Looking Beyond Imperfection

Day 3 of the 4^th segment of 10 days. Day 33 of 100 Days of Encouragement

At the end of a busy week my energy was a bit drained. Well, I did eat some chocolate and a few snacks. On the other hand, I am grateful for my little dog Mercedes. She gets me outside and we go for a brisk walk. At the end of a long, busy week, it felt nice to have my family go out buy me some flowers. It was so thoughtful and I was able to look beyond my imperfection in my journey.

 Technically, this should be simple. I have a menu plan in place, the food is there, and I can work out on the treadmill. If it was only that easy, I wouldn’t be here doing this 100 Day Journey. The good news is that I didn’t get too far off track, so I can look beyond the imperfection and know that tomorrow is another day. I am going to get some rest and plan for a relaxing day tomorrow. I still know that I will get to the goal, because I have made the decision that I will, regardless of how big the struggle is or how long it takes. We can do this together!!!

The Purple Whistle

Day 2 of the 4^th segment of 10 days. Day 32 of 100 Days of Encouragement

Today I was able to keep to my portions and stay on track. That feels good. The rain stopped and my little dog and I went for a brisk walk, and then I spend 35 minutes on the treadmill.  As well, I have been helping family members with a Compassion Canada benefit concert.

 The One Voice benefit concert will be held at the Hawrylak Park Amphitheatre (at Edmonton Alberta) on June 12, 2010.  You can check it out at:                       www.one-voice.ca           Last year the Compassion Canada benefit concert was successful in bringing in child sponsors for children in need around the world. It is a family event that includes activities for the children. One of the activities was bringing the children up on stage, giving each a little musical instrument, and letting them play along with the band.  We are looking forward to seeing the children on stage again this year.

While handing out the little instruments, a volunteer approached a family with a young child. She pulled the purple whistle out of her pocket and told the parents that was all she had left for instruments. The parents were amazed, as the child had been asking for a purple whistle that week and they had started praying for one.  

I guess we need the faith of a child to believe and go forward. Continue believing and keep your goals at the front of your thoughts, create a plan, and keep working at it; you will get there. We can and are getting victory in this journey. Regardless of how long it takes, we will get there. Go team!!!

New Ideas

Day 1 of the 4^th segment of 10 days. Day 31 of 100 Days of Encouragement

Today was a rainy day and I wasn’t able to get outside to walk my dog. I was going to work out on the treadmill, but my evening went into meetings for an upcoming event. Although it was a long day, I did stay mostly on track, but would have liked to get some exercise. Tomorrow is another day.

 I did get some new products in. A few weeks ago I told everyone about the no calorie – no carb noodles, and have put up a few recipes that I have tried with the noodles. Low Carb Canada also has low carb bread and low carb bagels.  The bread and bagels are very light and low in calories. They are great for sandwiches or toast or anything that you would use bread for.     The website is   www.lowcarbcanada.ca   if you are interested in trying these products. 

 It has been another long day, but I am committed to putting up a post everyday and working at the 100 day challenge. I want to encourage everyone to keep going forward. We can do this!

A Wake Up Call

Day 10 of the 3^rd segment of 10 days. Day 30 of 100 Days of Encouragement

Today was the last day of the 3^rd segment of 10 days and I finished this segment having gained a pound. This comes from not taking the challenge serious enough and thinking I can just go into celebrations and eat anything.

 Today was a wake up call. Having gained a pound in the last 10 days is a clear message that I have to stay on track if I want to reach my goal. Today I managed to do that, but it will take a consistent track record to be successful and enjoy the benefits of fulfilling the commitment.

This will take effort, determination, consistency, and sacrifice. Victory has it’s price, but the price is worth the reward, so forward I go. Let’s make this next 10 days a full success. We can do this, so hang in there and stay with the challenge.

You Are Greatly Valued

Day 9 of the 3^rd segment of 10 days. Day 29 of 100 Days of Encouragement

Well, this is day 29 and I was a little discouraged that I have actually gained a few pounds instead of losing a few pounds. I’m learning about working long hours and not getting enough rest and sleep. It takes away from the energy that I should go toward this challenge. So, I am getting back on track.

 I ran across this little story and thought I would share it, just to let you know that you are highly valued and you need to see that in yourself. Sometimes we just need to be reminded.

 One day a well know speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill? Of course many hands went up. He said he would give the $20 bill to someone, but first he crumpled it up.  He then asked if anyone still wanted it. Yes, everyone still wanted it, so he dropped it to the floor and stepped on it with his shoe.

 Still everyone wanted it. He then said, “My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value.

 Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.  Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely crease, you are still priceless to those who love you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by Who We Are and Whose We Are.

 Remember:  Amateurs built the ark…     Professionals built the Titanic…

 It is best not to compare yourself to others, but rather to remember that you are valued because you are special.

Back On Track

Day 8 of the 3^rd segment of 10 days. Day 28 of 100 Days of Encouragement

Well, today was a day for getting back on track and taking my day at a little bit of a slower pace. Taking some time to repair any damage done by not using wise choices and portion control when celebrating.

 Just a reminder to all that tomorrow is a Shine FM dinner at The ABC Country Restaurant in the Greenwood Inn on the corner of Whitemud Freeway and Gateway Boulevard in Edmonton, Alberta. There is a $15 gift card that is handed out to each family that goes to the Shine FM table. 

 Today I received an email from a friend with some very amazing pictures of the volcanic eruption in Iceland. Thought you might like to take a look at them.  There are 35  phenominal pictures and show the power of mother nature and it’s effect on the world. Just click on the link below these 2 pictures to view all.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html

These pictures are incredible

Re-arranging Strategies

Day 7 of 3^rd segment of 10 days. Day 27 of 100 Days of Encouragement

I have to say that this journey is not as easily bridged as I had hoped. Reality is a tough go when trying to change a lifetime of eating habits. As you can see, I am writing Saturdays on Sunday morning. That’s a minor concern, as I have a good reason, and will catch up this evening.

 My progress in weight loss is not so easy to catch up. Saturday, which is day 7, was a special day of celebration for one of my children. The graduation get together to celebrate his accomplishments was so wonderful and enjoyable that I figured a little bit of set back on my eating program would be OK. It looks like I am going to have to re-arrange my food plans for special celebrations, as the set back amounted to a 2-pound weight gain over the past 4 days.

 Yesterday we had a wonderful BBQ, homemade french fries, homemade ice cream cake, choc …  The wonderful people to celebrate with was a joy and a pleasure, so I am not going to hang on to the concern of the weight gain. I did get some exercise, as we even went out and played volleyball at the sandy outdoor courts. Everyone had a wonderful time, but agreed that we really had a lot of food.

 So, I guess I will have to re-arrange my strategies for handling special days and celebrations. I have allowed myself full freedom on these days, but clearly it is deterring and setting back my progress. Some professionals have told me that set-backs are part of the process, but I have to make some changes. If I was on a maintenance eating plan, I could probably allow myself to have full freedom on these days, for a few days afterwards go onto a calorie-reduced plan to shed the excess, and then back onto maintenance.

 But, the reality is that I am not on maintenance. So the new plan is to arrange for foods that I am allowed on my eating plan, and stay with it. This lifestyle change certainly is a process, but I am determined. Regardless of how long I have to work at this I will get there by keeping the goal at the front of my mind and working on estabishing new habits. There is no turning back, so forward and onwards I go. 

 I am hearing from a few others that they too are struggling with this, but are determined to work at it, not matter what. Today is a new day and a great day to deal with the celebration gains. A smile and extra efforts are in the plan. Always keep going forward!

A Busy But Good Day

Day 6 of the 3^rd segment of 10 days. Day 26 of 100 Days of Encouragement

Hello everyone. Just want to let you know that this journey is having its challenges. I have been beyond busy this week, but made my commitment to post each day. Well, I have been running on a few hours of sleep a night to keep up. Although I had a very good day yesterday, I was dog-tired by evening. It looked something like this:

Friday morning I arrived at the (Alberta Women Entrepreneurs) AWE Conference around 7:30 a.m.  There was a nice breakfast buffet for us which consisted of muffins, croissants, danish, etc… as well as scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, bacon etc….   To say the least, there was a lot of delicious food to choose from. I settled for fruit and eggs. It was early in the day and I was satisfied with this. There were some excellent and inspiring speakers and time to meet so many wonder ladies and I enjoyed the day. Of course lunchtime offered an array of good food. I settled for some lettuce, shredded parmesan, a tuna sandwich, and chicken on a stick with peanut sauce (Chicken Satay with dipping sauce). There was also a delicious acorn squash soup that I have to get the recipe for. This would have been fine, but there was all of the chocolate cheesecakes, cookies and fine deserts in front me. I resisted. Good for me; at least until coffee break. It was Friday of a long exhausting week, I was tired, and I really wanted some cake. There was a piece that broke off from the main cake, so I picked up a fork from the tray and scooped up the piece. It was soooo good. I had to hold myself back from taking more.

 The afternoon went quickly with mini workshops led by many professional experts in entrepreneurship. The day ended with a well known speaker.      W. Brett Wilson from the very popular TV show “Dragon’s Den” spoke and interacted with the audience. What stood out from his presentation and his story is that he too has his struggles just like everyone else and is real and genuine. By that I mean he is real, down to earth and open to meeting people. He spoke with everyone that came to him and I had an opportunity to speak with him and get my picture taken with him. The special event photographer from Ealanta Photography will have the pictures for us soon. 

Although the day was awesome and I really enjoyed it, I came home tired. Trying to keep disciplined at this stage seemed impossible and I lost track of what I ate. The results this morning was a ½ pound gain. So, it’s back to the drawing board and getting back on track. I know that I will not give up on this journey to my goals, and no matter how long it takes, I will keep working at it. My commitment is to change my eating for the rest of my life. Every other time that I have lost weight for a special event or some other goal, the weight would just creep back on after I reached the goal. Well, this time, the goal is to change my eating for the rest of my life. I know that there isn’t anything in this life that I won’t be able to overcome.

After walking my dog I thought I would just lie down for a few minutes. Well, you can see that I am doing the post on Saturday morning. I think I fell asleep around 8:00 pm. 

 I have another busy day today preparing for family and friends to come over to celebrate a family graduation. So, have a nice day everyone.

Persist, Persevere, and Reach Your Goal

Day 5 of the 3rd segment of 10 days. Day 25 of 100 Days of Encouragement

Hello all. Well, today was another long day, and very challenging. I was at the “Alberta Women Entrepreneurs” (AWE) convention. It started out with breakfast at 7:30 a.m.  There were eggs benedict, muffins, fried potatoes, and juices. I scooped up 2 poached eggs off the English muffin, a tiny bit of potato and a glass of juice. That wasn’t too bad or too hard to measure. I did get to meet many new people and learn from the excellent speakers.

At lunch time there was a fairly good selection of choices. Had some chicken, vegetable soup, salad, and a little pasta. I decided to have a coffee, but I think it was real cream in the cream jug. It tasted pretty good though. It was a busy afternoon, but very little exercise sitting at the tables.

By the time I got home, it was drizzling out and I didn’t get out to walk my little dog Mercedes. I think I stayed on track, but was too tired to measure my food. Had to catch up on work in the evening and of course, make sure I put up a post. I found some snail pictures to post, as that is what my progress seems to feel like, but I know that this journey will probably take at least 200 or 300 days. This long process seems to be what is required to ensure that I change my patterns for the rest of my life. If I lose the weight too quickly it will just creep back on. I am OK with slow progress, as I know that it is the only way to make long term, permanent changes.

I know that there isn’t anything in this life that I won’t be able to overcome. You can too. Be sure to stay with it and keep your goal at the front of your thoughts. You can do this!!!!  We can do this!!! Together we can accomplish anything we set our minds and hearts on.

Long Day

Day 4 of the 3rd segment of 10 days. Day 24 of 100 Days of Encouragement.

Hello everyone. Well, today was a long day. I worked most of the day and then went to a business mixer. I was blessed with an opportunity to attend a conference that is put on by the ‘Alberta Women Entrepreneurs’ (AWE). This is an excellent organization that assists women in business. They also provided a segment of comedian entertainment. It is well planned, and I met many women this evening. Had a nice evening, but had a very long day.  

Today I tried a new recipe for using the no calorie and no carb noodles. I cooked some Basmati rice (my favourite rice) in the microwave. While that was cooking, I stir fried some of the no carb noodles in a frying pan, along with 2 Tbs. of light margarine and onions. I combined a ½ cup of cooked rice with the noodles & onions, ½ cup chickpeas, 4 oz of canned chicken, and 2 tsp. of light Parmesan cheese. It was very tasty and filling.  

When I came home from the conference, I decided to make sure I took the time to walk on the treadmill for 45 minutes. I had walked last night also for almost an hour, as I work on new habits. Also, I am making sure to write down everything I eat, get outside to walk my dog, and be careful with portion control.  

Better habits are starting to set in. I’m not sure if I have lost any more weight, but will keep at this until I get there. I know that some of you are determined, and with some perseverance we will get to the goal.  Make sure you remember to keep your goals at the front of your thoughts. With continued effort, the patterns of thinking will develop into healthy choices and lifestyle.  

Although I am very tired, I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know new people tomorrow. God Bless all of my online friends, and give all of us hope, courage, determination, perseverance and victory.