Can Barely Keep My Eyes Open

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Mama Cormier

When I got home today from Mono Cliffs I set up my laptop and checked my emails. I was literally falling asleep over my keyboard. If it wasn’t so early I would have gone to bed but I hate that feeling of waking up at 8:00 or 9:00 pm and not knowing where you are.

I’m pretty proud of myself and even if I don’t lose any weight I feel I have conquered a major hurdle in the last 3 days. I passed on dessert, the homemade bread and fries for 6 meals in a row and for snack instead of the homemade cookies I ate vegetables and salad that I brought from home.

The other thing I noticed on this trip is that I purposely took longer routes for my walks and didn’t look for short cuts when travelling from activity to another. The one thing I haven’t been too successful with, though is getting to bed earlier. Part of the problem is that I’m sitting at this computer longer because I’m writing this blog. So tonight I’m going to keep this post short so that I can get at least 6 hours sleep.

Installation art using objects from nature.

Sweet Dreams, everyone.

Doing the Best I Can Under the Circumstances

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. scorching sun, rough terrain and hills

Today I had a choice of doing a long all day hike with the kids and eating lunch during the hike or doing activities closer to the centre with some hiking during the day. I opted for the first.

The weather was fantastic and while hiking through the woods the sun didn’t bother me but when we were in the open the scorching rays were almost too much to bare. Thank goodness for sun screen and a goofy cap I borrowed from the centre.

The day started with a hardy breakfast of oatmeal and yogurt but I passed on the French toast. For lunch we made our own wraps. I loaded mine with meat and cheese and lots of lettuce and tomato and topped it off with mustard. Again I passed on the cookies but I did eat half an apple. Dinner consisted of spaghetti and meat sauce and a salad. I loaded half my plate with salad and took about a half serving of pasta. I passed on the banana cake.

The hike itself was beautiful. We went along the edge of the cliffs, around a lake, through forests, across board walks over swampy areas and explored the contents of a pond. In total we walked about 7 km, although it seemed much further. We were outside for about 6 hours.

I loved being one with nature but I could have done without the the final climb back up the cliffs. It is incredibly steep and even the stairs are difficult to ascend. I spoke to one of the teachers who regularly runs the course we took today and she admitted that sometimes she will run an additional 3 km just to avoid the climb.

I’ve posted some of the many pictures I took of today’s hike. Enjoy!

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.

Food and Me – Discovering Yogurt and Diet Pop

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Mama Cormier

At the age of 14 my parents owned a Becker’s Milk store. I’m pretty sure it was then that my mom introduced me to yogurt. Blueberry yogurt!!! It didn’t come fat free or artificially sweetened back then. I remember it was delicious and because it was healthy it became my diet food of choice. I remember eating nothing but yogurt for lunch in high school. Well I’m sure I ate other things but yogurt was a staple for many years.

It was also around this time that I started drinking diet pop. I thought it was the best invention ever. I don’t think I’ve ever had regular pop since, except maybe ginger ale or tonic water. I didn’t care about the health warnings about artificial sweeteners. If they helped me loose weight that was more important. Today I avoid them as much as I can.

The third food I discovered and used frequently when I dieted as a teenager was Swedish rye crisp crackers. It didn’t always occur to me that putting butter on them defeated the purpose.

I didn’t really lose weight during high school but I pretty much stayed at the same weight for about 5 years. Dinners and snacking in the evenings have always been my downfall. I think I’ve mentioned before that my parents were pretty good cooks and supper was always my favourite meal even when I or my sisters were responsible for cooking it.

I also had a friend whose mom made the best after school snacks. I loved going to her place on the way home from school and having a Nanaimo bar or two. It’s funny the things one remembers.

So food was my best friend and my enemy. I ate because I loved the taste of food and I felt loved and accepted by my Dad who loved to feed us. It was only when my Mom suggested that I needed to lose some weight that food became my enemy. It was like going through a revolving door. It never led anywhere and yet I continued to go around in circles.

The only times I was able to escape from this revolving cycle happened whenever I fell in love……to be continued.

When Food Became my Enemy

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Mama Cormier

How dramatic! I’ve always loved food. Both my parents were great cooks. I remember when they started a catering business from our kitchen. It was the first time I had shrimp. I was hooked. I loved watching them prepare food for the fancy parties they catered and of course I was allowed to sample. Yum! Good thing I was a pretty active little girl. I always played outside, walked to school and rode my bike around the neighbourhood. I was a little on the pudgy side but not what I would consider fat.

When I was nine I contracted hepatitis A and was bed ridden for months. I missed a lot of school and couldn’t play with my friends but the worst part was the fat reduced diet I was put on. That was shear hell for someone who loved whipped cream, ice cream, cake and the crispy skin from the chicken. For some reason the chicken skin really stood out for me. I don’t know how much weight I lost but from photos I could see a noticeable change.

That was the beginning of my yo-yo dieting life. It didn’t help that my mother was made to feel guilty and responsible for my weight status by our family doctor. At the age of 11 when I weighed 120 pounds I remember how our female doctor reamed me out and tried to shame me into losing weight. At the time I was close to 5 feet tall and still growing. I did lose 10 pounds but I couldn’t maintain it. The fact that I grew 5 more inches and entered puberty might have had something to do with it.