About Me

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Milton, Ontario, Canada

Monday, December 22, 2008

Dec 19-21 + Weigh-in

151.6 lbs, so yeah, 150 lbs is still taking a pass on me, but it is my own fault.

The weekend was bad. That’s it. That’s all. I’ll try to remember how it all went down.

Friday, I was fine until dinner. I ate great for B & L, in fact I had my sweet potato and black bean burrito for lunch post work out at Curves. But then, due to snowmagedon which the GTA experienced, I stayed with my folks so as not to risk the life of my small child and ended up eating two decadent chocolate chip cookies (really, the best cookies known to man-kind), and chips. While my lovely father did offer me a pop or beer, I did manage to stick to water, thus getting my 2.0L in.

It gets way worst on Saturday. Toast with PB for breakfast and a coffee. Then I picked up the husband and we had a bank appointment. We had the kid with us. We needed to go to WalMart. We decided to eat lunch there. In McDonalds. I had 4 chicken McNuggets and the equivalent of a small fry. I think I even had regular coke. On the upside, my kid at ½ a nugget which means he ate chicken for the first time voluntarily. Then we went to two Christmas open houses post nap (for the kid, not me). I guess you could say that I ate chili for dinner, which isn’t bad, but I also ate cheese, crackers, salsa dip and chips, cheese/pastry appetizer things and um 3 glasses of wine and 3 beers (shit! SHIT! There goes the no beers till Christmas goal!).

Sunday.

I had high hopes of getting on the treadmill on Sunday. I really did. But instead of waking up when my eyes opened at 6:30 am to get shit done, I took three ibuprofen and went back to sleep for two hours instead. So, six hours later I had eaten 2x rye toast with PB, 2x coffee, 2x Clementine’s and had made Choco-Banana Magic Bars, Oreo truffles (bag of Oreos, box of cream cheese, chocolate), spaghetti sauce and lasagna and had showered. Then friends came over, I ate a few appetizers (Samoa’s and cheese/pastry puff things), ONE glass of wine, salad, a piece of lasagna, 1.5 magic bars 3 Oreo truffles and a cup of tea. I’m pretty proud of the lack of booze in my meals yesterday. I likely got in 1.0L of water

Well, I guess the holiday’s and thus the holiday eating has begun. Sigh. I hope that I can get to 150 by Jan 5th. That is the goal. Eye on the prize, right? Right?

Friday, December 19, 2008

Dec 18/08

After a stellar day I had Ice Cream. Sue me, I don’t care. I was stuck on the friggen GoTrain for an hour. I got home at 7:15pm (I usually get home at 6:05pm). I didn’t drink wine and I really, REALLY wanted to.

B: Banana, Clementine
Ex: Curves, 30 min
S: Oatmeal muffin – homemade, coffee
L: Sweet potato and black bean burrito
S: Handful of almonds, Clementine
D: Tilapia, rice, broccoli
S: Ice cream

H20: 2L

The ice cream was Santa’s milk and cookies. A bit too maple-ly for me, but it was good. Not as good as boxed red wine, but at least I can stop when the bowl of ice cream is done. I would have drank about 4 glasses of the wine. I think the lesser of two evils won.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Dec 17/08

Not a bad day:

B: Oatmeal with flax seed, coffee... blah blah blah same every day
L: Sheppard's Pie
S: Clementine, handful of almonds
D: Catelli smart pasta with meat sauce
H2O: Over 2L

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Dec 16/08

What a lunch. That's all I have to say.

B: Honey bunches of oats and a banana
Ex: Curves
S: I was starving, but avoided the muffins and croissants at Starbucks and got a coffee and a mixed fruit plate instead
L: Whopper combo with diet coke. Yup. Whopper. Nope didn't forget the JR. part.
D: Curried cauliflower and sweet potato soup with dinner roll cheese sandwich.

H2O: 1.5 L

So I did awesome up until lunch. Then I sucked it at lunch. I could have made a better choice and I didn't. Sigh. Dumb. It is really no wonder that 150lbs mocks me.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

150 lbs mocks me

Weigh-in today:

151.4lbs. GAH.

I guess eating like crap all weekend doesn't help, eh? Never mind the Whopper I just ate. A FULL Whopper, not even a JR. one.

Dec 15/08

A very good day overall.

B: Oatmeal with flaxseed. This is a new oatmeal (from the bulk barn) and I didn’t like it. It was way too mushy, if that makes sense. Oh well, I’ll eat it. Perhaps it is better if it is cooked on the stove instead of in the microwave
L: Yogurt, curried cauliflower and sweet potato soup
S: Handful of almonds x2, Clementine
D: Salad, 2x sweet potato and black bean burritos

I guess it was a sweet potato day!

H2O: over 2L

Monday, December 15, 2008

Weekend of indulgences

Sat Dec 13
B: Granola bar, coffee
L: Minestrone Soup
S: Small dinner roll with brie
EX: 30 mins on treadmill – walk on incline for 5 min, run for 20 min, cool down for 5 min
D: Pork chop, sweet potatoes, corn
S: Salt and Vinegar chips
H2O: Over 2L

Sun Dec 14
B: Soft boiled egg and 2x whole wheat toast with butter
L: Minestrone Soup
S: Mouthful of black beans and one of sweet potato (from dinner I was cooking), tasting of soup, Clementine, hot chocolate with shot of Bailey’s
D: Sheppard’s Pie, glass of milk
S: Salt and Vinegar chips, 4 glasses of wine (fail! – watched the finale of Survivor)
H2O: Over 2L

Let’s look at the positives:
1) Drank 2L water both days
2) Used treadmill
3) Did not drink beer
4) Made three healthy dinners for the week

Let’s just forget about all that chip eating and wine drinking, eh?

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Dec 11/12 2008

Without much ado:

Dec 11
B: Oatmeal with flax seed and brown sugar
Ex: Curves
S: Banana, coffee, handful of almonds, yogurt
L: (Work holiday lunch) - 1 slice white meat turkey, stuffing, 1/2 plate of veggies/salad, desert plate of mixed fruit
D: Hotdog and Salad, a glass of white wine (I know, I cheated)
H2O: Over 2L

Dec 12
B: 1/2 grapefruit, oatmeal with flax seed and brown sugar
L: Salad, penne a la vodka with smoked chicken, 2 glasses of red wine (Supplier lunch), tea
S: Cheese and triscuits
D: 1/4 chicken white meat with fries from Swiss Chalet, 3 glasses of white wine
H2O: 2L - I got it in! HA!

I dunno, I guess I only get mad at myself for about 4 days at a time. I'm trying but it ain't working so well I guess. BAH. BAH. BAH.

I'm going to run now.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Dec 10/08

A good day, if I do say so myself. I'm working hard at this and it is working out.

B: 1/2 grapefruit, oatmeal with flax, brown sugar, coffee
L: Salad, Almonds ? I'm fuzzy, I can't remember what I ate for protein
S: Apple
D: Pasta with meat sauce
H2O: Over 2L

I was dizzy all day and it sucked so I didn't do the treadmill after the kid went to bed.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Dec 9/08

I was so very good. Bad at fruit though. I just could not fit it in.

B: Oatmeal with a teaspoon (like a real one, not a measuring one) of flax seeds and brown sugar, coffee
Ex: Curves
L: Leftover ham, salad with balsamic
S: Handful of sunflower seeds and almonds
D: Salad and ¼ of a rising cruse pizza
H2O: Over 2L (I stop counting at two).

Whee!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

December 8/08

I ate cake.

I know. I’m a loser. Not the right kind though. HA! The problem is that it was in the house. Left over from my dad’s surprise 70th birthday from Saturday. I gave a lot away, but we still ended up with a plate full. I guess I should throw it into the green bin, but I really HATE the idea of wasting food. GAH. On the plus side, I stayed away from the vast amounts of left over wine and beer.

B: Oatmeal, coffee
Ex: Curves
L: Salad (with cherry tomatoes – not that bad actually and cucumber – I don’t normally like either), piece of ham, olives
S: Grapefruit, no sugar
D: Slice of ham, 4 meatballs, scalloped potatoes (1/2 cup), mixed veggies (1/2 cup) – yes there are a LOT of leftovers from the party.
S: Cake. That yummy Costco kind with the lemon middle. God, Costco makes an awesome cake for $20!
H2O: 1.5L

You know, I never ever thought that I had food/emotional problems. I never thought I was an emotional eater. But I’ve come to realize that when I was a kid, my biggest reward would be staying up to watch the Dukes of Hazard eating salt and vinegar chips and drinking ½ a can of Canada Dry. I guess this is why the night time is such a problem for me. I still look forward to a good episode of Lost and lots of buttery popcorn and wine. I have to break myself of that habit. I have to ensure that my kid doesn’t get into it either.

Monday, December 8, 2008

153.6 - Dec 8/08

Sigh. Big fucking sigh. Remember all of those lovely words about not berating myself and not “dieting”? Well forget it. I’m mad. I’m mad that I have lost a measly 3 lbs and I can only blame myself and my horrid diet. I need to take control of what I’m eating and drinking. I need to stop making excuses for myself and patting myself on the back just because I go to Curves three time a week. I’m not an idiot. I know I need to have the diet part right in order to loose any weight at all. So, it’s a bad time of year (Christmas), who cares? I decide what I put in my mouth and what I don’t. So I am going to set some new goals.

1) Drink 2L of water a day – something so easy to achieve, yet I suck at it time and time again
2) Eat fruit and veggies ever day. Veggies are easy for me. I can take a salad for lunch every day and be happy, plus we usually have 1-2 vegetables at dinner every night. It is the fruit. I need to add fruit back into my morning breakfast rotation and my afternoon snacks
3) Snack – on healthy things. No more 2pm runs to Second cup for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies – I need to buy some nuts to keep in my desk
4) Give up beer. SIGH. I will not drink a beer until Christmas day. I swear.
5) Wine is for weekends – and there is no need to exceed 2 glasses
6) Get on the treadmill at LEAST 1x a week. I bought the damned thing; I should be using it WAY more.
7) Keep going to Curves 3x a week. Push myself every time.
8) Keep the blog/tracking UP. I must be accountable to me.

So there it is. All on the line. I weigh-in again on Jan 5th. I’m aiming for 148 lbs. I will get there.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Dec 3/08

B: Oatmeal, coffee
EX: 30 minutes at Curves
L: Yogurt, wild mushroom soup – homemade
S: Bag of zesty cheese Doritos (sheepish - but I was a little hung over and in need of salt), Clementine
D: Tilapia, rice, peas, 2 small cookies (I got a Christmas basket on Monday – bah)
H20: 1.5L

As long as I’m not eating Doritos every day, I guess it is okay to indulge once in a while. I must keep my eyes on the under 150lbs goal!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Dec 1 & 2 2008

Dec 1st. Ah Monday a new day, a new week, a time to stay on track!

B: Cheerios, coffee
EX: curves 30 min
L: Yogurt, wild mushroom soup
S: Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie
D: Chicken, baked, rice, broccoli
S: cookies – those cigarette things with chocolate inside of them. I dunno, like five? They’re small, glass of milk
H20: 2L

Dec 2nd
B: Oatmeal
S: Chai latte – YUM
L: Beef curry with potatoes and tomatoes and spinach
S: Zero Nestea iced tea, Clementine
D: 2x sushi, 3x shrimp, Beef tenderloin, ½ plate of mixed veg, mashed potatoes 5x beer, 1 glass of red wine, popcorn. Dude, I was at Neil freaking Diamond. It was all free. I indulged. See my weigh-in stats. I’m allowed!

Am working on a cerbal post... stay tuned to my non-readers! HA!

Monday, December 1, 2008

There is good news…

I had my first “Weight and Measurement” report today. I should have had one on November 1st, but missed it. Ooops.

Anyway, I’m down 2.25 inches, 4.8 lbs, and 2.3% body fat. I’ve been to Curves 20 times since joining. That includes a week in Scotland.

Woot, Woot (this is the sound of my horn tooting).

Now, to keep it up over the holidays.

Nov 30/08

B: Soft boiled egg, 2x whole wheat toast with butter (aka dippy soldiers), OJ, coffee
L: 3 chicken fingers that my kid wouldn’t eat at my work’s kids Christmas party, coffee.
S: Handful of nuts, beer.
D: Ground beef curry made with potatoes, tomatoes, onions and spinach served with whole wheat naan bread. Angel food cake topped with strawberries, blueberries and cool whip (man, its Sunday – desert is allowed).

EX: None. I wrote Christmas cards instead.

H2O: 1L.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Nov 27, 28, 29

It occurs to me that I haven't tracked in a few days... this may be blurry...

....

okay, it is... suffice to say I've been okay, but have had some booze and snacks (uh, like right now).

I did work out 4x during the week. I'm freaking proud about that!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Plateau

Weighed-in today at 152.4lbs… the same as last week. I found the paper where my weigh in from last week was written down. I feel… okay about it. I can’t seem to crack 150lbs… soon I hope!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Nov 25/08

A good day:

B: Clementine, yogurt
EX: Curves
B #2: Coffee, Nature Valley Sweet and Salty bar in peanut
L: Miso soup and sushi - this is the first time I have ever enjoyed sushi... YUM... I probably had like 8 pieces, mini cream brulee x2, decaf coffee
D: Stuffed pasta shells, two chicken and veg, one beef, one cheese, glass of red wine

H2O: Likely a little under 2L
S:Halloween bag of chips - the last one!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Nov 24/08

So, I made it to the gym on Friday and weighed in at like 151.4lbs or 152.4lbs. Then I spent the weekend eating and drinking and staying up late and not exercising (unless you count the 3 hours of cleaning).

Anyway, back to the work week:

B: 1 1/4 pieces of toast with butter and peanut butter (my kid ate the other 3/4), coffee
L: Turkey and bacon club from Tim Horton's with a whole wheat bun, coffee
I did drink about 1L of water
Ex: 30 minutes on the treadmill - I ran for 18 minutes straight... I am awesome!
D: Homemade baked chicken fingers, sweet potato wedges and broccoli, 1/2 a vanilla dip donut, glass of milk.

I say it is an okay day.

Friday, November 21, 2008

The week that was...

Yeah, yeah, I've not posted this week. Meh. I've had a seriously disillusionment with the internets on Friday evening/Saturday that left me swearing off imaginary friends and conversations all together. But really, who cares who knows what I eat for God's sake?

Monday: write off - McDonald's for breakfast, Mr. Sub for lunch, ACC box for dinner. 8 beers.

Tuesday: Ugg... I'm sure I ate "okay" on Tuesday, don't remember it though

Wednesday: I made it to the gym this day. Lunch was out at a lovely restaurant and I had a salad with buffalo mozzarella and a Stilton and brisket burger - freaking awesome burger. Dinner was home made burritos. Yum.

Thursday: I went to the gym again and ate rice krispies and blueberries for breakfast, a yogurt for snack, salad, brie and crackers for lunch and a clementine for snack. Dinner was sweet potato and black been burritos and some fries. I did drink two glasses of wine and have some blue menu pretzels.

So that was my week so far.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Weigh-In Nov 14/08

152.2lbs.

I'll take it.

November 13/08

Not a bad day at all. I have a horrid cold. I don't want to eat or work out, but meh.

B: Oatmeal and fruit salad
S: Clementine
EX: 30 minutes at Curves
L: 2 stuffed shells
D: 2x eggs, whole grain toast with butter and um 5x bacon. BACON! Clementine.

S: Rye and gingerale. To help me with the cold.

H20: 1L

2x at the gym this week! If I make it tomorrow, I'm back on the three week bandwagon! Woo!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

November 12, 2008

Not a bad day. I woke up with a freaking cold and was late so no breakfast at home. Actually, I didn't feel hungry all day.

B: English muffin with cheese, coffee
L: Curried cauliflower and sweet potato soup with mixed green salad with light lemon dressing.
S: Clementine
D: Beef stew with potatoes, carrots and cauliflower. Fruit salad.

H2O: 2L.

I had brought my bag to go the the gym, but my heart wasn't in it. I was pathetic with my cold. Meh.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

November 11, 2008

Today I hosted a playdate at my house because as a bank worker I had the day off. It was a great day with so much food, and I think I did okay.

B: Banana and rice krispies, coffee
L: Some olives, some veggies and dip (likely 5-6 sticks), salami and provolone sandwich, one chocolate chip cookie.
S: Clementine orange. YUM. Coffee
D: Pizza - frozen kind, 3 slices

H2o - likely less than a litre.

I didn't go on the treadmill because my company stayed until it was time to wake up my kid from his nap, but it was a fun day and I ended up sending most leftovers home with people and keeping things like the clementines and the fruit salad.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Nov 10, 2008

Discovered today that I'm not doing so well.

Anyway.

B: Oatmeal and banana
EX: 30 minutes at Curves
L: Curried Cauliflower and Sweet potato soup, 3 ryvita's with cream cheese and salami
D: 3 stuffed shells - one with beef, two with cheese and a small piece of cheese cake.

H20: 2L.

Tonight was a write off cause I was out shopping until 8pm. I just had leftovers which means not a lot of veg or fruit in the day. Sigh. I MUST get back on track!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Weigh in (November 10, 2008) or, the proof is in the Halloween Candy

153.8lbs.

Yikes.

My first thought was to blame it on that time of the month. I have dismissed that notion though because quite obviously the crap I’ve been eating in the past few weeks is the real reason behind the gain.

I think it stands to remind me that I just need to be diligent. And that is a combination of working out and eating right. Also according to someone, I should eat more protein. Hmmm. I’m not hungry at all most times, but I get that that is a link between wanting sweet things and not enough protein. So I’ll put that notion to test this week.

It’s been a month and a week (though one week was spend abroad) for a net loss of 2.8lbs which is shy of my 5 lbs a month goal, but let’s reflect on the good:

1) Joined and have habitually gone to Curves
2) Purchased a treadmill and have used it, but need to use it more (and attempt to get the husband on it)
3) Am eating healthier (on the whole) and am enjoying great new recipes
4) Am still motivated to continue onward

So, not too bad for a month or so of change to lifestyle.

Hmm, change is quite the buzzword this later half of 2008, eh?

Thursday, November 6, 2008

November 5/08

Whee, not at all a bad, bad day... not a great one either, but meh. I'm not worrying about it any more.

B: Oatmeal, coffee
L: Scallops with mushrooms, sweet potatoes and veggie tempura and rock shrimp. I was at a Japanese restaurant. One glass of wine.
D: Chicken pot pie (homemade with low fat soup, not gravy) and fries.

3x Halloween chocolate bars

H2O: over 2L.

We shall see what the scale says.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Nov 3 & 4 2008

Catching up.

Nov 3:

B: Oatmeal, apple, coffee
L: Salad with Balsamic and multigrain dinner roll
S: Granola bar
D: Calazone
S: 2 halloween bags of chips, 2 bags of candy, 2 chocolate bars
H20: 2L

Nov 4:
B: Oatmeal, banana, coffee
L: 3x Ryevita with cream cheese and salami - YUM!
Ex: Curves 30 min
S: Granola Bar
D: Talipia, rice, broccoli

S: 2x rye and coke zero, 2x halloween chocolate 1x halloween skittles

H20 1L

BAH. Can't wait to step on the scale on Friday....

Friday, October 31, 2008

Oct 29 and 30/08

A bit behind. Hope I remember everything:

Oct 29:

B: 1/2 grapefruit and oatmeal, coffee
EX: 30 minutes Curves
L: Small dinner roll and mushroom soup
S:Yoghurt, apple
D: Asian beef stirfry from ESBM

H20: at least 2L

Snack: bag of walkers 2 Halloween chocolate bars, a beer

Oct 30:
B: Cheese Croissante, coffee
L: Mushroom Soup
S: Full crispy crunch bar
Ex: Walking 3.5 hours.
D: Catelli pasta with homemade veggie and meat sauce

S: popcorn, 2x Halloween chocolate bars.

I'm not dieting on Oct 31st. Screw it.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

October 28/08

Posting quickly as I'm about to go home for the day:

B: 1/2 grapefruit
Ex: Curves 30 min.
B#2: Yoghurt and banana bread (home made with chocolate chips)
L: Salad and ham sandwich
Drinks: 1 cosmo (sadly not home made and thus with little "punch"), 1 wine
D: Spring rolls and pad thai (yum!)

H2O: Over 2L

I went to see A Chorus Line with a friend thus the drinks and Thai... it was yummy though!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Oct 27/08

Well, I’m back on track. Of course I am its Monday. I always do well at the beginning of the week because I get so mad at myself for the weekend. Oh well. Slow and steady is what is going to happen here. It is not like I’m going to lose 20lbs in four weeks. That’d be awesome though!

B: ½ grapefruit and oatmeal, coffee
L: Salad with balsamic dressing, 3 ryvita’s with cream cheese
D: Tilapia, rice and corn

At least 2L of H2O

Ex: 20 minutes walking on inclined treadmill.

A great day! Now, to keep it up is the key!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Oct 24-26/08

Okay, so I'm not going to diet on weekends. Yup. That's it, that's all. I said it. So there.

Oct 24:

B: 1/2 grapefruit, oatmeal, coffee
S: Pressed fruit, 2 Halloween chocolate bars
Ex: 30 minutes Curves
L: Tuna Sandwich, 500mL chocolate milk
D: Tuna Casserole at my parents

2x Rye and coke zero, 1x beer (or two?), Tostitos and salsa

Oct 25:
B: 1/2 grapefruit and oatmeal, coffee
L: Croissant with ham and cheese
S: Tostitos and salsa
D: Bread roll, pasta, chicken parm, Caesar salad, beans, potato, cheesecake, tea (I was at a banquet)

Drinks: 3 cosmos (homemade!), 2 or 3 fuzzy navels, 3 or 4 glasses of red wine.... I did dance though!

Oct26:
B: 1 slice toast and peanut butter, coffee
L: Croissant with fried egg, ham and cheese
S: Small bag of Walkers, beer
D: Roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, mashed turnips, carrots, ice cream, tea (dinner with my folks!)
S: Small bag of Walkers

GAH! Oh well, I’m back on that wagon. And will be on the treadmill tonight.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Weigh-In Oct 24/08

If I ever needed confirmation that food counts, today's weigh-in did it:

153.2.

So, 4oz lost since Tuesday, which isn't bad, but I was hoping for more. Anyway, I'm back on track for Friday weigh-ins now.

Oct 22,23/08

Yup, blogging early in the AM for me. Might as well get this over with as the past two days have me off the wagon and watching it speed away. Sigh. I said I wouldn't berate myself or diet in the traditional sense, but you know a lifestyle change is still a change and not exactly an easy one. I've been thinking lately about the "pressure to be thin.” You know that stuff you read about in the paper or see in the media about how girls have all of this pressure to be thin to look like Lindsay Lohan or whatever. Well, just because you are an assured, confidant “woman” doesn’t mean that pressure goes away. It just changes.

Now, the pressure for me is to be healthy so that I can keep up with my kid. To have an active lifestyle to set an example for my kid. To eat well so that my kid learns good eating habits. That kind of pressure sucks because no amount of growing up can change it. I remember a woman I used to work with who didn’t have a problem with her weight or anything, but ate a lot of crap and loved the chocolate and chips. She used to hide in her kitchen and sneak stuff so that her kids didn’t see her. But they knew. They’d call out and ask her if she was eating chocolate in the kitchen and she quickly hide the evidence and deny. She’d let her kid have treats, but she didn’t control her own intake like she did theirs.

On the flip side, I remember a family I used to know whose kids would beg for fruit after dinner as that was always their desert. Not bad, not bad at all. We don’t deny our child cookies or ice cream from time to time, but most nights he has yogurt for desert. Of course most nights he eats grilled cheese or hotdogs for dinner, but I digress.

I guess the point is that I’m not going to change overnight. If I keep going to Curves that is a huge step in the right direction. The food stuff will sort itself out or it won’t, but it is not like I ever ate McDonald’s 3x a day or anything (even when I worked there).

Oct 22:
B: ½ grapefruit, oatmeal, coffee
L: Butter chicken and brown rice from ESBM
S: Other ½ of my chocolate bar and yogurt
D: ¼ chicken white meat and fries with Chalet sauce from Swiss Chalet, my kid ate the bun. Swiss Chalet is like fast food porn for me. I could likely eat it every other day for a long time. I love the Chalet sauce. I love the fries; I’ve even learned to love the new bun although I still miss the old hamburger bun. The only sadness is that they changed their Caesar salad dressing so that delight is no longer the same.
H2O: About a litre or a bit more
Ex: Nothing

Oct 23:
B: ½ grapefruit
Ex: Curves circuit 30 minutes
2nd B: Homemade pumpkin and nut spice muffin (thanks mum!), coffee
L: Salad with balsamic dressing and 3 ryevita’s with cream cheese
S: Yogurt and apple
(see, I’m on fire so far here!)
D: Chicken Chili – I put cheese and sour cream on it… I have to admit.
Now, things keep tumbling:
S: 2 beers and 2 small bags of Walkers chips (crisps) brought home from Scotland. One was plain but the other was the delightful cheese and onion flavour that only the Brits get right. God, I love them more than salt and vinegar I think. The only draw back is that you have the aftertaste for the entire next day.
H2O: Over 1L

Writing it all out, it doesn't actually seem that bad anymore. Only the scale will tell me for sure.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Oct 21/08

I freaking hate dieting. It really freaking SUCKS Monkey balls. SUCKS I say.

Anyway, good news is that I maintained save a few oz on holiday. I weighed myself at Curves and was 153.6, so I gained like 2 oz. Yeah me!

B: 1/2 grapefruit, H2O
EX: Curves circuit x2
B#2: Oatmeal, tea
L: Salad with balsamic dressing, 3 ryevita toasts with cream cheese
S: 1/2 a dove dark chocolate bar (dieting sucks), 225 cals, 16.5 g of fat
D: Pasta (white pasta - fuck off) with homemade meat/veggie sauce

H2O - a bit over a litre

I went to bed at like 9pm. Shouldn't I be getting MORE energy from eating right and exercising etc? I dunno this doesn't seem to be working out that way. Of course my size 12 cream pants from Cleo are super loose today. Bonus! I guess. I like those pants. I wonder if I'll be able to have them tailored once there is less of me? Only time will tell I guess.

Oh and I hate dieting in the worst way. I want chips and pop and booze and CRAP. I have to walk by a McDonalds 2x a day and while I'm not usually one for the McDick craving, a hashbrown ALWAYS seems like a great idea. God I love hashbrowns.

Christ, I'm freaking doomed if I plateau.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Oct 20, 2008

Well, after a week in the land of deep fried Mars bars (Scotland), I'm pleased to say I'm right back in the swing of things in terms of eating right (almost)

B: 1/2 grapefruit, oatmeal, coffee
L: Mixed green salad, balsamic dressing, hard boiled egg
S: Tea and chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie
S: Apple
D: Curried cauliflower and sweet potato soup with a ham and Swiss sandwich
W: 1L

One Tom Collins, one girly martini (I met up with a friend).

I did okay in Scotland, I guess. I ate a lot of crap: Chips, fish and chips, chips, beer, more beer etc and didn't actually do much walking (touring with the ILs involved lots of driving and not much else). But I'm sure it could have been much, much worst. I'm sure. Only the scale will tell. Anyway, the point is this is a lifestyle change and life doesn't stop on vacation, but I do think it is okay to pause it. A bit.

Friday, October 10, 2008

October 9, 2008

Well, I managed to make it out of bed at 5:30am despite my love of the red wine the night before. I felt okay which probably means I was still a bit drunk.

So without further adieu:

B: Nature Valley Sweet and Salty peanut granola bar, whole grapefruit
L: Curried Cauliflower and Sweet Potato soup
S: Yoghurt
D: Beef and Veggie Stew

H20: Over 2L
Ex: 30 minutes at Curves in the AM.

I feel great that I made it in despite falling way off of the wagon last night. I can do this! I can!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

October 8, 2008

Well, I guess if I'm going to cheat, I might as well go whole hog. Crazy, crazy day:

B: 1/2 grapefruit and oatmeal (so far, so good)

L: Girls lunch out - Mushroom and arugula salad. Veal, 1/2 a foccacia bun and more salad, sparkling water.

D: (at McDonalds with the kid). Side garden salad with a touch of dressing (I even ate the tomatoes!), small hamburger (250 cals, 8 grms of fat) and some fries - not even 1/2 a small. Shared a chocolate milk with the kid.

Then! Oh God!

Cheesies (I can't taste anything, why the fuck and I eating cheesies?).

And 5 glasses of red wine. Needless to say I did not hit the basement treadmill last night. Ah well, such is life.

When I started down this path I said I wasn't going to diet. I was going to try to avoid booze during the week (whoops) and beer in totality. I'm not a berater. I won't berate myself for "falling off the wagon". Whatever if you can't give yourself room for some movement then you'll never succeed as a whole. And I'm about success with this thing. So a pig out once in a while is okay in my books. Besides, its not like I'm going to give up wine and cheesies for life. Crap, that would suck. A lot.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

October 7, 2008

B: 1/2 grapefruit

EX: 30 min circut at Curves. Whee! I feel awake and alive all morning

B#2: Oatmeal

L: Mushroom soup, multigrain dinner roll

S: Apple

D: Curried Cauliflower and sweet potato soup.

H2O: over 2L

Gosh I wanted beer and junk last night. BAD! But, I stuck it out and didn't have any! Yippee!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

October 6, 2008

Not a bad day, but it ended worst than it should have:

B: 1/2 grapefruit, oatmeal
L: Mushroom soup from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry. Very yummy.
S: Pear
D: One chicken wing, stick of celery, individual spicy perogy pizza from Boston Pizza, 980 cal, 45 grams of fat. BLAH. 1/2 pint of sprite.

EX: 30 minute walk/run on the treadmill

I drank 2L of water as well.

I KNEW I'd be bad at BP, but I didn't HAVE to. I could have decided on a salad or made my own pizza with more veg and less uh, potatoes. Choices, choices, choices... only I can make them.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

the weekend

Friday night: Pizza. Bad, I know 2.5 slices. Not too bad

Saturday:

B: 1.5 toast + PB
L: 2 slices pizza
D: Left over lasagna
S: Chips and licorice. And a beer A write off!

Sunday:
B: 1/2 grapefruit and 1 toast +PB (natural stuff)
L: Bacon and cheese sandwich. GAH!
S: An apple
D: Salmon, rice, asparagus

EX: walked around a farm with kids for 2 hours. Spent two hours standing to make healthy soup. Not bad, especially with a cold.

Friday, October 3, 2008

A whole new world

So, I weigh 156.6 lbs at five feet tall and have decided to do something about it.

Herein I will track myself.

Friday, October 3rd, 2008:

B: Honey Bunches of Oats with milk (will buy better cereal this weekend)

S: Coffee, apple

W/O: Curves - 1 learning circut, 1 real circut

L: Left over lasagna - homemade with loads of veggies, water.

Proud moment: Turned down chocolate Bday cake from our VP as it was his Bday.

This is the start, let's see where it goes!

Monday, June 9, 2008

The Age of Millennials

So, through Twitter I found a great piece about Millennials entering the workforce and the companies who are bending over backwards to accommodate these "Kids".

Now, depending on whose definition you believe, I may in fact be part of this Millennial group. I was born in 1977, which is really on the cusp as most feel that this group was born on or after 1980. I can tell you that if I AM part of this group, I relate not at all.

The thing with Millennials is that they are full of entitlement. They honestly believe that they are doing you a favour by showing up to work and well, WORKING. They DO think that because they have spent three or four years at post-secondary that they should waltz into a job, make around $30k and be immediately recognized for promotion and raises. How do I know this? I work in the media arm of a large advertising agency.

This place is CRAWLING with Millennials. They show up to work around 9:07am with their ear buds firmly in place and their Chuck Taylor's on their feet and blankly shuffle to their cubes to begin their workday (not before signing into messenger, checking their Gmail, Facebook and other social networks I'm not cool enough to know about). The girls likely have about 14 pairs of jeans worth almost $3,000 in total. They wear these jeans EVERY. DAY. The attitude is, I'm not important enough yet to see the client, so why should I bother "dressing up"? Besides, my jeans cost me $275.

They are petulant and fear real work. Other manager's and I sympathise on who exactly to motivate these people for fear of job loss doesn't seem to do it. They want sunshine, rainbows, free drinks, $5K raises, they want a step by step guide on how to perform their jobs and they want you to hold their hands while the do it.

My company though, does not subscribe to the "experts" teaching us how to "work" with this group as shown in the video. We are after all, advertisers and we do enough focus groups and studies internally or through clients to know who to work with these kids. No need to pay someone ELSE to tell us how they tick.

Of course, I'd be remiss to not point out that not every kid born between 1980-90 has this entitled attitude. Perhaps their parents taught them that second and third place DOES exist. Perhaps they had to actually type their own book reports cause Mommy (or Daddy) refused to. Perhaps this is not exactly a trend and every generation has these entitled types and we are only just calling them out now?

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

I do want a blackberry, but...

I don't want to turn into a rude person who can't function without checking it every five minutes.

Yesterday I went to an industry luncheon event that was about three hours long. There was a "networking reception" (read - Free Booze), followed by lunch/intro speeches, followed by a keynote speech.

During the networking reception various people were using their technology, checking in with work emails or calling people along with schmoozing, drinking and general faking loving everyone within a 10 foot radius. I think that use of the blackberry is fine. I mean, you're at an event that is taking you away from work for a number of hours. You likely aren't going to be able to excuse yourself at any other time to take a look at your emails or make any urgent calls, so why not do it during the casual part of the luncheon.

But it seems that people have lost the art of being "disconnected". During lunch and the opening remarks I saw a few people brave the blackberry check, but most made an attempt at discretion holding the devise under the table and only briefly checking in with glances.

It was during the keynote where things went downhill. To say that the keynote speaker was awful would be an understatement. Obviously the organizers of the event believed she would be a great speaker, after all she came with all of the right credentials and was in a position powerful enough that she had to have spent many hours in front of groups presenting or giving speeches. In truth she was horrid. Ironically the speech was on "Engagement".

No one in the room was engaged after about 10 minutes due to her rambley, off-point, inside joke type of speech. And that was when the mass blackberring began. As I don't own such a device, I got to look around the room as people grew bolder and bolder in their use of the device. Maybe they were linking to the websites detailed in her speech... or not.

At my table of 8, only two of us didn't check in (and I would have been twittering away if I actually HAD a blackberry). The girl beside me was engaged in an IM conversation. The man I was sitting beside was setting up meetings for later in the week. All around the room of 600, people were doing the same. Then, then! The speaker pulled out her iPhone (with a point related to her speech, I'm guessing) and got distracted by her Twitter updates and IM pings! EVEN the speaker was lured by the technology.

So does it prove her point? Is Engagement, true engagement when people can't even go to a luncheon anymore without interacting with your product/brand? Have we forgotten our manners? Is blackberring during these situations rude?

People blackberry in meetings all the time. It really pisses me off. Don't come to the meeting if you're too busy. We're in advertising. No one is going to die because you didn't respond to an email right away. I find it plain rude. I bet that some people would even blackberry at a wedding or funeral!

I have a boss who has a device but never, ever takes it out during meetings. When my boss decides to attend something, my boss ATTENDS with full engagement. I really feel that it shows a certain level of class and position to do so. If I ever do get a blackberry it is my goal to follow the example of my boss, not that of the plethora of people in my industry.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Work Boyfriend (WBF)

Do you have one? I do.

Kinda.

The work boyfriend is the guy who you hang out with at work, going for coffee's, lunch, smokes etc. You chat on MSN and gossip about co-workers.

You are both in relationships or married, but if you weren't....

Anyway, my WBF and I don't work together and never have. He is a supplier to me and we just happened to hit it off immediately and thus became friends outside of work. We go out for drinks and lunch and he came to my wedding. He complains about work and life and I do the same to him. We offer each other a sympathetic, other-sex ear.

My marriage doesn't suffer as a result of my WBF. In fact, my husband doesn't care about our 'relationship' at all. I guess our marriage is solid enough for any stupid bouts of jealousy like that. I'm not sure what my WBF's wife thinks of us. To be honest I've never really met her, nor has WBF met my husband. The only exception was the brief time we spent with them at our wedding.

I'm about to head out for lunch with him right now. We should have gone out drinking but things have not worked out for us to get together in the past month or so and thus we are conceding to lunch instead. I'm sure a pint of two will be consumed, but it is not the same thing.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

I am a Suburbanite

Yes. Yes I am.

And I like it damnit.

With a few exceptions I have lived in suburban COTU all of my life. For all my protests about wanting to live in the downtown core proper, I am a suburbanite at heart.

I like my new subdivision with the view of farmland/the Niagara Escarpment in the distance. I like the fact that we live on a street with families. I don't mind the fact that there are only about 10 house designs and I live in a "cookie cutter" home. I like shopping at WalMart, Food Basics, HomeSense. I like eating at Swiss Chalet and East Side Mario's. I prefer to do my baking via a drive thru facility.

Of course, my little town has a lot of "little town" amenities even though my little town was the fastest growing suburb according to the 2006 Census. We have a weekly farmer's market from May-October. We are close to hiking, a (man made) beach, rock climbing, mountain biking, skiing (if you want to call it that), farm with pick your own options yet we are still only 45 minutes away from Toronto. We still have a true "downtown" strip with little shops and stand alone restaurants. Perhaps this has skewed my view of living in the 'burbs.

All I know is when I am at work and we begin to discuss targeting, we inevitably end up in a debate about the urban dwellers versus the suburban dwellers. Many truly believe that if you want to reach the young, hip, early adopters you will be only able to reach them in the true COTU, not in the outskirts. I vehemently disagree. Sure, I'm a 31 year old married mum who owns a home and drives a micro-van. But I wasn't always. I was also a young, hip, chick who had loads of discretionary income and lots of opportunity to spend it. All while living in the suburbs. Just because I don't have a "M" postal code doesn't mean that I'm not worth advertising something "cool" to. Just because I decided to put my roots down 40km away doesn't mean that my life is over and I'll never purchase a non-big box product again.

Just keep it in mind. There are loads of people 18-34 in the 'burbs. And we like it. And we'd like you to understand and talk to us too.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

I do have ideas for posts

I swear, I do. I started the blog at a bad time. Moving one week and a wedding the next with house guests bridging that gap and the hard drive exploding as well.

I want to talk about a slew of things including:

1) Green musings
2) Age appropriate dress in the work place
3) Social media - the buzzword de jour
4) Kids
5) Suburbia
6) The North American view (from a Canadian perspective).

Promise to get to some of it.

Starting soon or next week at latest.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

I've always been a joiner

Really, I have. Of course, I consider myself a leader as well which is why I'd like to create this blog. It'll be random musings about all kinds of stuff and may or may not be of any interest to anyone other than myself, but really who cares? Much like the ever-talked about "viral campaigns" in my day job... if you try to create something that will be passed along or spoken about, it never will be. Things like that must grow organically to be of any value to anyone.

And so and introduction of sorts: I'm 31, a mum, an urbanite trapped in a suburban home (though willingly and without much fight), I work in advertising and read with a ready and varied appetite. I will blog about any randomness that I like and attempt to provide myself with a forum for bettering my writing along with a place to keep my thoughts for prosperity.