Get Serious For Panama

  
 So yesterday was the first day of my "get serious for Panama" regime.  I went to the gym in the morning and in the evening.  First, let me say that getting up at 5:45 am is...not that bad.  I usually get up to go to the bathroom at that time, so instead of going back to bed, I just got dressed for the gym, no alarm required.  At the gym I kept it short and sweet.  I did 30 minutes on the Step mill (the BFF I love to hate) and 15 minutes of weights (leg stuff-dead lifts, plie squats) .  After work, I was planning on doing a 7k run, but it was so cold and I wasn't dressed warm enough, so I had to cut it short and ended doing 6.4K.  I then went to the gym (again) at did Athletic Training Class and Cardio Box. I really tried to keep my eating in check, because that is my real problem.  Earlier in the day,  I went to judge at another school's Science Fair and lunch was provided.  I made sure and filled my plate with the salads that were provided and took a small piece of the pizza.  I took some fruit salad and I cut a brownie and a piece of carrot cake in half, I got a few looks when I did this.  In the past I would have just eaten a whole piece of each, so I figure this is an improvement.  Baby steps right?


Also, we have Parent Teacher interviews tomorrow night, usually after we go for dinner.  Some people suggested a sit down all you can eat Chinese place.  I kiboshed that in a nano second.  I know that if it is all you can eat, I will eat all I can, especially the peanut butter dumplings.  I suggested another nice restaurant that I know I can get a chicken salad.  I told them I was eating better for my trip.  No one had a problem with my suggestion so we are going there tomorrow night.  WIN-WIN!


This morning I was at the gym again at 6 and I did 25 mins on the Step mill and a 10 minute run.  I ended with 20 minutes of weights.  There are no good classes at the gym today, so I will have to see what I am going to do this evening.  We have running club at 6 p.m., but I am not sure if I am going to make it because I have to take my students to a badminton tournament and I am not sure what time we are going to finish.  Worse comes to worse I do my 4 k run on the treadmill (which is super inaccurate, treadmill says I have done 3 K when I know that I have done WAY more) and then do my own little workout.


Just by going to the gym yesterday and this morning, I feel much better already.  I am confident that I can keep this up and as Ms. Bad Mama Jama said in a comment, maybe I can even keep this up when I ome back from vacation until I get back down to to the low 200s.


Happy Leap Year Day!


P.S.  If you have a David's Tea in your are, they are giving away a cup of FREE tea today

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Get To Know Me!

    Anyone who reads this blog on the regular knows that I love this stuff.  Thank You Miss Felicity for this!

1. Who am I?  I am fun and fun loving.  I am genuine and creative.  Intelligent and funny.
2. Who knows me best? A knows me pretty well, my Mom does also.
3. How old am I? (Or how old do I feel?) I'm a 20 year old in a 30 year old's body.
4. The most important thing in my life is… To make everyday count, live life to the fullest 
5. I always carry… my cell phone!! 
6. Something I always do is listen to soca music!  Trini to the bone!
7. I’m at my happiest when… I'm with my friends sharing laughs and relaxing OR when I am on vacation
8. On a Monday morning, you can find me…at school working
9. My favorite mode of transportation my two legs

10. My eyes are… ok, nothing special
11. My favorite material possession… shoes!
12. To relax I like to…surfing the net, reading, watching TV or chatting with friends
13. The town I live in is…Montreal, Quebec, Canada!  The most European city in Canada, eh?
14. My worst habit is…procrastination
15. My guilty pleasure is… chocolate
16. When I look at someone the first thing I see is…their height, I guess it is because I am 5'9''
17. I think __ are beautiful. black men, something about the chocolaty skin....
18. One thing I can live without is…selfish people
19. One thing people don’t know about me ...I am severely allergic to cats (sorry that is all I could think of!
20. My life is... rather simple when I think about it.




Have a great day!

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Crunch Time

There are 10 days until my trip to Panama.  I am at my highest weight I have been since January 2010 (223) when I started this blog.  I know that I have not been at the gym for a week so that plays a huge toll, but it is time to get serious.  For the next 10 days I am going H.A.M. Gym twice a day (I was there at 6 this morning) and eating on point.  I am hoping to drop 10 pounds.  Wish me luck!

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Friend Making Mondays

     On a Tuesday...again.

Friend Making Mondays: What makes YOU beautiful?

Leave out all of the negative stuff, and concentrate on the beauty that’s within you – seen and unseen.

I have nice straight white teeth (no braces required)

I’m outgoing

I have beautiful skin

I have small ankles and wrists.

I have a knack for applying make up

I have a great sense of style

I can make anyone feel comfortable and welcomed

I am nice and tall.

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Off The Wagon and Into A Ditch

Bad

• Haven't stepped into the gym all week, so busy

Good

• Ran twice this week + race

Bad

• Feel fat and gross

Good

• Acknowledging this feeling and ready to get back to work next week

Bad

• Going to Toronto this weekend to hang with my girls, this means eats and drinks

Good

• Packed my gym clothes and all my friends have a small gym in their buildings

Bad

• Not sure how likely it will be that I will actually get to said gyms

Good

• Panama in 2 weeks

Bad

• Panama in 2 weeks

I just realized I didn't Spring Chick this week!  Sorry, will have to skip and post next week.

Have a great weekend!

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Lent and More

Many of you know that Lent begins today.  I have been looking at a new form of penitence.  I am not really down to give anything up, because I am going on vacation and giving up alcohol or sweets just seems unrealistic and I am not down with taking on something that I know will just get broken.  I went online and found a few things that seem new and innovative here is a few things I found interesting:

1. Give up hitting the snooze button
2. Give up your bed, sleep on the floor or a couch
3. Give up hot showers
4. Give up twitter or Facebook
5. Do something nice/volunteer/something you wouldn't do for 40 days
6. Donate all the change that you find around the house.

I really like these ideas.  I teach at a Catholic Girls School and Lent is a big deal here, because we always have a Lenten Project were we raise money for a women's organization somewhere in the world.  This year we will be raising money for the Demographic Republic of Congo through 60milliongirls.  I am going to see if I can set up an online donation link so that if anyone reading wants to donate a small amount they can.  Around the school we have different fundraising activities, it is really fun and gets the girls involved.  If anyone has any cool/fun fundraising ideas that I can do let me know.


I have come to the conclusion that for Lent I am going to write one letter everyday to a members on staff at my work.  I will try as hard as possible to keep the letters anonymous.  I wrote one today and I really felt great.  I told this person why they were a great teacher and why they are appreciated.  I am really happy with my choice and I hope that I can keep this up for 40 days.


On the health front, I ran my first race of 2012 on Sunday.  It was a 5K and I finished with a time of 33:21 not bad at all, my fastest recorded 5k time is 33:04 so I am very close.  Also this race was VERY hilly.  I am proud of myself and I am going to continue training, the next set of races is not until April.


I have not been feeling well these last few days so I have opted out of going to the gym.  My thoat is scratchy and I have a cough. I have been drinking lemon with honey and I am starting to slowly feel better.


Hope that everyone is doing well.  Have a great week!

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Friend Making Monday: Actually On A Monday!!!!

Chichi has it first this week!  This is one of my favourite subjects!

FMM: Travel

1. Where did your most recent trip take you? Hmmmm.  I went to NYC with my students last October but that doesn't really count.  I would have to say Trinidad last February for Carnival. 
2. Is there a place that you’d like to visit that you haven’t yet?  If so, where?  Oh sooooo many.  I would LOVE to go to Dubai.  Maldives, Australia and Fiji are also on my wish list.
3. Do you travel lightly, or do you cram as much into your luggage as possible? Over the years I have learned that I always pack too much, so I really try and pack as light as possible
4. Do your eating and exercise habits change when you travel? If so, how?  I try to get as much physical activity when I travel as possible, swimming, walking, heading to the gym if the location I am staying in has one.  I like to sample to food of the place that I am in, so I have to say that nothing is off limits on vacation when it comes to food.
5. Tell us about a place you’ve been that you’d like to go back to. Japan and Thailand.  Thailand is my FAVOURITE place on Earth.
6. Do you prefer to travel at a certain time of year?  Not really, as long as the place that I am going to is HOT.
7. If you had to choose, would you go to the beach or the mountains?  I love the beach.  Beach all the way.  A beach ON a mountain would be cool....
8. Have you ever needed a passport to travel?  That is the BEST way to travel baby!  Go out and explore the world!
9. Do you collect anything in your travels?  Key chains and magnets.   They are small and easy to bring back.
10. Where do you plan to go next?  Panama in a few weeks baby!

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I Haven't Lost It

   Yesterday, I went to the gym and I stepped on the treadmill ready to do 30 minutes of running.  I was sure that this was going to be hard, since I haven't done any type of running in awhile.  I am going to try and stick to the Half Marathon schedule that I followed last year (I will post a copy of this later). Surprisingly, the running went beautifully, I wasn't exhausted, yet I felt like I worked hard.  I had a steady pace and only slowed down to a fast walk mid run to drink some water. I ended up doing a little over 3K.  At the end of the run I felt really good.  I am confident that I will do well in my 5K race on Sunday (my fastest recorded 5K time is 33:04, let me see how close I can come to that on Sunday).  Granted, I was on a treadmill and that is always easier than running outside, but I am going to try and get a run in after work today because the weather is a magnificent 2C.

I do not think that I am going to sign up with the Running Room to train for this Half.  I looked at my schedule for the next few months and I am just going to miss too many dates.  I think that I am going to go to the Wed. and Sun. for the free runs when I can  (if you are in Canada and you have a Running Room in your area, you can run with them on Wednesdays, usually at 6 or 6:30 pm and Sundays at 8:30 am FOR FREE!)


Last year at this time, I was getting ready to go here, here and here.  Awww man, I wish I was there now.


Hope that you are having a great week!

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Spring Chick Challenge Week 7

Hey Party People, 

     How is life treating you?  Life on this side of the computer is fair to fine.  The weather is really looking up and that makes me happy.  Sad to say that global warming is real, because this has been the "best" winter that I have experienced here in Montreal in a LONG time; mild temperatures and little snow.  I know that this makes me happy, but at the same time I have to question what is going on with our planet if only a few year's ago we were getting tons of snow... Enough of that rant, I weighed in at 218 yesterday, that is down 0.8, I'll take it I guess.

Week 6:

1. Gym 6 times Went 5 times,workout out at home the other time
2. 2L of water a day 3/7 days
3. Hot Yoga: Friday and Tuesday No and No
4. Run 3x this week No

Wow this week was weak. I really did not meet my goals, this is really sad.  Now I have to look at WHY I didn't reach my goals.

1. Gym Goal: well that one was practically met, so I will leave it alone.
2. Water:  I just cannot get the hang of this.  I struggle so hard.  When I am at the gym it is easier.  But during the day I am just not thirsty.  I am going to buy a case of water and set aside 4 water bottles (2 L) and tell myself that I have to drink these four bottles in a day, maybe that will work.
3. Hot yoga:  Just could not go at the times that they were offered.
4. Running:  Just have to get out there.  I went and bought a pair of running gloves and the weather is much better, so I am ready to hit the road.

Week 6 Mini Challenge: all water, all week, I must say that this went well, there were only 2 occasions I drank something other than water.  One was on Saturday, when I went to the brunch and they had the best smelling coffee, so I had a few cups and Sunday I went to the movies and had a slushie.

Week 6 Review

• How many goals did you reach? One, I have purchased something in size 12.
• What are you most proud of? Unfortunately, I do not have much to be proud of.  I guess that I am generally proud that it has been almost 5 years and I have still kept most of my weight off.
• Do you have any words of advice? My words of advice are the same words that I would give myself.  DO NOT GIVE UP.  Even when things look bad, real bad, don't give up.  Everyday there is a new chance to be the best you, that you can be. It is never too late to start.

Week 7 Goals

• Are you keeping them the same...? YES
  1. Gym 6 times 
  2. 2L of water a day
  3. Hot Yoga: Tuesday
  4. Run 3x this week
• Are you switching it up? I am going to try what I stated above about the water to try and get more in.
• What has become like a habit? Nothing specific that I didn't go before.

MINI CHALLENGE.... Eat with smaller platers and/or utensils.... Funny, I already kind of do this, so it should be hard.


Have a great day!

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Friend Making Mondays on Tuesday

As per usual, I am a bit late on this.  Friend Making Mondays comes courtesy of http://www.alltheweigh.com/ .

FMM: Before Photos

 

1. Are you on a weight-loss journey?  Have you lost weight in the past? Are you trying to lose it now?  Yes, I have lost about 54 pounds.  I am still trying to get rid of another 45.
2. Do you like being in pictures, or do you shy away from the camera?  I like pictures, I am blessed to have a beautiful smile and I like to show it in pics. 
3. Does looking at old photos of yourself motivate you? Yes!  I have old pics in my room and when I look at them, I say to myself that I NEVER want to go back there.
4. Weight-loss bloggers, do you post progress pictures on your blog? I post pictures of myself every once in awhile.  I should have a progress page like most other bloggers (added to things to do list)
5. Will you share a before photo with us (even if you don’t have an after yet?)  Here you go (Yikes!)

March 2007- Me at around 272

Jan. 2012

Now it is your turn!

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A Good Day

Today was a great day. Went to Eurostwp this morning. This class is a highly choreographed step class. It not only works my body, it works my brain to learn and memorize all the steps. I really love it though, the time passes so fast. I then went to Extreme Body Blast another fun time. I then headed to see Woman in Black with Daniel Rancliff aka Harry Potter. If you like horror movies this one is good, it is the classic horror not all that Saw/ blood and guts business.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

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Happy Friday Bloggers!

     I hope that today finds you trying to be the best you that you can be!

Last night I headed to Bootcamp Circuit and she whooped our a**es. 100 squats, 90 jumping jacks, 80 mountain climbers, 70 dead lifts to upright rows, 60 lunges, I can't remember the rest but the worst was the 30 burpees.  I swear I thought I was going to throw up.  When that was all over we had 5 minutes left, so we did modified suicides, joy. Since I smoked crack before the class, I decided to stay for Sweatshop class (actually the crack I had smoked was actually a chocolate bar I had purchased to support a friend's child's daycare).  No biggie, because after the two classes I felt great!


Today we are tubing and and then later I am heading to Bootcamp and hopefully Hot Yoga.


Packed a bunch of fruits so that I won't have to buy crap at the tubing hill #winning


Have a great day!

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How Could I Forget to Tell You?

 I booked a vacation for March Break!  Yeah!  I will be spending 8 days in Playa Blanca, PANAMA!  I am so excited, we are going to be staying on a beautiful resort and I cannot wait to relax, kick back and do nothing but soak up the sun.  If you have been to Panama let me know how you liked it.  If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I love vacations and travel.  I especially love the beach and the heat.


I am not going to stress about losing xx pounds for vacation.  I am just going to keep doing what I am doing and focus on controlling my eating when I am out.  This weekend, I have a birthday brunch and as long as I do not go buck wild, I should be fine.


Just as an aside, am I the only one that hates it when you have to be in pairs in fitness classes??? There is always that awkward moment when you are trying to make eye contact with someone to be your partner and then you get the shaft when they say that they are with someone else.  Then when you ARE paired up, if your partner isn't on the same skill level as you then shit hits the fan.  Personally,  I like to find a guy as a partner if there is one in the class, because I am forced to work harder because they are usually stronger.


Yesterday was my rest day, but I still got a walk in at lunch with a co worker.  I have been doing this more often.  Our work is not far from a lake and it is nice to walk by the water for half an hour. Tonight, I am heading to Core Conditioning and Bootcamp Circuit. Fun times.


Eating is going better and drinking only water is challenging, but doable.  When I want a hot drink I have hot water with lemon.  I miss my tea though.


Tomorrow we are going tubing with the school for Winter Carnival.  I love the exhilaration you get from speeding down the hill.

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Spring Chick Challenge Week 6

Wow, where have 6 weeks gone...Time to take a look back and see how bad I sucked this week (let us not beat around the bush, I was not at my best this week on any level). Weight is up 218.8 (up 1.6)
Last week:

• Workout everyday FAIL, No workout on Wed. Thursday, I wasn't feeling well and Sunday I had a migraine (go to hot yoga on Friday NOPE and Tuesday YUP!) 
• Drink 2L of water a day Struggling! but this weeks challenge is making this easy, peasy lemon squeezy
• Get in 3 sessions on the treadmill Got in one outside run and one walk
• Only have 2 servings of starches per day Fail #2

Time to try and get back to 214! Fail #3

Last weeks mini challenge: was no caffeine I goofed once and then had a cup of coffee to help my migraine (it worked at least)

This Week:

1. Gym 6 times
2. 2L of water a day
3. Hot Yoga: Friday and Tuesday
4. Run 3x this week

This weeks Mini Challenge: all water, all week, I have been doing this since Monday and it is going well.

Week 5 Review Probing Questions.

Best moment: Being told that I look slim by a college

Not so great moment: Seeing the scale go up and not being able to work out due to period pain and migraines

Any funny stories: Sorry :(

Are you where you hoped you would be in this journey: No.  Not at all, I started of so strong and now I struggling

Tell why or why not?  I am good during the week, but then I have an event and shit hits the fan, I need to control myself more on the weekends. 

Would you like a buddy for the last 6 weeks of the challenge: Sure

Anybody wanna chat online sometime: I think I'll pass, son't really have time for this.

In other news the Ottawa Half (in May) is supposedly SOLD OUT!  Good think I got my spot last week!   This makes me so excited.

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Friend Making Mondays

This weekend was terrible; get together after get together, food, food and more food.  I had a migraine on Sunday so no workout. Let me just say that I am glad it is Monday (crazy I know) and I am open to starting a new week.

Check out desperatestudent, I stole saw this on her blog and I love it!  I REALLY love filling these things out.

Habits

1. Are you proactive, or do you procrastinate?  I am queen of procrastination, the sad thing is that I produce better when I leave things for the last minute, I work better under pressure.
2. Do you eat breakfast everyday? Yes!  I believe that this has been instrumental in my weight loss.  During the week I usually have oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar and a cup of tea and hot water with lemon.  One the weekend, when I have more time I will have eggs with toast or an omelette.
3. How much time do you spend watching TV on an average day? Maybe an hour, sometimes when i am on a machine at the gym I will watch a bit of TV.
4. Do you talk on the phone, or do you prefer e-mail and/or text messages?  I have always had a weakness for the telephone.  I am the type of person who loves to stay in touch and I will often call my friends.  Second on my list is texts, they are quick and to the point.
5. Do you exercise in the morning, afternoon or evening? Evening during the week and morning/mid afternoon on the weekends.
6. Do you take time for yourself regularly? I try to.  I find my gym time is a great time to reflect.
7. How often do you make your bed? Almost never.
8. Do you plan meals? If so, how far in advance?  I might not write EVERYTHING down, but I do plan what I am going to have for lunch at work so that I am not eating crap all day. 
9. Do you wake up at the same time everyday? Alarm goes off at 6:30 am, but I usually get up at 7:30 (don't ask).  I get ready ,eat and I am out of the house by 8:30 latest.
10. How often do you brush your teeth? Twice a day.

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Another Well Needed Rest

   Yesterday, I was exhausted.  It is that time of the month and I just needed to rest, so I didn't work out.  Today I feel much better and I am ready to take the world by storm.  I slipped yesterday and had a bit of soft drink (I totally forgot about this weeks mini challenge of no caffeine, oops!)
     On the radio this morning they were taking about a study that was done.  This study concluded that it does not matter what diet you follow; low card, low fat, high protein.  At the end of the day all that matters is that you cut calories and that will guarantee that you will lose weight, it doesn't matter what proportion of carbs, fat, protein you are consuming.  I found this very interesting and simple at the same time.


Happy weekend!

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A Decision

  
 I know that I stated in yesterday's weekly goals that I would head to the gym daily.  I have come to the conclusion that for now, Wednesday will be my rest day.  Wednesday at the gym is lame, there are no classes that I am found of and I find that I am tired in the middle of the week and it will make for a nice rest.  In a few weeks, when I get back to the the run club, I will be running on Wednesdays anyway.
  
  I was asked today by a co-worker if I had lost more weight, I told her that I am still working on it.  It was nice to hear that she thought I looked slimmer, especially in the waist.  I told her no, but I was also wearing clothes that are too big for me.  When I lost weight I got rid of A LOT of my clothes.  The problem is that there are some pieces (especially shirts) that I really like and although they are size 20 or XXL  I still wear them regularly.


Tonight, is a fun night at the gym. Zumba, Core Conditioning and Bootcamp, oh my! I am working on getting my water in and I am really trying to eat more veggies and less sweets.  


Tosca Reno or Clean Eating and Oxygen fame, had a great post on moderation yesterday, if you have a chance check it out.


Have a great day!  Only one more day until the weekend!

Question: Do you find it hard to part with clothes that are now too big for you?

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Spring Chick Challenge Week 4 and Week 5 Goals

Week 4 was better than week 3.  Weigh in showed 217.2 , so down 0.6. I will take it.  These are the things that I wanted to get down last week

• Get 2 sessions of treadmill work in -I got this done, but the sessions were short and sweet (15-20 minutes).  Now that I am signed up for a few races, I want to increase the session number as well the length of time I spend running.  I would also like to get in a run outside.
• Go to the gym every day - I went everyday except last Wed.  This week I am going to make it a full week this time
• Drink at least 2 litres of water a day-Still struggling with this, the funny thing is that when I drink water out of 500 ml bottles, I can get more in, but whenIi drink from my stainless steel 750 ml bottle, I have trouble drinking more water, weird.
• Eat properly, only have one small sweet a day- FAIL!  But better than last week.

Mini-Challenge This Week: No Caffeine

Is tea considered caffeine?  I will commit to no coffee and no soft drinks as of today, until next Wednesday.

This week:

• Workout everyday (go to hot yoga on Friday and Tuesday)
• Drink 2L of water a day
• Get in 3 sessions on the treadmill
• Only have 2 servings of starches per day

Time to try and get back to 214!


Tonight at the gym there are no fun classes, so I will just do my own thing. 


By the way, even though I haven't seen a lose on the scale, my pants feel looser in the waist.  My problem is that my thighs are thick, so the thighs of pants fit close, but the waist is big.


Have a great day!

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