How do you go up a pants size in only 4 days!

The holiday season, that's how. 
Usually they advertise how to LOSE a dress size in that tme frame, not GAIN one. argh!
I'm still a size 10 for now, but its a tight fit.
Thank goodness my sexy New Year's dress is actually a size too big because now I will easily fit into it.
Tomorrow I go back to the gym and I will also make sure that its the first day that my water comsumption exceeds my alcohol consumption....hopefully. Drinks are flowing here in Toronto and I don't know how to say no. Nor do I want to. heh heh heh
Tomorrow is also my last day in Toronto & I fly back to Vancouver on the 30th to get prepared for the huge party on the 31st . Also, it's my last day to hang with that cool new guy I met the other night. He's so gorgeous and fit....and lives in Toronto.
Hmmmm. I never really did figure out how all that;s gonna work but carpe deim -seize the day! I can't spend my time thinking about the "How's that gonna work" for everything! It just will. You'll see. :)


ROLL CALL
Breakfast (2pm)

- Fresh baked whole wheat bread (thanks momma!)
- 2 oz soft andre cheese (like full fat cream cheese)
- 3/4 cup soy milk
- 1 cup honey roasted shreddies

Lunch (8pm)
Sirloin beef burger (took off half the bun)

1/2 fries, 1/2 salad

Dinner (1:30am)
2 mini veggie samosas
1 large slice of carrot cake (mmmmmm) with cream cheese frosting

DRINKS
Yes please! Gin & Tonic -More than 3 for sure....
Water: Not enough. Maybe 2 glasses - wow, that's pretty low. I'll chug a couple more now and double it to 4

EXERCISE:
Rest day. I wish I could have done some hot yoga but the class times just didn't work for my schedule. Boo!


Happy Eating!

Free food for all! My second weakness.

Free breakfast at work and leftover free breakfast items throughout the day.
Lunch will be light (tuna sashimi) and dinner will have to be lighter (garden salad maybe??). This is the plan for now but we'll see how that goes... wish me luck!


SLIMMING TIP:Take some rest. After power squats on Monday and Spin class last night, my quads are screaming at me when I move and my legs feel like jelly. Yay! This means they're building new muscle tissue and that the workouts are working. The burn felt good and this continued tolerable burn feels better! It also means I'm burning calories, even as I sit on my butt here @ work. Resting sometimes makes you feel guilty but resting is so important in order to avoid burnout, fatique and potential injury. 30 minutes of treadmill sprints are calling to me but alas, I cannot answer. Tomorrow it is!


ROLL CALL:


Breakfast (9:15am):
1/2 whole wheat bagel with bacon, cheddar cheese and an egg
1 mini croissant
Nibbled on a 1/4 of a slice of banana bread (then tossed it out! I banish thee, extra calories!)


Lunch (1:15pm):
1 order of Tuna sahimi with soy sauce, ginger & wasabi paste
1/4 sesame bagel with
More nibbling - chocolate coffee cake (turns out I don't like this - yuck!), cinnamon danish (3/4 of one)


Dinner:
Hmmmm still full from nibbling all day. I have a crab cake salad pencilled in for dinner in the meal plan but we'll see if i feel like that later on. Right now I'm craving nice hot soup.
***Update**

1/2 cup of chicken enchilada soup (7:15pm)
Out for dinner (9:15pm):
Steak and goat cheese salad - my favourite!
6oz steak (I asked for medium rare & got medium well - argh!)
Mixed greens
2 oz goat cheese
Herb vinaigrette dressing (on the side)
My guy friend ordered a bacon cheeseburger with fries so I also had 5 fries and 2 bites of his burger. I love boys! All the taste with none of the guilt.

EXERCISE:
No exercise today. Sigh. It's a day of rest for me. Ooooo! I think I'll do some sit ups and crunches later on in front of the TV. I need to do SOMETHING active and that doesn't involve my leg muscles. Yay! Crunches it is.


DRINKS:
Green tea - 3 cups (1 tea bag, mug refilled 3 times)
1 cup of coffee - 2 packs of half&half cream and 1 brown sugar packet
6 glasses of water (so far) 4 to go!


Happy Eating!

Weight Loss on TV -The Biggest Loser

Slimming down is great but does the show have to be so annoying about it?

Product placements galore! I don't mind being advertised to but please just be honest with us and let us know that you know that we know that Subway, Extra gum, Ziploc and Jell-O, amongst others, are all throwing money at you for a spot on your show. Transparency is key.

In today's episode, contestants won Subway sandwiches (if you're a fan of cheap, bland and tasteless than Subway is for you!), and trainer Bob Harper harped on how great EXTRA gum is for cutting your cravings.
I decided to review weight loss shows on TV for this blog and now I'm suffering, on a weekly basis, through 2 hours of this sob-fest filled with sorry backstories, forced dramatic cuts to commercial and exorbitant amounts of weight being shed at a rate that would discourage even the most casual viewer from starting on the journey. Humph!

Dropping 1 to 2lbs a week is great. Amazing even if you can keep it up. However, have you checked out their daily 3hr workout plan (who, with a full time job, has the time!) and the diet (oh they are definitely on a restrictive diet to which I say booo).

Luckily, the $250,000 end prize is enough to convince contestants to bare their souls (and their big bellies) for all to see on national TV. I'll keep watching for now. Maybe I'll develop an appreciation for the show over time. Doubtful though.

SLIMMING TIP: Find your groove. The biggest problem I have with the Biggest Loser is that they don't show the fun side to slimming down. Everyone on camera is always in pain, crying or whining or almost dying in some cases. Yes, people are happy with the end results and double digit losses but they should work out because it feels good and not just because of the end goal. Being active and pushing your body to the next level is a great feeling and the natural endorphins you get from working out are reward enough. Our personal task - find activities we love to do and do them because we love them.

**Tee hee. I snuck a peak @ the scale today and yay - 185.5! Well on my way to getting to 184 on Friday. I must stay on track and achieve a drop of 2lbs each week. Lots of water, increasing my protein intake and lots of fun exercise is the plan. I can DO this!
ROLL CALL
Breakfast (9:15am):
Breakfast smoothie (fast and easy and I always have bags of sliced fruits in my freezer)
1/2 cup plain full fat yogurt
1/4 cup strawberries
1/4 cup sliced bananas
1/4 cup blueberries
1/2 cup organic 1% milk
1 scoop of protein (25g of protein)
1 tsp of raw honey
Midday snack (11am):
2oz goat cheese/Boursin cheese
8 crackers

Lunch (1:15pm)
3/4 cup cheese filled whole wheat ravioli
1/2 cup grilled zucchini
1/2 cup Classico tomato sauce
1 cup of steamed broccoli
1/2 cup of steamed carrots
1 tsp butter
1 piece of salt water taffy

Midafternoon snack (3:15pm):
3/4 cup cheese stuffed whole wheat ravioli
1/2 cup grilled zucchini
1/2 cup Classico brand tomato sauce
1 bite size kit kat bar- mmmmm

Dinner (9pm)
Caesar salad
1/4 cup avocado
1/4 cups chopped red pepper
1/4 cup chopped celery (instead of bread crumbs and it gives your salad a nice, satisfying crunch!)
3 cups chopped romaine hearts
3 oz grilled chicken breast
Dressing:
3/4 tablespoon low fat Caesar dressing
3/4  tbsp Italian dressing
1 tsp flax seed oil
Dash each of sea salt, pepper, Worchester sauce, wasabi paste, tobasco sauce

Oh yes and 4 QTY chicken wings. Mmmm - actually they weren't that good, too chewy and not crispy at all so I nibbled at two of them disappointedly and tossed the rest out. Boo to bad wings!

EXERCISE: 
Spin class: 60 minutes, woo!
DRINKS:
11 glasses of water (I went to the washroom at least 8 times today. Even as I write this, I have to go again, lol!)
3 cups of green tea (1 tea bag, mug refilled 3 times)
Protein shake (after spin class)- 3/4 cup milk, 1 scoop of protein (25g of protein)

Happy eating!

Half the battle is just getting your butt to the gym

SLIMMING TIP: Just get to the gym. Make yourself go and get on a machine. If you still don't feel like working out once you're there, then feel free to go home. The hope is that by the time you make the effort to get to the gym that you'll want to stay. Half the battle is getting your butt there in the first place. I have at times made myself go to the gym and just wasn't feeling it so I allowed myself to go home and work out for a longer period the next day. Forgive yourself and move forward. You can overcome any obstacle!

ROLL CALL

Breakfast (8:30am):

1/2 cup full fat plain yogurt

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1/4 cup granola

Midday snack (11am):

1 oz boursin cheese, 1 oz goat cheese

6 small crackers

Lunch (12:45pm):

1 cup pea soup

1 slice whole grain sprouted wheat bread

2 oz goat cheese

Dinner (7:30pm):

3 cups mixed greens

1 crab cake (purchased from Capers)

1/2 cup red seedless grapes (sliced)

Homemade dressing:

1 tbsp plain low fat yogurt

1 tsp flax seed oil

dash of worchestire, hot sauce, sea salt, black pepper

Dessert (9:45pm)

1/4 slice of pumpkin pie cheesecake (shared amongst 2 people)

Drinks:

3 cups of green tea (1 tea bag, mug refilled 3x)

10 cups water

1 cup of coffee

EXERCISE:

Doing crossfit again and they made us do a whole lotta squats.

40 (4 sets of 10) using a bar on which you add consistently more and more weight (i did 60kg or 125lbs- wowza!)

150 air squats (no weight)

75 sit ups

Oh man, already I can't feel my legs!

Happy eating!

Mini goals - Helping you make your way to the bigger ones

SLIMMING TIP: You have your big goal (the # of lbs that you want to drop) but there are also the little week by week mini goals that will help get you to the bigger goals. Set mini goals and stick to them. I'm going to set one new mini goal to accomplish this week and plan out how I'm going to achieve it.

ROLL CALL

Meal #1 (1pm):
Grilled chicken teriyaki
1/2 cup yakisoba noodles
2 cups grilled veggies (cabbage, broccoli, onions,

Meal #2 (6:30pm):
Take-out chinese
Chicken fried rice
Sweet and sour pork
Mixed vegetables
Vegetable chow mein noodles

DRINKS:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee

EXERCISE:
15 minutes - Stairmaster
30 minutes - On the treadmill
10 minutes - Ab work (leg lifts and obliques)
5 minutes  - Stretching

A new week, a new start. My goal this week is to increase my water intake to at least 10 cups or 80oz of water per day.

How I'm going to do it:

• Keeping a full glass/bottle of water next to me all day and sipping all day
• Drink a glass of water when I woke up
• Drink a glass of water at night before bed
• Drink a glass of water before my workouts

Wish me luck!

Trickin' and Treatin'! The real scare: NOT eating any Halloween candy. Muhahahahaha!

HALLOWEEN SLIMMING TIP: Expecting trick or treaters?? Don't buy your candy till the last minute. Better yet, only buy candy you DON'T like so that you aren't tempted to eat any of it.

My weaknesses don't  include candies or chocolates or desserts so Halloween is not a scary occasion for me in terms of treats. My real weakness is salty and starchy foods so it's around events like Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas where I really have to pay attention to what I eat.
This year at work I have several fun size kit kats and coffee crisps that are sitting at my desk and I can't be bothered to eat them.

MILESTONE MOMENT: Another weakness of mine used to be seeing food. Meaning that if I see it in front of me, no matter how full I am, I would have to eat it or at least nibble at it. That was me a year ago. Today, I can see food ant

ROLL CALL

Breakfast:
1 slice whole grain sprouted bread
2 free range organic eggs
3 oz rosemary ham


Lunch:
Garden salad (lettuce, tomatoes,
1 grilled chicken breast
1 tbsp Kraft French salad dressing

Dinner:
1/2 cup rice
Curried beef
Side salad

Going to a Halloween party so I will probably have to update this post after the party as I will definitely have some drinks and I'm sure there will be chips and other such noshes there as well.

DRINKS:
1 tall long starbucks Americano with honey and nonfat/whole milk (1 tbsp each)

EXERCISE: Rest day. I'll go back to the gym tomorrow to kick off the week

Happy Halloween and we won't let Halloween scare us away from eating healthy today!

The scale is a mofo. That's right. A fullscale bitch it is.

It's Friday night people! Do you know where your first drink is??  ( rum and diet coke of course. VERY low in cals)

Weigh-in day:      187lbs

Current Size:       12

Current Waist:     31"

Reflections: Oh darn. I really wanted to see 186 or lower on the scale but my week has been filled with deliciousness and overindulgences (2 of my favourite words!). Ah well. I won't let it get me down. Plus, although my weight is up 1/2 a lb, I definitely see more definition in my body. My back especially! I have some definition there - wowza! So while the scale remains a stubborn bitch this week (ya, you heard me scale!), I will find happiness in other non-scale related areas. Yay!

ROLL CALL

Breakfast:

2 slices whole wheat toast

2 eggs over easy

3 slices bacon

2 tsp butter

Lunch:

Vietnamese: Flank steak and tendon pho (noodle soup)

 Dinner:

1 1/2 cups pea soup

DRINKS:

8+ glasses of water

3 cups of green tea (2 tea bags)

EXERCISE:  Crossfit again.

Intervals: 1 min skipping, 1 min weighted burpees and medicine ball tosses

Weight lifting: front squat and bench press

Cardio: 1000m row,30 burpees

Happy Friday!

Potlucks are the devil! Moderation really is key.

Had a potluck at work today so eating was....interesting to say the least! I can't and never will say no to a potluck. I'll just work out extra hard at the gym instead. Done and done!

ROLL CALL

Breakfast (845am): 

Breakfast shake made with

1/4 cup strawberries

1/4 cup blueberries

1/4 plain full fat yogurt

1 scoop greens + energy booster

1/4 cup cooked steel cut oats

Lunch (12 noon):

smorgasbord of foods and treats and desserts and candies and chocolates.

oh and cheese too. Oh and potato chips and spinach dip and chicken wings

mmmmmmmmm

I would have to estimate about 50g of fat and 1000 calories - ALL WORTH
IT! mmmmmmmm :)

Dinner (8:30pm):

1 slice of whole wheat bread

1 TBSP peanut butter

I actually had to force it down a little. Not too hungry after the all you can eat buffet @ lunch.

DRINKS:

8 glasses of water

2 cups of green tea

1 cup of chamomile

EXERCISE: 

Lots of cardio today  to make up for the luncheon

10 minutes StairMaster

10 minutes on elliptical

30 minutes on treadmill

20 minutes of abs and stretching

SLIMMING TIP: Moderation is key. Although I'm still full, I really didn't eat too much at the pot luck today. I'm sure I estimated too high on the FAT and CALS but I enjoyed myself immensely and frankly, I wish I could have eaten MORE! Damn you shrinking stomach!

Weigh in tomorrow morning, wish me luck.

Happy slimming!

Plan to win, plan to fail, just make sure you PLAN!

SLIMMING TIP: Plan, plan plan! My hormones are out of whack this week and by default I’ve stopped caring about what I eat. Usually on Sundays I would plan out and then purchase the food I would need to make my meals and stay on track. This did not happen this week.

NB: Sometimes my tips repeat but that’s just because they’re sooooo important to drill into your psyche. Mine especially. Planning is key and I have to remember that adage: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

Time for the ROLL CALL

Breakfast (9:30am):

• 2 hard boiled free range eggs, 1 de-yolked
• 1 slice flourless, sprouted grain bread, toasted
• 1 TBSP peanut butter
• ½ pink grapefruit

Lunch (12:30pm @ Costco):

• 2 mini butter tarts (damn you, free samples!)
• 1 jumbo hot dog
• ½ container of French fries (shared with a friend)

Note to followers: I felt sooo gross afterward and tired for the rest of the afternoon. It was definitely delicious though but my body just wasn’t used to that crap after months of healthier eating. I’m gonna pay for that in this week’s weigh in for sure!

Dinner: (830pm)

• Take out stir fry
• 2 oz beef and chicken
• ½ cup white rice
• 3 cups of chopped vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, carrots, onions, zucchini & mushrooms)
• 1 oz firm tofu

Drinks:

• 8 glasses of water
• 3 cups of green tea (2 bags over the course of the day)
• ½ cup of diet coke (@ Costco)

EXERCISE (6 to 7am): A fun and challenging cross training workout called – Crossfit
It kicks my ass each time and I love it. Made for all fitness levels, it challenges you to get to the next level in your personal fitness. Perfect for me as my level is continuously increasing.

Happy Eating!

Don't be lazy. Add vegetables to everything

ROLL CALL:

Breakfast (9:30am):

3/4 cut steel cut oats

2 tsp each - sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds raisins

1tsp brown sugar

1/2 protein bar

Lunch (12:30pm):

1 pesto and cream sauce stuffed chicken breast (200 cal, 6 grams of fat)

1 large garden salad (iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, red cabbage, shredded carrots, sliced cucumber)

1 tablespoon ranch dressing

Afternoon Snack #1 (3pm):

1- 35g bag Ruffles  sour cream and cheddar flavour baked chips

1 tbsp ranch dressing (for dipping. mmmm)

5 almonds

Afternoon snack #2: (7pm)

1/2 max chocolate bar

1/2 crispy crunch

Dinner (9:30pm) :

6 oz beef stuffed whole wheat pasta

1/2 cup Classico Italian sausage pasta sauce

- yes I should have added veggies but I was too lazy

DRINKS:

8 glasses of water

3 cups of green tea (1 tea bag, portable mug refilled 3 times)

1/2 cup of xxx vitamin water (I just keep sipping from the bottle in my fridge)

EXERCISE:

Warm up: 13 minutes on StairMaster @ level 12
Work out:  chest and back
2 sets of 10 full, military style push ups
2 sets of 25 - chest press @ 55lbs
2 sets of 25  - pull press @ 50lbs
2 sets of 25 - lateral pull down @ 80lbs
30 minutes - elliptical

10 minutes of ab work (basic sit ups,
Cool down/stretch

SLIMMING DOWN TIP: Add vegetables where you can! My pasta today should have included green peppers, onions, mushrooms and zucchini but I didn't bother to because I had company over and just went right for the goods. Plus my company arrived very late so I didn't start to cook till late.

Easy way to include vegetables:

• Buy them pre cut in the grocery store. This will cost you more but you'll at least use them and it will save you time.

• Add a side salad/garden salad to any meal

Wanna slim down? Get to bed early

ROLL CALL (ie Daily Food Diary)

Breakfast (930am):

1/2 cup of full fat plain yogurt

3/4 cup of sliced strawberries

1/4 cup of Terra Breads granola mix

(I also had a grapefruit to eat but I didn’t feel like eating much)

Lunch (1230pm):

(Brought a garden salad and a chicken breast to work but didn’t feel like having it so went to café @ work instead)

1 Veggie samosa

1 cup - chick pea salad (chick peas, red peppers, vinaigrette dressing, black olives)

Afternoon snack (nibbled between 3pm to 4pm):

1 cup air popped popcorn

4 Ritz type crackers, 1 Tablespoon peanut butter

Dinner (Ate 1/2 @ 530pm & the other 1/2 @ 8pm):

Grilled ham and bocconcini cheese panini on 1/2 whole wheat focaccia

With artichoke hearts, lettuce, tomato and green olives, mustard and 1 tsp of pesto mayo ( I made the sandwich lady take off any extra)

Drinks

6 cups green tea (2 tea bags over the course of the day and refill the portable mug with hot water)

8 glasses of water (still drinking a few more glasses now)

EXERCISE: None today so extra effort should have been made on the eating – Oops. Better luck tomorrow!

SLIMMING DOWN TIP: Get enough sleep!  I couldn't sleep last night and only had 4 hours of rest. I felt listless and tired all day and drank more coffee and tea than usual to perk myself up.
 Don't believe me?? Read the source article from Glamour mag or better yet - try it yourself!

Eat for Energy! Sunday, October 25th, 2009

ROLL CALL

Breakfast (1:30pm):

4 egg whites, 1 yolk

1/4 cup each of green peppers, mushrooms and onions

1 oz havarti cheese

1/4 cup sliced tomato

Lunch (6:30pm): 

1 slice of sprouted whole wheat bread

1 tablespoon of peanut butter (lite cuz its sweeter. mmmmm)

Dinner (8:30pm):

1 blue menu spinach and ricotta cheese stuffed chicken breast

1 large garden salad (iceburg lettuce, tomatoes, red cabbage, shredded carrots, sliced cucumber)

1 tablespoon ranch dressing

Drinks: 

1 tall, long Starbucks americano with honey and milk

10 glasses of water

2 cups of Starbucks awake tea (i had lots of writing to get to today)

EXERCISE:

• 15 min warmup - stairmaster
• 45 minutes interval training - squats, jumping squats, jumping lunges, leg press, hip abductor, quads, hamstrings
• 30 minutes steady jog on treadmill
• 10 minute walk on treadmill
• 10 minutes ab work
• 10 minute stretching

SLIMMING DOWN TIP: Eat for energy! Today being the weekend, I had time to do a longer workout - approx 2 hours. I forgot to eat something first and by the end of my workout I was yawning on the treadmill.  Had I simply had a proper pre-workout snack,  I would have had the energy I needed to complete my workout more effectively.

Great pre workout snack ideas:

1. Yogurt ( I prefer the full fat kind in smaller quantities)
2. Bananas or other fruits (1 medium)
3. Half-cup trail mix with nuts, seeds and dried fruit
4. Energy bars (carb focused ones)
5. Protein drinks (25% protein & 60% carbs)   

• Try to eat at least 30 minutes prior to your workout to allow for digestion 
• Be sure to check with your health professional and or fitness trainer prior to starting any new eating or fitness regime.

In the beginning....there was excess fat

STATISTICS:

 
Current Weight:   186.5lbs
Height:                   5’7”
Age Range:          25 to 34

Run Down: I’ve just dropped 30lbs in 6 months (woo hoo!) and now feel bigger than ever (how does THAT happen??). At 186, I’m actually at my lowest adult weight. My clothes are looser, my energy levels are up and the attention I get from the opposite sex is definitely at an all time high but still – where’s that pot of happiness that I always thought would be at the end of the weight loss rainbow? Maybe it's not here because my weight loss journey isn’t over yet!

Background:  over 10 years of dieting, healthy eating and gym and workout experience. I’ve tried almost every type of ‘diet’ under the sun and now understand that dieting is not the way to go.

The Plan: Drop 30 lbs and firm up the muscles

How: Lots of fun exercises and great workouts, plenty of healthy, delicious eating including some of my favourites like chicken wings, pizza and pastas, plus I will happily try some new healthy eating methods along the way 

Your Role: I value your feedback, comments and any tips and tricks that you may have. We all know someone who’s trying to get to their ideal weight. If we all work together and use our shared experiences we can kick the ‘fat’ illness for good.

Pot of happiness, here we come!