Girls can be lame.

Ren. Boy is going on a men’s vacation this weekend to go skiing/snowboarding in the U.S. I am being left behind because the women folk I hang around never do anything quite as fun and Ren. Boy’s men folk. The plan for the girls is to go see Bride Wars on Friday night and maybe hit the art gallery on Saturday.

These plans do sound like fun to me, but they sound like regular weekend activities that I would do anyway. I want to do something that is unique and extraordinary and causes me to have to spend close to $400 like Ren. Boy gets to spend. And he ALWAYS gets to go on these types of trips. This summer he is going on a big canoe trip, again with more men folk, and I, once again, will be left behind my female friends.

So this is what I want to know – why is it that men always go on these great adventures? Or is it my lame friends. No offence girls – I love you all, you laugh and cry with me and support me in every way possible, but honestly, can’t we do something other than drive to a spa?!! So I’ve decided to plan a trip this summer that is going to be extraordinary – but I need ideas.

I don’t even think anyone is really reading this blog… but on the off chance that SOMEONE is out there… PLEASE give me some suggestions! I’m open to anything at this point.. and it should be something that can be done in a weekend and is somewhat “city girl” friendly, because well, most of my gal pals are city girls. But I’m willing to break the mold and do something crazy too… so just throw anything out at me. I might just have to do it all by my lonesome.

Lattes, Jamaican Patties and Ice Cream, oh my!

This morning for breakfast I chose the healthy option of a Starbucks nonfat latte.

Okay, okay, I know. Not a healthy option. But is it better than not having any breakfast at all?

Through my weight loss struggle, I have become more and more aware of my unhealthy eating habits. For instance, yesterday, I was doing quite well. I came into work and made a bowl of oatmeal. For lunch I had brought a turkey wrap, and an apple. I also had one of those delectable double chocolate cookies, but let’s forget about that.

But then, for dinner at home, I had to run out to Pilates almost immediately, so I needed something that would take only about 2 minutes to cook and 5 minutes to eat. So what did I make? A frozen Jamaican patty. Yeah, I know! Disgusting!

And THEN, when I got home from Pilates, I had a bowl of ice cream. Now when I say bowl, I really mean about ½ cup of ice cream – so I think I get some points for portion control… right? Please affirm me!

So I’ve just been wondering to myself – what is this all about? Why do I eat such junk? Laziness? Cravings? Poor discipline? Probably all of the above. But how do I stop myself. Better discipline I guess.

So that’s me – all laid out. I have the best intentions – but I am failing miserably at this healthy eating thing. I’m not completely discouraged at this point – but there will come a point when I am. Because I’ve been there before. Ugh – don’t let me get there again. Hopefully the rest of this day will look a bit more healthy by the time it is over.

My Struggles and Successes #1

Today is success/struggle Tuesday as per the group online I’ve joined to lose weight! So I thought I would post my recent successes and struggles today. I will start with the bad.

Struggles: My eating habits suck. AND… as many of my close friends know, I love my wine. My love for wine has been a long and intimate relationship and has grown increasingly over the years. My preference is for reds, rich ones that are full-bodied and spicy. A good Amarone puts me in exactly the right mood! And to top things off, Renaissance boy’s mama works for a fairly prestigious Ontario wine grower and gives us free bottles all the time. So taking all alcohol out of my diet is not happening. I’m not saying I drink a bottle a day – FAR from it! However, a glass a day for me is not uncommon and wine truly is a part of my (almost daily) diet… and don’t doctors say that one glass a day is okay?! So I know that my a lot of calories come from this.

And eating during the day is tough for me too. People at work tend to bring in lots of delicious snacks and I have very little will power. So that is my main struggle I would say right now (since giving up drinking wine is pretty much out of the question, as you’ve already read!). I love sweets. So I’m trying to bring my lunch every day and eat much more fruit. So far this week though, my colleague made these delicious double chocolate chip cookies, and I had TWO, yes TWO, yesterday and one today. I think they are gone now, so they will not be a struggle tomorrow! But it seems that every day after lunch, I have this huge craving for sweets. Does anyone know what this is from or how I curb it?

Successes: I’ve had several successes this week and last. Last week I was at the gym 4 days! It felt great! So far this week, I’ve yet to go, but I’m going to Pilates tonight. Also, I joined this great new gym in our area – I was searching for awhile. My friend Ginger was joining and asked if I would join with her. Ginger’s boyfriend, Timmy and Renaissance Boy also joined to work out together – so I think that will be encouraging for us to get active together!

FYI – Renaissance Boy is 6’ and weighs about 155lbs. He doesn’t look as skinny as he sounds (although, his waist is a 28!!) because he used to swim and has an excellent V-shaped body, but he feels the need to bulk up a bit.

And my last success was that on Sunday, I went ice skating for the first time in at least 10 years! It was great! Ginger and Timmy have a huge outdoor rink in their backyard, and Renaissance Boy just got hockey skates for Christmas, so we were all out there on Sunday night playing some “hockey”. Not quite as good as those World Junior games, but close!

Week in Review

So it is the end of the week and I have my weekly weigh-in. Unfortunately, I forgot to weigh myself in this morning, so I will have to wait until tomorrow – but my starting weigh-in on Tuesday was 150.4lbs! My highest weight ever. I was very disappointed. Before the holidays I was at 146.8. I have never weighed at 150lbs. But at the same time I find this very motivating.

Here is my progress for the week:

Exercise: I’ve had a great week of exercise. Monday started with going to the gym and I ran and walked for 6km. I was pretty sore on Tuesday, but I haven’t felt that muscle soreness in such a long time, so I welcomed the feeling. Tuesday night I went to a Pilates class that I’ve signed up for with 3 other friends. So I know that every Tuesday I will always hit the gym for that. It is a good reminder of being healthy! Wednesday I did an all over resistance training program, that included rows, squats, lunges, bicep curls, abs, etc. It took about 40mins in total, but really wasn’t that challenging. I don’t know if it was the weights I was using or reps, but something needs to change with it. And last night, I was back at the gym running/walking for 6km. I would really like to do a 10km this fall with Renaissance Boy – so that is what I’m going to try for!

Food: NO GOOD! I need to figure out some way to eat healthier at work. The problem is, I want to go out with everyone to eat, but the choices around our office are so unhealthy. Lots of fried food. And it is expensive. So I think next week I will limit myself to eating out only once. Which will suck in terms of social time with my work peeps, but will be better for my waistline and right now, I’m focusing on that!

Enjoy the weekend! I have a busy one planned!

Not a New Year's Resolution

I will say it again. I am back. Who knows how long it will be for this time? With me, you can never tell. But buckle up because my life has settled down or at least I feel more settled down since I last wrote in October. I can’t believe I only included three posts the last time when I said “I’m back”. And I can’t believe that I tried to get into a new exercise regime and diet plan when I was in the middle starting a new job, moving and I had packed up all of my dishes. Takeout food does not equal good diet. Here is what has happened since October:

1) Renaissance Boy and I bought a house, bought new furniture, painted, moved and decorated our house in time for…
2) Celebrating my 27th birthday (Nov. 20) in the form of a house party with our family and friends on November 27.
3) My sister-in-law announced that she is pregnant with her second child!
4) I won my first trial!
5) Renaissance Boy had another art exhibition and sold some pieces. He also scheduled a solo exhibition in February and is displaying at a charity event later this month!
6) Our first family Christmas on Christmas Eve at the house and our first Christmas morning!
7) New Years Eve Party at the house!

So now for a new year. I’m pumped for 2009 because I feel like life is settling down a bit. I am happy about this. I know that my life with Ren. Boy is never going to be boring because we love celebrating life and being young… and at this point in our lives we are pretty free to pick up and go whenever we please (aside from when work calls) because we are children free. And we try to do that when we can because this situation will likely change over the next few years. Don’t tell Ren. Boy, I’m pretty certain he would be happy with holding children off until we’re in our 40s.

And with having moved into the house, I feel less like the nomad I once was. I have a home! And, it feels like home. And I have a job that I love and that keeps me on a more regular schedule.

Having this regular schedule means that I can plan out my days with more consistency. And with no (planned) upcoming transitions I feel better able to make a plan of attack on the 25lbs I have gained over the course of law school, articling and my first 5 months as a lawyer.

FYI: This is NOT a new year’s resolution. I have made those in the past and failed miserably. It just so happens that the timing coincides with the new year. Purely coincidental – I swear.
I will be posting at least once a week on my progress because I am joining a group of fellow “Losers” (see http://www.not2us.net/losers) who will be weighing-in on a weekly basis (Fridays). I hope to continue to use my blog to post my frustrations, successes and anxieties about losing this weight. Hopefully with everyone’s support, I will be able to FINALLY reach my goal of 125lbs! Oh to be that weight again!

Moving and P90x

So I survived another P90x workout - Legs & Back. I was able to do it when I got home last night before going out with friends for the night. The workout was an hour and focused a lot on squats and lunge-type movements. The back component was mainly pull-ups/chin ups. No, I cannot do unassisted pull ups, but I can do them with the assistance of a chair that I stretch out in front of me. I can put as much or as little weight as I want on the chair and in the past when I done them, I've definitely felt sore the next day, so I know I'm still getting a workout from it. I think if at the end of this three months I can do even 2 pull ups unassisted, I will feel like I've made tons of progress. Overall the workout was not that bad. I hate wall squats and the one legged wall squats - they are so painful! And I'm pretty sure that my bum and thighs are going to be in so much pain later today - usually I feel the ache after 24 hours or more.

So as I mentioned yesterday, Ren. Boy and I bought a house. We're doing our final walk through of the house this evening since we take ownership of it in less than a week! The sellers just put a new roof on the house, which is wonderful. I guess it was damaged in one of the many hail storms that we had this past summer - which is great for us, because now we have a brand new roof! The house is on the edge of east-end Toronto and the burbs right down by the lake. It is so quiet and peaceful - I LOVE it. There is a TON of green space and beaches because it is close to the lake. In fact, there is a huge walking trail along the lake, which will be great for getting outside more.

Right now my apartment is FILLED with boxes - but I still feel like we are no where close to being totally packed. There is SO much left to do! If anyone has any tips on smooth transitioning into a new house, I'd love to hear it! We already have a party planned for my 27th bday later in November, so I want to get this place up and running pretty quick!! I do not want to be living in boxes for the next couple of months... it will feel so good to be all settled in!

Anyway, it is gorgeous outside today, and I'm only in my midtown Toronto neighbourhood for a little bit longer. I need to get outside and enjoy it while it lasts! I'm so going to miss this place.

Feeling the ache...

After aching for the past two days from the YogaX, I’m back with an update. I completed the remaining 30 minutes on the YogaX on Tuesday night and overall it was pretty good. The workout expects a lot of you. Fortunately, I have some background in yoga and am fairly flexible, so it wasn’t too bad. But for a person with no yoga training or flexibility, I think this workout would be incredibly difficult. With the workout being 90 minutes with next to no breaks, it was tough. And I’ve paid for it over this week. My body ached in places I didn’t even know could ache – but the upside is, at least I know it worked something!

Wednesday I was supposed to do the Legs & Back, and Ab Ripper workouts. This did not happen because I had to be at work very early that day and had a meeting that night, so I didn’t get home until close to midnight. So I switched my day of rest from Friday (today) to Wednesday.

Yesterday, Thursday, I did the Kenpo X. At the time I think I had a good reason for not going in the order suggested by P90x, but I can’t remember what it is now. But tonight when I get home I’m going to do the Legs & Back and Ab Ripper workouts.

KenpoX is best described as a kick-boxing type workout. There is a lot of stretching at the beginning and then you start by doing jabs, crosses, and undercuts. There is also kicking incorporated later on in the video. The workout is just under an hour and I was surprised that I didn’t find it to be very intense. I have to admit that some of the arm sequences I was HORRIBLE at, but overall, I found Kenpo to be pretty manageable. However, I was definitely sweating and getting my heart rate up, I just wasn’t exhausted.

So the plan now is this:
Friday night: Legs & Back, Ab Ripper
Saturday: Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper (doing the Ab ripper two days in a row may be too intense, but we’ll see)
Sunday: Plyometrics,
Monday: Chest & Back, Ab Ripper
Tuesday: Yoga X

…and then for next week, I’m going to try to get back to the P90x schedule, rather than my own confusing schedule!

This was a pretty boring post – sorry! I promise to post on more interesting life events later this weekend or week, such as my move next week with Ren. Boy (the hubby) into our NEW HOUSE!!