New Years Resolutions 2013

Well it's been a while. I meant to do this right away after new years, but to be honest, I couldn't decide on what my resolutions were.

Most everything has to do with health. After quitting wheat last year and having the awesome results, I'm sort of addicted to big lifestyle changes.

I've tossed and turned over trying to go vegan vs cutting out certain foods. I've also tossed and turned over exercise - should I set a small goal or a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal, as my boss would say).

My conclusion is, to do both!

So here are my 2013 New Years Resolutions!

1. Making Vegan choices when available. This includes almond milk instead of regular milk, vegan cheese, no meat meals if possible, if there is a vegan alternate of a makeup product - get that instead, etc.
2. Cutting out red meat as much as possible. Yes there are times I crave a good steak, but honestly with the family history of cancer now and my above decision to make as many vegan choices as possible, this one just needs to go. I still love chicken, but I will try and limit it. Maybe twice a week max? Maybe as a "treat" when we go out for date night? 
3. A long juicing detox? Yeah I don't think that's for me, but I have started using my juicer daily and would like to continue using it, even if it is just as a breakfast, or even a juice to go along with a meal. I love the benefit of all these nutrients I am getting - and let's be honest, I never get this much veggies in my diet otherwise!
4. Get into the habit of not only working out daily, or at the very least once every 2 days (including weekends), but to have a more active lifestyle. I would love to try Archery, Salsa, Swimming more, Going paint-balling more in the summer, etc. Just generally doing things that are fun, that make me get up and move!
5. My BHAG for exercise is to, by the end of the year, be fit enough to do the Queen Gorgo's workout challenge. For those who do not know, this is a female version of the 300 workout. This will take a lot of working up to, for me. And of course, in the end the challenge is to have the best time at doing this. I'll record my time and maybe post at the end of the year to see how well I've done. 
6. Money. Oooo this one is always hard. I want to have a steadfast amount of money that is saved every month. 
7. Vacation at least once this year, in a different country.
8. Save up for a decent down payment on a house. This ties in with number 6. The market out here is booming, and I want to catch it on the way up!
9. Become closer with the friends and family I want to be closer to. 
10. Make more friends.
11. Try more creative activities. As mentioned above, a salsa class, maybe painting, pottery, whatever strikes my fancy! 

Generally, as everyone  does, I want a better life. My husband and I moved up to Grande Prairie, AB and now is the opportunity for me to accomplish the things I have wanted to. To be a true success story with my health, and to learn those important life skills not everyone gets the opportunity to learn!

So what's your new years resolutions?!

Surviving the Apocolypse

Wow, has it ever been a long time since I last wrote.

My last blog was about how I was beginning to go wheat free. I have to say it has been an amazing success! I am still wheat free, though I'm not as strict as I want to be with soy sauce and minor things that contain wheat.. that's something I want to change. But as a quick summary - I lost 20 lb in 4 months from not eating wheat! I have now stopped losing wheat and will have to actually do something to continue my weight loss.

Since the last blog I have remained wheat free, we have moved to Grande Prairie, Alberta, and ...well that's about it. I have transplanted my life here, and am quite content. Life goes on.

Now that the summaries are over, I mostly wanted to talk about New Years Resolutions. Last year I had written a blog about what I wanted to accomplish in 2012. I think now is a perfect time to go through that list and see what I have and have not accomplished. So let's see!

Deirdre’s 2012 Resolutions

1.   Lose weight, goal= 150 lbs or less (ideal 135 lbs [potentially not possible in 2012. 2013?]):
                  a.      200 lbs - yes!

b.      190 lbs - yes!

c.       180 lbs - yes! (barely)

d.      170 lbs - not yet

e.       160 lbs- not yet

f.       150 lbs- not yet

2.    Healthy eating:

a.      Make fast food a rarity. - yes! sometimes we do eat out, but it is much less than before!

b.      Home cooked meals  - yes! since moving out here I have done a lot more cooking! 

c.       Cut out one item that is bad for you:

                                                           i.      Sugar -  not yet. this is on for 2013, i think.

                                                           ii.      Caffeine - no

                                                           iii.     White bread - yes in a way. as I mentioned above, I cut out wheat

                                                           iv.      Red meat - no. I have actually increased how much meat I eat (well protein in general) with having cut out so many carbs with the no wheat diet. I do try and eat more chicken then red meet though.

3.     Healthy lifestyle:

a.       Consistent gym use - not yet. on the docket for 2013

b.      Run: - not yet - yeah, just no. One thing I am not happy about is the lack of exercise this past year. Must be improved dramatically 2013.

                                                          i.      30 sec straight

                                                          ii.      1 minute straight

                                                          iii.      2 minutes straight

                                                          iv.      5 minutes straight

4.     Arts and crafts

a.       Art:

                                                             i.      Take an art class - not yet, plan to take pottery or something in 2013

                                                            ii.      Push recognition of own Art forward -  not yet. to be honest I kinda gave up a bit on this. I found it too hard, and ended up just wantint to paint for my own comfort and happiness.

                            1.      Goal: 120 Likes on Facebook Page

                            2.      More commissions

                            3.      Gallery/coffee shop showing.

b.      Organize craft supplies in labeled bins. -  not yet. well their somewhat organized...

c.       Complete wedding scrapbook -  yes!  although it was online, and i have yet to place the order for it, but its done!

d.      Start year by year scrapbook (reference Facebook for picture dates) - yes! same as above. 

5.     Money and savings

a.      Save (ideally) $500 each month. - not yet. hopefully more with out new incomes and life up in the great white north!

b.      Pay off credit cards and maintain 25% balance.- not yet, i have a budget though.

c.      Pay off major debts:- not yet - this year! I have a budget.

                  d.      Save for family vacation- not yet. but we did move, so .. yeah

e.       Have 2010 and 2011 taxes completed -  yes! 

6.    Friends

a.       Make new friends and network with people with similar interests (art, reading, writing, etc) - sort of. I started talking to some old friends a bit more, and moving up here I have become involved in a group of women up here to just chat. Oh I made a new friend, but she lives with us, so she kidna has to be my friend. Must push to be more social in 2013.

b.      Make larger efforts to enrich the relationships I already have. - this is something that should continue on for all years!

7.     Family

a.      Keep close. Don’t let another death remind you that family is important-  yes! 

b.      Communicate and spend more time with Kendra and Ethan. Would like to know my nephew.- not yet

c.       Have the girls over more often.- a little hard now that we're over 1000 km away from each other. Plus, their teenagers... not really into talking or spending time with their aunt anymore.

d.      Add to the family - not yet, concentrating on getting healthy to do so.

                  e.       Try to bridge the gap between Grandma and self - not yet

f.       Extend more contact with Opa -   not yet

g.      Try to arrange more regular trips to see relatives. - not yet

h.      More common phone calls with Dad-  yes! 

8.    Be the wife Andrew deserves, the daughter Mom deserves, and the friend my Family and Friends deserve. - This is another one that should be ongoing throughout the years.

Alot of what my resolutions revolved around was weight loss. So here's a quick comparison of what I started out looking like in February and what I look like now, err just before Christmas. Sorry for the picture quality, it's always just cell phones. 

So I see alot of red in there, but also some green. So i think I did fairly well. I had a pretty in depth list, so it was a lot to accomplish. I am proud of what I did. 

Now to figure out what I want out of 2013!

Diet Dilemas

It's been a week since my last blog post about the #2012diet. It's going as well as any diet can be expected - I'm doing it, I'm not enjoying it....and there's no difference.

I know I can't expect a lot - I mean I'm not really exercising.

But I had a conversation with my husband last night that in a round about way talked about all the issues I'm having with my weight, how it effects not just how I see myself and how I feel, but what and who I am.

I feel like an A-Sexual person when I'm this weight. Aside from just feeling ugly and unattractive, the sheer exhaustion (of crating around my giant body?) has me way too tired to do anything.

Well that's how I feel. That's not what it is.

I know damn well that if I was to go exercise today, tomorrow morning I would have more energy so that I could do it again tomorrow, and so on and so forth.

But finding that magic key to get me up and at 'em that first time is almost impossible. Not because I can't find it, but because I'm battling myself.

I've talked to Andrew and we're going to try some of the community classes - I think first up is Taiko drumming. It's mixed up with some fitness, but it sounds damn cool. Their not that expensive for the classes, and it gives us a) something to do to get us fit, b) something to do together that is fun c) gets us out meeting new people. All things we need to do. High five for planning this! Now to do!

What do you do to get your butt off the couch and into the world?

#2012Diet

From my previous post about new years resolutions, you may have guessed that I want and need to lose weight. I have many excuses for my weight gain, why I eat junk, etc.

I have perfected the sarcastic "no, I'm not pregnant, I'm just fat." Which ties in another part of my weight loss needs. I have read that your fertility goes down the more obese you are. at a BMI of 30 it starts going down, at BMI 35 your fertility decreases 43 %. My BMI is 34.9. Yeah, if we want to start a family I'm going to have to tone down. Aside from that is once I reached the 200 lb limit I felt my body change. No not just get bigger, but hormonally. Suddenly I'm too tired, my periods aren't regular, I'm moody as hell - and none of this is because I'm pregnant, but because I'm fat. I've been battling the hormones for the past year, and I've  had enough- there's only so much the doctor's can do, when my size simply resets everything they try!

I have disliked my body for two years. I try not to vocalize it. Why don't I vocalize it? Well because then people call call me on it.

Last year around this time I started exercising and eating well when Andrew went to Alberta to find work. It's a lot easier to be healthy when you're on your own. You have more time, you don't have to worry about another's nutrition needs. When Andrew came back, that stopped for me

I'm hoping to kick start it again, but this time with Andrew home. This is already working out to be a challenge. One main reason is scheduling. I come home from work around 5 pm. That leaves plenty of time for dinner and work out, however I need to work out before dinner (otherwise there's no way I'm going to the gym). However, mom is home and though lately she hasn't been feeling up for dinner, but rather snacks - Andrew still needs dinner after the long hard days he puts in. So I feel almost stuck. And yes, I know he is perfectly capable of making his own dinner - but I enjoy having dinner with him, or at least the ideology of eating dinner as a family.

So far my plan for eating has been pretty simple. Stay as close to 1200 calories as possible. I keep track of this with an App on my phone. So far this week I have stayed pretty close in there.

Another key part is making sure I'm not eating out during my work day. I consider my work day to start when I leave the house, so that means no breakfast at McDonalds (which has prev been my downfall) and no running to Tim Hortons on the bank run for lunch. I'm getting up earlier and making breakfast, and bringing lunches to work - even simple ones like Oatmeal. It's considered a breakfast food, but it's enough for me.

The hardest part, aside from skipping my egg mcmuffins, is not snacking at night. I didn't realize how easily I got into the habit of just snacking on crap all evening long, during the holidays. Well I did, and that's hard to break. Easier when I'm eating dinner later.

So to conclude, what I am doing to help my weight loss right now is: Eating breakfast at home, bringing lunch to work - low cal, no snacking after dinner on crap food.

What do I need to do: Start exercising (after work before evening) which will push dinner later and hopefully solve the snacking problem. Continue logging calorie intake and (hopefully) watch the lbs shed!

Have any tips and tricks for your weight loss? What has helped you curve snacking?

New Years Resolutions

The past few years I have succeeded in the few resolutions I have made.
At the end of 2010 I made the resolution to remain smoke free (I had quit that year) and I completed that goal.

This year my resolution is a bit more .. well more. My list is a lot bigger and a lot more in depth. Our lives are heading in the direction I want, but not fast enough. So this year I really want to push it forward. With mom's diagnosis it puts a bit of a crimp in the plans, but we are going to get through it. So here's to starting the list! Let's see where I end up this time next year.

Deirdre’s 2012 Resolutions

1.   Lose weight, goal= 150 lbs or less (ideal 135 lbs [potentially not possible in 2012. 2013?]):
                  a.      200 lbs

b.      190 lbs

c.       180 lbs

d.      170 lbs

e.       160 lbs

f.       150 lbs

2.    Healthy eating:

a.      Make fast food a rarity.

b.      Home cooked meals

c.       Cut out one item that is bad for you:

                                                           i.      Sugar

                                                           ii.      Caffeine

                                                           iii.     White bread

                                                           iv.      Red meat

3.     Healthy lifestyle:

a.       Consistent gym use

b.      Run:

                                                          i.      30 sec straight

                                                          ii.      1 minute straight

                                                          iii.      2 minutes straight

                                                          iv.      5 minutes straight

4.     Arts and crafts

a.       Art:

                                                             i.      Take an art class

                                                            ii.      Push recognition of own Art forward

                            1.      Goal: 120 Likes on Facebook Page

                            2.      More commissions

                            3.      Gallery/coffee shop showing.

b.      Organize craft supplies in labeled bins.

c.       Complete wedding scrapbook

d.      Start year by year scrapbook (reference Facebook for picture dates)

5.     Money and savings

a.      Save (ideally) $500 each month.

b.      Pay off credit cards and maintain 25% balance.

c.      Pay off major debts:

                  d.      Save for family vacation

e.       Have 2010 and 2011 taxes completed

6.    Friends

a.       Make new friends and network with people with similar interests (art, reading, writing, etc)

b.      Make larger efforts to enrich the relationships I already have.

7.     Family

a.      Keep close. Don’t let another death remind you that family is important

b.      Communicate and spend more time with Kendra and Ethan. Would like to know my nephew.

c.       Have the girls over more often.

d.      Add to the family

                  e.       Try to bridge the gap between Grandma and self

f.       Extend more contact with Opa

g.      Try to arrange more regular trips to see relatives.

h.      More common phone calls with Dad

8.    Be the wife Andrew deserves, the daughter Mom deserves, and the friend my Family and Friends deserve.