I'm totally going to be late for a baby and me class, but my day is jam packed so I wanted to get this in!

 

Down two pounds again - it took me over a month to lose ten pounds, frustrating! Next week I hope to be in the 160's, that's the decade of numbers where I start to feel okay. Next week my 'boot camp' begins. Three times a week in addition to my regular workouts, should be fun!

 

Last week was a blast, spent the weekend in Canmore with my two best friends and my favorite little man, it sucked that it was so rainy but we stayed in a beautiful condo and my kids competed and did really well in gymnastics. Michael turned 4 months on Wednesday - he can now sit momentarily unassisted which is fun. He totally topples over but he's a pretty steady guy. He also got his 4 month vaccinations - mild screaming of course, but bounced back from them quicker than last time.

 

Not much else to report - by this time next week my best friend Heather will be in Africa! Unbelievable, but awesome... I could never do what she does! Tonight is her benefit for the organization she is working with, so that will be a good time. Otherwise I hope everybody has had a great week! Gotta go!

 

And SEX AND THE CITY movie comes out today! Woot woot!

Two pounds... not the huge drop I wanted. But it's okay. I am accepting where my body needs to be right now.

 

"Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you are going to do about it." (Kathleen Casey Theisen)

 

I don't think I'll ever be happy with my weight. That doesn't mean I don't feel a greater sense of relief and less preoccupation - which is key - at this weight. But I don't look in the mirror and think I look great. There's still a hundred things I would like to change. The good thing about where I am at right now though is that my weight does not dictate my social life. Post-pregnancy I was trying to stay positive and remind myself that I was continuously moving forward, but I pulled back from a couple of social events and seeing certain people right away because I didn't want them to see me when all I could fit into was maternity clothes.

 

Honestly, no one would have cared. And if they did in the least, it would have been with a passing thought. Not with the same emphasis that I myself was placing on my appearance whatsoever.But I know for myself if I was to go out feeling like I did, I wouldn't have been able to live in the moment and enjoy the things I should have been enjoying. I would have been wallowing on the inside about how I looked. I'm not there anymore. And it is much much better.

 

I think I dodged a bullet this week by not getting sick. I felt it coming on with swollen glands and being stuffed up one morning, but I think it has surpassed. I took Wednesday off of spinning and just did hot yoga and my adult gym class and I took Thursday off completely and I feel much better.

 

Diet wise, I did quite a few things this week. I was down to only 3 double doubles (my weakness!), decided that even my free meals cannot contain 'refined' sugar or flour - I'm a carbohydrate addict and I need to stay off the 'white stuff' at all times! I set an alcohol calorie limit for the weak of 700 calories. I could have a 4 oz glass of wine for 6 nights or I could drink a bottle in one night - it's up to me! Just for the record a bottle of red wine has 653 calories, 104 for a 4 oz glass, and a bottle of Coors Light has 102 calories. The last thing I did was increase my fiber. I am eating an authentic 5 servings of vegetables a day minimum which is actually hard to get in some days. Plus I am eating 1/2 a cup of dry fibre 1 cereal once a day as a snack (yum - yeah right) but it has only 100 calories and 14 grams of fiber which is unheard of.

 

And that's the battle.

 

Michael is the funniest kid this week. He is laughing so hard about things and just babbling so many noises. This weekend we are off to Canmore which I am packing for after this blog. Just a taste of what's to come for summer I suppose! It should be a great weekend, I have a condo in Canmore and my two best friends are meeting me out there tomorrow. It is also the last meet of the year for my girls. I just want it to be a good experience for all of them. Last weekend in Okotoks was fun, everyone did well and all my girls trying their new level got a good taste of the competition.

 

 

And that's life.

I didn't lose any weight this week - still the same. And now I am in a bad mood.

 

Had I had an off week, I would be happy I didn't lose any ground. But in my mind this week I was trying to catch up and I feel like I should have seriously lost 10 lbs. My eating was super clean and on target and I got in 2-4 hours of exercise every day. My only indulgences this week were two pieces of pizza last Sunday and 5 Double-Doubles through the week. Otherwise my week of eating was full of fruit, veggies, lean meats, rice, and oatmeal. That's it.

 

So now what? Hopefully, my body is just saving up the pounds to have a huge drop next week, so the last thing I should do is get depressed about this and give up. I'm frustrated, but I fully intend to stay on track and see what happens. I am doing the same kind of workouts as usual and will continue through the month. In June I am signed up for a Boot Camp three days a week from 5:30am - 6:30am. I am hoping I can go when Michael is sleeping and get home before he wakes up. Next task: Have Michael sleeping between the hours of 5 and 7! It's an outdoor / indoor boot camp though, so it should be a good variety of things to do.

 

Next topic now... my girls had a fantastic meet last weekend, we won the overall in two categories and placed second in three categories - I only had athletes in 5 categories, so I think we did pretty well! This weekend we compete in Okotoks and some of my girls are moving up a level so it should be interesting. We're into the last two meets of the year so we're not so much focussed on results but rather 'trying' - new skills and a new level. Let's see what happens!

 

Otherwise - life is good. Michael is doing wonderful he's sitting up with support and getting stronger every day. He was very social this week as we got to pay visits to some of his new friends. We saw my friend's three week old baby who is so tiny and beautiful and her big sister who was very helpful and very interested in Michael, so of course he enjoyed that. We also visited my other girlfriend and her 10 month old who is just cruising around the house like a little man! He's amazing. It's surreal how fast they change!

 

Another interesting event in the works is a plan to go to Greece next summer with Taso's dad to visit extended family. Right now we are looking into going for 4 weeks. Perhaps I will change my mind after our plane ride to California, but I would love to go to Europe again, and Greece would be an amazing 'base'!

If I am going to take competing seriously, I have to ensure that my weight loss goals don't get any more off track. I was short a pound last week and short a pound this week - and if my goal is three pounds a week I have already set myself up to have to lose 5 lbs by next week... and I still have 13 weeks to go. Again, I am not disappointed overall - I am happy to still be making progress every week, but the numbers are important for my accountability.

 

And let's be honest - I could have been much much better this week! Friday night I went for dinner with a group of friends to a Brazilian Meat Buffet and I think I packed in about 10 lbs of meat - my stomach was not happy! And you can't have that much meat without some good red wine... so I got into that. Saturday was pretty good, until again I got into the wine. Sunday, we had a family dinner at my husband's aunt's house and normally pasta is on my 'off-limits' list, but she made a terrific lasagna that I had to try... and she baked a cake... so why did I lose ANY weight this week??? Seriously though, the rest of my week was pretty stellar in terms of eating, I relax a bit on the weekend, but I am trying to keep that down to only one or two meals.

 

On the workout front, again, could have been better. I was exhausted this week. The three month old who runs my household decided that 3am is a fabulous hour to wake up for the day. I tried to be a 'good mom' and started putting him to bed at 8 rather than midnight and now it's backfired into my day starting way earlier than I would like! I did do a 9K or so route with my best friend on Monday. She is in way better shape than me when it comes to running, she actually just did a 10K race in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago, but she was nice enough to slow down to my 'remedial' pace. I ran WAY longer than I would have on my own... and that might have been 20 minutes. My shins, back, and hips still hurt this morning, five days later. Awesome. But I am insisting we do it again next week. At some point this running thing will get easier, won't it? I freaking hope so!

 

My 6:30am Hot Yoga class on Tuesdays and Thursdays are discontinued for the summer, and I replaced them with... nothing! I still haven't heard from my trainer Martha, I assume she is crazy busy with competitors as there's a flurry of shows coming up next month. I'll give her another week and then I might pop in to see her! On Tuesday, I drove an hour to go to our Mom and Baby Aquasize class only to find out the entire facility was closed due to a fire! So... we went shopping! Walking the malls has been a primary source of exercise for me since the baby. He's my favorite shopping buddy. Otherwise though, I am still keeping up with at least two Hot Yoga classes per week, lots of cardio at home, my wretched running program, and all of the wonderful classes I drag my baby to!

 

I am grateful that I do enough to have some room for error... but this could have been a better week in terms of weight loss and I won't forget that!

 

This weekend is the Calgary Classic Gymnastics Competition! It is hosted by my club of choice Stampede City Gymnastic Club and will be at Huntington Hills Arena off of 78th Ave and Centre Street N in Calgary. Tonight, the National level competes, tomorrow will be the Provincial levels, and Sunday will also be the Provincial levels with a pre-competitive session in the afternoon. There is a small entry fee to go watch, but it all goes to support our not-for-profit club.

I didn't meet my weight goal this week - one pound off - boo! Oh well, I am going to make some changes this week that will definitely put me ahead of the game for next week! But enough about that for now and on to more exciting things like.... I am taking my baby to California over Stampede!

 

It was kind of a whim decision which are always the best ones! I would have to take Stampede off of work just because of how busy Taso is. Being from Calgary, I kind of hate Stampede time. Yes, it can be fun, but when you are not 'cool' anymore and you are just trying to do your ordinary things, it is soooo busy and soooo frustrating! I figured my time would be better spent away from home. We have some awesome family friends who live right outside of Anaheim so I am going to pay them a visit for the week and introduce them to my little Michael! Now that it is booked, we are all just super excited for July to come! I can't wait to shop in LA, hang out by their pool, and just relax. I enjoy all different styles of vacations, and this one is being intended to just completely unwind which I am greatly looking forward to. Travelling with a 5 month old will be an adventure in itself I am sure, but people do it.... I'm sure I can handle it!

 

And he had to get a passport... that kid has the best looking passport photo I have ever seen! WAY better than Mom's! 

 

And the summer calendar for the city came out! We do all of our Mom and Baby classes through them, they have been really great and really affordable too. We're going to keep up with all of the classes we can, plus I signed up for Stroller-cize which I hear is great. And when Michael is six months old he can start swimming lessons, he turns six months old on July 28th which just happens to be the first day of his first swimming lesson! He's a 'starfish' - should be fun!

 

Now for the 'weight game'! I am actually not all that surprised or really disappointed! The weight I am right now is kind of a stable weight for me, I think I am a normal percentage of body fat at this point, so I think my body is just taking some extra time to start to decrease from here. I don't know exactly what body fat percentage I am, but I know that aesthetically I am starting to see muscle separation which is always encouraging. Right after this blog I am pulling out the big guns and getting in touch with my trainer Martha - it's time to get serious! Hopefully I can start seeing her twice a week.

 

And just to finish up, I just want to let everyone know about an event on Friday May 30 at Kits on 16th Avenue in Calgary (720 16 Ave NW) My best friend who is a reporter here is Calgary is being super brave and adventurous and heading off to Africa. Before she leaves she has organized a fundraising event that promises to be an awesome night as well as contributes to an important cause - here's the event details from her invitation - let me know if you need tickets:

 

 

 

On June 6th I'm off to Africa! Its an incredible and exciting opportunity to work with a group called Hands at Work. An organization that works in communities throughout sub-saharan africa. In fact, as I write this there is a group of Calgary men working on a construction project in the Democratic Republic of Congo - and another team that has just returned from Zambia.

I get to go to a community in South Africa. What they do primarily is called home based care in communities hit hard by HIV/AIDS. What does that mean, exactly? Well, it means helping kids without parents stay in their homes, helping dying mothers come up with plans for their children when they no longer can, helping with literacy programs - this organization really does alot!

Before I go, I'd love for you all to come out and help me raise some money for some of these projects! The stories I've been told will both inspire and break your heart and with the help of a group of local musicians known as "Heart" and Hands at Work volunteer Stan Geddes, we have an amazing lineup of local music for ya!

Please, please come out - it will be an amazing night!

The Lineup:

Smith on Sunday www.myspace.com/smithonsunday
McKinley Matters www.myspace.com/mckinleymatters
Jay Bawcott www.myspace.com/jbowcott
Dean Morrison www.myspace.com/deanmorrison
A [Soh-Shuhl] Art www.myspace.com/asohshulart
Tara Warburton www.myspace.com/tarawarburton

And for more information:

www.handsatwork.org

Or check out these blogs
www.unhushed.com
http://DRCmatters.blogspot.com

Tickets are a $25 - and will be pre sold (I'm hoping by May 10th.. stay tuned!)