Day 19 of My 30 Day Countdown - TGIF!!

I am tired y'all! Tough week!

Had an awesome day of exercise today. Weight training session was really tough especially when working my arms as my shoulders were so sore from the day before (Jiu-jitsu class). However, I pushed through. My arms are still a bit sore right now. Sensei Derek taught my kickboxing class this evening and wow - excellent workout. We did quite a few "Derek Pushups" (slow and painful, each pushup lasts for a 10 count). I work so hard in that class and although I am cursing Sensei Derek's name for most of the class, it's so much fun and I get such an amazing sweat/workout!! Love it!

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that I earned my second stripe on my white belt at the end of yesterday's jiu-jitsu class. I am just so proud and still can't believe that I am doing this. It's just amazing. My break falls are also getting much better! Practice, practice, practice. I'm really enjoying it now. :)

Food

B- bowl of oatmeal, 2 egg whites, boiled,
Sn - protein drink
L - steamed broccoli and grilled chicken brochette, 1 litre water
Sn - handful of almonds, 1/2 litre water
D - small grilled steak, steamed asparagus, 1 litre water
Sn - small green salad with 1/2 can tuna, 1/2 litre water

Drank approx 2 additional litres during workouts

So tomorrow is another weigh in...hoping for at least a 2-3 pound loss this week. Will post tomorrow! That's it for now

Day 18 of My 30 Day Countdown - OH MY SHOULDERS!!!!

OMG!!!!Have you every worked out so hard that your body was shaking uncontrollably??? Your arms felt like jello? And everything in your rational mind was screaming, "What the hell are you doing?" WELL, I did TODAY!! Holy mother of ALL crap!!! Sensei Derek is CRAZY!! But I love it - so maybe I'm the crazy one!! LOL!! He destroyed us (well me for sure and the majority of the class, even the more advanced ones - I heard them huffing and puffing, I saw them giving it their all) at Jiu-jitsu today!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the end of Sensei Derek's "warm-up", which btw, I have no clue of how long it was - assuming 20 mins or so!! No clue of the time - that's how hard we were being pushed today!! NUTS!!! We started off with a leg stretch which wasn't so bad until Sensei kept saying, "a little bit further, a little bit further!" every couple of minutes or so. We would then have to extend the stretch further and further each time. Then he had us cross our arms and we were NOT allowed to touch the mat as we pushed and held the stretch to our max - PAST OUR MAX!!!! I tried to find a picture and this is the closest I could find. In the pic below, instead of the hands being on the floor for support, our arms were crossed as we leaned forward -strength and balance- that made it just a weeeeee bit TOUGHER!!!!
Anyway, Sensei Derek started walking around the classroom as we were all DYING in pain, he kept pushing us. It's amazing how much harder you push yourself when you have someone pushing you - someone who knows what they're doing, that is! He walked around saying, "who will be the first to touch the mat, lets see who it will be?!?!!" as he grinned and smirked in pleasure!! I was shaking and sweating profusly...gritting my teeth as I struggled to hold the stretch (it's more commonly known as the "Jiu-jitsu smile"). I so desperately wanted to hold on but I couldn't!! Boom!! I was down!! Sensei Derek laughed and said, "oh, Joania's down, now we have to do something harder!!!" as if that wasn't hard enough!!! His comments were followed with moans and groans from the class!! He took pure pleasure in our pain!!

He had us elevate our arms. We were going to do the rest of our "work out" with our arms up and if we dared to drop our arms it would be push-ups and not just any push-ups......it would be DEREK PUSH-UPS!!! That's where each pushup is held for a 10 count, slow and painful!! I was determined (as was the rest of the students in the class) to keep our arms up even if it killed us!! Sensei bombarded us with a ray of exercises....wall to wall lunges, with our arms up; wall to wall squats, with our arms up; wall to wall lunge and kicks, with our arms up; 100 snap kicks with our arms up and finished with wall squats with our arms up!!! THE PAIN WAS INTENSE....I thought my shoulders would fall off!!! I looked like someone dumped a bucket of water on my head. It was F'ing AWESOME!!! None of us quit...we all got through the drills and Sensei was genuinely impressed. PAIN IS TEMPORARY, QUITTING IS FOREVER!!! My arms are KILLING me right now.

It was an amazing workout!! I'm telling you, I am really loving the workouts I'm getting at this place. it's phenomenal!! Therien Martial Arts, I WISH I STARTED YEARS AGO!! But I'm here now and it's NEVER too late!

Anyway, food was good today, I stuck to the plan. I ate exactly what I had yesterday. Sometimes it's easier instead of trying to plan my meals every day, I just double up when I prepare and I know I'm good for two days! :) I drank 3 litres of water today.

That's it for now...tomorrow is weight training day and kickboxing class!

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

Day 5 of My 30 Day Countdown

Hi everyone!!!

The week is over! Day 5 is done!! Whoohoooo!!!

First off, thank you so very much to all of you for the wonderful and supportive comments this past week (and always). It really keeps me going!! Thanks :)

Okay so it's Friday already!! I had ANOTHER FABULOUS DAY!! This is amazing...I am in such a good place. This week, I just proved that I can stick to a plan, once I make up my mind, stay focused and JUST GET 'ER DONE!!!! I don't know just what it is, I just feel great!! I'm FULL of energy and all I want to do is workout and eat right!! Who would of thunk it??? I look forward to my weight training sessions - it makes me feel so powerful!!! And kickboxing and Jiu-jitsu have just brought out a new person in me altogether!! I don't know if it's just exhilaration from realizing that I've stuck to this for a year!! I gave it my best and I just want to give it even more than that as I push through!! I'm just happy and proud of myself!

Okay, so this morning I slept in!! I didn't hear my alarm and missed my regular 5:am wake up!! CRAP!!! It was 6:30 in the morning, there's no way I would have time to do my weight training session and make it to my son's daycare on time or make it to work on time for that matter. I would have to do the weights in the evening!! I was a bit worried, I'm usually so wiped by the time I get home that I just wasn't sure I'd have the energy to get the job done tonight. Plus, I had a 4:30pm Kickboxing class today!! I'll just DO IT!! I'LL JUST DO IT!!!

So I got to work this morning and couldn't wait for the day to be over to get my workouts in! Can you believe that? It's true. Finally, the day was done. I headed off to Kickboxing. Sensei Derek's first words to me were, "Oh, have I got something planned for you guys today!!" as he smirked and walked away. That meant only one thing......PAIN!!!!! He hit us real hard today, drill after drill of punches and kicks and core work. He split us up into groups of 4. We were doing 30 second intervals of a particular exercise - each person did something different - from holding the plank position for 30 secs, to non-stop jumping jacks, non-stop crunches, jack rabbits/mountain climbers (you're on all fours taking giant strides - it sucks) then we'd rotate every 30 seconds. I think we did that 8 times!! We were dead after! He was just smiling!! Evil!! Evil but awesome! I am really enjoying his class and feel great...AFTER!! Once again, I was drenched in sweat and just ran out of there at 530 as my husband and son came to pick me up. We headed home.

I literally got in the house, changed my clothes, it was just soaking and went to my basement to get my weight training session in. I could do every exercise but one at home - which is what I did. There is a ton of squats and lunges in this routine (don't worry upper and total body is covered as well)!! I really pushed through and got such a great workout - it was incredible!!! I was amazed at my energy level. My son is really cute! He came downstairs and counted with me as I did reps - it was sweet and he sat on my back as I did push-ups!!He's almost 40lbs, that wasn't sweet!! :) I came upstairs after and had a protein drink (whey protein, water). I feel good

So tomorrow is weigh-in Saturday!! I can't wait to step on that scale, I really gave it my all this week so I'm hoping the scale will cooperate!! I will be a bit disappointed if it doesn't but it won't be the end of the world! I'm down 73 pounds and I feel fantastic - so that's all that should matter!

Food was great today.

I tried something new ( I mixed tuna and broccoli together, sprinkled some black pepper, sliced some red peppers and wow!!) It was actually really good!! That was lunch today. Breakfast was a 3-egg white and mushroom omlet. Dinner was a roasted chicken breast and steamed veggie medley (cauliflower, onions, spinach and zucchini - basically whatever veggies were left in the kitchen). I'm off to the grocery store tomorrow! :) Snacks were brazil nuts and a protein drink. About 4.5 litres of water today - the extra 1.5 litres was because of the workouts!! I just couldn't get enough water today.

So that's it for today... I'll be posting the weigh-in results tomorrow..a bit anxious to see!

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

Day 4 of My 30 Day Countdown

Another fabulous day today!

Quick post today because it's late and I really should be sleeping! Anyway...i feel like the seconds and minutes and hours of the day are just flying by!! I can't believe it's already Friday tomorrow. This was one of the fastest weeks of my life and it was awesome!!

Jiu-jitsu class was amazing and tough, and hot and hard!!! I was drenched in sweat after!! Sensei Derek seems to take pleasure in inflicting pain when he teaches! He's good - really good! Today, he had us do a drill of kicks all while putting our arms up to the sky...we had to keep our arms up for the whole thing as he walked around taunting and teasing us, saying things like, "who's gonna be the first to drop their arms? who? Joania, is it you? who? C'mon?" I thought to myself, NO WAY IN HELL I'm I dropping my arms, they're gonna have to fall off....YES, i am a bit stubborn!! The thing is, if you dropped your arms, then it's push-ups...can you imagine doing push-ups after holding up your arms in the air for what seemed like an hour????? HELL NO!!! I kept 'em up and so did the rest of the class - he was proud of us!! Then we learned some amazing self-defense moves! I'm telling you, if any of you live in the Ottawa area, and you're looking for a great, challenging workout that teaches you skills as well as gets you fit, you need to check out Therien Martial Arts. Check out the website here http://www.therienmartialarts.com

Today at work, there was some celebration of some kind and wouldn't you know there was left over CAKE!! A huge slab of half chocolate/half vanilla cake with thick icing. It just happened that it was placed directly in front of my office where me and that damn cake had a stare down ALL DAY !!! I watched the whole day as colleague after colleague walked by and stopped suddenly, smiled and got almost giddy as they cut a piece!! I have come so far because Joania of the past would have probably (okay, definitely) eaten 3 large pieces and taken and extra piece home for later!!! That cake was calling my name!! There were moments when it was screaming at me!!!

I felt like I was going nuts!! Just kept telling myself, "you can do this, this cake is garbage, I'm not throwing away this fabulous week of clean eating and workouts for a stinking piece of cake." I drank so much water today just trying to fill my stomach!! At one point, I couldn't take it anymore, I wanted a piece....I started to rationalize in my mind, "I've been good all week, a little piece wouldn't hurt", or "I'm going to Jiu-jitsu at lunch time, I will work it off!!" NO!!! I dug around in my lunch cooler (which is huge and FILLED with nothing but HEALTHY options). I pulled out a small bowl - tuna and spinach. "NAH, that won't do right now!!" Pulled out another container - two boiled egg whites. "Nah, that's not what I want!!" I stared at that cake again - maybe if I just swipe a little bit of icing, maybe that would satisfy the urge, "NO WAY, there's is no way I'd stop at a "swipe" of icing once that sugar hits my tongue!!"

I looked up at that cake, pushed my swivel chair away from my desk and walked out of my office, straight to the cake and said "f- u, u sweet bastard!!" LOL!! I really did!! I walked back to my cooler, grabbed a small sweet potato and went to the kitchen, stuck it in the microwave and 5mins later, I was eating a warm and delicious sweet potato! It really hit the spot and was exactly what I needed to get through the day! This was definitely a test and looking back, I'm glad it happened. At first I was going to give the person who put that cake outside my office a piece of my mind but tomorrow, I will thank him because this made me stronger and showed me I CAN DO THIS!!! I WON"T LET FOOD WIN ANYMORE!!! I feel good y'all!! Really good!!

Food and water consumption was awesome today

Breakfast - small bowl of unsweetened steel cut oats with 2 egg whites, water

Morning snack - small baked potato (saved me from the cake!!)

Lunch - curried shrimp and cabbage (last night's dinner left-overs), water

Afternoon snack - Protein drink (vanilla whey protein, water)

Dinner - baked chicken breast with steamed asparagus

Evening snack - green tea

Awesome day

Killer Kickboxing

Hey guys,

Just wanted to come on and let you know that I had an amazing Kickboxing session yesterday!! Wow!! I was drenched and my arms are still a bit sore today!! I am really liking the class...it really is a good workout.

I had a JuJitsu class today but unfortunately was not able to make it...stuck in a meeting at work. By the time my meeting was over, I had already missed 1/2 hour of the class, so I did not go. I will make up for it tomorrow.

On another note, I really wanted to thank all of you for the wonderful comments on yesterday's post - it's certainly given me a lot to think about!!

The past two days were very good days food wise!! Today I ate:

Breakfast - 2 eggs & a turkey sausage, 2 cups of water
Snack - 1/2 cup of cantaloupes, 2cups of water
Lunch - steamed broccoli and lemon salmon grill, 3 cups of water
Snack - handful raw almonds, 2 cups of water
Dinner - sweet potatoes, broccoli, roasted chicken, 3 cups of water
Snack - granny smith apple, 2 cups of water

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

Saturday Weigh-In ~ Week 41 (Confessions)

Starting Weight: 258 lbs (Dec 10/08)
Last Weigh In: 192 lbs (Sep 19/09)
Current Weight: 195 lbs
This Week's Loss: 3 POUND GAIN...

Hi guys,

Well unfortunately I have a gain to report this week... a 3 POUND gain!!! I can't be upset or even disappointed because I totally caused this gain. I wasn't at all careful with my eating and I missed a 3 days of exercise. I didn't fall off the wagon, I literally pulled it over, parked it and jumped off!!

As you know, I've been away on business this past couple of weeks. I also wrapped up phase one of my project at one of my pilot locations which in itself was a cause for celebration. I celebrated freely by eating cake (2 pieces) and rice krispies squares....yum-oh!!! I even had 1/2 a glass of Coca-cola (way too sweet btw - didn't really enjoy it) but the cake and squares were to die for!! I knew the scale would have no love to give this week. I also had "not so healthy" dinners, like spring rolls (fried), dried ribs, chicken wings and sweet potato fries. In addition to the bad foods, I accompanied my meals with a beverage or two or three (Heineken beer, wine and bellinis!!) I think the only thing I did right this week was my water consumption!! :)

So there, my confessions!! Forgive me Rob (my trainer) for I have sinned!! BUT THE FUN is over. This morning, I woke up and got right back on my wagon and going full force. I've just returned from my 5K walk with my son (stroller and all). I plan to do a weight training session later this evening as well. I had a 3-egg white omlette with spinach and broccoli for breakfast. So far I've had about 2 litres of water for the day. So it's all good.

Today is a new day and the past is in the past. So that's the update for today. I'm going to do some reading, catching up on my blog buddies and to get some inspiration!! Have a good day y'all.

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

Best Steps to Overcome Fluid Retention and Bloating

Here is another post filled with useful information and helpful tips from my trainer Rob.

Best Steps to Overcome Fluid Retention and Bloating by Rob Lagana

There are a few causes of water retention but for many an increase in sodium through the diet ( mainly salt intake ) is a common cause and research suggests it may contribute to high blood pressure and other health complications. Sodium is present in virtually all food products, so when a person consumes more food it's inevitable they also consume more sodium. Weight gains are very often a combination of fat stores and water retention.

Understand that there's a difference between water weight and fat weight. Even if you lose the water, your body won't lose the fat. So, you can watch your sodium, take water flushing herbs and drink more water for all you want, but your not going to lose the fat.Water weight is held under the skin and above the fat. Understand that the water weight I am talking about is the excess water weight, from ingesting too much sodium.The long term effect of too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and kidney disease.Here are the best steps to Overcome Water Weight and Bloat.

1. Decrease your sodium intake. Various organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, have published recommendations for daily sodium intake. Most recommend between 1,500 and 2,400 milligrams (mg) a day for healthy adults.

2. Stay away from processed and prepared foods.

3. Stay away from condiments.

4. Identify ingredients that are loaded with sodium and stay away from them. Here is list, Monosodium glutamate (MSG), Baking Soda, Baking powder, Disodium phosphate, sodium alginate, sodium nitrate or nitrite.

5. Remove salt from recipes whenever possible. If you need to add salt, use sea salt as an alternative.

6. Use natural herbs, spices and other flavorings to enhance food.Of course, alot of sugars (carbs) also hold fluids, being sensitive or allergic to foods and being stressed (intestinal inflammation, higher cortisol) also will make you hold more fluids and cause bloat.

7. Deal with your stress. Learn to manage it. Start with breathing exercises, mediation, and problem solving.

8. Decrease your simple sugar intake or eliminate them completely.

9. Go to your naturopath or doctor and have a food sensitivity test done. If you live in Ottawa, this clinic offers it. http://www.oihc.ca/

Most people go way over the recommended sodium intake for your body on a daily basis. The easiest way to reduce your intake is to follow the tips above and start eating clean. Diet is a major key to wellness and healthy weight loss.

NO PLAN, NO SPECIAL DIET...Just Trying To Live & Enjoy Life..

Hi everyone,

Well, I never anticipated the number of responses (especially via email) my last post would illicit. So many questions about what I am eating and how the food is prepared, which diet plan I'm following, etc., etc. So I decided that I would use this post to address all those questions and some of the comments.

As some or most of you may know, I LOVE TO EAT!! Let's face it, I wouldn't be in this predicament of needing to lose this amount of weight if I didn't truly ENJOY my food!! When I first starting talking to my trainer/nutritionist (Rob), prior to embarking on this journey, one of the things that I stressed to him was just how much I loved eating and enjoyed my food. I did not want to do yet another fad diet, where I had to deprive myself of certain things and would leave me feeling guilty if I ate certain foods. I didn't want any crazy restrictions and/or rules. I just knew I wouldn't be able to stick with it! I'm really glad my trainer listened to my requests and provided me with guidelines that would work for my situation and gave me proper tools to address the real issues I have with food, like portion control and just overall irresponsible eating!!

Being overweight all my adult life, I had tried pretty well every diet under the sun and quickly (as well as after a lot of disappointment) came to the realization that all these quickie diets DON'T WORK. The only thing that will work is eating sensibly and responsibly while incorporating proper exercise and taking care of yourself mentally and spiritually. With regards to food, it would be more about control and balance than anything else. I wanted to feel free to eat whatever I'd like. Of course I realized that I wouldn't be successful on this journey if I ate burgers and fries with pop, seven days a week; yet at the same time, if I felt like having a burger, I wanted the freedom to plan and incorporate that meal into my lifestyle.

I want to be successful on this journey and for me, success doesn't only mean achieving my goal of losing 101 pounds in 1 year following a set plan and then when I get there - "start eating real foods again!!". That's garbage. Success for me is changing the way I view foods, my habits and overall, my lifestyle. I want to be able to control my food portions and intake for THE REST OF MY LIFE!! Not just during this one year timeframe!!

I really don't believe I can achieve that following any fad "diet" or "plan". Don't get me wrong, I know that a lot of people have had success with some of those prescibed plans and I am happy for them but I just know that those won't work for me. If it works for you, then great. I just didn't want anything too restrictive with crazy rules like no eating after 7pm, for example. I don't think there's a be all and end all plan. I think it's more about living your life, enjoying your food BUT making smart, responsible choices and not beating yourself up when you "slip up". I wanted to eat normal foods; I didn't want to always be cooking seperate meals for myself than I would for the rest of my family!

My trainer provided very clear guidlines of what to eat, but everything I eat is what I'd normally eat anyway. So what's the difference? How am I losing weight now and not before eating pretty much the same foods? A few answers:

1. PORTION CONTROL & FREQUENCY -I eat much smaller portions than I used to. One of my meals pre-journey could have been split up to make 3 of my current meals!! No kidding or exageration!! I am also eating more often (I eat about 5 small meals a day!). In the past, for example, I would bake a whole chicken (the same way I do today), the difference is that back then I would it most of that chicken in one serving whereas now, I have the breast or the leg with my meal. It makes a huge difference.
2. WATER CONSUMPTION - I am drinking about 3-4 litres of water everyday. That helps a lot and has also improved my skin!! (bonus).
3. EXERCISE - I am following a progressive exercise plan which is helping to keep my body strong and healthy.
4. SMART CHOICES - sticking to whole foods, very little to no process food.
5. PREPARATION - everything I eat doesn't have to me super creamy, or buttered or sugared!!!

To me, there is a huge difference between deprivation and moderation. I don't believe you have to deprive yourself of something to learn that moderation is the key. Maybe we wouldn't feel the need to eat something in excess if it wasn't "restricted" from our "plans" in the first place. Just my thoughts on this!!

I know that I have "scale" issues. YES, i like to see the number decrease on a weekly basis and when that doesn't happen, it angers me a bit. I just need to accept that it will take a bit longer to fall off than if I followed a more "super clean" or even a more "restrictive" diet. My overall goal is to have long lasting success and I think that can only be achieved if I work on training my mindset as well.

So to answer those initial questions, I am following the guidelines of my trainer/nutritionist in the gym and the kitchen BUT, I am also trying to exercise common sense by making more sensible and responsible choices about my food as well as exercising that ever-important portion control. Most of my foods come from the whole food group. Rob told me to avoid processed foods altogether because they have little to no nutritonal value!! Once in a while, I will have something from the processed food group, but not too often at all!

Anyway, hope that answers the questions. Remember that these are just my personal views on the matter and I know some or maybe all of you would disagree but so far it's working for me. It's not perfect, but what is???

Looking forward to your comments!!!

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!)

Let's Check Out My Food...

Hi guys,

I have been really trying these past few days to take pictures of my meals - I find that it truly does help me to say on track and let me tell you, I can use all the help I can get. So here we go...

Dinner: this is baked chicken breast (with onions, garlic, mushrooms and red peppers) with mixed veggies (broccoli, spinach, red pepper, mushrooms, onions, skim milk, seasonned with pepper, curry, garlic & onion powder) with a very small amount of whole wheat spaghettini. It was delicious. I don't usually have pasta but I splurged. It really wasn't a lot (maybe 1/4 cup); more veggies than pasta!

Close-up... The following was for lunch one day. A simple garden salad (spring mix & cherry tomatoes) with left over roasted chicken breast shredded on top. About 1 Tbsp of home-made dressing (EVOO, pepper, vinegar). It was great, quick, tasty and more importantly - filling! :)

Close-up... (you can see...very, very light on the dressing).

Dinner: My husband cooked this one. He was the grillmaster on the BBQ...Salmon skewers with grilled zucchini. There was also corn on the cob which he prepared on the grill but I didn't have any.

The following was another quick lunch. Sliced cucumbers with canned sardines (in water). I literally sliced up about 1/2 of an English cucumber, opened the can of sardines and poured it in the same bowl, added pepper, mixed it all up and ate it!!! No dressing required as the water from the sardines did the job. It was yummy - I've always liked sardines.

Close up...

Dinner: Roasted chicken leg with steamed broccoli and sweet potato mash! I baked a whole chicken (seasonned with pepper, garlic & onion powder, cayenne pepper). I baked the sweet potato in the oven, once it was done, scooped out the potato from skin and mashed it up in a bowl. It was quite moist. That's it!! This was a very filling meal and I had a lot of chicken left over to use in salads and for another dinner. Below is a close-up. So that's it so far. I have also been drinking between 3-4 litres of water each day. Hoping I can continue taking these pics. Just knowing that I have to take a picture helps me to plan what exactly I will be eating! Anyway, that's it for now, just a "food pic" post.

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

On the Road Again...

I knew going into this that this journey would be long and as I'm learning each day, it will be filled with ups and downs. How I deal with those ups and downs is one of the things that will impact whether or not I succeed on this journey. I just need to stay on the road and I WILL succeed on this journey. I am so appreciative of the amount of support that I have from my family, friends, trainer and blogging friends/family!! Thank you so much for the kind words and always rooting me on!!

Now, I'm coming off a 2 pound gain last week which put me back in the land of Twoterville. A place where I am unfortunately quite familiar. As I sit in this "land", I am comfortable and I'm nervous at the same time. I am nervous that the feeling of comfort comes so naturally. I can see how easy it would be to fall back into my old ways. I think the nerves are here because I know for a fact that this is no longer for me. My time has come!! I am also CERTAIN!! I am certain that I no longer want to live here and although I left this place before (during this journey and on a few other "unhealthy" occassions), this is the first time that I'm giving it this much thought. I now have a better understanding of why I've lived here for such a long time even knowing that I needed to move out and everyday, I'm finding out a little bit more.

It is very easy to live here in Twoterville...it requires very little to no effort on my part, but it also means that I don't make myself a priority and that I take myself and my health for granted. Making that conscious move to Onderland will be difficult at first, but I will get use to it and will start reaping the benefits. I'm ready. I may be somewhat dramatic here, but I really feel like this is turning the page to start writing a new chapter of my story, always remembering (but not dwelling on) the events of my past. I've got to remember where I came from in order to get to where I'm going but I need to make the necessary adjustments to make it successful. In this case, I must always make the effort to remember how long I stayed in Twoterville, including how close I came to moving to a place where the name starts with "Three...."!! Most importantly I need to understand the reasons why I stayed there and FOCUS or should I say, RE-FOCUS on the reasons I have for getting out!!

So all this is part of working out those "mental muscles" as well as the physical ones!! I'm back on the road and the journey continues. I will give it my best and I know the results will follow.

Cheat meal over and back on track. I had a bowl of creamy fettuccini pasta with a nice piece of chocolate mousse cake for dessert and 2 glasses of white zinfandel. It was yummy. This morning, I had a 3-egg white and spinach omlette for breakfast, a grilled chicken breast with salad for lunch, a boiled egg for snack...lots and lots of water (about 3 litres so far) and I haven't yet decided on dinner...probably fish..salmon on the grill with grilled veggies!! I'm back on track and feeling great.

Anyway, that's all my ramblings for now.

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!!)

Joania, How Are You Losing This Weight???

Well, my inbox is full again with numerous people asking the same question. I started responding directly to them but realized it would make more sense to post a general response that everyone could access. I find that I get this question more so, after posting my anniversary pics. I do appreciate the interest and the questions but I just wanted to stress that there really is no easy, quick fix and that I am working hard everyday to reach this goal. So with that said, here's what I am doing:

EXERCISE
I am working out six days a week. I rest on Sundays (not for long as I am currently considering taking a yoga class on Sundays - in efforts of increasing my flexibility; ). I alternate workouts each day. One day I do 20-25 minutes of cardio - using treadmill, elliptical, bike, powerwalk, etc. The next day I do my strength workout; it lasts about 1 hour and includes core, balance, and strength training. This is the program that my trainer specifically designed for me based on my fitness level and goals. It's a progressive program so it gets more difficult as I go along. I am currently on Phase 2! I try to never miss a day of exercising and if I do miss a day, I get right back on track the following day.

FOOD
This is so important, I really should have put it first but anyway, here's what I eat/don't eat. The following are on my "FOODS TO AVOID" list:
Fast Food (McDonalds, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Harveys, Manchu Wok, KFC, Pizza, Beaver Tails etc.), alcohol, fruit juices, sugar, flour, white rice, bread (whole grains will be introduced later), refined and processed foods, refined oils, soft drinks, cakes, cookies, chocolates, chips.
What's Left??
I eat LOTS of fruits (berries, apples, oranges etc) and bright coloured and dark green veggies (spinach, broccoli, kale, sweet potato, green and red peppers, lettuce, celery, cucumbers and zucchini etc.), Lean Meats (chicken, turkey, beef, fish/seafood, tofu), eggs, almonds. I've also started buying a lot more organic foods.
I try to do groceries once to twice a week, just to ensure that I always have food on hand.

I eat 5-6 times a day....3 meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and 2-3 snacks (healthy). I also try to never miss a meal. You've got to eat to lose weight. I always make sure to prepare my food ahead of time, especially my lunches and snacks. This is so that if I'm hungry, i could just grab something and eat, instead of having to try to figure out what to make. I usually cook a couple batches of food on Sundays and pack them in tupperware - grab and go or zap and eat!! :D

WATER
I cannot stress enough the importance of staying hydrated throughout the day. I love water - even before I started this journey and as badly as I ate, I still drank a lot of water - so this was not a difficult thing for me to include in my program. I drink between 3 to 4 litres of water everyday and some days more! I have reusable water bottles (the stainless steel ones) everywhere. Two at home, two at my desk at work, one in my car and one in my purse. I just fill up all bottles and drink throughout the day. Lots of trips to the bathroom, but it's a good thing.

BLOGGING
I'm so serious about this. Diarizing my daily ups and downs; opening myself up to everyone regarding this weight loss journey is really helping me to succeed. I feel accountable to all of you reading my blog and following my journey, not just to myself. I really feel that not only do I have to this for me and my family, but I can't let you guys down either. There have been so many of you who have shared your stories with me and I've come to realize that I am not alone in this at all. The kind words, support and encouragement that I receive on A DAILY BASIS, is simply amazing and I can't say enough, just how much I appreciate it. I am so motivated to do this, just to show that it can be done and that it can be done by regular people like you and I!! :)

AN AWESOME SUPPORT SYSTEM
My family (especially my husband) has been there for me and with me throughout this journey and just knowing that they will be there to the end is enough to keep me going. My friends and blog friends, who check in regularly and leave comments - it's just wonderful. Last, but certainly not least, my trainer Rob, for always responding to my emails/questions; addressing my concerns and always providing me with helpful tips and tricks and even recipes to help me get through. I think it's essential to have a good support system in place cause this type of journey really puts you to the test and you will need support.

HARD WORK & DETERMINATION
I will not tell you that this is easy. This is one of the hardest things I've ever attempted to do in my life. However, I am so determined to get this done and I truly believe that determination and hard work are two of the things necessary to succeeding on a journey of this sort.

ENJOYING LIFE
I don't want this journey to consume me. I mean, it takes a lot of time and effort on my part to maintain this blog and facebook group in addition to working out, eating right and everything else that comes with this, but I don't want my life to be only about this weight loss process. So it's important for me to take time to do other things, enjoy life, spend time with family and friends, get out and do things and not let it be ONLY about this! I believe that's contributing to my success thusfar.

So that's it, it doesn't seem like much, but it is. This takes such dedication and commitment. There really is no quick fix, it's about taking it one day at a time, one difficult step after another, but that's what makes the success so rewarding. I can't wait to get to that finish line.

I hope that helps and addresses the questions, if not, feel free to email me...I will help however I can.

As always, thanks for all the support.

Joania (2KMINE!!)

Arrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Hi guys,

I am going nuts. I've just had a great week!! I lost another pound, lost a ton of inches, my clothes are loosening day by day, great workouts....everything is awesome BUT I just keep thinking of bad foods..it's driving me nuts and it's not because I'm not enjoying the healthy foods that I'm eating- I'm actually loving it...but my MIND is playing some serious games with me and i just don't know why!! I can't take it!! You should see me pacing around this house and what's even funnier, is that my son is following me around laughing (he thinks my pacing is a game - at least he's having fun!)

I find myself wanting to eat all sorts of things, like waffles, warm white bread dripping in butter, hot dogs, ice cream and WINE! WHY??? I don't know...this is just how I'm feeling. I have been drinking so much water today just to keep my tummy full in hopes that I won't want to eat anything!! Still not working!! I'm craving wine like it's nobody's business!!!! Chocolate cake!! Arrrrrghghghhhhh!! It's not that I'm hungry at all...I don't know man....today just sucks!! It really does. I guess this is just part of it. I don't like this part, don't like it at all! I had chicken breast and some roasted veggies (will post pic later) for dinner..it was delicious and satisfying but still not enough to shake these cravings.

I don't know what to do with myself right now - it's so frustrating.... I can't really go anywhere....I've got my 2 year old and it's mighty cold outside today...plus it's getting late..almost his bed time!! I just finished dancing with him (he loves dancing)....my goodness, if I had anything bad in the house to eat, it would be on right now!!

Part of me wants to say, "screw it!" and just pick up that phone and call Gabriel's (my fav pizza place - speaking of which, I need to take that number off speed dial) but I can't, I've come to far, worked to hard and I know this is a phase that won't last (HOPEFULLY) !! I just need to push through it...Damn!!!

Today is not fun.....today, this journey is getting on my nerves!!! That's all I got right now....

Joania (2KMINE!!! although right now a piece of chocolate cake would be FINE!!)

EXERCISE...I'm Not Allergic!!

Well, I've been getting a lot of questions about what I'm doing and how I'm losing this weight. I want to again assure everyone that this is not some crazy fad diet or anything like that. I'm working my ass off everyday and it's also a mental battle for me to stay on track with my food (see my posts titled, "Stronger than a BIGMAC" or "Yummy toothpaste???"). I'm doing this naturally by eating healthy foods and using quality customized exercises. I'm not taking any diet pills or caffeine pills or those ones that promise to shed 25 pounds in two days!! I take a multi vitamin everyday and that's it!!!
For quite a long time my own personal motto was, "Joania -addicted to chocolate, allergic to exercise!!" Well, had I continued down that crazy path, who knows?,

After completing my first month of seriously working out (everyday or at the very least, 6 days a week), I've actually started to enjoy exercising. Believe it or not, it gives me energy, a little extra pep in my day (almost as good as what those chocolate bars used to do for me - mmm Snickers, KitKat - but the "exercise energy" lasts longer). Seriously, I'm starting to really enjoy my workouts, it makes me feel strong, you should see the posing going on after I finish my set of push-ups (Hulk Hogan has nothing on me)....it's awesome!! NOW please don't get me wrong.

Exercise doesn't come easy to me at all. Every morning I have to FORCE myself to get started, talk myself into doing it, remind myself why I'm doing it. It takes great effort on my part to get going but once I get started, it's usually okay!! So I've come to realize that I'm not at all allergic to exercise, I just needed the right motivation, tools, support and guidance to get my lazy ass moving!! So here's what I do:

A Customized Training Program - 3 times a week (1 hour)
The picture included above is the actual items (which I'm calling, "MY FIVE") that I've used every second day since starting this journey on December 10, 2008.

MY FIVE:

1. The Exercise Ball - it looks harmless, but used under the guidance and instruction of my trainer Rob, it becomes a very deadly tool. Highly effective. Pain, but it gets results.
2. Weights - helps to build the muscles (they're there, somewhere!)
3. Mat - a little added comfort and support
4. Water - can't do without it!! All day. The first thing I drink in the morning and last thing I drink before I go to bed! A must have during the work out. Very important to keep hydrated throughout the day. It will help with the weightloss (I'm putting it to the test).
5. Sneakers - comfort and support.

Cardio Training - 3 times a week (20 mins each session)

• treadmill
• elliptical
• bike
• walking
• cycling
• jogging
• swimming, etc.

So for example, today (Thursday) was my cardio day, so I power walked on the treadmill for 20 mins (that's it). My program is progressive so as time passes, the intensity, difficulty will change (more than likely increase). Sometimes I use the elliptical, or the stationary bike. If it's not too cold, I go for a brisk walk/slight jog outside. I also want to incorporate swimming and other different activities in there soon so I don't get bored.

Tomorrow, I will do my training program using "My Five", which includes weights, core training, balance training and a lot of exercises using my own body weight (like push ups, bridges etc.)

Then on Saturday, it's back to Cardio. I've just continued on, day after day and before I knew it, one month was completed!!

Now, I won't get ridiculously specific with the exercises from my training program because, remember I am using a personal trainer and out of respect for him (and the great stuff he does), and his business I don't think it would be fair to do so. To his credit, he's very open and helpful, he has a great website (http://www.laganafitness.com/) full of very useful tips and you can always contact him for additional info. Sign up with him, it WILL be worth it! Join ME!! :)

ROB - If you wanted to post some tips or anything else here or on the Facebook page, please feel free or not..totally up to you!

So that's pretty well it for exercising... That's the secret!! A lot of hard work, I've developed a serious passion for what I'm doing and proper eating!! That's how I lost 16 pounds in 4 weeks!! I will describe a typical day with me and this new lifestyle, including what I eat in a future post - so stay tuned.

It is definitely a combined effort of proper eating and exercise...they go hand in hand. I'm quickly realizing that!

Hope that helps and inspires you to get started or at least get you thinking of getting started! :)

Joania