Tag Archives: weight loss

Share Your World 2016 – Week 17

Posted on by
9

….thanks Cee for more great questions

When writing by hand do you prefer to use a pencil or pen?

As I was writing with a pencil today, I decided that I prefer to write with a pencil. I like how it flows smoothly over the paper and doesn’t smudge like ink does.

What’s your choice: jigsaw, word, maze or numeric puzzles?

I used to love jigsaw puzzles but now my puzzle of choice is numeric. I can’t pass up a Sudoku puzzle when I see them in the newspaper or magazines.

Do you prefer long hair or short hair for yourself?

I definitely prefer medium length hair. I saw a photo taken about 10 years ago when my hair was very short and I instantly went ‘yuk’.

List five or more of your favourite blogs.

  1. Cee’s Photography https://ceenphotography.com/2016/04/28/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-hiding-or-camouflaged/
  2. Life In-between  https://lifeinbetween.me/2016/04/28/the-rusty-old-bridge-in-watercolor/
  3. Jill’s Art Journal https://artjillkuhn.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/creative-play/
  4. My Guilty Pleasures  https://mygulitypleasures.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/big-girl-trying-to-be-a-bit-smaller/#comment-41729
  5. Curious to the Max  https://judithwesterfield.com/2016/04/26/frankly-freddie-parenthetically-speaking-2/
  6. My Life Lived Full https://mylifelivedfull.wordpress.com/2016/04/27/w-washington-dc/
  7. The Year of Living Non-judgementally  https://annkoplow.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/day-1214-relationship-managers/

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for time spent with my daughters. On Saturday my oldest daughter and her wife came to the house to sort out some financial issues with their financial planner (my husband) and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch together. My daughter also helped me put together a dresser that I bought months ago. Earlier in the day my husband and I went for a very long walk. With the nice weather we’ve been inundated with midges so K made us coverings for our mouths and noses so we wouldn’t breathe them in. Luckily it was a bit cooler when we headed out so we didn’t have to use them very often. My neighbours were right when they said we looked like a couple of bandits.

IMG_8084

On Sunday we drove to Hamilton and watched our son-in-law race in his first go-cart race. The baby didn’t seem to mind the noise or the smelly fumes.

After the race we were treated to a wonderful dinner of BBQ steak and grilled vegetables back at the house. My husband and I are still on our weight loss journey together and a meal like that makes it very easy to stay on program. So far I’ve lost 13 pounds and my husband is down 17.

This week I’m looking forward to do more painting. I’ve redone a couple of paintings I started two weeks ago and have started two more. I’m also looking forward to more success on the scales this week.

Four Years and Still Going Strong

Posted on by
16

….yesterday was my 4th anniversary with WordPress

If I didn’t check my notifications side bar today I would have missed it.

4 Year Anniversary Achievement
Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!
You registered on WordPress.com 4 years ago.
Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.

It’s hard to believe that four years ago I started this blog to help me lose weight and get healthy. Four years later I’m still trying to lose weight but I’m healthier than I was then. I’m thankful that I didn’t gain back all the weight that I had lost (32 pounds) but it was getting painfully close when I finally started back on my weight loss journey. So far it’s been easier because my husband is doing it with me. I’m down 10 pounds and my husband is down 11.

My blog quickly morphed into a eclectic mix of photography, art, memories, recipes, teaching moments and my life experiences with my friends and family. I’ve met more than 1000 people who now follow me. I’m sure some have fallen by the wayside but many have stuck with me and comment regularly. For that I am truly grateful.

In the last four years you’ve seen me and my family change, grow and experience the ups and downs of life. I ran my first 5k, lost 32 pounds, turned the big 60, stood by my husband as he battled one illness after another requiring 4 separate surgeries and then I shared my son’s accident with you just last December when he needed surgery. I also shared with you my aunt’s prolonged stay in the hospital before she passed and how my 89 year old father fell, not once but twice, but lived to talk about it. I’ve spent way too much time in the hospital.

Not all hospital visits were for sick people. Last October I became a grandmother for the first time. That was the best hospital visit ever. IMG_2885-2

When I started this blog only my youngest daughter was married. Since then our oldest daughter got married a couple of months ago and our son is getting married this summer. Needless to say it’s been and continues to be a busy year.

Taken two year Christmases ago when they first got engaged.

 

I’m still teaching. I thought this blog might help me prepare for retirement but I loved my work and my colleagues too much to even consider it.  Now, I can say for certain that retirement is just around the corner and I look forward to my last year of teaching starting next September.

I’ve really enjoyed sharing my students’ art work on this blog and they love knowing that people really like what they’ve done and that they make comments about their work. I can always tell when my viewing numbers are really high that my students have found their way to my site.

One of the things that I’ve grown passionate about is photography since I’ve started this blog. I participate in a number of photography challenges and I take my camera everywhere I go. I’ve enjoyed sharing photos of our cottage and the beautiful parks in our neighbourhood and photos I’ve taken on our vacations.

Before I close I’d like to thank all of you who follow me and all those who pop by once in awhile for giving me a purpose to write. Knowing that people read my words and look at my photography gives me incentive to continue with this blog. Here’s to the next four years!

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

95% Back to Normal Eating

Posted on by
3

….one week later, down 4 pounds and off mushy food

One week ago today I had gum surgery for crown lengthening so that I can have my broken tooth capped.  Today I went for my check-up to make sure that the incisions were healing properly and to have the dressings removed and replaced with new, smaller dressings.

Everything looks good. The stitches have dissolved, there’s no infection and I can start to eat more normally. Still no hard foods like crusty bread, croutons, biscotti and celery and chewing can only take place on the opposite side of my mouth away from the dressing. I am still restricted in the exercise department (no push-ups, sit ups, trampoline, bench pressing, cardio, etc.) but I can start walking further and faster and even go for a leisurely bike ride.

Here is my dilemma. I’m happy that I’m down four pounds and I’d like to keep them off and take off more. Being able to get out more will help but going back to ‘normal eating’ scares me. One thing that I’ve been forced to do and will have to do for another few weeks is eat on one side of my mouth. The good thing about that is that it forces me to eat more slowly and as a result I’m probably not eating as much because I get full before I finish my plate.

For a long time now I’ve convinced myself that I need more protein than most people and that carbohydrates are my enemy. Funny thing is that I’ve eaten very little meat this past week and a whole lot of pasta, creamed soups and mashed vegetables and still managed to lose 4 pounds. Tonight I had a bowl of vegetarian chill and a slice of sour dough bread with butter. I feel very satisfied and won’t need to eat later this evening. I’ll probably have a cup of tea.

I think what I need to do is start recording what I eat for awhile and see if I can see a pattern with what I eat, how much and in combination with what foods and see how my weight loss is affected. I suspect that how I combine foods will make a difference and not eating at night will also prove beneficial.

So I’m still down 20 pounds but my goal is to lose the other 10 before the end of the school year. It should be doable. I have 8 weeks to go. One and a half to two pounds a week is a very reasonable and achievable. I’ll keep you posted.

Cheers!

Before my 30 pound weight loss. I never want to go back to this again.

Before my 30 pound weight loss. I never want to go back to this again.

My after picture in the same blouse. 10 pounds to get back to this.

My after picture in the same blouse. 10 pounds to get back to this.

A Beautiful Saturday – Why am I Creating a To Do List?

Posted on by
2

….am I crazy or just practical?

I suspect I’m doing this because it needs to be done

To Do List for April 12, 2014

rake front lawn
sprinkle bone meal on garden
take out garden furniture
clean out bird cage
do laundry – started
take out summer clothes and put away winter clothes
clean oven – started
write post – started
go for a walk
dust living room floor and shelves – floors done
vacuum carpets upstairs and down – started
take photographs

As you can see I’ve already started some of these chores. I think I need to fill the gaps with some fun stuff.

My husband must be feeling my energy this morning because he’s started raking the back yard and he’s taken out our bikes and cleaned them off. Maybe we can get out for a ride this afternoon. Well, I’m off to start some work outside as well. Maybe by putting this out there for the world to see I might actually accomplish all of the things on my To Do List or at least get 90% of it done. Wish me luck. I’ll report later today to let you know how I successful I’ve been.

On the fitness and weight loss journey: I’m struggling. Up 3 and down 2. Today’s goal is to get out and move and drink at least 4 large glasses of water. One glass down and 3 to go.

I thought I posted this 2 hours ago. Apparently not. In the meantime I’m down 3 glasses of water, 2 loads of laundry, raked the front and the back yard, finished cleaning the oven, sprinkled bone meal on the garden, and took out the garden furniture. I also took down the Christmas lights, trimmed the yew and bagged 2 bags of yard waste. Now let’s see if I can get this thing posted…..an ongoing problem.

Up 4, Down 4

Posted on by
1

….an update on my weight loss journey

Before I left for Calgary I was hoping to maintain my weight and not gain weight over five days.

The optimum word here was ‘hope’. Weight loss is never about hope. It’s about ‘doing’. I didn’t go to Calgary with the plan to not eat dessert, not drink wine and not eat bread and pasta. Instead I went with the notion that I could eat everything but in moderation.

That was all fine and well but the missteps started right on the plane. I had a least 3 drinks. I passed on the bread but I ate the rice and the ice-cream. I did pass on the potato chips but I didn’t turn down the dark chocolate. When we arrived at my sister’s place the wine came out almost immediately. Her husband cooked us dinner. Pasta with seafood. My weakness.

The next day we met my friends at the local conservation area where an art exhibition was on display in the learning centre. Afterwards we stopped by their house and I picked up dessert to have with coffee. Of course they had also picked up dessert. I should have declined but no I had a bit of all the desserts.

This is pretty much how the entire 5 days went. Very little exercise, lots of wine and good food. It shouldn’t have been a surprise when I gained 4 pounds. So much for maintaining my weight.

Since I’ve been back I’ve eaten much better. I’ve had salads pretty much every day for lunch and then again with dinner. I’ve been trying to drink a lot of clear tea during the day and not eat at night. I think in the last 10 days I’ve had only a couple glasses of wine and I’ve turned down sweets at school most of the time. It’s taken 10 days but I’ve finally dropped the 4 pounds that I had gained.

The challenge now is to stay on track with the healthy eating plan and watch the weight come off. The weather is beginning to turn around and hopefully I will be able to get out and walk. I’ll report in again when I’m down another pound or two. The journey continues.

Time to Come Clean

Posted on by
10

……about my weight

It’s been almost 2 years since I started this blog and it quickly became a platform for documenting my weight loss. I never divulged my beginning weight and only talked about the number of pounds that came off. I just couldn’t bring myself to say that number. Somehow it brought me shame and I was afraid that people who knew me would judge me differently if they knew exactly how much I weighed. It didn’t help that all the doctors that I’ve ever been to have always said that I don’t look as heavy as I am. I haven’t even told my husband how much I weigh.

I lost a total of 32 pounds and managed to maintain that loss for about a year. I lost a few more pounds here and there but I always put them back on. Last year I told people that I had lost 30 pounds because the weight started to creep back on. I gained a few pounds and I lost a few but slowly I started not losing all the pounds I gained back. Last summer I was up six pounds, down four, back up four when I went on holiday and then back down four before I went back to work.

Stress has always been killer for me when it comes to weight gain. Also I have some psychological barrier that seems to keep me from getting below a certain weight. In the last 20 years every time I get close to that goal weight my weight loss stops. Periodically, in the last year I’ve talked about getting serious and getting back on track. I never want to gain back those 32 pounds I worked so hard at losing but my drive is in low gear right now and try as I might it just isn’t enough.

Last week when I put myself on the scale (which I avoided since Christmas) I was up eight pounds from September. I watched my food intake all week and when I put myself on the scale again I was up three more pounds. Yikes! I wanted to lose most of that weight before I went to see my sister in Calgary next week. Part of my problem is my lack of movement. I can’t believe how much I let this winter keep me on the couch ( in front of this computer).

My middle sister sent me an interesting article this morning on why we gain weight that has nothing to do with what we put in our bodies. I am guilty on all counts. Lack of sleep and having light from computers and electronic devises in front of us before we go to bed actually causes weight gain. I guess she noticed my weight gain and was too polite to mention it to me. Come to think of it no one has actually said anything to me about my weight gain, even when I’ve complained about my coat being too tight and putting on weight over a weekend. Here is the link from the Epoch Times for the article Two Common Weight Loss Mistakes.

As much as I love teaching, it is a stressful job. In the past, September was the month where my weight gain would start. I would lose ten pounds or more in the summer and then when school started it would all come back. Two years ago that didn’t happen but my weight loss stopped. Part of my problem was that I was happy with how I looked and felt. I loved all the compliments.

I can’t let this continue. So I’m going to start with the two things that the article talked about: sleep and light.

Before my 30 pound weight loss

Before my 30 pound weight loss

Down 32 pounds.

Down 32 pounds.

My goal is to stop working on the computer and watching TV by 10:00 every night. Maybe I’ll read more and organize my clothes, lunch and school bags from 10:00 to 11:00 so I’m not in such a rush in the morning. Hopefully that way I can be in bed by 11:00 and get a solid 7 1/2 hours sleep instead of the five to six that I get now.

Today, still down 20 pounds but up 12.

Today, still down 20 pounds but up 12.

In the past I weighed myself everyday. I know that some people believe you should only weigh yourself once a week or even less frequently but I find that I put off what I need to do if I don’t check my weight more often. Look what happened when I didn’t weigh myself in almost three months.

I’m still not ready to reveal my actual weight. If only strangers read this blog I wouldn’t care but my family, friends, colleagues and even some of my students read my posts. Some day, but not today.

The most difficult part will be turning off this computer and not constantly checking my emails and stats. I have to admit I’ve become a bit of an addict. I’ll also start using this blog as a platform to record my progress with my weight loss journey, again. It helped last time and It kept me motivated to succeed. If you don’t hear from me on this front please feel free to ask how I’m doing.

I haven’t weighed myself in a couple of days so I’ll start tomorrow and then see how regular sleep and cutting back on the light before bedtime affects my weight. Of course I’ll watch what I eat and for now I’ll aim to get out and walk at least four times a week. I’m not sure how spending five days with my sisters will affect my weight but I won’t use that as an excuse. I’ll enjoy myself but I don’t have to be excessive with food or drink. Maybe I should aim to maintain rather than lose for those five days.

The three sisters taken 6 weeks ago.

The three sisters taken 6 weeks ago.

Time to Get Serious

Posted on by
Reply

….3 weeks to go before the Girls on the Run 5k

No more excuses. The back feels better, no more colds, the ground has dried up and the weather’s been great. 

Today I set a personal best in training for the upcoming 5k run. My husband and I started on our usual walk to the park and when we got to the rugby pitch we both started running around the 500 m field. I ran six laps without stopping for a total running distance of 3k. My husband ran farther and faster but he does intervals where he alternates between running and walking. My total travel distance this morning was 5.6k.

ImageImageImage

My goal is to drop another 5 to 10 pounds in the next 3 weeks and continue to lengthen the distance that I run before I stop to walk. I’m not too concerned about my time but I would be happy if I completed the 5k in 45 minutes. That may seem slow to some of you but it’s a step in the right direction for me.

I’ll keep you up to date on my progress.

Cheers!

The Curse and a Hazy Moon

Posted on by
2

…..it never fails, when people tell me I look like I’ve lost more weight…..

Years ago a good friend of mine often commented that I looked like I had lost weight and when I checked the scales I was always heavier. As much as I loved this friend I dreaded hearing those words from her.

This past week I’ve had numerous people comment that I’ve lost more weight. I shudder at the thought of stepping on those scales this week. Why? Has the curse returned? To be honest I haven’t had the best food week. Way too many carbs. As for exercise I feel I could have done more. For weeks now we’ve only done our walks together on weekends and I haven’t been to the gym in over a month.

Today I started the day coaching the girls’ soccer team and then at the end of the school day I spent an hour and a half with Girls on the Run. I ran with the girls but I found the ground too soft for my liking and I only ran 1 lap (.6k). Tonight my husband and I got out with the dog and we walked for 3.9k. It felt good and I was happy that my husband was up to doing a second walk today.

On our walk I took the camera in hope of finding some interesting subjects to photograph. I love that the days are longer. When we started the walk it was just starting to get dark and by the time we got home it was completely dark. The moon had a slight haze over it. I wasn’t sure that my camera could handle the low light but I played with some of the settings, hoping for the best.

ImageImageImageImage

Coming up on my One Year Anniversary

Posted on by
5

…. I can’t believe that I’ve been blogging for a whole year

When I started on this new journey I didn’t know exactly where I was going with this blog. It’s taken me in many directions. It’s been a weight loss journey,

My official 'before' picture taken in March 2012 just before I started my weight loss journey.

My official ‘before’ picture taken in March 2012 just before I started my weight loss journey.

In February, 2013, 33 pounds lighter.

In February, 2013, 33 pounds lighter.

a site for reflecting on my past, an experiment with writing stories and prose, a place to share my new hobby of photography, a gallery for my art work and the work of my students, a cookbook of recipes and a journal to experience and share what makes me happy.

Blogging has kept me on track with my new fitness and eating journey. I’ve never felt better (not counting this cold I’m battling) and I think I look better. I’ve never been happier with myself than I am now. I feel that life has so much more to offer and for me to experience. I look forward to each new day and can’t wait to see where it takes me.

I’ve met the nicest people from all over the world. Thank you to all of you who have liked and commented on my posts. You have no idea how much joy I get from hearing from you. You lift me up when I’m not feeling well or when I’m down in the dumps and you honour me with your compliments and awards. I hope some day to be able to meet some of you when I start to travel more after I retire and I hope if you come to Toronto you’ll look me up and we can meet for coffee or share a meal.

Before the end of the month I hope to reach 10 000 views. The month has started off slowly but that is my own fault. I haven’t had much energy or interesting things to blog about because of my cold but starting today I’m going to try to publish every day. There are 23 days left so that means I need about 30 views a day to reach my goal. Last month I averaged 42 views a day so 30 I think is very doable.

I’m delighted with how many people are following me on mamacormier. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that so many people would want to read what I have to say. Just before the New Year I put out a plea to reach 200 followers and a few kind people made that dream come true. Since then I’ve been steadily getting new followers and am currently sitting at 281. Before the end of the month I’d love to reach 300. Any takers?

So where do I go from here? Well, I’m definitely going to continue with my weight loss and fitness journey. One thing that I’ve learned is that this journey is and will be a life long commitment. I want to live a long and healthy life. I don’t want to live my last 10 years as a statistic and be a burden on society. I have too much I want to do and accomplish in life.

I love the challenges that wordpress and other bloggers put out there so I know that I will continue to participate in some of them, especially the photography ones. I’ll also continue to share the art that my students create and hopefully I’ll find more time to create more of my own art. Who knows, maybe something new will cross my path and I’ll share that with you as well. I can’t seem to focus on any one thing so I tend to do it all. That’s just the way I am. I wouldn’t be happy any other way.

Cheers!

On the Mend

Posted on by
14

…. 11 days later and I’m starting to feel better

I’m hardly ever sick. People at work often say “Carol you’re never sick.” This year has certainly been the exception. Prior to this year I never worried about having to take time off to recuperate because over 25 years I had saved up more sick days then I would ever use. This year the government took all our saved sick days away and our sick days for the year were cut from 20 to 11 days. I’ve already used up 7 of those days this year. 

Another downside of being sick is that I haven’t been walking or exercising. I was sure that I had put weight back on but when I finally stood on the scale on Monday I was pleasantly surprised to see that my total weight loss was holding steady at 32 1/2 pounds. Of course that means that all the weight I lost during the 3 day detox was back on but I’m not surprised. Today I was down another pound. 

Yesterday we started Girls on the Run at our school again. I’m one of the coaches and have 15 girls on my team. The weather was very cold. I led the girls in some of the warm-up activities and then we walked/ran for 15 minutes. I have to admit that I only walked yesterday because of my cough. I can go without coughing for hours at a time but speaking too much or laughing or sudden changes in temperature brings on extended coughing spells.  Hopefully tomorrow, on day 2 of this 10 week (twice a week) program, I’ll be able to run a little bit. 

Things are starting to look up. My eating is back on track and I’m looking forward to running again. A year ago I couldn’t imagine saying those words. For most of my life I hated running. I tried running numerous times but I always gave up after a couple of days. I don’t expect to be running a marathon any time soon, if ever, but I certainly am planning on doing another 5K. 

Time to take my evening cold medicine. Wish me a speedy recovery. 

Cheers!