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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's Worth It

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

3.5 lbs down and I feeeel GOOOOD!!!

Hi all,

I am going to start off by saying that this week was a HUGE success with a HUGE loss! I am down a total of 3.5 lbs!!! I really can't believe it! It's such a great feeling. 3.5 lbs in 7 days!! That blows me away. Normally I would think "whoa! That's not healthy" but you have to keep in mind I have barely lost this year. My body has shrunk (FOR SURE) but the scale has not shown it. It is really nice to see that my hard work is paying off :).

I was actually surprised to see a loss as there is this female type thing that usually prevents me from losing at this point and time and blah blah blah (sorry guys).

I actually had a pretty stressful week and am very happy I was able to stick to my weight watchers goal. I did not eat any food (except 0 pt food) after 9pm all week. I really think this is why I had such a good week. I stuck to my plan.. I worked out.. I didn't use any of my extra 49 points and I succeeded! Yesterday was the worst. I ripped my pants (in the knee), got a cold sore and was PMSing like crazy. I was also having a bad day. I came home.. ate dinner, did Zumba, abreva'd the shit out of my lip and watched ringer.

I can already tell today is going to be a better day! HALLELUJAH!!

I would like to thank Autumn for helping me out SOO much this week and for motivating me to do better. She really helped me to stay on track! It's nice to have someone like this in your life! I really do encourage everybody who is trying to lose weight to have a motivation buddy. It really helps get things moving!

So what did I do this week to help me lose 3.5 lbs?

• I tracked every single thing I ate.. no matter how big or how small
• I didn't eat past 9pm (except for 0 pt foods)
• I didn't use any of my extra 49 points (I don't really agree with those anyways)
• I gained 30 activity points (holy crap! I just realized that one)
• I didn't eat just because I felt emotional or upset.
• I made sure to follow the Weight Watchers plan and ate the right amount of fruits, protein and dairy every single day
• I didn't stress out or overthink :) I made do with what I had!

Those are sooo very simple! And I did it :)

This week for my Weight Watchers goal I am going to keep doing what I was doing and am not going to eat past 9pm unless it is a fruit or a veggie. I really would like to cut back on how much I eat at night and like I said before.. it takes 30 days to develop a habit and that is what I am going for :)

It's time I put the pedal to the metal and speed this process up. YES I CAN eat whatever I want. Am I going to? NO. I wan't to lose weight not maintain or have a small drop every week. I am going to stick to my plan and get the mentality I had when I first started weight watchers back. Time to cut back on junk, eating out and emotional eating. I joined weight watchers originally saying I could afford it if I cut out all of the fast food and eating out. Slowly I started forgetting about that and now I'm not going to anymore. Why waste money on food that is bad for you? It doesn't make sense when you're spending money to lose weight. Yeah I'd love to eat McDonalds or Harvey's or Taco Bell every week but for me and my personal weight loss this won't be an option anymore :).There are other healthy options I could go for instead of eating fast food... like a pita or a salad. I'm not saying this is a "forever" thing but for right now this is what I need to do for myself. Once and a while is okay but even weekly is too often. 

Heres to my new-new beginning!

Cheers!

Steph

My clothes feel looser!

I just wanted to say that I am feeling great this week!

Twice I've heard that my clothes are looking looser! A male coworker told me my pants are fitting a lot looser and last night Jenn said one of my hoodies looked so much bigger!

It's true. I had those pants before and couldn't even button them up let alone zip them up all the way. Now they're my "comfy work pants" lol. They fit very loose.

And the hoodie used to be very tight!! Now it fits me in a completely different way and I love it :)

hehe

Just wanted to send a quick update! Almost time to go home and I can't WAIT to work out :) Think I'll do treadmill and exercise ball tonight :)

Day 30- Challenge COMPLETE!!!

YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!! I have completed my challenge and finished 30 days of workout!!

I feel fantastic! I've noticed sooo many changes and I'm soo proud of myself. Some of the things I've noticed are:

• I can last longer on the treadmill without getting winded.
• I look forward to working out!
• My legs feel toned!
• 1st Zumba class I thought I was going to die after 20 minutes. I just made it through an hour feeling great and wanting more!!
• Planning workouts ahead of time.
• Feeling sexy in my clothes!!

My favourite is that last one ;).

I feeeeeeeeeeeel good na na na na na na na.

You get it! haha

Anyways.. Tonight Mom, Amber and I went for a Zumba class and we had a BLAST. I pushed through the entire class and enjoyed every single minute of it. Even when my arms were burning and I wanted to scream. haha. I honestly wanted to do another class after :|. What a difference!!

:)

Thanks for your support and I encourage you to start up your own 30 day challenge. Of anything! Challenge yourself to something for 30 days! Help yourself build a habit :)!

I will be having another challenge soon. I haven't thought of what it will be but you know I will keep you informed.

Good night!

Steph

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

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

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

Quote of the Week

Happy Saturday all!

Aaaaah the weekend is finally here!! Time to relax put my feet up and enjoy the company of the ones I love :) As usual today I will be sharing my quote of the week.. here it is!

If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you.
You may have a fresh start any moment you choose,
for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down.

-Mary Pickford

This quote kinda relates to how I've been feeling over the past few weeks. I honestly felt like I had failed myself and my followers. I made mistakes, I effed up.. I didn't eat that healthy and I majorly disappointed myself. I fell down.

It took me a few days to get back up.

Now I feel as though I have come TOO far and there is absolutely NO excuse to fail now! I WILL NOT allow myself to go back to the person I was.. I will NEVER allow myself to look so awful again! THIS is my fresh start! I have been good ALL week and I didn't let myself down! I stuck to my plan and I am so proud of myself for doing so.

Everyone makes mistakes! Its owning those mistakes that differentiates you from everyone else. A lot of people think "Oh I screwed up.. oh well" and don't do a single thing about it. I knew I screwed up and jumped back on the healthy wagon and I don't plan on slipping off again!

There is always the next day, next hour, next minute. You really can have a fresh start any moment that you choose! No one will do it for you.. it is something you HAVE to do yourself.

And with that said I am going to enjoy the rest of my weekend :) You should too!

Toodles

xo

Steph