A New Level of HURT ...and More!!

Hi guys,

Well my trainer tried to warn me. He sent me a message last week telling me that he was working on my new program and that I would be in for a "new level of hurt"!! Boy was he right!! I must admit that when he first told me that, my first thought was, "BRING IT ON, Lagana!!" Well, he brought it and he brought it hard.

I am already SORE and I just worked out this morning. My body was screaming, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, IT'S 7:30 on a SATURDAY MORNING??" I met him at 7:30 am and got started right away...he had a special grin on his face and at the time, I did not know why. At the end of my workout I knew why that grin was there! This program is the ultimate "Plateau Buster"and that's the perfect name because I really can't see how I could plateau on this program. Every time I've felt that I've got a hang of the program and that it's "almost" easy (not easy-easy, just almost easy), it's usually time for a new program. Rob (trainer) knows exactly what he's doing.

For example, in my last routine, one of the exercises he gave me was to do 10 push ups on an exercise ball...I thought, "there is no f'ing way I'm going to be able to do that!!" Well just last week I was doing all 10 on that ball and feeling pretty darn pleased with myself. Well today, he made one of his "slight adjustments" to my push-up exercise - literally as small as lifting one leg while I did the exercise - and I was done for!! I could barely get through doing 3 in a row!! But it's all good!! As Rob likes to remind me, this program is progressive and I can totally see the improvements in strength thusfar!! So I have a new goal and I WILL DO IT!! I can't wait.

I've increased the amount of weight I'm lifting and will also be increasing the number of times per week that I do cardio training as well. I will be doing cardio 5 days now instead of 3!! I CANNOT believe how strong I am getting. It's incredible. My body was in shock after this morning....my legs were shaking like you could not believe..IT WAS AWESOME!!!

With each new routine and new exercise, I felt myself challenging my body like never before!! I was hurting but no pain no gain, right?

So thanks Rob for today and this is my official "you were right, you kicked my ass today, I felt more than a new level of hurt" statement!!:) I hope I made you proud today with my progress. I know I left your studio feeling like I WAS THE SHIT TODAY!!! Totally a great way to start one's day!!:)

So that's it for now. I'm looking forward to this week starting my new routine, spinning and more cardio!!!

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

ParticipACTION....MORE GREAT NEWS!!!!

YOU GUYS ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, where do I start?

Do you guys know what "ParticipACTION" is all about?? Remember Hal and Joanne? Body Break commercials? (I'm singing the 'Body Break" song as I type..." Body Break!! Bo--ody Break!!)...remember??? No???? Well, here's the logo?? Remember now??? No??? I used to have a t-shirt with that logo when I was a kid and just thought I was soooo cool!! Here's some quick info and a link to their website for more:ParticipACTION is the national voice of physical activity and sport participation in Canada. Their vision is to work with their partners to ensure a Canadian society where people are the most physically active on Earth. It is a national not-for-profit organization solely dedicated to inspiring and supporting active living and sport participation for Canadians. Originally established in 1971, ParticipACTION was a pioneer in social marketing and has become internationally recognized for its compelling communications to promote physical activity. In the late 1990s, core funding from the government began to wane, and without financial support to continue its campaign, ParticipACTION closed its doors in 2001. With generous support from Sport Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, ParticipACTION was revitalized in 2007 as the national voice of physical activity and sport participation in Canada.

ParticipACTIONwebsite

Anyway, a few months back (maybe January or so), my husband told me about this new ad running on TV by "Participaction" asking for regular people like you and I to submit our stories to their website telling how we stay fit, what we're doing etc...He told me I should sign up. You may have seen the commercial, if not check it out here. Anyway, life went on. I had submitted links to my blog via "blog to lose" sites etc....

ANYWAY, I came home from work yesterday and received an email from an individual working with the advertising agency for Participaction, telling me that they came across my story/blog/journey and it was selected as a candidate/contender. They wanted to to speak with me to get more details on my story and also confirm my interest for this project so that it can evolve into a TV commercial!!!!!!!!!!

I needed to get in touch with them asap. They even left a comment on my last post of this blog asking me to get in touch with them. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT???? My story was chosen out of thousands!!! I'M GOING TO BE IN A NATIONAL TV COMMERCIAL!!!!

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect ALL OF THIS when I started this journey. I just wanted to get healthy and trim a bit of the "licious" off my booty!!! :0) That was it!! This is incredible.

I am totally excited to do this. The commercial should air sometime in May. I will keep you posted with the details.

So, I called the individual from the ad agency (super nice lady) today, and she gave me the details! I will need to submit some pix of me in ACTION (working out, sweating it up, etc.) and I'll also be required to do some voice over work.....the commercial should be airing sometime in MAY!!!! Isn't that nuts?!??!? I'm so excited about it. Remember these guys????????

Hal and Joanne!!!

I love these guys...we all know them from the ParticipACTION and Body Break commercials.

Well, look how far they went after doing those Participaction commercials!!!! :))

Anyway, just thought I'd share my good news!!

I'm meeting with my trainer tomorrow morning (730am)..for my new "KILLER" program. He's already told me that I will feel "a new level of hurt" !! Can't wait.

Until next time....

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

Week 15 Weigh-In.......1 More Pound (66 to go!!)

Starting Weight: 258 lbs (Dec 10/08)
Last Weigh In: 224 lbs (Mar 21/09)
Current Weight: 223 lbs
This Week's Loss: 1 lb

WHOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!! Another pound gone!!! Only 66 more to go!! I am EXTRA pleased with this loss considering I just weighed in this past Saturday..so that's 1 pound in 4 days!! That's awesome. I 'VE LOST 35 POUNDS!!!! I'm 3 pounds away from another milestone - to lose 38 pounds and get a very long massage. I feel awesome about the progress so far and so pumped to continue.

My trainer is working on a new program for me and to quote him, "Your program is almost ready and you'll feel a new level of hurt!!" I'm scurrrrred, y'all - but excited at the same time!!

Until next time...

Signing off 35 POUNDS LIGHTER!!!

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

Why now, McDonalds....Why????

Everyone who knows me, know that if Ronald McDonald was real, I'd marry him in a minute...well the old me would ...okay, who am I kidding?? The new and improving me would still marry him well until today!! He betrayed me!! They introduced something new!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm driving to work today and drive past a bulletin board. What does it say?

INTRODUCING, THE NEW MAC SNACK WRAP!!!!!

Q. What is it?
A. It's a Big Mac inside a warm flour tortilla!!!

OMG!!!! They've taken my favourite sandwich (the old Big Mac) and gave it a new twist and I can't even try it!!! Can you believe it?? I don't think there's ONE thing on the McDonalds menu that I haven't tasted......UNTIL NOW!!!!! Here's a couple of pix of it:

It's a mini Big Mac without all the bun. You still get the Big Mac special sauce, lettuce, Cheddar cheeses, pickles and onions with a beefy half-patty. There's just no fluffy melt-in-your-mouth, sweet sesame seed bun, just a warm snack-sized flour tortilla.

Here's a close-up:

OHHHH, YUMMMMMM!! Doesn't it look good? I know I could easily make a healthy version of this, but nothing beats that old MickeyDees taste!! Although the old classic Big Mac Meal will always be my favourite, I can't wait to get to my halfway point of this journey so that I could try this new item (and a few other classics)....Why now, McDonalds? Why?

OH GOD!! THE COMMERCIAL JUST CAME ON!!!! This is a conspiracy!!!!!!!!!!

So now what? Instead of singing the classic song, "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun" it will be...... "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions... in a warm flour tortilla."

The song does not really sound right but I'm sure the new Mac Snack Wrap will tast FABULOUS!!! Something to look forward to!!

Anyway, I didn't work out this morning so I'm off to do my cardio!!

Until next time...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

ST PATTY'S DAY - Shake Your Shamrock!!

So, unfortunately, my girlfriend JB had to cancel and could not make it to Edmonton for St.Patty's Day!! Although I was disappointed that she wouldn't be there, I decided that I was going to celebrate anyway, I WAS GOING TO SHAKE MY SHAMROCK!!! I LOVE St. Patty's Day, so why not?

This journey is important to me and I am committed to it and reaching my goals but I also do not want life to pass me by this year because of it!! So, I decided to enjoy my St. Patty's Day....I wasn't "bad" the entire day - just that evening!! I have ABSOLUTELY NO REGRETS!! I did promise to be honest with you guys throughout this journey so here it is!! :)

I woke up that morning, worked out, had a healthy breakfast and went off to work for the day. I made sure that I had a healthy lunch as well (shrimp and veggies). After work, I went back to the hotel, threw on my Irish green shirt and green underwear and went to a pub (Sherlock Holmes) with my colleagues. This pub was awesome...they provided all the "green accessories" (Hats, t-shirts, stickers, shot glasses, beer bong, beads, etc., etc.) It was wonderful. I ordered a green beer and got started on the evening!! My friend JB and I celebrated together via text messages, so we kind of felt like we did not break tradition - we did in a sense, celebrate together!!

Let the festivities begin.....

Green Hat....CHECK!!

Green Beer Bong......CHECK!! (It never left my side :)

Green Beer......CHECK times 2!!

Green Beads....CHECK!!!

A few beers (green and other) later, this is me loving St. Patty's Day...

I must admit, it didn't take much to get me to the point of "feeling good"... stop drinking for 3 months and you too can turn into a cheap drunk!!
Please note that Green Stickers were added (hey, what's St. Patty's Day without green shamrock stickers?)...

I really did have a fabulous time. I held up WAY better than I thought I would, all things considered.



MORE HONESTY....

My food and drinks for that evening consisted of the following:

• lots and lots of green beer (my bong held about two bottles/glasses when filled to the brim)
• lots of non-coloured beer
• shooters
• chicken wings
• sweet potato fries
• and water

The next morning, about 6:15 am, I opened my eyes, rubbed them a bit, slowly and carefully sat up in bed and waited......waited somemore......NOTHING!! The room wasn't spinning, my head wasn't fuzzy, my stomach (and contents) were fine....I could not believe how great I felt...NO HANGOVER!!! This is the first post St.Patty's Day morning in years that I haven't been hungover. Could not believe it. The only thing I did differently was this journey and no McDonalds after drinking....so my conclusion is, and this is big news here, "Being Fit/Healthy Prevents Hangovers!!" :)

I got out of bed, threw on my workout gear and went to the gym...I did my workout for a little more than an hour, took a long, fabulous shower and went down to breakfast!!! It was incredible!! I felt awesome and it lasted throughout the day!! Just awesome.

So that's it... I had a great time, and continued on with my journey...I still managed to lose 1 pound this week. I'm sure I could have lost a few more but no worries at all!! I am totally pleased and just feel awesome.

So this is a new week and I plan to kick it up a few notches. Rob (trainer) is building a new, crazy and killer workout for me, I will also be spinning twice a week in addition to my cardio - so I'm excited. This is it, I'm sticking to this hardcore..

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!!)

Week 14 Weigh-In...1 Down, 67 More to Go!!!

Starting Weight: 258 lbs (Dec 10/08)
Last Weigh In: 225 lbs (Mar 11/09)
Current Weight: 224 lbsThis Week's Loss: 1 lb

One more pound gone and I feel awesome about that....I've been losing pretty consistently for the last few weeks!!!! I feel really good about losing 34 pounds thus far. Plus, it's made such a huge difference in my health and fitness level - it's awesome.

I think I could have lost a few more pounds this week....my next post should explain why! Anyway until then...

I'm signing off 34 pounds lighter....4 more pounds to my next reward level!! YEAH!!!



Joania(2KMINE!!!)

Back in the Habit...

Hi everyone,

I'm back in town and so tired but very happy to be back. I had a very successful trip, both on a professional level and in regards to my journey!

I had no problems making good and healthy food choices....and both hotels in Edmonton and Vancouver were equipped with top notch fitness facilities!! It was great.

The time zone changes is having a bit of an effect on my fatigue/energy level but other than that...no issues. I did not work out yesterday, just busy packing and getting to the airport. I will workout today as well as weigh myself to see if I "totally" stayed on track this past week. After all, Tuesday was St. Patty's Day!! Did I break tradition? Did I celebrate? We'll find out in my next post.

I'm off to weigh myself - will be back shortly...

Joania (2KMINE!!!)

I Weigh More than a UFC Fighter!!!

Hey guys,

I was watching TV last night, just flipping through the channels and came across the Ultimate Fitghting Championship (UFC). BTW, I find myself watching this stuff more and more...don't know what it is, but I am slowly but surely becoming a fan of this sport!! Just in awe of the raw strength and martial arts skills (and I like the hits and blood - my sick side is coming out). It's becoming one of my guilty pleasures - hey, it's fat free!!!;)

Anyway, one of the announcers was just going over some stats of a couple of UFC's star heavy weight fighters and I realized, when I started this journey, I WEIGHED MORE THAN QUITE A FEW OF THESE GUYS!!! That's nuts!!! At my heaviest, which was 278, I weighed more than this guy:

Brock Lesnar

Height: 6'3

Weight: 276 lb

Yours Truly

Height: 5'5

Weight: 278 lbs

When I started my journey, I weighed 258 lbs, which was more than this guy:

Frank Mir

Height: 6'3

Weight: 251 lbs

Me (With my "Bad ass" face)

Weight: 258 lbs

I currently weigh 225lbs, which is more than this "little light weight":

Chuck Lidell

Height: 6'2

Weight: 205 lbs














Me...kicking ass at 225 lbs!!




Anyway, I'm just having fun with this. I'm really proud of how far I've come and just so excited for the future. I'm in a really good place right now and I have all intentions of staying there!!

Happy Sunday...off to workout!

Joania (2KMINE!!)

Three Month Anniversary Pics...FINALLY!!!

Sorry for the delay y'all..you know the week I've had...anyway, here are the pics taken earlier this morning, just before doing my workout.

Can you believe it's been three months?? It's seems like just the other day, I decided to start this journey and do it for real this time. Incredible!! I'm amazed at how quickly the time has gone by, really! Here I am 3 months in and down 33 pounds! This is amazing!!

My clothes are just falling off me, especially my pants!! I'm losing my booty y'all!! But it's all good. I'm so excited for what's to come - I can't wait to see where I will be next month when I take my 4 month pics!! I'll take some more pics to show how some are my pants/clothes are fitting AND NOT FITTING :) I know this may be "too much info" for some but my underwears are so comfortable now....no more "tighty whiteys"! It's a great feeling. I've gone down in bra size as well from a DD42 to a DD38 and really it should be a D38 by now because there's a lot of "space" in the cup. When I started, my loose fitting dress pants were size 22....now I fit comfortably in a size 16!! I was wearing size 16 Jeans just the other day - it's nuts!!! I will add some pix to show you guys. I'm feeling really good too - I haven't been breathless in months and even when I workout really hard ("Push it to the max, no limits" as my trainer would say), it's a different type of breathless - I recover quickly. It's awesome.

Front: (Top) - Feb 10, 2009 - 233 lbs

Front: (Bottom) - Mar 14, 2009 - 225 lbs

Side: (Top) - Feb 10, 2009 - 233lbs

Side: (Bottom) - Mar 14, 2009 - 225 lbs

Back: (Top) - Feb 10, 2009 - 233 lbs

Back: (Bottom) - Mar 14, 2009 - 225 lbs

Fun: (Top) - Feb 10, 2009 - 233 lbs

Fun: (Bottom) - Mar 14, 2009 - 225 lbs

Here's what I noticed about this month's pix:

1. Front Pics - My Legs/thighs are getting smaller (THANK GOODNESS), the space between my leg has increased; the skin around my abdominal area is much looser than last month, the fat on my chest is melting as you can see the bone (my chest bone); my shoulders and arms are getting some definition. My head is smaller...that hat wouldn't fit properly before ...lol!!:)
2. Side Pics - I don't really see much difference in my side shot...it looks like I'm sucking in my stomach/holding my breath BUT I SWEAR I WASN'T...i was just about to smile....oh well.
3. Back Pics - my back and waist is definitely smaller, you can actually see the looseness of the fabric in the shirt as opposed to the "maximum stretch in prior pics. That shirt is much more comfy now - there's room! Less back fat; my bum is tightening up (whoo hoo!); my legs are gradually getting smaller; my right arm looks smaller than my left (I am right handed) so that may explain it.
4. Fun Pics - Less back fat, less fat under my arm, stomach is a bit smaller, my arm is smaller

I took a couple extra pix to show the little definition starting to show in my arms...THERE IS MUSCLE!! It's not a huge change but I'm starting to see definition...hope you guys are able to notice it....I feel so strong!!

Anyway, that's it. Let me know what you think, please!! I will take some more pix showing my ever "loosening" clothing!

Until next time....

Joania (2KMINE!!!)