TO A NEW BEGINNING . . .

I have not yet been for my physical, something came up and it was postponed . . . unfortunately. Not the end of the world, just a new beginning for me. I now have even more time to get my cholesterol down and that I will do. I am on a new mission to get healthier and live life, it is for this reason that I am ending this blog and moving onto an extension. I have a new motto to follow and that is "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." AND I plan to do just that ;) MY NEW BLOG CAN BE FOUND AT http://lovemymirrorimage2.blogspot.com/

CHEERS!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR . . .

Happy New Year!!! Hope everyone had an amazing New Year! Just returned from Cancun. Spent Xmas and New Years there. Didn't seem like the holidays, but was such an incredible experience. What an awesome way to end the year!!! I have to say that when I first started this journey, I was confused, focused solely on losing weight and didn't even fathom getting anything else out of this. As I have probably said several times, I have learned so much about myself. I have overcome many fears/phobias. I have learned to accept me for who I am and be comfortable in my own skin. All this also helped my marriage become stronger and I have built a better relationship with my children. I have learned to accept others as they are and not to judge them because they don't do or say what I would hope them to. Their lives are just that - theirs and mine is mine! I realize that I can do anything I set my mind to do and that if it takes time, that is OK. Even in Cancun I had eye opener experiences about myself. I continued to eat proper which I am excited about, I wore a bathing suit without a t-shirt on the beach and felt good about myself. Didn't compare myself to all the "skinny" people. I felt good! I have not wore a bathing suit without a cover since I was in grade 8, that is how self conscious I was. My family was very supportive and proud of me. I was able to roam the airport, hotel, city on my own with out any anxiety. I went on a night fishing charter and the waves were so high and moving the boat around like on the deadliest catch and I was calm and just enjoyed myself with my family without any worries. I wasn't going to go snorkeling with my daughter because I was scared, but I did and was so glad I did. It was an amazing experience. I not only got to experience the reef, I got to do it with my daughter/husband and I over came my fear. Both my daughter and husband again were very pleased and proud of me for attempting it!!! So as you can see, my journey didn't stop when I left my home town and I am sure it won't stop once I reach my goal weight which is another story. . . I am not weighing myself until my journey year is officially up, but all I can say is I FEEL GOOD and I am hoping at my next appointment I will not only feel good, but be healthier as well. I will say it once again that this journey has made an incredible impact on my life that you can't even begin to understand. Some things seem trivial to others, but to me they were paralyzing at times and to overcome it is an amazing feat for me. So I will continue to work on the healthy part and we will see shortly how it all works out!!! Thanks again to those who have supported and believed in me all along. 2011 I am ready for you . . . May 2011 be all you hope it will be . . .

BACK ON TRACK . . .

I am happy to say that I am back on track once again. Wasn't as hard to do as previous times, very happy about that (any progress is still progress). Hoping not to be making a habit of it!!! I have got some very nice "healthy eating" recipes that I absolutely love, so it doesn't seem like work. They are filling and satisfying and I don't need to eat all day. I am now able to make a healthy dish with meat, vegetables and spices and it actually tastes good. Learning how to cook with little or no salt, no butter and no frying. It wasn't easy, but I am on my way!!! I am very excited to be going to watch my daughter in her Christmas concert, today. She will be singing. She definitely did not get that talent from me! As I was getting dressed to go, I noticed that my pants were fitting a bit big :) :) :) so I will take that as a sign that I am on track. The big test . . . we will be doing Xmas baking this weekend and next weekend we will be having family over. I did pretty good at Halloween, so am confident that I can handle this!!! Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!!! I will be back in the new year!!!

HERE GOES AGAIN!!! . . .

Here is where I am now . . . I was doing very well with my healthy eating, no pressure, loving it, Aa bit more work, but still enjoyed it. Then I tried to introduce an exercise routine and I found I had no time after exercises to cook mine and the families dinners. I started to get tired and frustrated and overwhelmed and you know what comes next . . . I started to grab what ever there was or what everyone else was eating which is healthy, but not what I was needing to be eating for dinners/lunches and skipping breakfasts. Now I am having to start again. I guess if I was doing good without exercising then why bother at this point? I just feel that being healthy should include exercise as well as proper nutrition!!! This time I will wait longer and introduce it slowly!!! Here goes again . . . ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

WEIGH IN . . .

I have officially been on this journey since March 25/10 and on my healthy eating kick since August 16/10. Just came back from my physical and am pleased to say that I have lost 10 pounds. Since Aug. I look some what different, but most importantly I feel and think differently. I do eat things I shouldn't (within reason), but for the most part I focus on healthy alternates! I have asked the doctor to hold off on my yearly blood work until February/11 so I have more time to get healthier. It will be just before my journey ends and I want to see if losing weight will bring down my cholesterol which has been a great concern of mine. Also excited to say that My husband has lost 10 pounds as well and his blood pressure is lower now. I am equally proud of him as I am of myself. So here goes, almost 5 months left of this journey and am excited to see the end results . . . can't wait!!! Until then . . . NO MORE SCALE!!!

TURKEY @ THE TRAILER . . .

Spent Thanksgiving at the trailer with my family! What an amazing weekend! Wasn't sure how turkey dinner would turn out over the fire, but didn't care as long as we were all together. Turns out the weather was fabulous as was the dinner, couldn't have had a better time. I ate all I wanted without any hesitation and it felt good. By allowing myself what ever I wanted and as much as I wanted, I didn't stress, but at the same time I was also aware of what I really wanted and what I could pass on . . . I didn't have to eat everything in site if I didn't want to and I didn't. I was pleasantly surprised with myself. Turkey dinner has always been my weakness ;) Enjoyed several long walks amongst the fallen leaves, watched the sun rise and set with my children, got to snuggle my most favourite breed of dog (St. Bernard), observed the wild life, met some very nice peop le and was very sad to have to leave. Looks like we have started a new tradition . . .

Turkey @ the trailer . . .

MY TRUTH ABOUT VEGGIES . . .

Veggies. . . when I first got married, never saw them in my fridge, after my first child was born, fridge was full, but I never ate them! Now, I love them! I love them so much that I prefer to plant veggies in my yard over flowers. I could and often do eat them for breakfast. Veggies can be eaten raw, cooked, dipped, in salads, casseroles, they can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, as a snack. They help fight diseases, provide us with much needed vitamins, they add colour to a dish, and they taste good too! My newest discovery for vegetables is how they can amazingly add bulk to your plate and make you forget that your plate is 3/4 full of vegetables rather than pasta and you feel fuller after. Lets not forget that you are getting many other benefits along with it. So why is it that we know just how important vegetables are to us yet we tend to over look them? VEGGIES ARE MY NEW BEST FRIEND . . . (rice noodles, bok choy, celery, red/green peppers, garlic, onions and snow peas with chicken)