A Fun Day ...Lessons Learned

Hi guys!! I had a GREAT time on Parliament Hill yesterday celebrating Canada Day with my family!! It was wonderful.

So yesterday, I decided that I was going to eat whatever I wanted. It would be my "free" day where food was concerned. I don't believe in "cheat" days, I never want to feel guilty for eating something. I realize that all things must be consumed in moderation but it's also important (very important, actually) for me to be able to live and enjoy certain foods from time to time without any burdening guilt attached. And I did just that!

My family and I usually have a jumbo grilled italian sausage with a poutine (a combination of fries, gravy and cheese curds) on Canada Day..it's become tradition and this year would be no different. Here's what I had to eat:

1. A medium poutine (I so wanted to get a large one but thought better of it). It was delicious (see picture below)
   
2. A jumbo grilled italian sausage - I thought I would load it up with all sorts of toppings (saukrout, hot peppers, onions, pickles - but I ended up just adding ketchup). It was so yummy.
   
3. I also washed it all down with a can of Coke and my goodness was that ever sweet!! I don't remember coke tasting so sweet..it was "almost" disgusting...almost! LOL!!
4. On our way home that evening, we stopped off and picked up Chinese food - chicken fried rice, chicken balls, garlic spare ribs...YUMMY!! I had a pretty decent-sized plate and OMG....yum-a-licious!!!
5. We put the kids to bed and my girlfriend and I capped off the night with a few (3 or 4) cocktails - chopped pineapples, chopped strawberries, VODKA and tropical flavor five alive juice with ice....YUMMMMMMMY!!!

So it's fair to say that I had a great time yesterday and surprisingly, my stomach held up...for now....

So here's my annual "Canada Day Face-stuffing" shot. I put up last year's pic to compare. I can really notice the weight loss, especially in my face. Check it out...





Canada Day 2008

Canada Day 2009

Now that I've posted these pix side by side, I notice a huge change in my arms and face. Wow!! What a difference 57 pounds make!!

We do a lot of walking on Canada Day. My husband always thinks we're nuts for walking so much..he's always so tired after! :) We spend the whole time (about 5-6 hours) walking around from place to place, checking things out (vendors, shows etc)...so I think I got a good amount of cardio in for the day! :)

Back to my stomach holding up.....So how did I feel after eating all that greasy, yummy, fatty, sweet, wonderfully tasting food??? I FELT GREAT and SOOOOOOOOOOOO satisfied......until about....4 in the morning when I was awakened by serious stomach cramps....oh my goodness, I FELT HORRIBLE!!! Let's just say, I spent a whole lot of time on that "porcelain throne". It was not good!!! I made a number of "frequent visits" to that throne right through the morning. I started feeling better around 11am!! MY BODY LET ME DOWN, Y'ALL!! I felt awful!! I did go a bit overboard yesterday (lessons learned) but that's in the past and I'm back in the groove....back to business!! I have no guilty feelings about it!!

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

I am NOT a CHEATER and I don't want to be!!!

Lately, I've been consumed by thoughts of cakes and chocolates and sausages/hot dogs, burgers and fries (and ice cream). It's a daily and constant battle with myself to stay on the straight and narrow!!! All I've been telling myself is, "Joania, you don't need it, you've come too far, don't do it!!" I've also been talking to a few people, in hopes of getting some advice to help me through this and a lot of them have said the same thing, "Joania, you need to allow yourself a 'cheat day', that will solve all of your cravings!" I just don't believe that will solve things, if anything (for me, anyway) I think it will just set me backwards, reverting to my old ways (see picture above taken on Canada Day -July 1, 2008, enjoying a jumbo sausage!).

Then I started thinking to myself, "who the heck came up with this "cheating" concept anyway? Why does it have to be called "cheating" if you slip up and have something sweet whilst on your healthy journey?" What if you have a small sweet morcel and then got right back on track? Why do you have to feel so guilty about it?? Should I feel guilty about it?

Well, to answer that, I first needed to examine what's affiliated with the word "cheat". It's a very negative word that brings to mind thoughts of people sneaking around in a very dingy and cheap-pay-per-hourly-use motel just to get their freak on!!! I looked up the definition of the word "cheat" in my trusty Webster's dictionary and found the following:

• to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud
• to influence or lead by deceit, trick or artifice
• to practice fraud or trickery
• to violate rules dishonestly

There were more definitions but I think you get the point....there is nothing good or positive affiliated with the word "cheat". So why do we get so happy/excited at the thought of a cheat day?? Why does cheating (especially when dieting or eating healthy) feel so good??

If I stray a bit, I don't want to consider it cheating. I mean, maybe I can PLAN to go slightly off the plan. Maybe I need to work it into the plan (ROB, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS ONE!). ALSO, I want to call it my "C'EST LA VIE DAY" (c'est la vie is French for "That's Life!"). So that I don't have guilt and bad thoughts/feelings associated with it. I don't want to feel like I'm weak for having a little something that is not outlined in my plan, no GUILT- I'm in control of myself!! I'm not getting OFF my plan, I'll get right back on track!!

I mean, I realize this isn't something I could do every week but maybe once a month or once every two months!! I know that part of the reason I have all this weight to shed is because of the way I've been eating and I want to get away from that but I also have to be realistic, I want to learn how to deal with these foods that will more than likely tempt me for the rest of my existence!

Okay, that's my rant for today...I would love your comments and advice. I'm hoping my trainer Rob will read this and post something (and by something, I mean telling me that he will see about working in a "C'est La Vie Day" into my plan) **smiles**

Joania (2000 MINE!!)