72.2

Yup...down a kilo. This despite being shoved into the throes of temptation on two, count them TWO, separate occasions in the past 72 hours. One, big ole' BBQ with friends including backyard games. Two, dinner for dear friends here last night.

And yet I resisted...alcohol AND dessert. I even threw out the rest of the cake after they left and didn't do the "1 scoop for you, 1 scoop for me" as I dolled out ice cream. I have 8 days to go before I board that plane and damn it, I want to reach my goal. Still not sharing what that is though as I don't want to jinx it.

Just eating like I'm on Induction, which I guess means that I am. Exercise pants are getting a little looser and despite a 2-day hiatus, I was butt and ab-blasting again after our company left last night.

On that note, it was the first time I was actually able to have a proper conversation with a friend that I've known for over 10 years. She speaks very little English you see. And yet, my husband and I are the Godparents for their 2nd born. We have a history of working with her husband and they actually flew from Sweden for our wedding 8 years ago. My Swedish is far less than steller but it was enough for me to understand what she was saying and take a long-ass time to respond :-)

So yay me this week!

Weigh-in Wednesday (on Saturday?): Week 5 of 10

Hi team. Sorry I've been MIA but this summer schedule is hectic to say the least. If you call hectic spending nearly everyday from 11ish till 4ish at the local pool drowining in chlorine and then house-wifing it for the remainder of the time while simultaneously trying to cram some actual work, work in. But it's been a blessing spending so much time with the little man. Speaking of time, I can't believe it's only 5 weeks until I get my toes back on Montenegrin soil!

Also sorry about throwing my WAJ commitment out the window but i seriously don't have the time (or haven't made the time). But I've been doing well. I am still hovering in low 73 territory with perhaps 1 day of cheating a week. I do need to break that number and will persevere with renewed energy this week. I am not feeling bad about this stalemate only because I have been regularly "doing my exercises" every night. Except for last night when I opted out and opted in to an ice cream bar instead...ha!

I smell like chlorine. I reek of it actually. I cannot imagine what it's doing to my skin and hair though I am trying to exfoliate and expensive shampoo myself from top to bottom to avoid any long term damage. Look at the chemical concoction I'll marinate myself in to keep the little man smiling. Am I a great Mom or what? ha!

Well that's all for now. I'm sure I'll be back to regular blogging once summer's officially over. In the meantime, I'm enjoying my time "off".

Hope you're all doing great and the sun is shining wherever you are. xo

Weigh-in Wednesday: Week 3 of 10

Well, I didn't manage to escape my 1 evening of excess alcohol consumption and 1-day Carb Fest unscathed. The scales have tipped to the low 73s again. F-word. But I was not and am not deterred. I picked myself up off the bathroom floor, wiped myself down and climbed back over to my makeshift exercise mat. No wallowing over here.

And tomorrow the Midsummer celebrations begin in full-force, culminating in an all-day drunk fest on Friday. Though I think based on my last experience, I may sit this one out. And in Sweden when you sit it out you REALLY sit it out. There's no such thing as even 1 drink with a zero-tolerance drinking and driving law. And on Midsummer? You are guaranteed to get stopped by the cops and always guaranteed a breathalyzer.

There was a birthday party today. I had a morsel of cake. But just a morsel. Apart from that, the past 2 days have seen good brekkies, lunches and dinners with some apples thrown in for good measure. And a lot of butt blasting and ab crunching. Dare I say it's working? Even with the scales trying to get me down..or maybe that's up, I feel a notable difference in my tight-waisted exercise pants. Not so tight around the waist.

So I'm winning some and losing some. Next week will see my chasing the little man around the local pool every morning for the next 6 weeks and hopefully, a daily bike ride to the watering hole. Need to get a bike is all.

So there you have it folks. How are you all doing? Talk to me. Thanking you all for your continued support and encouragement. Love you all! xo

Weigh-in Wednesday: Week 2 of 10

Can I get a "woo-hoo"? I did it. I stepped on the scale this morning and I cracked it. Not the scale but the 73...officially into 72 territory now. And "officially" means not 72.9 or 72.8 but 72.7. And I'll take it!

And I have the WAJs and all of you to thank! This week, my goal will be to crack the 72.5, inching closer to a steady 72. This exercise thing has been a pain in the ass. Literally. You try that Butt Blaster workout. I triple dog dare ya! With a total of about 20 minutes of ass and belly exercises a day for the past 8 days, I can see already that I'm less winded, less sweaty and a little less jiggly. So I need to add on some leg exercises and will be cruising sparkpeople.com for a short leg workout. These short burst workouts really work for me because I have a short attention span to begin with.

The upcoming weekend brings two things: 1. My first time out alone with hubby in God knows how long (well, since Christmas anyway) and 2. For a big birthday bash for a friend of ours turning the big 4-0. I am sooo excited (I know, kinda sad eh?) and equally petrified. There will lots of food and lots of booze. And when I start drinking, I start eating. I am going to program myself to only reach for MEAT but because this is a monumental occasion, I WILL be having some drinks. Need your help on this one though. Calling all Swedes: In Canada, they have low-carb coolers or at least they did five years ago. Do they have them here? And if not, what type of booze do you recommend for the low-carb committed me?

You'll notice we're at Week 2 of 10. Week 10 is August 11, exactly one week before I'm headed to Montenegro and the day I plan to pick up the season's first bikini. E-Gads! Will you see my hot bod plastered on a billboard near you at that time? But you will see my "she looks good for 33" body on this blog. The one with the little pouch at the front, a bit of cellulite at the back and two deflated balloons up top. Finished off with the white topping that is my skin. Nothing a little surgery won't fix. Kidding. Or not. ha!

Anyway, thanks again everyone for sharing your successes and struggles and for cheering me on. I know it's a little early to get THIS excited but damn it, I'm proud of me for the exercise part at least!

Mon/Tues WAJ

Mood: Surviving
Food:
Brekky: Leftover meatballs/Egg salad
Lunch: Leftover meatballs/Tuna salad
Supper: Fried Baloney + green salad (my favourite, seriously and no I don't care how it's made and no, I don't spell it "balogna")/Greek salad with tuna (cuz I forgot to defrost some meat)
Snacks: Apple/Apple + 1/4 of a Dora the Explorer cookie + a teaspoon (ok a tablespoon) of Peanut Butter
Fitness:
Butt Blaster and 15-minute ab work-out x 2! Need to find a leg exercise session to round these out though. Get rid of the inner thigh flab...

Comments: Truth be told, it's been a week + 1 day since my commitment and I ain't feelin' much skinnier. I think the culprit might be the mystery meat I've been consuming + the sauces. But other than that, I've been pretty much stickin' to it. Wish me luck for weigh-in tomorrow. Please, please,please let me head into 72ish territory...P.L.E.A.S.E!

Weekend WAJs

Mood: Overwhelmed but committed
Did not forget about you guys or my commitment to US. Just been a crazy, busy weekend trying to juggle little man with an obscene amount of work. I stuck to my diet, well sorta. See, I didn't cheat necessarily but I think I'm consuming more carbs than I should be. Just because I'm forgoing the flour wrap on the chicken fajitas, I'm still having a bit of taco sauce and sour cream (each with very few carbs) but throw in cheese, lettuce, tomato and fried peppers and it's likely a bit too much (for the early phase of Atkins anyway). And hot dogs for lunch...well that's about 6 grams of carbs or a bit more, so although I'm having no bun, if I have salmon with salad and some homemade sour cream/mayo kind sauce, well a bit too many carbs there too.

Seriously though, not a single morsel of the bad stuff...just need to pay more attention to the good stuff is all. I haven't weighed myself in awhile because even with the exercise, I'm not feeling any lighter. So I'd like to wait until this Wednesday to see if I need to make any changes to the regime.

Since I last checked in, I only skipped one night of exercise, which was last night. But I got back at the YouTube vids tonight. I'm feeling good folks. Though I will keep track every weekday, from Mon-Fri, I will only post WAJs twice/week (with all days) so as not to overwhelm my blog with them.

Love, Jenn xo

Wednesday WAJ

Mood: Hopeful

Menu:
Brekkie: Leftover hamburgers (sans buns of course) scarfed down by the kitchen sink with bernaise sauce residue cuz the hamburgers were steaming hot out of micro
Lunch: at like 4:30pm. Egg salad (1 M&M on the car ride home before egg salad)

Dinner: Low-carb meal at the Max hamburger franchise with half a side salad and 5 fries dipped in, you guessed it, bernaise sauce. And one and a half nuggets with the breading peeled off and 1 onion ring with the breading,cuz well, it was an onion ring!
Fitness:  40-minute power walk through mosquito infested woodland with walking buddy who told me the mosquitoes were biting because I wasn't walking fast enough!

Comments: I was teetering folks. I gotta be honest. After a long ass day in Stockholm and a shitload of rushing around this evening, I was ready to give my sore abs a rest tonight, ready for any excuse really. And then I saw Michelle's comment on my previous WAJ and suited up. Only to get a text from walking buddy. I.can't.feel.my.legs. Today was not a standard day in the life of "moi" but I managed. I did it. Golf claps please.

Tuesday WAJ

Mood: Motivated


Menu:

Brekkie: Egg salad

Lunch: Tuna salad with cukes & red onion

Dinner: Three homemade burgers with bernaise sauce (sauce is super high in fat at 77ish grams/100 grams but surprisingly low in carbs at 2.5/100 grams). Swedes eat this sauce with their steak. Me, I'd eat it by the spoonful if it wasn't so rich.

Fitness:
Bust Blasting Work-Out (6 minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YBnm2ZJNCM&NR=1

Ab Work-Out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YI0cxuNcq8&feature=channel

Comments: I was a bit worried about today when I got a call from my friend asking me to come and see her daughter's performace at 6:30pm. Not only would I miss putting the little guy down (I can't count on 1 hand how many times I've missed THAT) but it would throw my whole nightly routine outta whack and give me a good excuse to bypass the butt eliminating exercises. Well friends, I gave myself a pep talk and here I am...sweaty and in pain. You may have watched the videos and are thinking: Oh please..what on earth could she be complaining about...it's like a grand total of 20 minutes? Well, try it. I dare ya.

Weigh-in Accountability Journal

Y'all were likely getting as frustrated with me as I was with me. Well after a shit weekend of indulging and feeling awful about it, I left the pity party and decided (again) to take action. Since I continue to be inspired by all of your successes and stories, I figured I owed ya one (or many) and have decided that I will hold myself more accountable.

So much can go wrong in a week...so why not check-in daily? I will not torture myself with daily weigh-ins but I WILL chronicle my food intake and exercise. These posts will be titled WAJ (for Weigh-In Accountability Journal) so feel free to dismiss them if you don't feel like a blow-by-blow of Jenn's Daily Regime. Here's my insightful intellectual reasoning behind this: I'm definitely gonna think twice before scarfing down the crust of the little man's toast in the morning if I know I have to tell you all about it later in the day. So here goes, Monday WAJ:

Mood: Motivated
Menu:
Brekkie: Egg salad
Lunch: Tuna salad with cukes
Dinner: Oven chicken with Greek salad and brocolli
Fitness: I found these Spark People Fitness Videos eons ago and decided to give them a go. Consider them dusted off and in full use for this week:
Bust Blasting Work-Out (6 minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YBnm2ZJNCM&NR=1
Ab Work-Out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YI0cxuNcq8&feature=channel

Damn. Sweat was beading in every crack people. Shows how out of shape I really am.  Butt Crack Sweat is like Sweet Honey when said sweat contains tiny molecules of fat dripping from my expanded ass.

The walks were great BUT I really need company for those and seeing as though my company has gone MIA (yeah, I'm talkin' bout you "T"...though I'm to blame for the last bail out), it's my living room, a mat and my new BFF Nicole from YouTube.

Today was a good day friends! One day at a time and one WAJ (pronounced like the slang word for our you-know-whats but the "V" is silent) every night.

Weigh-in Wednesday (on Thurs.): Week 5 of 10

Sorry I'm late guys. I have a good excuse. First, insanely busy with work. Second, (I'm scared to say this for fear of jinxing it), I "think" I may have made a friend...a REAL FRIEND...a friend in SWEDEN!. I can barely contain my excitement. She invited me over to watch Grey's Anatomy last night over a glass of wine!!!! More on that later.

THE SAME. The scale has been going up and down all week. I was even dangerously close to my pre-Christmas weight at one point and then the numbers settled back into their favourite place...74.6.

I gotta say though, I've been doing rather well this week..likely cuz I have NO TIME to listen to the voices in the cupboard. Sure I have no actual NUMBERS to show for it but in addition to the nightly interpretive dance routines, we've added weights. The weights consist of my 18.4 kilo son wrapping his body around my leg (interchangeably) and forcing me to drag him across the slippery wood floor. And then (sooo dating myself here), last night I remembered how Bill Cosby used give the neighborhood kids horsy rides on his knee while he bounced them up and down and around, even the cute little fat kid. Typing that out these days sounds very wrong so many years later, but do you remember?

So my knee has been a saddle and my thigh, the horse. And now with this "potential" NF (maybe it will work better if I don't spell it out), I can conquer the world!

Have any friends (besides US of course) that offer great support on your weight loss journey? How about the one or two "friends" who aren't supportive AT ALL?

PS: Somebody reading this post has hit a major milestone: Fitting into her old jeans!!!!! C'mon tell us your secrets Ms. Weigh-in Wednesday!

Weigh-in Wednesdays: Week #3

Whose stupid idea was this anyway? That would be mine...sigh.

Ok, it's not THAT bad but damn, it shoulda been way better. I am the founder of this little blog sorta carnival thingy aren't I? I should be leading, with force, showing you all how it's done. Right? I've been searching high and low for my light saber. I seriously believe its absence has been hampering my mission to full-bodied greatness.

And no, I did not eat that donut. Not because it wasn't calling out to me from the plate on the table. But because my husband got to it first. I still consider this a victory.

I no longer have the excuse of the "Big Move" to the new digs as we're pretty much all settled in. I'll tell ya though. My body was on overdrive last week. I.did.not.stop. And boy did I feel it for days afterwards. Like slamming on the brakes going 100 kms/hour (or miles for you American readers). So, you see, I am capable. So today I sat here kinda looking around going, "Now what?"

I love that quote that goes something like this: "Insanity is doing the same thing all the time and expecting different results." I gotta make some serious lifestyle changes starting tomorrow. Ok, no, not starting tomorrow. Tomorrow is Swedish/Swimming lessons day. See, there I go again with the excuses. Tomorrow it is. But best to start off small right? How about this? When the little man gets home from school..no scratch that. When I get home from Swedish lessons, I will haul my ass outside and walk somewhere, anywhere. Nah, scratch that. I WILL unearth my YouTube exercise video, get down on all fours and do some leg lifts, etc. There: Lifestyle change #1.

So my weight has stayed the same, 74.2 kilos...still down the four pounds, 2 kilos. Let's kick it up a notch this week. How about everyone makes one small lifestyle change, for the better. So picking up smoking as a means to avoid another handful of jellybeans is sooo not an option. My little lifestyle change will be have that tight-assed YouTube fitness instructor show me whose boss. And it's not me. It's her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU5oOIk9CfQ&feature=related

How about you? Will you be switching from whole milk to skim, eating an orange instead of drinking a glass of OJ, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, eating instead of skipping brekky? Do share.

I LOVE MAXs...suck it McDonald's

So every Thursday night after the little man's swimming lesson with Dad, we hit McDonald's. I loathe McDonald's but it's always fun for the little guy so we go. I loathe it because here in Sweden (not the case back home), they have a real crappy salad selection. Feels like I'm eating plastic.

Well a few weeks ago we decided to stop-in to Sweden's own hamburger joint called Max. I ordered a salad with chicken. It was freakn' delicious. Plus, they have a little playpark for Joe, which he gets to enjoy AFTER he eats.

I noticed, a little too late, that they had a low-carb option on their menu. Meh. I bet it's a hamburger pattie with some cut up veggies. I was happy with my salad. But last night hubby returned from a 3-day trip to Barcelona for a conference and so we decided to go to Max's for a quick bite. I decided to give the low-carb menu option a try. And buddy says, "Would you like fries with that?" Oh yes, please. Can you give me like 100 grams of carbs with my low-carb meal. Idiot. Though I imagine some ppl do this anyway.

It was indeed a hamburger pattie but wrapped up in a huge leaf of lettuce and dressed exactly as a hamburger should be!!!!!!! I was over the moon! It was freakn' delicious and the portion size was large enough that I didn't even do my usual, eat most of the little man's fries and steal half the onion rings. Ok, I had 1 onion ring and then peeled the breadedness of the rest and just ate the onion.

I love you Max, whoever you are. You made my day. Your low-carb hamburger made me feel like I was eating an actual hamburger. You fooled me. I love you.

Oh and fyi...already down 2 pounds..woot, woot.
Keep it up ME! Challenges ahead include: having to go the grocery store today and likely get a few treats for the little guy, moving over the next 5 days, etc.

Oh and we managed to win against Switzerland last night in a shoot-out..thank you Sydney Crosby!

We're losing it...together

I had to write a separate post as a follow-up to Weigh-In Wednesday because, well, I was just so thrilled and humbled that all of you (some new!) decided to join in with encouragement, support and your stories.

Den, I saw some recent pics of you (and then saw your current weight) and uhmmmm...I immediately thought to myself, "What is SHE doing here?" But as you pointed out and very rightfully so, it's about how you feel about you, not how others perceive you. It's about health and feeling and being "fit".

And I sooooooo get you about eating slower. My Dad grew up in a family of 15 and he literally had to fight for his food, wolfing it down so he could get seconds. You should SEE that man polish off a plate. If there was an Olympic sport in speed eating, he'd take home the Gold. I too, have inherited this from him and you just reminded me that I really need to watch the speed too. My Dad has actually been forced to slow down as he has developed a problem with his esophogus where he literally gets into these almost choking fits with food getting stuck. Undergoing tests right now for it.

I find social gatherings extremely challenging where sticking to a diet is concerned. For two reasons: 1. You feel so shitty if you don't touch what the host has so laboriously (sp?) prepared, especially in some of the old world countries where the hostess will literally stand by you and do everything but shovel it into your mouth 2. Food is always a reason for a celebration. Standing by the snack table with a glass of wine is the best place to make friends and eat and eat and eat...

Soooo...I am trying (again) to treat all social gatherings as an excuse to socialize. I will not wonder what's on the menu. I will not scope out the food table as I'm taking off my shoes. I will not stealthily make my way over. I will not eat mindlessly and chat between mouthfuls.

Whether we're a Den and trying to transform ourselves from horse to bird (with some crunches thrown in for good measure), using Game On! to get our weight off like YoungMama, implementing a combination of cardio and strength training a la Hyacynth or starting off by banning bad carbs like me, we all have a common thread in our journey: We want to feel great about ourselves. And WEIGHT/BODY IMAGE is NOT the end-all-be-all but it's a big part of it, for us anyway.

For me personally, I've been there. I loved it there. And this time, I want to be more than just a tourist. I want permanent citizenship.

Weigh-in Wednesdays: Week 1 of many...

Alright ladies (and any gents that dare stop in),

Let's recap: Two years ago or so, I was blissfully slender for just about 2 years. The smallest I had ever been in my life. I achieved this through Atkins (the bacon is cooking on the stove right now, so hold on while I flip it) and some moderate exercise. I was a size 8, just the right size for me...my healthy weight. Ok, so I lost my boobs and my butt, but I had a waist and could wear whatever I pleased without worrying about whether it made me look fat. See my original post if you want to hear me really vent.

Two years later: I'm back up again by 18 lbs..6 more than before Christmas even. DAMN IT. I can barely fit into the jeans i bought just before Christmas. I'm living in sweat pants! How did this happen? Well I believe it first started when I surprised my husband with a long weekend trip to Rome in August 2008. I gained 3 kilos in 4-5 days, seriously. I ate everything in sight because well, "When in Rome, eat like a pig". The food was seriously delicious: Pasta, gelato and REPEAT. But instead of moderately enjoying, I went hog wild. Sooo...I went back down again eventually but the trigger was pulled. And then I thought I was invincible and started eating little bits of this and of that and then bigger bits and well, you get the picture. Anyway: This.cannot.go.on.

In the here and now: So I'm making a renewed commitment to myself and to you, dear blog readers to lose these dreaded 18 pounds in 10 weeks. See? I'm not being completely unrealistic, that's roughly 2 pounds a week. That seems fair enough doesn't it? I've been trying and failing for the last 2 months and I figured, why not try a new tactic and hold myself publicly accountable? Yup, I'm even posting before and after and hopefully and after that looks like the before photo. Go big to get small! Let it all HANG OUT! no matter how humiliating.

Will you join me? Heck, even if you don't, will you cheer me on? I need to feel like I'm running a marathon (which I most certainly will NOT be running), so anyone with towels, cups of water, huge signs that say "Go Jenn. You can do it!" are more than welcome to line the roadway to the finish line. And any tips, keeping in mind my dedication and belief in Atkins (for me) are welcome.

Weight in my blissful days: 68 kilos, 149 pounds


Weight before Christmas: 73.5 kilos, 162 pounds


Weight now (hold off on the drum roll, don't know if I can take it): 76.4 kilos, 168.4 pounds. Yes I realize you feel jipped with no photo but I haven't let hubby near me with the camera really and I was also looking for pics that showed the full enchilada, not just my face cuz that wouldn't be fair.



Weight by mid Aprilish: 68 kilos, 149 pounds (oooo, maybe I could recreate that photo of my up on the mountain this summer?!)


Cue Rocky music...