Blah...

That's how I have felt lately. First off I have been working very hard to finish my English class this past week. I had my final exam last Saturday, and one final essay that had to be handed in this week (and I just finished it last night). Can I say how much I hate essays? Especially on novels I didn't enjoy? /cough "The Stone Angel /cough...

I'm back up again, but only .5 pounds, so I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I have been very happy with my food choices lately. Of course mostly it's because I have been feeling so cruddy I've really only wanted to eat simple things like raw fruits and vegetables. Smoothies have been a lifesaver! I am so glad I have a really great blender and a freezer full of frozen fruit (thanks to a really awesome sale on Europe's Best Frozen Fruit at Metro this week!)

I have been having a lot of digestion issues again, which is probably why I am enjoying the smoothies and raw food so much. So much easier to digest! I am feeling bloated and cranky and just plain yucky. I am going to see my doctor soon to check on things and make sure we are still pretty good. She also wants to give me a "thumbs up" before I start my new exercise program. I guess that's cool. I really wanted to start by now, but she will yell at me if I do. (She's a really great doctor...I adore her to pieces.)

So yeah...that's me in a nutshell this week. I am down to having only one course active (Taxation) which is MUCH better for my stress levels. Trying to do two and sometimes three at a time is just insane. Maybe by only having one on the go it will actually make me more productive on that one course.. We shall see...

Let's hope I get the all clear and can get back to normal next week! It will be great to Blog my progress under my new workout program!

Yo-yo

Yup...that's what I feel like. I'm ok with it...for now...but damn this has got to change!

Happily I am down this week. Down 2.2 pounds to be exact. This gives me great hope since I haven't even started my new exercise program (ChaLEAN). I have been doing really really well with food however. Michael (my boyfriend) and I have agreed to try to stay away from takeout food as much as possible. We have been way too reliant on it, always making excuses for why we can't make our own dinner most nights. And of course it's always BS. Unless I was stuck on the subway underground until after 8 p.m. at night, there is no reason why I can't whip up a salad, some fruit, or something much more healthy than say greasy fish and chips.

Saturday is my final exam for my English course (thank the Education gods) so I am hoping to jump right on the exercise bandwagon Sunday by doing my fit test, before pictures and measurements. I am actually pretty excited about taking this new journey. Let's hope the yo-yoing stops and we just see a constant and consistent decrease from here on in!

Weigh In And A Review

Well, I'm up again. I am kind of weirded out by it because I spent four days yacking my guts out and keeping down little to no food, but I also didn't eat very well or get any exercise in...so I guess it is still to be expected. Of course having a horrible flu for four days means I am not going to beat myself up over it either.

Next Saturday I write my final exam for my English Prose Forms class. Thank the goddess! I will be so glad this course is over with and I can focus more on Taxation. Also, that means I will have more time to focus on exercise and diet etc. I am really looking forward to starting ChaLEAN!

Have I told you all about my Gruve yet? I didn't? Must have been the flu!

I got this cute little baby in the mail last week.


There was a special promotion on Twitter and I got this new tool at 50% off! At first I was a little worried that even at half off it was a little too costly for what I thought it was going to do for me.

Well I was wrong!

This weird looking item makes me get up and go. I think it goes well with my competitive nature. Let me tell you what it does so you understand.

You wear it like a pedometer, except this has no digital screen, no numbers, no step counts. All it has is a light that changes colours. So what you ask? Big deal? Well the first week it lulls you into a false sense of security while staying green the whole time as it analyzes your fitness/movement level. Then it sets you a goal and you go from there.

For example, after my assessment week I was set a "green goal" as they call it of 372 calories per day. So what happens now is you clip this little thing onto your belt or waistband and off you go. It starts off red first thing in the morning and moves through orange, yellow, blue and green. That in itself is pretty motivating. I press the little button, check the colour, and decide it's time for a walk!

Oh and did I mention the best part! If you sit still too long (you can set the time, mine is set to 50 minutes) it vibrates to let you know so you can get up and get moving! What an awesome idea! Everything is tracked online. You plug this into your computer via a usb cable and it logs you into a site to check how you are doing. (You get a subscription for a year when you buy it.)

Here's how my week looks so far, and remember I was sick for four days!


This screenshot was taken first thing Thursday morning, so ignore the data for that day (I did end up making it to green Thursday). Not too shabby for a sick girl!

I also like how you can click on any day and get the specific details for that day. This allows you to see when you are the most active, and perhaps when you can add a little more activity in.


Here is a detailed view of my best day. Nice right? Needless to say I am really enjoying this little Gruve. Much more than I thought I would, and yes, well worth the money spent.

Of course it also helps that we have had some really nice days lately...and who doesn't mind a nice walk outside on a great day?

Wednesday Weigh-in

And look! I am actually doing this on Wednesday! Now there's a first!

I woke up this morning and for some reason decided I was going to weight myself before I got dressed. My scale is in my exercise room, so I usually don't go in there in the mornings. I only ever workout at night so that's usually when I weigh myself.


That's what the scale told me...yes it sure did! I was just as shocked! In fact I was so surprised I had to step off, reset it, and weight myself again. Because I was sure it was wrong...horribly wrong. But it gave me the exact same numbers the second time.

Needless to say I was ecstatic! This puts me below the lowest weight I have recorded since I started! I have now lost a total of 7.6 pounds!


/happy dance

Of course there most likely is a big difference in fluctuation of weight between weighting yourself in the morning, and weighting yourself at night. But if this is how my weight looks in the morning...well honey I'll see you bright and early every day!

I still haven't got back into the habit of exercising, but I am doing much better with my food choices. I have pretty much given up coffee with all that extra cream and sugar and replaced it with yerba tea (which requires no cream, milk or sugar). I am taking a lot of precut raw fruit and veggie snacks like peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, etc. We also broke out the uber blender at home and stocked the fridge with frozen fruits. Both my son and I are loving the smoothies.

ChaLEAN finally arrived, but I'm not going to start it until April 1st. I have my final exam on the 27th of this month and I need to study for that as well as complete two essays prior. I don't think it would be fair to start a new exercise program not knowing I most likely won't be able to devote the correct amount of time to it. But I am looking forward to April!

Weigh In And An Award

Weigh In

I'm not sure how I managed it (not that I'm complaining - I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth) but I went down this week! Not a lot, but considering I was really expecting an increase, this on was a real shocker.

Let me explain...

Remember last week's post? The one about feeling down and frustrated? Well I haven't done a single workout since that night. Not on the Wii, not with a DVD, not even on my elliptical. Nada, zip, ziltch!

And! I hate horribly all week! We are rearranging our schedules at home right now due to changing work times, etc, and to be honest we have had way too much takeout this week.

Now you understand why I'm in shock!

But like I said...no one's complaining here!

I can't wait for ChaLEAN to get here so I can really get with the program. I got my Gruve today in the mail so I am starting my assessment week. Hopefully that helps me get up and go as well!

Award

The lovely Michelle over at A Healthier Me was so kind as to award me with a Sunshine Award! This is my very FIRST blog award and I was so excited and honoured to receive it.



I no have the pleasure to passing this award on to 12 other wonderful bloggers!

1. Stuffing My Feelings
2. Cutie Booty Cakes
3. Crazy Working Mom
4. Fit To Be Tied
5. Chibi Jeebs & The Neurotic Struggle
6. Scale Junkie
7. I Am Succeeding
8. My Journey To Fabulous
9. Fit Mom Now
10. My Journey To Healthy Living
11. The Path To Health
12. *Bitch Cakes* A Neurotic Glamour Girl's Weight Watchers Experience and Fitness Adventures

Now it's your turn! Pass this on to 12 Bloggers who inspire you!