Day 22 & 23

Hey all!

One word to describe how I feel right now. OUCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Hahaha I did Zumba tonight and once again my feet/ankles hurt. :( Oh well. But it was a lot easier this time. I got a front row spot so was able to see the instructor clearly. I was also nice to be able to make it through without feeling like I was going to fall over. PLUS I felt so good after :)!

Today was insane. I think it was the busiest work day I've had all year. SO stressful .. and I am sooo happy that it is over.

Anyways.. tomorrow is our Potluck and I am making bruschetta :) Can't wait!

I should touch on my workout yesterday. As usual, Mondays are crazy for me. I work and then go straight to ROOF to volunteer so I try to get my workout in during my lunch break. Gus and I went for a 20 min walk around the block. It was nice :)

Anyways.. I'm going to get back to my shows..

Toodles!

Steph

Day 21

I can't believe I've been working out for 3 weeks STRAIGHT!! Its such a nice feeling :).

Hope you were able to get out on this beautiful, sunny day! I was inspired to go shopping for some spring clothes by the warm temperatures. Plus it's a great de-stressing activity :). ooooh the great things I learn from my mother! :)

I love how neon colours are in! I bought a neon pink tank and am going to go back for the yellow one next month. I looked like a highlighter and it makes me happy ahahah. I'll post a pic when I buy it :). I feel like I need to do a photoshoot or something soon as I havent posted any before/after pics in awhile. Last pic was in October?? Time for an update!! haaha I'll see if I can work up the courage in the next few weeks to do that. I hate full length body pics.

Today I have already worked out. I took Brady for a walk when I got home from breakfast with Jenn.. (which was awesome). We went for a walk to the end of my road and back which was 20 mins or so. He's so funny lol. I laughed at him so many times.

Anyways I'm hanging out with Pete right now so I should get going!

Adios!

Steph

Day 18, 19 & 20!

Hey all!

Sorry I've been lagging on posts but I'm super busy!

I've been strong on the workouts and have NOT missed a day!! whooottt!!! It really is becoming a habit now. I'm feeling great and my body is already feeling more toned. Especially in my legs.

:D!

Feels good.

Anyways I'm going to quickly go through the workouts I've done in the last few days.. just to share.

Day 18- Thursday

Thursdays are usually pretty busy for me as I work and then go straight to Jenn's house. I was able to get in a quick 15 minute powerwalk around the block. I was surprised that it didn't take me longer... but was happy I got that in.

Had a great evening with my bestie.. as usual! She is THE GREATEST!!!!

Day 19- Friday

Friday I decided to go a bit harder as I had a shorter workout the day before. I did almost 30 mins on the treadmill and then busted out the exercise ball for another 2o mins. At the end of that I felt soo tired but pumped at the same time. My stomach hurt later that night as I did 140 situps as part of my workout. I also did this move my cousin told me about. I took the ball and lifted it with my legs (while layin flat) and reached up to get it and put it near the ground above my head. Then reversed it. It burrned lifting my legs up. haha but felt good! I also did this butt exercise but its hard to explain.. haha. Felt great!

Day 20- Saturday

Today I had a fun day! went out with my mom and grandparents and then came home to work out. I got the 30 mins on the treadmill and then did 10 mins on the ball. I did 120 sit ups and 40 pushups.

:)

Its getting more fun as I go along!

Tonight Pete and I went to see the movie Wanderlust. It was hilarious! I definitely recommend it!! If you've seen it. Paul Rudd in the mirror scene.. LMAO. Too good.

Anyways.. have a good night!

Steph

Quote of the Week

Happy Saturday!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend :) I'll keep this post short.

I really enjoy this quote of the the week and I hope you do too! Here it is:

Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time. -Mark Twain

I really feel like this one because things don't change overnight. People don't change overnight. Habits don't change overnight. It takes TIME! I feel like this relates to my weight loss journey. When I joined weight watchers last year I had awful eating habits.. now I feel like I'm a different person and I THINK before I eat. I don't just grab, eat then think after.

Anyways... gotta go!

Toodles!

Steph

Day 17

Hey all,

Today was weigh in day and since I started this challenge I've actually GAINED weight. It's upsetting but I understand.

First week I gained 3 lbs and this week I lost about 1.5 lbs. I honestly don't feel like I've gained as my clothes still feel pretty comfortable and some things even fit looser. My legs are feeling really toned also so I'm thinking that I'm either gaining muscle or retaining fluids.. or both!!

Anyways.. I got my work out in and did a quick 25 minute workout on the treadmill and felt good after :).

I'm going to get back to what I was doing but have a good night!

Steph

Day 16!

Today was one of the busiest days I've had in awhile. But.. what did I expect after having a 4 day weekend?!

I feel like I barely slept last night.. it was brutal! I went to bed at 11.. (thought I was tired) and remember rolling over at 2am knowing I hadn't slept a wink.. ugh. I woke up at 7 as I had an early morning. The social committee at work had planned on making pancakes for Pancake Tuesday. We got there at 8:15 and started making pancakes! We also made bacon and had a fruit tray .. everybody loved it :). I love my job!

Anyways.. I was finally able to chill out around 4:30ish as I was on the go allll day.

I did Zumba tonight. UGH SO HARD lol.. I dunno if I will ever get used to it but I sweat like crazy and feel like I'm going to die when I finish. I'm happy I have my mom and Amber there with me :).

Anyways.. I'm watching my shows so I must go.

Toodles!

Steph

Day 15!

OFFICALLY HALF WAY!!! HUZZZZAHHH!!!!

hehehe. Feels sooo good.. and I love working out! I feel like after this challenge I will still want to work out every single day.

Today I got together with one of my closest friends Amber for breakfast and had a marvellous time! (as usual). I love spending time with her. She is truly an amazing human being and makes me feel so good when I am with her. If you are reading this girl I LOVE YOU!! Also.. would you like some jam or ketchup with your bagel?? haha Yes, that is what the server asked her.

Anyways.. I came home and worked out right away. I got in a 32 minute workout.. haha odd number but I like to do intervals on the treadmill.. like for 3 mins I'll go this speed or for so and so minutes I'll speed walk uphill etc. So that may be an example of why some of my workout times are weird.. hahah but it felt good :)

I love the feeling of being ridiculously sweaty from a workout.. makes me feel like I've accomplished something. One main thing I've noticed from the first challenge I had is that now when I workout I become sweaty but not winded which is a good feeling as I can go for much longer periods of time :)!

Tomorrow is Zumba again. I can't wait to shake my booty!!!! ha

Anyways.. I should head off.. I'm at Pete's house right now :).

adios!

Steph

Day 13 & 14

Hey all,

This will be a shorter post as I'm pretty busy today.. but I wanted to update you :)

I really can't believe I am almost 1/2 way through this challenge!! I can't believe it!

Anyways.. yesterday I got in a 40 minute workout and today was crazy busy as it was my cousins bridal shower but I got in a 10 minute quick workout with Brady :)!

It was hard sticking to my points today as the food was amazing!! But I did it :)!

Toodles!

Steph

Quote of the Week

Hey all,

Hope you are all having a very happy Saturday :) I'm here to share my quote of the week and here it is :)

Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.- Mark Victor Hansen

Love this soo much and it's sooo true!

Have a good one!

Steph

Day 11 & 12

Hey all,

Sorry I didn't post yesterday but I was soooooooooo busy. I was literally running around all day and then was with my bestie all night :) I only got a quick 5 minute power walk around the block yesterday.. bare minimum but I still squeezed it in :)

I had a great time with Jenn last night (as usual). We had salads for dinner.. watched our shows.. I did my nails and then we watched Jersey Shore which is ALWAYS fun ahaha.

Today I booked off so I will have an EXTRA long weekend! I slept in until 8:45 and then woke up and had breakfast. After that I got in my workout and finished watching the Bachelor. oooh those females are sooo ridiculous lol. I hopped on the treadmill for 35 minutes which felt good :). I could have gone longer but had plans to meet up with my friend Shannon. I had an amazing time :)! It was soooo good to catch up! It had been months! After that I went and got my eyebrows threaded. I feel so much better now :)

Tonight Mom and I are going to go see the movie the Vow. I am sooo looking forward to it! I have a thing for Channing Tatum.. hes yummy lookin! hahaha

Anyways.. I should get going. Just wanted to make sure I updated!

Steph

Day 10!

Hey all.. Day 10!! ahh hehehe officially 1/3 of the way through.

Today was a good day. Went by fairly quickly and after work I visited my grandparents which is always nice. I left there a bit early and went for a Zumba class with my mom which was fun! Kinda hard but I had a different instructor this time. I felt like I pushed myself soo hard for the first half and in the 2nd half I was sooo tired. I started to get back into it with like 10-15 left but that's something I have to do differently next time!

Anyways.. gonna be a short post. :) Gonna go watch some TV.

Adios

Steph

Day 9!

Holy Crap!! It's day 9!! Honestly it feels like day 3-4 haha.. I can't believe I am almost 1/3 of the way through!! Thats kinda crazy!

Anyways.. I've had a rough time lately. I dumped a friend.. which was a hard decision but the right one. I'm so happy I have great friends to keep my mind occupied. Last night I got some pretty bad news. Someone I had worked with in the past (they were my immediate supervisor) passed away in a horrible way which I don't even want to go into :(. It's very sad and upsetting and I've been emotional and confused all day. I feel like I'm still in shock.

I feel like because of a lot of the things going on in my life lately my eating habits have been kind of off because I was emotional eating. I came home last night and ate 3/4 of a box of mike and ikes and almost 1/2 a bad of coffee crisp minis. I was really upset. I counted my points though.

Today was hard and only one person really noticed something was wrong. I'm kind of happy no one else noticed as I didn't really want to explain why. It was my closest friend at work and I'm happy he was there to listen to me vent. I knew that when I got home I needed to get on that treadmill and push myself. I needed to clear my mind. I was on there for 41 minutes.. I could have gone longer but I knew I needed to come see Pete (which is where I'm at now).

Also meaning I should go spend some time with my man. Happy Valentines Day all! Today we're not really doing anything. I told Pete that I wanted to just chill out. In reality.. Pete makes me feel good and feel happy every single day of the year so I don't need some fake holiday to reassure me that he loves me :) I know it!

Anyways.. Toodles!

Steph

Day 6, 7 & 8

Hi all,

Hope you all enjoyed the weekend.. and if you're in Ontario.. this dumping of snow we got!! I knew once I got excited for spring weather we would get a bunch of snow and I wouldn't like it. I was right!

Anyways.. let me tell you about my last 3 days of working out.

Day 6

Saturday was a pretty busy day. I got together with 2 of my friends for breakfast and then had a day full of shopping! It was great! I got home around 3pm and jumped on the treadmill right away. I did 20 minutes on there. Felt good!

Day 7

Sunday was ridiculous. I had the wonderful idea of going for a walk.. except none of the sidewalks had been cleaned which made walking to the store crazy! ahahaha It took us (Pete & I)about 30 minutes to get there and back. I think in some spots the snow was 1/2 foot deep? It was definitely a difficult walk. The moment I stepped into his place was amazing. HAH

Day 8

I already got my workout in today :) During my lunch I went for a 20 minute walk around the block. 1/2 uphill. It felt great and its a beautiful day.. but that wind is killler!!!!!! My face was sooo cold! Oh well.. I got it in and don't need to worry about it as I have a CRAZY day ahead of me. I'll be at the office until 6pm tonight and will be going straight to ROOF to volunteer. I won't get home to 11 and by that point I will be exhausted and prob not in the mood to workout.

Anyways :) My weekend was fantastic! I spent a lot of time with Pete which is always amazing. We made dinner together on Saturday and it was sooo yummy! I found this blog that has amazing recipes and shows the PointsPlus+ value on every single recipe! VERY useful!!

Anyways I need to get back to work .. take care!

Steph

Quote of the Week

Hi all,

Its Saturday! That means it is time for my quote of the week!

If you don't do what best for you body, you're the one who comes up on the short end. -Julius Erving

Ain't that the truth! I figured that one out more than ever in 2010. I don't think I exercised at all. I was a lazy bum. No wonder I was so unhappy with myself! I started seriously exercising in November of 2011 and it changed my life! It made me feel great and I really felt the difference quickly. I worked out every single day for 30 days straight and at the end I felt fantastic. I lost weight consistently and the pounds kept sliding off after that challenge! I was sooo happy and I had a lot more energy! I got mono and couldn't work out again for awhile until this week and I'm already feeling a difference!!

You HAVE to take care of your body. If you're putting nothing but junk into your body it is NOT healthy!! You NEED to have those servings of fruits and vegetable EVERY SINGLE DAY. You NEED to eat in moderation. I count my weight watchers points every single day. NO MATTER WHAT. I also try to watch what I eat.. I make sure I get a minimum of 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day. Usually I eat about 6-7. I always have a certain amount of dairy each day and I control the amount of junk food I take in. I've found that convenience eating is not the way to go for me. I can't just go to McD's or Burger King and eat whatever I want. Eating greasy french fries, mozzasticks, poutine, burgers and fried chicken is NOT the way to go!! I have gone to a fast food restaurant ONCE since 2012 began. I got poutine. Why? Because it was on the side of the highway on the way to Kingston.. and I figured if I was going to eat something SO unhealthy I would eat something I knew I'd really enjoy! Yes, I wanted to get the fried chicken burger AND the poutine.. but that was not the healthy option. Especially considering I wasn't sure what I was going to be having for dinner. Ideally I should have got the salad but a girls got to live every once and a while!! (side note: I will NEVER deprive myself of the foods I love!)

Another thing I don't do is fill up on unhealthy sugary drinks. 90% of the time I get water. the other 10% is coffee or wine. I gave up drinking pop in January of 2011. It really does make a difference! A few of my other friends did this and also noticed a difference. Everyone always compliments me on my nice skin and my white teeth. DINGDINGDING!! BINGO. That's why! I drink MINIMUM of 8-9 glasses a day. I love water!

Anyways.. there's my rant for the day!

Have a good weekend :)

Day 5!

Hey all!

Today is day 5 of my workout challenge! I got my workout in this evening after work. Jumped on the treadmill for 35 minutes :). It felt great! Usually when I go that long I get extremely out of breath. This time it wasn't hard at all! Except for the last 5 minutes where I cranked the speed.

I feel so good to be back at it again. I feel like a big part of my life was missing and has been returned! Not going to let anything come in my way now!

Today I had a few people tell me that it looks like I had lost weight again. Its such a good feeling when I hear this. Motivates me to keep going and to push myself harder! I'm also noticing a difference in my clothes. I feel like the clothes I had bought because my old clothes were too tight... are too tight! A lot of my pants feel looser and some shirts sit differently and longer. It's a good feeling!!! I know I have some summer clothes I was keeping to fit into someday! Here's hoping for this summer!

Anyways.. I'm at Pete's right now. I think we're going to watch the movie Friends with Benefits tonight. Should be good! I love Mila Kunis!

Take care!

Steph

Day 4!

I can't believe it's lunchtime and I've already completed my workout! :) Kind of a good feeling!

Today I took it a bit easier and just went for a 20 minute speed walk around the block. I went by myself today as I wanted to just clear my mind and listen to music. I am feeling much better and the nausea from last night didn't last too long :).

I'm really excited for my night. Its Jersdaayyyy so I'm going to spend time with my bestie Jenn :)! We always have a blast even though.. we don't really do anything lol. We truly rock :)

Today I made a huge step and deleted my old blog. I've kind of being reorganizing my life and recycling the bits that just don't fit anymore.. if that makes ANY sense at all. I don't need that negative reminder around of my past anymore. I don't really want anyone to read that and see the horror stories from my past. I am a completely different person now. A stronger person. I like this me :)

I hope you do too :)

Time to get back to work!

Later!

Steph

Day 3!

Today I am SOOOOOOOOOOO sore. OUCH! My thighs burn so much.. but at the same time it feels SOOOOOOO GOOD!!

The pain doesn't bug me as much as I went to see my massage therapist today.. perfect timing! haha and she made me feel soo good. The way she dug her thumbs into my upper thighs!! OH YA!! Anyways my muscles feel much, much looser.

For my workout tonight I decided to do something different. I did a 30 minute workout on my exercise ball.

I brought my gear up to my room which included a yoga mat, my exercise ball and an 8 lb dumbbell. I turned some dance music on my iPhone, found a link and started doing it.

This is the link I used: http://exercise.about.com/cs/abs/l/bl_core.htm

I did two sets of the back extensions, ball balance, butt lift, hip extension and ball rotation. Now that I see it I'm kind of surprised I did that in 30 minutes as it doesnt seem like much.. but it is reallly, REALLY hard to perfect the moves!! After almost falling off the ball multiple times I finally was able to do the moves and was even able to do them a second time :).

It felt good.. except for the feeling afterwards of wanting to be sick.

I'll definitely do this again and maybe next time I will work out a different area of my body :)!

Have a great day!

Day 2!

Hey all,

Today is day 2 of my workout challenge and it went very well!

I jumped on the treadmill for 30 minutes and walked/ran. It was good!! I have to say my THIGHS ARE BURNING! Zumba and the speed walking back to back may not be the best idea hahah. I think tomorrow I will do something a bit different.. probably an upper body workout.

I also have a massage tomorrow which I am looking forward to.. It will feel nice on my sore muscles! :)

Anyways I should go.. I'm watching the show Ringer! I love this show sooo much!

Toodles,

Steph

Day 1- My third 30 day challenge!

Hi all!!

Guess what today is?

The beginning of my THIRD 30 day challenge! Yes, I am on number 3! :) So as I had mentioned before I would be doing a workout challenge.

Here it is!

My 3rd challenge

For the next 30 days I am going to exercise for a MINIMUM of 5 minutes a day. NO MATTER WHAT!!! I WILL find the time! Please remember 5 minutes is the absolute MINIMUM. Last time I did this challenge I don't think I did less than 10.

So.. today is day 1! I already got my work out in. I tried something new today and went to a Zumba class with my Mom. 1 Hour of non stop dancing. I was sooo sweaty at the end but felt soooooo good! I can't wait to go back hehehe :)

Anyways.. I will now be posting every day again as it will keep me very motivated!

Tomorrow I have band so I will be jumping on the treadmill after work and will get my workout in then!

Have a great night!

Steph

Quote of the week

Hey all,

Hope you are having a great weekend!! I had an awesome day yesterday with my bestie. We went shopping in Burlington and I tried to go dress shopping. TRIED being the main word in that sentence. hahah I must have tried on like 20 dresses and EVERY single one looked bad :( (except two at H&M which I need to think about). Honestly it was very frustrating because I couldnt find a dress that fit my large chest properly. Why does this have to be the issue?! Argh!! Almost every single dress fit well everywhere else except in my chest.

The good part of the day?? While trying on jeans I no longer needed a size 14!! I AM NOW A SIZE 12!!!!!!! Man its been awhile.. I don't think I've been a size twelve since I was a teenager! This is a hugggeee deal for me and has shown me that my hard work is paying off!!! 18 to a 12 is a huge accomplishment! :) I was also happy that one of the dresses I liked was in a size 12!

Ah well.. the positives sure outweigh the negatives on this one. I have lots of time to find a dress and really.. I didn't look THAT hard.

Anyways... here is my quote of the week!

Never, never, never, never give up - Winston Churchill

No matter what happens.. DONT give up.

I must get going.

Toodles :)

xox

Steph

I'm Doing This!

My 2012 words to live by:

Just thought I'd share this as I won't be near a computer to post today. I am out with my bestie on a shopping trip in Burlington. At this very moment I am most likely shopping and dropping.

I really enjoy this and its dead on with me. Even though I lost 40 lbs in 2011 and changed my entire life.. I am not done my journey. I still have a long ways to go and this is the year that I want to get to that healthy weight! My weight ISN'T going to hold me back anymore!

Anyways I'm outtie..

Have a happy Friday!

Steph

2nd 30 day Challenge Complete!

So today is the last day of my 30 day reading challenge.

Within the last 30 days I have finished 3 books and am half way through my 4th book. I'm actually surprised I kept with it as some days I honestly felt like it was a chore. After a busy day forcing myself to read right before bed when all I really wanted to do was sleep.

But now I can't wait to finish this book and pick up the next one in the series.. its very addicting! heeh :)

I got on the scale again today. You're not really supposed to when on weight watchers.. but this is MY life style change and I will do whatever I want :). Welllllll... I am down another .5 lb :D!

hehe Makes me feel great to see progress on the scale!

Anyways .. I am going to head off.

toodles!

Steph

Down 3 lbs!!

I stepped on the scale today.. and since last Wednesday I am down 3 lbs! I guess not eating past 8PM and not using any more than my daily points allowance really helped! It wasn't even that hard! Just a few simple changes and I did it!

I'm really proud of myself and this week I am also not going to use any of my extra points.. lets see if I can do it two weeks in a row! I figure if I do it for a longer period of time I'll get used to it instead of being used to going over.. every single day. For me that just isn't okay. I want to lose not maintain!

Next week I am going to start another 30 day work out challenge. I am going to do the same as I was doing before .. min 5 minutes of workout every single day for 30 days straight! I will most likely start that on February 6th. I have a lot going on this week/weekend and may not find the time to hit the treadmill.

I will let you know when I start for sure.

Have any fun workout suggestions for me?? This challenge I am going to be doing more Zumba and Taebo! Should be fun.. I may even try some new workout classes as well!

Take care all and thank you for being so supportive!!

Steph