetables and was not picked up from a drive-thru.
• I have not said....WTF....excuse my french, and eaten an entire box of cookies or some other sweet carb.
• I did not eat one of the Bee-Bell Bakery Cinnamon buns that my husband brought home.
• I did one walk (not as many as I had intended) but more importantly I did not inwardly BEAT myself up for not doing exactly what I said I was going to do and then give up. 
• I called my Life Line friend - Diane you know who you are.
• And finally a huge deal for me - when I have that little twingy feeling of hunger I keep telling myself.  "That little slight uncomfortable feeling that is so new to you is actually you meeting your goals and making excellent progress.  It is a GOOD thing!"

So life is good.  I am grateful for small miracles.

My salad:  lettuce, radishes, spring onions, celery, cherry tomatoes, cottage cheese and sesame dressing (2tbsp).  Must take more food pictures. I am out of practice.

 My good friend Diane told me a good way to look at all of this healthy journey is not as "Mistakes" when a person messes up but as "practice". Isn't that true about all of life we don't fail we are just here to learn and mistakes are part of the journey.   Thanks Diane!

 

 

Oprah I will Miss YOU!!!

Wow, I watched the Final episode today; I was a day late I had it PVR'd.  I was so impressed.  What a beautiful touching thank-you and excellent wrap up.  I, like so many grew up watching the show.  She feels like a friend; a wise, humble, inspirational, down to earth kind friend. The kind of friend you cherish and laugh with.  

Anyway I just felt I needed to say something about it being the end of her show.  

I love how she talked about "finding your passion and calling and not wasting one more second."  

I love her message of "You are responsible for the energy you bring in the room."  (Thanks Diane for reminding me of that one too.)

And probably one of the best lessons, "You alone are enough.  Your being here, your being alive makes worthiness your birthright. You are a child of God and that makes you valuable."

Love this Prairie Sky of mine!  

Thank you Oprah for giving us hope and inspiration and life lessons that have opened our minds to a higher purpose. You are the best!

Glad I am back

Life keeps tripping me up and happening at one million miles an hour and I keep thinking when things slow down I will blog.  When I get a moment I will really work on myself and losing this weight.  Guess what "THIS IS IT!" "The time is NOW!" and no I am not yelling at myself or anyone else just emphasizing this fact.  

Me - (I am not driving)!

So moving forward.  I am committing to focus on my weight loss journey and my "get healthy" journey.  I need to.  I feel really crappy about my weight gain (see weight stats).  I don't want to keep using food to tune out and fill my anxiety.

Oh, ya forward!  I am using the "Spark People" website to track my food.  I am sticking to 1500-1600 calories per day.  I am journalling to stop my emotional eating. I also have my friend Diane on speed dial.  And basically I am putting in effort to prepare and cook healthy food.

 I will blog most nights before bed.  I used to be an early morning blogger and it worked great for me but ever since I have started working full time I have never found the "right" time to get everything down.  So I will try before bed.  

I am reading Marianne Williamson's book "A Course in Weight Loss" and going to be going through the lessons in each chapter.

I always look to the sky for solace and inspiration. It always moves me.

I am committing to walking 40-60min each day - building up to running.  I am doing strengthtraining 3 times a week.

This is a botanical park where I walk sometimes and this is my official before (spring time) photo. I thought it would be neat to take some progressive photos.  It is a good hike to get there so it is some inspiration for walking.

I am most importantly stopping the denial that somehow this weight will come off without me working at it. Ya, no that is not how it works.  I know that.

I will not give up.  Through set backs and obstacles and changes and challenges I will get back up and keep going.  

 I am very blessed with an amazing family that will walk with me and support me.

Some points that I need to remember:  

• be prepared with proper healthy food. Grocery buying, prepping, cooking. It doesn't happen by itself!
• focus on Eating Right and Exercises as the two most important things in my life right now. ie: if the laundry doesn't get done on time...oh well.
•  do not lose sight of my goals.
• remember I am not alone, God is here to help me and I have amazing friends and family
• stay the course - do not not give up
• do not use food as a comfort, do not eat my emotions
• every little small effort in the right direction to my goal is a success.  ie:  lose the all or nothing thinking.
• if I fail or make a mistake - get right back up immediately and know it is OK.  We all make mistakes.  We are on this earth to learn.
• know that this journey is a learning experience and it is joyful not a struggle or a downer. It is an exciting adventure full of promise.

So that is the plan.  I will blog about all the fun details.  And I will enjoy this process!

 I will learn some lessons from my dog "Tessa".  "Have fun, don't stress, don't worry." "Life is great!"

Note to self - Please RE-READ again this post if having a bad day!  And then RE-READ again!!

I Can Do It Conference - Vancouver 2011

WOW, I feel so blessed to have been able to go to this conference.  Two days with the following Speakers/Authors:

 

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Louise L. Hay
Robert Holden, Ph.D.
Caroline Myss
Brian L. Weiss, M.D.
Marianne Williamson
Geneen Roth
Cheryl Richardson
Doreen Virtue

Each Speaker was powerful, captivating and inspiring.  It is so hard to sum up this conference in a few words.  I do know that I will not be the same after hearing each person speak.  I feel I have been set upon a spiritual path and I am seeing things in a different light.

Louise Hay and several of the Speakers spoke of the power of prayer and we all prayed for Japan which was a powerful experience.  It felt good to do something for such a tragic event rather than feeling helpless.  Having 3000 people set an intention of prayer and healing for the poor people who were affected in the tsunami was something I will never forget. Instead of watching the devastation over and over on TV I keep praying for the people instead.  

I am grateful I was able to share this weekend with my best friend Diane who is my soul sister.

My best friend and I stayed at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

Wayne Dyer:  "All of us are infinite spiritual beings having a temporary human experience."  "Let go and allow God to come in .  Allow yourself to Just BE."

View from our window.

Geneen Roth:  "The way we eat is a direct reflection of how we feel about being alive.  Food on our plate is a doorway in to realize what we may not know we are expressing."

Doreen Virtue:  "Angels are one with God.  Listen to Angels. Ask them for help!"

The lovely Diane!

Caroline Myss:  "The true search for our spirituality is inner Illumination, excavate, seek, find.  Get over the power of our wounds."

A very good Italian restaurant where we by chance (wink) met a cool girl named Glori.

Robert Holden:  "Some things never change: your greatest opportunity for healing, and happiness has been, will be, still is NOW!"

The Best COFFEE EVER!  Cafe Artigiano.  Go there it was soooo good.

Marianne Williamson:  "Miracles occur naturally in the presence of LOVE".  "The past is over.  It can touch me NOT."  "There is only really one problem, individually or the human race - that is separation from GOD."  "God will lift you up".

 Art in a cup.

Diane and I on the streets of Vancouver on the way to the Conference.

 The line up for the conference.  It was long but moved quickly so much anticipation!

Cheryl Richardson:  "Big Picture:  Living a deep rich and meaningful life, you honor your integrity by speaking your own truth." "In order to live a soul directed life you have to piss people off. God forbid people don't like you!" "Our sensitivity is our greatest gift individually and collectively."  "Be an intentional source of love everyday."

Cheers to an amazing Spiritual, Life Changing weekend.  My eyes have been opened and my soul is seeing the amazing grace all around us!  Life is GOOD!!!

The First Step is the hardest.....

I am busting out of my fitness slump.  I went for a one hour long walk with my dog Tessa today. Yeah Me!!!  I am going to do something physical each day.  Boy was it hard to start.  Once I am out there I always feel good but starting is hard.  I couldn't take the sloth-ness and self loathing anymore so instead of over analysing and fretting I just walked out the door.  It sounds so simple when I think about it but it was a mountain in my mind.

We are still in winter's grip.  

It has taken me a long time to get to this point but I have finally realized that I have to look at this journey as a glorious process full of ups and downs, highs and lows, realizations and brick walls.....

I am trying to stop and see the beauty in our freezing cold winter.

In the past when I was having a rough time sticking to my goals I would freeze and stop my blog.  I guess part of me only wanted to show the glowing accomplishments.  I still don't want to rant to wallow in my negativity but a healthy dose of reality is useful and productive.  As my good friend Diane recently reminded me "How can you appreciate the "highs" in life if you never experience any "lows"?"

Just getting outside and walking does SO much for a person!

The blogs I read, particularly some of the really good ones have amazing women speaking their truth - the good the bad and the ugly.  I don't want to be on or of my program or on or off blogging or on or off LIFE.  This is it every choice, every lesson, every struggle, every joy are all wrapped up into one big messy package.

Messy is everywhere, life is messy, nature is messy we are not meant to be these perfect creatures.

In my life things don't tend to be one straight line to a goal.  It's usually filled with a few curves and squiggles and loop de loops.  But in the end I think if a person can be still and be present and grateful and breath then that journey is the journey that you are meant to take.

 

My journey has been full of ups and downs lately.  I have been in a huge rut for the past few months.  Ever since I have started working full time and we moved homes I have struggled to catch up and find time for to work out and eat healthy.  I have not been working out for months and I was on a downward spiral of feeling depressed combined with a HUGE lack of motivation.  But I have made the first step.  I am committing to working out and I am going to speak my truth the whole truth - struggle and all.

Wow, love this color against the stark white.

I am going to let go of perfectionism.

The path less travelled....

I am going to be grateful.

Love this texture.

I am NOT going to beat myself up.

I am NOT going to compare myself to others and hide away from people.

I am going to be happy in the being not the doing or the having.

My Tessa!  My faithful amazing puppy!

 

Pizza Night

I am so lucky I have a pizza chef in our house.  

 

 

 

Long, lazy weekends, sunshine and family equals a good weekend in my books.

Moderation....

Balance and moderation....veggies yes, cookies sometimes....

 

We made the Martha Stewart Sugar Cookie Recipe; I would recommend this recipe for sure.  I was going for a pale valentine pink not the "Pepto Bismal" shade but oh well!  They taste great.

Happy Super Bowl Everyone!

Making healthy meals a priority...

As I go along with my weekly life ramping up one of my biggest challenges I find is food.  Buying food, prepping food, meal planning healthy meals, making the healthy meals, breakfasts, lunches, snacks,..... Without carving out time to focus on healthy nutrition it won't happen.  So this is my FOCUS!  I just need to keep reminding myself how important it is.

It is a work in progress for sure.  

Baby STEPS!!

Last night I made the Black Bean, Lime & Cilantro Rice Bowl I posted a few days ago here.

I highly recommend this salad and it gets better as it sits in the fridge.

One thing I know for sure.  To have success I need to MAKE MY LUNCH THE NIGHT BEFORE work.  Yeah me I actually did this last night.  Now I just need to repeat a gazillion times and it will become routine.  

It has been an overwhelming week with picking up everything again; I will be happy when it seems more normal to me. 

Let's begin at the beginning....

Well, I was dreading this post.  But it is a necessary post if I am going to have true success on my plan.  This is the reality check.  The numbers.  To see where I am so that I can have a place to move from.  So without any further delay.

Weight - 236.6 lbs ---- Height - 5,10

Measurements: 

Upper Arms-17"

Waist (at biggest part)-45"

Hips-48"

Chest-47"

Calf-18"

Thigh-29"

There it is all out there for the world to see.  But then people see it anyway when they see me everyday.  I have to say I was a little stunned at my measurements. Wow.  When I was in my teens and twenties my waist was 29"  how can that be my thigh now.  It seems almost laughable in  a sad way.  I don't really see myself as that big but lately it is getting increasingly difficult to fool myself.  So blinders off.  This is where I am now.  

My goals moving forward:

End Goal: 149lbs

Time Frame: Mini Goal - 185 lbs by June 13, 2011

End Goal - 149 lbs by October 1, 2011

It is a new day.

 

This morning at 5:00am I did this workout.

I have to be honest I found it hard.  But I did it and it felt good when I was done.

I also threw on some rice in the rice cooker to make the recipe I posted a couple of days ago.  That will happen tonight.  

Now off to get ready for work.  Since I have picked up my blog again I am working FULL time so this has been a huge adjustment for me.  I know the world out there does this so I am not alone.  But finding time to workout, eat right, have a family, work, cook, blog, etc.... it is  a balancing act.  But I do not want to complain I just want to find some solutions to make it work.  I know it won't be perfect but I will pick myself up each time I fall down and carry on. (Not to sound too sappy!)  But seriously I think I gave up on myself the last few months feeling sorry for myself that my life was too overwhelming.  Funny though how it is the healthy eating and exercise that gets thrown out the window first.  Well, I'm back in my life.  Here I am and I am grateful!