I Am Not Drowning....Yet! (in water consumption that is)

WOW!!! Thanks for all the tips on how to get more water into me. I never realized how many different ideas could be out there. I think I will first try one of the tips an old friend/colleague suggested: have a container that holds the amount of water I need to drink, fill it and have it at my desk or next to me and sip at it all day long. I think that one will work for me the best.

While I increased my water intake by 8 more ounces, I have roughly 24 more ounces to increase it by. I refuse to believe “slow and steady wins the race”. I know the importance of drinking water. Not just for weight loss (which water intake IS a huge factor in weight loss), but also the health benefits. Tomorrow I will start filling a large container and sip at it through the day. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Today we’ve been experiencing severe thunderstorms and downpours. I’m so not in the mood to do any exercises outside and I don’t feel motivated to do them inside either. Ugh. Not in the mood. I am, unfortunately, all too familiar with this feeling. I won’t let it win. Right after posting this, I am going to head downstairs and do squats, lunges, crunches and push ups. I just wanted to mention it because if you are also not feeling very motivated, I want you to know that you are NOT alone. NOW GET UP AND WORKOUT!

Today’s shakes were Visalus mixed with POM juice and Visalus mixed with Orange Juice. Both were delicious, but Orange Juice ones are still my favourite.

Talk to you tomorrow to let you know how the water drinking it going.

67 Days Remaining on the Mini Challenge

Well….Day One is down and it was an awesome day. I started the day with a Visalus shake mixed with Grape Tropicana juice. My lunch was a Visalus shake mixed with POM juice. Both were VERY yummy!

I was afraid it’d be difficult getting back into the swing of things. But it wasn’t. It just felt right! I know from my previous experience that Visalus DOES work and I am excited to see what my results will be this Challenge.

It does also help that I went public with the competition with my cousin (and now some friends who have joined). I find it gives me that little extra motivation. Accountability.

This evening I was busy unpacking and organizing from my move. (I moved back home over one month ago, but just finished moving my stuff from the apartment I was renting.) As it got later I felt less and less motivated to do any exercising…and it was HOT! I don’t do heat!!! But I recognized these were excuses and went to head out for a walk only to find some serious Police activity outside (not sure what it was). I refused to let this be an excuse, so right before posting this, I did 10 squats, 10 lunges each leg and 20 crunches. They were lazy and I was not into them, but it is better than NOTHING. Actually, as I write this now, I am thinking I will do some more. I am really kind of disappointed with my pathetic efforts.

One thing to mention…I recognize now that my biggest challenge will be drinking enough water. I really do not drink enough. Not nearly enough. I drank 16 oz today. Other liquids (shakes and juice), but not water. 

Anyone have any tips for drinking more water? Email me – info@bbvcid.com; leave a message here; or, send me a message on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/visalus2

The Next 68 Days.....

It has been a long time since I have been on here updating you. Last you probably read was that I RETIRED!!! It was incredible! My husband and I fled to Nova Scotia and then many other little day trips. I was enjoying the relaxation…and THEN…I got an offer I could not refuse and started working again.

I LOVE my new job. It’s an incredible place to work and I am so happy!!

That gets you up to speed on the employment side of things. Now for the health side. Wellllll…I didn’t ever start my 90 Day Challenge. I fell into the world of excuses. Then I just stopped making excuses. I just kept busy and fell back into my old habits. Not my eating habits. Just my lazy habits.

I asked on Facebook for people to join me. I recognized I needed a kick in the pants. Last night my cousin posted that she will be losing 20 pounds in 69 days. I joked and said I would do the same but make it 21 pounds. By the end, we agreed that we will lose 25 pounds in 69 days. WOW! I know the last time I went public with my goal, I hit it – 30 pounds in 90 days. Sooooo…help me do the math here….WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?! I will do this! I will need to work harder than before and I cannot wait!

To prove my weight loss this time, I am going to get a note from my doctor at the end of the now 68 days to confirm the actual weight lost.

This is so exciting!!!

I will continue past the 68 days and will complete a Visalus 90 Day Challenge, but at this time I only have a weight goal for the first 68 days.

Anyone care to join us? We can motivate one another through the tough days!

So soon??? I'm a little surprised, but happy with the choice!

Sunday was the family BBQ for Canada Day. What a great crowd of folks! However, it was a difficult day as one family member was not present and his absence was felt by all. They do say it gets easier with time and I sure hope so. It was a difficult day for sure.

Monday was the day that our holiday was “recognized” and everything was pretty much closed, so it was a relaxing day…nowhere to go. I was going to move my things from my apartment, but I think I had too much sun at the BBQ and just needed to take it easy – and SLEEP lots – on Monday.

Today was an interesting day. Staying in Toronto; everyone around me going to work; hearing the rush hour traffic; planning my next road trip; wondering what I will do with my retirement – what organization will I donate my time to. I don’t know “why” I did it, but I decided to call one of the companies that were aggressively pursuing me recently. WOW! They made an offer I could not refuse! Soooooooooo... it looks like I will hold off on the retirement for a little bit. The offer was incredible, it is a position that I will enjoy and it falls into bigger plans of finishing renovations on my home to increase its value…which would be great considering we have a few things on the go in Nova Scotia. Oops! Did I not mention that one yet?

I guess we will find out together how long it will take before I just say “forget it, time to hit the East Coast for good”. In the meantime, I will be starting work again in the coming week. Hmmm…they managed to pull me from retirement. Ha ha!

My nephew and I had a bet. He bet me cookies that I’d go back to work next year and I said it’d be by the end of summer. I guess I win (?) and he owes me cookies!

I will still be actively involved with Visalus, so please continue to reach out to me for your Challenge Parties and information: www.bbvcid.com

Happy Canada Day! (Long awaited update too!)

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!!!

Well….here it is. My loooooong overdue blog to update you on the “news” I was leading up to. I’VE RETIRED!!! Yesiree, you heard me…RETIRED! As in - no longer working. You could argue that Visalus is work, but when it is that fun, is it really work?? Besides, the motto is “I get paid to party”. So it can’t be “work” then.

I gave my notice on June 19^th and my last day was June 22^nd. Yes, I gave two weeks’ notice. But they offered my last day to be June 22^nd and I jumped all over it and took off for Nova Scotia. My paradise! I love it there. Absolutely love it. However, the areas I stay in are “in the sticks” as they say and I don’t get much internet service. So my blog had to wait until I returned.

Here’s the flip side to my retirement. While I did give my notice and did plan on kicking my feet up, I came home to my messages and have 3 job offers on the table. WOW! I’m a workaholic. I am debating if I accept one of them and work on completing my renovations and then sell and move to Nova Scotia. Hmmm…maybe I take the summer off and then look for a job if I still feel I want to work? Decisions, decisions.

No decision making today though…it is CANADA DAY! Time to kick back and relax and spend time with family and friends. (That’s why we returned home after only one week in Nova Scotia…we’ve been looking forward to a BBQ we were invited to since last year.)

On a note that I don’t really want to share, but will for the purpose of the blog, I really haven’t paid any mind to my body, health, etc for the last few weeks. So I am officially back in the mindset of looking out for me. I’ve written out a plan including when to work out. I will stick to it too. After all, every goal that I have ever reached was one that I wrote on the calendar. (I did write “retirement” on my calendar for mid-July this year, and I exceeded it!)

I have also updated my website with more FAQs and pictures. My clients are a little shy to be on the website. I am hoping to update soon with more before and after shots with a wider variety of body types. Check it out: www.bbvcid.com

Enjoy your day, whether is it Canada Day for you or not, it is still the weekend!! Woohoo!!

I LOVE Visiting Friends!

What an incredible evening! I took a half vacation day on Thursday to go to an appointment and then went over to my buddy’s place. We chatted and laughed and carried on and caught up and it was such a nice evening. To my surprise, I was starting to fall asleep at 11pm. Usually, the two of us are up until the sun comes up. I was sound asleep on the couch by 11:30pm and up at 4:20 to drive home and shower and commute to work.

I am really enjoying catching up with my friends that I have not spoken with for months. It was also really nice to be able to have breakfast with my husband before work! I am back in the game and it feels so right! While I have been making an effort to do “some form of exercise” each day, I am going to look at the YMCA schedule in my area and start a program schedule for the classes that suit my work day.

Things are looking up all over the place. It makes a big difference too when there are still a lot of personal things to deal with and work through.

Have a great weekend everyone! Where I am, it’s going to be a sunny and hot weekend (35C). Now I just need a pool! I am not “bathing suit ready” quite yet, but by the end of the summer it’ll be “better”. Doesn’t bother me, I’ll still suit up to stay cool and get some colour.

I've Missed Me...Nice to be back!

Last night was so very relaxing. I spent time catching up with some people I have not spoken to in a while; read a bit of a book I’ve had for months that was still unopened (it wasn’t very good of a book after all…haha); went for a 40 minute power walk; played a couple of iPhone games and just totally relaxed.

I did not register my next Challenge. This time, however, I was actually on the Site and then decided not to. I will be seeing the doctor on the weekend anyway, so I will get my official weight from him and register at that time.

Again it is not much of an update. I am so relaxed and HAPPY and feeling like myself again. It’s incredible! I’ve missed me so much!

This afternoon I have an appointment in Toronto.  I took the afternoon off work for it and tonight I will be visiting my best bud. I am already aware that tomorrow will be a very rough day! I know us. We will be up laughing and talking and laughing more until I need to leave for work. I told my husband that I may or may not sleep at home, but I will stop by for a shower before I commute in.

Totally looking forward to tonight and also with soon reconnecting with friends and family that I have not had the time to spend with lately.

Have a great day everyone! Make today feel like it was worth getting up early for!

Nope...Tuesday wasn't the day either! HA!

Ha! Oh well, it is what it is. Nope…I did NOT register my 90Day Challenge last night. I did stick to the Shakes, but just didn’t register. After work I headed back to Toronto and by the time I was home and settled it was well after midnight. No biggie…I’ll do it soon. (I don’t dare say I will do it “tonight”…just in case….)

Yesterday was an AWESOME day again. As a bonus, I got to spend some unplanned time with my husband. That’s always a welcomed surprise.

Today I am running on very little sleep, but I am in a terrific mood and looking forward to a relaxing evening. I need to rest up for an appointment tomorrow.

While I did have two Visalus Shakes yesterday, I will admit that I also had a bag of Zesty Cheese Doritos and TWO cans of pop…and it was delicious! I’d love to say that I felt guilty and sick after, but I didn’t. It was pretty satisfying actually. I am mentioning this for a couple of reasons: everyone has those days where they sway from their healthy eating; although I had the chips with no remorse, it doesn’t mean that it should be a “regular” snack…the odd treat now and then is just fine (as long as it is truly that – “now and then”).

So, while this really was not much of an update, I am trying to maintain regular updates here. Ha! I haven’t really been sticking to other things (registering the challenge, starting my exercise regime),  so maybe I can stick to this.

Ok...Monday wasn't the OFFICIAL day...maybe Tuesday?

Monday was an awesome day! It was relaxing and calm and I was in an awesome mood. This past weekend I did a lot of reflecting. It became clear that I needed to focus on myself as I have lately been focusing my energy elsewhere. I don’t feel there is anything wrong with that – it is necessary in life from time to time. However, I did lose the balance and neglected myself fully.

Monday I decided would be day one of refocusing on me! And it was wonderful! While my “plan” was to start Day One of my 2^nd 90 Day Challenge for 2012, I did not “officially” start. I did have two Visalus Shakes yesterday and ate healthier choices, but I didn’t register the Challenge on the Visalus Site with my starting weight and measurements. I just simply forgot to. So while I am back on track, I won’t call this Day One as I want to match it with the official Visalus countdown.

Work was awesome because I feel awesome. Too happy to care about any nonsense. Too relaxed to get uptight. Back to ME!!!

After work, I had stayed in town; had a nap; played some games on my iPad; played some more games on my iPhone; read some information and caught myself up on some Visalus information; went for a 45 minute walk and had a great night’s sleep.

Today has started off great because I decided it should be great. We truly do own our feelings and decide what our day will be like, folks. Trust me, it’s been a LONG time since I have decided my days should be great, but it makes a difference…others will benefit from it as well.

Tonight I will look at the gym schedule and if nothing there piques my interest, I will throw on the gym clothes and do my own workout incorporating techniques and exercises I learned with Caity or at Camp Gladiator. I will also be organizing my plan and getting my ducks in a row, so to speak. I am looking forward to planning my future and next steps.

By the way, it never even dawned on me that my comments regarding “big changes coming” and “going to live MY life” would give some the impression that I was talking divorce! I was shocked when I was asked that the other day. However, I went back and looked at some comments I put here and on Facebook and I can see how, if you didn’t know my husband and I, it would appear that’s was I was getting at. I assure you…it is NOT. I will be announcing some of these life changing decisions very soon.

For now, my main priority, as I’ve said, is MY health and fitness.

Monday is THE Day

Thanks for checking back. As you know, I've had a difficult year and a death in the family. I also have some difficult days ahead. However, I've decided it's time to put my chin up and push forward.

On Monday, I will jump in and look after myself again. I will start working out regularly as I had in the past; will focus on my Visalus business; and will focus on my diet - of course including my Visalus shakes.

I've missed my workouts. I've missed taking care of myself and I've missed my happy-go-lucky demeanor. No more depending on others. I will spring back to being me and focus on my health. Nobody is responsible for our well being, except ourselves.

All of this will also include regular blogs still focusing on my daily routine and my honest thoughts, trials and accomplishments on this weight loss and health journey.

I can do it! I WILL do it!

Care to join me on your own journey?

Will Be Away

Thanks for still peeking in on my blog. I promise that in the near future I will be updating this again regularly. However, there has been a relatively sudden death in my life and I will be focussing on preperations and being with those who need me.

As this blog is for the purpose of my weightloss journey, I will give my recent update. A few weeks ago, I was put on medication that resulted in weight gain of 14 pounds. I have since lost 8 of those pounds and have not yet started my 2nd Challenge of 2012.

I will update you once my next Visalus 90 Day Challenge beings.

Thanks again and I will update you in the near future.

Always Listen to Your Body!!

I am posting this as many of my FB “family” have heard little bits of info and I want to let everyone know at the same time with the same info.

Generally, I am an extremely private person and while this does seem very odd to share with the world, I want to as a reminder that you always need to listen to your body.

As I mentioned previously, I have been quite busy lately commuting and taking care of a lot of things that I won’t go into here. During this time, I have been exhausted; not sleeping much; not eating well; really not taking care of myself. So when I started to feel sick last week, it really didn’t surprise me. But I made a big mistake and I ignored my body. You see, at work, I was very cold. I am NEVER cold. I was complaining of the cold because it’s really unlike me. It was also unusual that I was the only one who was cold. Even my feet were cold. Like ice. That’s NOT me! I was also complaining that I was so tired. Now…temperature wise, yes…I get cranky when the office is too hot. I don’t like to work when it is hot. But to complain that I am tired, well, that’s not really me. Not to this degree. But I was constantly saying “Man, I am exhausted! I could sleep right now!” etc, etc. In fact, on Wednesday night, I went to my room that I am renting and barely had the energy to change when I fell into bed and slept for 12 solid hours and was still tired. Hang in there…this is leading somewhere.

Through the week I was getting sick. On Thursday, my throat started to get really dry. Almost choking me. I spent the day sucking on livesavers winto-green-mints and complaining of how tired I was.

Friday was much, much worse. On Friday, I woke up and within 10 minutes of being awake I suddenly was gasping for air. It was one of the scariest things I experienced. My mouth was wide open and I was struggling. I was making a lot of noise to try to wake my husband and I finally made it to my puffer. I took a puff and was able to carry on. It was unusual as my asthma is purely related to exercising and extreme cold temperatures. I dismissed this as the rest of the day I was fine for breathing, but I was feeling quite ill. I even left work a half day early and debated if I was awake enough to make it all the way home. I didn’t want to head to the room I am renting as I didn’t want the kids there to get sick. I made it home and slept the rest of the night.

On Saturday, I told my husband that I should head to the hospital. I have had pneumonia a few times and I know when it starts heading that way, I need to act fast. I didn’t end up going Saturday though because it really didn’t feel like pneumonia. But I had been fighting a fever of 39.7 since late Friday evening.

I slept most of Saturday and Sunday. I had no energy. I didn’t even make it through and entire episode of Dukes of Hazzard (I can pause here while you laugh at my show of choice).

My husband woke me from one of my many naps on Sunday and said “Come on…let’s go to the hospital.” I never questioned it because I knew it was the right thing. Later though, I did ask why and he said I was breathing funny.

The hospital was amazing. They ran tests and took me in right away and took everything seriously. Well I was shocked to find out what was happening. Apparently, I was in worse shape than I thought. It seems that my saturation levels were quite low and that my blood was not getting ample oxygen. That explains being cold and also being exhausted. Also, while there was “some” gunk in my lungs, it was not pneumonia. On top of that, my lungs were constricted and I was not getting much air. They started me on a nebulizer (I think that is what it was called). A mask filled with meds that opens my lungs. They did six sessions of 20 minutes each. Usually, they said, they only do three. I am at home resting now, but am on a machine to keep my lungs open and to rest. I should be better in a few days, but I tell you…I am breathing a LOT better now! Still room for improvement, but a LOT better. They are assuming that this was all brought on by some medication I started taking last week that I may perhaps be allergic to.

If I had of listened to my body, I would have been taken off the meds, given puffers and recovered quickly. I didn’t…so now my recovery time will take longer, I will be sleeping a lot over the next few days and I will miss work. That sucks, but it could have been much worse!

I have been MIA

I wanted to send out a quick note to you to let you know that I have not forgotten you; I just have been unable to update my Blog at this time.

At this time, I am preoccupied with some personal issues that I am looking after.

While I do not mean to be vague, I wish not to divulge further as many of my friends and family members are not aware and none of my colleagues are. My day consists of waking at 4:30am to start my day and commute a minimum of 1.5 (sometimes up to 3) hours to work; work a full 8.5 hours day; drive 2-4 hours back home (stupid rush hour traffic); take care of some things; work out; in bed by 1:30am and repeat.

I have maintained at least one shake per day…and with the help of a friend at work, sometimes two per day. (She encourages me to have one on the days when I really don’t feel like having anything.)

While I am not meeting with me Personal Trainer at this time, I have been doing 30-45 minutes of Cardio each night. (I have to keep that shape that finally started to take place on my bum.)

Sorry for the delayed update. Things have been hectic.

Goodbye Camp Gladiator - I will miss you.

Today was my last day of Camp Gladiator and what a way to end. All this week I was at two different locations in Irving, Texas. Today I was in Dallas, Texas. It…was…brutal…!!! I don’t know if it was the heat or what. I was dying. It felt as if I could not do any of the exercises properly, nor with any oomf to it. In all honesty, I wanted to just give up, roll up my mat and head home on three occasions. If it were not for the fact that my friend was there, I likely would have. It was THAT hard today. The other Camps were at 5:30am…BEFORE the sun rose. Today was at 9:00am and it felt like I was standing next to the sun. The locals here would laugh at that as they don’t feel it’s even hot here yet!!

After my workout I felt amazing. I also reflected on the workout and realized the trainer, Larry, was phenomenal. He was on top of everything and if you felt you were struggling, he’d notice before you even said anything and be right there to guide you. I am actually really glad that I went and that I stuck it out. But it was extremely hard!

Of course, my feet hurt again and my shins kept me from the sprinting exercises. I went to a shoe store similar to the Running Room, but was not successful in finding adequate shoes. Tomorrow I am going to try to get to Luke’s Locker and find shoes there if there is time before my flight.

I will miss Texas and the people I have met. I had an amazing time…Camp Gladiator and all. I wish that the United States was not a different country as I’d love to live here someday. Um…just not in summer!

I’ve managed to resist the temptation of over eating and eating at every restaurant I come across. The food here is amazing! I stuck with my shakes during the week and one today as well.

I am looking forward to weighing myself next week to see what happened this week. Wish me luck!

WOW - my blog is still up to date!

Three days of Camp Gladiator now completed! I took Monday off and got into it on Tuesday. Two days left and I am already looking forward to tomorrow. However….stupid shins! My shins started hurting yesterday, but they were unbearable today. I spoke with the trainer and he told me “no more running, walk it out”. Not surprising…after all, that IS what my doctor told me.  It just felt so good to be running again and all of it was on flat ground, so I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s ok though; everything else in Camp Gladiator sure keeps my heart rate up.

When I return to Canada, I will miss Camp Gladiator and working out with my friend. I have never enjoyed working out with others, but Caity started joining me in the workouts before I left and I was enjoying that. I do believe that I push myself harder while working out with someone I look up to physically. Actually, as I am typing this, I do recall pushing myself really hard a year ago when I was working out with my niece. Having said that, I do not enjoy working out in a gym nor indoor setting. I will on Tuesday evenings when I return for the TRX class at the YMCA, but I doubt I will join other classes. The TRX is challenging for me and will help work my core and therefore my balance.

This trip is coming to an end way too soon. I love the people here that I work with and also the strangers on the street that I am meeting. Have I mentioned that I love the Southern States? Would I move here? Noooooo…sorry folks, as much as I love you, I do NOT enjoy the heat! This morning at CG, I was feeling the heat and it was 5:30 in the morning!

For today’s shake I am going to mix it with some Trop 50 juice. Yesterday I said it would probably be mixed with Visalus Pro, but I changed my mind and did some juice and it was delicious.

Well…I am off to get ready for work now. Everyone have a great day!

Camp Gladiator is AMAZING!

I had to update my blog today. I am so excited and revved up! Today was Day 2 of Camp Gladiator and I LOVED every minute. There’s just something amazing about waking up in the wee hours of the morning and starting your workout at 5:30am. It is exhilarating! Watching the sun rise as you are working your body as hard as you can is a most incredible feeling.

I cannot keep up with the rest by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t feel like I don’t belong. The instructor is energetic and motivational and encourages all to push themselves and gives positive feedback. He reminds everyone to go at their own pace.

It’s also great to enjoy the weather and get some fresh air as I know that when that sun comes out and things heat up I won’t be enjoying it! Today is going to be 39C/102F …. Ugh!!!!

 
I haven’t endorsed anything on my blog other than ViSalus before, but for those of you in the United States, you should check this out…http://campgladiator.com/
 

Yesterday, my Shake was mixed with ViSalus Pro and I believe today’s will be as well.

I have been eating incredibly healthy in the morning and at work, but in the evening, I am making poor choices. I want to be up front with that because I always said I’d let you know when I am struggling. I too am just a regular, average person with cravings and poor habits. I love trying foods and restaurants when I am travelling that I don’t have back home. Texas can sure make some delicious, poor choice foods. Oh, I am certain they make excellent healthy foods as well, but I just don’t choose those.

Having said that, I am thoroughly enjoying the flavour of the foods and, to be honest, I am not feeling disgusting after I eat them. However, I do feel somewhat guilty after because I know for a fact that you CANNOT exercise away a poor diet.

Noting my poor choices in the evenings, I did also notice myself that I made some really great choices all last week and so far this week during the day. My diet has certainly improved and I WILL be back on track next week! I most likely will continue to eat less healthy choices in the evening the remainder of my stay in Texas because I do want to try so many things that the locals are telling me are delicious! My next trip back I will have already tried everything, so I can stick to healthy choices.

Travelling and Keeping On Top Of Things

I might as well start by saying I have NOT started my 2^nd 90 Day Body by Vi Challenge o f 2012 as of yet. I HAVE, however, been drinking my shakes.

Last week, I had a friend visiting from Texas and our workout plans did not fall through. We did attend a TRX class at the YMCA one evening. WOW! If you want to really see clearly where you need work on your body, go to a TRX class. I definitely need to work a lot more on Core and Upper Body strength.

This week I am in Texas and joining my friend at Camp Gladiator. Today was my first class. It was incredible. I could not keep up with the others, but I was pushing myself and doing it at my own pace. It was quite a workout and some of the things I had never done before. A lot of it reminded me of my previous workouts with Caity, but without breaks in between. There was a lot of running incorporated in the workouts, but as you know, I am not a strong runner. I ran a lot of the time, but some were just slowed to a fast paced walk.

I look forward to Camp Gladiator again!

So while I am in Texas, I will be exercising and keeping up with the Visalus Shakes, but I do doubt that my Blog will be updated regularly until I return.

Thanks for reading and I will update again soon.

BTW, my Shakes have been a variety:

-       Orange juice

-       Fresh fruits

-       Frozen Fruits
-     Visalus Pro

An Update - Studying and Starting My Challenge SOON

Ok...sooooooooooo...I can't figure out how to have a second blog separated from the first blog, so I will just continue blogging here. (If that even made any sense.)

I have not yet started my second 90 Day Challenge of this year. I believe I said I was going to start last Monday...well...I didn't. We bought a new truck and I've attended some Networking events and had some appointments and just didn't "bother". I can't say I didn't have time because that's ridiculous. I just chose to have a poorly planned week and ate poorly as well. I felt it right away and wasn't all too please about it, but never changed my ways.

Now that I am sick of feeling gross and tired, I am starting my 90 Day Challenge officially on Monday. I will start two shakes a day again today, but the exercising on Monday and officially start the Challenge then.

I still can't decide what my new goal will be (other than to continue losing weight and being healthier). This time I lost almost 40 pounds....do I say I want to lose 40 pounds this time? I think I will just start the Challenge and set my goal a few weeks in.

My first lesson plan arrived yesterday!! I started studying today. I am going to totally LOVE learning about nutrition and diet. I didn't want to put the lesson down, but I did allot a specific time to studying and I do have an appointment to get to, so I do have to leave my studies until my next allotted time.

I look forward to my next Challenge and an even HEALTHIER me! I will be blogging to you again soon. Take care everyone and good luck with your journey as well.

Days 89 & 90 - Completed my 1st 90 Day Body By Vi Challenge of 2012

This weekend was Easter weekend and the close of my 90 day challenge. I will begin my 2nd 90 Day Challenge on Tuesday, April 10th.

My closing results were:

Chest = -1 inch
Waist = - 5 inches
Hips = - 3 inches
Leg (thigh) = -2 inches
Arm = -1.75 inches
Calf = -1.5 inches

Weight = -37.5 lbs

It was a good challenge and I am ecstatic about my results. I look forward to my 2^nd 90 Day Challenge with Visalus beginning tomorrow. I look for better results (although I am not complaining about these) as I hope to NOT break my tailbone again and actually stick to a workout three days per week!

Since I’ve been honest with sharing my struggles and milestones as well as my observations, I will close this portion of my blog with two thoughts:

1)     I am loving watching my body change. I really like that, while still large, my butt is becoming more rounded and shapely and my thighs are getting smaller.

2)     You’ve been following my blog and if you have seen my Facebook page you would have also seen others’ fabulous results. With a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee and a chance to try the product before you buy it, what is stopping you from also becoming healthier? Believe me, if I can do this, so can you!!

Day 88 - Full Day Friday

Today was a very full day. No time to sit and relax. I guess staying up until 5am on Thursday's visit was not the best idea. Naaaaah, I'd do it all over again.

There were no shakes today and I completely under ate. The only meal I had was dinner and even there I could not eat all of it. Oh, but I did have some Bun n Cheese. Not all of you will know what that is though.

I pretty much knew today was going to be a right off in the way of diet and exercise. However, knowing that ahead of time, I never stopped to think of packing my Shakes to go. That would have been wise.

Day 87 - Laughter, the closest thing to an ab workout

Today was a laid back day. No exercise today. Just two shakes:
- Today I tried my Visalus Shake mixed with POM juice and frozen raspberries. It was DELICIOUS!
- The second shake was mixed with....orange juice...of course

Being the day before a long weekend, traffic was horrific. It took me 4 hours to get to my friend's house in Toronto. But it was well worth the drive. So nice to see him and we had great laughs and an awesome visit.

Tomorrow is another busy day, so I think I will treat today and tomorrow as my "days off" and resume my workout schedule on Saturday.

Day 86 - Mind Blowing! (to me anyway)

Today was a great day at work…very busy and some laughs. All about the laughs for me. LOVE to laugh!
My shakes today were:
- water and Pro
- orange juice

I didn’t feel like working out tonight, but I did go because I knew I’d feel gross if I skipped it. It was a struggle though to stay motivated in between exercises. But I stepped it up during the working portions.

Various Boxing Combos for the warm up

X2
20 bicep curls with 5 pounds
20 tricep curls with 10 pounds

X2
20 squats with shoulder press with 10 pounds
20 shoulder raises with 3 pounds

X2
30 bridge raises
20 superman

X2
20 chest fly’s with 3 pounds
20 rows with 10 pounds

X2
30 standing obliques
20 leg drops
20 extended leg situps

Stretches

I know there is only a few days left, but I could not resist…I HAD TO peek. I am still in shock:
Chest = -1 inch
Waist = - 5 inches
Hips = - 3 inches
Leg (thigh) = -2 inches
Arm = -1.75 inches
Calf = -1.5 inches
(I know I measure more than the usual chest, waist, hips, but I like to track all differences.)

And my weight…drum roll please…-37 pounds!!

Day 85 - Workin' It and Thinking of Texas

I am getting so excited! I can’t believe that my 90 Day Challenge is almost over – so excited to find out my end of Challenge results. Just as exciting, I am also a few days away from my next 90 Day Challenge.

Today’s Visalus Shakes were mixed with:

-       Frozen peaches, mangos, strawberries and pineapple
-       Orange Juice

I had some urgent matters to take care of today and I had a headache this afternoon. I popped some Advil before going to see Caity for a workout. While my head started to ache again near the end of the workout (and the rest of the night), I think my workout was still pretty awesome!

5 minute walking warm up

46 travel squats with a jump in between (this was tiring, but didn’t burn as much as squats used to)

33 travel lunges

25 tricep push ups (piece of cake…I was going to keep going, but Caity reminded me I still had to do another set)

16 push ups

12 glut raises per leg

12 fire hydrants per leg
12 glut crosses per leg (this was awkward to do)

25 tricep push ups (not as piece of cake-ish…started to push through at 20)

16 push ups

3 lengths of running 100 meters

3 lengths of walking 100 meters
(600 meters total) (I was trying to run there and back, but once I reached 100 meters, I started to get winded and panicked a little that my asthma was acting up…turns out I never had to use my puffer, but if you’ve had an asthma attack once, you know how scary it is to not be able to breath)

25 straight leg sit ups (my shoulders really come off the ground now and I did these quite quickly)

20 leg drops
30 standing obliques

Stretches

Cool down walk

Once I have some time, I’m going to go back and put my workouts into an excel format to compare my progress over each workout. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before. I’ve come along way and I think that would be an easy way to really see the improvements.

I want to close by saying that I hope all my friends and customers and their friends and families in Texas are safe and sound. There were tornados in the Dallas area today. I realize there are certain parts of the States (and the world) that natural disasters occur, but I never before knew anyone who lived there. I was, and still am, concerned for them. Wishing EVERYONE well tonight…stay happy, healthy and safe!

Good night everyone!

Day 84 - Went for a walk instead of vegging

I didn’t get much sleep last night and with the commute in to work, I was exhausted. I really started to lose steam at roughly 4pm. I popped a Visalus GO and within 15 minutes I was alert and wide awake; ready to finish the day.

My Visalus Shakes today were:

-       Orange Juice…still my favourite

-       Frozen Mango, pineapple, strawberry and charry ice cream. YES…Ice cream! I have a Vitamix which is an awesome blender that makes soup AND ice cream as well depending on how you use it. I guess the cold water and frozen fruit was a little too cold becausemy “Shake” was ice cream in a matter of seconds. But it was delicious!

I went to my apartment and was going to just chill out for the night. But at 10pm I was feeling like I should have done some form of exercise, so I went for a 20 minute power walk. I would have gone a little longer, but I am not really familiar with the neighbourhood.

Looking forward to a workout with Caity Tuesday night!

Day 83 - Different Format

I am updating this from my iPad because my Internet connection has died. Therefore, it's a different format.

Today was another extremely busy day. It was also raining all day - almost. I decided the rain wouldn't stop me so I plugged in my tunes and went for a 40 minute power walk around my neighbourhood. Sure enough, when I got home it stopped raining for a few hours. I didn't mind. Sometimes it's nice to walk in the rain.

I tried my Visalus Shake mixed with Pro again - this time with water. I still liked it, but it tasted better with milk. However, I'm not a big fan of milk, so I will likely stick with the water version.

My 2nd Shake was mixed with watermelon chunks.

I'm staying at home tonight and commuting in the morning so I think it's almost time to head to bed. Well...once the laundry is done anyway.

Day 82 - Eight Days Left of This Challenge

Well, I did it! Almost! I worked out on my own…partially. I did more of a “routine” than before at least. I am really not one to workout on my own. I love having a trainer and not thinking while I workout. I just want to be told or shown what to do. I think Caity is a wise investment and I missed her today…waaaah….I want Caity.
Ok, now that I am done whining, let’s see what I did today.

5 minute walking warm up

25 minutes of fast paced walking (I just plugged in to my music and didn’t want to stop walking. Also, I was gearing up for working out on my own.)

20 squats/calf lifts
10 lunges each leg
10 dead lifts each leg
30 second break (My husband was sitting out getting some fresh air…aka enjoying a cigar…so I put him to good use and used him as my stopwatch!)

20 squats/calf lifts
10 lunges each leg
10 dead lifts each leg
30 second break

20 squats/calf lifts
10 lunges each leg
10 dead lifts each leg
30 second break

12 modified standing tricep pushups
12 regular pushups
5 walk outs (these don’t seem to be getting any easier!)
30 second break

12 modified standing tricep pushups
12 regular pushups
5 walk outs
30 second break

12 modified standing tricep pushups
12 regular pushups
5 walk outs (I really wanted to give up on these in the first set. After the fourth one of this set, I really had to talk myself into doing the fifth one.)
30 second break

30 second plank

(That’s it!! That’s all I could…”wanted to”….do. I threw in the towel. When I saw that “wind sprints” were in there, I gave up. I was running out of steam and my feet were hurting bad right from the first squats. Actually, even a little while walking.)

5 minute walking cool down

I don’t count today as a failure. Nor am I at all disappointed in myself. I did more of a “workout” today that I have on my own in ages….years…perhaps even decades. I also had an appointment today that drained me and I also have never started a workout before after 25 minutes of fast paced walking. But, to be honest, I kind of already decided on my walk that I didn’t want to do the full workout. Did I mention that “I want Caity!!! Waaaaaaaaaah”?

After my workout I had a Visalus Shake mixed with the Visalus Pro Energy drink. Mmmmmmm. It is VERY sweet, but I have a sweet tooth! I quite enjoyed this shake.

My second shake was plain with milk. Hmmm…still not a fan of the Vanilla Cream flavour.

My foot pain bothers me. I recall approximately 5 years ago I had a trainer and started working out (albeit not whole heartedly). At that time I had foot pains, but once I changed my shoes they were better. This time though, I think it has something to do with the Plantar Fasciitis I had a few years back. It seems to be in that same region. You know…I really should just go have it all checked out.

Day 81 - "Forget About It" Friday

Today was an off day. Perhaps because I had not been feeling well all week and for a few of those days I was not able to keep anything down. Maybe just that life has been so busy for me lately. Who knows, but I know it was an off day for sure. Actually, it wasn’t until someone pointed out to me that they could tell something was up that I decided to snap out of it a little and be less obvious.

I made a conscious decision to eat crap today and not have any Shakes - a decision that I regretted pretty much right away. The crap I ate didn’t make me feel any better. In fact, it made me feel heavy and tired. I also missed the energy I generally have when I drink my Shakes.

I planned to go home and at least go for a walk, but my husband wanted to head out to Kitchener and meet up with me and go out for the evening. I don’t get much time with him and it was a great idea, so by the time I got home after midnight, I was too tired to walk.

Let’s count today as a write off and start over tomorrow.

On an incredible note, I just paid my tuition for school!!! I never mentioned this before because it was just another thing that I sat around thinking “I should really look into that”….well, time to go for it! So I signed up for Nutrition, Diet and Health courses. I can’t wait to start next week! I want this knowledge for myself as it just occurred to me that I am not eating nearly enough calories in a day AND because I can really help my Visalus customers with THEIR 90 Day Challenges too!

Day 80 - Just a Busy Thursday...no dinner

Today was a day where I did not eat enough at all. I skipped dinner altogether just because I was busy and didn’t “bother” to eat. I was going to work out with Caity and when that got changed, I decided to take care of a bunch of things that were starting to pile up. Next thing I knew, it was the wee hours of the morning.

My shakes today were:
Visalus Shake mixed with Orange Juice and Cranberry Juice (just to try something slightly different than the orange juice – it was good; I’d have it again.)

Visalus Shake mixed with Hot Cocoa

There was no workout nor other form of exercise today. Just a busy evening and didn’t stop til morning.

Day 79 - Indoor Workout and now I am sleepy....

I was feeling a little better today. Couldn’t keep my morning shake down, but kept everything else down…even through my workout.

Today’s shakes were:

Visalus Shake mixed with hot cocoa and peppermint. Waaaaay too much peppermint this time.

Visalus Shakes mixed with Orange Juice. No surprise there.

Today was another AWESOME workout. There were no “breaks/rest periods” between each exercise today.

Warm Up was….

Boxing Combo – 16 per side (punch with the right arm, cross over punch with the left, right knee up and crunch into it….switch after 16)

Kick all ways - 12 rounds per leg (kick front, side, then back)
Knees up – 20 per leg
Power punches – 60

Workout was….

20 squats with 17 pound bar

20 dead lifts with 17 pound bar

16 shoulder presses with 5 pound weight

16 pushups

20 bicep curls with 17 pound bar

20 tricep presses with 5 pound weight

20 calf raises

20 toe raises 

10 superman

10 cobra

20 rows with 10 pounds

20 bridge raises

10 fire hydrants per leg

10 leg raises per leg

16 leg drops

25 extended leg sit ups
30 standing oblique crunches

Stretches

I’d say it was a “lighter” workout, but I still had to push through all of it and I sweated hard. So I guess it was harder than I remember just 2 hours later. Old age…gets ya sometimes. Just sneaks up.

I feel amazing about my progress. My balance alone is enough to be ecstatic over. I used to fall over while just standing still. Now I do squats and lunges and kicks and stretches without batting an eye!

Well folks, I got 6 solid hours of sleep last night, which was the longest sleep I’ve had in ages, so I am keeping this short and heading to bed. Good night everyone!

Day 78 - Working Out While Sick Is...well...SICK

I was so very sick yesterday and it spilled over to today. Yesterday, however, I called in sick at work. Today, I dragged myself in. I was feeling much better, but still not able to keep anything down.

I managed to drink two shakes and eat a meal, but none of it wanted to stay with me….sigh:

Visalus Shake mixed with Hot Cocoa

Visalus Shake mixed with Peach Mix In

I figured that I was well enough to work, so I pumped myself with some gravol and headed for a workout.

Today was Circuit Training!

5 minute walking warm up

20 squats/calf lifts

10 lunges each leg

10 dead lifts each leg

30 second break

(Had Caity asked how I was doing at this point, I’d have told her I wanted to die…or to kill her. I was hurtin’)

20 squats/calf lifts

10 lunges each leg

10 dead lifts each leg

30 second break

20 squats/calf lifts (Perfect Form on all of the squats and lunges and balance was unbelieveable)

10 lunges each leg

10 dead lifts each leg

30 second break

12 modified standing tricep pushups

12 regular pushups

5 walk outs (blown away! I was struggling through these on Friday, but they were easier too)

30 second break

12 modified standing tricep pushups

12 regular pushups

5 walk outs

30 second break

12 modified standing tricep pushups

12 regular pushups

5 walk outs (ok..so doing this three times was TOUGH. Almost fell on the last one and that was when I was getting up)

30 second break

5 wind sprints at a much further distance than Friday

1 minute break (wanted to lie down and sleep half way back through each set, but I KNOW I can do it, so I pushed on and am so happy that I did = sense of accomplishment. Also, I am still alive, so it didn’t kill me.)

5 wind sprints at a much further distance than Friday

1 minute break

5 wind sprints at a much further distance than Friday

1 minute break

20 second planks
20 second side plank
20 second side plank (other side)
no break
20 second planks
20 second side plank
20 second side plank (other side)
no break
20 second planks
20 second side plank
20 second side plank (other side)
 

Stretches

5 minute walking cool down

I cannot believe how far I have progressed in a matter of 2 months! My balance is so much better and my mind set is a lot more positive. One other thing I noticed….the flab on my arm is disappearing!!!!!!!! Whoa!!

I did, however, vomit twice after the workout and almost twice during. The gravol wasn’t able to help for long. I knew I maybe should have taken the night off, but I was pumped to go and I did, after all, manage to go to work.

Besides, I have an out of town guest coming to work out with me soon and I will NOT let them see me all whimpy-like. Gotta step it up the next couple of weeks.