Weight Loss Journey: Complete! Next Challenge...

I finally did it! As of October 1st, I officially weighed-in at 120lbs, a 33-lb loss from when I started Weight Watchers on May 28, 18 weeks earlier.

I had been about 2-3 lbs within Goal for about 5 weeks straight, and I was certain that I would have another week at 122 lb. Without much resentment, I stimulated my metabolism by eating more than I usually would and, lo and behold, that seemed to have done the trick!

I'm currently on what's called Maintenance, where I get a few more extra points each day (5 pts), to up my caloric intake. Funny, after one week of Maintenance, I happened to lose ANOTHER 2 lbs, so that I now sit at 118. Apparently it may take a while for my body to re-stabilize, so a weight loss here and there may occur.

So, what's next, you ask? Now that I've reached my weight-loss goal, what do I do next? Other than go shopping (which I soooo have to do. I kid you not: the size 8 jeans I have are swimming on me that I can literally pull them down to my knees without unbuckling them! I'm now fitting my size 4 Gap khakis once again!), I'm concentrating on developing a good, solid running base so that I can train for that half marathon I've been raving about recently.

I had been taking kickboxing classes since the beginning of July and decided that for the month of October, I'd quit for a while and go invest in another pair of runners. My last pair has definitely seen 500 miles and would never see me through another training season. So, I hit up my local running store with a friend and bought these pretty little toe-covers:

Hot Pink! The NB 769's. Love them! Going for a run in them is awesome. They feel a bit different than the other New Balance shoes I used to use, the 1022's from six years ago.

(Technical notes: 769 is for mild overpronators, a cushioning, moderate stability shoe. Not as technical as the 1224's in terms of cushioning, but remains reponsive.)

So, with these, I'm hoping to run 3-4x a week, logging between 10-13 miles. I figure the next 12 weeks will take me into the New Year with a good conditioning base on which to start my Half Mara training. I probably have an extra 5 weeks in the New Year before the "official" training schedule gets followed, so I still have a buffer, should I need to repeat some training weeks if my body needs it.

I started running outdoors this week, and have only ran about 6 miles so far. Plotting my run routes, logging my miles and strength training (lunges, pushups, squats, etc) is occupying much of my time now. Not to mention that I had to figure out my plan-of-attack when it came to deciding when to run and how far and how often. I don't want to over-train (nor under-train!) or not schedule my runs in at all (since how likely will I go out and do them, then?).

I'm feeling sleek and fast, even though I'm still a snail by a racer's standards. I'm enjoying myself, in my own skin, more aware than ever how my body moves as I walk, run. My larger clothes serve as a reminder of the miracle that has occurred; my depression has lifted. I can move around my bedroom without banging my hips against the footboard and howling in pain and crying about not clearing it. I am less concerned about the once-apparent muffin top I carried and more concerned about which muffin recipe to try out.

I'm happy.

Now, I'm a happy, running fool.

"Run, Forrest, Run"

My First Blog Giveaway Win!

I'm so excited!

Yesterday I got an email from B|u3 that I won her CK One giveaway! I have never won a blog giveaway before...I'm estatic! Forty-eight people entered, and I was the lucky winner!

CK is relaunching the CK One fragrance again, with the premise of uniting everyone of race, creed, colour, with a "we are one" message. The limited edition prize I won is the iconic CK One bottle emblazoned with the "we are one" message in different languages, with a removable mp3 speaker housed in the base of the packaging. Ok, I don't have an ipod, and just my mp3 sony ericsson phone, but this is still a pretty cool win. It retails exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart for $60 CAD.

Image courtesy of ckone.com

Thanks so much to Blue and her blog, Watercolour Sky for having the contest! Much love!

EDIT: Here are some pics of when I received my prize....



Here is the mp3 speaker that was included too...I should try and win an ipod somehow...


The parcel also included a grey ck t-shirt...I needed another sleep shirt. :)

Vegas, Baby

Just came back from Vegas for my cousin's stagette/her fiance's stag party.


Wow!


There were about 15 (I think!) of us, most of us from Vancouver, some from Edmonton, one from Toronto and one from Jersey. So many tales spinning in my head, but just can't spit any of them out. Let's try...



Table service at Tao. Would've been an experience to be on the rooftop with $450-a-bottle-of-Grey-Goose, but just didn't make it to the roof! Dancing like a maniac on the next level down was a high in itself. Insane music. Insane bar tabs! My cousin just got impatient at the bar, waiting for drinks, so ordered herself up a table on the roof. By 3 am I just needed to crash, so I'm regretting I didn't make it to the roof. Damn. What the hell was I thinking?!?!



Racing to the airport a la Home Alone. We drove down to Bellingham Airport on Good Friday and got stuck in a 4hr+ lineup at the border! From the time we got into the lineup at 8am, it took us 3.5 hr to cross the border at 11:30am. With our 1:25 flight, and supposed instructions to arrive 2.5 hrs before the flight, time was not on our side. We still had to park at the overflow parking lot way over there and take a shuttle to the airport. We checked in and passed security at about 12:50 pm. With 10 people driving from Vancouver, two cars made it across and we were still waiting for the third car carrying two cousins and his girlfriend. 1:10 pm, waiting at the gate, and still no third car!!! Finally a couple of minutes later, one of my cousins from that car was running to the gate. By this time, half the plane had boarded. Cutting it close. Me and a couple of others held back and waited at the end to board the plane, trying to hold back boarding in case my other cousin, who was parking the car way over there in the overflow parking lot could still make it on time; his girlfriend checked in already, but we couldn't see her, and she wasn't boarding the plane unless my cousin came back in time. 1:22 as I started boarding, the last two are running towards the gate! And with 2 to 3 minutes to spare! I found out later that their gas light on their car had lit up about 30 minutes earlier at the border, and they weren't even sure they'd even make it to the airport at all! The rest of the clan on the plane had assumed they were no-shows right up until the point they were walking down the aisle. What a way to start the trip!



Buffets. Shit, had too many. Almost hit a fourth one but declined. So much for my exercising for the past 5 weeks. Didn't hit the major ones like Bellagio or Wynn, but they were all still good. Todai (Japanese sushi and seafood) and Pampas (Brazilian Steakhouse) at The Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood (formerly The Aladdin) and Carnival World Buffet at The Rio. The fourth invite was for The Bellagio, but good thing I declined...the line was so long they went to Caesar's instead and it apparently sucked. I'm also Cheeseburger'ed out!



Weather. Tanks, shorts, flip flops. What else can I say? It was hot enough to hit the pool and do some tanning. Got dark fast. Sure beats what we came home to yesterday! Brrrrr!



Alcohol. Lots of it. Wished I drank more. A Fat Tuesday 2-foot pina colada did me within hours of landing. Must remember to not drink on an empty stomach and when trying to get over the flu.



Gamblng. Won $140 on slots. Haywire Deluxe. Find it, use it, win. Played it four years ago and it's still just as contagious. Too bad I lost $25 on roulette. What an hour can do for you in Vegas.






Shopping. Hit the Las Vegas Premium Outlet. Scored at Banana Republic and Coach. I showed some self-restraint by only hitting one shopping spree, declining Fashion Show Mall on Monday (opted to go swimming instead). Saved more money than I actually spent, thanks for the glorious deals had. Ahhh, a good shopping day really hits the spot.



Thunder from Down Under. No comment. Really....what happens in Vegas....



My husband and I had a great time with the family and friends. We were able to enjoy ourselves, knowing that our son was in good hands with my parents; I wouldn't have gone otherwise. Our almost-three-year-old didn't even miss us, apparently. That kinda sucks. But when I think about it, it only sucked not because I wished he cried and threw tantrums, pleading to see me each day but that he didn't do those things, which only means that my little boy is growing up and doesn't need me as much as he used to. What a little independent boy he's become, and I'm proud that he was mature enough to spend that much time away from us.



I think this Vegas trip has made me grow up. Now back to reality...

Back to Reality: where do I go from here?

The Caribbean vacation was so much fun, I'm finding it hard to believe that I have to come back to Vancouver and re-experience the mundane I have always known...life without palm trees, tank tops, flip flops, and buffets.

Eating was a challenge on the ship, but I didn't go too overboard (pardon the pun!). I hesitated to weigh myself after the trip but did anyway, at Danny's urging. He, apparently, lost 2 pounds, whereas I have gained 3. I attribute this not to gaining fat, but losing some muscle, as I was only able to hit the gym once at the beginning of the trip. I did some pushups this morning to gauge my upper body stregth....only 17. I think I could've done more, but I didn't press it (another pun....so punny!)

I returned from the trip on Sunday evening, and with the Remembrance Day stat. holiday Monday, I also had yesterday and today off from work. Back to the grind tomorrow.

You may notice that my title for this blog has changed. I originally started this blog as a Boot Camp journal. Now that I've finished boot camp, I find that I am actually on a journey to better health and wellness, and it doesn't stop at Day 20 of boot camp. I have realized that my physical health is one of utmost importance, for we only have one body, and we must take care of what was given to us. But most importantly is the balance between physical and mental health. I've come to realize that my emotional well-being is one that needs the most help, and like yin and yang, it was tied in with my physical health. I'm the first to tell you that I eat when I'm bored; I don't eat to be full. I also eat to serve my self-pitying phase I go through each day. It's my guilty pleasure for all the guilty things I did or plan to do. My sin, if you will. So in addressing my physical, I address my emotional. This is where my Boot Camp blog ends and my Journal of Life blog begins.

So, I will continue to express my worries, my complaints, my victories, my successes and my failures, in all I do. I invite you to sit and listen for a while, if possible. Many of you have enjoyed reading my little boot camp escapades, and it's given me much joy in sharing a bit of my life. I like to think that I may have been a writer in a former life, and blogging seems to give some purpose to this current existence.

You may come to the conclusion that I'm actually nuts, after listening to me for a while, or worse, STILL think I'm nuttier than you already thought. So be it. I'm all about being honest to one person only.....and that's me. And isn't that what it all boils down to?

I'll keep the image of those blue jeans above as the emblem to my blog. It'll serve as a reminder for the Start Line of this marathon I've started.

Boot Camp: Day 20 & Post-Camp Evaluation

The last day!!!

I was nervous when I woke up, thinking of all the things I hoped to accomplish. I was nervous about finding out whether I'd actually be able to beat my 1-Mile track time and whether I'd actually do more than 4 pushups during my Strength Test. I was nervous about getting nervous.

When I woke up, I was glad that it wasn't raining. We were going outside to the track whether it was or not. I had gotten up earlier than I had on other days, about 4:35. I got sidetracked writing an email to that acpuncturist about gettting that free consultation, since FREE was while I was attending bootcamp, and, well, when I came home afterwards, I would technically no longer be part of bootcamp anymore. I shot off the email and realized that it was already 5:15!!! I jumped out of my seat and into the car before I knew it.

So, I made that last "tick" beside my name for attendance. 20 ticks in a row. Some didn't have as many ticks.

We lightly stretched and went down to the track to run a couple of times around for warm up.

Then the endurance begins.

Four times around the track. I called out to Tai each time I lapped: 2:29, 5:04, 7:39....I ear-to-pocket-ed the last 1/8th mile around that track, catching up to Pia, who I was closely chasing for most of the run, except for the last bit when she got a little farther than I'd liked. I almost caught up to her, by 1 second.....9:59. I crossed the finish line in under 10 minutes! I'd have been happy with 10:13, which would have improved my last run by 1 whole minute but I managed to still make it under 10! The euphoria was amazing!! From 11:13 down to 9:59.

We walked back to our mats on the other side of the school and I partnered up with Cathy, who I've been wanting to meet all camp. [Very funny lady, probably in her 40s]. Pushup time. Her best at the beginning of camp was 15....I encouraged her and she did 19. I managed to push out 26 pushups! Compared to 4, Victoria said I should win best improved! Everyone was laughing because there was such a difference! I've done pushups before but never that well. Sorry about the self-praising, but I was so happy!

We did out stretches and concluded the bootcamp, with some of us meeting at Starbucks, on Tai (how sweet!). I may have rethought adding the vanilla I usually have with my latte, but I think I deserved a little sweetness right now!

We all talked about camp, and what we did for a living, just plain chatting about anything, since we never have a real chance to chat during camp. Pia and her friend are going to do the springtime camp, in Mar or April. A few are doing the mini-camp starting the Nov 19. I haven't decided yet. Cathy is doing the Jan 28 camp. I'd like to do both: November because I'll be on the cruise, and in January, because of the Holiday Eating.

Right afterwards at 8am, I went to see Tai at the office to get my post-camp evaluation. I was excited to see what kind of results I got, since I can tell how my clothes are fitting.

Get this: I lost 12% body fat! I was 38% and now I'm 26%! I am now 130lbs from 135. I was 83.2 lbs of lean and now I'm 95 lbs lean! I gained 10lbs of muscle but lost 5 lbs overall. My metabolism has increased drastically. I can consume over 2100 without gaining weight, whereas before it was 1800. Tai said he was impressed with the results, though I thought he should've hit the roof! This was amazing!

So, I was thinking then and there if I should take the next camp. It's limited to only 30 and it fills up fast. I asked him about the meal planning and what he does for me. He said that it would be a 1.5 hr session, assessing the foods I eat and picking out the foods I like. It would cost $300. Suzanne told me at Starbucks she did the meal planning with Tai in the summer and it really worked, she just didn't stick with it this time, but would during the mini-camp in a couple of weeks. I him to sign me up! I figured, rather than spend $175 on a 2 week camp, I would put it towards the meal planning with Tai and see if I can actually push myself to workout on my own....I can't be taking bootcamp forever!!! Though it would be nice, it's not financially feasible.

So, this is my paradise. It's actually not Friday anymore, but Sunday, and I'm sitting here at 10:30 am at an almost empty internet cafe in San Juan, Puerto Rico, relishing my coffee and the crazy crazy weather outside. It's probably 28 degrees right now, at least....highest humidity ever too. I have to check out of the hotel room (scummy place....tell more another time) and head to the cruise ship terminal by 11am. I packed clothes that I couldn't fit in a couple years. I even tried on a dress I wore 7 years ago to Hawaii and I have it with me because it fit. I cried when I told Danny on Friday how well I did at my evaluation. I can't let this feeling go. It's the most amazing feeling in the world, to accomplish something like this. I so highly recommend this to anyone even remotely thinking about losing weight. It's not even about losing weight, so much as feeling good about yourself and feeling the difference and also seeing it in the mirror. And I did it not by starving myself, like I've done on so many occasions. I'm in paradise right now, and I never plan to leave.