Excitement all around

A couple things to be excited about this morning:

1) I had my weigh in last night and after a couple weeks of crappy weigh-ins I am happy to report that I am down 1.8 lbs! YAY! This past week I have worked my butt off by hitting the gym before work as well as really buckled down on my eating. It just shows that a little dedication is all it takes to lose weight.

2) Back when I went to the gym at 6 am regularly there was a lady who I would say "hi" to here and there. This morning, I saw her at the gym and she came up to me to tell me: "I haven't seen you here in a while, but I wanted to tell you you're looking really good, you have obviously had some success"... so that was really cool!
I think for the most part people who have never been through weight loss don't understand the mind games that come with it. I think a lot of people assume that because the person is smaller they are obviously confident.....not the case. The problem is, it takes a while for the mind to actually catch up to the loss. To this day, being down 40ish pounds I am STILL struggling with insecurities and feeling crappy. Sure, I have a lot more days where I feel ok about how I look...but the days of feeling like a fat mess are still here. I actually had a break down last week about something image-related that left me crying to my friend. She thought I was crying about something she did, but really it was all me and my insecurities....I just needed that vent session and she was there. ...The mind is evil and is a CONSTANT struggle. I just cant grasp the fact that yes, I am getting smaller...and yes I am looking better. I keep on holding on to the weight I still need to lose. So its these little compliments from random strangers that seem to impact me the most. I know they are not saying it "just to say it" like I think friends or family may feel obligated to do. (not that this is the case - but I think that could happen so just wanted to throw it out there) Also, I took my inches and since December I am down 28 inches! :) Go me!

3) After a CRAZY-intense game, the Canucks finally sent the Blackhawks golfing! All I can hear around me this morning, everywhere I go, is talk of the Canucks and that heart pounding game last night. When Burrows scored that overtime goal last night, I actually LITERALLY heard fireworks outside my house! It was awesome!!

4) Mexico is soo close. Just around the corner... 4 more sleeps! It should come fast because these next few days is a whirlwind of activity. I have so much going on this week!

5) Only a couple more days until I get to see GSP fight in UFC 129!!

I am just sooo excited this week! YIPPEEE!! Go Canucks Go!

Working out at 6am

So I finally have time and inspiration for a new blog post! Woo hoo!
When I first began my weight loss journey I dove RIGHT in to frequent vigorous workouts (usually twice a day, 6-7 days a week) Of course with combining this with my new diet I was dropping 2, 3, 4 lbs a week. Obviously this is to be expected when you first start working out, but even into my 8th week of weight loss, I was still losing 2-3 lbs a week. I know there are people on both sides of the spectrum when it comes to working out first thing in the morning, but I strongly believe my working out before I went to work had a strong influence on my weight loss.

Pretty soon, life started to get crazy hectic and I wasn't able to get to bed as early. Since when I go to the gym before work I have to get up at 5...if I don't go to bed early there is almost no point in going to the gym in the morning. I get way too tired and sluggish and the work out sucks!  So, with my new crazy life, I stopped going to the gym in the morning....and then my weight loss slowed. Instead of 2-3 lbs a week it is now averaging around 1 lb a week. I know, I know, I am smaller, so my loss is going to be less....but I just don't feel like I have been giving it as much as I can. I feel like if I could give it more, that I would be seeing bigger results.

After losing NOTHING this week and last....yes...NOTHING I felt like it was time to step it up again. Time to buckle down on my eating, and time to step up my work outs because the reality is, yes I am smaller, but I am not at my goal weight. I am still not feeling comfortable with myself. I want to look back at my day before bed and say yes, I gave 100% today. The past few weeks, this has not happened. In my defense life has been sooo sooo busy so I havent had the extra time for extra work outs, and my weekends have been soo full that I havent been able to work out at all....Weekends used to be my time to go to the gym and work myself until I couldn't work anymore.. Yes, these all seem like excuses, but they have been my reality.

After weighing in last night and seeing no loss again.... I decided that, that was it, I am not going to give into this and just go back to my old ways...this is a sign that it is time to step it up again.

This brings me to this morning. I got up at 5:00 and was at the gym by 6...and MAN am I SOOOOOO glad I did. I worked my absolute ass off and left the gym feeling amazing. Theres something that working out in the morning does for me. I get almost a "high" off of it. I do not waste any time at the gym in the morning. My mindset is, I got myself out of bed this early, I am going to make it worth my time. This morning I burned 500 calories in just under an hour of cardio. My intention right now is to hit the gym on my lunch break again, and then hopefully tomorrow when I check my weight, I will see something I like.

If you are thinking of trying to go to the gym before work - DO IT!!! I promise the hardest part is just getting yourself out of bed. Once you do, and you get to the gym, you will be soooo glad you did!

On a side note - we have now picked our photographer for our wedding, so that's exciting...oh and 11 DAYS TILL MEXICO!!! In fact, 2 weeks today until my lovely bestie marry's her man. WOW. Time has absolutely FLOWN by.... I am so excited, thrilled & honoured to stand up there with her. Eleven days!!!! xo-B

new photos...eeeek

Dec 11 --- Apr 11

ew cant even show the before of this...lol

VERY scary for me to have this photo out there!!!

8 pounds to go!!!

xo-B

a long road

Its been a loooong looong road. When I started back in November, I really
didn't have any hope. I had tried, and failed, sooo many times that I didn't
actually see it happening. I knew I was going to try what I was doing, but
that it probably wouldn't work for me. After my first week, I lost 5.2 lbs.
When I saw that I had lost those 5 lbs, I suddenly had HOPE!

The following week, I lost 2.6 lbs, followed by 3.4 and 3.2.... I couldn't
believe that in 1 month, I had lost 14.4 lbs!! I realized that if I focus,
and really try hard at this, I just might be able to do this.

Now, in my 21st week, I realized that I only have 10 lbs to go.. 10 lbs!
That's nothing. I am slowly starting to feel better about myself now that I
have gotten a few articles of clothing that actually fit. When I was
swimming in my big clothes, I couldn't really grasp the fact that yes, I am
actually smaller.

5 months ago, I HATED shopping with a passion. I am telling you, I would
absolutely avoid the mall at all costs. I hated the way I looked in
everything I tried on. Now, I am slowly starting to like it again. I am
enjoying looking for things that fit me properly and slowly replacing my
wardrobe. When I buy new things, I am enjoying coming home and modeling them
for my family.

I think my mindset has been my biggest struggle up until now. I know that my
number on the scale is smaller, but I have struggled with feeling good about
myself. I seriously think the fact that I have bought myself some new
clothes has helped me start to actually not feel so bad anymore.


.....soo...... Less than 3 WEEKS TIL MEXICO !! Omg, feels like I have been waiting
forever......and I have. Well, 6 months to be exact.
I have actually been dreaming about Mexico. I need the vacation sooo
freaking bad...its unreal!
We recently got our flight times, so that makes me just THAT Much more giddy!

I still have so much to do before we go:
-find some luggage
-pack my luggage
-buy some clothes to pack
-pack the girls stuff
-make room on my memory card so I can take photos
-get my bridesmaid dress
-try on my bridesmaid dress/get alterations if necessary
-find a good book to read on the plane (any suggestions?!)
-go bathing suit shopping.... :( :(

....theres more. But my brain is not working at the moment.

BAHEBFJAFKRNGOI RGJAI I am sooo super excited!

Today is the 11th of the month. That means its picture time! I don’t think I have lost that much since my last photo so I am very curious to see if I look any different. I am thinking no! But we’ll see later on tonight!
Ill post the photo when its done.

I apologize that my posts are getting a little bit fewer and farther between. April is such a crazy crazy crazy month for me. There is just no time for ANYTHING. Including blogging.

20 DAYS MY FRIENDS!!!!! xo - B

Brief overview of my busy week

Had a very busy week and finally have a minute to write about it. Last Tuesday I had my weigh-in and was VERY pleasantly surprised that I was down 1.4 lbs. I had had such a bad week that I really felt negative about my weigh in. I didn't get to the gym as much as I had wanted and was soooo so stressed out. So being down 1.4 lbs was a nice surprise!
Wednesday I spent getting some things done for Denise's upcoming bridal shower that Saturday.
Thursday was a nice evening and since Shawn was out, I decided to take my girls and walk to the mall, WITHOUT a stroller. My girls are 5 and 2... The mall is 1.5 kms from my house. We got there and then I put Aubrey in a stroller I borrowed from the mall. We walked around there for a while and then began walking home. We walked about 3/4 of the way home when I finally got a hold of Shawn who picked us up. Just as Shawn called me, Aubrey started to break down. She did awesome!!!
Friday night I went out and did some shopping for the bridal shower and then went over to Kristys with Aubrey and Angie to start decorating. It was a lot of fun. We took some hilarious pictures (I wish I had a copy of a particular one to post here - I will when I get a copy) and had a lot of laughs.
Saturday morning I woke up early, did some running around with Shawn and then went over to Kristys to get the shower going. Everyone showed up around 2 and the shower began. I think it went well! After the shower, me, Denise, Kristy, Crystal, Tiffany and Caroline went out to Shark Club to dance the night away. What an AWESOME time that was!!!!!!! When we first got there, Denise and I had our dancin' shoes on...and we were the only ones in the club dancing at first. But I HAD to when Footloose came on. LOL Everyone kept saying to me, I cant believe you are dancing like this and youre SOBER. Hahha. I also saw some girls my sister went to school with who told me that they didn't even recognize me because I look so different. That's pretty cool! I havent had that much fun in a loooong while. I got home around 1 am because I just KNEW that my girls would wake me early - and they did. 645 to be exact. Spent yesterday totally cleaning my house and was DELIGHTED to be down 1.5 lbs on my scale. Woo hoo! The dancing did lots for me. :)
So here we are at Monday. The start of a new week.
EXACTLY ONE MONTH TODAY TIL MY LADY MARRIES HER MAN!!! WOO HOO!
26 days til we fly to some gorgeous weather.....the countdown is soooo ON. xo-B

I LOVE these girls. xoxox