thanks everybody

I just wanted to thank you all for your positivity and your good wishes. B and I are certainly happy with the good news. Now onwards and upwards. It occurred to me a couple of days ago that I really need to ramp up my workouts. I feel like I've been slacking a little. So as of Sunday, we'll kick it up a notch.

I had this WICKED craving for chocolate hit me today around 1:45 pm. B's craving hit last night ... he was so desperate he even tried unsweetened chocolate. OMG! yeah, I've made THAT mistake before too. Anyway, long story short, my craving wouldn't go away and was driving me to distraction and one of my colleagues offered me dark chocolate. One small bit of 85% and I was happy. No more craving. YAY!

Today's Lesson-for-LIFE was "The only way to truly fail is to quit trying." How appropriate. I have tried to follow this program I don't know how many times over the years but I've never stuck with it long enough to see really great results. Applicable for other aspects of life too of course.

So ... whatever your goals are in life ... keep trying.

mid-week

You know, I woke up this morning at 4:30 and thought ... OMG ... I cannot do this. I cannot make it to work today. Then I thought "get your ass out of bed and get moving". Then as a compromise, I thought "I can't do my "normal" workout today ... maybe I'll just sleep an extra hour. To which my "trainer" said .... "get your ass out of bed and get moving". So I did. I lowered all my weights since, of course, it was an upper body workout day. Most of the exercises were really easy .. a couple were a bit of a challenge. Monday (my next upper body workout) I'll have to kick it up a notch. Tomorrow's cardio so that's cool. I'm just so relieved by the clean bill of health and today was so nice when I got home that we had a quick dinner and I got to weeding for about 90 minutes. And I went for a walk at lunch today. I just gotta keep moving. Have I mentioned that I have the best husband in the world? He's a worrier, but he's pretty awesome and I couldn't picked a better husband if I tried.

Remember to keep on keepin' on!

Until tomorrow ....

YAY! Great news!

So it's over. It appears to have been a cyst. There were actually 2 spots that showed up on the mammogram. One appears to have been there for a long time. Doctor's not concerned. So he went in and drained the fluit and it's clear. YAY! I do have to go back in 6 months just to follow up but I'm ok with that. Nothing like having a wire stuck in your breast and going for a mammogram. YEESH! Must have been a man who thought THAT one up. But I don't care....I'm okay as I was sure I would be. At least my head told me I was fine. Actually my gut basically did too. I just wasn't going to accept the alternative. So thanks for all the positive thoughts everybody .... your love and support mean so much to me.

I was so relieved I actually had a chocolate glazed donut. It was too sweet and I felt kinda crappy afterwards but I really didn't care. I was just so relieved. I'm not sure about my workout tomorrow. It's supposed to be upper body but I'm not supposed to lift anything but the doctor said it was fine to work out tomorrow. So I think I'll do the exercises at lower weights and go from there. If it hurts ... I guess I'm doing yoga.

Life's great. I won't accept anything but. Until tomorrow folks!

Monday ... again

So my lower body workout went much better today than last Wednesday. Actually knew what I was doing this time. LOL Today's quotation "You have to want to change more than you want to stay the same." Bill Phillips. It's not easy to change. It's far easier to just continue along doing the same old same old and griping about it. You gotta figure out if you really want to make a change. In whatever. Whether it's your eating habits, your exercise habits, your job, your partner. The biggest challenge is making that decision ... and then actually acting on it. It's easy to get sucked back into old habits. I know. I've done it so many times. I lost track of how many times I told Barry I was going to get the weight off this time. I think he heard it so many times he stopped believing it. But he's been so supportive this time. Much more so than other times. Probably because I'm actually making changes and sticking with it. I can't remember the last time I stuck with this program this long. And it's so natural now. I don't really think about it too much any more. It's like brushing your teeth. Just something that you do in the course of a day.

So I would suggest that if there's something, anything, in your life that you want to change ... just do it. It ain't easy. But of course I'm always here to cheer you on. The capacity for people to change and to accomplish things is astounding.

So until tomorrow folks ... and I really hope I have good news tomorrow ... and thanks for your positive energy ... I bid you adieu!

Week 6, Day 1

So I'm almost half way through. Got a new 'do to celebrate. Not really, but an excuse will do.... So I actually pigged out yesterday and REALLY paid for it today. Woke up at 7, felt like crap, did my cardio workout (hurt like the dickens from gardening all day yesterday), felt like crap, had brekkie and latte, still felt like crap. I can't take Advil Cold and Sinus to help with allergy season and the congestion I'm so prone to because of the biopsy, but I fianlly got some Tylonel Sinus and that helped a big. And lots of water. That helped too. So I think I'm gonna restrict my free days to just that instead of full-on pig out days. While the free is encouraged, too much of a good thing does have its consequences. I do feel much better when I'm eating well. So tomorrow's lower body workout again. This should be interesting. Speaking of which, time to update my manual so I shall bid you adieu for tonight. Just remember ... it's not about being perfect 100% of the time. It's about eating healthy MOST of the time, staying active, MOST of the time and keeping a great attitude, like believing you can do whatever you want to accomplish, MOST of the time. We all have dark moments.... the secret is getting past those dark moments and not letting them take over. Until tomorrow ... enjoy life!

End of Week 5 ... and an update

Well, somehow I made it through 5 weeks ... I think this is a record. It feels so great to consistently work out 6 days a week. My challenge is the nutrition aspect but I'm working on it. As far as my test is concerned ... the lab neglected to include the most recent mammogram and the ultrasound in the envelope. So they couldn't do the biopsy. The good news ... we've rescheduled to next Tuesday. Yeesh. Anyway, gotta keep a positive attitude and keep on keepin' on.

nearing the end of week 5

Thankfully .... only 1 more day. I have been battling a chocolate craving for days. It's not going away. My body wants to gorge on chocolate. You'd almost think I was PMSing. Without all the nasty stuff I guess. But I digress (like THAT never happens LOL) ... it's been a tough week. I've been getting up and working out and for the most part my nutrition has been pretty good but dinners continue to be my challenge for one reason or another. But I guess these things are sent to try us so I'll do my best for tomorrow, pig out on Saturday, feel like crap early Sunday, get back on track and keep active. I'm thinking a DQ is in order. Like a brownie explosion or something. We didn't go last weekend and it's going to so be a "summer" weekend so I'm just gonna have to get hubby to run me up at some point on Saturday. Maybe we'll take a break and run up (grubbies and all), run INTO, as opposed to the drive-thru (my major pet peeve) and grab something yummy. Of course, I'll regret it on Sunday, but I think I need to do this to get over this chocolate craving. Don't get me wrong, drive-thrus have their time and place and anyone with children in the car ... I TOTALLY understand why you don't want the hassle of getting everyone out of the car, into the fast food place, then getting everyone back into the car. But for those of us who are capable, who have 2 legs that work perfectly well, get out of your vehicle and walk into your choice of fast food establishment or your stuff, then walk back to your car. Here's an idea ... park as far away as you can. It's better for you, better for the enivronment, etc. But that's just my humble opinion. I wore a great pair of pants today. They have lycra (wonderful fabric) in them and they've stretched out quite a bit since I bought them. So it feels like I've lost lots of weight. I'll let you know the end of next week (halfway there) how I'm doing. Might even share pictures. I know it's going to probably take 3 "challenges" to get where I want to be, but that's ok. I didn't gain 60 pounds overnight ... and it sure ain't gonna come off overnight either. But I'm ok with that. At least I'm honouring my self-promises and I'm making progress. So until tomorrow .... I hope to have an update too.

Keep on keeping on ....

Had a tough time getting out of bed today. Despite the 8 hours sleep. It was wonderful lying in bed with the sun streaming in. I just wanted to stay there a while. But I knew I had things to do today. I didn't update my journal last night for yesterday or plan for today which I believe is the 1st time I've done that in the past 4 1/2 weeks. I'm going to get myself up to date when I'm finished here. Barry and I went out for breakfast at Cora's in Pickering. Great place, food was fabulous, service was terrific. I think we finally found a place we're happy with. Of course breakfast was more than what we usually pay for lunch or even dinner sometimes going out but it was worth it. Kept my mind occupied. Picked up my films, dropped them at Oshawa General, went to Home Depot (shocker), came home and had salad, salami and fruit salad for lunch since I had about 3 meals worth of food at breakfast. I'm trying really hard to stay calm about this whole thing. It's most likely a cyst and I'm glad they're being cautious and taking this seriously but it's still a little nerve wracking. But it's so important to keep a positive attitude (all the worrying in the world won't change the outcome), to keep eating healthy and working out. I changed a couple of my lower body exercises today so my workout took a little longer than normal. I've never enjoyed working legs ... I enjoy it more now than before ... upper body training is so much more rewarding and diversified. So I'll get up tomorrow, do my cardio, update my journal, stick to the "plan" and get up on Friday, do an upper body workout, run some errands and then go for my appointment and enjoy the weekend.

Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts and thanks for the good vibes T&C. Appreciate it a LOT. I'll keep you all updated. Until tomorrow....

More tests ....

So I got a call today from my doctor's office. Long story short I need to go for a breast cyst aspiration, which to say a biopsy. I believe they can tell, basically right away, whether there's a problem or not. Fortunately the appointment is Friday afternoon. So I need lots of big vibes from my peeps. The ironic thing is yesterday's Body-for-LIFE Lesson of the day was about dealing with adversity and how our true character is revealed through how we deal.
So, tomorrow morning I'll sleep in until 7, do a new lower body workout, have breakfast and latte, pick up all my films in Ajax and take them to Oshawa General. Eat healthy, keep a positive attitude and keep on keeping on. Since it's likely just a cyst (that's certainly what we're hoping for), I gotta keep doing what I'm doing. I am very blessed to have people who love me and support me. Life keeps getting better so I gotta be ok. Besides, Barry would be lost without me. Until tomorrow....

Changing things up

After 4 weeks of the same basic routine, it was time to change my routine. That was interesting. After a mostly sleepless night, on 3 hours sleep, I still managed to get up and work out. Which was great. But things went downhill from then. Too much coffee and sugar and then ordered in Swiss Chalet. Brain has not functioned all day. Not good when you're trying to review a legal document. And here I am at almost 8 pm and falling asleep. So it's early to bed tonight and we'll try this again tomorrow.
Just remember ... doesn't matter if you fall off the horse, as long as you get back on it. Until tomorrow.

Week 5, Day 1

Man, did I ever enjoy my Free Day yesterday. Not to say that I pigged out or anything ... just nice not to have to be so disciplined. But today, I was back up and working out at 6:55. I woke up earlier than my alarm clock which was set for 7. Yesterday my alarm was off at 7 a.m. and for some reason I turned it off instead of hitting snooze and the next thing I knew, it was 8:15. Way too late for what I wanted to accomplish yesterday. Anyway, yesterday was 1 year ago that Barry was in his accident. He was alone in the car and when he called me on the train, I just about panicked. Of courrse he downplayed the whole thing .. I guess he didn't want to worry me too much. I was fine until I called our neighbour K. As soon as I got the words "Barry was in an accident" out, I broke down in tears and couldn't get the rest of it out. I managed to tell him that Barry was "ok". He ended up coming by about 30 minutes later to keep me company and kept my mind from going out of control. I'm very grateful that Barry was indeed ok and to K. for keeping me "sane". Which, if you knew K., you'd realize how ironic that statement is. Right Kandi?

Anyway, Barry and I both had a horrendous year last year, between me breaking my ankle and my finger, Barry's accident, his father's heart attack (he's fine now), my mother passing away and a whole host of other problems. I am very happy to report that 2009 has been a MUCH better year. I finally reached the point where I'm following the Body-for-Life program faithfully and I don't even think about it anymore. Which is to say that it's not a conscious choice to eat well, exercise regularly and be a better person. It's just automatic. I feel so much better, my attitude is so different and I've even managed to stop a lot of procrastinating that I used to do. I guess there's hope for me yet. So after a morning cardio workout and stretching and an afternoon of digging and planting in the garden, it was a great day!

Until tomorrow ...

I made it!

End of week 4. I'm looking forward to a day off of journal entries, clean eating, formal workouts. I try to keep my Free Days from being free-for-all-days. That just ruins everything. But I'll likely have a beer (or at least split with with hubby) at the end of our workday, head out to Dairy Queen for a small chocolate-dipped cone (that's all I can handle any more) or maybe split a small Blizzard with Barry. And maybe a coke during the day. I figure the day spent digging and lifting and heavier gardening work might make up for a bit of extra food. It's interesting, I was thinking this morning that I might not be eating enough of the healthy stuff I need to. Not to say I'm not eating healthy food, just not enough given my workouts and all. And sure enough, in Bill Phillip's "Lesson-for-LIFE" (part of the BFL journal), he talked about nourishing your body each and every day and how important it is to eat enough, get enough vitamins and minerals, drink enough water... So I'll examine what I'm eating compared to what I should be eating and we'll go from there. So. Get outside tomorrow ... it's gonna be a gorgeous one! At least here in southern Ontario. Until tomorrow....

One more day to go

Week 4 ends tomorrow. YAY! I gotta admit, I'm really tired this week. And I'll be gardening all weekend ... digging, digging, weeding, digging....so again, I won't get much of a break. But that's ok. I have all summer to take it easy. Today was a tough day to keep going and not have that afternoon coffee. Dinner wasn't the healthiest, but at least I had a big salad along with the pasta. Falling asleep (it's only 9pm but 4:30am comes WAY too early sometimes. Until tomorrow ....

More than just weight loss

You know, it’s amazing what a difference a healthy lifestyle makes. I follow the Body-for-Life program, designed by Bill Phillips. What an awesome program. Bill always talks about what you gain from the program (health, positive attitude, energy) as opposed to just what you lose (weight, bad attitude). I never really fully understood what he was talking about. I thought it was a “gimmick” but I gotta tell ya, he’s right. When you decide to make a major change in your life for the positive and you live a disciplined (at least most of the time) lifestyle, it’s amazing the difference. The woman I spoke about yesterday (me at 22), she’s coming back, more and more each day. I still have a LONG was to go to get back into the shape I was in then (I didn’t gain it all overnight, and it sure ain’t gonna come off overnight), but I feel amazing! Better weather helps … sunshine always makes me feel better … but this is so much more. It’s such a simple (not necessarily easy) program to follow. I’ve “tried” it many times but never made it my priority. It’s kinda hard to let something other than my workouts get in the way at 4:30 a.m. When I think of how I looked and felt, my attitude, my overall appearance 1 year ago, and I look at myself now … it’s like I’m a different person. Which is good. Really good. I’m likin’ myself again and it shows. I encourage everybody to do SOMETHING … anything, to make yourself feel better. It really is a fabulous time to be alive! Until tomorrow ….

It was a chocolately kinda day ...

It hit around 1 p.m. today. I thought I got over it. But it persisted. So when I got home tonight, I did the "unthinkable". I gave in and had some chocolate. And felt kinda crappy (physically) after that. I had planned on fish, salad and a little something called Paradise Bread (from Sobey's). I was really tempted to make something else .. I don't know ... pancakes perhaps. Sorry Barry. You'll have to wait until Saturday. My free day. Anyway, I got myself back on track and made the planned dinner. And it was very tasty. So tomorrow will be a better day. All I know, is that I never want to look like this again....This was me just over a year ago. Probably at the lowest part of my life. I have another picture of me, at 22 (man, that was half my lifetime ago - and almost half a body too) .. THAT is the real me. She's just waiting to get out. It's happening. You'll meet her one day. So even if you feel like you're at the lowest point in your life, or you feel like the end is just too far away, just get moving. Eat 6 small, healthy meals a day, drink lots of water. And get active. Just make sure you enjoy what you're doing. I love Barry's quotation today. It just seemed so appropriate. Check out the link to his blog (Life in Quotations). Never, ever give up. I've been fighting for years. I finally feel like I'm winning. Until tomorrow...

It's about perseverance ....

So at 3 a.m. this morning my hubby nudges me and asks if I'm wearing my mouthguard (I grind my teeth horribly) ... I response yes, I am. Of course I'm awake now and Mother Nature is calling so I answer. I get back into bed thinking I have almost 90 minutes before the alarm goes off. I spend the next 90 minutes being nudges, elbowed and otherwise disturbed (some would say I'm already disturbed enough). The alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. and I jump (sort of) out of bed, head upstairs to our home gym and get a workout in. It was lower body today. Not great after a weekend of working in the garden. It always gets my lower back. Of course if I stretched instead of sitting on my rear end for a couple of hours trying to catch up on TV that we've PVR'd, I'd feel a lot better. And taking a shot of protein powder with a shot of Betagen would, I'm sure help also. I'll have to remember that for this weekend. It's supposed to be splended on Saturday! I guess my point is, regardless of lack of sleep, sometimes you have to just say "oh well", get up and get moving! Until tomorrow folks.....

Week 4, Day 1

We're back at it again! I discovered this morning I actually prefer the routine of working out in the morning. Yesterday was my Free Day and we went up to Home Depot ('cause really, where else would we be on a Saturday morning LOL) and walked around there, came home, had latte and then got out in the garden. By the end of the day, I was one hurtin' unit. And yet Friday I worked much garden in the garden after an awesome upper body workout. Go figure. So in the future, I'll start the mornings off with at least a brisk walk, some stretching and THEN I'll get to work in the garden. So have fun, and stay active!

3 weeks and counting

I made it through 3 full weeks! I had an awesome workout this morning and then spent several hours moving plants around in the garden. All in all, a great day. Eating was a little off time-wise but you have to learn to adapt sometimes. I accidentally used higher weights than I was planning on a couple of my exercises this morning and realized that I was "easing into" my workouts a little too long. I was trying to avoid getting sick like I usually do when I get back to working out after a time away from it. I guess I overcompensated. I suspect I'll be sore tomorrow. But that's okay ... it's FREE DAY tomorrow! YAY! This program is so simple to follow ... it's great! I'll be back out the garden tomorrow, weeding, moving plants, weeding, cutting back from last year's growth, did I mention weeding? But that's ok 'cause it keeps me active and that's what it's all about. Until next time ....

Time to Get Outside and Enjoy the Weather

So this is me last May ... we were either adding soil amendments to the garden or preparing the base for the deck and pergola we built last year. I'm in a little better shape this year and working hard to make a big difference this year.

I think this is going to be about the first full weekend of sunshine and somewhat mild temperatures (roughly 10C or 50F) here in Southern Ontario. I mean for a full 4 days actually. Woo hoo! So it's time to get outside, get walking, cycling, rolling blading, gardening, whatever floats your boat ... just get outside and get moving. I got up this morning at 5:30 - got to sleep in because I'm off today but hubby had to go to work ... felt kinda crappy but got up and did cardio anyway and now I feel fabulous! Got about a 2 mile walk up and back to my appointment. Putter around in the garden... It doesn't matter so much what you're doing ... just do something. It'll make you feel better! Until tomorrow...

A practical reason for getting stronger

So we're having friends over for dinner Saturday night and we decided to do something different. Long story short - had to carry a bunch of stuff home from St. Lawrence Market. There's a bit of walking involved. Bags were kinda heavy. It was a bit of a struggle, but not much. A lot of women are afraid to train with weights. Thankfully the perception that if women train with weights they'll end up looking like the professional weight lifters is dwindling. For those women who are afraid that if they train with more than 5 or 10 pounds, they'll get all muscle-bound ... you do not have enough of the hormones (testosterone ladies) required to look like that just by doing regular workouts. The ripped women you see in Ms Olympia competitions train so intensely, the average woman doesn't have the time or energy to get those results. And that probably puts a lot of you at ease. So don't hesitate to pick up a heavier weight (as long as you're healthy ... don't forget to check with your doctor). The results are both pleasing to the eye and very practical in day to day life. Until tomorrow folks ...

You've gotta have a reason

About a month ago, I had a bit of a scare. I was sitting at home, watching TV (bad habit, I know), minding my own business, when my heart started racing like crazy and I had trouble catching my breath. Of course Barry would probably say it's because he was sitting next to me LOL. My family has a horrible history of heart disease so I figured it was time to get this checked out. And something didn't feel quite right on my right breast. So off I went for an echocardiogram, a holter monitor and a mammogram. Those things are lovely. There should be one for men too. Except after a certain size, they really don't hurt. Women that is... but I digress. So the echo came back clear YAY and I'm still waiting for the monitor results. But I got a call 2 days after my test that they wanted me to go for a second mammogram and ultrasound because they found a nodule in my left breast (go figure) that wasn't there 5 years ago when I last had a mammogram. Ladies, if you're over 40, make sure you go every year or 2. It's not something to mess with. Of course I freaked out a little but I'm told this is pretty much standard and nodules come and go. So my appointment is this Thursday. And then we can move on. Did I mention I'm asthmatic? But my point is ... take care of your health. Yeah, being able to get into "normal" sized (non-plus size) clothes is great, but ultimately, we get one body and we all (yes, men, that includes you) have to take care of ourselves. So whether you're a seasoned veteran of the workout world or someone who has never formally exercised, please take care of your health. Until tomorrow....

Oops .... I did it again ....

As I've mentioned before, and it bears repeating numerous times (especially for myself), if you mess up a meal or a day, get back to it. I was incredibly tired today (it SNOWED for pete's sake!) and we had a couple of errands to run so instead of going home and making tilapia, rice and green beans ... we stopped at Quiznos for a couple of sammies. Oh well, I kinda feel like crap now so I'll just drink LOTS of water and have some fruit salad and a yogurt later ...you know, healthy stuff. But I had a great workout this morning even though I was running late this morning. I still ran through the entire workout. And made it to work on time....Keep up the good work folks! Sandy

Beginning of Week 3

It's a beautiful Sunday morning, got up early, did my Cardio workout, showered, healthy breakfast and sitting down to latte with Barry and cats. There are 4 of them. Running around after 4 cats should have kept me in shape but it didn't. Friends were over yesterday for dinner (hey Jen-Bear!) - we ate way too much but I'm back on track today. Hopefully I'll get some gardening in today too but with all the rain we had on Friday, I'm doubting it. Anyway, I guess my message is to say that even when you have a scheduled "Free Day" or just "go off the wagon", get back to it the next day. Make the most of every day. Take care of your health ... it's the only body you've got. Until next time ....

TGIF!

I made it! I can't believe it ... I didn't think it was going to get here ... not the best week I've ever had but at least it's over and Sunday starts another "week" for me. At least I was able to work out this morning, although I did have to modify my workout a bit. But at least I got up and did it. So remember ... just because it wasn't perfect, as long as you got up and did something, you won... Wishing you good health and fitness.

Challenging Day

You know, sometimes there are days that you just have to say "oh well". Day went well until stress got the better of me in the afternoon. It went downhill from there. But it's almost over. And tomorrow is another day ... Friday to boot! And Saturday is my free day. YAY! So just remember ... if you "fall off the wagon" for a few hours or a day (or even a few days), pick yourself up and do better next hour, next day, whatever. And remember ... not one of us is perfect. Have an awesome day!