Vacation Came and Gone

It was an amazing vacation to Mexico!  I had a great relaxing time. Did tons of walks on the beach - calves were screaming. Went to the gym and did some jogging on the treadmill and core work.  I managed to only gain 1 lb on my holiday.  5 days of 3 all you can eat and drink buffets - so that is not bad. I made healthy choices and used portion control. Did not go back for seconds and enjoyed everything that I wanted - in moderation and gave up other things to balance the calories out (white breads, pastas etc

I had the unique opportunity to go Zip lining. There is a weight restriction of 250 lbs. I have not been able to do this before and the guy that picked me up and threw a scale at my feet and told me to hop on - my previous nightmare! But it was OK - I hopped on proudly and came in 45 lbs under the line!

I did not meet my goal of being under 200 and am struggling at 204 and feeling a bit unmotivated.  None the less - the struggle continues and always will!

I am finding myself digging into the bags of chocolate chips and peanut butter jar a bit more than I should. I need to stop and ask myself - What emotion am I trying to stuff down my throat.  I have been eating more processed foods and can feel it. Even though my weight is in check - my body feels very bloated.

I have a friend who is participating in a weight loss challenge and she came over last night to workout and is coming again today and tomorrow - so that is great accountability and getting me moving again. When I am done typing this I am going to go downstairs to do a "Mountain" class on my treadmill to wear off the calories from the 3 hand fulls of chocolate chips that I ate while making "the kids" whole wheat banana bread for snack. I take the butter out and replace it with applesauce and it works great - try it if you haven't.

Well here are a few pics from my Mexican Adventure! I came home to an ugly blast of winter  - 25 degrees - cold - snow - wind - ugh! Better get the snowshoes and cross country skis out so that I can continue this healthy lifestyle outside again.

I have a lot of hard work to do this week - to feel confident wearing a very form fitting black dress for 2 Christmas parties next weekend.  Have a healthy and happy week!

Donna

A bit off track

I seemed to have lost focus a bit this week. 

 I got quite a bit of exercise in and seemed to be really craving and fighting my sugar addiction.

I have been eating more convenient processed foods and not counting calories and feel huge & fat! My body seems to do well on healthy whole foods (whose doesn't?)

I had quite a spill jogging last week. 

 I did 5.3 km and I went to do it again and my feet were feeling a little bit heavy

and I tripped and came down hard.

So much for getting my body bikini ready for Mexico!

 It's healing up pretty good except for the knee.

 I can't imagine doing this at the beginning of a Marathon and getting trampled by thousands!

Speaking of Marathons ---- I have registered for my first race!

 I am going to do a HALF MARATHON (21.1km) in Vancouver on May 1st!

 So excited. It's the 40th year for the race and

I am turning 40 next year so will be getting a special birthday race bib!

I am currently sitting in the airport on my way to Mexico. 

 I am going to try very hard to lose weight on my trip.

 My goal was to be 199.9 by now and I got to 202.4 and then

 hormones, bloating and life happened and I am at 203.

 So no room for 3 out of control buffets a day and endless drinks by the pool. 

 I will choose wisely and pay for any shortcoming.

There is a gym at the hotel that I will use as well and walk through the sand on the beach! 

 I have NO one peice bathing suit packed - so a BIKINI it is!

I am looking at this as my summer vacation.

The month "OFF" in Utah was great - but it certainly was not much of a vacation.

 So I am going to soak up the sun for 5 days in Cabo San Lucas and recharge

 the batteries and get ready to take the bull by the horns again.

For the first time - I am not running to the vending machine past security to buy

 6 bottles of Diet Coke to take to Mexico - Coca Lite does not taste the same

so I have always taken my stash of pop and chocolate bar - so that I could enjoy holidays.

I now have packed a book, some almonds, apples, veggie tray and subway sub,

bottle of water to enjoy the trip!

How great it feels to not be a slave.

Happy Remberance Day!

My bed for the next 5 days!

2 months at home

No exciting pictures, no amazing adventure this week - Just LIFE! I guess I am human LOL

I did not have a great weekend. It started out good, went for a 5.3 km run and then ran stairs for 20 minutes and then........ pop, popcorn, pizza, ice cream, chips, chocolate...... is this part of the 90 / 10? I'm thinking not so much. Although - it was only 2 pieces of pizza, only 1 pop, 1 - 90 cal bag of chips, a few Halloween choc bars - so all in all - not nearly as bad as it would have been "BEFORE".

I found that now I have a sweet tooth and need and want sugar. So I'll have to put an end to this. I am only up 1 lb from last week so that is not bad.  My goal is to be under 200 when I go to Mexico next Thursday so I'm gonna need to pick up my socks and get my butt out of this lazy boy!

I let all the girls in my boot camp know that I have "fallen off the wagon" and need a good kick in the butt , so I got it.  Well I will make a plan to get back on track because I have come way to far to turn around now.

Have a great week and I'll let you know how the U turn around this detour works out!

Ran My First 10 km!

It's been another fantastic week.  I am down another pound.

4 more until I am finally under that 200 lb mark.

 I think when I see 199 I will have to retire my scale for a few weeks -as seeing that number go back over 200 (as my weight fluctuates a few lbs a week even when losing) would do a big mental game.

My successes this week were: 

 I ran 10.6 km in 1 hour and 14 minutes.

 I only walked 2x for a short distance.

My goal is to do a half marathon in the spring and a marathon next fall.

I had a physical yesterday and I need to get my blood work done yet,

but my BP has gone from 140 / 90 last year to 120 / 80 this year!

 I guess I won't need to use that referral to the blood pressure clinic

 that I sort of ignored last year!

My bootcamp classes are going well! I am making them

"more challenging"

enjoying the challenges myself and am amazed that

I can actually keep up with myself!

We went into the city to get some family photos done.

They turned out not so bad considering that the

kids were acting up quite a bit!

(Which is why it's been so long since we've ha

d family pics done!)



My Wonderful Family






A look back at our first family photo 2001

As I sat and looked through the pictures at the store - I hardly recognized myself.

 It's kind of weird. Everyone else sees you - but you don't look at yourself too often. 

 I am very pleased with the progress that I am making.

 It is slow and I certainly could be working harder, but .... slow and steady wins the race!

 More importantly I am just living and going about my week 

 making healthier choices with food and fitness part of my life

and not obsessing about anything and it feels great!

I need to make a plan to get those last 4 lbs off in the next 3 weeks

as I have my bikini packed in my suit case

for a well deserved 5 day get away to

Cabo San Lucas Mexico!

Have an awesome week - If you haven't yet gotten off the couch

and started thinking about what you are

putting into your mouth and why

What are you waiting for?



Getting Stronger Mentally & Physically Everyday

Getting Stronger - mentally and physically everyday!

My Family - at the 2nd Falls at Johnson Canyon 1.5 miles in

April 2007 at 252 lbs
ughhhhhhh this was a motivational photo that I used to get my butt in gear after seeing it! Sometimes those pics are useful for something. Everyone comments "You are looking great - how much weight have you lost"
Why don't they say - you are looking like you've gained a few lbs???
( When it's needed)







Oct 2010 at 205 lbs
Life is so much easier and more fun at a healthier weight!

It has been a good week. I did my 2nd presentation about My Experience at The BLR and I educated 60 more people about Diet, Nutrition, Psychology, Motivation.  I am glad that the presentations are over so that I can start to focus on me. I need to get a good schedule going and work on some bad habits (going to bed to late is the biggest one)

Boot camp classes are going great. I did a free class on Monday and it was fun! I had an old friend show up with her husband and we had a good fun and hard workout.

We are in Canmore & Banff this weekend. I was supposed to have a nice Girls weekend away - but that fell apart - so I used the opportunity to have some nice family time.  I was going to hike up the Sulpher Mountain Gondola (right up a steep mountain 2500 feet with an average grade of 17%) but did not. Was scared about hiking alone with bears and the kids acted up and I didn't want to pay a lot of money to "reward them" with a nice trip up the hill. They came home and I looked at some bikers on the side of the highways on the way back to the condo and thought.......... I want to do that. Decided not to rent a bike but.......

decided to WALK from Canmore to Banff. Hilly and it was 16 km from our condo to where I was picked up in town.  I did it in 2 hours and 21 min (after I had done 5 km's hiking into

Johnston's Canyon) It felt great just to DO IT. I can't imagine ever even thinking about doing that before FR!

The scale is still going down. It's almost surreal. I get a glimpse once in awhile in the mirror and go..... is this really happening - fold my laundry and they are 1/4 of the size ... it really is happening. So happy! So worth it!

I have decided to do a Full Day Seminar called

"New Year - New YOU"

Weight Loss Jump Start Seminar

Jan 22, 2011 in Rocky Mountain House (home)

at the Community Center

including

Zumba, Yoga, Bootcamp, Stretching

Resistnace Training Seminar with Band to take home

Nutrition & Exercise Planning Worshop

Emotional Eating and Self Assessments

Resource Manual

Healthy Lunch and Snacks

so there goes my .... time to myself.... oh well - it will keep me ACCOUNTABLE to standing up in front of another large group of women!

You can check it out on Face book at

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=631753611#!/event.php?eid=116951761697315

I won't weigh in until Wed - number really doesn't matter to me - the clothes are fitting great - that tells the story.

Have an awesome week!



My Biggest Loser Resort Experience Video

Another great week. Another 2.5 lbs gone. I have now lost 49 lbs since signing up! Yipeeeee!

2 ladies that have never hiked before asked me to take them up Allstones so... I delivered and had another great hike 

  I am looking forward to my 2nd presentation tomorrow night. There are a lot of things that I need to get started on and I haven't been able to focus on me much lately.

Thanksgiving came and went in Canada. I used the plate method ( I can't remember if Emily said anything about the height of the divisions LOL.  I have a lot to be thankful for this year - that is forsure.  We went to my sister in laws for dinner - which is great - no left overs!

I was doing research for my presentation and diets.com say that the average thanksgiving meal is 4500 calories, so it takes the gal on the video 6 hours and 40 minutes of jogging ( so basically a marathon) to get it off. Much easier to not put it on I do think!

Have a great week

Week 5 at home

 Another great week. I had the opportunity to go on an amazing hike with a great friend. I am so lucky to have such great support and workout buddies.  Coliseum Mountain was an elevation gain of 2000 feet and 13 km. I burned 2000 calories and had a great fall day!

I enjoyed too many sweets this week. My sweet tooth has returned and I was able to enjoy them in moderation.  I am counting my calories pretty well and putting in extra cardio if I have to to wear off the extra calories. If you wanna play - you have to pay!

I was featured in our town newspaper this week. There is a whole page on my experience in Utah at the Biggest Loser Resort.  So now - the whole town will be holding me accountable at the grocery store and in the restaurants.

I am giving a presentation tomorrow night for the ladies at Curves and whoever wants to come. Next week I am doing the presentation again at The Church of The Nazarene on Tuesday at 7 pm.  I am looking forward to sharing all the knowledge and information that I got at the BLR.  Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend - it may be 1 bigger meal -but that is about it - I can do some cardio to get some extra calories for the gravy and mashed potatoes. I may get a chance to go hiking again on Saturday as well.  Next weekend I am taking a girlfriend to the mountains and we will go hiking again - I am so addicted. I guess it's not a bad one though.

This is coliseum mountain. We started from the bottom and hiked up on the right hand side and then walked up around the top part in the middle and then up to the top of the knob on the left! Great place for lunch.

 Have a great week and I'll keep on keeping on! I lost 1 lb this week. I went clothes shopping and am fitting into a size 16 pretty well at Sears, Walmart etc. yeah! Oh what a feeling!

  We met my parents for an anniversary dinner and my mom did not recognize me walking through the door.