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

I need a cell phone protection plan!

It’s officially Christmas time, folks! We had our office party today. We went out for Indian food and then exchanged our Secret Santa presents…I got this great monogrammed martini shaker…thanks, Santa ;) As much as I absolutely love Christmas for the music, the parties, the family and friends all getting together and of course the gifts…Christmas also comes with a shitload of super bad foods. This is where my negotiation skills are going to have to be sharpened. I am not a lover of egg nog or shortbread or fruitcake for that matter but put a turkey dinner together with gravy and stuffing and a side of chocolate anything and you’ve got my attention! I am thinking that I should probably come up with a plan of attack for the holidays so as to not fall off the wagon entirely.

Speaking of falling off the wagon, I think that cliché needs to be brought up to the 21st century. I mean the last time I checked, outside of Amish country; nobody rides around on a wagon these days. So from now on in my world, the saying shall be “dropping my cell phone,” as in, over the holidays I really hope I don’t drop my cell phone. Nothing reeks of the 21st century more than mobile communication, right? So back to my original thought process…plan…gotta have a plan…

I am from a really small town and pretty much all of my family is on our one road (not street, it’s a road). My one aunt lives just across the bridge from me (we’re actually trolls) and she has a treadmill. So the plan is to put that bad boy to use at least 3 times a week. She may have to remove a few of the hangers from it, because God knows that if you own a treadmill its purpose is to store clothes and accessories, not to actually work out on…since it’s not mine though it is a bit of a novelty and still remains to me a piece of fitness equipment, or as I affectionately refer to it, a fat person’s arch nemesis. If only she had an elliptical…come to think of it, I think my sister has one of those…I guess I forgot because it has actually had shelves installed and is fully being used as a closet now. So…either the treadmill or the closet (elliptical) three times per week.

In terms of eating, I don’t want to be unrealistic. My goal is to eat really well for 2/3 meals per day. Eat a healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch that will consist mainly of vegetables. And then when dinner rolls around I will just be dropping my cell phone all over the place… No, I won’t let that happen, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t going to have turkey and gravy with mashed potatoes and stuffing at Christmas dinner and I have to have tang with my Christmas breakfast, because that my friends is a tradition and for those who know me well, you know that I do not f*%k with tradition…ever! In fact my mom once said she was no longer going to have a real tree at Christmas and I threatened to not come home for the holiday…..don’t f*%k with tradition, mom! Okay, so I won’t fully drop my cell phone. It will be one of those like fumbling hand situations though where it falls to like my waist and then I magically catch it. I don’t plan to deny myself anything but I will have smaller portions than I normally would…I have to keep reminding myself that this is the rest of my life and not some diet that will only last a few weeks and who are we kidding every now and then we all drop our cell phones, am I right?

Don't make me get all preachy on your osteo ass!

So I had my nutrition class last night, week 11 of 12. I can’t even describe to you how uninformed I feel each week after these classes. Not because of a lack of information in these classes but from what I didn’t know before. How is it that I am 26 years old and nobody has ever told me before about the importance of vitamin D in building bone density? Or how did I not know how hard my body works to burn calories even when I am not doing anything at all? This stuff is all so fascinating to me, but at the same time, I feel like I am not so much the smart cookie (mmm cookies) that I always thought I was for not knowing this stuff. Am I the only one who wasn’t a part of this day-to-day nutrition class of life or are you all in the dark too?

Warning…here’s where I begin preaching to you all about what I have learned…

Here are a few things that I want to share that I didn’t know and maybe you don’t either.

1 – Supplements – These little fellas are really important at building up and maintaining bone density. For those of you under 30, it is super important to start monitoring your intake of these two elements. As Canadians we don’t really get enough Vitamin D, since it’s so bloody cold here most of the year. We’re not exactly sunbathing in February. As women we will be building up our bone density until we’re 30, so start paying attention to your bone health now. After last night’s class I have now developed a fear of osteoporosis and I want us all to be Osteo free! Now here’s the thing you want to take into consideration when choosing a calcium supplement (check with your doc before you start taking random supplements, of course) your body can’t process more than 500 mg of Calcium at a time so don’t bother getting anything over 500 mg. It would just be a waste. And don’t take your calcium supplement with a calcium rich meal. Again, because you can only absorb the 500 mg anyway so why waste the excess when it could be going towards valuable bones!

2 – Supplements are great and all, but your body prefers to get its calcium supply from food, especially dairy products, so don’t ignore yogurt, cheese and good old milk! Pay attention to food labels though too, because even beans have calcium in them, who knew?

3 – If you’re a person who takes in a lot of caffeine, keep in mind that this will hinder your body’s ability to absorb calcium. So don’t take your calcium supplement with a cup of coffee either! We need over 1000 mg a day of calcium and every little bit counts, even the calcium in the toast you had this morning.

4 – You should start asking for bone density tests at age 40. Apparently some doctors put them off until your 60’s but that could be too late. I don’t know about you guys but I would much rather find out about my osteoporosis from a doctor then to find out years down the road when I break a leg and it just won’t heal. And that’s what happens when you’re all osteoey (sure, it’s a word)…your bones can’t build up like they used too so you may never fully heal. In fact more women die each year from osteoporosis related injuries than from breast cancer or cervical cancer combined. We all know someone who has been affected by those hellish cancers, so think of how many people we know that may undiagnosed with osteoporosis.

The moral of today’s lecture is that I am selfish and I want you all here for the rest of my life so start paying more attention to your calcium and vitamin D intake now so that I don’t have to carry you all around in your old age.

xo
b