A Letter of Gratitude to My Trainer & Friend, Rob Lagana

Dear Rob,

Wow!!! Here we are, less than a month away from Dec 10, 2009!!! This year has truly flown by. I have so much to say. I did not want to wait until the end of the journey (or what I am calling "the beginning of my new and permanent lifestyle), to write you this letter. Expressing gratitude has always been significantly important to me and I really want to do this one right. Rob, I know you would be perfectly happy with me just saying, "thanks a lot Rob, we did it!" but I wouldn't be. So here goes...

Even at my heaviest weight, I was never one to be low on confidence or self-esteem, but where I lacked strength was in believing in my ability to lose this weight. I just lived with it and for the most part, wasn't overly bothered by it until I reached my breaking point. That's when I contacted you. From the moment I met you and we discussed the plan, I felt an immediate energy - it was strong and it felt right. I knew then and there (I really did), that you were the person that would help me achieve this goal; you were the one that would provide me with the tools that would not only work for me, but FIT with the person that I am. Your confident approach, awareness of self and confidence in your knowledge and abilities was evident from day one. I knew that if I really wanted this, it could be mine and you would be right there supporting and pushing me along.

I stepped on the scale yesterday and dropped another 3 pounds and that took me over the 80 pound mark! 81 pounds GONE!! That is a HUGE, personal victory for me. I feel like a WINNER!! I did it!! I know that my initial goal was to lose 101 pounds and even though I don't lose that amount come December 10th, I FEEL LIKE I'VE WON!! WE WON!! WE DID IT!! The journey continues, I WILL continue with my lifestyle as well as achieve and maintain my ideal weight in the near future - whatever that weight might be!!

I am on a new and exciting path. I am healthy and strong and day by day, my body represents those feelings!! It's incredible all of the wonderful things that have happened to me since embarking on this journey. Most importantly, I am healthier and stronger AND my quality of life has and is continuing to improve.

So, with all that said, I wanted to THANK YOU!!! Thank you for your time, your support, your knowledge, your encouragement, YOUR PATIENCE, your sincere and genuine caring nature! Thank you for helping me to save my own life!!! Thank you for believing in me from day one and NEVER ONCE judging me for how fat or unfit I was. When I first saw you and how physically fit you were, I wondered if in your mind you thought to yourself, "how could she have let herself get so out of shape!" But never once did you ever make me feel that way and I appreciate it! You were one of my loudest cheerleaders and I truly thank you for that.

Thank you for all of the kick-ass routines and meal plans. I have cursed your name many, many times in the wee hours of the morning as I pushed through the training but it was all worth it! LOL!! Thank you for answering ALL of my NUMEROUS questions, regardless of how silly they were! THANK YOU!!

You are so good at what you do. Your obvious passion for fitness is contagious! This is what you were born to do! Really!!

I know that the best way that I can repay you for all you've done for me is by continuing to live this healthy lifestyle and taking care of my body, respecting my body. I promise you Rob, I WILL!! You've shown me the way and I will always appreciate you for it! I just took my measurements and when I post the results, YOU will be blown away and I know that will make you happy!

I don't know what else to say, except, thank you!

Thank you for changing my life. Thank you for the wisdom and confidence you have shown while training me to be the best I can be. Your influence on my life is immeasurable. The knowledge and skills you have taught me will stay with me for my lifetime. Your presence and guidance in my life eternally holds a place in my heart as trainer and a friend.

Thank you!

In health and friendship, always

Joania :)

Over The Top Award...I Love Awards :)

I love awards. I know some of them require a little work but, no biggie. People were kind enough to think of me so for that I am appreciative. It's always nice to be recognized by fellow bloggers; those who understand the struggles and challenges we face as we go through our journeys. So for this award, I would like to say "Thank YOU" and send you big cyber **hugzzzzz**. I was given this award by a few of my fav bloggers: ADeliberateLife , 266, and TheRoadCurvesAhead. Thank you ladies!!

To be honest, I cannot tag only 6 blogs for this...I starting writing a list of my fav's and before I knew it the count was at 23 and I TRULY cannot narrow it down any further and even the ones I took off the list, I wanted to keep. I follow quite a few blogs and try to comment on them regularly!! I love all of my bloggies! So I just can't pickonly 6!! This award is dedicated to all the blogs I follow!! I may just give this out to a couple of bloggers everyday for the next little while. So, here we go with my responses..











1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your hair? not too fabulous right now
3. Your mother? Heaven
4. Your father? "special"
5. Your favorite food? ANY
6. Your dream last night? HOT (not that kind of heat...I was in a desert)
7. Your favorite drink? Heineken
8. Your dream/goal? Inner peace
9. What room are you in? dining room
10. Your hobby? I need to figure that out!
11. Your fear? spiders
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? on a beach in Bali
13. Where were you last night? home with fam
14. Something that you aren't? SHY
15. Muffins? YUM...warm with melted butter...yummm
16. Wish list item? $$MILLIONAIRE LOTTERY WINNER$$
17. Where did you grow up? a few places
18. Last thing you did? put my baby to bed
19. What are you wearing?blue penguin shorts with a tank top
20. Your TV? Flat and too big (husband!)
21.Your pets? none
22. Friends? love em!!
23. Your life? WOW!!
24. Your mood? to borrow a phrase from a fellow blogger (Karen from Fitcetera).."CRAZY-ASS HAPPY
25. Missing someone? Always (Mommy)
26. Vehicle? need an upgrade
27. Something you’re not wearing? bra - u asked!
28. Your favorite store? Walmart
29. Your favorite color? Chocolate brown
30. When was the last time you laughed? 10 mins ago
31. Last time you cried? last Sunday crossing the finish line of my first 5K race!
32. Your best friend? My husband
33. One place that I go to over and over? bathroom
34. One person who emails me regularly? Janet (love her)
35. Favorite place to eat? Trattoria Cafe (Italian)...used to be McDonalds

That was fun...thanks again ladies.
Until next time...

Joania(2KMINE!!!)

My Friends at ParticipACTION

Hi guys,

I had a "not-so-hot" day today at work and was quite pleased to get home!! Anyway, I picked up my mail and started opening the letters/bills/etc....Well, buried within all the bills and junkmail was a little card from one of the people from ParticipACTION. I must say, I was so pleasantly surprised when I opened it. It was a simple note congratulating me on being selected by OttawaLifeMagazine as one of their Top 50 in the Capital!! Wow!! I just thought that was so very sweet. These are busy, important people and yet they take the time to remember little old me....I am just so appreciative and it was signed "Your friends at ParticpACTION"!! Amazing! I would have never thought that all this would be going on as a result of my weightloss journey!! Wow!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Special thanks to Katherine J!! :)

This isn't the first time either, the President and CEO of ParticipACTION, Kelly Murumets also sent me a personal "Thank You" card for participating in the ParticipACTION SunLife Inspire the Nation Tour (Check it out here). Here are a few pics from that event. It was so much fun!!

(Click on the picture to get a better look)

That's me on stage with ParticipACTION President & CEO Kelly Murumets, SunLife Financial Regional VP Josée Dixon and Olympian Sue Holloway!!!

Me, telling my story to the crowd (and media) :0)

A little jump-rope action ( Go Josée!!) and lastly, the four of us making our Inspire video which you can check out here along with a lot of others!!

Anyway, I know that a lot (actually most) of this media attention coming my way has to do with my affiliation with ParticipACTION and I am so thankful and honoured!!

Anyway, that's it...just wanted to express a little gratitude!! THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU AT PARTICIPACTION!! Keep on keeping on!! You guys rock!! Thanks again for all the support, it really does mean a lot to me!!

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!!!)

Lessons Learned....

Hi everyone,

Well what a week I've had!! It was busy, exciting, scary and exhausting all at the same time!

I returned from Halifax with a bit of a cold/soar throat....one day later, my two year old had a fever and vomitting, so sad and scary when they get sick at this age...I took the week off to nurse him (well us) to health. On Friday evening, my husband came down with a fever, vomitting, dizziness etc. We've been running around from clinics to pharmacies and everything in between. My son and I are now 95% back to normal but my poor husband is still fighting the good fight. It really hit him hard. I hate when my boys are sick, it just reminds me of the importance of not taking them and what we share for granted, especially when everything is great! I love my boys - they make up my heart!

Anyway, this week put a lot of things in perspective for me. Like the importance of living and enjoying life to the fullest and not wasting time on trivial things, which brings me to the whole "SUNNY" situation. I recently added a new friend to my facebook group and he asked me a question regarding this situation that really and truly got me thinking. He said, "Now if it pissed you off this much, ask yourself why? That's perhaps the lesson you can learn here". It really got me thinking and what I've come up with in response to this question is one of a few lessons I've learned regarding this situation. Thanks Mark!

Lesson One - Don't Take Things Like this personally!!
Even though I didn't think I took this extremely personally, it did bother me for a bit and I did spend some time and negative energy on this. I realized that this individuals comments are just that, "their comments!" and has nothing to do with me. It is all Sunny's reality, not mine! I do, however appreciate the support received from everyone and I'm grateful for that - Thank you!
The last thing I want to say on this Sunny Situation (that sounds like a song) is directed to Sunny him/herself (who I hope is reading this). Sunny, I sincerely wish you the best in all that you do and attempt to do!

Lesson Two - Keep Smiling/Laughing!!

I've always loved laughing and smiling. I just like how I feel when I'm laughing and again my new friend Mark reminded me of this as well. He told me, "Smile right now...no really while reading this grin your ass off ear to ear for 5 seconds. You will automatically feel better. It's physically impossible to be pissed when smiling. See? It always works!" So of course I tried it and I tell you I immediately started laughing, just the thought of me sitting in front of my computer grinning from ear to ear, just made me laugh!! It really worked! I told him I'd share this technique with all of my friends and I meant it!! So the next time, you're upset or down, heed the advice of my new friend Mark!! :)

Lesson Three - Stay True to Myself!!
I embarked on this journey for my own reasons and it's important to me to stay true to who I am and my initial goals. I realize that I may be challenged at times and the next time i will be fully prepared for that and I'm okay with that...

So that's it for my lessons from this week! My next couple of posts will explain a bit more of the "good and exciting news I want to share!"

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

The Pics Are Out - Here's What I Noticed...

I'm so relieved that the pics are out AND that the results were visible. Personally, I am truly amazed at the results. I never thought that dropping 16 pounds would be so significant (especially visually). I realized that I shed a lot more inches than pounds and in the bigger picture I AM FEELING MUCH BETTER!! I am breathing easier, sleeping better and not as breathless when I RUN up and down my stairs, my feet aren't always sore, my knees no longer crack with each step and they don't hurt anymore!! Trust me, I like the weight loss part, I love seeing that number get smaller and smaller, BUT I also truly love the way I'm feeling right now - just STRONG! It's awesome. I will post my "inches lost" soon - you guys will be amazed; I was STUNNED!!

I received such awesome feedback/comments from everyone - Thank you all!! I've also had a few questions, but here is the answer to what was my favourite question thus far:

"Joania, you look so awesome, it looks like you've lost so much weight in these pix, be honest, are you wearing a gurdle or you know, spanx???"

"NO!! I'm NOT wearing a gurdle or spanx in this picture! I'm wearing the exact same outfit I wore on Dec 10/08, including same underwear and bra!!!!" I literally take it off, WASH it and put it away for a month!!

Anyway, here are 10 differences (physical that is) I noticed in this month's pictures:

1. My butt is getting smaller and more shapely (whoohoo..on my way to being even more bootylicious than I thought I was!)
2. My boobs are smaller (my husband's getting worried)
3. I HAVE A WAIST AGAIN!! WHOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!! (Well it's on its way back)
4. I've lost not one, BUT TWO sets of rolls on my back!! Oh Yeah!!
5. My face is smaller
6. A little space is slowly starting to reappear between my legs!
7. My shoulders and arms are shrinking.
8. My "Backboobs" are shrinking and I TOTALLY hope they DISAPPEAR!!!
9. My legs look longer (that's because my gut is shrinking, hence my shorts can be properly pulled up, exposing more of my hot legs!!) ;))
10. I LOOK taller! :)

The one thing that stayed just as big is my heart and I hope it never loses any weight!! My heart is truly filled with joy right now at my progress, the fact that I've remained committed and determined to succeed. I am also very happy and grateful to have such supportive people behind me, in my corner, beside me, having my back on a regular basis. Thank you all so much for all the support, kind words, words of encouragement and offers to kick my butt when I need it!! THANK YOU!!

I am even more committed to see this through and just can't wait for next month's pics...Feb 10 is closer than it seems!!!!

Joania (2000 MINE!!!)