Progress Report.

Hi guys,

I had a great day today!!! I ate very well!! Eggs for breakfast....lunch was steamed mushrooms and brussel sprouts with roasted chicken breast and for dinner, I had blackened salmon fillet(cajun style) with steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, red peppers and onions). I drank about 2.5 liters of water and I am currently drinking about 500 mls..so that should be about 3 litres for the day.

I didn't workout this morning, but I am about to right after entering this post!! I'm feeling great....I think part of this new motivation has to do with the great news I received yesterday..it's awesome! :) Thank you to all for your wonderful comments. Kimmy, you're so right..it's funny how this news came right when I needed the boost!! Way to go universe!! :)

Anyway, just a quick post to let you know that it likes like I'm back on track...off to pump some iron :DDD

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

Wow....Incredible Support..Thanks

I had a FABULOUS workout earlier!! Today, I did very well with my meals...all day!! I had eggs for breakfast, with two turkey sausages...yummy...for lunch I had an almond and feta cheese-stuffed chicken breast with steamed carrots, cauliflower and turnips and a side of tomato and cucumber salad. It was delicious!! Dinner tonight was roasted chicken, spinach and a baked sweet potato...tasted wonderful. I also had lots of water throughout the day!!!

Now, gratitude.....You guys are absolutely awesome!! Thank you so much for all the supportive comments and encouragement and understanding regarding my previous post!! I TRULY APPRECIATE IT FROM EACH AND EVERYONE ONE OF YOU!!!! THANKS!!! IT REALLY DOES HELP!!! Also, thank you to all of you who sent me personal emails and messages on the facebook group as well...

Okay, so the message I got from all the comments is that I need to dust myself off, RE-FOCUS and move on. Don't let all my hard work go to waste by sabotaging the progress thusfar. There were many of you who've been down this exact road before and understand exactly what I'm feeling and going through (especially Kimmy and Kimberley)...thanks for your wise and encouraging words and for those going through the same thing and/or on journeys of their own (like my "twin" NIA, Crys, Lisa), we will get there!!! Steve and Joy, thanks so much for the great advice and encouragement.

ROB - you are amazing...you always know what to say to get me thinking and wanting and just to get that whole "eye of the tiger" back!! I am so pleased about having a cheat meal every two weeks...I know to some it might not seem like much but for me I think it will help greatly. You are right....my body is a CASTLE and I AM THE QUEEN!!! :) I love that :))) I will CREATE in the NOW!!! Thank you Rob....I don't say this enough, but I know that I couldn't get through this without your support....THANK YOU!!!

So here's my plan. Tomorrow morning, I will wake up, weigh-in, then get my workout done first thing in the morning. I will then have a nice healthy egg white and spinach omlette and be on my way.

Today is my 5th wedding anniversary and tomorrow is my husband's birthday so we will be going out to celebrate over dinner and a couple of drinks!! This will be my very first cheat meal and then back on track!! I will post details of my first "official" cheat meal and how the day went!!

It is time to RE-FOCUS!!!

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

Food Pix

Here are a few shots of some of the food I ate when I was away. Again, I didn't find it difficult to make healthy choices because it was always available.

This pic - steamed veggies (broccoli, cabbage, onions) and beef on the grill (yum)!!

This was from an all -you-can-eat sushi restaurant in Vancouver. Great atmosphere. I DO NOT LIKE SUSHI so thankfully there were lots of other items on the menu that I could eat. There was a grill in the middle of the table so that we could grill/cook our own meat/fish. Now although this may sound like a cool concept to some - I have a sneaking feeling that the owners are in the back laughing at everyone, thinking to themselves," look at them, they pay us money to come here and cook their own food!" :)

It was great though and the food was quite tasty.

This was one of my breakfast from the hotel. Fluffy scrambled egg whites, some veggies and a side of fruit (strawberries & pineapples).

This was pretty tasty and very filling!

This was a spicy shrimp and veggie strifry.

It came with rice but I just ask the server to substitute with extra veggies. She did one better and substituted with roasted veggies. It was delicious, so flavourful...so good!

Now, I didn't take pictures of ALL my meals - on some days, I just grabbed a quick lunch while working from the cafeteria like a tuna and veggie wrap on whole wheat tortilla) with a bottle of water....or a quick soup. I did have some sweet potato fries one day..just couldn't pass them up - they were shared though!

Anyway just a few shots....

Joania (2KMINE!!)

That Feking Easter Bunny!!!!!!!!!!!

So I survived Christmas!! I survived a trip out of province!! I survived Valentine's Day AND I EVEN SURVIVED MY F'ING BIRTHDAY!!!!!! What got me????????? THAT FEKING EASTER BUNNY!!!!!

This is my confession y'all!!!!

Yesterday I stopped in at a grocery store to pick up a few things and it's everywhere!!! Easter colours...there's always been something about Easter colours and decorations that send tingles down my spine!! I know what it is, it's the CHOCOLATE!!! THE CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!

Anyway, I resisted, got my groceries and went about my business.

Forgive me "trainer" for I have sinned....

Well today, I needed "something" from the Pharmacy...you know, the stuff all us women need to pick up on a monthly basis...damn crappy, crap!!! Yes, I am a bit moody today, but I digress.

Anyhoo, wouldn't you know that as soon as I walked into that pharmacy, I bump into MR Bunny and all his wonderful chocolate eggs and chocolate bunny and chicken friends looking all great and tasty. "No Joania, ignore the chocolate, get what you came for and go back to the car!!"

I managed to some how make it to the cash register, payed the bill and grabbed my bag which the nice cashier packed and handed to me! "Have a good day!" she said, as I hopped into the car where my son and husband were waiting!! My husband dropped us off and went back to work. My son and I went on in the house. He went immediately to his toys as I proceeded to unpack my bag from the pharmacy!!

"OH MY GOODNESS!!! WHAT IS THIS DOING IN HERE??!?!?!" see pictures below...

If you noticed from the second picture, the bag is opened, and if the bag is opened, you can bet your last dollar, that a few are missing!! YES!! I HAD 4 OF THOSE WONDERFUL LITTLE MISERABLY DELICIOUS EGGS!!! 4 OF THEM!! IT'S ALMOST LIKE I COULDN'T STOP MYSELF AS I FEVERISHLY UNWRAPPED EACH COLOURFUL FOIL!! THEY WERE SOOOOOOOOOOOO SWEET, BUT ENJOYABLE NONTHELESS!!! OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE CHOCOLATE!! I LOVE CHOCOLATE!! OH CRAP, REALITY....JOURNEY...DIET......

I decided to come and write about this, so I could get a hold of myself and get back on track here!! But here's the problem, "THEY'RE NOW IN MY HOUSE!!!!" I've got to get rid of them...but my son loves them...can't keep 'em here...just can't!!! oh what to do...garbage..i'll throw them out....okay....yeah..I'll throw them out. Yeah, that's what I'll do..okay..I'll come back on later!!

I knew it would happen sooner or later but I just never knew how it would happen and here we are !!! Oh well.....

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

Healthy Eating...not so Tough!!!

I wrote this post after returning from my trip to Halifax a couple of weeks ago. I did not post until now as I was waiting to upload the pix - i used my camera phone and lets just say it took a little "doing" to figure it out!! So here it is!

Well, I passed my first big test. I went on a business trip and like in the past would be eating out everyday and for every meal!! How could I possibly stay on track and maintain my new healthy eating habits??? That was my biggest concern with this trip. Well to my surprise, it was relatively easy to stay on track. This healthy eating isn't so tough!!!I couldn't believe it! Did you know that most restaurants offer a healthy alternative to most of the items listed on their menus??? I don't know if this is the case everywhere, but certainly in the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia!!

My colleague and I arrived in Halifax in time for lunch and we found this quaint little bistro style restaurant (McElvies) which was just fabulous. I had a grilled salmon salad (see pic below). It was a generous piece of grilled salmon served on top of a bed of fresh salad with a vinegarette dressing. It was delicious.

For the duration of my stay, all of my meals (lunches and dinners) included seafood (usually fish) and veggies. It was wonderful. For breakfast, we ate at the restaurant in the hotel. I was so pleased to see that they had a "Healthy Breakfast" (see pic below) option on the menu. This is what I had every morning. It was great. It included 3 scrambled egg whites, a small bowl of oatmeal, a small bowl of fruit and 2 slices of whole wheat toast. I never ate the toast. After having the eggs and oatmeal, I was honestly stuffed. It was just wonderful.

This a pic of two of my dinners...Top is grilled salmon, shrimp and veggies (zucchini, mushrooms. onions)....this was from a restaurant called Hibachi....just amazingly delicious! YUMMY!! The next pic is just broccoli and salmon...yummy....

I did catch a cold while I was there and one morning I thought maybe I needed to up my vitamin C, so I ordered a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in additional to my usual glass of water. I took my first sip and found that it was so ridiculously sweet that it wasn't even enjoyable. I did not finish it. My water tasted so much better. I'm noticing so many changes in my taste buds - it's crazy! Sweet, not enjoyable??? I never before thought that was possible.

Anyway, just wanted to share that I found it very easy to make healthy food choices while eating out. I had a wonderful dinner at another place. It was steamed halibut, baked sweet potato slices and steamed veggies (unfortunately, it's one of a couple of pix which I guess I did not save properly). It was sooooo good! I also had a lobster dinner one night ( a 2lb stemed lobster, grilled asparagus and sauteed mushroom and onions!! So fabulous.

I must admit that i had two martinis while I was there...that same night, I emailed my trainer to confess my sins...the guilt was killing me!!! I was so surprised at his response, "consider it a treat, since you were so good with your eating and exercising!!' I felt so much better!! Anyway, I ended up losing 2 pounds, so no harm done!!

So, I did good!!!

Until next time....

Joania (2KMINE!!)