A Miracle for sharing ...

It's been a very busy and emotional week for me. Today's blog doesn't contain any "wit and wisdom" about dieting ... it contains, what I believe, is an amazing miracle that I felt I just had to share ...

Sunday evening Terry, the kids and I took a dear friend out for dinner. This amazing woman and I worked together for many years and were very close. She was like a second mother to me. She is now 79, but still full of vim and vigour. We've always kept in touch, but haven't been able to get together as often as we would like to have over the last 10 or so years. Just before Christmas, I got some very sad news from her ... the cancer she had 30 years ago had returned, and had reared it's ugly head in more than one place. I was devastated. We have been talking every week and were thrilled to get together Sunday to reminisce and have some good laughs over dinner. She looked great and we had a wonderful time, however, it was sad to say goodbye, as I wasn't sure if the next time I would visit her would be in the hospital. This was her week for all the final testing (blood work, cat scans, etc.) to determine how far it had spread and what her options would be. I have felt a sinking feeling in my stomach all week.

Well, I just heard from her tonight, and she had some amazing news to tell me: she is CANCER FREE. Her last cat scan and physical examination on December 24th showed cancer ... today's cat scan was CLEAR. Physical examination was CLEAR. Totally clear. She has stumped the doctors, but has sure made her family and all her friends very happy! I am over the moon ... I am so happy for her. I have been praying for her, as have many, many other people, and I believe that what she has experienced is nothing short of a miracle. There is no other explanation for it. Miracles happen! She is proof of that ... !

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Weigh-in day is Monday, and I hope there's a little less of me to share with you then!!!

Thanks for reading,
Janet xo

My biggest struggle ...

First of all I want to clarify that I am all for saving the environment. I do everything in my power to make my household a "green" one ... faithfully recycling, composting daily, don't buy bottled water, use biodegradable "pet waste" bags, keep the thermostat at a reasonable 68F, unplug appliances when not in use, turn my laptop off everynight, consciously try to watch for "phantom" power sources. But there is one "green" action that I struggle several times a week with ... THE DREADED RE-USEABLE GROCERY BAG. Those darned things. When they first came out, I thought they were an awesome idea. Such an assortment of funky patterns to choose from! I have at least 2 bags from every grocery store within a 50 mile radius of my house. I have a colour and size for every reason and season known to mankind ... and even a few I've received in the mail. I have the prettiest collection! My problem is, I ALWAYS forget to take them to the store. They sit so organized tucked in a corner near the top of our entryway stairs ... but I always end up walking by them and remember them only once I've driven to the store and am walking to get my cart. Then I have the pang of guilt that I'll have to use plastic. Oh the looks I get from fellow shoppers when I ask for plastic WHAT?? PLASTIC? She's clogging our landfills! But the grocery clerks LOVE me ... they absolutely hate the reuseable bags. I know this as a fact because I've asked a few clerks for their opinion when they give me the dirty look as I hand them my reuseable bags (one of the very few times I've remembered them) to begin their task of totalling and bagging my overflowing cart of groceries.
So you're probably saying "well, if you have so many, why not leave some in the car?" Tried that. I cleverly split my collection between our 2 vehicles so I was covered whichever vehicle I had to take. Worked for about 2 weeks, then they would get left inside instead of being taken back out to the vehicles. I would end up at the grocery store with the vehicle that DIDN'T have the bags in it.
I now collect and carry in a special change purse all nickels I come across. Why you ask? Well, plastic bags cost 5 cents you know ... and I'm the plastic bag queen!
So I'm making another trip to the grocery store today, and will I remember the bags? Probably not. I will hide my face in shame as the clerk totals and bags my purchases IN PLASTIC and I take out my trusty change purse. Oh the guilt ...


Thanks for reading!
Janet xo

Metabolism ... my new BFF

Metabolism ... why does this word keep surfacing almost every time I have a conversation with someone about my weight? "Oh, you just have a sluggish metabolism". DO YA THINK?? A snail could pass my metabolism in the 50 yard dash and reach the finish line before my metabolism even sees the 1 yard point. (wow, I'm really dating myself there ... using "yards" ... I'm still an imperial girl ... Kinda like the Madonna song "Material Girl" ... but I'm living in an "Imperial World". There I go again ... 80's Madonna ... dating myself twice in the same thought ... I'm really NOT stuck in the '80s although my thought process may suggest that).

Ok, things are getting a bit strange here, on with the REAL point of today's blog ...

I admit, years of yoyo dieting has probably majorly screwed up my metabolism. But is this really true? So I ventured to Wikipedia for a real explanation of metabolism (God bless Wikipedia for assisting 40-something, brain-dead people like me). It states, "Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in living organisms to maintain life. These processes allow organisms to grow (oh, I have no problems with growth, just in the wrong direction) reproduce (no problem there either, 2 beautiful children), maintain their structures (oh, I'm maintaining my structure alright, we are just experiencing overkill in the insulation, bricks and mortar department) and respond to their environments (buffet environment? I'm responding!) Wikipedia continues, "The metabolism of an organism determines which substances it will find nutritious and which it will find poisonous". HUH? Okay, metabolism of mine, why have we not yet found something poisonous about chocolate? Or ketchup chips? cheesecake?? ... "The speed of metabolism, the metabolic rate, also influences how much food an organism will require" ... Ok, so my metabolism must be on overdrive? I can always find room to eat something ANYTIME of the day. But the key word there is REQUIRE ... what my body REQUIRES ... not what I WANT.

So I obviously need to focus more on only what my body REQUIRES ... not what I want it to have. I've been showing my body WAY too much love over the last several years, in the form of food. Then depriving it by calorie restricted diets. But has this REALLY slowed down my metabolic rate? Well, research suggests this is true. Yoyo dieting, especially severe calorie restricted diets ultimately slows metabolic rate by putting the body into starvation mode. Then when the dieting comes to a halt and binge eating of all the foods you were deprived of begins, the weight packs back on twice as fast because your body "stores" it, because it's afraid you're going to "starve" it again. And when you come off that diet, do you binge on celery and carrot sticks? Heck NO! We hoard the Haagen Dazs and inhale the Pringles. So ... how to get this metabolic rate moving again? Well, sensible eating ... not starvation dieting ... helps immensely. Have a treat now and then, don't deprive yourself. BE SENSIBLE. Also, the higher our muscle mass, the higher our metabolism ... so weight resistance workouts are important, too. Most men have higher muscle mass than women, so this explains why alot of men lose weight faster than women. I'm proof of that ... Terry can f*rt and lose 5 pounds, I have to cut off an arm. (sorry for that picture, I know it's not pretty, but it got the point across)


So I think that the plan I am following will help boost my metabolic rate so it can at least catch up to that snail ... sensible eating, not deprivation, and regular exercise including resistance training (yay Curves!) Metabolism will quickly become my new BFF!



Thanks for reading,

Janet xo

The Buddy System

As I begin the second week of my journey I am feeling so grateful for the opportunity to write this blog (heck, when I'm blogging I'm not eating). But most of all I'm grateful to my friends and family for the support and encouragement in my weight-loss struggles and for your interest in my new-found blogging passion. Some of you have been through this weight-loss battle with me many times before, it must seem like a broken record (stop the presses, Janet's dieting AGAIN). But you are always there with encouragement and I thank you for that!! I also realize I'm not alone in this battle; so many people are fighting it too, or have fought it before.
I saw a bumper sticker the other day on my neighbour's car that read "Lord, if you can't make me thin, please make my friends fat". Hmmm ... humorous, yes, but I think I'd rather work at getting thin with my friends. Yes, it's easy to be jealous of those that "can eat everything in sight and not gain an ounce" born with the blessing of a high metabolism ... I have a few friends like that. But I don't pick my friends by their body type ... and I'm sure they haven't picked me for that either (although I have heard that some people think those that are chubby are more jolly, so there might be something to that!) So I just want to say YAY! to all my friends and family, whether you are on this journey or a different journey. We've all had struggles in life, some just different that others. But the buddy system is what it's all about ... "stickin' together whatever the weather" ... Here's to my buddies!!



Thanks for reading!

Janet xo

Effort=Results

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I got through yesterday's birthday (had a sliver of cake and a spoonful of ice cream) and a dine-out at our favorite restaurant with a dear old friend (had my favorite dish but skipped the wine and dessert). So I guess I'm doing something right, hopped on the scale this morning (borrowed my mom's scale, I still haven't found that perfect scale to replace my pretty one) and I'm down 6 pounds from last Monday. Yippee!! Now I know not to get too excited, history dictates that the first week or two lots of pounds fall off due to loss of water, so I know this will slow down. But it sure feels good when you put in the effort and get the results. Guess that's the magical equation ... effort=results. But I think there's willpower and motivation tied in there too ... it all fits together in that journey of losing weight.

More tomorrow ...

Thanks for reading!
Janet xo

My Roomba story

Here's my Roomba story ... totally unrelated to my weight loss journey, however, it is the weekend, so I thought I'd take a break from my usual banter and share an entertaining moment of my life with everyone. Bear with me, when I'm telling a story I tend to babble.

After losing our beloved senior Yellow Lab almost 2 years ago, within 3 months we adopted a darling little female Yellow Lab pup. I was thrilled, as I had never raised a dog from "puppy stage" before. We had always adopted "adult" dogs. May 30th, 2008, beautiful little 8-week-old Sierra came from Ironridge Kennels in Lindsay to her "forever home" in Newcastle. Here's where the adventure begins.

"Roomba" is a robot vacuum, introduced onto the market a few years ago. It's this amazing round re-chargeable vacuum that amazingly avoids falling down stairs, turns before smashing into walls, and will climb from hard floors onto carpet with ease. It consists of a round body, on the base are medium-sized and large-sized rollers that pick up just about anything, and on his (yes, he is a boy ... closest thing I could get to a "man servant" so he HAD to be male) right side a type of spinning brush ... key word there is "spinning" ... it has 6-8 plastic "arms" with brushes on each end, which spin to "edge clean" what the rollers miss. An amazing invention. It rolls around on 2 rubber wheels which are designed in a "checkerboard" type of pattern, to easily grip any floor. My amazing hubby, always trying to make things easier for me, purchased one for Christmas 2007. Roomba was a miracle for me; with several animals, he ran everyday faithfully picking up all the animal fur while I worked, and headed back to his base when he got tired and recharged, ready until the next time I called upon my "man-servant".

Well, as you know, puppies take some time to housetrain, and Sierra was no different from any other puppy; we had our challenges and accidents, but with being self-employed and working from home, I was able to let her out more often and avoid a lot of these "messes". One morning, when Sierra was about 3 months old, we were heading outside for our morning play and her yard deposit. I noticed her wandering around the livingroom and in behind the couch by the window, which wasn't out of the ordinary, she was a very inquisitive puppy, getting into anything she could when mommy wasn't looking. So I very brilliantly decided that while we were outside I would run Roomba so he could so all his cleaning without being chased by Sierra. Over an hour later when we came back inside, I could hear that Roomba was still running, finishing the last of his floor duties. I came into the kitchen where my laptop often sits at the kitchen table, sat down to check email, and smelled an awful "poopy" smell. I immediately blamed the cat ... her litter box is quite a distance from the kitchen, but trust me, you KNOW when she's used it ... it always brings to mind the song by Phoebe from the t.v. show Friends, "Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat, What Are They Feeding You?" Poor cat. She gave me a look like, "geez, Mom, it's not me". I heard Roomba coming towards me in the kitchen, looked down, and to my horror, discovered a delightful brown smear behind him on the floor. As I made my way into the livingroom from the kitchen, the smell became much more intense, and the brown became chunkier. Sadly, Sierra, unbeknownst to me, had already done her "solid" business behind the couch BEFORE we went outside, and I had cleverly turned Roomba on, not even thinking to check the floor. Well, Roomba, being the ever faithful robot vacuum, didn't miss an inch of the livingroom floor ... especially behind the couch where Sierra had pooped. He had run over the poop, his 2 bottom rollers had ground into it, his spinning side brush had picked up the remainder of it, and proceeded to fling it all around the livingroom. The couch, the trim, the white railing, smears of poopy brown all over the laminate floor, and a lovely trail from the livingroom into the kitchen. I was mortified. I just stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what to do first. My son, T.J., came down the hallway from his bedroom and said "What's that smell" and upon seeing the destruction, said "OOHHH (and a word I can't post). Ya. So I immediately grabbed Roomba to prevent further discolouration of any other household contents, set him upside down in the sink, and went about the task of de-pooping my house. The smell was unreal. Sierra was very quickly shut in her crate to avoid spreading it even further. Once I was done cleaning the couch, railing, trim and floors, I set about trying to save my Roomba. Well, the rollers and brush weren't so hard to clean, they are all detachable. The wheels on the other hand presented quite a challenge. Their checkerboard pattern was a raised and lowered pattern ... so the poop was stuck in every "lower" part of the pattern. Well people, Q-Tips sure came in handy this day. I spent 1 hour cleaning poor pooped-out Roomba. I set him outside in the sun to dry after his thorough cleaning. But he has never been the same. He gets really confused when I run him, turning and avoiding objects that aren't there (poor thing has had the s*#!t scared out of him!). When I put him on his charging station, he charges for so long, then the voice comes on and says "charging error" and his green light turns bright orange. I have considered sending my story to the Roomba company to see if, during their hysterics, they will just say "oh, gosh, just send this poor woman a new one" but I haven't got up the courage to do that yet. I'm sure there are brown foreign objects way inside Roomba that I can't get to, that are preventing him from performing his duties in a proper manner. Poor pooped-out Roomba.

That's my story ... hope it made you smile! I should copyright this story ... it's already made it's way back to me through conversation ... Terry shared it with one of our sub-contractors, and just like the old shampoo commerical "she told 2 friends, and so on, and so on" it made it's way back to me ... and I was able to say, "hey, that's my story!"

Have a great weekend ... I have a family birthday tomorrow and a dine-out afterwards, so wish me luck!! Back Monday with weigh-in results!!

Thanks for reading,

Janet xo

R.I.P. Digital Scale

Ah the dreaded scale. I put you on a pedestal and worship you if you show me good things. I curse you and accuse you of falseties if you show me bad things. Last year I purchased the prettiest digital scale with all sorts of added features ... this scale could do just about anything except clean my bathroom. She had the perfect little home tucked away in a cozy corner, saving her energy 'til she was called upon to brightly display our body mass, fat percentage and weight. But my pretty scale died just before Christmas. Coincidence? I think not. She was saving herself from the horrible fate of delivering the post-holiday weight gain news to me. Several different brands of new batteries have failed to bring my pretty scale back. She has gone to digital scale heaven where all the weigh-ins are positive ones. May she rest in peace.

Now to find that one scale that will be kind AND clean my bathroom ... do they make a Roomba scale?? (that probably wouldn't work for me, it would start up on its own and run away as it saw me approaching for that dreaded weigh-in).

Just wait until I share my Roomba vacuum story, totally unrelated to my weight-loss journey, but quite entertaining nonetheless. But that's for another blog, another day ...




Thanks for reading!

Janet xo

cals., mgs., gs ... the obsession of it all

Calories, fat grams, grams of fibre ... those 3 all important facts on a nutritional label ... at least that's what I've been taught in the hundreds (yup, hundreds) of weight loss group classes I've attended. I know the formula, 3 grams of fat per 100 calories to stay in the "safe" range. At least 2-3 grams of fibre per serving to keep it "regular" (you know what we all need to keep "regular", I won't post that). And lately, we've been drilled to think of carb count, too. Having moderately high blood pressure, I have to look at the sodium levels, too. Alot of pre-packaged foods are PACKED full of sodium ... you think you're eating something relatively healthy, but really aren't. Yesterday, a friend shared some pointers from his very successful weight loss journey (thanks John!); the one that really hit home for me is to eat nothing from a box or package. Preservatives aren't healthy for us. We know that. Haven't we all become so dependent on "quick" meals and take out? I'm totally guilty of buying the convenient frozen WW entrees, Lean Cuisines, Healthy Choice. (I'm sure this comes from following the Jenny Craig program for over a year ... it's ALL pre-packaged food). Yes, my life is busy, but so is everyone else's. It's time I quit using "busy" as an excuse and start making more home-cooked meals (Terry will no doubt be pleased!). I don't think that buying "fresh" will be any more expensive, when I take into consideration ALL THE MONEY I've spent on convenience foods; pre-packaged, diet and non-diet foods (see "paying off the Federal Deficit" in Blog #1). Not to mention it's an excellent investment in my HEALTH ... and what's more important than that? This sounds like one of the BEST things I can do for ME to jump-start my ... what will be my FINAL ... weight-loss journey. Then nutrition labels won't be such an obsession.



Thanks for reading!

Janet xo

D.I.E.T.

Having been so obsessed with "dieting" for several years of my life, I decided to look a little deeper into the word that has encompassed my life for so long. "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change" most people now say. Yada, yada, yada ... I've attempted to change my lifestyle so many times I'm surprised Robin Leach isn't knocking on my front door (guess it's because I'm too poor from buying diet food). A quick look in Wikipedia gives the following definition: "Dieting is the practice of ingesting food in a regulated fashion to achieve or maintain a controlled weight". Key word there is CONTROLLED. So I look at my life ... I control the backbone of a very successful carpentry business; I control an entire household (but don't tell my hubby that); I control my own Avon business; why can't I "control" my weight? So I decided to "acronym" (is that a proper use of the word?!) the word DIET to see if I could come up with a logical answer. Google wasn't much help, when I typed in D.I.E.T. it came up with tons of ways to "diet", most of which I've already tried ... I think my name actually came up there too. So ... I took it upon myself to try to come up with it on my own.

D.I.E.T. : Dying Inside, Eating Terrible ... nah, way too Emo
D.I.E.T. : Denial of Ingesting Everything Tasty ... ok, other than adding the "of"
I even tried it backwards T.E.I.D. ... obviously doesn't work like "stressed" spelled backwards (desserts)
D.I.E.T. : Don't Ingest Extra Treats ... THERE IT IS!!! Like it!

So there's my answer ... that's where the control lies.

Thanks for reading!
Janet xo

Diet Food - Thou Art An Oxymoron ...

So by now those of you that have read my first blog have come to the conclusion that I've spent so much money on various diet plans and groups that I could have probably paid off the Federal Deficit. Not to mention what I've spent on "diet" food over the last several years ... keeping Jenny Craig in business for yet another year, and Quaker's production of Mini Rice Cakes at record levels. So as you can guess, my trip to the grocery store last night resulted in a cart full of the usual stuff ... fruit, veggies (nothing out of the norm at my house) and just about every food that has the words "Smart"; "Balance"; "Light" or any other synonym for "buy me I'll make you skinny". Then I came upon the motherload. Strolling by the freezer section looking for that magical frozen yogurt that tastes like ice cream but with 1/4 of the fat, I happened upon a wonderful "diet" product, be it a major oxymoron: "Skinny Cow". Ah, at last, a frozen product that resembles the real thing, but with little or no fat!! I was in diet heaven! I'm sure anyone else in the grocery store could hear my sighs of delight as I looked over the Nutritional Values chart and grinned from ear-to-ear. Terry will even like this! So home to my freezer it came, and yes, it was sampled upon my joyous arrival back at the homestead, and it actually was pretty good. Ice milk and chocolate wafers disguised as an oxymoron can be quite satisfying!

Thanks for reading,
Jan xo

Embarrassed? Heck ya ...

Well, can't believe I'm back at this point I'd sworn 2 years ago I'd NEVER be back at. Battling the scale ... battling the bulge ... hating the way I look and feel. Embarassed to go anywhere for fear of seeing someone I knew years ago, and they recognize me but can't believe the size I am. Seeing pictures of myself taken recently and wishing I could replace that person in the photo ... ME ... with a skinnier, more confident person. Feeling sorry for myself? Of course ... but ashamed and embarrassed to admit that ... Heck ya.
So for the ... umm let's see ... 5th time, yup FIVE TIMES ... I joined Weight Watchers again today (opted for the online WW, for the 2nd time) I've done it all ... TOPS, Jenny Craig, 3 Day Diet, Atkins ... you name it, I've done it all, and some more than once. Never gone the stomach stapling route, that scares the hell out of me, and I've been told I'm not big enough for that. Well, I can be thankful for small mercies, I guess.
Not going to share my weight in this blog, just going to say I would like to lose 70 pounds ... so yup, I'm way up there. 70 may seem unrealisitic, but I'm going to take it in baby steps, 5 pounds at a time. I've always looked at the big picture, and rushed to get there, only to fail after about 25-30 pounds, my magical plateau.
Hoping that getting my thoughts out there and sharing my battle with other people who may be fighting the same, will give me the boost I need to get through this once and for all. I have a wonderful support team in my hunky hubby and 2 fabulous kids, I'm so blessed.

Gotta go, headin' to the grocery store to stock up ... but only on the "good" stuff.

BTW ... I'm new to this blogging thing, so bear with me ...