I did it...

After some thought I have joined a running elite for exercise.....Ohio has offered to be my mentor for the process and has told me that the website www.runningtools.com is the best place to go for a great schedule to start running with.

Tonight is the first night of the first week of a 3 times a week for the next 12 week program.  Once I am done that I can graduate to the second half of the schedule and work my way to a 10 mile marathon.  That seems so far away but I will take it on scheduled day at a time.

If I work my cards right I will leave the dog walking until I jog and I can kill 2 birds with one stone :)

A new challenge has started....

The Princess has asked for my help a while back asking me to help her loose a few pounds before she leaves on a cruise of August the 15th. 

She wanted me to join her on an "all liquid" purge (not really a diet since it is short term) and I thought that it was a bit of a stretch to stick to Poon while doing this so I was going to give it a pass but still support her while she was in the office.  Well things went on a back burner and she has changed her mind about 3 times since she talked to me and now she is going on the SFast diet starting on August the 1st.  She decided that she needed some incentive and asked me to join her and I told her that I would be more than happy to challenge her but not partake of the shakes and I would stick to Poon.

This morning the gauntlet has been throw down and we are both weighing in on a scale that I am bringing in.  Whomever has lost the most weight by the 14th will have a nice lunch from Longo's and knowing me, I will find something nice on the hotplate to go with my salad LOL
Maybe we should weigh ourselves like this:

Somethings are getting bigger

I have to admit that there are things that are getting bigger while I am a Poon'er...that would be my lap.

Nikki decided that she needed to curl up with me in the living room chair and she proceeded to curl up on my lap with some overflow onto the cushion and had a nap.  Anytime before now she could only perch precariously for a little bit of snuggles and then she would jump down.

I was glad to see that there is enough room for both of us on the chair!

Third time isn't a charm.....

I saw Dr. Mercie tonight (on the right day I might add :) ) to find out that I have stayed the same.  Sure there might have been some fat loss but my body is holding onto the water like I am a camel.

So he wants to put me on a super strict Phase 1.  What does that mean to you non-Pooners?  So I am going to be eating egg whites, lean meats and veggies that are grown about ground.  This means I no longer can have my Arctic Zero Ice Cream, no Poon approved doughnuts from the clinic and no more cranberries or pecans on my commercial salads.  I might even skip over the commercial fast chain meats because of the sodium..

So I apologise if I get cranky because there might be a little cranky carb addict trying to get out LOL

Until next time just remember this:

A moment on lips....

I know the cheesy line is "a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" or something like that.  Today feels like a "a moment on lips, a day of ickkies and distention."

Someone brought in a box of doughnuts from a competitor to Tim's and they had a Cherry Stick! They were my biggest downfall when they were at Timmy's and I guess it was a blessing in disguise when they discontinued them.....well I had some of if and now I am regretting that I did! Ohio all of a sdden became my warden and came over and placed her hand on the back of my chair and another on my desk and asked me why I was eating it and told me I was going to to laps around the parking lot to burn off the calories. F did make mention to that I was cheating but informed me that she had one too :D

Well I had an errand to run at lunchtime, so I skipped lunch and have been drinking water so far this afternoon and I still feel horrible.  I will just need to remember how I feel know the next time I decide to put the chocks under the Poon wagon for a snack!

I actually want to go for a vigorous walk just to get rid of this feeling!  This picture sums it up for me right now.......

From the Dr. Poon FB page....

Gonna get through it....

Well it is the start to a new weekend so I am trying my darnedest not to falter. 

The office is ordering Thai for lunch, so beef skewers it is.  If the meat is too dry I will used the peanut sauce very sparingly as suggest by Poon Jr.  Then DH and I are too see "Dark Night" at the theatre.  I am going to have to breeze right past the concession stand to keep from wafting in the popcorn smell.  Once I am in and seated I will be fine.  Do you think I can sneak in some sugar-free Twizzlers in my bag?  I just might LOL.

Saturday morning will be an early rise to get to the Farmer's Market with Nikki to be a PR rep for the St. John's Therapy Dog program and to help out with the Teddy Bear Triage with the First Aid guys in the ambulance.

Then the part I might dread.....a pool party with the Hadfield gang at C's place.  Since we are both on it, I am taking a veggie tray with all Poon veggies and I have found a recipe for a sour cream and Mrs. Dash that I am poon'ifying :)  Also I am making a coleslaw that will have the Walden Italian dressing instead of mayo so we will be able to munch on that too.  I am a little...no...really reluctant to eat the veggie dogs since I am afraid of the sodium or even extra stuff that isn't allowed on Phase 1.  So as I say "when in doubt, don't."  So I will be happy with what I am taking and staying away from the cake and chips that are going to going around too.

I think I am going to be "au natural" in the swimsuit again, so when there are comments made about why I am not eating those foods I can say I have put to much work into me, to put that type of food into me. :)  Did you bring your dictionary to understand that one LOL

Sunday will be lunch with Mom while the DH is at a stag at Canada's Wonderland so I have a choice of the raw vegan restaurant or Swiss Chalet.  I guess I will leave it to mom what she wants to do.

See you in a few days and don't forget to keep hydrated!

w00t...w00t!

This morning was a little victory me :)  I order a 2XLarge from Polaris (the convention that I met Wil at) and it was big on me!  Now the green Polaris shirt that I am wearing in my "before pic" is an XLarge so I am hoping that I can pass the 2XLarge to the DH after a while :)

So to go with my tee-shirt for work I pulled on my jean Capri's and I do know that they are getting bigger but I am cinching them up with a belt.  Well that belt is a notch tighter!  I am happy to show off the old wear hole on the belt when people comment on what I am wearing!

WHEE!!!!!!

I am a b-l-o-n......I am a blonde.

Well in my infinite wisdom I messed up......

I walked into the Brampton Clinic last night to let them know that I was there for my weigh in and the girl looked confused.  She asked me for my phone number and then asked if I was to be there weekly or every 2 weeks.

I replied "every 2 weeks"

She looked up and said "you were here last week."

o_O

So I feel like I have been handed an extra week to lose some weight in!

I will make sure I will post my results NEXT WEEK LOL

2 biggies at once....

1) buying a swimsuit and 2) wearing it that afternoon!

Saturday was a day away for the DH and I so we headed to the Canada's Wonderland Water Park for a good portion of the day.  We have season's passes so we figure that we are never really in a rush to get the most packed into a day's pass.
Well I am glad that I didn't hit the pool at the VP's since the swimsuit I took ended up causing me to fall out of places that would have rivalled Janet Jackson's Superbowl performance LOL  I looked at the label and found out that it was a 20W form many moons ago!  So as most of you know sizes are no longer what they used to be so I figure that I am doing pretty darn good!

I was was constantly fidgeting with it in the bathroom mirror and the DH said "let's just get you a new one on the way to the park and I will get a new set of trunks too."  I was a little reluctant to hit the store but I did find something that fit my long torso and I don't fall out LOL  I am in a 2X right now, which is a heck of a lot better than the 3X tees I used to put over it!

We got to the park and changed our clothes and I went "au natural" which means no shirt on or a towel around my waist.  It was mentioned to me that no matter what I think, there is someone that is going to be bigger than me and since everyone else is worried about what they look like, they won't be worried about me.  And they were right.  There were some that were at the water park that I just wanted to give them a mirror so that the shouldn't wear blue strips horizontally if you are over 300 pounds! I also made the assumption that another girl that had to sit at the side of the wave pool and have her DH rub her ankles since the weight of herself made them sore being in the water.  It put a lot into perspective for me.

As I walked around I felt proud of myself since I wasn't the biggest on there and I thought if anyone judges me, they don't know what I started from and where I am going to end up.  Their ignorance is my bliss :)

As for food?  Well I hit the Manchu Wok and ordered the beef stir fry and a side of veggie.  They asked me which I wanted either rice or noodles, so I got the noodles and the DH ate some :)  IT worked out for the DH and I to eat this way, since I ate all his mushrooms and celery while he ate my little corn and carrots.  For dinner we hit the Marketplace Buffet and they had a decent selection for me. I hit the taco bar and loaded up on the lettuce with a hint of sour cream and a Tbsp of the ground beef.  They had a carver there too for the roast beef I had, plus they had cooked chicken that I had as well.  As I was wondering around, I cam across the Cesar salad bar, so I loaded up again on the lettuce and they had cucumbers there as well.  I did feel thirsty the next day I figure that it was because of the salt that was in meat.  The DH mentioned to a staff member that there really needs to be more sugar free desserts for diabetics and healthy conscious visitors......Gotta love him :)

Headed home feeling relaxed, and looking forward to when we go back again!

Update and Friday the 13th....

Last night was a blast!  I enjoyed the beef and chicken skewers and a salad that had some shredded lettuce, cucumbers, feta, olives (left those behind) and that had was tossed in oil & vinegar dressing.  The VP them came out with a sweet tray and fruit platters for dessert and I stayed away from those...very proudly in fact :)  I did give into the cashews she brought out and I think I am paying for it now......I feel like my stomach is distended like I gained 40 pounds!

I am not superstitious by any means but I think that they got the memo at Longo's today.  This is where we decided to grab lunch since they have a salad bar and a hot plate section and you pay by the 100/gm.  L and I have headed out on few Fridays (now it is a regular thing apparently) and F decided to join us too.  We got there and it was a little bit busier than normal but I wasn't going to worry about.  There was a baked turkey breast with sage and basil, the regular pot roast, other fish dishes, an assortment of pastas and veggies.

Well I decided on a small slice of turkey breast, a small piece of pot roast (no gravy) some sauteed mushrooms and thought I would splurge and had a single manicotti that was smaller than what I have experienced in the past. One the lady put my meat in, she proceeded to close it up an weigh it to tell me a price.  She didn't ask if I wanted more or anything.  When she came back I told her I wanted more and she looked a bit bewildered LOL  So she added the extras and recalculated it. L hit the salad bar and F hit the sushi bar and grabbed some blueberries and we were on our way.

I get back to the office to see that the sweets from the night before were still sitting out so I proceeded to eat my lunch not really staring at them but had a great conversation with AN since she was there too.

I cut the fat off the roast beef for Nik and started in the beef only to find that it was salty......could be from the way I am eating now or it really was.  But either way I didn't finish it. Next I tried a bite of the manicotti only to find that tasted horrible too.  So I tried a few mushrooms to find that they were rolled in butter or something oily that coated the mushrooms.  So that left the turkey (for those of you keeping track) I took the bit of skin off the outside and it was yummy!!!!!  So I enjoyed the turkey breast and my MiO water and called that lunch with my other half of my "doughnut."  Nikki really enjoyed her kibble with the rest of my lunch today LOL.

AM just came to my desk and informed me that she is having a brownie on my behalf since it was telling her too LOL  I am glad that there are folks here starting to catch on to what I am doing :)

Big Reveal

Well I am doing something tonight that I haven't done in ages.....I am going to a pool party at the VP's house and as far back as I can remember I have been wearing at shirt over my swimsuit and grabbing a towel as soon as I get out.  Well this time around it is nothing but me, a swimsuit and sarong.  I wear tee shirts to the office that reveal my upper arms, I wear shorts that show the lower legs so this is a chance to see it all at once LOL.

There is going to be food catered in, so I am hoping that I can be picky and take what I need.  I have been able to keep to true and keep away from the carbs and sugars for a bit now and I even turned down cookies and crackers that were being passed around!  I figured that the work I have done so far shouldn't be undo by a sweet potato cracker or a little chocolate cookie so that I can satisfy my brain and mouth.

In a weird sort of way, I am hoping that the ladies see it and take mental note so that when I get to go again next year, they will be wowed at the changes that I am making.

Don't forget:

Big 'Ol Fat Goose Egg

I haven't seen Dr, Crystal in a while but I have been seeing a different younger doctor called Dr. Macie I think.  Well this is my 3rd visit with him and even though he is compassionate like Dr. Crystal is, this guy sets goals for me to reach.  He wasn't too keen that I had lost a pound of fat but gained a pound of water and that equals a good old fat zero in my mind.  So he has told me to some serious walking in (or even a jog in) and he wants to see 4 pounds at our next visit in 2 weeks.

After hearing the successes that C had at hers I felt like I had let myself down. There is the potential of making leaps and bounds with this new way of life and I guess I need to have a talk with myself and figure if I am going to sh!t or get off the pot.....

Tried to cut a corner......

I have come to a realisation coming into work this morning.....I know call Guinness LOL

I was told by Dr. Crystal at the clinic that I needed to take a multivitamin while on the program along with calcium/magnesium and vitamin D.  I went through a "women's" multivitamin and had great success on the diet.  Once I ran out if the women's one a day, I went back to the pharmacy and noticed that there was one there that helped me digest carbs (not sure which ones) but I though that it would have given me an edge in my weight loss.

Well I had a weight gain for 8 pounds last month and I had a "don't give a flying fig newton" attitude when it came to my food.  I wasn't caring what I was putting in my mouth and was eating no stop.  I thought I was at the end of my will power and wasn't sure what to do.  The DH even was texting with P as an intervention LOL.

Well I went through the bottle of the carb assisted (except for one) pills and it was very difficult to stick to the plan and of course I gained.  So I headed back to the pharmacy and decided to go back to the women's one a day.  I tossed the single light green pill into the bottle of white ones and thought I would take it when it came back out of the bottle.  I have been back on the women's one a day for about a half bottle when the little light green one popped out.

Well that was yesterday....I felt like there wasn't enough food in the house, I would look at the Phase 1 food I had in the house and was closing the door again in the search of  "bad food"  I thought that B1 (Thiamine) was to help with the brain's function but I guess I am wired differently (aren't we all?)  So the only thing I can think of is that the carb ones were the only thing that was different yesterday. I stayed home to sleep from the Con and worked in the evening so it was pretty much a Sunday type day for me and the only thing that was different was the little green pill.

Looking back I feel that once I on the women's one a day I feel like I can tackle my weigh loss with new hope and vigour.  So I am not looking for an excuse for the weight gain, but it is nice to know that cutting corners really isn't worth all the hassle.

Made it

Well the Con is now over and after 2 full days of guests, panels and checking on our fan booth I think I did okay meal wise over the weekend.  I really fell short on water but I am sure that I will really feel it today.


Thanks to a good friend Na who was working the staff lounge I was able to eat some lunches from there.  I just hope that she didn't get mad at me for disassembling her roast beef sandwiches to get at the roast beef to go along with my green veggies.  I was often tempted to give in and grab a hot dog and slap on some mayo and relish, but I was glad that the DH was there to get my food or I would have.  I did keep away from the bowl of salt water taffy that the model room had place on the info desk for the weekend promoting the model show.  There were even tootsie rolls in it and they are soooo delish!


The big let down of my eating was the trip to Jack Astor's with C and we thought we were making a good choice.  We order the Shanghai Lettuce Wraps which are crispy diced chicken breast tossed with a sweet chili hoisin sauce, crisp noodles, carrots, cucumber, cilantro, crushed peanuts and sesame seeds served with fresh iceberg lettuce cups.  We ordered these with various items removed and we though we did pretty darn good until it came to the table.  I guess I missed the part about "crispy" since the diced chicken was breaded and I missed the texture of this since it was swimming in the sauce.  So I tried to keep as much of the sauce in the bowl and just continued to eat it.  We both did really good and passed on the dessert menu :)


I did get my picture with Wil Wheaton and as soon as it hits my inbox I will post it.

Meeting Up

One thing I like about conventions is that it gives me a chance to rekindle friendships that I keep all year via different social medias.

This weekend is no different wit a sci-fi & fantasy convention in Toronto.  I  met up with my other 2 friends that hove become 'Pooners because of my way of living and the results I have achieved.  C is having her second weigh in today and then P has to get her wedding dress adjusted because of her 30 pound weight loss!!!  P is upset that some of her weight loss in her breasts, but she is happy with her weight loss.

With that being said C went and did some shopping at the Thornhill office and found (like the rest of us) it was hit or miss on what her taste buds would enjoy.  Well she didn't like the hot cereals or the or the sesame treats so when we met up last night I inherited some food :)

I am going to need it I think since I have my picture with Wil Wheaton today and the shirt I have on (missed doing some laundry because of being in Elliot Lake) was bought on a shopping spree when I was 10 pounds lighter and it fits just where it needs to :(  I could blame the washer from the last time I wash it but who am I kidding?  I guess I will just need to stand up straight and suck the paunch in when we are posing LOL.  Don't worry, I will post the pic when I get it :)

At least with C & P at the con this weekend I will have someone to confuse the wait staff with when we make or Phase 1 requests for our meals.

Enjoy your weekend and stay on the wagon.

Thought Ahead

Without fail, there are treats in the lunchroom....and again they are sweets in the shape if donuts and I am awfully tempted to got in there and grab one.....but no.

I have thought ahead and brought one of my Dr. Poon approved doughnuts from the clinic and will still enjoy the coconut middle without the guilt.

For those that are wondering what the doughnuts are.....take a look:

I know that they are nothing to look at but I really do enjoy these especially when the 3 pm snakkies hit :)  I am glad that they are pretty inexpensive and you can keep them in the freezer for months (not like they are going to last that long LOL)

I am just waiting for the one I brought to defrost (hopefully by 10) so that I can enjoy it with my tea.

Starting to turn around

I woke up this morning with the usual check list of things to do running through my head.......have a shower, pack lunches, take my pills etc...What makes this morning a little different is my mind stayed on what to make for lunches.  Normally I am the kind that makes sliced turkey breast with a dot or 2 of mustard wrapped up in a lettuce leaf and a side of cucumber coins.  Easy poesy and I eat about 4 of the wraps and keep on trucking.  This morning I decided that I wanted a salad....yes a salad.  I was excited to make it with mushrooms, cucumber, and some Greek dressing I picked up in Elliot Lake.

If you asked me a 5 years ago what I was going to have for lunch, I would have told you I couldn't decide between a few slices from Topper's or a big mac combo with a milk shake.

Wow I have come a long way!

A quick catch up

Well I have made it through the adventures of Elliot Lake with the fam, and it was really hard.  I thought if I did the grocery shopping it would be a 5 day detox of phase 1.  But alas it wasn't.....Mom insisted that we eat everything that was in her house since she has no plans to be up there until Labour Day.  So that meant eating 2 pies, chips, ice cream and cookies that she has stashed away.  Now I do admit that I stayed away from the chips and the cookies....but to watch everyone constantly snacking on the caramel pralines ice cream drove me nuts!!!!!  My Artic Zero ice cream was sitting in my freezer 7.5 hours away an no way of getting to it!!!!!!!

So I did have a piece of pie after 3 days of being there and one last piece on the last night.  I do admit that we did go for walks down to the beach but that is no real reason to fall as hard as I did.

So as I have saved and taped to my desk wall is:

It has been a great journey so far since November the 4th........I really have to admit that I haven't had the great losses that everyone else seems to have but this is the only place that I can be called a slow loser and no slug anyone LOL.

Hopefully I will be able to keep with this since I have a few friends (you know who you are) and are looking me for guidance (uh oh....) so hopefully this blog will inspire me as much as Leigh C's blog http://poonapalooza.blogspot.ca has.

So until next time, keep it lean or green!