Best Week I've had

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

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

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

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

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

All of these changes by setting a single challenge. 

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

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

Small changes erupt into bigger lifelong changes. 

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

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

Toodles!

xo

Stephie

Setting Goals & Making Better Choices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You guys think I succeeded?

I do :)

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

Me, Myself, AND I.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers!

xox

Stephie

Making Changes

Oh boy.. has it been a crazy week.

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

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

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

Good for me.

*Pats self on back*

That is an achievement for me.

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

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

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

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

Another achievement.

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

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

This will be good :)

I need this.

Anyways.. I must go!

Thanks for reading.

Stephie

I'm Back!

Bonjour!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are some pics:

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

Parliament Building!

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

Good ol' Wilfie

Old vs New Parliament

The view off the Rideau trail we walked

This is the Tomb of the unknown soldier. 

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

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

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

Could see Parliament from my hotel room!

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

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

Me learning to fly

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

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

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

Who knows..

Gotta run!

xo 

Stephie

Are You Happy?

Success!

Hey all,

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

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

This is what I ate for lunch:




























My god it was good! Then I had:



























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

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

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

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

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

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

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

:)

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

Stephie

Challenge COMPLETE!

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

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

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

All within the last 30 days.

I'm pretty impressed.

:)

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

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

Anyways.. enjoy the rest of your day!

Steph

Update & Sorry!

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

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

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

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

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

Toodles!

xo

Steph

Thank you!

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

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

I never expected so much traction. You guys rock!

Keep it up and stay inspired.

I love you all!

xo

Stephie

Different ways to measure

Hey all!

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

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

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

I am happy about that.

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

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

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

Next workout will be Tuesday.. Zumba!

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

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

Gonna run.. toodles!

Steph