Mini update

Hey all,
I am writing this mini update from the comfort of my bed. I have been sick since Saturday night and decided to come home today to a) not infect my coworkers and to b) try to sleep this bitch of a cold off.

I weighed in last Wednesday after going hard for the week. Sticking to my plan and not munching on junk food... I lost 5.6 lbs by making the tiniest changes! It felt really good and I noticed a difference right away. I had gone shopping the week before and bought a bunch of discounted things such as shorts and this cute sweater. Well now they are loose on me. It's bittersweet because I kinda wasted money but it feels sooo damn good!! I can still wear the shorts but they are a tad bit baggy on me.

This week was a bit hard as I was going through some things and have been emotional eating. I stayed within my points completely but I knew I could have made better choices. I snacked on some candy which wasn't all that smart but oh well. It doesn't even compare to how broken up and sad I was feeling inside. I came home Thursday night and found out an old friend had been murdered. I just don't understand it... :(

Now I'm sick... This has been a bad month. Anyways... I'm going to get back to snoozing for the next 15 minutes as my guy and I are going to look at an apartment at 5:30 (this will be the 3rd one so far)

Take care,

Steph

Quote of the week

saw this and it reminded me of my most recent challenges.

I have risen!!

:)

Guess who's back... back again...

I really should have posted sooner.. but I've been really busy and there has been a lot going on.

I wasn't able to complete my challenge. This makes me really sad :(. If you follow me on facebook you may already know that I injured myself pretty badly about 2 weeks ago and I am still recovering.

I fell in the shower and injured my ribs. It was a really shitty feeling. I did the "dont fall" dance which probably resulted in me falling in the worst position possible. I fell directly onto the side of the tub and then fell back and bashed my head on the back of the faucet.

This hurt like hell.

I had to take two days off work because I was in so much pain and even the slightest movement killed me. I am a lot better now but I am not rushing to get back into my regular fitness regimen until I feel 100%. The only thing I've been able to do is power-walking which me and my hunny have been doing more often lately :).

Thursday I have a massage therapy session planned with my amazing massage therapist and hopefully that will help. I'm so pumped! I always look forward to my massages with her.

Anyways I figured it was time for an update :) So here it is.

I'm feeling really good lately and have been on the ball with my lifestyle change this past week. I had a rough beginning in the month of August and emotionally ate my way through my feelings. This resulted in me gaining everything I had lost in the previous three weeks in one week. Yes.. that freakin' sucked and I felt like a fat ass. Then I fell in the shower and things didn't really get better and I continued to emotionally eat (but not as badly.. I didn't gain thankfully). I decided this past week that I needed to make some changes in my life and have since lost 3 LBS!!!

I've consistently stayed within my points and have even had a bit of trouble eating them all which is rare. I wanted to get back to where I was when I was the most determined to lose weight... and I am back there!! It actually feels very refreshing.  I'm really proud of myself.

Anyways me and my lover are about to go power walking so I should go and enjoy this beautiful day. You should too!

Toodles!!

xo

Stephie

Challenge update

Hey all,

Hope you had a swell weekend. Mine was shitty to say the least. I am not going to go into that though.

Anyways.. I successful have stuck to my challenge. I did Zumba on Saturday and boy was it difficult. I hadn't  done Zumba since June! I've been a bit nervous to start doing it again since I fell and had a minor ankle sprain. Anyways.. it was hard, hot and the next day my body hurt like crazy.

Tonight I am also supposed to do Zumba and will be doing that immediately when I get home. Looking forward to it! I am also going to see the new Ice Age movie tonight with my mom so I am pumped for that.

Anyways.. I am going through a lot right now. There is a chance I may be taking a week or so off from blogging as I need to clear my mind and find my inner happiness again.

I will be okay.. I just need some time to pick myself back up.

Anyways.. have a great day! xo

Stephie

Day 1! New Challenge starts NOW!!

So I thought to myself.. Why wait for monday to start this challenge? I've since decided to start TODAY.

I have planned out my entire 30 days of work outs. I'd like to add that these workouts are only tentative. I will DEFINITELY be working out the day I had planned on doing so but if it's down-pouring on a day I planned to power walk outside.. guess what. I'm jumping on the treadmill. I've also downloaded a bunch of apps on my iPhone for working out specific parts of your body so I may opt to do one of those too. I'd also like to point out that if it says I am only on the treadmill for 30 mins on a certain day.. and if that day comes and I hit that 30 mins and want to keep powering through.. I'm going to keep going.

Also, Mondays I don't workout as I work 9-6 and then volunteer 6-10:30 so fitting something in there is just exhausting so I choose to have that as an off day (forever).

Here is the calendar:

Think positive thoughts for me!

:)

Toodles!
Steph

Another success!

Is it really August already?? How did the year fly by soooooooo quickly??  I really just can't believe it.

Anyways.. what a busy week! It's been insane. Which has made it a tad bit hard to stick 100% to my challenge. I did go off a bit but still stayed within my daily points allowance and didn't use any activity or extra 49 points. I had difficulty getting my activity in every day but I was also out of town for two days last week.

With all that said.. I weighed in this morning and lost more than I did last week! I'm trying to figure out how but I really have no idea lol. It has to be me sticking to plan and not going over my points allowance. Being strict.

Feels good though :). I really feel as though I am powering through and am SOO motivated.

I feel like the upcoming week may be a bit harder as it is a long weekend as well as mine and Pete's 1 year anniversary. (hehehe ahhhh!!!! This is super exciting) We're going to one of my favourite restaurants so it will be hard to be careful that day but I think I can do it! No.. I KNOW I can do it. How am I going to do this? I am going to plan my day ahead of time. I am going to look at their menu and decide beforehand what I am ordering and will calculate that before hand. This is one of the easiest things to do when you are trying to lose weight and are going out to eat. ALWAYS be prepared. You don't want any surprises when you calculate after the meal and find out the entree you ordered was actually 50+ points.

That would be no good at all. Always plan.

Plan, plan, plan!!

I've been thinking about the challenge I want to do this week. I think I am going to aim to get at least 25 activity points in this week. This is very attainable and shouldn't be too hard if I plan my workouts ahead of time to ensure next Tuesday I don't have to work out for 3 hours straight (just kidding.. i'd probably pass out ha!)

This brings me to my next "30 day challenge". Which I think I will start on Monday. This is my idea.. to pre-plan my workouts week by week for an entire month (30 days) to get into the habit of planning 4-5 workouts per week every week in my schedule. I love working out so this shouldn't be TOO hard. When I say 4-5 workouts per week I mean WORKOUTS not "gaining activity points". These are two very different things. When I say working out I mean working my ass off until I can barely walk anymore and am dripping in sweat. Gaining activity points can be things such as power walking, washing the car, zumba, cleaning, chopping wood etc. Most of my activity points are earned via workouts but I do accumulate the odd point or so by doing things such as cleaning and washing my car.

Anyways I must take off!

Thank you all for your support!

xo

Steph

Best Week I've had

I can honestly say this has been THE BEST Weight Watchers week I've had in awhile.

 I've stuck to my plan.. made good choices, haven't used extra points and have been feeling much better about myself. MUCH better about myself. 

 I've had multiple people come up to me this week and tell me how amazing I'm looking and that whatever I am doing is working. I've had people tell me that I am their inspiration.. that they read my blog and immediately become inspired to change the bad habits in their lives. I can't believe that people consider ME their motivation! It feels sooo good :) 

It feels so good being able to go to bed with a few points left.. to be able to say "I'm bored.. But I AM NOT hungry!" to think "Just because there is chocolate available doesn't mean I NEED to eat it". To be able to think "If I eat this now I won't be able to eat that later".

I've been planning entire days ahead. I've been figuring out how to fit activity into my life. I've been eating healthy lunches.. I haven't been snacking throughout the day.

All of these changes by setting a single challenge. 

This week I re-realized what TRUE dedication feels like. and DAMN IT FEELS GOOD!

I started with small changes early on in the week and they stuck. It feels natural again. I have absolutely no desire to stuff my face.. no desire to have a "cheat day".. cheat days are for people on diets ;). I have no desire or cravings for greasy or fatty foods. I actually CRAVE fruit. I would choose fruit over a big mac any day because I KNOW after I ate the big mac I would have wished I had made the opposite decision.

Small changes erupt into bigger lifelong changes. 

With that said .. I've decided to make this a 2 week challenge and continue on for another week. This week will be a bit trickier as I am heading out of town for Friday and Saturday. I enjoy the challenge so it will be fun!

Anyways.. I must go. I will be announcing my new challenge at some point over the next week. Really excited to start it!

Toodles!

xo

Stephie

Setting Goals & Making Better Choices

Guess what I did in 2011? Made better choices which resulted in me completely turning my life around. 

And what did those choices result in? Me basically losing the equivalent to an entire human leg off my body. That's right.. the amount of weight I have lost equals out to an entire leg.. or a 5 gallon jug of water but I think the leg comparison is much cooler.

I think back and wonder.. how could I have carried around that much extra weight? I pick up 40 lbs and I think.. "This is how much I lost? This is what was on my body?" I don't think I could walk around all day with 4 bags of potatoes now.

It completely reels me.  I feel so happy and content with the progress I have made in the last year and a half. 

In a year and a half I went from an unhappy, obese, moody person to someone who can't stop smiling, feels good about herself and absolutely loves the idea of change. Loves life.. and the people I have CHOSEN to keep in my life. 

How did this happen? Because I set a goal. I told myself that if I wanted things to be different in my life I needed to make better choices and I was the only person able to do that. ME. JUST ME.

For once in my life I set out to focus on just myself. To stop caring about what other people thought I should do and to change my life the way I wanted to. To make this a slow but steady journey of success.

You guys think I succeeded?

I do :)

See how happy I am? It's because I did it for me.. I lost the weight for me. I didn't have an asshole boyfriend telling me to lose weight.. I did it for ME. 

Me, Myself, AND I.

I've been having flashbacks lately to how things were with my ex. How unhappy I was and how large I was. I wonder if things would have been different had I stayed? Would I have chosen this journey? Would I have gained more weight and tipped the scale at 300 lbs?

Who knows... All I can say is I chose the right path. I have a boyfriend who would NEVER try to tell me to lose weight and I'm happier than I've ever been in my entire life. 

It makes me so sad when I see females saying "I'm trying to lose weight to make my boyfriend happy" or "My boyfriend is unhappy with my weight even though I wear a size 4" or "My mom/dad makes fun of me for being fat" . Yes this happens.. check reddit. I read that shit every day and wish I could find the men who say that to knock them upside the head. 

If you want to change yourself for someone else you're making a mistake. Do it for you.. real change happens when you're doing it for yourself. Set goals, tiny or small. They will help you get to where you want to go. 

Joining weight watchers and turning my life around was the BEST choice I made in 2011. 

Make better choices.. it's a simple step to a lifetime of good changes. 

Cheers!

xox

Stephie

Making Changes

Oh boy.. has it been a crazy week.

A hard one too..I had a pretty nasty blister on the ball of my foot so it made even putting the slightest bit of pressure on my foot painful. Working out was out of the question.

Boy .. does working out make a difference in my life. I've really noticed it this past week. Last week I felt like shit.. which resulted in me eating like shit. I was not very careful at all. It did open my eyes though.. it's like I had an eyeopening experience where it just hit me. "What the fudge am I doing?! I need change and I need to get back into that mindset I was in when I first started Weight Watchers!"

I woke up Monday feeling like absolute shit and I thought "Today is going to be different". I planned my lunch.. planned my day and stayed within my points. I ate healthy and when I went to refill my water bottle at 11:30PM I tossed that "snack" thought out of my head and thought "you just want to eat because you're stressed and lazy" and guess what? I didn't eat. I wen't back to my room and did my nails.

Good for me.

*Pats self on back*

That is an achievement for me.

You know what? Today I feel better.. I feel healthier and less bloated and less pissy. I am in a good mood with a clear mind and I am looking forward to going home tonight and jumping on that treadmill. I am getting back into the right mindset.

Just because I have the points available to eat that chocolate bar or the fries from McDonald's does not mean I'm going to. Just because I could doesn't mean I should. Just because I want that burger does not mean I NEED that burger. Just because I have 17 points left for dinner does NOT mean I need to fill those 17 points with crap that will make me feel like crap after.

I need to be in weight-loss mode.. not maintenance mode. This is my journey.

Today I craved chocolate. I could have had chocolate as I had 13 points left over after all my planned meals. Did I? Nope. Why? Because I knew better.. I needed to make a point to myself and need to start retraining myself to NOT eat crap. What did I do instead? I waited for the craving to pass.. after 30 mins I was still hungry so I opted to have a bowl of popcorn. Much more filling and much healthier for you.

Another achievement.

I have a challenge set up for myself and my motivation buddies starting tomorrow. Getting 100% back on track. This means I WILL NOT be eating junk and sugary foods. This means I will ensure I am getting the correct amount of everything I need everyday. This means once I've used all of my 34 points I am done.. there will be no more snacking. If I need something I can eat some fruits or veggies. This means I will be getting on that treadmill more often throughout the week.. that I will be getting the 10 activity minutes every day that weight watchers requires.

This week I am also going to come up with a set plan on how I will move forward for the rest of the summer.
I am going to reread all of my weight watchers material to refresh my memory.

This will be good :)

I need this.

Anyways.. I must go!

Thanks for reading.

Stephie

I'm Back!

Bonjour!!

Hope you are all doing well and have been enjoying this beautiful (yet overly hot) summer!

Once again it's been quite awhile since I've blogged. So much has been going on...

Last weekend was the Canada Day long weekend which was nice and relaxing and this past weekend Pete and I made it extra long and went up to Ottawa. We had a BLAST. 

I decided I wasn't going to hold myself back.. that I was going to treat myself and truly enjoy myself in every single aspect. You know what? I realized that this thing I call my "lifestyle change" really has changed my life! I make better decisions even when I am not thinking of weight watchers. I did something bad and didn't track all weekend. Sunday night I sat in my hotel room looking out over the water and back tracked. You know what? I didn't go over ONCE on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. All three nights I stayed in a hotel.. All three days we traveled far distances. I stayed within my points without even thinking about it. It was a bit hard to control how much Fruit/Veg/Protein/Dairy I consumed as I ate out for all of my meals but I did make sure I got fresh fruit from the market and even opted for salads or a side of veggies (except when I decided to burg it up). I succeeded without even thinking about it. I must say most of my choices weren't ideal but we did a lot of walking and I shook my booty something fierce Saturday night at the wedding we attended. 

I weighed in yesterday and I am down 1.2 lbs this week. I was surprised to say the least.

Anyways.. now back to the fun part! Ottawa friggin ROCKS. I love our Capital. What a fantastic place.. I can't wait to go back again. Our hotels were absolutely beautiful.. the people were friendly as can be and the views.. breathtaking.

Here are some pics:

The lovely view from our hotel room in Kanata, ON. Brookstreet Hotel.. I highly recommend it! Great service and the room was TRULY beautiful

Parliament Building!

A lot of war memorial stuff around Parliament. I will never forget.

Good ol' Wilfie

Old vs New Parliament

The view off the Rideau trail we walked

This is the Tomb of the unknown soldier. 

So many people were painting on the streets. This one was my favourite. Yes I did give him money :P

View from my hotel room in Gatineau. Absolutely beautiful and relaxing. 

Yummy strawberries I picked up at the market. Gotta love fresh Ontario berries!

Could see Parliament from my hotel room!

Me before going out for a fancy dinner to Empire Grill in Byward Market

Pete carrying his dog around. He is not a happy camper

Me learning to fly

This was my fave plane we saw in the Canada Space & Aviation Museum

This sign made me laugh hysterically. Had to share :)

There you go! There is my update. I promise I will update you all more often. Maybe I should make a challenge of posting every single day? lol

Who knows..

Gotta run!

xo 

Stephie

Are You Happy?

Success!

Hey all,

Hope you are thoroughly enjoying this thrilling Thursday! I know I am :)

I must say that pushing myself and doing well on my challenge really paid off. I weighed in and I am down 1 lb! On a week that for most women it seems impossible to NOT gain. If ya know what I'm sayin'. I stuck to weight watchers and stayed within my point and activity point allowance and was still able to enjoy myself. On Saturday I went to the beach with some friends and decided to actually ENJOY myself and splurge a little. Let me tell you that on weight watchers.. you absolutely can splurge on meals.. as long as you stay within your points.

This is what I ate for lunch:




























My god it was good! Then I had:



























Yup! Yummmy! That was followed by a thin crust pizza for dinner. ALL WITHIN MY POINTS :). I went over my daily points allowance but because I was such a good girl and actually worked my butt out I had enough activity points to splurge.

To those who say counting points is a dumb idea.. I say bite me!! Cause I can bite anything I damn well please hehehe.

Anyways.. It makes me feel FANTASTIC! I feel sooo good. I have so much support and many of you reading are my supporters so THANK YOU.

I am soo proud of my best friend who decided to join weight watchers on Friday.. and in only 5 days had a major drop! Why? Because she has been making better choices.. has been exercising more. Weight Watchers makes losing weight so much easier than the average program. It truly is a life changer.

This week I've decided to embark on a few (weekly) challenges with some of my motivation buddies (Autumn & Jenn). They are:

1. No eatting past 9pm unless it is a 0 pt food
2. Working out 4 times this week for 30-40 minutes each time.

Well last night I got my first workout in.. Zumba! Tonight I am supposed to go for a 40 minute power walk with Jenn. That means I'm already 1/2 way done in my first 2 days! HUZZAH!!!

:)

Anyways must run.. my break is over! Toodles!
xox

Stephie

Challenge COMPLETE!

So on Monday I finished my most recent 30 day challenge. It was to read every single day for a minimum of 15 minutes each day.

During this period of time I have read the following books:

The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
B is for Beauty
Fifty Shades of Grey
Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades Freed (currently still reading).

All within the last 30 days.

I'm pretty impressed.

:)

I have an idea for my next challenge but will post next week. I'm still open to ideas so if there is something you'd like to see me try or if there is something you think would be fun let me know.

I just want to throw this out there.. if you want to participate in a challenge with me.. please do!! And please let me know so we can keep each other motivated and updated on our progress! It could be fun!!!

Anyways.. enjoy the rest of your day!

Steph

Update & Sorry!

It's been over a week since I last posted.. ahhh! Things have been INSANELY busy.

A LOT is changing at work so I'm pretty occupied with that. But the change is good so I can't complain.

Anyways my challenges last week went well. I completed the exercise one and felt fantastic after! I worked out 4/4 of the days I intended. The tracking challenge I didn't do so well on.. I did forget to pre-track a few times but had the "oh shit!" moment and tracked while I was eating. At least I tracked! Gonna start using my friend Stef's motto "bite it/write it!"

Last Wednesday (my weigh in day) I saw a big drop so was pretty happy! It feels good to see my hard work paying off :). Autumn (my motivation buddy) and I brainstormed some new challenges to do.. we decided on doing one together. To work out for a total of 3 hours this week. Wellllll I have already completed that and gone over by an hour!

Anyways.. tomorrow is my weigh in day so I well let you know how it goes :)

Toodles!

xo

Steph

Thank you!

Since I started this blog I've received MANY kind works from a lot of my readers. I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for reading.. thank you for keeping me motivated.. thank you for being inspired.. and thank you for sharing your stories with me. You have inspired me to try harder and to continue on my journey. 

I truly feel like I have succeeded because I have inspired many people to change. To change the way they think.. change the things they do.. change their lifestyle. The times I have been thanked for saying what I think, sharing how I feel and keeping you guys in the loop of my journey has been unreal.

I never expected so much traction. You guys rock!

Keep it up and stay inspired.

I love you all!

xo

Stephie

Different ways to measure

Hey all!

Hope you are having a fantastic weekend. Mine has been fairly good so far.. I went hiking/trail walking with Amber on Saturday and then just hung out with the family today. It was great!

So I realized this month I have only lost .4lbs. That's not a lot. I'm not too bothered by it as I am feeling pretty comfortable with myself. I decided to do my measurements and I was VERY happy that I did! I am down 7cms this month alone. Holy shit!! That makes a total of 60 cms (and I started tracking measurements 3 months after I started losing weight.. dummy!)

That is a lot for a month. The hard work is paying off :). It feels damn good! The lack of eating out and the consistent working out and zumba is making a difference.

I am happy about that.

I also feel pretty good wearing shorter shorts than I am used to. I've never been able to wear shorts this short! I hate the look of shorts bunching up in your crotch so I was always afraid. And guess what... that didn't happen!! Makes me feel fantastic!!

My challenge is going.. okay. I have forgot to track before I ate a few things but I remember while I was eatting and pulled a "oh shit!" and tracked right away. At least I'm not forgetting and am tracking everything!

My other challenge with Autumn is going well. I am 3/4 for my workouts this week. On Wednesday Jenn and I went for an hour long walk with Noah which was fantastic.. Saturday I went hiking with Amber.. Today I did a 30 min workout on the treadmill.

Next workout will be Tuesday.. Zumba!

Should work out well and finish with a great success!!

Anyways.. It's almost 9 and that means True Blood time!! YES!!!!!

Gonna run.. toodles!

Steph

Day 18!

You may have noticed that I haven't been updating on my new challenge. Why? Do you really want to hear about my experience reading on a daily basis? didn't think so...

Anyways.. I'm about 1/2 way through the 2nd book in the 50 Shades of Grey series. It's sooo good! I'm really, really into it too. I never want to put it down.. but the guys at work make fun of me for reading it. Meanies!!

Oh well.. it makes me happy :)

I have read for at least an hour every single day of this challenge. I guess I have found my joy of reading again!

This weeks weigh in was OK. Not great but not bad. I dropped .4 lbs. I kinda want to reweigh in tomorrow to see what the weight says then as I stupidly snacked late last night. I had a busy weekend and I struggled with tracking. I found I was tracking after I ate and on those days I went 10+ points over my daily allowance. That isn't okay.

How am I going to change that?

This week I've set a goal for myself to track everything I eat before I eat it. Hopefully that helps me get back into the groove of things.

I'm also doing a challenge with my motivation buddy Autumn. We're going to work out 4 x's this week for a minimum of 30 minutes each time. I've been slacking at working out too lately with only doing it 2-3 times instead of my usual 3-4. Need to get back in the groove there too!

Anyways.. I must head off.

Ciao!

Steph

Stop Drinking Pop!

Hey all,

Found this and thought it would be a good share. I don't drink pop anymore as it was something I decided to give up in my lifestyle change. I quit in December 2010 and I feel sooo much better now. I now only drink water, tea and coffee.

Say goodbye to pop!

Learning to Love YOU

Hating on yourself is self destructive. When you only point out your flaws.. that is the only thing you will ever see. How can you be happy if you constantly say "I'm not good enough", "I'm too fat", "I hate myself", "I wish I was prettier", "I will always be single" or "LIFE SUCKS". etc, etc, etc.

If you do this you need to change your attitude. Let me tell you.. if you believe those things..  your life WILL suck and the only thing that is making your life suck is YOURSELF.

Learning to love yourself is not an easy task when you are surrounded by nothing but negativity and darkness. I know because I've been there. I am a success story. I was depressed, unhappy.. I cried almost every single day but everyone who knew me thought I was fine because I smiled all the time. They never understood what was going on underneath my "happy exterior". Here is an quote from my past personal blog (which I deleted as it was only negative and held horrible, horrible memories):

and now .. I am the girl who hates her self.. who hates mirrors and is always disguising my emotions because I hurt so bad. Sure, I am always smiling but that's what I have to do to not have to explain why I'm so sad. There are few things that make me happy anymore.. FEW..


Do you think I am that person today? HELL NO! I LOVE myself. I think I am BEAUTIFUL, smart.. sexy even! I smile non stop because I am radiating happiness inside and out.. I want to share my smile and have people see me at my best. I really am a success story. (AND I love mirrors :)) To think I thought those things just over a year ago.. to think I was in a place where I didn't want to move forward.. where I didn't think I'd be okay.. where I didn't think I'd find happiness ever again.

I believe in the power of thought.. most people who know me well already know this. I really do believe that if you focus on the positives in your life and focus on the things that matter instead of the shitty, negative things... Good things will come. Happiness will follow. I believe that YOU choose your own destiny. If your life sucks.. you are the only one who will be able to change that. If you are in a bad spot and you want things to be different.. you have to change that. Sometimes it might take a bit of time but it will happen!

How can you start? Learn to LOVE YOURSELF!

Loving yourself is key to being happy. Loving yourself does not make you conceited or an asshole. It is having self-respect .. unconditional self acceptance. When someone puts you down it doesn't mean that you shouldn't love yourself.. it means they need help.. that they have no personal self respect. When someone can go as low as to put another individual down do you think they are happy inside? Nope. Don't sit around waiting for approval from others because the most important thing in life is that you accept yourself.  Loving yourself is a beautiful thing!

If you don't love yourself.. why would anybody else?

Everyone is allowed to have a bad day.. every woman is allowed to have PMS and cry because she feels like shit.(its pretty natural right?) But when this happens every single day you really need to re-evaluate the way you are living your life and the way you see yourself.

What can you do to learn to appreciate and love yourself more?

• Look at yourself in the mirrow and repeat "You are beautiful.. you are fabulous.. you are loved." Do this every time you look in the mirror and repeat that ten times! (You can change the words but say something positive!)
• Work on being the best YOU
• Post notes around your room/work space/car with positive affirmations or positive quotes. Surrounding yourself with these things creates a positive environment. 
• Take care of yourself-- mind, body, and soul.
• Do random good deeds for others. When you do good things for others it really makes you feel good about yourself ( Plus I truly believe that karma exists!)
• DO NOT rely on other people to make you happy. 
• Let go of the past and the negative. Cherish what you have learned from those events but focus on the present and the positive.
• Create goals and work hard to achieve them. No matter how many times you do not succeed you are only a failure if you give up. 
• Don't let your past define who you currently are or who you intend to be.
• Be yourself and don't care what others think. Laugh, sing, dance.. just do you!
• Treat yourself the way you would treat your best friend
• DON'T compare yourself to others. Being unique is fun.
• Misery loves company. Surround yourself with loving and positive people.
• Don't change yourself based on what other people think. Do this for YOU.
• Look at yourself through the eyes of those that love you. They know who you are and they CHOOSE to love you. 

I read this in my book (B is for Beauty) : " It's so funny: when you feel strong and happy, everybody wants to hang out with you, but when you allow yourself to feel miserable and lonely nobody will touch you with a ten foot pole"

Ain't that the truth?

Anyways I must take off.

Have a fantastic Thursday! Weekend is ALMOST here :)

xo

Steph

Update!

Hi all,

So when I went shopping on Sunday I quickly discovered that 50 Shades of Grey was sold out in every.single.store. No lie. I decided I would buy the book online and read another one until it arrived.

I got the entire series off chapters.indigo.ca for $30!!! The online price was 9.99 each and the shipping was free on orders over $25. SCORE!!! Much better than paying $18 per book!

I was content and started reading a book my friend Amber had let me borrow called "B is for beauty". I initially started reading a few weeks ago and couldnt get into it but I read a little further on Sunday night and now I'm almost done! lol. It's about a girl who is very unsatisfied with herself and the way she looks and is VERY unhappy. She goes through a major change and is learning to love herself again..

Sounds kinda familiar. It's a good read! And FUNNY! I'm trying to understand how a man could have written this.

Anyway... things in life have been good. I had a gain this week but am not too bothered by it. My pants are feeling loose and I officially got rid of the pants that I never used to be able to button up. I was able to pull them down without unbuttoning them. FEELS DAMN GOOD!!! I feel that way with alot of my wardrobe.. my hard work is paying off :). I'm feeling great again! :)

I've also been consistent with my workouts and have still been enjoying zumba.

Anyways I must run.. toodles!
Steph

Update on my challenge

Hey all,

So I wanted to update on my challenge. I've officially finished the Hunger Games trilogy and all I can say is WOW. That was amazing. I am honestly really disappointed it is over and wish I could read on and on. I highly recommend you read them.

Now I feel like I want to jump on the Fifty Shades of Grey train so I think I will go try to find it today. Everyone I know seems to love it so I'm excited to start.

Anyways.. my weekend has being going well! I had breakfast with one of my great friends Amber! She's fantastic and I feel like we could talk forever lol. Always a good time with her. I had a yummy parfait! mmm. After that I stayed at home and finished up the 3rd book Catching Fire. Then Pete and I went out for a sushi dinner which was sooo yummy! mmm.

Tonight is the season finale of Game of Thrones so I'm excited for that!

Gonna let this be a short one.

Have a fun Sunday!

Steph

Quote of the week!

Sitting on your couch thinking about getting in shape isn't going to get you anywhere. Saying "oh I'll start next week.. next month.. or even tomorrow" isn't going to work. You need to start right now! Live in the moment. Change your life for good. Go to the next level!

SOOO many times in my life I have said "next month I'll diet" or "I'll be good next week" or "I'll buy these pants and hopefully lose 10 lbs to fit into them". Do you think I ever fit into those pants? NOPE. They sat in my closet for YEARS. YEARS.

Now I can wear them! Why? Because I decided to make the change. One day I decided to change my life for good and I joined weight watchers and everything changed. I transformed my life with this wonderful thing I call my lifestyle change. My whole life turned around. I bought a size 14 pair of jeans from the Gap about 3-4 years ago. I knew I loved them and had previously owned a pair of size 16 jeans which I later wore so much they were ruined. I tried them on and they were tight.. I thought someday I would be able to fit into them. I couldn't.. not until late last year. Even after losing 30 lbs I still couldn't fit into them. Now I wear them often and they are BIG on me.

It is a good feeling.

If you are feeling bad about yourself because you are "bigger" or are feeling unhealthy or just want to make a change in your life.. START TODAY!! What else do you have to lose? A day of being healthy?

You can do it! If I can do it.. you can do it! I was the laziest couch potato in the world 14 months ago. THAT IS A FACT. I had a treadmill, stair climber, exercise bike, full weight lifting area and never used it. Look how far I've come.

Wanna see how far I can go?? Just keep reading...

:)

Thanks!

Steph

Ask Me Anything!

Hey all,

I'd like to open up this post to all of my readers. I have had a few friends/readers message me to ask me questions or to just tell me how they feel about my blog or my journey. I love it!

If you have ANY questions for me about my weight loss, my journey, my life, me.. or just about ANYTHING in general .. please post it here.

If you don't feel comfortable leaving your name please feel free to comment anonymously.

I will answer your questions in a few days.

Thanks!

Steph

Can't Wait

I would just like to say that I can't wait to go home and read!! These hunger games books are addicting. I'm already 1/2 way through book #2

:D

New Challenge!

Hey all,

I've decided to start a non fitness related challenge right away. I have wanted to get back into reading (again) and think now is a fantastic time! Every day I am going to read for a minimum of 15 minutes.

I am currently reading the Hunger Games and guess what I'm going to do right now... going to go read!

haha this book is addicting.

Thanks for reading :)

Steph

Day 28-30!

CHALLENGE COMPLETE!!


Feels sooo good. I actually only realized today that it was the last day.. I thought tomorrow was lol.

Day 28- Friday

Friday I did another ball workout. I did another 200 situps and did 3 other types of exercises as well. 20 minutes. Decent time :)

Day 29-Saturday
Saturday was a busy day. Pete and I went to Kingston to see his family so we didn't get home until 10:30 and by the time we did I was sooo tired and achey. I opted to do the bare minimum (for the first time during this challenge) and did just 5 minutes of an activity. I did stretching! Yes, that is an option.

It felt so fantastic when I was done too :)

Day 30-Sunday
I woke up feeling not so great this mornin.. I opted out of zumba and instead went grocery shopping with my mom. Pushed the cart around (it was a difficult cart at that and required alot of manual turning!) I then came home and went with my mom and brady for a 20 minute walk :) Twas good!

I thought that was enough but then pete and I did a brisk walk to starbucks.. 20 mins or so.

I'm so happy I finished this challenge and my next post will be about my next challenge that I am starting today :)

Toodles!!

Steph

Day 25-27

I'm going to try and make this one a quick blog.. lets see how that one goes!

Day 25- Tuesday

Tuesday night.. ZUMBA NIGHT!! I shook my booty for a good 40 minutes which always feels soo good :). I love the feeling after I do Zumba.

Day 26- Wednesday

Wednesday night was a busy one for me. After work I went and had dinner with my grandparents which is always a highlight of my week. They're so awesome!! I came home and asked my mom to go for a walk with me.. Just a 25 minute leisurely walk to the stop sign and back. I came home and did A LOT of cleaning.. probably about 1-2 hours worth of cleaning. It was sooo worth it in the end as my room is finally how I want it to be and the cabinets underneath my sinks in the bathroom are finally organized :).

Day 27- Thursday

Last night mom and I went to see the Avengers. I had won free movie tickets at our Volunteer Appreciation night so I figured I would take the person I appreciated the most <3. The movie was sooooooo good (except for the rude fucks who wouldn't stop talking THE ENTIRE MOVIE.. wouldn't stop going on their phones THE ENTIRE MOVIE.. and RIIIIIGHT when the movie ended started making out.. right at the top of the stairs so they were blocking the exit for us.. I walked right by and loudly said "UM EXCUUUUUUUSE MEE!!!!!" I should have sat down and talked really loudly beside them during their make out session) Feels good to get that rant out.. ahahah sorry! Anyways.. the movie was very good! We had a non-fat frozen yogurt (6 points) and shivered the entire movie hahah. Got home and I reallllllllly didn't feel like doing any kind of activity. I honestly just wanted to pass out. But did I do that? Nope.. I said "I have 3 days left!! I'm not screwing that up now".. I went downstairs and got my exercise ball and did sit ups for 10 minutes straight. OWWW I did 200 situps in that period and wanted to get sick afterwards.. haha oooh the joy of sit ups :)

I was happy afterwards and thats what matters :)

Anyways...

Gotta get back to work as my lunch break is over.. Toodles!

Steph

Day 19-24

Once again I had a busy, busy week/weekend and was unable to post. Thought it was worth it. I got to spend time with the people I love and also got to spend quality time with my family.

Day 19-Wednesday
Zumba, Zumba, Zumba!! My favourite activity to do. I put in my short 25 minute DVD and shook my booty until I was dripping in sweat.. DAMN IT FELT GOOD!!

Day 20-Thursday-

Thursday I didn't get up to TOO much. Mom and I went to visit Jenn, Brandin and baby Noah. He's so perfect. I love him soooooo much already. Didn't have too much time to spare so I just did a 20 minute leisurely walk with my mom over the lunch hour :) It was nice


Day 21- Friday
I look forward to Friday's SOO much. Especially fridays of a long weekend! Of course I dance down the steps at the end of the day and sing as I walk to my car :). I went home and mom and I went for a 55 minute power walk. It felt SOOOO good! I then went to Pete's house that evening and we chilled out and watched a few of our shows :).


Day 22- Saturday

Saturday was INSANELY hot. It was soo hot even just sitting in the sun made me drip in sweat. I decided to wait until the evening to do any exercise and even then Pete and I just did a leisurely stroll to the aquarium and then to Pita Pita to get dinner. I was still hot after that :| I also did about 20 minutes of cleaning that day. Felt good to be able to move indoors without feeling hot as heck.

Day 23- Sunday

I told Pete on Saturday I was going to be doing zumba this day. And he said .. and what if you DON'T do Zumba? My reply "There is no NOT doing zumba.. there is only doing!" And that is what I did. I zumba'd for exactly 45 minutes! And it felt great!! I also got to enjoy some family time as it was my Omi's birthday which is ALWAYS fun. I'm so lucky to have such a fabulous family.

Day 24- Monday

I was really bad yesterday. I did not eat very well at all. Everyone on weight watchers has bad days. If it wasn't for those bad days we wouldn't really be able to get back on track and realize what needs to be done.

Pete and I went to Booster Juice yesterday and then went for a 30-40 minute stroll in Waterloo Park which was nice. Always love spending time with him <3


Overall it was a good weekend. I could have been a bit better in the healthy eatting department but eh, oh well!

What can I do now but improve??

:)

Have a good week. I'll update after I do Zumba tonight!

Steph

Before/After

Hello again!

If you have me on facebook you've probably already seen this but I wanted to submit a more recent before/after pic.. and here it is!!

Note how bland my wardrobe was? Feels so good that the majority of my closet is filled with bright colours and things that make me happy :)! I feel (and look) soooo much happier!

Thank you Weight Watchers!!

Steph

100th Post!

I can't believe I'm at my 100th post already. I also can't believe I've had over 3000 page views!

Holy crap!

So much has changed since I started this blog back in November of 2011. SO MUCH.

This blog has helped me grow in so many ways. I feel more confident.. I feel happier.. I feel more active. I just feel better! This blog has kept me motivated and I know it has motivated some of you. It really has made me feel great when some of you came to me and told me that my blog helped you realize you need change. That my blog motivated you to do things differently.. to set goals.. to work out more. I inspired people to change! You have noooooooooo idea how awesome that feels! If you came to me and said these things I would like to thank you (again). YOU saying that motivates me :)

Since I started this blog I am now working out 4-5 times a week instead of once every week or two. I am watching what I eat more carefully and setting mini goals for myself. Since I started I have not even thought about quitting. Not once. I even stuck it out while I was sick with mono for a month. I survived birthdays and Christmas and family gatherings. YOU were right there with me reading along.

I tried Zumba, incorporated power walking back in and have noticed improvements there. Started doing fun/new things on my stability ball.. AND I just recently started jogging (need alot of improvement there though). I've learned to own my mistakes. To not let an increase on the scale ruin my day/week. I've learned that enjoying myself is important and that depriving myself isn't realistic. I've learned exactly how my lifestyle change is supposed to work.

:)

I want to thank each and every one of you who have stuck by me these past few months and have continued to read. The support I receive from you all really does motivate me to go on and push harder. Without you I wouldn't be where I'm at and I wouldn't be writing. I wouldn't be this motivated.

Hope you have a fantastic day and get to go outside and enjoy the fabulous weather!

Adios!

Steph

Weighing In

Well I did it! I didn't want to do it but I still did it :). That .8 lb that I gained last week is officially gone! And it feels DAMN good!! But honestly I don't think that I would have been bothered if I had gained..

Things have been going well for me lately. Working out HAS become a habit for me now and I have learned to love it. I fell in love with getting in shape. I feel in love with the way my body has changed. This wouldn't have happened if I didn't change the way I thought about working out. I used to DREAD working out.. I used to come up with every single excuse in the book. I could have written the book on not working out excuses.

Instead I did a 30 day challenge.

A challenge to work out for 30 days straight. It wasn't easy at first.. it was actually quite hard. I remember thinking on day 10 how I didn't want to go on .. I could have quit right then but I didn't. I continued. Eventually working out just became a daily routine and I learned to love it.

I did my measurements last weekend. I gained last week so I just wanted to check.

Here is what has changed in the last month

Arms: -1cm
Hips: -..5cms
Bust: -2cm
Waist: -2cm
Thighs: -.5cm (they're now hard as hell... no jiggle!!)
Dress size: -2 (Now a 12!)

It feels good to SEE the results. to FEEL the results The scale is not that great of a judge.. It helps but it isn't everything. Most people can lose weight quickly. They can eat right and only eat certain things and the scale shows. Whatever works for them, right? That isn't how I do it. I do eat very healthy for the most part but i will NEVER, EVER cut any kind of food out of my life. Weight Watchers rule: NEVER DEPRIVE YOURSELF. And I won't! I ate cake this weekend and it was DAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN good! I will never give up cake.

EVER.

I'm kind of rambling now but wanted to update :)

Gonna go.

Stephie

Day 18

Hi all,

This is going to be a quicky as I'm pretty tired and about to finish some cleaning.

Instead of doing my usual Zumba like I usually do on Tuesday nights I decided to take advantage of the AMAZING weather and went for a power walk with my pup. We powered through 25 minutes and then mom and I went shopping :) hehe. I didn't buy anything but mom bought me this awesome foot scraper thingy (I have dry heels :( they suck!) It is effing AWESOME. It's metal instead of pumice which is different and works really well.

When I came home I cleaned up my space and organized a bit. I guess that also counts as activity.

I wanted to touch on my week. It was hard. I was either very busy and rushed or was very lazy and hungry. I stuck to my points and didn't use ANY of my 49 points.. whoohoo!! I also earned 36 activity points this week

*shakes my booty* YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.


o.O

I know I'm weird.

It was hard still though. Hard to stay on track and hard not to give in to all of my cravings. I don't really WANT to weigh in tomorrow but I need to face the music and own up to whatever I did.. good or bad. It's part of being a weight watcher. I have even thought about NOT weighing in but know it would be a stupid mistake and the following weeks weight loss just wouldn't be realistic.

So with that said.. I am going to weigh in tomorrow!! I am going to own my week good or bad.

I will post tomorrow and let you know how it went.

Toodles!

Steph

Day 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 AND 17

Day 12- Wednesday

I felt like poop on Wednesday.. I was let down from my gain and didn't feel like doing anything. Mom and I went to Costco and then to Fairview mall..(had fun OF COURSE). I got home and was exhausted. I knew I could have counted what I had done in walking as my activity of the day but I didn't. I forced myself to work out.  I must have whined (internally) at least 20 times how I didn't want to work out and one day wouldn't kill me and how I should just be lazy and watch TV.

Did I?

NOPE. I got off my ass.. got on my runners and got my ass on that treadmill and powered through for 30 minutes. I then put my ass on that exercise ball and worked out for another 15. And how did I feel after that? FANTASTIC!!!!!! GREAT SUCCESS!!! Don't expect results from excuses!

I was sooo happy I pushed myself to do that because I know the next day I would have regretted not doing it.

Day 13- Thursday

Thursday was a pretty busy day for me. I knew I wouldn't have time after work to do my workout as I was going straight to Jenns and there was a chance I would have to stay the night. I decided to get my activity in at work. I carried a bunch of books over to the opposite side of the office and rearranged and cleaned this bookshelf. I also got rid of about 200 magazines. Wasn't much but it still took me 40 mins :).

Thursday night I hung out with my bestie and we had a fabulous time (as always!) She is the best friend a girl could ever have :)

Day 14- Friday-

Friday was another crazy busy day :). I rushed to Jenns house immediately after work to dog sit her dogs for a few hours as she was in the hospital having a BABY!! Yes Friday was the day Jenn gave birth to Noah. He is so precious and beautiful. I love him sooo much already! I was sooo lucky to be able to see him. I went in with her parents so was one of the very first (I am so blessed). Jenn is such a champ!!! So happy for her and Brandin. They are going to make the most amazing parents ever :)

Friday I got in my activity at work by setting up our lunch room for the potluck and carrying food back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. This was the one AND ONLY time I have been happy that no one offered to help.. gave me more time to build up activity points lol I'm so lame. It was a great time though and everybody enjoyed themselves. And they enjoyed my mango/avocado salsa which was a huge hit!

Day 15- Saturday

Saturday I was pretty exhausted so I had a slow day. I woke up.. had breakfast and relaxed a bit. I ended up doing my zumba video which made me feel great :) (as per usual). I was also very lazy for the rest of the day and mainly watched Mad Men haha. I'm a bum.

Day 16- Sunday

Sunday was great! I woke up.. gave mom her Mother's Day presents and made her a crepe breakfast. It was great! I then took my doggy for a 35 minute power walk down the road. I also ended up going for a 20 minute stroll with Pete later that day.

It was such a beautiful day and it was really nice to sit out in the sun with my lovely family. I enjoy their company sooo much :). They are so special to me.

Went to Pete's house after dinner and watched Game of Thrones which was INSANE and then Mad Men which was pretty awesome as well :). Kinda sucks I have no episodes to catch up on :P

Day 17- Monday
Monday was stressful and busy. I counted my activity as my grocery shopping and lugging a shit load of groceries up the stairs.. That is always a fun job!! :|

Volunteering was okay. Crazy at first but I ended up having a very fun time.

Anyways.. there is my update :)

I will post tonight again.

Toodles

xo

Stephie

Crazy busy week!

I just want to apologize for not keeping you in the loop with what has been happening. I've been craaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy busy and great things have happened!! I have soo much to update you on!

I promise RIGHT NOW that I will start a post and will try to submit it ASAP.

I will start that now :)

Adios! xoxoxo

Stephie

Day 11

Hey all,

So last night I got home from work.. ate dinner .. watched Mad Men (of course) and then went and did my short ZUMBA video. It is a total of 23 minutes.. gave me enough time to go see my hunny too :)

I love doing zumba and it feels soooo good. The quick video is one step up from my other video (even though it's shorter) as you DO NOT stop for a second. You zumba for 23 minutes straight with no song or music breaks. It makes me feel good knowing that I'm beat after that workout. :)

I sweat like a frickin pig! I even look like Alice Cooper when I am done my work out as I do not take my makeup off beforehand. OH WELL hahaah.

I weighed in today and gained .8 lbs. It kind of made me feel like shit but there is NO way I can actually be gaining fat. It has to be muscle. I work out and eat too healthy to be gaining. It doesn't really bug me that much as the NUMBER isn't what bugs me. My clothes feel loose... I can fit into my tinier summer clothes now :) I am actually starting to LOVE my body. YES. I said that I LOVE my body! Stretch marks, jiggly-ness, fat and all. I accept how I look. I LOVE how I look. I feel pretty when I go out.. I feel GOOD. I feel CONFIDENT!!

The sweat, the time, the devotion.. IT PAYS OFF!

I will not let a .8lb gain bring me down. I could probably go take a #2 and be DOWN. ahah Sorry TMI?

My weight does not define how I feel!

And with that said I must go... Toodles!!

Steph

It's Worth It

Day 7-10

Hey all,

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend. Mine was kind of busy but relaxing at the same time :).

I was able to continue on with my challenge and have been active all week!

Friday-Day 7
On Friday I came home from work and did Zumba which felt sooooooooooo good. I love doing it soo much. It's one of those activities that doesn't really feel like an activity. I had the house to myself so was able to do a lot of cleaning and laundry also. I'm happy I had a free night to get some things done :).

Saturday-Day 8
On Saturday Mom and I had a girls day which was really fun. We woke up and went shopping.. then did more shopping.. and more shopping. Thankfully I didn't spend any money! I need to conserve.
We made a healthy lunch and then took brady for a 20 minute walk. That night we went to see The Lucky One which was REALLY good. Come on.. it had Zack Efron in it.. yum yum!! He is soo dreamy!

Sunday-Day 9
I woke up on Sunday.. had a light breakfast and then hit the treadmill right away for 30 mins. I hadn't been on the treadmill in sooo long but it's nice to see that my endurance is getting better. It took A LOT longer for me to feel tired :). When I was done that I worked out on my exercise ball for about 10 minutes which felt good too.. though I felt that the next day! OUCH

I was able to see my lover on Sunday night after my cousin's wedding shower. I had missed him sooo much. But we went out for dinner and then spent the evening cuddled up on the couch watching The Simpsons and Game of Thrones (LOVE that show!)

Monday-Day 10
Yesterday was a pretty stressful day. It was non stop. I worked 9-5 and then left right away to pick up a bed from my grandma that I delivered to the Shelter.. then I had 15 mins and went to grab a coffee from Tim Hortons. Then once I got back to ROOF it was go, go, go which is actually a good thing. Night went by soo fast and I had a really good time! By the time I got home at 11 I was sooo ready to pass right out. I had no desire to do a thing.

Last night something kind of weird happened. I was laying in my bed playing with my phone when my bedroom door knob started to jiggle/move. I was like WTF. I could hear the mirror wobbling (sits on the back of my door) and the things I had hanging on the handle were moving. I know 100% my parents were sleeping and no one was doing it.

FREAKED ME OUT.

These things always happen to me though lol. Within 5 minutes I was back to being fine.

I didn't have a set activity yesterday but I did grocery shop for an hour.. carried about 40-60 lbs of groceries up the stairs into the office.. I also helped move a twin bed.. and moved it down stairs into the shelter. I was also running around ROOF last night and helped make dinner.

Thats more than 5 minutes of activity I believe :P.

Anyways I must go.. it's Tuesday so you know what that means.. ZUMBAZUMBAZUMBAAAAAAA!!!

YEAAAH!

Adios!

Steph

Day 6... DONE!

Hey!

This is going to be a quick one .. I just wanted to get this in before I went to bed so I could OFFICIALLY be up to date. :)

Today I was pretty busy at work but took 15 minutes out of my day to clean and organise which was good. It needed to be done. I carried some pretty heavy stuff around. I may also add that I put in about an hour of some pretty rockin moves in the car. I take my dance parties pretty seriously. I move to the groove and I shake it until I make it baby!!!

hahaha. I'm so lame.

Did anyone else find that "huge storm" that happened tonight a bit of a let down? I definitely expected more.. but oh well!! I guess no hail is better than hail!

I am VERY excited for tomorrow!! I am hanging out with one of my very best friends Sam. It is always a pleasure to see her and we are going to get Shawarma!! (my fave food). It will be nice to catch up :)

I am also planning on doing Zumba again tomorrow :) Though if it's a nice evening (and not too humid) I will plan on going for a 50 minute power walk with my chubby puppy. We'll see

Toodles!

Steph

Day 4 & 5

Hey all!

Hope you are having a fan-tabular day! Mine is going quite well! I am happy that it hasn't rained too much in the last few days.. :) it's urning out to be a good one (watch it start pouring now that I've said that)

I have been sticking to my challenge :). On Tuesday night (day 4) I did Zumba which felt wonderful! I really love zumba and I encourage anyone who hasn't tried this out to find a local class. You will LOVE IT.. it is sooo fun! I did that and then went to do some (mothers day) shopping which was good! I then went and bought a scale which was a major let down which resulted in me crying for an hour.

I would not recommend buying the Conair Weight Watchers scale. It did NOT turn on by tapping it.. I literally had to either kick it or lift it off the ground to turn on. It gave me three different weights and most said I was 10 lbs heavier than my other scale. It was a rather depressing event. That was over.. I watched Mad Men and had an early night.

Next day I decided to go for a stroll during my lunch break as I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything that evening as I was visiting my grandparents and then going to see Jenn. I went for a 10-15 minute brisk walk which felt good. I was having an extremely bad day and needed to clear my head. I'm happy I did so as it did help.. for a bit. I won't go into why I was upset.. but everything is resolved now and today is a much, much, much better day :).

I'm not too sure what I will do for my challenge today but I am seeing Jenn tonight. I know I need to clean the storage room at work and sort through old magazines so that might be a decent activity. If I don't do that I will just do some work on the exercise ball once I get home. That usually makes me feel great!

I am happy to announce that I have finally lost this week! It feels good to see it on the scale (especially on a day most women do NOT feel like they can lose weight). ahah TMI? Trying to be subtle.

Anyways.. something happened to me this week that made me FEEL GREAT. I went into Ricki's to search for some work pants. In the (recent) past when I've shopped there I had only been able to fit into a size 14 (last time I got a 14 they were a bit tight). All the pants I grabbed were a size 14 which I was okay with. WELL I walked out of there with a size 12! It made me feel great!! All the size 14's looked fairly big :). I had been able to wear size 12 in other stores but I feel like that was a big step for me .. YAY ME :D

hehehe

Also, my WW goal this week is to not eat past 9pm (unless it is a 0 point item).

Gotta run.. toodles!

Steph

Details about my challenge & Day 3!

Hi all,

I wanted to talk about my new challenge and how it is different from my previous challenges.

The main difference is that I will be logging a minimum of 5 minutes of activity every single day instead of workouts. When I did my previous challenges I was mainly on the treadmill, doing zumba, power walking and working on my exercise ball. I was working out. On Weight Watchers there is something called activity points.. you gain these points by being active and can use them to put towards more food. I usually like to collect them to see how many I can get in a week... hehe usually 25+.

An example of some things that are included in these activities:

• aerobics
• ax chopping (prob won't be doing this one.. but it is an option!)
• basketball
• bicycling
• bowling
• cleaning
• dancing
• elliptical
• farming 
• football
• Frisbee
• gardening
• golf
• gymnastics
• horseback riding
• housework (cleaning windows, ironing, laundry, mopping and scrubbing floors, vacuuming)
• hunting (UGH!! REALLY?????)
• jogging
• judo
• kickboxing
• motorcycle riding (didn't see this one before.. just had quite the chuckle)
• rowing
• running
• sawing (by hand)
• scuba diving
• shoveling snow
• skateboarding 
• soccer
• squash
• stacking firewood
• strength training
• stretching
• surfing
• swimming
• tennis
• walking
• washing the car
• water sports
• wrestling
• yoga

That is ONLY SOME of the options I can choose from.

A lot of the activities I will likely pick will be "workout" style activities as I like to be in it for the long haul (30-40 mins).. but when I'm sore from a workout and just want to have a slower day I can count doing my laundry as an activity.. I can do some dancing.. I can go play tennis.. I can wash my car (much needed) or I can go tackle my boyfriend and wrestle a bit :P. hahahaha.

The main point of this challenge is to get myself going .. to be active every single day for 30 days straight. Again the 5 minutes is a bare minimum and I am unlikely to ever JUST do 5 minutes.. but I needed to set a time.

Just wanted to give you a better understanding of what I will be doing :).

Yesterday (Day 3) I did a TON of shopping.. one hour in the morning (for work) and then 2 hours in the evening (for pleasure). I could count that as leisurely walking ...though if you go grocery shopping with me you may not consider that leisurely haha.(I logged 60 minutes though I probably could have logged more) 

Tonight I will be doing 45 minutes of Zumba!! Imma shake my thang!! 

Anyways.. I must go.

Have a lovely day!

Steph

New 30 day challenge!!!

Hey all,

I've decided to start another challenge. I actually already did yesterday but didnt get a chance to post. I'm on my iPhone so i hope this posts ok!!

My challenge for the next 30 days is to take 5 minutes everyday earning activity points on weight watchers. I can use activity points to use towards more points for food on ww. Again this is the bare minimum and I will be doing much more than that the majority of the time! Yesterday I went for a 35 minute walk with mom and today Pete and I went for 2 walks. It felt good. I just want to ensure I am moving every single day!!

Last week I didn't work out for 3 days and felt like a bum! I need this kick in the butt!!

Anyways hope you all had a great weekend. I will check in tomorrow!!

Adios!!

Steph

Your weight does NOT define who you are

Good Afternoon my amazing readers

I hope you are enjoying this AMAZING friday! It is soo nice out! 22C. Can't complain :)

I wanted to write about the scale and your weight and how it does NOT define who you are.

Today my friend Gus told me that I have lost A LOT of weight since January.. and he emphasized the word A LOT. It made me feel great! I love receiving compliments and it gives me quite the ego boost. He went on about how it was inches from each side. THAT is what I lost.. inches. 

In reality my weight has fluctuated a lot over the last 4 months. I weigh the EXACT same I did on January 4th. I have gained a few lbs (from stupidity) and I am back down to my Jan 4th weight. Am I upset? No. Why? Because I can SEE the difference. I am working hard to shed those inches. I am gaining muscle! I am working out a minimum of 3 times per week (even that seems like it isn't enough now.. I'm on a roll!) and am watching what I eat. The Scale does NOT define who I am! I DO. The scale helps.. obviously if I get on the scale one day and see a gain of 10 lbs I'd probably shit myself.. but that is very unlikely to happen. This is why I love the term "lifestyle change". Not once in the last year have I told anyone that I am on a diet.. I have said I have changed my lifestyle. These tiny changes that I have made in the last year have made a huge difference! Come on.. I went from a size 18 to a 12!

The most important thing about being healthy is actually living the healthy lifestyle. This is why I hate the word diet.. to me diets are temporary. A diet is a quick fix. Do you just quit your diet when you get to where you want to be? When you eat SO strictly based on your "diet" how do you learn to incorporate your own lifestyle into your life? What are you going to do when someone throw's you a curveball and stops at McDonalds or another restaurant? What are you going to do when you're craving that peanut butter cup or those Munchos.. but they aren't part of your diet? I've been there.. I've done the "diet"... MULTIPLE TIMES. It didn't work. I lost the weight.. I gained it back.. why!?? Because I didn't know how to eat AFTER the fact. I eventually went back to the way I was eating before and almost hit 250 lbs.

I see soo many females who get upset because the number on the scale isn't dropping. But that isn't everything. Its those measurements, its the way your clothes are fitting, the way your body is tightening.. its the way YOU feel about yourself. THAT is what is important. 

Don't get upset when those numbers aren't showing you what you want to see.. eventually it will come. Focus on how your new healthy lifestyle is making you feel. Focus on the POSITIVE in your life.. everything else will follow.

I promise :)

Gotta run!

Toodles,

Stephie