You may remember me from such films as, Slackers

Well my friends, (aka dad) it’s been a long time [insert some bullshit excuse about how pants-droppingly busy I have been here]. Truth is, I do get really busy at work in the summer, but that’s not really an excuse so let’s go with whatever one you were able to concoct in your head that likely makes me seem way less lazy.

The past 7 months have been pretty uneventful. Aside from sitting around on my ass, trying my hardest to gain back the weight I had lost, I haven’t done much else (outside of being brilliant at my job, of course). The good news is, I succeeded…I managed to gain back all the weight I had lost and a bonus 2 lbs… What do I win, folks? Well aside from the distinct pleasure of now moving back into my fatter girl clothes, not much…although admittedly I celebrated this milestone with many a Big Mac and Whopper over the past few months.

On Monday I made a vow to once again eat healthy and exercise (if my ability to stick to these vows is at all reflective of how I would upkeep my wedding vows, it’s likely for the best that I am single). However, I surge forward with optimism (kinda) on my new journey (I think I need a new word for journey). I have stocked the fridge with healthy, colourful foods and joined a new gym. My new workouts are only 30 minutes, so hopefully the fact that I will be in and out of there will keep me motivated.

Our staff, minus this one skinny little lady who doesn’t have even a pound to lose, has started a Biggest Loser type competition in the office. Each week, we will weigh in and track our % of weight loss. The biggest loser each month gets a movie pass and the big (or small, hopefully) winner at the end of the contest (6 months likely) will get something great too…maybe $, we haven’t really decided but I bet when we do, it will be epic.

This is a pretty lame post, seems in gaining back the weight I have lost some of my wit…I will try harder next time (haven’t you heard me say that before?!)

love, love, love
b

Just 8.625 flu's away from my goal weight

I don't know if I should be happy about this or not but weigh-in Wednesday is upon us yet again and although I am excited, I am sure this week's result will (for lack of a better word) result in a poor weigh-in next week, but oh well....As of this week I am down 31 pounds...yep...8 lbs this week. Thank you stomach flu for that amazing number.

Now I am sure that a lot of that is water weight or muscle or bone (or parts of my intestines that I have no doubt thrown up in the past few days) but I don't think I need all this bone and muscle anyway and I drink plenty of water so I will make up for that water loss quickly. Seriously though, even if next week the scale doesn't move or even if it moves up a couple of pounds, I won't be disappointed because of this week. I know I shouldn't be so excited about something that I didn't really have to work for, but I am...this has totally re-motivated me to keep at it. I now believe that I can lose 50 lbs before my next appearance as a Maid of Honour on July 17...cross your fingers for me!

31 lbs...that's pretty much 1/3 of the way to my final goal and when I break down the big 1-0-0 into smaller increments like that it doesn't make it so scary. I can totally do this and it's not going to be easy (unless of course I seriously get sick like 8.625 more times...do we think that's possible?) but I think I am ready for the challenge. Let's see how long I can keep my stomach shrank from this flu for as long as possible.

Weight Loss...it's kinda like rocket science, but not!

Well folks, it’s “Weigh-In Wednesday” (cue the scary horror movie music here). Actually, I have good news to report…I am down, I am only down 2 lbs, but hey I am 2 lbs lighter than I was last week! The past week hasn’t been too bad, but I have decided that I am not meant to be a person who eats healthy and also works out, I just can’t seem to master both, although I continue to work at it. So last week was about food…I made this home-made salad dressing (Peanut/Lime, it was amazing) and so I had salads for lunch and dinner on most days, with other foods of course, I am not quite that hard core, but still pretty intense eating for me. Except last week I was really lazy in terms of exercise. It doesn’t help that it was cold out, so I didn’t want to get out for a walk, that’s really no excuse since I am still supporting my gym monthly, but whose side are you on?

This week; however, all of the stars have aligned and I have been eating healthy and exercising so next week we should see a bigger loss on the scale. The weather has been so perfect lately. I am actually hoping to hit the beach this week, laying in the sun has to be sort of an aerobic activity I think, I mean you definitely get sweaty sitting in the sun and sweating = calories burned so I am going to go with it. I will likely be nonexistent next week, be aware…if there’s no post next “Weigh-in Wednesday” it’s because I have lost so much weight that I no longer possess the ability to type. It’s a real thing…look it up!

I have been doing a lot of research lately about calories burned doing certain things, like shoveling the driveway or while watching tv for example, I think it needs a whole post to discuss because I think most of us are unaware of how athletic we really are. So stay tuned for that, but what I did read yesterday is that basically to maintain my weight I would have to eat over 2,500 calories a day. Now that’s not a challenge at all, but that’s pretty intense to think that I must have been eating beyond that every day if I was not only maintaining my weight but also gaining weight.

I realize this post is somewhat disjointed, sorry about that; I just have a lot of thoughts in my head that I want to get out. I read an article yesterday (yes I have been doing a lot of reading and researching lately…does that burn any calories?) that talked about the keys to success for people who have managed to lose a lot (i.e. 50 lbs or more) and maintain it and they all talked about the education part of it. I mean they also clearly talked about not being lethargic and eating foods that are natural and not created in a lab somewhere, but education was a big part of it. I would like to think that I am pretty educated on what to eat and what not to eat; I just chose to ignore what I knew. But I am now learning that although I may have had an understanding of what was good and what was bad; there is so much other information that is key to know if you want to lose weight. And now that I am able to make this more about science and logic, it’s making things a bit easier for me to understand.

I can make any food fit in the Canada's Food Guide...give me a real challenge!

Yet again I am starting off a blog apologizing for being a huge slacker...truth is though that I think I get more out of writing this blog than anyone would reading it, so I guess that's why I haven't been dying to get back at it, as I am only disappointing myself. Do I bother coming up with some lame excuse about how busy I have been washing my hair and fighting off boys with a stick? Nah...I will save you the digression. Truth is I have just been lazy (story of my life). The weird thing is that I haven't been lazy for real, but only virtually I guess. I have been exercising pretty regularly but have been lazy in terms of my computer time. What kind of Gen Y kid am I, right?

So that I am being completely honest, as much as I have been rather active lately (going for walks 3-4 times a week and lifting weights, doing abs etc in my apt) I had been (up until Monday) eating pretty shitty. I would be good for 1.5-2 meals a day but snacking was getting a bit out of control. Luckily, because of my newfound athleticism I managed to maintain my 21 lb weight loss, so I am clearly doing something right.

I had a moment of clarity though this past weekend that has set me straight again. I am a maid of honour in July and my dress will be coming in within the next few days, I was laying in bed the other night and I had a vision of myself in the dress and I looked uncannily like a sausage, so I figured it was Monday morning was as good a time as any to start eating right again. So I did and thus far it's been a pretty good week. I went to a movie screening last night and I had something from all four food groups... Grains - popcorn, Fruits & Veggies - corn tortilla chips and Swedish berries, Protein - cheese sauce and Dairy - cheese sauce. Other than this creative nutritional analysis I have been doing well, drinking 8 glasses of water a day, eating 4-6 fruits and veggies a day and choosing whole grains as often as possible.

I have scheduled an appointment with my dietitian (good old Stef) for next week to fully get back on track and figure out what eating plan is going to work best for me. We're going to be meeting every couple of weeks until I am back in the swing of things. I am looking forward to seeing her and returning to my old self-righteous, salad-eating self in no time at all!

I'm kinda like Donovan Bailey without the roid rage

Haven’t really had a quality NSV in a while but this past weekend I was visiting with friends of friends whom I don’t see too often and the one girl kept telling me how good I look. I really like her! I was wearing black; I was pretty deceiving really… I will have to wear a corset under my outfit the next time I see her to continue to get the positive feedback, but I am okay with that.

Anyhoo…I was chatting with one of my bff’s a few weeks back and she was asking me what my goals were, not in terms of weight loss but more so physically with my endurance. I hadn’t really put a lot of thought into that before so she and I established a few on the phone for ourselves. My birthday is less than 3 months away and we’re both using that date as our first measuring stick. She had gotten into running in the past few years but has recently been slacking in that dept. so she wants to be able to run 10 k by May 4. I, on the other hand, have never been able to run, but it is something I hope to do one day. Therefore my goal is a little bit, okay, a lot a bit smaller than hers. My goal is to be able to run for 20 minutes straight on the treadmill.

So I have started working towards that. On Friday and Saturday I walked for 2 and ran for 2 for a total of 20 minutes. So I am 50% there I guess…although the hardest part will be the endurance of running for more than 2 minutes at any given time. I will continue to do this 2 and 2 method for the remainder of the week and then move up on the weekend to 1 minute walking, 2 minutes running to see how that goes. From everything I have read, this type of approach to learning to run seems to work the best.

I will keep you all posted on that as it progresses…have a great day and as my new lulu lemon water bottle says, “Love your Life!”

xo
b

A new rewards system...ME-wards!

I think I have figured out what motivates me more than anything…rewards or me-wards as Blockbuster would call it! I don’t know why I didn’t figure it out sooner. I am like that with everything in life…if you have to spend $52 to get a free bag at Estee Lauder and my foundation costs $51, I will buy the lowest priced item, which at Estee Lauder is the $22 eye liner just so I can get the free bag. I have a pretty kick ass collection of make-up bags at this point…thank you Estee Lauder!

In old Brandi-land, a diet (I hate that word) meant rewarding myself with food. “I totally burnt 350 calories on the treadmill this morning so it’s more than acceptable, likely encouraged for me to have a bag of Doritos and a Mars bar,” I would say to myself. And I would eat that…it’s weird how all of my past successes have been temporary with that mind set…

So, I have introduced a new style of rewards system to my life. I take things that I want and apply them to a number on the scale. For example, I have been wanting a new workout outfit for the past few months, but I told myself I wasn’t allowed to buy it until I lost 20 lbs. So last weekend I got to go get it.

Now, I have been thinking ahead to some future goals, some pretty boring, but exciting for me and some that are bigger of course based on big numbers. Like at 30 lbs I get to dye my hair. I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal to anyone, but my roots are really bothering me so it will motivate me to work my ass off (literally) so that I can have the hair I desire sooner. Genius really!

The only other goal I have decided on at this point is the 100 lb goal, which is clearly a new wardrobe. I am going to be the most fashionable skinny little bitch you’ll ever see… I may even need new friends. I don’t know that my current ones can handle the new fashionista Brandi!

So I need some suggestions for future goals….anyone….Bueller….anyone?

This is NA-CHO average diet

I know, I know…it’s been a while since I have updated everyone. I am sorry but life has been a bit chaotic lately. Aside from work travel and being sick, our office also had a flood which put my work life in disarray and it still is but it’s getting better slowly. Not to mention that I still haven’t unpacked my bags from Christmas, which is a bit ridiculous (probably shouldn’t have even admitted that to anyone, but there it is).

To add on to all of this chaos, I have also just been really busy on a social level recently which is throwing my new gym schedule out of whack. Had my classic Wednesday night gathering with friends last night, hanging with an old friend tonight that I haven’t seen in years and then Saturday I am heading out of the city to see the one and only Glen Campbell…don’t be jealous all your life!

So, although my workouts have taken a hit, I am still for the most part staying within my daily recommended calorie range which means that I am still continuing to lose. I am now down 19 lbs since October 5, which I guess isn’t anything to write home about but it’s still better to be down 19 lbs than up, right?

I haven’t really been snacking at all, which is good but I do still eat some foods that I know are really bad for me, but I love them so I can’t give them up. For example…on Sunday I went to the movies with a friend. I had the nachos (naturally)… but I hadn’t had breakfast (slept in) and this was counting as breakfast and lunch. So then I just had a light dinner, tomato soup with some whole what crackers and that was it. So even though I splurged on the approx. 1000 calories of nachos (didn’t eat them all), with the soup and crackers I was still only at about a maximum of 1350 – 1400 calories for the day….sweet!

My brain is so funny though, because I just finished telling you that I had no problem eating those nachos but yet this morning I borrowed a yogurt from a colleague and stressed about those 100 calories and 3 g of fat. I am not used to yogurt with fat, so I couldn’t even finish it. It was too sweet for me. It was strawberry flavoured…guarantee if it had been nacho cheese flavoured I would have had no problem downing the thing…interesting how that works…hmmm…

From Spongebob to Jessica Alba

I guess it’s about time for a status update…considering the whole goal of this blog thing was to give me some accountability with this whole weight loss journey, it would be good for ya’ll to know whether I am actually succeeding at it or not. So before the Christmas holidays I had my final weigh-in and measurement check as part of that fitness/nutrition class that I was taking. I was pretty happy with the results actually. I lost 15 lbs in the 12 weeks and 7 inches…I can’t tell you exactly where those 7 inches came from, some off my hips, some off my waist and some off my chest, but I don’t remember the exact break down. Whichever way it shakes out is cool with me. When they did my measurements for the first time on Week 1, I was pretty psyched to find out that I am pretty much Spongebob Squarepants. My measurements were pretty much the same (within a few inches) across the board. That’s cool…and I wonder why I can never find clothes to fit me properly. Perhaps I should start shopping at stores where the models are actually just cardboard boxes…you know, classy places like Giant Tiger…I am sure their stuff would fit me nicely…or should I say squarely hahaha…I kill me…

Well my course is over now so I have to come up with my own plan of how to stay on track….this should be an adventure. I am still eating the same way as I was before…3 meals and up to 2 snacks a day, about 1500-1600 calories or so. I am going to the gym 6 days a week, alternating between upper body and lower body strength training and of course, gotta do abs and cardio. Let’s hope this little routine turns me a little less square, a little less round and a little more Jessica Alba like…what?

I am heading out to Alberta for 5 days on a work trip, so I won’t be updating you all on the latest and greatest moments in my life…please try not to miss me too much!

xo

New Year...New Me!

Well my loyal blog followers, it has been a while, and I apologize for leaving your stomachs in knots awaiting my next post. Truth is, I was away for Christmas back home in NB and in our humble little town, the Internet connection is glacial on the best of days and I didn’t have the patience to wait 3 years for each page to open. That’s seriously how long it takes, I managed to read War & Peace and knit a King-sized quilt the one day I checked my email at home. Lengthy apology, eh? If I were writing this form my computer back home I would have simply said, sorry suckahs and in that time I could have also re-organized my mom’s pantry into alphabetical order.

Well, I am sure you’re all wondering how many times I dropped my cell phone when I was home and let’s just say that there were times when I thought I wouldn’t be able to pick it up, but eventually I did and all is well now and I am back on track. See, my Christmas holidays didn’t go exactly as I had planned. The first week was fine. I mean I still had turkey dinner and Christmas breakfast but I ate smaller portions and even used the treadmill once…but get this, I also shoveled off the deck one day and burnt a whopping 175 calories in 15 minutes…take that, Jane Fonda! So the first week of my holiday was not too bad, I pretty much practiced the 2/3 healthy meals method, but there were a few wrenches thrown into my plan. For the first time ever my aunt made home-made peanut butter cups…are you friggin’ kidding me? I may have pretty decent willpower but nobody is strong enough to turn one of those down. The first time I picked one up, I was fooling myself thinking I would only eat half. I took one bite and passed it off to my dad…but not long after, my gut got the best of me and I was back for more…as in 2 more.

So aside from the great peanut butter cup debacle, things were going pretty well. Until New Years Day…my Grandmother got pretty sick and ended up in a coma. I spent the next 8 days sleeping off and on in the family room and at my Gram’s place and eating everything from pizza to Dixie Lee Fried chicken. Not even because I really wanted it but more so because I knew that Grammy couldn’t have it so I did some sympathy eating on her behalf. How bad is that? I am blaming my sick Grandma for my gluttony? My grammy is getting better day by day and is now awake and able to sit up and eat and everything. I have been back in Toronto for 2 days and my eating is back to normal and I am back to the gym which feels really good. Seeing my grandmother laying in that hospital bed broke my heart but let me tell you…seeing someone come out of a coma and quickly progressing to being able to speak and then on my last day there having her waiting for me with her arms open when I came to visit was pretty incredible. The entire experience was pretty eye opening. My grammy has diabetes, along with a lot of other people on both sides of my family. I cannot let that happen to me. As much as I like my food, don’t get me wrong, my health has to be at the top of my priority list for the rest of my life. You always hear health experts saying that you only get one body and in 2010 I am making it my goal to look less like 2 bodies and more like one!

Happy New Year, friends!
xo