Off the wagon

Yesterday, I wrote about my weight loss/fitness journey and how for the first time of many attempts I have actually succeeded and lasted more than a few days. That's not to say that I haven't had any bumps along the road. My goal is to lose 1 lb a week though for the majority of my weigh ins I seem to lose half a pound a week. In order to lose 1lb I have to consume 1,200 calories a day which can sometimes be hard and for the most part I always go over by about 200 or so. Then there are those days where I take a cheat day and go over by about 500 or more.

Last week though I hit a major hurdle and fell off the wagon completely. I ran out of groceries and for various reasons I didn't go grocery shopping for a week so I ended up eating out and buying my lunches and so my healthy eating went kaput!

On Wednesday, my husband invited some of our friends over for drinks. I decided not to drink but one of our friends brought Smirnoff Ice just for me so not wanting to be rude I had a few glasses. Then they decided that we should go to a nearby bar and have some chicken wings. I figured since it looked like my healthy eating was over for the day I would join in and get some beer in the process. Clearly I had no self-control.

Thursday morning we went to Boom Breakfast just across our apartment building to have breakfast and I ordered eggs benedict. They were delicious but could have gone with a healthier choice.

On Friday before my work shift we went to a store that sells all kinds of Mexican food, candies and drinks. It has a small restaurant and I ordered some sopes and also some tacos. I was in heaven but of course the next day I felt a little guilty for stuffing face.

The rest of the week continued just the same so I'll bear you all from the ugly details. Thankfully, yesterday I got myself to a grocery store and have started to make my way back to the healthy wagon. Let's hope I can keep this up for the next three weeks until I break the healthy life for a few wings and beers for my friend's birthday. Never said this journey would be perfect but I try to make it the best that I can.

My Fitness Story

I’ve written about weight loss quite a few times around the blog but I’ve failed to stay on track each and every time. There are many reasons why I’ve struggled:

1.       I found it hard to eat healthy and stay within my calorie intake when my husband could eat anything he wanted

2.       Counting calories was such a hassle I could never keep up

3.       Summer meant bbqs, beer, outings and I got distracted from going to the gym

4.       Once I stopped going to the gym I couldn’t get myself to go back

5.       I would compare myself to others who were also going through weight loss and I felt defeated if I didn’t get the same results

In the middle of January I decided to give it another go. So far I’ve done quite well (minus a few cheat days) and I am happy with my process and results.  Here are a few reasons why this time I’ve done a lot better:

1.       My husband decided to join me so it’s a lot easier to keep up healthy eating if we’re both taking part

2.       Once I kept up with my food journal using My FitnessPal app for two weeks it has become second nature to log my meals

3.       I’ve decided to focus on one goal at a time so I’m not overwhelmed. I started with healthy eating and now that I have made it part of my daily routine I will begin to focus on exercise.

My starting weight as of February 2^nd was 134.6 and I continued to weigh myself every week since every Monday morning. I didn’t want to focus too much on the numbers on the scale hence the weekly weigh-ins rather than daily. My goal weight is 125 lbs and I’m hoping that I can reach this weight by June 1^st in time for shorts and swimsuit season. Once I’ve reached my goal I would like to focus on toning my body especially my mid-section.

Happiness Challenge - Day 1: Naps & Day 2: Chats

I previously wrote about the happiness challenge that I will be taking part in for the next 100 days. I will do my best to blog about my days but it may be impossible difficult to keep up on a daily basis. If you wish to see my happiness pictures day to day you can visit my instagram account tridrosas. For those who may not have instagram the pictures can also be viewed on this blog on the right hand side under the header instagram.

My first day began Saturday and this challenge was definitely what I needed. The day got off to a bit of a rough start with the subway being closed from bloor to union station (my stop). I had to take a shuttle bus instead and what is normally a 10 minute subway ride turned into a 30 minute bus ride. I'm certainly grateful for the subway now. By the time I got close to my work it was 9:54 and I start at 10:00 so I figured if I'm gonna be late I may as well stop for a coffee. I was in fact late by 2 minutes which was a bit irritating because had I skipped the coffee I may have made it by 10:00. Oh well.

Toronto Subway Map

On the way back it was even worse. I had to take a 10 minute walk to the bus stop and then the bus took 45 minutes to get to bloor station. 45!!! That's how long it usually takes me to get home from work and here I was only half way. Needless to say I was not happy at all. I just wanted to go home and lay on the couch.

After a long day at work and and even longer commute all I wanted to do was relax so I did what everyone should do. Take a mid day nap. Naps are the best and truly make me happy. I wake up refreshed and no longer grouchy. I need to go back to when I was a baby and all my day consisted of was naps and food. Oh if only!

Yesterday, my happy moment consisted of chatting with my mom on facebook. I haven't seen my mom in years and it's really good to be able to talk to her at any time even if it's just about trivial daily happenings. Our chats can sometimes last 30 minutes sometimes they last 2 but even just being able to say hi brings a smile to my face.

Happiness Challenge

A couple of day ago I was going through my facebook feed and an old friend from school posted about a happiness challenge. Curious I clicked on the link and after reading about it I knew I wanted to take part. I'm usually a happy person who hates confrontation and I don't like to dwell in small daily problems but lately I have noticed that I've let small things get under my skin and forget to stop and smell the roses.

Via

Basically, the happiness challenge consists of taking pictures of anything and everything that makes you happy. It can be anything from your puppy, your morning coffee, laying on the couch, you name it, if it makes you happy you snap a picture of it. Post your pictures on twitter, instagram or facebook or all 3 with the hashtag #100happy days. The purpose of the challenge is not to compete with others or to try and make other jealous with your pictures.

The point of the challenge is to:

- stop for a brief time and really enjoy the small or big things that make you happy each and every day
- forget about the small things that have brought your mood down
- become optimistic
- appreciate the people that bring a happiness to your day
- take a break from the hustle and bustle of life



Via

According to the challenge website, 71% of people have tried to complete the challenge but were unsuccessful because of a lack of time. I thought the number was a little high but soon I realized that I too was falling into this statistic. I was supposed to start the challenge on Monday but for one reason or another I kept putting it off and it was because I had no "time" for it. Well, it's about time I start making time and realize that happiness is everywhere if you really look for it.

If you would like to join me with this challenge head to http://100happydays.com/ and register. It's easy and only takes 1 minute and then start snapping away to a happier life!





Via