I’m Back!

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. the worst is over (for now)

The week is over and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

Last Monday was my breaking point. I started crying the moment I pulled into the parking lot at school and I finished crying as I left school at 8:45 in the evening (working on timetables for next year). The good thing about allowing yourself to cry is that all the frustrations and emotions are purged from your body. I need that occasionally because I tend to internalize everything.

The next morning when I weighed myself the weight fluctuations had ceased and I was finally down another 1 1/ 2 pounds for a total of 7 1/2 pounds in the last 2 weeks and a day. It may not seem like a lot to some of you but for me it signified my first milestone. First of all I’ve shed all the weight I’d gained over the winter and secondly I was down 1/2 pound more than I was at my daughter’s wedding last September.

The irony of weighing less than I did for the wedding is that it took me all summer to lose the same amount of weight and I didn’t have the stress of school on my back. I know some of you may counter with the argument that weddings can be very stressful as well but my daughter did all the planning and I was pretty much ‘hands off’.

People are starting to notice that the weight is coming off. In fact one of my colleagues commented on my size when I had only lost 3 pounds. Earlier this week one of our supply teachers who hadn’t seen me in a few weeks told me that I was ‘wasting away’ and was I ‘okay?’.

Yesterday when I weighed myself I was down another pound and today I started walking again. I’m feeling good and can’t wait till I start running again. The knee feels ‘normal’ again so I’m going to slowly start doing some interval running.

Lot’s more to share. Off to my daughter’s for an early Mother’s Day brunch.

Cheers

I Love to Create

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. today I needed to make art.

Whether it’s photography, painting or stitching, I find comfort and solace

in the act of creating something beautiful. I needed that today and found it while teaching my grade five students how to make unique flags that depicted their favourite books from the Forest of Reading program. They were encouraged to think outside the box, be creative, experiment and love what they were making. Their creations are wonderful.

Some took my lead and tried some of the new techniques that I demonstrated and others were more thoughtful and careful in their approach. Children who are normally cautious and uncertain about their artistic ability created some of their best art today. It turned out to be a great stress reliever for me. I only wish it could have lasted the entire day.

I’ve brought the projects home for the weekend to stitch the casing on the sewing machine. I will take pictures of the ones that are finished or close to it and post them later.

….. advised to take it easy this weekend

My knee continues to give me grief. It’s definitely on the mend but it has been suggested that I give it a good rest before I start my walking/running again.

In my last post I wrote about how stress affects my weight. Despite walking a fair bit, going to yoga for 1 1/2 hours and eating well (1250 calories) I was up 1 1/2 pounds the next day. I’ve learned not to give in when this happens and I continued to make good food choices (even when I went out for dinner). This morning when I got on the scale I dropped 1 of those pounds.

It’s the start of the weekend and I want to do so much. My garden needs a little TLC, a few books are calling to be read and I’d love to find some new recipes to test out. Those are some of the fun things. Maybe getting on my bike won’t aggravate the knee. I’m already anxious about NOT exercising. Do you think I can forgo some of the ‘not so fun’ things, like housework and school work?

I’d love to do some painting and I don’t mean house painting (although some of that should be done as well).

Any words of advice are always greatly appreciated. TTFN

Yoga, a great way to combat Stress

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. that nagging pain in the knee was back again today

It amazes me how much a little discomfort in your knee can affect your mood. I had a good night’s sleep but I was rushed this morning to get to soccer practice. Arriving a little late and then getting side tracked by my colleagues didn’t help. Most of the morning I spent on the field with students supervising the long jump so most of my planned lessons for the morning didn’t happen.

I think walking on the uneven grass for hours aggravated my knee. Every movement in the afternoon seemed like a chore. The worst part of my day though was trying to deal with all the planning and work that needs to be done in the next two weeks. I’m also the go to person when things go wrong with the computers in the school and when people need a sounding board.

So my biggest fear and nemesis on my weight loss journey is Stress and I’m about to experience a lot of it. Years ago I regularly visited a naturopathic doctor to give me advice on weight loss. After months of sessions my doctor concluded that all my significant weight gains over the years happened when I experienced a lot of stress, i.e. my mother’s death, dealing with a difficult principal, conflict with an angry colleague, my husband losing his job, etc.. I think you get the picture.

Tonight I could easily have backed out of going to yoga but I knew in my heart of hearts that it would do me a world of good. It did. I was able to completely relax and stretch out some tired muscles. Even my knee cooperated and it only complained once over one of tonight’s moves.

Sorry Frances, but no walk tonight. We’ll see how the knee feels tomorrow. No point in ‘stressing out’ about not walking. Besides I walked a lot of steps this morning on the field and I did just complete an hour and a quarter of yoga.

Cheers

Thank you Frances!

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Mama Cormier

I knew that if I didn’t get out with the dog tonight she would drive me crazy for the rest of the night. Her normal 45 minute walk was cut short this morning because K started his 5th round of chemo today and had to be at the hospital early. I had a transition meeting at the board office first thing in the morning as well and in the afternoon I went straight to the hospital to keep my husband company.

After dinner Frances kept wanting me to throw her ball. She’s a very vocal dog if you try to ignore her. I finally gave in to her demands and hooked her onto her leash and headed outside. I didn’t even change my shoes. I only planned on going around the block but once I started I just kept going.

I took a new route today. My neighbour recommended it and thought that it covered about 5 km. I was glad that I followed the path. It was so beautiful. It took me past ponds, beaches, rocks, marsh birds and lots of walkers, runners and playful dogs. I’m naturally drawn to water so walking next to the lake always puts me in a “happy place”.

When I got home I checked out the distance on g-pedometer.com and discovered that the route covers 4.5 km. Bonus! My tired little dog is going to sleep well tonight.

Cheers

Love and Weight Loss

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…… maybe I should have said “new” love

The first time I experienced ‘love’ the weight came off effortlessly. It was actually puppy love because I was all of 13. I remember having no appetite and food was the last thing on my mind. My mother was amazed at how I was changing. I couldn’t wait to leave the dinner table and meet my secret beau at the park. It was so innocent. We never did more than hold hands. But alas it was short-lived. It just wasn’t cool for a boy in grade 11 to date a girl in grade 9. Yes it’s true I was dating ‘an older man’.

Over the years I had crushes but I didn’t experience true love until I met my husband. Even today I get ‘butterflies’ when he walks into a room when I’m not expecting him. So why don’t we stay thin when we’re in love? I think it’s because people get comfortable with each other and are free to be themselves. In our case we both loved food and enjoyed cooking together. The only time I remember my husband expressing concern over my weight was just before our wedding and I quickly lost 10 pounds.

My husband loves me no matter what. He likes women with a ‘little meat’ on their bones. He wasn’t being mean when he brought up my weight before our wedding. He knew I wasn’t happy and he has always supported my attempts at weight loss.

A lot of people love food and love to cook and don’t have a weight problem. Why is that? I know that genetics plays a large role in how we metabolize food but a few years ago I discovered that for me a huge contributor towards my weight gain had to do with stress. To be continued…….

Taking a break to nurse my knee…..

Last night and today I experienced a lot of pain in my knee. I decided to take it easy today. The fact that the weather was cold and wet when I got home from work made that decision easy.

After one week of successes on the scale I have decided to share my results with you. I’m pleased to tell you that I’ve dropped 5 pounds. I’ve made some positive changes with my eating habits but I have a way to go. I’m drinking more water but I haven’t reached 8 glasses a day yet. I am definitely snacking less and when I do have a snack it isn’t something I grab when I’m on the run or sitting in the car.

Even though I know that taking a rest from running today was probably for the best I do feel like something was missing today. I hope I can get out and at least walk tomorrow. Thanks for following along.

Till next time, cheers!

Best Day Yet!

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. in running/walking

I started off with my husband and the dog this morning and when we got to the rugby pitch I continued to the high school track. I surprised myself by running an entire 400 m lap without stopping and then I continued to walk another lap and half way around it I started to run again and finished another 200 m without stopping.

I left the school and continued following my new route. About 1 km from home I started to run/walk again. I figured in total I walked/ran about 5.5 km today and in that distance I ran at least 20% of it. I feel great.

I think I’ll time myself next time and then set a goal for myself for completing the 5km in June.

I just hope I don’t injure myself before then. My right knee is a little sore after today’s activity. Any suggestions?

Yesterday was a “piece of cake”!

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Mama Cormier

No need to worry……….

I guess I was too slow getting ready for our walk yesterday so I ended up going on my own. There’s something very zen like when you walk alone. It gives you time to reflect.

I also increased the distance on Saturday and went for 3.6 km and for 1/10 of it I ran. When I got home I mapped out a 5 km distance on g-pedometer.com. Maybe I’ll give that a whirl today. It looks like a fantastic day, weather wise.

The party was not an issue, food wise. I had 3 shrimp, no wine and I didn’t even see a cake.

Later in the day I took Frances for a short walk. We always start in the park, about 50 m down the street from the house. I’ve posted some pictures of the great view I’m blessed to see everyday. I don’t care what others say about Toronto, I think I live in one of the best cities in the world. The entire walk probably added another km to my total walking distance today.

I think I’ve figured out what’s going on with my pedometer. After walking 4000 steps yesterday and probably more I noticed that the little gizmo had reset itself back down to 0. It happened again later in the day. I guess you get what you pay for and since this this one was given to me for free I can’t really complain. Time to visit the Running Room and invest in a better one.

Hooray for the Weekend!

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…… but with it come some challenges.

I always look forward to the weekend but after a week of successes on the scale I always worry about the next two days.

For dinner tonight my husband made pasta with homemade bolognas sauce. Carbs are often my enemy but he did use a whole wheat pasta and he measured exactly half a small box for the two of us. We also had a nice big salad with it and we decided to forgo the wine tonight.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will probably go on one of our long walks with the dog and I will try to run some laps at the rugby pitch. Later in the afternoon we are invited to our neighbour’s birthday party. I know there will be lots of good food but there are usually some healthy options to choose from. Will I have some birthday cake? All depends on the cake. I’ve learned that not all sweets are created equal and some just aren’t worth it.

I don’t know if it’s the weather or my husband’s next round of chemo next week but I have the urge to clean, organize and purge. I’ve started doing more of that in my classroom and now I want to extend it to my house. I have to be careful that I don’t use that as an excuse to not get outside and move. Wish me luck! Happy weekend everybody!

Down, down, down…….

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Mama Cormier

Feeling Good

It’s been a good day. My weight is holding steady but I’ve been down everyday this week. I’m trying to drink more water and when I do I definitely notice it on the scale. I’m eating well and no more unplanned snacking, especially after 8:00 at night.

I’ve been wearing a pedometer for the last two days. Yesterday was dismal; only 1600 steps. How is that even possible? Today was a different story. Lots of activity. At lunch today I played floor hockey at school; the school team champions against the teachers. The teachers won 4-3. Everyone gave it their all and the students enjoyed watching their teachers running up and down the gym.

Girls on the Run

After school I met with my group of girls for Girls on the Run. Today’s theme was reflecting on things we are grateful for. After a fun warm-up (they always want to do more of these activities) they started their actual run. The challenge today was to run 2 km without talking to their friends and reflect on their promises and goals. Do you know how hard that is for some 10 year olds?

I was going to stay back and join the girls on the second kilometre but I decided to start running with them right away. I ran/walked about 200 m to our newly mowed 200 m track and I started running laps on the track. I tried to run half the lap before I started to walk and I came pretty close to doing that. In total I managed to run/walk 8 1/2 laps and then I ran back to home base.

As much as I don’t “love” running I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would. It was great hearing the cheers and words of encouragement from the girls as they ran by me. I might even sneak out at the beginning of lunch tomorrow and run a lap or two before the kids come out for recess.

As I write this post my pedometer reads …… Oh, no!….I accidently reset it. It was around 7800 steps.

Maybe I’ll get out with the dog before I go to bed tonight. TTFN

Time to Brag!

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Mama Cormier

I’m happy on many counts today.

First and foremost, the scale finally moved in the direction I hoped for. Down. I’ve been working hard on eating well and moving for the last two weeks but my hard work wasn’t showing on the scale. I know that it’s only a number and what’s more important is how one feels. I have to admit that I have been energized (when I get enough sleep), my joints don’t hurt as much and my clothes fit better.

The second reason I’m happy today is because the three of us ( KC, the dog and I ) got out for a walk this morning and like yesterday we covered 1.8 miles or 2.9 km. I’ve been trying to run a portion of the course and today I ran 160 m without stopping. I’m hoping to increase the distance everyday and start doing some interval training. I’ve discovered gmap-pedometer. com and have been mapping out my walking routes and it even figures out how far I run when I do my short distances.

The day turned out to be a beautiful day. The sun came out and warmed things up a bit. Always puts a smile on my face.

As moms I think we’re entitled to boast a little bit when our children do something well. Today when I was in the bookstore I found a copy of the magazine that my son edits. I believe that this is the first edition with his name on it. I’m sure if it’s not he’ll let me know. It’s hard to tell from the picture because it’s a mirror image but the name of the magazine is Volume and the cover title is “Privatize”. I miss B and I wish he didn’t work so far away but I can appreciate