15-Jul-10: 4TH ASSESSMENT!

Another 2 weeks has come and gone!

I'm glad to report shrinkage all around, but a little dismayed that it's only mild compared to what I was hoping for, especially given the fact that J at Professional Edge has been workin' me like mad, PLUS the fact that I finally cashed in on my free 1-month membership at the gym by work.

Sigh.

Well I'm not givin' up! I'm still motivated - at least I'm losing!!! And I hate to admit it, but I'm cheating along the way....I want to make this as realistic a lifestyle as possible. I can do all the veggies and carbless meals, but I still need a tablespoon or 4 of Nutella at the end of the day to carry me through! If I can't have a little cheatsies like that, then I will be miserable, and would probably find it easier to give up than if I didn't cheat a bit and still see results.

So here we go! 4th assessment results!

Weight: 170.5 -2.5

Measurements:

Right arm: 12.75 -0.25

Left arm: 12.5

Hips: 43.75 -0.25

Bust: 36.75 -0.25

Waist: 35.25 -0.25

Right leg: 24.5 -0.50

Left leg: 24.75 -0.50

Right calf: 16.25 -0.50

Left calf: 16.5 -0.25

23.20% bodyfat -1.52%

130.9 lean mass

39.6 fat weight

Overall: 9.5lbs lost...............now my scale at home reads 164lbs - sure would love to see the scale at ContestPrep tip into the 160s! Was really hoping to be in the 150s by the time of my goal event next month, don't see that happening....but at least I'm 10lbs lighter and with over 7% less bodyfat! I'm pretty excited! :)

Ok, here we go! 29-June-10

3rd assessment.

Weight: 173 -2.5 lbs

Measurements:

Right arm: 13 -0.25

Left arm: 12.5 -0.25

Hips: 44 -0.75

Bust: 37 +0.25

Waist: 35.5 -0.25

Right leg: 25 -0.25

Left leg: 25.25 -0.25

Right calf: 16.75 -0.25

Left calf: 16.75 -0.25

24.72% bodyfat -0.89%

130.2 lean mass

42.8 fat weight

So this is the official halfway mark....let's see how we're doing overall:

Weight: -7 lbs

Right arm: -0.5

Left arm: -0.5

Hips: -1.5

Bust: -1.25

Waist: -1

Right let: -0.5

Left leg: -0.75

Right calf: -0.25

Left calf: -0.25

Down 5.64% bodyfat.

So all in all, I'm seeing results - it's a LOOOONG process, obviously - I didn't put the weight on overnight, so I shouldn't expect it to come off overnight, either. I'm doing this the healthy way, building muscle as I go. Very excited, and surprisingly enough, still very motivated!

Next appt is July 15th. Go team go!!! :)

29-June-10

So it's been a long 3 weeks, but I finally had my 3rd assessment tonight. Concrete numbers aren't in just yet, but I'm kinda upset about it. All in all, everything was down, which is GREAT, but they weren't down enough for my liking - for having had a go at it for 3 weeks.

I have no room for excuses, but it has been a rough few weeks - work sked was all over the place, which didn't allow for me to get my resistance training in as much as was probably required.

I was SICK.

I injured my back at work, so a bit of my movement and abilities are limited.

But there's a new beginning on the horizon - I met an amazing man nearly 2 weeks ago (not nearly as amazing as my wonderful hubby, of course!) - but he trains UFC fighters, he owns his own gym - he's a personal trainer, and he and I hit it off so well, that he's offered to train me, free of charge!

I'm currently on holidays this week, so I've hit up J's gym twice so far - yesterday and today. Plan on going tomorrow and Friday as well, and then once I'm back at work, maybe I can go before my shift and on my days off. Here's hoping! He's worked me quite well so far, muscles I didn't even know existed hurt like an SOB! I'm pretty excited! :)

Down 2.5lbs (mind you, I was weighed at 8pm, so after supper and lots of water!), and down only 1% BF. Meh. Better than a gain, I suppose!

Ok, I'll post the official results from this week once they're in! :)

09-June-10

2nd Assessment.

Quite nervous. I knew I wouldn't replicate the 3% loss I saw at my first assessment.

But at least I still saw losses.


Weight: 175.5lbs - 2 lbs

Measurents:
Right arm: 13.25 - 0.25
Left arm: 12.75
Hips: 44.75 - 0.5
Bust: 36.75 - 1.0
Waist: 35.75 - 0.75
Right leg: 25.25
Left leg: 25.5
Right calf: 17 + 0.25
Left calf: 17 + 0.25

25.61% bodyfat - 1.87%
130.6 lean mass
44.9 fat weight

Butterflies.

Tomorrow is my 2nd assessment with Jewels.

And I'm nervous.

I think, after my first assessment there, where I was down an astonishing 3% bodyfat, I let it get to my head - thought it'd be ok to slack a bit. There was the profit share party, the chocolate pie....ugh. Well, the damage is done, and if I don't do well at all tomorrow, that'll just be motivation for me to work even harder next time.

Stay tuned....

Ugh.

So far, a pretty good eatin' day.

1/4 c steel cut oats w/ 2 tbsp blueberries. Black coffee. 2 whole eggs.

30 min of cardio, a shake with glutamine.

And now I just downed a big bowl of spinach leaves topped with tuna mixed with celery and salsa. Shudder. I couldn't find any of that FF Miracle Whip in the fridge, so salsa it had to be. Yuck! I did it though, because Jewels said I could. So I figured I should.

Oh, and a mini cucumber on the side.

The Roo is still napping, so I'm gonna get in some resistance training now too. Hope this yucky salad I just ate pays off!!! lol

25-May-10

1st Assessment.

I worked my arse off.

Well, a small, miniscule portion of it, anyway ;)

Here is the news of what my first assessment brought me:

Weight: 177.5lbs (I'll take what I can get!) - 2.5 lbs

Measurents:

Right arm: 13.5

Left arm: 12.75 - 0.25

Hips: 45.25 - 0.25

Bust: 37.75 - 0.50

Waist: 36.5

Right leg: 25.25 - 0.25

Left leg: 25.5 - 0.50

Right calf: 16.75 - 0.25

Left calf: 16.75 - 0.25

27.48% bodyfat - 2.88%

128.7 lean mass

48.8 fat weight - 5.8

Doesn't look like much, but I was very proud of my hard work over the first 2 weeks when Jewels told me that I was down 3% bodyfat in that time frame, when they generally aim for about a 1% loss per week! So I was above average!

I have to sheepishly admit, I've had a few cheat moments since then.... last night I had some drinks and appies (it was a party night out with friends), I went one day without any exercise, and I sadly indulged in some cookie dough. Ugh.

My next assessment is in just over a week, so I really need to get my act together!

02-May-10

Here is the official initial assessment:

Weight: 180lbs

Measurements:

Right arm: 13.5

Left arm: 13

Hips: 45.5

Bust: 38.25

Waist: 36.5

Right leg: 25.5

Left leg: 26

Right calf: 17

Left calf: 17

30.36% bodyfat

125.4 lean mass

54.6 fat weight

The program, upon preliminary review, is a tad scary - my familiar yogurt with berries, bran bar and bedtime snack of an apple are gone. Exercise is up. But I managed to stick to 30 min or cardio, 7 days a week.

Stay tuned for my first follow-up assessment...!

Well, the results are in

It's gonna be a long and winding road.

Preliminary reports at ContestPrep.ca's office had me weighin' in at 180lbs. Mind you, that was late afternoon after a breakfast and lunch and snack and copious amounts of water.

Another thing I took away from it was that I'm 70% lean muscle. Sounds impressive, until I realize that the remaining 30% is body fat.

Now THAT doesn't sound too hot. !!!

Upon first glance, Jewels determined my diet needs a-changin'. I coulda told her that! But where I thought I was doing ok, she could see I was, in fact, not. Jewels is going to email my program to me within the next couple of days, very much looking forward to my nutritional and exercise plan.

Gonna be a challenge, but with inspiration from my 28 month old daughter today (who, with tears welling up in her eyes, asked for her soother, only to be denied it because "only babies need soothers", she swallowed her sorrow and said in a shaky voice, "I can do it.") If my BABY GIRL can find that motivation within her, well then to that I say, I can do it, too!

Nerves....

Woke up this morning to an unbelieveable 172.8 on the scale.

After weeks of nearing the 180 mark again and entertaining thoughts of seeking (and booking!) outside help, whaddya know, I'm back down again.

Well, I'm tired of the fluctuations, and I'm meeting with the bodybuilders (ack!) in 2hrs. If anything, I loves me a good challenge, and I love that my body has become my project. If I can change this, I can do anything!

Wow.

Has it really been 2 YEARS?

Time flies when you have a baby....who knew they grew up so fast? One minute you're ready to pop at 42 wks of pregnancy + 100 extra pounds, next thing y'know, 2 yr

s has gone by in the sheer blink of an eye, and you're chasin' after a naked toddler who is giggling as she runs away from you when it's time for a splish splash. !!!

Lovin' every minute of it!

I don't suppose anyone is still, or will ever again, stumble across my little piece of cyber space, and I'm ok with that - this is a way for me to hold myself accountable in my relentless struggle to lose weight and get happy with myself again.

I went back to work, full time, last year - April 13/09, at an astounding 213lbs (after having lost a bit of weight in the last few months of my mat leave). I remember having to go in a week or 2 early to find new uniform pieces, as my sz

4-6 pants could barely cover one thigh, let alone my whole arse.

My "boss" helped me dig through piles of uni pieces, and I recall her pulling out a sz 20 pair of pants. "Oh you don't need a pair THAT big," she said as she tossed them aside. I secretly took note of where they landed, and after she left the room, having helped me find the sz 12 I said I was looking for, I snatched up the sz 20 pants and sheepishly went into the back office to try them on.

To my horror, they fit.

Perfectly.

Well that was just over a year ago, and hard work and perseverance paid off - I went down to 167, and a roomy sz 10 pant. But since August, I'd been hovering at the 170 mark. Couldn't bust too far away from that, and it was driving me nuts.

At the beginning of last month, I thought I'd figure out a way to change it up - the woman at GNC suggested a 30-day cleanse, said it would DEFINITELY he

lp me break through the plateau. I got suckered into it and she made the easy sale.

But 30 days later, my weight didn't go down. It certainly didn't stay the same, either.

It had gone UP.

I started feeling helpless and frantic - why now was everything spinning out of control? Why am I GAINING weight?

The scale could not give me a consistent number more than twice in a row if I continued to step on it in succession.

Frustration set in.

I realize now that I can't do this on my own anymore. I need help.

So tomorrow, I'm meeting with 2 fitness gurus from contestprep.ca.

I will record my body comp as they lay it out to me.

Nervous, yes. Excited, yes. Skeptical....yes.

We shall see how this goes....ideally, I would like to aim for a photography shoot, to celebrate my hard work and show off my new body. But I have to commit like I've never committed before. This isn't just about sculpting a new body, there's also money involved here.

Lots of it.

I can't let my bank account down!

Wish me luck!

Before I sign out for the night, here is a pic of me and my girl in LA back in February. I can't believe she's already 28 months old now!

Eh

Well, I suppose I should be elated over the ONE lb I lost this WI, so that's ok....but with all the stress of house-hunting and such, I'm craving crap like crazy! (Holy alliteration, Batman!)

I didn't get ANY APs in yesterday OR today - we have an agent coming down tonite to check out our digs to see how to price it, and baby's been a complete snugglebug - which normally, I LOVE, but I can't put her down to get anything done!

Except bake a crust for a chocolate pudding dessert for my hubby.

Scratch that....for ME. (He's not home for another hour, what he doesn't know about, he won't miss!)

Speaking of which, the graham crust is done baking. Ok, so I made it HEALTHY with l/f margarine 'n stuff....whatever, I don't even really care today!

Before I go retrieve said crust from the oven (which I should do asap before this house burns down and we can't sell it for carp!), here's a pic of my baby I took this morning! We got her a tray for her Bumbo seat, and she kept pushing all her toys off of it! Soooo cute!!!

Someone switched the mirrors in my house...

So last weekend was my daughter's baptism - with out-of-town guests, lots of visiting ensued, my poor girl's schedule was out of whack - and so was my eating.

Are you KIDDING me? A big celebration with Ukrainians, of COURSE I had to serve perogies, meatballs, etc., but I also balanced it out with a veggie platter.

The latter remained untouched.

A house full of Ukrainians and a veggie platter? It was a nice thought with good intentions! And then with all those leftovers, well, they weren't going to eat themselves!, so needless to say I didn't even BOTHER weighing in on Tuesday! Strictly guesstimated what the scale might have said. I probably wasn't too far off.

And then, as if feeling all doughy like a perogy myself wasn't bad enough, I had "the moment".

I KNOW I put on 100lbs with my pregnancy. I KNOW I look nothing like how I did this time last year. But even with my sz 18 pants and my XXL top that I had specifically purchased to wear for Maddy's christening, I thought I looked pretty good when I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my bedroom as I was leaving for the church. I thought I was doing a good job of sucking in (of course, you can't suck in flabby stomach skin and ginormous porn-boobs!). I thought I looked pretty good for just having had a baby 3 months ago.

So I went to the church with confidence, hell, I even allowed people to take my picture.

Big mistake......and yet, a big awakening.

They sent me the pics from Maddy's baptism a couple of days later.

I gasped. I can't recall having been that mortified/horrified in years.

Who was that huge beached whale holding my daughter? My god, is that really ME?

NOT AT ALL what I saw in that mirror before I left the house. I had no idea how I REALLY look. I realize now that someone has swapped mirrors in my house with those in a circus' House of Mirrors. They gave me the extra-lengthening, uber-slimming mirror.

Well, I will be deceived no longer.

This really is the dawn of a new awakening. (Is that an Oprah book?!) A new me is on the horizon. I had a cosmetic procedure done yesterday. I'm going for a manicure/pedicure. I'm getting my hair done.....and most importantly, I'm following WW to a tee.

I have to keep reminding myself that it took me 9 months to put the weight on, and it won't come off overnight.

But I will keep the circus mirror regardless - no matter how deceiving it is, it's still nice to see what I can look like, eventually. Gives me something to work towards.

FINALLY

The scale moves in my favour!

It's only down 1 lb, but it's down nonetheless! WOOHOO!

Hopefully it's the beginning of a trend.....

Feelin' pretty good today, my baby slept through the night! So I'm kinda rested today - it's 1:30pm, and I've already got my 4 APs in! I may do more, depends on how the day plays out. Got some cleaning to do, some banana bread to bake - HEY, can anyone tell me how the oil/applesauce swap works? Is it a one to one ratio? Or do I still need some oil?

Well, I'm off to get the rest of my day going! Baby's napping in her cradle swing (a MUST HAVE for any new parent!), we'll see how much I can tackle today!

12 weeks til SUMMER?

Cripes, I've got some work to do!

Today I feel pretty good - tomorrow's WI (and incidentally, my baby girl turns 13 weeks old!), and even though I'm pretty convinced it'll be another repeat of the past couple of months (read: NO CHANGE ON THE SCALE), I think it's gonna be ok.

Of course, I'm saying that now because it isn't even 1pm yet and I've already earned 6 APS, and have eaten pretty healthfully. Lots of sabotaging can happen between now and WI!

God, I really have to stop with that pessimism!

But seriously, knowing that summer's literally 3 months away, and I'm back to work in a year, and knowing that my baby girl's growing so fast that soon she'll be walking and I'll need the energy to keep up with her, my whole mindset is changing, and I'm feeling pretty good about things.

Ok, so I did the treadmill, the elliptical, stretches and weights, and life is grand! (Wow, I really have an awesome baby! I'm only able to do this b/c she's napping!) It's almost time for Degrassi: The Next Generation (god, I'm pathetic!), so I'm gonna go get my lunch ready and prepare to wake her up for her bum change and her lunch.

But before I go, here's some video I took of her the other day (speaking of feeding)...I really DO feed my daughter, but you'd never know it by the looks of this!

I really am lucky - great husband, beautiful daughter, wonderful friends and family - life is good, I'm the luckiest girl ever!

Yo-yo's are supposed to be FUN!

Well, not when it comes to the scale, that's for sure!

I thought it'd be super easy, that I'd just watch the pounds melt away after Maddy was born - NOT SO! I thought breastfeeding was supposed to help deplete the massive amount of extra weight I put on. AS IF!

Of course she's totally worth it, I just didn't think I'd have this much of a struggle!

The good news is, I have a fabulously supportive husband who's helped to set up our home gym so that I have easy access to all my equipment without having to struggle to take it out or put it away when I'm finished - now, it's all right there, right in front for me to use...as they're intended, not just as clothes hangers anymore!! HA!

And now that Maddy almost kinda has a routine, I can almost count on being active everyday while she naps. It's just been lately, she's too much of a snugglebug and I can't seem to put her down for her regular naps, and our schedules get thrown for a loop and I'm super tired! She's just hitting another growth spurt, I know this too shall pass...in fact, now that she's in her cradle swing (Mommy's TRYING to get her to have her afternoon nap), I should really be taking advantage of this time...ok, here I go!

:)

But before I sign off for today (again, sorry for the hiatus), Madds and I had such fun this morning, I had to pull the camera out - seriously, how cute is my little girl?!!! 12 weeks old already.... such a little lady...

Land of Confusion

Tell me why, Phil Collins?!

;)

So I THOUGHT I was doing well, back on track - and then I was UP.

A lot.

????

WI day on Tuesday was disheartening, I'm sad to admit my mind has wandered back to the time I was hooked on that ephedrine. As easy as it is for me to think that's a quick fix, I know it did lots of damage, and it's not a long-term solution. But I'm really in a weird state of mind - everyone telling me how skinny I was before I got pregnant, after my surgery, and how I'll have no problem getting back to that size again.

And how it's only been 2 months since I had Maddy.

But I still feel like I'm letting myself, and everyone else, down. That's right, it HAS been 2 months, and I'm still not able to lose weight! Everyone told me it would just fall off now, and it's not. And I'm starting to get frustrated. They used to call me "Slim" before - what if I can't ever get back to that? Will everyone think I'm a failure for not being able to get back to the body I had before?

*sigh*

I really need to stop being so superficial and selfish - ephedrine may have worked when I didn't care so much about my body, and didn't have anyone else to look after in my life. Now I'm married with a gorgeous, healthy baby girl. So much to be thankful for, and I love being depended on - I need to stop being so hard on myself, and just take it a day at a time. It took 9 months to put the weight on, I can't expect it to come off overnight.

But on the other hand, is it unrealistic to expect my body to at least LOSE a pound or 2 in a month?

Oh, the inner conflict ... sorry for the depressing entry!, but it's just one of those times I feel like I'm really struggling here.

This week, I'm trying not to have anything sweet, with the exception of the chocobran muffins I made a couple of days ago. I've been loading up on lots of raw veggies, drinking lots of water and v8 juice.

It's really tough - why is weight loss such a tough journey? It's so unfair!

So far so good...

**Ok, so it's Thursday, and for the past 2 days, I've been on the treadmill for 30 minutes, and I've done 20 min of stretching.

And today, I officially checked out my Rock 'n Roll stepper.

Still have to get used to it, I'm still awkward on it, but dang, once I get the hang of that bitch, it'll be loads of fun!

Been gettin' loads of raw veggies in, drinkin' lots of water, and severely limiting my sugar intake.

PHEW!

Tomorrow, my g/f from YYC is flying in to visit me and meet Maddy, chillaxin' with us for the weekend, going out for dinners, etc. I hope it won't be too hard to stick to my plans here, I really wanna see a loss on the scale on Tuesday!

Well, time for bed!

G'night, and GO AWAY, -44 WINDCHILL!!!

** this post has been unofficially endorsed by Bryan Adams, and the producers of his So Far So Good album. !!!

View from my treadmill

It works!!!

For today, anyways!

I put my li'l girl in her new cradle swing, downstairs by my treadmill, to see if she can sleep soundly for a long time to allow me to get some exercise and earn some APs.... AND IT WORKED!

Here's the view from my treadmill:

30 minutes walking at a good clip, and she's STILL sleeping! I can even get in some weights and stretching in, too!

I LOVE THIS CRADLE SWING!!!

Hopefully this becomes a trend, so that I can keep up my activity levels! Now I know this is do-able!

I forgot how much I enjoy sweating (and not just from being a busy mom) - I'm looking forward to getting back on track! This is super exciting for me!!!

:)

Well, I had it comin'...

2 weeks of not really keeping track of what I'm putting in my mouth, 2 baby showers, and tremedous lack of sleep = 5lb weight gain.

Yup, I'm up a whoppin' 5lbs.

But now with the baby shower outta the way (I've loaded Donovan's briefcase up with leftover dainties 'n stuff to get them out of the house!), and now with Madds getting into some semblance of a routine.... 'ish.....I should be able to focus better.

I'm going to start posting everything I eat again, like I used to before, so hopefully this helps me out a bit!

Brekkie
3 egg whites
1 cup yogurt
1 All Bran bar

= 5

Lunch
handfuls of raw veggies
assortment of fruit (say, fruit salad?) for maybe 1.5pts?
PC Mushroom Barley soup
8 melba toasts

= 6

I'll add to it as I go to keep mein arse on track here. How many APs can I get for the after-party clean-up?!?!?