new blog!

Yay, I'm free! 

http://richandaimless.blogspot.com  

Come check me out in my new space. I can breathe, yay!

Bored now

Sigh

ya, ya. I know I haven't been around too often lately. I could use the excuse of too much to do but that woudl be a lie. 

Bored now.

Weighed myself yesterday morning - 181.5. down again from the previous week. But I don't want my weight to define me. 

Yawn.

I'm so much more than that and this blog sooo limits me. I'm changing it up. That's it.

A change is gonna come...

Look at all this beautiful white space. Its just WAITING to be written on. with cool, interesting, beautifully constructed sentences with colourful words. 

Fill me baby.

Sometimes a little too colourful.  I take notes from a fave blogger I know and will expand and broaden my horizens. 

What do you love?

food. love. clothing. accessories. boys (sigh). foreign boys (double sigh). oh & did I mention food?

 

A change is gonna come.

Wanna come with?

Yes. 

Then stay tuned....

Gorgeous Blogger Award - Award numero dos!

Yay! I love awards. They mean so much when they come from people/blogs you admire too. 

Thanks to Shannon from  Biggs gets Skinny for the award.

Now, I dislike rules, but apparently this is the red tape that came along with the award. well FINE then! Humph,.

So 6 things you don't know about me:

1. I lie about my age and have had several 25th birthdays (even before I was 25!) My friends all know this and play along with me every year (you're 25...American or I get happy 40th bday cards all the time, lol!)

2. I have 2 brothers whom I love more than anything in the world! They live over on the east side of Canada but we stay in contact all the time via text/email/blackberry messenger and facebook

3. I want to move to Vegas for 4 months, then California for 4 months then France for a year (with a sejour to Ibiza, Spain) then on to Ottawa and then finally move back to my hometown of Toronto. When?? I haven't gotten that far yet. ;)

4. I like animals but don't want to have any pets. I dream of travel and feel that pets hold you back from a spontaneous weekend or month in Vegas. ;)

5. Last summer I traveled to Europe (Finland, Estonia, Denmark and Sweden) and all the walking I did and sharing meals with my parents ('rents are so cool once you move out of their house and across the country!) really kickstarted my weight loss journey and I dropped 15 lbs over the summer, wow!

6. I'm looking forward to slimming down so I can finally buy those 'classic' pieces fashion magazines always say you should spend mucho money on.

Ok, now to pass this great award out to 4 other gorgeous blogger types who I'm currently reading. Now don't get mad (those I don't mention) I love you all for different reasons and will hand out awards accordingly.

In no particular order:

1. I woke up in NYC (I love this title and this girl is DEEEEP!)

2. Coffee in the Corner (looking for love & gorgeous, I like to keep tabs this one)

3. Lessons Learned (an amazing blog with lots of giveaways, yay!)

4. I was told there would be bacon (the title alone cracks me up and yes that's enough!)

Happy early weekend!

Day 5 thru 8. Who says you can't get rewarded for bad behaviour?

It's truly been a whirlwind few days. Luckily, that's how I like my winds - whirling around uncontrollably.

Whirlwind review - Days 3 thru 8:

Day 5 (SUN,Feb 28):

- Closing Ceremonies for the Olympics followed by several after parties

- The day started with yogurt and fresh fruit and ended in late night pizza and Indian during street celebrations @ 1AM.

- Received an award for my blog (yay!) which I will happily accept on my behalf tomorrow when I have a moment to sit down and write a heartfelt thanks

Day 6 (MON,Mar 1):

- Olympic headquarters closing party at night

- Day began with a vegetarian brunch and ended in poutine (so good yet so, so wrong) after a night of company provided booze and appies. 

Brunch: Poached eggs over corn muffin tops with pinto beans, & roasted potatoes

Day 7 (TUES, Mar 2):

-One of my best friend's was in town for one last day before heading back to Toronto. I'm a bridesmaid in her wedding and we had fun shopping for bridesmaid dresses. 

Trying on the dresses:

I love this dress. The style with the belt is so great!

The winning dress. The front design sooo hides your belly bulge, yay!

We're the best (gym buddies) and worst (taco bell buddies) influences on each other but we always have fun together.

Sniff, sniff. I miss her and the snacks, cookies and desserts we shared already.

Like this white chocolate mocha - so pretty but made with half homo milk and half skim milk - yikes!

The calories look so pretty under all this makeup!

DAY 8 (WED, Mar 3):

Date night. After a 5 week hiatus, I am finally back on the market, yay!

Oh I've missed dating sooo much. I just want to give dating a big ol hug and never let go!

I'm feeling bubbly and giggly and can't wait to see this fellow again. Now that 12 hour days are a thing of the past, I actually want to go out at night and not crash out on my couch till next day. 

Plus! Weighed myself this morning (so worried about Friday's weigh in) and, surprise, surprise - 183! Down 1.5lbs already from last Friday and still 2 days till weigh in. Phew. That damn (delicious) poutine didn't knock me off the charts like I thought it would. I'll make a date to see poutine again in a few months, but for now...

Healthy Plans:

1. Plan meals for the next week

2. Grocery shopping (get reacquainted)

3. Gym classes - boxing, yoga and back to Crossfit this weekend

4. Review health and fitness goals from last week

Happy eating!

DAY 3...and the verdict is IN!!

...and the verdict is: 184.5

Technically up one lb from last week but down one lb since Day 1 so yay! 

Day 3 results: still on track. Had to fight temptations at every turn today but overall good eating.

Haven't had dinner yet though. Was supposed to meet up with some friends to watch the Canada v. Slovakia game but the only place they were able to get into was a Fry house. Literally, only fries and burgers and deep fried fish on the menu with a side of fries and battered and deep fried chocolate bars for dessert.

No thanks.

I don't even WANT it. Which is not new. I live near a fry house and have only been in there 3 times in 2.5 years. Pretty good odds. 

ROLL CALL:

Brekky:

Lunch:

Minestrone soup and a jumbo hot dog @ the work cafeteria today. yum!

Dinner (830pm): Pizza!

But homemade pizza so it was alright.  I ate most of it before realizing I forgot to take a pic of it, lol!

Recipe:
Whole wheat pita as crust
1/4 cup pizza sauce
chopped green peppers, mushrooms and onions, quickly sauteed in oil spray then tossed on top
1oz garlic sausage, fried up quickly (dry pan) to remove some of the grease
1oz mozzarella cheese
1oz goat cheese old cheddar

Popped it into the oven for 15 minutes and then inhaled it in 2 minutes. hot cheese burns so good!

Happy Eating!

Happy Eating

Day 2 in the bag....the potato chip bag

Okay, so with day 2 officially over, I give myself official grades of A for effort and a B+ for actual results.

Today's temptations

Potato chips - Denied!

Ferrero rocher- Denied!

Indian food - sigh. accepted

EXERCISE:
45 minute walk home

DRINKS:
Lots of water (the washroom was my second office)
½ cup of tea


ROLL CALL:

Breakfast (930am):
Whole-wheat pita stuffed with veggies, 1 oz of ham and 2 oz of mozzarella cheese

Lunch(1230pm): 

Chef’s salad (tossed off half the cheese)
1-cup fish chowder (non cream based)
1 whole wheat bun

Afternoon snack (230pm): 1 red delicious apple
2 wasa crackers
2 tbs peanut butter
1 tbs strawberry jam

Afternoon snack 2 (430PM): 15 pistachios

I have friends staying with me for the Olympics and they wanted Indian....and so did I, kinda.

Dinner (730PM):

Started off well: 1 large green salad with 1 tbs dressing

Then I dove into the Indian food and had a bit of everything:

Butter chicken, channa masala, chicken korma, lamb vindaloo
½ a large naan
½ papadom
¾ cup of white rice

DAY 3 is tomorrow. Weigh in day too. I have the gym planned for the morning (extra 30 minutes planned due to the Indian food), salads planned for lunch or dinner and Olympic parties at night (ie drinks). 

Yay weekend!

In the beginning…

That's it. I’m starting over. I’m bored with the ‘trying to lose weight’ thingy and the ‘trying to slim down’ mantra.  I wanna take the ‘try ’out of it and lose weight and slim down already, dammit. I’ve been trying for over 14 years now! 

Enough is enough.

I’m ready to MAINTAIN.  What a beautiful word. Maintenance. I proudly maintain my car (maximize its return); I happily maintain my apartment (cleaner than a chef’s kitchen I would dare say); I enthusiastically maintain my hair too (bi weekly trips to the ‘dressers); so this word is well known to me.

To be at a healthy weight and to just have to MAINTAIN that weight within a few lbs would be WONDERFUL.

Sigh.

That’s the dream.

The reality is this: Last 30lbs to go (till re-evaluation). The same dang 30 I’ve been trying to drop since I won the weight loss contest on December 13th, 2009. I don’t count the rest of December though since it was the holiday season and resistance to all the delicious fare available during that season is futile! However, January and now February have come and almost gone so the holiday season excuse is gone. excuses

Negative thought: I should have lost a lot more since December 13th. Boo me and my lack of willpower.

Positive thought: I’ve at least maintained that weight (career low of 180.5) within 4 lbs since then – yay me!

The plan is foolproof and simple: No more excuses

1. I can get to the gym/exercise 5+ days a week
2. I can plan healthy meals that I WANT to eat and do so without counting calories or points 
3. I can drink plenty of water (10+ glasses a day) + have a cup of water before EVERY meal 
4. I can get to bed early (7.5 hours of sleep minimum per night cuz as you know…) 
5. I can go out for dinner and order something healthy on the menu 
6. I can encourage my friends to do more active activities with me 
7. I can avoid the late-eats-after-a-night-of-drinking urge 
8. I can find other outlets for release over poutine, cheesecake (mmmmm), chocolate, & fatty cuts of meat 
9. I can seek assistance, inspiration and advice from my fellow bloggers (thanks guys!)

Anytime I think or I that I can’t do one of the above, its an excuse. There are emergency situations or situations out of my control but 80%+ of the time, I should and WILL achieve the above…..starting tomorrow night on #4 though cuz tonight I’m going out with friends to celebrate the Olympics, woo! I think the Olympics would be considered


Olympic Aside: Honestly, its like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Everywhere is busy, every venue is packed and it is literally like the whole world is here in Vancouver. Pretty cool, pretty sweet and pretty exciting.


ROLL CALL:

FYI - Woke up @ the crack of 11am, lol! (Went out to celebrate the Olympics last night too)

Breakfast (1:45pm): egg white omelet (1 egg yolk + 4 egg whites) with goat cheese, tons of veggies and a pita
¼ cantaloupe, sliced

Afternoon Snack 1 (3:30pm): ½ apple and ½ an orange, sliced

Afternoon Snack 2 (planned for 5:45pm):  

1 oz goat cheese
1 tbs peanut butter                           
2 wasa crackers

Dinner (planned for 7:45/8pm) 7:30PM:


Soup and bread and side salad
Or large dinner salad
If I feel like having any alcohol then low cal stuff only (gin/tonic!)

Seafood pho with broccoli and zuchinni

EXERCISE:
10 minutes on stepper (level 12/20)
30 minutes on elliptical (level 16/20)
10-minute stretch/cool down

DRINKS:

Lots of water so far
Morning Starbucks bevy: double tall (that kind of morning) caramel macchiato made with soy milk (I’m avoiding dairy again these days. Just because)

I’ll update this when I get back from the celebrations. In the meantime… (FYI, updated!)

Happy Eating!