Monster Ballads and the Stations of the Cross

As expected, the Josh Ritter concert was nothing less than phenominal.
It was my first time attending a folk/rock concert in a church.  The McDougall United Church was a lovely venue, but the next time I go see a show in a church I'm bringing a pillow for my bum (which was numb after about 30 minutes).  He played 99% of the songs that I was wanting to hear, which is always a nice thing. Highlights for me included: Monster Ballads, The Temptation of Adam, Harrisburg, and Other Side.

One thing that always seems to make Josh's shows stand out from other live acts is how incredibly gracious he is to his band, and how grateful he is to the crowd for attending.  He's continually saying thank you, and pointing out band members to ensure that they're applauded as well (with good reason as they're amazing musicians).  At the end of the show, which was a solid 2 hours with no breaks, he put his arms around his band-mates and they bowed.  I haven't seen that in a long long time. 

Also delightful is just how random the show actually is.  During "Wolves" he got down on his knees and started baying at the moon ... during another song, he insisted that everyone in the church stand and slow dance with the person next to them (boy or girl, it all works) for 30 seconds.  It's so random and amusing.  He danced with his guitar, goofy, silly and amazingly amusing fun.

He left with promises of returning in the summer ... I'm guessing that means the Folk Festival ... I'm hoping he plays both Edmonton and Calgary, so I can go to both!

DDDY Challenge Update:

I am still on plan!  Coming in very close to 1200 calories a day.  Drinking a minimum of 2L of water a day... though now that I'm consistently drinking 2L I've found that it's not always enough, and am getting closer to 3L a day. 

I'm nervous about tomorrow's weigh in, I had a spike in my weight today, but I'm 99% sure it's due to some extra sodium yesterday.  Let's hope it just falls off again.

"It's nice to start the day with a nature video.  It makes things seem really good no matter how bad things are.  At least you're not a gazelle ... those guys have it rough."
            -Josh Ritter

I've been waiting for tonight for a long time.  One of my favorite musicians, Josh Ritter, is gracing Edmonton with his presence.

This will be my third time seeing him live - the first time after just discovering his music, and being treated to an Amazing live show - full of so much energy.  The second at the Calgary Folk Music Festival a few years ago, which I went to basically to see Josh Ritter as well as Andrew Bird (who may not float everyone's boat - but, is soo talented).

Anyway, here's a taste:

Double Dog Dare Day 3 - Part 2

I should buy stock in a toilet paper company or something - I've never peed this much in my life.  Clearly I've been slacking off in my water consumption up until this challenge.

Today was pretty good, not as good as yesterday, but I'm clocking in with 1246 calories (46 over) and 72 ounces of water so far. 

I skipped out on the gym again, but I'm feeling better, so gym for sure tomorrow.  I always feel better when I go anyway, well, not during the actual exercise, but after it's over.  Maybe it's just relief that it's over lol.

It's 9:45pm, I really feel like eating something sweet.  I think I'll drink some more water instead.

Double Dog Dare Day 3 - Part 1

Good news bloggarino's - the scale is once again moving in the right direction!  Woot - I'm feeling happy and full after a 320 cal breakfast.  I know, I'm eating breakfast pretty late, but I slept in because I'm still not feeling well.  Stupid sinuses. 

Time to run some errands, then off to the gym, or maybe just some time on my treadmill at home.  We'll see.

Hope day 3 is going well for everyone!

Double Dog Dare Day 2

Well it's day 2 of the challenge.  Things are going relatively ok - I woke up to a half pound gain ... so, lets blame that on - I dunno - the position of the moon, considering I was totally on track yesterday.  I am feeling a bit under the weather, this is my second cold in the past 2 months.  *insert huge sigh here*

OK moving on - not letting the half pound get to me - I'm completely on track again today, coming in at 1174 calories and 64 ounces of water.  I feel full and content.

I finally tried one of the Skinny Cow Vanilla Ice Cream sandwiches... so yummy.  Expensive but delicious.

I haven't been to the gym in a couple days, so I'll be going back tomorrow.  I hate exercising at the best of times, and exercising while being sick is worse, so, I put it off.  But tomorrow I'm going for sure.

Hope the challenge is going great for everyone! 

Oh Hey It's Monday!

So - here we are - Monday - somehow I'm at 242lbs - I don't understand this at all.  I haven't been cheating, so I'm kind of flabbergasted.  But most of all, I'm pissed off!

Normally - I'd eat a bag of chips - I can't help it, I love them.....

Tonight - I'm thinking about how much exercise I'd have to do to burn the amount of calories in a bag of chips - it's not pretty.

So instead of eating all those chips, I'm blogging - and it helps, it really does...

http://almostgastricbypass.blogspot.com/

I've decided to officially cancel my challenge - and instead I'm joining Allan's.. his makes way more sense and really accomplishes what I wanted anyway.

I'll update more later... I'm finally sleepy...

Scale-athon #5 - 15/30 Challenge Week 1

I was terrified of stepping on that scale this morning.  I felt like week 1 of this 15/30 challenge went pretty well, but, at the start of it I had gained 1 pound and was at 243 lbs, that, plus knowing in order to get to 15 pounds in a month I'd have to lose 3.5 lbs a week just stressed me out.

Happily, I am down 2.5 lbs and am sitting at 240.5 lbs.  I didn't quite make it to 3.5, but I'm certainly happy with 2.5, and I'm even happier that the scale is finally moving in the right direction again. 

It occurred to me today that I have no control over time (yup, I know that's completely obvious :P).  In a year it will once again be October 22, roughly 6:20pm.  And in that year I can choose to do nothing, and be this weight next year, I can choose to stuff my face with all kinds of treats and probably be twice my size by next year, or, I can do something about this, and be fit and at my goal weight.

I think for me it's about getting through one day.  One at a time.  Make all the right decisions about what I'm going to eat and what I'm going to do at the gym.. then make the same decision the next day.  And before long they won't be decisions anymore, because it'll be my norm.

Update

Well because of my 15/30 birthday challenge, I'll be weighing in on Friday's instead of Monday's for the next month. 

I've been thinking about the challenge a lot these past few days.  It really should be 10 lbs in 30 days to be more realistic.  I think I was just trying to get myself really revved up about it.  Well, we'll see how it goes.  Maybe it should just be lose between 10 and 15 lbs in 30 days. lol

The exercise has been going well.  I'm good until about the 13th minute, then I kind of hit a wall and don't want to exercise anymore, but I've been sticking it out to 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and burn around 430-440 calories each time I go.  And after I always feel soooo good.

Hope everyone's doing great!

It's 12:35am - are you eating?

I can't sleep - I keep thinking about food.  I'm staying at my grandma's tonight.  From 7pm until 11pm (which is when she went to bed) she harassed me to eat food.  I declined everything.  I feel good about that. 

I went to the gym today.. 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer, 420 calories burned.  I feel like I had a way better workout then what I do on The Shred, the sweat was dripping off.

But here I am, 12:39am now - thinking about eating.  I"m not going to.  The freezer has these potato wedges from M&M that are so delicious.... I finally looked at the nutrition, 170 calories for 5 wedges! OMG!  Who eats 5????  No one!

I Got Troubles oh but, Not Today - 15/30 Challenge!

I've been feeling pretty depressed about my weight lately, I started off losing fairly well, but I've stalled and I'm really aggravated by it.

Normally I'd sit myself down with a large bowl of chips, maybe some chocolate, definitely some root beer. Today, I decided to challenge myself. My birthday is November 19th, 30 days away.  I want to lose 15 pounds by then.  That's roughly 3.5 pounds per week.  To do this, I'm going to base my LA Weight Loss foods around consuming 1200 calories a day.  And I'm going to start going to the gym.  Up until now I've just been doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred - level 2 has been kicking my butt, and I'm getting really discouraged by that.  So I'm going to go to the gym daily, and cut back on The Shred to a few times a week.  Hopefully it'll help get me out of my exercise funk. 

If you'd like to join me in this 15/30 Challenge, leave me a comment!  Every Friday I'll be weighing in, and if there are others who want to join, leave your progress in Friday's posts and I'll put your progress in the sidebar!

Questionnaire

I found this on 42 is a Magic Number and thought I'd give it a go.


1. What was your highest weight, what do you weigh right now and what is your goal weight?

My highest weight was 256lbs. I currently weight 242lbs, and my goal is 140lbs.

2. What is your #1 motivation for losing weight?

My health - I found out that I have PCOS, so I need to lose weight if I want a better chance at having kids. I also have a fatty liver, I don't particularly want it to turn into liver cancer, so, I may as well deal with it while it's reversible.

3. Have you always been overweight?

No - I gained my weight starting my second year in university, I was in an emotionally abusive relationship, and food became my comfort. Up until then I was relatively healthy, within my healthy weight range, worked out.... but the past 9 years have not been so great.

4. When you want to give up what inspires you to keep going?

The idea that my liver will give out, and I'll die.

5. What is the #1 thing you look forward to when you hit your goal weight?

The clothes! I know I should say health, but darn, I just want to look cute for a while.

6. Do you have support on your weight loss journey?

Yes - all the people who read this blog, and maybe it helps you a little... friends, not so much, family, sort of ... if they'd stop asking me to bake for them it would be easier lol.

7. What is your favorite exercise?

Swimming - though, currently I won't go near a pool.

8. What is the most important thing you have learned on your weight loss journey?

Don't stop just because the scale has... keep going, the scale will catch up with you.

9. What is one thing you have given up that you miss the most?

That's a hard one - chips I think.... ok wait, popcorn the way I used to eat it... lots of butter and salt. Yup, salty buttery popcorn.

10. What is your strategy for losing weight?

Following my LA Weight Loss plan, exercising and believing in myself (it's been a while)

Scale-athon #4

242.0 lbs

No change.

This I find frustrating. I've been on plan, I've been exercising and no change! I understand if I veer of plan, that's fine, that's something I did and shouldn't have. This is just frustrating.

10-10-10

Well I did it, I got through our Thanksgiving meal without going food crazy. I mostly filled up my plate with salad and some roasted veggies that I made. Added a little white meat from the turkey, bypassed the potatoes, stuffing, gravy and perogies, and felt satisfied at the end.

Unfortunately, I missed my 30 Day Shred today, so I'm pushing back moving to level 2 by one day. So my Shred will end on Oct 31 instead of Oct 30 as originally planned.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving if you're in Canada, or just a great weekend!

Day 9 of The Shred

To be honest, I wasn't really sure I'd make it to day 9, especially after I did the DVD on the first day. In all reality, I'm not sure I've lost anything so far, my weight has been bouncing around, but my endurance is definitely increasing, so that's positive. I don't know if I'm ready to move onto phase 2 of the shred on day 11, I'm a little nervous about it. I think I'll try the second workout on day 11 and then decide.

One thing I should have done, and will do tomorrow, is mark the place on the floor where I'm standing for my pictures. I guess it won't make that much of a difference, but I'd like to do an overlay, so I need them to be the same size.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in Canada - my first official holiday while trying to lose weight. I'm a little nervous about it, as there will be an abundance of food, but I think I can manage ok.

Half Remembered Dream

When I dream I am skinny. It's always a little sad to wake up and see the real me, or the me that I've become. I guess in my dreams I'm the old me, the person I was before I gained the weight, before I was insecure.

I ran into an old friend at the dog park today. It was nice to catch up. We met last year when we both joined the same boot camp.

You see, last year I had the great idea that the way for me to lose a bunch of weight was to join a boot camp. My family figured I'd quit after a couple days, but I lasted 6 months. 3 days a week for 6 months. Guess how much weight I lost? 10lbs! that's it! After all that incredibly hard work, I lost 10 lbs. Normally I'd be happy to lose 10lbs, but at $200 a month, 10lbs didn't seem like a great pay off.

Anyway, we lost touch shortly (immediately) after I had to quit the job she had offered me, b/c my current job was able to offer me more hours. Which is the reason I didn't want to take the job to begin with, I was afraid it would wreck the friendship, and I was exactly right. She stopped returning my calls, and I eventually gave up.

So, it was a bit awkward seeing her today ... she's 8 months pregnant! Due 4 days before my birthday ... apparently she didn't call back b/c she didn't have my number as something (not sure what) happened to her cell phone. Anyway, she gave me her number again and wants me to call her for a get together. Which is great, b/c she has 4 small dogs, and my dog is small (mini-schnauzer) and most of my friends have large dogs, mostly she pays with 2 great danes, so, a huge size difference. Though it's cute, she's getting more and more used to them, and will now chase them around and kind of jump up on her hind legs so she can smell their faces. I should take a picture of that.

OK - it's late, I need to regulate my sleeping times I think, I've heard that's helpful for weight loss. Tomorrow will be a super food/exercise post.

CNS Giveaway

Clyde over at The Clydesdale Project is giving out 2 $25 CNS gift certificates ... check it out!

Scale-athon #3

242.0 lbs (+3 lbs)

This is disappointing... but not surprising. I did Take Off again last week and I gained 3 pounds from that. I talked to my counselor and we decided that for the next month I would skip Take Off, as I always seem to gain when I'm on it.

This week I'm going to be extremely rigid in what I eat and not veer from my plan at all. Hopefully I'll be able to see a loss by the next weekly weigh in.

I'm still doing the 30 Day Shred Challenge. Today is day 5, I'm already finding that my endurance is increasing, so that's encouraging at least.

Postponed

My weekly weigh in will be moved to Tuesday. I spent Sunday night at my grandma's house - she doesn't have a scale... well, she does, but you can put a 10 pound bag of potatoes on it and it will tell you it weighs 30 pounds. So, not reliable.

My grandma's house is pretty much like walking through a store called Temptation. She's got everything you could want to snack on - salty, sweet, salty and sweet... I forgot how tricky it is to be at her house.

She's also the kind of person who is always offering you food. From the minute you get there, until the minute you either leave or go to bed, she's trying to get you to eat something.

I lived with her when I was completing my first Bachelor degree. The surprising thing is that instead of gaining the freshman 15, I actually lost 15 pounds in my first year of University. I was thinner than when I was in high school. I ate regular meals, a portion of chips a day, veggies, all kinds of things. I even got in my head that I should start going to the campus gym. So clearly I have not always hated exercise, I guess that's a more recent development.

Sadly, after my first year of University, the weight started to pile on. Ultimately, I'd like to get down to the weight I was when I lost those 15 pounds.

Shredding

I've been lacking in posts lately, I apologize. I have good intentions about it, and then don't really follow through. This is probably one of the main reasons my weight is as high as it is. I have good intentions to start diets, start exercising, but then usually find reasons not to.

Well not anymore ... I have signed up for Syl's October Challenge ... To do Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD every day in October.

I did the DVD yesterday, today I was so sore I could barely move. I procrastinated today's workout, and finally felt super guilty and actually did it, Late in the evening, but I did it. I'm about 99% sure I'm not going to be able to walk tomorrow, which should make the DVD that much more challenging LOL.

Starting pictures will be posted in my Photos section, and will be updated every 10 days this month.