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

No Loss.. but oh well!

I have been a horrible blogger! Sorry about that.. but this week was kinda all over the place.

I recently got into the show Mad Men and have been watching it non stop. Literally.. non stop. I come home from work.. put it in and watch until I go to bed. I watched the entire first season from Saturday to Sunday.

Anyways..I weighed in this week and didn't lose. I'm not surprised. I had two losses the weeks before so I was still happy about that.. I also quickly did my measurements on Wednesday morning and they were down! I didn't get to log them but I will do them again this weekend to be sure. It felt good!!

I failed on my challenge. I tracked in my mind but not on the health checks tracker. I didn't find that was a big deal as I still stayed on track... didn't use any extra points and still worked out.

Monday I came home from work early as I was feeling pretty sick and relaxed.. I didn't go to ROOF but I did watch Mad Men all night (of course) and stayed in bed for most of the day.

I feel much better now though.

This is a new week for me and I want to spend a lot of my weekend being active and spending it with the ones whom I love :). I can't wait to see what this week has in store for me and I promise to update sooner!

Toodles

Steph

Day 10!

Hey all,

I'm on day 10 of my reading challenge and I have already finished one book and am onto the 2nd book in the series :) It's gotten pretty addicting.. :) I want to slap myself when I forget my book at home because I can't read over lunch :(.

What can ya do, eh?

Anyways.. things otherwise are going really well and I'm LOVING life! I seriously couldn't be better. I'm struggling a bit on the weight loss but I think a large part of that is me not working out. I'm going to start slowly incorporating activity into my routine over the weekend. I am seriously getting stir crazy and want to jump back onto the work out wagon badly! I downloaded this app on my phone called Nike Training. Its a free app on my iPhone and it tracks your workouts and even supplies your workouts for you! I haven't tried it yet but I'm looking forward to starting. I think I will try that out tomorrow morning. Let's see if I fall over or stride through it.. I will definitely let you know!

I've been hearing "you've lost more weight!!!" lately when the reality is that I havent.. at all. It's kind of upsetting but I know it's not REALLY my fault. I had a major set back with the mono and it came at a WOOOOONDERFUL time when I was soooooooo motivated!!

When I get down about it I just say to myself "Stephanie you're not going to gain 40 lbs over night.. you've come a long way and you're moving forward not backwards so snap the f**k out of it!!"

haahah

I'm a loser.

So on Tuesday we had another band practice. First of this year! With a few members on vacay it was a tiny turnout but we have 2 of our new coops joining which is awesome!!! Lots of talent coming out :) Have I mentioned how much I love my job??

Last night I hung out with my best friend, Jenn. She is truly an amazing person.. I love her sooo much! She makes me feel so comfortable and I can talk to her about ANYTHING .. even laughing hysterically about how the ultrasound technician had said in an asian (??) accent "ooooooh SOOO much gaaaaaas". Yes!! I had beans the night before.. but didn't really want to admit it. TMI?

Anyways.. it is time for me to go :)

Later!

Stephie

Changes of 2011

I really can't believe it when I think of all the changes that occured for me in 2011. There are so many and I can honestly say that I am SO, SO proud of myself.

I have completely changed my life around and am EXACTLY where I want to be :)

Some of the things that changed in 2011

• I lost 40 lbs!!- Yes I finally hit my 40 lb mark and am sooo happy!! It's been quite the journey but I think losing 40 lbs in one year is remarkable :) I posted some pics below to show me last Christmas and then pictures from this Christmas.
  
  
• I rediscovered myself- This time last year I was lost. I was broken. I had just gotten out of a 4.5 year abusive relationship(in every single way.. mostly emotional) and I honestly thought I would never be happy again. I didn't think I'd be able to move on or be able to REALLY smile again. I got so used to putting up a front around people that they never thought I was hurting inside. I guess it was a way of protecting myself. In 2011 I started out the year keeping myself busy and making sure I was surrounded by people who loved me. I started losing weight and eventually found my confidence again. I realized that I am a good person and that I am loveable. I found my sense of humour.. didn't worry about what other people thought of me and started being myself again. I am a giving, kind hearted person and that person will NEVER, EVER go away.
  
  
• I got a promotion!- I started working at Primal in September 2009 part time. I instantly loved my job and knew that I wanted to stay there for awhile. I was only getting about 25 hours a week and needed more money to pay the bills so I was working another part time job. This didn't really bother me as I LOVE working :) In January I started full time and was able to quit my part time job! I couldn't be happier.. its like a have a work family :)
  
  
• Fell in love- This one is the most important one to me :) I had been into Pete for a very long time. Pretty much since we started hanging out during our lunch breaks (we met at Primal). I was instantly attracted to his sense of humour, his smile and his kind eyes :). We talked every single day at work over MSN. He'd send me songs and we had pretty much the same music taste.. I loved that! He quickly became one of my closest friends and I was terrified to tell him I liked him because A) we worked together.. could become awkward, B)Fear of rejection and C) I didn't want to lose the friendship if he didn't feel the same way. He quit in June of this year and we still talked every single day over FB chat :) I finally decided to tell him and it was the best thing I've ever done!! It took a few days for him to come around and admit it too but we hung out one night and watched True Blood and Breaking bad and have been inseparable ever since. I've never felt something like this and really hope this lasts forever!!! Jan 5th will be 5 months for us :). I finally found someone who I can be myself with in every single way.. and he makes me feel beautiful everyday.. even when I look like a bum and am wearing no makeup :) SOOO HAPPY <3<3<3
  
  
• Dumped shitty friends- I decided that if being a good friend was a priority for me.. I deserved the same! I had many people treat me like shit in 2010 and wasn't going to let that happen in 2011. When the red flags started showing.. I kicked them to the curb. No need for that!
  
  
• Became closer to my closest friends- One in particular. My best friend Jenn. She is my one and only and gets me better than anybody ever has. We can talk about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING and I think we could gross out most guys by our conversations. haha. She is the best person I've ever met and we've been best friends for 9 years now! She truly gets me and would do anything to fix any problem I have. I love her so much.
  I've also become a lot closer to some of my other friends including Amber who has been amazing. I've known her since I was in grade 10 and we're closer than we've ever been. She's one of my closest friends and I'd do anything for her! Another friend is Stef :) She is amazing and so beautiful inside and out. We have gone through a lot of the same struggles so it's nice having a buddy to go through it with. I know you'll be the first one to read this.. love you soooo much girl!!! Another friend I've become close to is Sam. We met when she was a co-op at Primal last year and she quickly became my go to coworker for everything.. she has been an amazing friend and always offered me the best advice and was always there to listen to me when I was down and needed to be lifted up. :) She is one of the most amazing people I have EVER met.
  
  
• Bought a brand new car! - Got my new car! My lovely madza3 that I love soooooo much!
  
  
• Stopped drinking pop- I love pop.. maybe a little bit too much. It was really hard to give up at first but I knew it was one thing I needed to kick to have a healthier lifestyle. In 2010 I drank 3-4 cans of pop a DAY and no water.. no joke. I was a Canada Dry addict!! mmm gingerale. This year I kicked the habit and now only drink water (and coffee.. a bit of an addict on that one though)
  
  
• Discovered my love of snowmobiling- One thing I quickly became addicted to in early 2011 was going snowmobiling with my dad. I usually hate winter but this year that has changed! It became one of my favourite past times and cannot wait for there to be a heavier snowfall so we can go out and hit the trails!
  
  
• I started volunteering at a homeless youth drop in centre- This one makes me feel great. In May I started Volunteering at a place called ROOF. This place has seriously changed my life. Seeing the progress in some of the youth and the bonds I have developed with soo many of them is amazing. This has made me question my path in life and I'm seriously considering going back to school to go into this field.
  
  
• Joined a band- Many of my friends and family know that I LOVE to sing.. I feel like I am quite good at it. After filling in for the singer of the Primal band "Bog Ferret" it became a permanant thing in 2011 :). We meet every tuesday night and jam out at the office :) Love it so much and my band mates are awesome!!!
  
  
• Changed my view on working out- I used to HATE .. HATE working out. It was pretty much a chore for me and I never did it. This year I discovered that I actually love to be active and it has really helped me in this weight loss. I haven't been able to work out for the last month as I have mono but in 2012 it is going to be a HUGE thing for me. Gonna incorporate activity into my daily routine.

Here are the pictures I talked about earlier in this post.

Christmas 2010

Pictures from Christmas 2011

I feel like I even look happier! hehe

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more posts in 2012!

xo

Stephie

I have mono :(

Sorry I didn't get back to ya sooner but I've pretty much been a zombie. I found out I had mono. :(

Really, really, really sucked! Saturday-Friday I did nothing but stay in bed and sleep.. ALLL DAY!!! I only left my bed to make tea, soup or to use the washroom. Other than that I stayed in bed constantly.

I never knew mono would suck so badly.. I had an insanely sore throat and it burned to even just drink water! I had these little white spots all down my throat/on my tonsils which allowed me to eat NOTHING. Not sure if those sucked more than the night sweats but I ended up just sleeping in a towel bathrobe. It was the only way I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night soaked (like 5 times a night). By the following Saturday I was able to start eating solid foods and was able to move around a little more.. wasn't feeling like I'd pass out just by walking down the hall.

Today I went back to work after a week. I must say I feel pretty loved and was definitely missed :) I only worked 10-2:30 as I knew I wouldn't last a full day.

Today is my amazing mothers birthday :) I love her sooo much! She is the greatest person in my life and I would not be the person I am today if she wasn't one of my best friends <3

I'm going to head off now.. later!

Steph

Missed 2 weeks.. but I'm back!

Sorry for being a crappy blogger :(. I've been very stressed out these last two weeks.

My parents went on vacation for a week to Jamaica and left me in charge which meant I spent every night at home, cleaned up the house (including cleaning up after my slob of a brother). I was basically a housewife for a week! haha I did get in a bit of exercise as I walked brady twice a day every day. so that was good!

We had the Primal Holiday party which was a blast!! Bog Ferret rocked the house! I love our band!! WE ROCK!! We performed 15 songs.. it was a lot of fun. The only thing that was not fun about it was the hangover the next day :|. I needed to have some "bravery juice" to be able to get onto the stage and then within the last hour a group of 7-8 of us did like 10-15 shots. Yes I repeat.. 10-15 shots within AN HOUR!!!! it was kind of ridiculous but awesome at the same time! The room was definitely spinny that night! I'm so lucky I have a supportive boyfriend who overlooks my drunken stupidity. At one point in the night I came and sat beside him with a drink and he put his hand on my leg and said "whats that?". I said "my leg" hes like.. "what... whats that?" I said "my leg" he goes "..............what are you drinking?" I go "ooooooooooooohhhhhhh ahahah .......a white freezie" Yep.. Im wack! That was at about 1/2 way through our set. :| I also spilled A LOT of popcorn in his car.. sorry Pete! :)

My parents came home on Wednesday and I could not have been happier!! I missed them soo much! ( I also missed sleeping in).

Wednesday was also my weigh in day and I was down a lb!! Whoot Whoot I was very happy.. I'm the lowest weight I've been in over 2 years!! :)

(I also kind of cheated and got on the scale today and was down 1 more lb.. kinda happy about that but I'm also sick.. which I will get into)

Thursday night I was able to spend time with my best friend Jenn. We ate dinner, went for a 30 min walk and then watched our show "Drop Dead Diva" for the rest of the night. Thats when I started to feel like arse. I was starting to feel the pain!

Friday came and went.. it was a hectic work day (as the last week had been.. ugh!!). I was happy when 5pm rolled around as I went and picked up Pete and then we went with my parents to our family friends house for dinner and gingerbread making. We had a great time and Pete and I made an amazing gingerbread house! It was crappy we left a bit early because I was sick.. but I really wanted to go to bed.

Next day I felt like I had been hit in the neck with a brick. It hurts so badly to swallow.. Had the chills for 2 days straight.. raging headache.. pain in my neck/back, swollen glands lymph nodes. ughh

Now I am getting the sweats andd I have white spots on my throat and the pain has completely moved over to my left side. It really, really sucks. It's also extremely painful and NOTHING helps. I've tried 4 kinds of lozenges, 2 sprays that numb the throat, advil and aleve.. its just insanely painful. The only thing that kinda helps is putting a cold pack on it and camomile tea :(

Bah.. I hate being sick!

Hopefully I can get in to see my doctor tomorrow. I went for a drop in appointment at my doctors office on Sunday and one of the doctors there took 5 mins with me. She swabbed my throat.. left.. came back with results (no strep) and told me to drink lots of fluids and left..

THANKS!!!! VERY helpful!

*SMH!!!*

Anyways I'm going to try and get some sleep.

Steph

Day 13 & 14

Sorry I've been such a shitty blogger! I've actually been getting over a flu bug so haven't wanted to do a thing.

I stayed home from ROOF on Monday as I didn't want to go in and spread my bug to the homeless youth.. that just wouldn't be fair. I stayed home in bed and gamed playing MW3 for hours. haha.. I'm a bit of a loser.

I did manage to drag my butt out of bed to do 120 situps.. OUCH. It hurts today lol..

Today was a good day.. I had another person tell me that it shows I'm losing weight *happy dance*

BOOYA!!!!

I did a 25 minute workout on the treadmill tonight.. felt good but I did feel a bit lightheaded after. I can really feel a difference from when I first started working out to now.. I feel like my legs have more strength.. I can work out for longer and the big one is my motivation. I look forward to working out now because I can FEEL a difference! :) I love it!!

Anyways.. tomorrow is my weigh in day.. I'm kinda nervous as there are things that happen that affect whether or not i lose weight. Won't go into detail but .. BLAH!

Adios!

Steph :)