Update on weight loss

Too bad I don't have a thin picture of myself. I mean, a picture of myself looking thin.

However, I've lost 7 lbs and I measured myself yesterday, and I've lost 1" around the waist, and 1" around my hips. I'm quite pleased with that, but I do have a long way to go.

I walked to the Burnaby library and to Metrotown yesterday. It was 13 C and broke another record for warmth on February 4. I walked along Central Park, which is only 15 minutes from my house. The park engineers have built a long paved path running the length of one side of the park, along the Skytrain route. It's open, with lots of new lighting, and I feel very safe there. I don't know why I haven't tried it before now, as it saves me $3.75 fare.

Notice the photo above. Our allergies are beginning to annoy us.

Flylady and sticking to my goals

I joined a site called Flylady. Some of my online friends love her. So far from the emails I received today, I've learned that it doesn't take much to keep your house clean. It takes discipline. There's that word again! Flylady is really into a clean kitchen sink. Fortunately I am too, and I already have this down pat. Whew. Today's email states that if you spend 15 minutes per day de-cluttering, you will save $1040 per year by not buying any more $20 clutter per week! Wow. It's amazing how all these things add up. This year I've kept on track. It's now Day 25 and I haven't had a cookie since 2009. It's unbelievable. I'm bound and determined to be disciplined and shed the pounds. I've lost a total of 6 lbs this year! Cool! I'm happy with that. Whenever I skip having a cup of coffee at the mall, I put a twoonie into my little stash for dolly money. I may be able to buy a new doll by March. Or I could save it for my office, which I want to renovate. I would like to get a corner desk for the computer, and get rid of my monstrous desk which is taking up way too much space. In its place, I'd put a floor to ceiling book case from Ikea, and whatever books didn't fit on it I would sell. I think I have too many projects, but I like variety!

Signs of Spring in Vancouver BC!

Today I walked to the gym, wearing my spring jacket and no hat.

The air is positively balmy; around 12 C. We often have Januarys like this.

We love them, which is one of the main reasons we live in Vancouver.

I passed a row of daffodils getting ready to bloom. Amazing!

The photo on top shows a view of Mt. Seymour; the snow is quickly melting.

Here's a shot of the beautiful Lions mountains.

Yes, this is the view I can see as I walk to the gym.

Are you green with envy? It takes me 1/2 hour and is part of my routine.

I'm pleased to say I've lost 4 lbs this month, and I've been to the gym 5 times.

This is Scotia Bank, with it's controversial window display.

Vanoc says that it should come down, as they think it conflicts with the Olympic theme.

I disagree.

After eating a hearty lunch at a Japanese restaurant, (chicken and veggies and rice) I did banking errands, then walked through Sears. They have a marvelous warehouse sale on. The brown shoes on the right were $60.00 marked down to $12.99, and the green dress shoes were $44.99 marked down to $9.00! I couldn't resist that deal.

Weighing in...152 or 153 lbs

I'm fluctuating. Sometimes I'm 152, sometimes I'm 153 lbs. It's dreadful. I blame it on the weather, which has caused me to be very sick twice this winter. Guess what it did today? Snowed 3". But the sun came out in the afternoon and most of it melted away, as it should do at this time of the year.

I used my Mel B workout DVD twice last week. It's a lot of fun! I really enjoy it, and I actually look forward to doing the workout. I did it again this morning. I love the exercises for the arms and bum and stomach. It's very intense. After the first day, I could really feel it. My pants are fitting better now. That's a good sign.

Weighing in...152 lbs!

My eating plan is working. I don't even have to use my food journal anymore. I lost 8 lbs total in one month and I'm now 152 lbs. I'm feeling better and I don't get any headaches. I was getting around 1 - 2 headaches per week (not migraines) and now I'm feeling good, and I feel like I have a bit more energy. It's true what they say about eating right! 

My kind hubby ordered an exercise DVD for me using a gift certificate he had, and it arrived last week. I tried it out today. It was quite intense and will be a good workout for me if I keep it up every morning. It's compiled by Mel B, one of the Spice Girls. She was on Dancing With the Stars recently, and for some reason I really like her. She designed the workout for mothers who had just had a baby, and wanted to get rid of stomach flab. Tee...hee...I figured it would be perfect for me! You don't need anything but a mat and 2 water bottles. I wonder if I'll feel something tomorrow?

Weighing in...154 lbs

Hmmm...I gained one pound. That would be due to laying on the couch for 2 weeks, unable to breathe, let alone exercise. * sigh * There's nothing that can be done about it. 

Today I took Kelsie for a walk for half an hour, so that's a beginning. It's like starting all over again, because I do not want a relapse! I'm back to using the food journal. It really does help. I began drinking more water today. For some reason I can hardly get water down. I sure can't drink it when I have bronchitis! I'm a sad case. What do YOU do for exercise each day? Tomorrow I'm going to try a bit of sit ups and floor mat exercises. I'll also stick to my half hour walk for now.

Weighing in...153 lbs!

Due to my wretched state of health I just couldn't blog each day the past week, however today I'm feeling a tiny bit better. Whew. I might live after all! I weighed myself today and was astounded. I'm 153 lbs! That's 7 lbs lost in 3 weeks. I don't want to find those pounds ever again. I'm delighted with my progress, although I wouldn't recommend getting bronchitis to help the weight loss. Ugh. I'd rather be healthy and exercising the weight off, instead of coughing it off! 

I finished reading three more Anne Perry books; Resurrection Row, published in 1981; Rutland Place, pub. in 1983; and Cardington Crescent, pub. in 1987. A total of 6 books read in 2009 so far. To me that's a lot. I'm totally immersed in Victorian era crime scenes. Anne Perry writes so convincingly; when I open her books I'm immediately zapped into the late 1860's in the outskirts of London, England. Anne's characters are very real, and her descriptive scenes of both upper and lower class society are gripping in their rich detail. I especially love the scenes where etiquette is described, and the scenes of the interior of the wealthy homes. Even Charlotte's home intrigues me, though; I first learned about drying racks in kitchens from Anne's books. I've seen an example of a drying rack like she describes, at the Burnaby Village Museum. Here's a link to the Museum. 

Here is a photo I took of the unique drying rack at the Burnaby Village Museum, on Victoria Day in May 2004:

This is Elworth House, where the drying rack can be found in the kitchen. This house was built in 1922 by a Vancouver designer, and it's a romantic revival cottage. It's just my cup of tea! I long to live in this house.

This is a view of the dining room.

By Loretta Houben

Weighing in...155 lbs!

I'm even surprising myself! I'm 155 lbs today. That's a total of 5 lbs lost in 2 weeks. OK, I can live with that. I've cut out ALL chocolate, and all sugar except for the teaspoon in my black tea each morning with breakfast. I think I jiggled another pound off by all the coughing I'm doing, plus yesterday I hardly ate anything as I had no appetite.

In 2004 I weighed 137 lbs. That was only 4 years ago. I blame my weight gain on laziness and my strange metabolism for this time of life, as I'm 48 and things are really strange with my system right now! I cannot believe that in 4 years I gained 20 lbs. It seems so disgusting! Like my sister says; if the weight was evenly distributed all over, that would be one thing, but alas, it's all on my stomach and hip area, and seeing as heart problems run in my mom's side of the family, you think I'd take better care of myself! In 2007 I was 147 lbs after our trip to Europe.

I'm taking one day at a time, and when the urge comes to eat sweets, I chew on a piece of sugarless gum. Plus I'm not baking as much as I used to when Matthew was at home, and when I do bake, I give it all to him! I'm keeping a food journal too, and totaling the calories each day. I'm staying to the 1800 level, and going to the gym twice per week. Of course, this week is out as I'm feeling so lousy with this flu bug.

Anyhow, if I can do it, you can too! (I've decided I like each blog post to have a photo, so here's one of our favourite meals; Swedish meatballs from Ikea, with Lingonberry sauce, potatoes and gravy, and a butter lettuce salad with hothouse tomatoes.)

By Loretta Houben

160 pounds!!!

I'm feeling ill. I'm feeling green. I'm dismayed. I weighed myself this morning and I'm 160 lbs. Isn't that atrocious? I can blame it on my plantar fasciitis and the wretched snow and ice on the ground, as I haven't been able to get to the gym since October, but isn't that number ghastly? I don't really eat that much at meal times, but my one besetting sin is nibbling and snacking. I'm like a small cow; constantly grazing. 

It doesn't help that I get to stay at home all week and all month! I've decided to once again do something about it. I'm going to try my best to get to the gym three times this week, and on the other days I'm going to try to get to the mall to do mall walking. It sounds dreadful boring, but tomorrow we have a SNOW warning in effect, and no one shovels their sidewalks around here, and we don't have snow plows in Vancouver, so I'm desperate. 

Plus starting today, I'm eating more protein (meat, nuts, peanut butter) and more fresh fruit and fresh veggies. The only thing that works for me is to cut out chocolate, and exercise a lot. An hour long walk each day works the best for me. My foot is feeling nearly 100% better, so I have no excuse for not walking, except the excuse of the inclement weather. What a lazy bones I've been...

By Loretta Houben