2012 is here!

Wow, a lot of time has passed since my last post.  Let's see where do I start?

I've moved to Kitchener and bought my first house!  I'm working back in the office at work, which has been a struggle at times, but I think it was a good move for me.  My dog, Louie, is loving the house and is such a good dog!

I've been really bad with the gym and my eating over the last 6 months - I've gained back all the weight i lost.  :(  But I've hopped back onto the wagon!  Last week I cut out a lot of carbs and got back to the gym - I forgot how great you feel when you work out!  I don't want to lose that feeling now that it's back - it feels like I can breathe easier!

I'm going to Cuba in February!!!!  I had hoped to have lost some weight before the trip - but it's better late than never - right?

I'll try to update the blog a lot more now that I'm trying to get back into the groove of losing weight!

D.

May Update

Okay, wow, it's been forever since I've updated my blog.  I wish that I could say that my life has been so busy that is why.  Actually, it's been pretty busy, but nothing too exciting going on.  Visiting family and friends a lot, and just getting out and enjoying this beautiful weather that is FINALLY here!  :)

I've been trying to get back into the routine of going to the gym...and basically for the month of April and May I didn't really get there too often.  I have been still walking the dog, but just walking isn't enough for me to lose weight anymore.  Last week and this week I have been getting back into it and it feels great!  I didn't lose much weight over April and May, but I'll give you the break-down below.

Friday, Apr 22: - 1 pound
Friday, Apr 29: - 2 pounds
Friday, May 6: + 1 pound
Friday, May 13: -- (no change)
Friday, May 20: - 1 pound
Friday, May 27: - 1 pound
Friday, June 3: - 2 pounds

Total weight loss since New Years:  18 pounds

I'm slowly getting there but I had hoped that the weight would come off easier when I wasn't doing anything.  lol - I guess that isn't the way it works.  I've been trying to drink more water to see if that will help with the weight loss, and apparently it is since I lost 2 pounds this week.  I'm getting motivated again and really can't wait to see more weight come off during the summer.

D.

Gym Update

Well, the end of March and the beginning of April has been busy for me.  And I have also been sick with colds, eye infections and just plain unmotivated.  Spring is here; and so is wedding season.  I've already been to 1 bachelorette party and 1 stag 'n doe.  It's only beginning...  So, there has been a lot of driving, partying, and fun! 

But throughout the sickness and fun, I haven't been going to the gym.  Unfortunately, my weight-loss has not been what I had hoped for.  In one of my previous posts, I had hoped that by the middle of April, I would be down another 10 pounds.  I'm not going to dwell on this, I can get back into a routine of going to the gym and get myself back on track!  I can do this!

Since the weather is so nice, I have got my bicycle out!  My dog, Louie and I have been going to bike rides most nights and he is loving it!  Personally, I don't feel like I get that good of a workout from it; but Louie is so happy, it's worth it!  Plus, it's so much quicker than walking the route, that I figure I can go on a bike ride with Louie and still hit the gym!  Last night was my first time back to the gym since before I left to help my brother with his baby -- wow, I hadn't been to the gym in a month!  Ugh.  I'm not that sore today, so when I go back to the gym tomorrow, I am going to push myself much harder.  I really want to start seeing results!

Weigh-In Results:
Friday, April 8th: + 2 pounds
Friday, April 15th: - 1 pound

Total Weight-Loss since January 1st:  12 pounds

Hopefully my next weigh-in will be much better!
D.

Baby News and Weigh-In

Well, my sister-in-law had her baby on March 15th around noon.  She had a girl, they named her Ava Katherine and she weighed 8lbs 7 oz and was 19 inches long.  :)  She had to have a c-section since she was in labour for a long time and was just too tired to have her naturally.


Ava Katherine and I - March 21, 2011

 I took a week off of work to give my brother and sister-in-law a hand with little Ava.  I'm so glad that I did, Ava ended up being dehydrated and had to go back into the hospital for a few days to get her weight back up.  I was able to help them by running around and picking them up when they needed to take breaks from the hospital.  Since she has been home, she has been growing like a weed!  :)  My other sister-in-law, my Mom, Amy's Mom and I threw her a baby shower this past weekend.  It was a success, and Ava is a spoiled little girl.  I'm not going to be home for a couple of weeks so I can't wait to see how big she will be by then.  Also, I miss my other brother's twins like crazy!  They are getting so big and will be 1 year in a month!!  It's crazy!!  I can't wait for their birthday party!  :)


So, for the dreaded weigh-in.  I weighed myself at my sister-in-law's place when I was there and her scale said that I lost 8 pounds in that 1 week.  I think that her scale is broken!!  I weighed myself when I got home and my scale said that I didn't lose anything that week away.  I weighed myself this past Friday, and I lost another 3 pounds.  I'm not sure if I will be able to lose another 7 pounds to reach my goal of losing 10 pounds in a month.  But I will try!  :)

Weigh-in results:
Friday, March 18th: lost 2 pounds
Sunday, March 27th: lost 0 pound
Friday, April 1st:  lost 3 pounds

Total weight loss since January 1st: 13 pounds
D.

1st Weight Loss Goal - Met

Good Morning!  I just wanted to let everyone know that I have lost 10 pounds since New Years!  I weighed myself yesterday (I know, I should have waited until Friday) and I had lost another 2 pounds!

I'm so happy, and this is going to help me keep going.  I have decided when I lose 10 pounds I will buy 1 new item of clothing and start a bag of clothes that don't fit anymore (are too big).  I have already bought new clothes (online shopping is VERY addictive) which I haven't received yet; so this weekend, I am going to go through my clothes and starts my give-away bag.  I already know which jeans I want to put in the bag!  :-)

So, onto my next goal - lose another 10 pounds.  I'm hoping that I will be able to reach that goal in a month.  Let's see how it goes!

No baby news - my sister-in-law is in the hospital right now and has been since 9 pm last night (it's 10:20 am EST); I'm hoping that the baby will make its arrival soon.  I'm hoping to visit them in the hospital tonight after work!

D.

March Update

Well, it's the 2nd week of March and I figured that it was a good time to put a quick update of how my progress is going.  I am still going to the gym basically every second day and walking the dogs almost every day.  I've been using Fitlinxx regularly to track my workouts outside of the gym.

Last week, I went to the gym Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.  This week, I went to the gym Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday again.  We walked the dogs every day for the last two weeks, except for Thursday and Friday of this week (due to weather).  I've been feeling pretty good about my workouts at the gym; I do 30 mins of cardio, weight machines (4 in total - Fitlinxx tells you how much weight you've lifted in total and I'm at 5,000 lbs every time I workout!) and then I do some ab crunches and stretches.  Usually it takes me a little over an hour to get all of that done. 

For our walks with the dogs, depending on if we have plans on the weekend, we usually take them for an hour walk for between 2 - 3 miles.  Using Fitlinxx, it tells me that I am burning between 500 - 700 calories each walk. 

Weigh-in results:
Friday, March 4th: lost 1 pound
Friday, March 11th: lost 1 pound

Total weight loss since January 1st: 8 pounds

I'm not losing a lot of weight, but I'm hoping that I will keep this off and continue to lose at a steady pace.  I believe that you have to burn 3,500 calories to burn 1 pound of fat; so, I figure if I can burn that many calories in a week; I should be losing at least 1 pound a week. 

I haven't been keeping a food diary, but my roommate and I plan out our dinners for the week.  We have been eating pretty healthy with 1 night we order food in/go out.  If I end up not losing weight but still working out regularly, I will have to start a food diary.  I am determined to lose weight, and if I have to keep a food diary, I guess I will have to.  Right now, I am just trying to get into a routine of working out, and then I'm hoping that the food will be the next step.  I'm not really craving anything so that means that I'm not snacking or over-eating.  I know that I have to control my portion size a little more, but I'm not too concerned at this point.  As long as I don't get too stressed, I'm hoping that this will continue for a while.

I'm going to try to update this blog every two weeks.  My life isn't that exciting right now anyways!  Haha.

Scratch that -- I am going to be an Auntie again any day now.  My sister-in-law was due on March 6th and is still waiting for the baby.  If no baby comes by this Monday, she will be induced.  I have offered my Auntie services to my brother and sister-in-law to help out.  So, the week after next, I will be in Owen Sound helping them out.  I will be bringing my dog with me, so I'm hoping that I will be able to continue with my workouts.  I think that I can also access the Y in Owen Sound with my membership that I paid here.  I will have to look into that.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to spring ahead tonight - turn your clocks up 1 hour!  Daylight Savings Time starts again!  I'm looking forward to light longer in the evenings, but it's going to be hard to get up Monday morning when it's dark at 7 am!  Oh well, it won't last too long.  :-)

D.

New Personal Trainer!

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last month.  I was sick for a few weeks, got that awful flu that was going around and now have a cough that will not go away!

Since I wasn't feeling 100%, I wasn't going to the gym until I felt a lot better.  This past Thursday I had another appointment with a new trainer at the gym.  The Y had called my roommate and I to see how our experience at the gym was going.  My roommate said that everything was good for her, and I complained about the crappy trainer that I had my first visit.  I wasn't rude when I spoke to the supervisor, I just explained that I had hoped for a lot more, and she agreed that it was not what I should have received.  She set me up with a new trainer to give me the experience that I should have received originally.

WOW - what a difference!  This new trainer sat down and talked to me about what I liked to do at the gym, what I didn't like to do.  She took into account that I also walk Louie everyday, and that my hour walk will count as my cardio (which I can log into Fitlinxx at home).  I was so happy with the new trainer.  She went over all the machines with me again, and had me lifting more weight, and changed the position of the seats, etc.  She even said "I don't know what ### was thinking...."  So, it wasn't just me.  She showed me a new ab workout on the mat (which I had requested with the other trainer, and she just said, use the machine for that).  So, I'm really looking forward to working out and seeing some results!  My short-term goal with my new trainer is to lose 10 pounds.  Since the New Year, I have lost 6 pounds, and have been holding at that for the past month or so.  So, I am really looking forward to the scale moving this coming week!  The new trainer has asked for us to get together in another 5 - 6 weeks to see how I am doing and change up the program and add some more machines to my curcuit.  :)

I will keep you posted with regards to my workouts and weight-loss!
D.