As Summer Comes to an End

As summer comes to an end I am actually feeling really good. September has always felt like a new start to me (probably because I spent 18 of my 31 years in school) and with September I always find myself refocused. This September is no different. I'm not sure if it is just because I got back from two weeks holidays or if it is the fact that September is here, but I'm motivated, excited and ready to take on the world again.

In order to take advantage of my new found focus I have remastered my plans for weight loss. I struggled some over the summer which is normal for me, but I will say I'm extremely happy with the last two weeks. While on vacation normally I would use the excuse of being on holidays to do a free for all on any food that comes into my path but not this time. I stopped tracking my food but I was mentally aware of what I was eating. I made sure to keep up with my activity and tried to balance out the drinking and the bad choices with twice as many good choices. In the end it all paid off and I only gained 1 pound while I was on holidays. I know it is still a gain but compared to past vacation this is a big win for me.

Anyway I digress and should get back to my new plan. I have tweaked my exercise routine to adjust to the fact that I don't have my roller skating pass anymore. I am still going to be skating at least once a week on Wednesdays, but I am also budgeting to go once every two weeks on a weekend, just to keep it up. For September when it comes to working out my goal is pretty simple - just to keep on moving. I have decided to move my work outs back to the evening right after I get home from work so I can sleep in. I have also worked in a mix of my DVDs as well as my treadmill and of course skating to keep everything fresh and fun. I'm hoping in shifting everything around it will help kick start my weight loss again for the fall.

Of course exercise is only part of the equation in losing weight. I have also tweaked my plans for food. I have made a bet with myself that I will not eat out anywhere for the entire month of September. I have found that over the summer I was getting increasingly lazy when it came to cooking and was more likely to grab something out (especially for lunches) then I was to make anything. So to combat that I have come up with a schedule where I will cook and freeze meals on the weekend. I'm taking the lazy factor out of the equation. I'm going to make it fool proof to eat really good food, quick and easy.

I love food and I'm tired of avoiding that fact. I can love food and still lose weight. It is way more satisfying to eat really good food in smaller portion than it is to eat OK food in large portions. We all have to eat so we might as well just chose the things that make us feel good about eating and still let us become healthy. It is my opinion that it is better to really enjoy your food than to eat something because you should or for any of the other reasons people eat. For me I have found that in letting myself enjoy things like the occasional dessert or some chips that I keep myself from going crazy and binging.

This September I invite you all to join me in giving up fast food and try to create meals that are substantial, healthy and really good. I had said at the beginning of the summer that I was going to start to including recipes and I will make an effort to share my recipes with you all this month, to help you find great food that comes from our own kitchens.

Highs and Lows; Ups and Downs

Well it is a long overdue entry and for that I apologize. The last 3 weeks have been crazy both for my weight loss and for my life.

My weight bounced up during Stampede (oops...damn Bon Jovi making me go to the grounds to tempt me) but has since come back down. It has been a bit of a struggle because with the summer heat my desire to work out has diminished. The saving grace though has been roller skating. I have been going pretty much three times a week since the start of July and have been loving it. I am getting better each time I go. My balance has come leaps and bounds since the first time I tried for my birthday. I also can do more laps with less break time. I fully plan to continue with skating. I am even planning on buying skates when I come back from my holidays. In terms of my weight for the next couple of weeks I'm just hoping to stay the same as I'm about to go on holidays. I figure because I will be visiting my family I should be ok in terms of food choices so as long as I can keep somewhat active I should be good to go and should have good news for you when I return.

In terms of life I have had some pretty busy weeks. I got to experience something I never thought possible and something that I will remember forever. I got to be up close and personal with a couple of bears.


These pictures were taken at a place called Discovery Wildlife Park. I love bears so I was so excited, although I will admit it is pretty scary to be that close to bears, even if you do know that they have been trained to act in movies and be around people. The whole day at the park was wonderful. You are much closer to the animals then you are at the zoo so it was a very neat place to go and play with my camera. This is definitely one of the highlights of my staycation summer.

Another fun part to the last couple weeks was a visit down to Lethbridge. I always love going down to visit and hang out, getting to spend time with old friends and of course my adopted niece...hehehe. It is hard to believe she turned two though. It seems like just yesterday that we found out Artemis was on her way. I think the best part about visiting right now is just seeing how a two year old explores the world. There is something fascinating about how they play, explore and live in the world. It makes for a fun weekend.

In spite of the good I have had my share of bad days in the last few weeks. Between the ever wonderful joys of work and teenage girls that are ignorant and rude there have been days where I have just wanted to toss my hands in the air and quit. The good news is though that I have great friends to vent to and to remind me of what really matters. But really I have become very good and shrugging the negative off and leaving it in the past where it belongs. Not always an easy task but I recommended everyone learns how to accomplish this. It really does make it easier to be happy and keep focusing on moving forward rather than living in the past.

Anyway on that note I need to say good-bye for now. I have to get ready to go see Backstreet Boys. I'm super excited, I have loved them for years and this is the first time I'm actually going to see them in concert :-) I will try to write again while I'm on holidays but it will likely be after I get back from BC.