Thursday, June 28, 2012

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

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

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




Monday, June 25, 2012

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

Sunday, June 17, 2012

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

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

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!


Thursday, June 7, 2012

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

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

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

Sunday, June 3, 2012

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