E.M.'s Blog

Join me through my journey!

My Profile

  • Name: emcanadian
  • City: Winnipeg
  • Region: Manitoba
  • Country: Canada

My Weight Loss

Height: 162.6cm
Start weight: 166.50lb
Current weight: 155.50lb
Goal weight: 130.00lb
Lost to date: 11.00lb
Remaining: 25.50lb

My Calendar

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May '12
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Before After
Really Simple Syndication
03/09/2011 15:20

I ♥ Hot Yoga!

So I've officially been attending Hot Yoga classes for almost a month now, going at least 5 times a week.
 
I can't stress it enough -- I ♥ Hot Yoga!!!  Like I had previously mentioned in my blogs, I'm not really too much into cardio -- feeling like I'm out of breath & my heart is beating so fast as if it's going to burst out of my chest.
 
I'm so glad that I found this type of physical activity that works for ME.  When I attended my first class last year (I had to stop for a while because of my shoulder), I was like "Where has this type of physical activity been all my life?!" 
 
It was truly a calling, if you want to put it that way.  Not only am I working on my body, but it really does work with your mind, your spirituality.  I can honestly say that I'm a much stress-free person than I was before Yoga.  I can now believe my sister when she was telling me about how Yoga got her through rough times, specifically when my dad was critically ill & his passing in 2009.
 
I attend morning classes, which is so convenient for me because during the week I could go before work (6am classes). On Saturdays, I attend class that ends in time for me to drop my daughter to dance class afterwards, and on Sundays I attend class that ends in time for me to attend Sunday Mass afterwards. 
 
I'm not a morning person, and there ARE times when I totally don't want to get out of bed, but when I think about how things are going so well (in terms of scheduling exercise) -- that's what pushes to to just do it.  The Yoga studio that I attend never used to be near my work only up until December 2010 (3 minute drive from work to be exact)....that's what pushes me.  It wasn't very convenient for me last year, so I wasn't able to attend as much as I wanted to.
 
Another thing that I'm so happy about is that when I attend Yoga classes in the morning (especially before work) I don't need coffee (Extra Large Double Double -- HAD to have it EVERY MORNING in order to survive the day)!! Seriously, after class I'm refreshed w/ energy -- I don't drink coffee anymore, I don't have to worry about those calories anymore! Yessss!!
 
I also noticed that since I started attending Yoga classes my endurance is much better.  After work I run on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes straight, 1 minute break, and another 30 minutes straight.  I used to only be able to do 20 minutes straight, then another 20 minutes after slowing down my heart by doing 20 minutes weight training.
 
I'm so glad that I found what works for me!  Love it, love it love it!
 
Namaste,
 
emcanadian
 
 

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03/06/2011 07:03

Starvation Mode (and other struggles)

The show that I like to watch while I'm on the elliptical machine is Bulging Brides on Slice Network.  An issue that was brought up during one show was Starvation Mode!  That's one HUGE issue right now that I'm struggling with!!  I think I've been doing it for so long that I don't even realize that I'm doing it anymore, until the end of the day when I think about what I've eaten and when.
 
It's an issue that's been with me for quite a long time now.  I think it all started with not even doing it to lose weight.  First off, I've never been a morning eater for as long as I can remember.  All through high school/college -- I was one of those people that couldn't get up early enough in the morning to have breakfast, pretty much waking up, getting ready & bolting out the door to make it to school on time. Not only that, I wouldn't get up early enough or take the time the night before to make lunch!  I would seriously go the whole day without eating only until I got home from school.
 
But the problem is....I'm STILL like that!  The only thing different now is that I'm bolting out the door to make it to WORK on time!  It's a huge struggle right now because I don't want to be this way & I am aware about how it will negatively affect my weight loss goals.  When I used to do it intentionally (like last year when I was in a Biggest Loser Competition with some relatives), I would notice that when I wouldn't eat all day, I would be starving as soon as I got home from work & then eat my face off then regret it the next day.
 
It's so frustrating now because it's like my body is so used to Starvation Mode.  The other day, I made the effort of bringing a lunch to work and only realized before I left the office that I had forgotten to eat it!
 
I am making changes however, even if it's a little at a time.  I've been making the effort to eat cereal in the morning (Special K Challenge!) and feeling good when I get home from work not feeling like I have to stuff my face.  I attend 60min Hot Yoga classes in the morning, and since it's recommended not to eat at least 2 hours before class, I brought the cereal & a carton of milk to work, so that I could eat it once I get in the office.  I'm hoping to eventually be at the point where I'm eating 5 "mini-meals" a day to work on my metabolism.
 
This time (unlike when I was doing The Biggest Loser Competition) I'm not going to be taking any weight-loss pills/supplements, so I'm really pleased at my progress right now.  I was taking SlimQuick during the competition.  I don't want to be bashing any products or anything because I know everyone's body reacts differently to pills/supplements.  It did help me lose the weight, but I did notice that my acne got worse.  So I stopped using it, and pretty much gained all the weight back, and possibly more, once the competition was over. 
 
That's one thing that I don't really like about entering competitions like The Biggest Loser.  I tend to put all this stress on myself to lose weight to win, and then when the competition's over, I slack and "reward myself" by eating whatever I want & not doing anymore physical activity.  I'm really hoping I won't be like this after the wedding.

Anyway, back to my skin: The way my acne is, it pretty much gets worse only when I'm ovulating.  It really sucks because I even tried ProActiv and it didn't matter -- my skin would be clear as hell for a couple of weeks, then BAM! once I'm ovulating my acne takes over.  But like I said, I'm not bashing the products, that's just the way MY body is when it comes to my hormones.  I've decided on getting a prescription for the birth control pill, which I'm starting tomorrow.  I really hope it helps with my skin & glad that I don't really have to worry about any pregnancy surprises in the next couple of months.

I've heard about women losing weight while they're on The Pill, but I'm not relying on taking it to lose weight -- The thing I'm worried about is gaining weight.  Like I said, everyone's body reacts differently, so hopefully it doesn't affect my weight.  Let's see what happens.
 
Until next time,
emcanadian
 
P.S. I really appreciate everyone's comments & words of encouragement on my blog! THANK YOU =)
 

Posted By: emcanadian Add Comment | Comments (2) Top
02/24/2011 15:47

Let's get this started!

I actually set my weight loss goals in the beginning of this year...Saturday, January 1st, 2011.  Everyday I wrote down my weight & set a goal of losing 1lb a week.
 
On January 1st, I weighed 166lbs.  Today I weigh 8lbs less, but I'm not really making a big deal out of it, because of the fact that it was the end of the Christmas holidays when I first recorded my weight.
 
I do however feel like I'm "on a roll" and am a little more confident that this blog will help me achieve my goal and (hopefully) one day be an inspiration to others.
 
I'm going to be honest, the whole month of January I didn't start doing ANY physical activity, but did watch what I ate.  Mind you, I had more "cheat days" that I should have had, but I was able to weigh in at 161lbs on January 29, 2011.  Again, I'm sure it was just all the junk I had eaten during the Christmas holidays that I was able to get out of my system.
 
Anyway, my goal weight that I had set for January 29, 2011 was 162.5lbs based on the "1lb a week" goal that I had set for myself. Because I was 161lbs, I set my goal weight for February 26, 2011 to be 157lbs.  What I'm saying is that I'm setting my monthly weight goals based on what I actually weigh & not the goal that I've set for myself for that month.  Hope this makes sense.
 
The month of February is when I started doing some physical activity.  I'm not a huge cardio person -- I really hate the feeling where my heart is beating hard and fast against my chest & I'm out of breath.  I have an elliptical machine & weights at home, so what I did everyday was 20mins on the elliptical (at moderate pace & setting the resistance to the lowest it can get), 20mins weight training & 20mins on the elliptical again. Thank God for PVR, I was able to catch up on my favorite shows while I was on the elliptical machine.
 
Saturday, February 19th I was finally confident (financially) to join Hot Yoga.  I used to do Hot Yoga last year from June 2010 to October 2010 but had to stop because (for the 5th time) I dislocated my shoulder and had to take time off for it to recover. 
 
[In case you're wondering: No, I didn't dislocate my shoulder because of Hot Yoga.  As mentioned before, it's been 5 times that I've dislocated my shoulder, it doesn't take much for it to dislocate again.]
 
I usually weigh myself in the morning.  This morning I weighed in at 158lbs, so I have tonight & tomorrow (and perhaps Saturday morning before I weigh myself) to burn off 1lb to achieve my goal for the month.
 
Oh yeah, one more thing.  I'm really getting serious about this because I'm getting married this September!!  
 
At first I thought about blogging on a Word document & saving onto my USB disk for only myself to read, but I decided to blog online to be more of a challenge because now I know "people are watching".
 
Let's see how this goes.  This might turn out really fun & I'd love for you to join me on this journey.

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