Weekly Update 03/07/10

Weight: 176.0lbs - down 1lbs since last week - 25% of my goal!!!
Gym visits: 0 - I was still feeling very tired and lethargic this week (more on this below)
No junk days: 2 - Even worse, I had McDonald's this week! :( Check out my last post on why.

So, it was my "time of the month" this week, so with my usually low iron being at all time low levels, I was feeling extremely tired this week. Now, its over and I'm still going to be taking the iron. Today, for the first time in 2 weeks I feel very energetic and can't wait to get the day started! Hopefully we can fit in a gym session this weekend, but at the very least we will be doing some walking today as we are going to a street festival in our neighbourhood :)

I'm going to try EXTREMELY hard this week to keep to my daily point totals as the trip is coming up soon and I would like to reach my WW 1st target goal of 175.5lbs (only 0.5lbs from where I am now!) because I know that the week of the trip, all bets are off! I imagine I will be using all if not most of my splurge points, so the time to be good is now! Wish me luck! TTFN, Morgaine.

June Challenge Update

So, I weighed myself today and I'm sitting at 176.5lbs and since I was 180.0lbs on June 1st that means I lost 3.5lbs. You know what? I'm OK with this. I certainly could have done better this month, eating and exercise wise, but there was just too much temptation and I succumbed to pretty well all of them! Also, I've felt very tired and lethargic lately, which is why I hadn't gone to the gym nearly as much as I should have.

Yesterday I felt so tired and weary, I started getting faint and dizzy (at work). So, I went to the local walk in clinic. I told the doctor about my low iron and being on a diet. He told me to eat something with red meat and gave me a "prescription" for an iron supplement. (BTW, I say "prescription" because apparently you don't need a prescription to get an iron supplement, but, they keep it behind the pharmacists counter, because there are a lot of side effects, apparently). Anyways, so I cheated on my diet by eating a McDonald's Quarter Pounder! He said red meat, right? OK, that might not have been too awful, except that because I haven't had McDonald's in over 3 months, I went crazy! I got the Quarter Pounder with cheese (has it always had 2 slices of cheese)? And fries! So, with breakfast and lunch alone, I went over my daily points!!! I still had dinner, but kept it a light salad.

Anyways, I felt better within a half hour of eating this and taking the iron, so I think this may just do the trick. Here's hoping I will have more energy in the weeks to come so I can get more exercise in! And, of course, I have to find ways of fitting exercise into our trip to Alberta coming up really soon. Especially since I don't think I will be eating awesome that week, either. Oh well! At least my old jeans now fit me! :)

Happy Canada Day! TTFN, Morgaine.

Weekly Update: June 27/10

Ok, I've been bad! I didn't update last week. Both of my blogs and my blog reading has suffered due to it being extremely stressful and tiring couple of weeks at work. I basically came home, took a nap, ate, watched tv, sleep, and started all over again. Needless to say, my diet and fitness goals suffered a bit as well.

Update for week ending June 19th:
Weight: 179.0lbs - down 0lbs since last week
Gym visits: 0 - REALLY bad, I know! I didn't even go on any walks :(
No junk days: 1 - I ate out many of the days this week, mostly due to poor food planning, and that we had a rental car last weekend.

Update for week ending June 26:
Weight: 177.0lbs - down 2 lbs since last week, 11lbs since the beginning of this blog, and 21 lbs since the beginning of the year!!! Whoohoo :D
Gym visits: 0 - Really bad again. I had zero energy after work this week. Starting fresh this week, with a nice long walk with the bf today and hopefully at least 3 gym visits this week!
No junk days: 2, again poor food planning. Oh, and a "girls night in" on Friday that included 3 long island iced teas!!! Again, I will be looking to improve this big time this week as well. We are going grocery shopping today, with a list, so we know exactly what we are eating all week. I'm also again trying for not touching my splurge points again this week.

On another plus note, I have gone down a pant size! I have gone from 18 to 16!!! And thank goodness I kept quite a few of my size 16 pants, I really don't want to be going out spending a lot of money on clothes right now either. In the fall, I will probably need to pick up some 16 dress pants for work since the ones I bought last fall are extremely baggy in the butt and legs now, it looks very unprofessional. I'm going to try and not purchase any clothes this summer (except the 2 pairs of shoes I already purchased), save that money, and put it towards new fall clothes. Hmm, maybe I should have saved this comment for my money blog. Oh well. On to groceries and a nice walk.

TTFN, Morgaine.

Weekly Update 13/06/10

Weight: 179.0lbs - down 1.0lbs since last week
Gym visits: 4 (12 WW activity points)
No junk days:6! I did not touch ANY of my weekly splurge points!!! :)

Because I've lost more than 5 lbs with weightwatchers, they've recalculated my daily points. Instead of  24 daily points, I now have 23. My weekly splurge points have stayed the same at 35. So, not a huge difference, I should still be ok. I don't think at this point in the month I'll be able to lose 10lbs as I have only lost 1, but I feel that I am doing as best I can, so I don't feel too bad about myself :) I'm going to try really hard to stay within my daily points from now until mid-July when we are going on a trip to Alberta to see my bf's sister get married. I know that week I will be using all of my splurge points!

TTFN, Morgaine.

10lbs in June Update and Dealing with Temptation

So, in my efforts to lose 10lbs this month, I have been staying under my daily WW points and going to the gym at least 4 times a week. So far, so good!

There has been quite a lot of temptation! Saturday with the baby shower and BBQ, it was quite the effort to stay away from the chips, the spinach dip (that I made!), and the desserts - but I succeeded!

I think I may be driving my bf crazy because whenever there's a commercial on for something I would like to eat but can't (think chocolate and desserts, and Red Lobster!) I get VERY whiny ;)

This morning, we had a meeting, and what's a morning meeting without donuts? Well, I stayed away from those too! I pretty much stick to my Thinsations when I have a craving, and so far, I'm doing ok. I hope my willpower lasts!!!

TTFN, Morgaine.

Weekly Update 05/06/10

Weight: 180.0lbs - down 0.5lbs since last week :(
Gym visits: 4! Which makes it even more disappointing that I didn't lose more weight :(
No junk days: 3 - I can still improve here. Saturday was an Indian buffet. Thursday we got a free desert at a restaurant (it was a mini one and I had less than half, but it still counts!) and yesterday I made spinach dip for a party today and I have to test it to make sure it tastes good, right?

I used up 13.5 of my splurge points - 12 last Saturday ALONE! Indian buffets are KILLER!!! So, I've made a vow not to use ANY of my splurge points this week. I have to lose at least 2 pounds this week to keep up with my lose 10lbs in June goal. This is going to be especially hard today. I have a baby shower AND a bbq. I think I'll tell my friends that this is a doctor's orders weight loss, and I'm sure they won't hassle me about it. It just sucks having made spinach dip and I can't have any of it :( But, I think it will be worth it in the end. I will look better, feel better, and be healthier. Its worth making sacrifices now for my future self.

Wish me luck! TTFN, Morgaine.

Good News and Bad News

Good news first: I'm under 180lbs!!! I weighed in this morning at 178.5 and I'm hoping it will stay there or go down more before Saturday when my "official" weigh in is.

Now for the bad news . . . I went to the doctor's last week for a physical and had blood work done. Well, I got called back into the office to discuss the results. So, I have low iron (normal score is 40, mine = 16!), my boss said she was surprised I wasn't fainting on a regular basis! And, I have high cholesterol - I forget the exact numbers, but I remember her saying that I needed to get from a 4 to a 2 (whatever that means). She said every point down (4-3 and 3-2) = 25% less risk for a heart attack.

My doctor gave me a few months to improve my eating and exercise before I may have to go on medication - BOO :( I REALLY don't want to be on medication). So, I have my work cut out for me. I went scouring the internet yesterday to find foods that were high and iron and/or help lower cholesterol. I will post a list later (still at work, shhh). I also got a multi-vitamin that was high in iron, vitamin C (helps the body absorb iron), and omega pills (good cholestrol).

Apparently, there is 2 different kinds of iron - heme and non-heme. Heme iron is found in meat (red meat is better) - it is easily absorbed by the body. Non-heme iron is found in plants, and is not easily absorbed by the body. Its best to eat non-heme iron foods with heme iron foods to help increase the absorption. And, guess what? My lunch is already perfect! Spinach (non-heme) with tuna (heme)! Kraft's calorie wise balsamic vinagrette dressing has 0 cholesterol, so I don't need to change that either!

For the cholesterol part, I learnt that the more "good cholesterol" you get, the lower your "bad cholesterol" affects you. So, this is where the fish oils come in. Again, I will post a good list later, but, almonds, fish, and olives for example have good cholesterol. The doctor also said that I should not have cream (or creamy sauces), butter, or mayonaise. This may be a bit of a challenge! And, to exercise at least 30 mintues - at least 5 days a week! So, time to step it up!!!

At the end of September, I'm to go and get more blood work done and we'll see where I stand then. Wish me luck! TTFN, Morgaine.

June Challenge is ON

This morning I weighed in at 180.0lbs - so July 1st I should be 170lbs or better! Here's hoping :) TTFN, Morgaine.

Bootcamp!

I'm signed up for group coupon email lists and today's deal was a 2 week bootcamp session for $30! (regular price is $80) so I signed up. I really want to lose 10lbs in June and look good for our trip. I need to get my butt in gear, and this is the best way to do it.

I'll keep the blog posted as to how it goes. TTFN, Morgaine.

Weekly Update 29/05/10

Here are yesterday's numbers:

Weight: 180.5lbs - down 0.5lbs since last week :(
Gym visits: I only went once BUT went for a walk on Saturday, swimming on Sunday and another walk on Thursday
No junk days: 1! This week included A LOT of eating out and drinking! I ate out for lunch everyday because we went away for the long weekend, we didn't get groceries. We also eat out for dinner on Tuesday (concert), Thursday (fun night) and Saturday. But, I only went over my weekly points by 10.5 - much better than the 17.5 I went over last week. Still, lots of room for improvement!

Luckily, June should be a less hectic month, so I'm really thinking that my lose 10lbs goal in June is totally doable. I just have to eat better and go to the gym a bit more :) TTFN, Morgaine.

June Goal - Lose 10 Pounds!

I feel that I didn't do as well in May, diet and exercise wise than I could have, so I think its time to step it up and give myself a challenge! Lose 10 pounds. Whatever I weigh on June 1st I want to weigh at least 10 lbs less on July 1st. June isn't a super busy month, I just have to stay away from patios and alcoholic beverages! Oh, and the snacky foods that accompany them. Thank goodness that this weekend is still in May - its the bf's birthday weekend and I know we're going to Indian buffet for dinner and we will be going to the movies (junk food!) and I'm baking cupcakes tonight - shhh its a surprise ;) But, we are planning on going to the gym tomorrow so at least it won't be all harmful :)

However, in June there is  my friend's baby shower and a BBQ, gotta watch the munchies on that day too. Other than that, we don't have any plans for any special events in June. Also, I want to set a goal of not eating out for lunch at all during the week, and eating out for dinner only once a week in June. We'll see how that goes!

Anyways, I'll post my regular weekly update tomorrow. TTFN, Morgaine.

Weekly Update 24/05/10

Sorry this is late, we had to speed outta here on Saturday morning - but the figures are from Saturday:

Weight: 181lbs - down 1lbs since last week
Gym visits: 2 times plus an hour walk
No junk days: 2! Really bad this week, I was over my daily points by 17.5!!! I REALLY have to do better this week.

I don't feel too bad about how I ate this weekend, but I know I have to do better this week than I did last week. I really want to be under 180lbs for the end of this month! I write a bit later about this weekend, right now we just got back from a 5 and a half hour car trip and just want to relax. TTFN, Morgaine.

Weekly Update 15/05/10

Weight 182.0lbs - down 0.5lbs since last week
Gym vistis: 1 - hopefully another this weekend???
No junk days: 2 - I counted butter chicken and pizza as junk so Monday and Friday didn't count
Still, I had 23.5 weekly points remaining and 5 activity points earned. My goal for next week is to only use 5 splurge points. I REALLY want to get to under 180lbs before the end of May.

I fell into temptation a couple of times, particularly the pizza yesterday. I have to learn to say no to something just because its quick and convenient. Also, we decided to only have one "heavy" (i.e. pasta) dish per week. We're going to try to stick more to whole grain rice as a side dish and of course, veggies.

And, of course, gotta go to the gym more. I'm not sure about this weekend, its looking to be busy, hopefully I can at least get a walk in. And definitely at least 2 times during the week.

I'm meeting up with a friend for dinner at a pub, hopefully they have a nice dinner salad! Oh, and rum and diet coke has 110 calories (2 points), so I will be limiting this as well.

Ok, off to start the day. TTFN, Morgaine.

Weekly Update 08/05/10

Weight: 182.5lbs - down 2lbs since last week and 5.5lbs since beginning of April!
Gym: only once this week, but planning on going today
No junk days: Friday night I spent some splurge points on chicken fingers and french fries. Otherthan that, I was good the whole week!

Last week I had 22 splurge points left over and 6 activity points not used. They reset every Saturday.

On to the gym! TTFN, Morgaine.

Weekly Update and Weight Watchers - Week 1

Weight: 184.5lbs - down 0.5lbs
Gym Visits: 1 - and likely no more
No junk days: 4

So slight improvement in weight and definite improvement in no junk days (obviously weight watchers!) This was a busy week hence the lack of gym visits, but also its "that time" so I really don't feel like it this weekend. By Tuesday I should be feeling up to it again and be back to 3 times per week.

I'm also going to add my WW (weight watchers) weekly points here.
Splurge points left 22.5 (out of 35 - so 12.5 used)
Activity points 9
Mostly used the splurge points on Thai food on Wednesday (had a friend over) and Friday when we went out to Jack Astor's and I had a coffee and cookie after the show I took my mom for mother's day.

Not too bad, still room for improvement. Oh, and no more pop this weekend and I've had my 8 glasses (or more) of water every day - 2 weeks now! That's all I can think of for now.

TTFN, Morgaine.

Weight Watchers!

So, I've signed up for weight watchers online for their 3 month special (basically they waive their "initiation" fee). Now I'm forced to track my food - which is a good thing! and stay within my daily and weekly point balances. Yesterday I was over my daily point balance because of . . . a grape "drink" (not juice, drink)! I won't be making that mistake again!!!

But it also made me realize that I really only should be eating one cereal bar at a time and one yoghurt at a time instead of two. That should really help me stay within my points balances. I get 24 daily points and 35 weekly "splurge" points, and I get extra points for exercising.

Meal Plan:
Breakfast (everyday): 1 bowl fibre one ceral (4 points), 1/2 cup 1% milk (1 point), 1 yoghurt (2 for raspberry, 1 for vanilla) = 6/7 points

Lunch (everyday): low fat turkey lunch meat with whole wheat bread (6 points), spinach salad (0 points), 1 tbsp of low-fat Greek dressing (1 point) = 7 points

Afternoon Snack (everday): 1 special K bar (2) and 1 apple (1) = 3 points

Dinners:
Sunday: grilled chicken wraps
Monday: roast beef with carrots  
Tuesday: grilled chicken spaghetti with broccoli
Wednesday: chicken breast and feta burgers
Thursday: beef and broccoli stir-fry
Friday: I'm going out for dinner with my mom for mother's day (for mother's day I bought her a ticket for Sears Stars on Ice, which is here in Toronto on April 30th, so we are going out for dinner before). I'm not sure where we are going yet, but I'm going to do some research on weightwatchers to see what I can have at a few restaurants without going over my point values.
Saturday: pork cutlet with whole grain rice and veggies

I will find out the point values for those meals later on. Gotta get going on the day - going to the gym! TTFN, Morgaine.

Weekly Update

Weight: 185lbs - down one pound!
Gym: 2 times this week, and going tomorrow as well
No junk days: only 1 (boo!)

My challenge is going pretty well so far, I only had a some coke yesterday with my meal and I have been drinking my 8 glasses of water every day, no problem.

As for eating, there have been a few slip ups, I had fish and chips on Wednesday night, Swiss chalet on Thursday - probably wouldn't have been bad if my bf had ordered me a salad instead of fries (he surprised me with SC when I got home from the gym), and I had the ultimate in bad food yesterday - McDonald's for lunch! I don't even know why, and I didn't even finish half of my nuggets, but I feel REALLY guilty about it, and that's why I had coke yesterday as well.

I HAVE to do better than this if I'm going to lose weight, and I know what I'm going to do next. More on that tomorrow! TTFN, Morgaine.

What a blow out!

So, I'm still keeping up with my no pop and 8 glasses of water per day - BUT I went out with some co-workers last night . . . 2 ciders and bruchetta later . . . then I met up with bf at 8 pm and I had fish and chips for dinner! Deep fried battered, but so delish.

I'm going to try really hard to make this a no junk day. This is the one area that I really feel that I'm lagging in. I don't eat as badly as I used to (fast food at least once a week, chips or chocolate bars almost every day, 2-3 cans of pop A DAY!!! But, I know there is still room for improvement.

My boss had suggested weight watchers (BTW, my boss is totally cool and helpful in these matters, not judging at all. And I brought up the matter). I don't want to pay for it because I'm also trying to be tight in my budget but if I'm going to see about getting a copy of the points book from someone I know that is taking it.

But, since this is still early on, I'm going to continue on for at least another month on my own and see how I do.

Wish me luck! TTFN, Morgaine.

Finally another no junk day!

Today I behaved myself really well. No junk food at all, not even one cookie (I was offered). I drank my 8 glasses of water and didn't have any pop! I did have a coffee this morning - if we had anymore water at home (we have a water cooler) I'd probably have another glass of water to compensate. Tomorrow I will do that.

Planning on going to the gym tomorrow, Thursday and Saturday. I really need to do some core work every time I go to the gym, I do notice a difference when I do.

Time to get ready for bed! TTFN, Morgaine.

Progress Report

Weight: 186.5 - up 0.5 lbs
Gym Visits: 2 so far this week, planning on going today as well. 5 visits so far this month.
No Junk Days: 0 so far this week.

So, not much progress. I've been very happy with myself for going to the gym 3X per week for the last 3 weeks. But there hasn't been any change in my weight at all!

I think it must be my eating habits. So, I have a challenge for myself for this week. It has 2 parts:
1) No pop (I swear I'm addicted to diet coke like someone else would be to cocaine)
2) Drink at least 8 glasses of water per day

I know I've should've been doing these things from the start, but my work has free pop! Its super hard to resist when its right there and I need caffine. So instead of reaching for a diet coke, its going to be water.

Also, I've gotta try harder not to have even one junky thing a day. It seems that I could be having a good day eating wise and then I have a cookie and sabotage it all (ok, not one cookie, more like 3) damn girl guides!

So, that's about all for now. TTFN, Morgaine.

Two Days - Two Gym Days

I went to the gym yesterday AND today! I'm pretty happy with this - 3 times this week! Today was a good day food wise as well - only bad thing was about a handful of tortilla chips (left over from homemade nachos). And boy were we tempted! If we had gone to the movies like planned, I probably would've caved and got popcorn or chocolate. Can anyone go to the movies and not buy a snack? If you can avoid it, then you have way more willpower than I do!

Yesterday I did my "usual" - 10 mins recumbent bike, 20 mins elliptical, 5 mins treadmill (cooldown). Today I did 20 mins on elliptical and then my bf and I did about an hour of arm, leg, and core work. Not feeling too bad yet (although I did take a nap when I got home!) but I have a feeling that I will be feeling it tomorrow. Good thing its a "relax" day tomorrow.

I hope I can keep up the 3 times per week for a while. As of tomorrow, I will have 7 more months to reach my goals.

Wish me luck! TTFN, Morgaine.

Fit for Thirty

Since the (personal) success of my PF blog, I decided I would start a blog to track (and help motivate me to) my weight loss goals.

I hope to reach my goal weight of 140lbs by my 30th birthday: November 11, 2010.

Please join me as I record my hits and misses on my way to *hopefully* be "Fit for Thirty"

TTFN, Morgaine.