Great Week!!

This week went by so quickly! This was my first week at my new job and it went really well. I will be working with a great group people who seem quite relaxed and fun. I'm truly looking forward to get started with them and to delve into the work.

This week I missed my Ju-jitsu classes. I will be doing a make up class tomorrow with a friend to try to get back on track. My weight training workout was great. I've been doing this program for a couple of months yet I still find it quite challenging. My trainer will soon provide me with another but I still feel like I have not yet mastered this one! It's a great workout...the lower body workout is a total killer!! My kickboxing classes were awesome!!

Food wise, I did really well this week. I did not stray from the diet and kept quite hydrated throughout (H20). I'm a bit anxious to see what the scale will show at tomorrow's weigh-in. We'll see!!

Well my mind has been filled with thoughts of my upcoming FIRST 5K RACE this Sunday. It's all I can think about, especially the last couple of days. Will I be able to finish?? I think I will but there is a crazy little voice in my head whispering, "bring your health card, just in case you pass out!" LOL!! Anyway, will fill you in with details and pictures on Sunday evening.

That's it for now, will be on tomorrow with weigh-in results.

Until next time...
Joania (2KMINE!!)

ST. PATTY'S & MY GIRLFRIEND JB....

This individual has been my friend for 20+ years and together, we've done a lot of fun and crazy things which will bring us to tears as we laugh about it, to this day!! It doesn't take much to get us going! I cannot imagine my life without her...anyway, this is not intended to be a sappy post. I can just see her face as she reads this laughing to herself and probably saying, "I can't believe she's writing about me and our craziness in her blog!!" or something to that effect!

Anyway, JB and I absolutely LOVE St. Patrick's Day!!! Well, maybe it's more the festivities that we like because if any one of us were quizzed on the history or origin of St. Patty's - we'd fail miserably!! I'm certain all of our responses would include either "leprechaun" or "green beer"!! It has been our longstanding tradition of just getting together and "doing it up right" on St. Patty's Day. For us, the festivities usually starts very early in the afternoon and goes strong until the wee hours of the morning!!

In the past, this involved the consumption of "a few" beverages, followed by a few more and so on and so on until very early the following morning where we'd ALWAYS end up asking the taxi driver to take us to the 24-hour drive thru McDonalds, where we ordered a massive amount of greasy, fatty food. I'm talking, double Big Macs, Supersize Fries, Coke and Apple Pies!!! I swear, it's the only thing we wanted to eat after a day on the "liquid diet" and it was just AMAZING! Can anyone relate to this, or are we just nuts?? Anyway, that's how we would normally spend St. Patty's Day, in the past!

This Year...

I will be in Edmonton on business on St. Patty's Day!! This year, on St. Patty's Day, I will have just completed my third straight month on this wonderful journey following a highly effective, customized diet and exercise plan which does not include my traditional "St. Patty's Day Food and Beverage Choices"!!!! THIS YEAR, on St. Patty's Day, although I will be in Edmonton, SO WILL MY GIRLFRIEND JB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know if was fate or if it was planned (I WILL never tell!!) but we will BOTH be in Edmonton on St Patty's Day and I think it was meant to be...

Oh, what to do????

First off, my girlfriend in no way wants to sabbotage my journey and has been extremely supportive from the very beginning and even before!! So "what I do" will be totally my decision...we could have a good time either way..Honestly, there is no pressure from her at all!! I just don't want anyone thinking that she's sabbotaging me in anyway!!!

So here are some facts:

1. I have been just amazing on this diet and exercise plan, and for the most part (except those 4 choc eggs recently), I've stayed true.
   
2. I didn't have cake or alcohol on my 35th birthday!!
   
3. I didn't have any chocolate on Valentine's Day!!
   
4. So far this year I've done very well and 3 months is a very long time.
   
5. I have all intentions of remaining on this journey and reaching my goals by Dec 2009!

I've always said that I don't want this new lifestyle to consume me and I also don't want to miss out on my life and things I enjoy doing because of it even though I realize and accept that I do have to make a lot of sacrifices and give up certain things....so I'm in yet another position where I have to make a huge decision regarding either food, chocolate, alcohol or all of the above!!! I also don't want to always have to be in these types of positions. I want to be able to just live and enjoy my life while respecting the boundaries of my program. It's all about finding that balance and learning how to live within it....I think that's a bigger struggle than losing the weight, itself - for me anyway!

So that's it for now....as always, I will be honest in whatever I do; with whatever decision I make regarding St. Patty's Day!! You will be informed...either way!!

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

Off to Edmonton AND Vancouver Next Week!

Hi guys,

I am sooooooooo glad it's Friday. TGIF!!!!!!!! This has been such a busy week for me. I was on course for work. It was 3 days at a different building downtown (downtown traffic stinks!) but anyway, it's over. I've also been busy prepping for another business trip. I'm off to Edmonton on Monday morning, then Vancouver on Wednesday and back home on Friday. It will be a very quick stop in both cities. Another busy week, but I plan to stay on track.

This time, I am not even phased at the thought of going away and worrying about my new lifestyle. Not the slightest regarding what I will eat or if I will exercise. Last month, prior to my trip to Halifax, I was losing sleep worrying if I would sabbotage my journey. But not now!!! I have my game plan. Both hotels are equipped with top of the line fitness facilities (and swimming pools) so I have no excuse when it comes to working out and I KNOW I will make healthy choices when it comes to eating. Don't get me wrong, I'm not over confident...I mean, temptation is temptation and I will have to be on my toes, but I am not worried like I was last time.

Anyway, looking forward to getting the trips out of the way. My only concern -and it's not even really a concern because he will be with his Daddy - but I always feel so sad when I leave my little munchkin...I must admit it is a nice break....even though I'm working, I'm not cooking, cleaning or picking up etc....it's a nice chance for me to get away from the routine and just re-boot... but I couldn't do it too often...I miss my sweet little hugs and kisses and all the crazy and wonderful moments!! My husband is really a great support which allows me the opportunity to this every now and then. Anyway, so I'll be gone for a week.

Just wanted to fill you in. Also, i will take picks of what I eat (it really helps to keep me on track). This time I will have my colleagues take the pics as PROOF THAT I ACTUALLY ATE THOSE MEALS (I received that as a suggestion after posting the food pix from my last trip)!! I may even take pix of me working up a sweat!!

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

To Eat or Not to Eat (My Eating Plan)

Hi everyone,

I previously outlined my workout / exercise plan and now it's time to tell you what I eat or at least try to eat on a daily basis. First off my trainer stressed the importance of eating properly to the success of this program and to my journey as a whole.

I am a carbohydrate-sugar addict. No surprises there - I've always known. I don't care much for chips or pretzels, french fries (except McDonalds)!! I could do without the salt. But when it comes to the sweets, and I mean anything from cakes, cookies, donuts, ice cream and not to mention chocolate - chocolate anything!!! That's my problem, I'm weak!! So of course I knew all of those goodies had to go if I wanted to see any success with this program. They wouldn't be gone forever, I just have to be disciplined for a while until I learn how to properly and moderately incorporate some of these foods back into my diet. Let's get real, THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL that I plan to live the rest of my life without ever having chocolate or sweets again. That just wouldn't work for this girl!!

So what am I eating??

Well right now, I'm eating a lot of veggies (spinach, lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, green peppers) and lean meats (chicken, turkey, beef, fish). I'm on a low carb diet. The carbs that I do ingest are from healthy foods like sweet potatoes and broccoli. I've been trying (so hard) to stay away from sugar, flour, salt, breads, white pastas, rice, potatoes (regular), processed foods, fast foods, fruit juices, soda, alcohol (that was hard). What's left??? Suprisingly a lot. When I say "low carb"I certainly don't mean "NO CARB" because as my trainer says, we need carbs to live, function....
Above is a pic of what I pack to take to work. Morning Snack - 1 hardboiled egg; Lunch (a spinach and cucumber salad with tuna fish and EVOO, vinegar and red pepper flake dressing - which I made myself); Afternoon Snack - cucumber slices and almonds...the only thing not in the shot is my water (I have four 800ml water bottles- one in my car, one at work, one at home and one in my purse).

So here's a sample of a day in the life of the new and improving Joania:

• Wake up and workout ( one day 1hr 15 mins, the other 20mins and I just keep alternating)
• Drink Water - I usually drink about 800mls by the time I'm done the workout
• Make Breakfast - {2-3 egg omlette with chopped green peppers and onions (very little)- YUMMY (really it is) and 500ml of water.
• Off to work
• Morning Snack - {Celery sticks with Almond butter (I'm loving almond butter - never thought I would)} about 500 ml of water
• Lunch - usually a salad (baby spinach, spring mix or romaine lettuce base) with a lean meat (chicken breast, turkey, or lean beef, sometimes shrimp) and 800ml of water
• Afternoon Snack - a few almonds (raw,unsalted, unsweetened, unchocolated - *heehee*) or some cucumber slices, some cheese or even a few slices of lean meat. Just enough to get me to supper time AND about 500 ml of water
• Go to daycare to pick up son and then home
• Dinner - This is my favourite meal of the day. This is where I can pretty much have what I want as long as it's a whole food and the portion is balanced. I usually have baked or roasted chicken with steamed mixed veggies and a baked sweet potato - YUMMY and this meal is really good!! Seriously!! Sometimes I make a 3 egg omlette and load it with veggies (mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and some cheese - really good). This is where i have pasta some times but it's whole grain pasta and a very small amount!! Also 500ml of water
• Evening Snack - Usually a cup of peppermint or cinnamon tea (unsweetened of course)...
• OFF to bed to do it all over again the next day.

As you can see I try to drink at least 3.5 to 4 litres of water. I'm not sure that you have to drink all that water but for me, I use the consume that much liquid in a day (just that most of it was either juice or pop and probably only 500 ml of water)!! So I decided to just sub water (around the same amount) every where I'd normally have a drink. DRAWBACK: Frequent Bathroom Visits - I visit the bathroom more often than when I was pregnant!! Question: How come I never had to pee as much when I was drinking soda and juice???

There are so many other different options of what I can eat that were provided by my trainer Rob (http://www.laganafitness.com/). Contact him if you're interested and the best part is that the plan is individually customized for you and it's also progressive...so it will change (can't get bored !)

I hope that helps a bit and sheds a bit of light on HOW I'm losing the weight. I must say that this is very difficult to do but it's a matter of living a healthy life or not for me!! So I just try my best to stay focused and not stray....SPEAKING OF STRAYING.....please see my next post titled, Cinnamon or Cinnabon!! :)

Joania (2000 MINE!!!)