2014 Goals

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2014 is here! I won't lie and say I saw it come in because I was in bed at 9:45 (I tried to last later honestly I did) and slept right through the entry of it - but that doesn't mean I will sleep through the rest of the year!

I know that making resolutions are very cliche and I really am not one to make resolutions but I am VERY pro goals. I love making new goals, reaching them, changing them as I go along and everything in between. I also love fresh starts, and there are two times a year that tend to be "fresh starts", September and New Years.

It is also the beginning of the first quarter of the year and I am a numbers person and like things to be even so the first of each quarter is also a good time to look at things and set some goals as well as monthly goals.

I do have a few goals that I will share with you:

1. Sean and I will be consumer debt free by the end of this year, possibly sooner, but our goal date is December 31, 2014. 

2. Get back to my goal weight.

3. Rank advance with my company.

I also have two more goals that are private and I don't care to share them on here (as much as I love you all)! 

Goals are great and all but if you don't break them down into a plan and small steps you will NEVER reach them. I have broken down each of my goals and made a list of what I need to do to reach them. I will continue to assess these goals on a monthly basis and change the plan as need be. I think the first of the month is a good time to do so. I have put this in my calendar so that I will remember to reassess them.

I also plan on watching this video often as it is a great reminder to reach for something greater: Motivation Video. 

I have also decided that I need to give up pop, for a few reasons. 

1. I don't want Rylee drinking it and don't feel that it is fair to drink it in front of her when she isn't allowed to have it.

2. There is nothing and I mean NOTHING good for you in pop - both regular and diet pop are FULL of chemicals and sugar and garbage your body does not need. 

I don't drink pop often, mostly when we go to a restaurant, but I was planning on giving it up anyways so I figured I might as well pick today to be day 1. When I am craving something with carbonation I will drink our energe drink which tastes similar to pop but is GOOD FOR ME.

I hope you make some goals to better your life in any way and more importantly make a step by step plan exactly how you will reach them.

Happy New Year again everyone. 

Physical activity and the holiday season

Did you know that the average person gains between 5-8 pounds every Christmas? That is a crazy amount of extra calories consumed, but let's face it, we all know it is easy to do.

So now that you know this, are you going to be one of those people that gains 5-8lbs, stays the same, or loses weight even though it's a holiday?

If you really look at it Christmas is just one day. For most people Christmas is a SEASON. They turn it into a whole month event. Read: There is NOTHING wrong with that, as long as you are not using it as an excuse to eat what ever you want for that whole season. You can still celebrate Christmas for a whole month if you want, just don't do it with food! Sure, it is tempting, I'm not pretending for a second it's not -- but are you going to have a game plan for how to handle certain social events in regards to what you put in your mouth? Are you going to enjoy the season any less if you are mindful of what you eat and DON'T put on those extra 5-8 pounds? HECK NO! I'm proof of that. This is my favourite holiday and I LOVE all parts of Christmas, yes even the food, but I enjoy it in moderation. Instead of eating ALL of the Christmas cookies I bake, I will have one, maybe two and give the rest away.

The holidays can be a very stressful time for many people, and today I was on the borderline of a melt down. I was at my limit. We have been working really hard to finish our kitchen renovation, and the dryer broke down, and the baby has been clingy, and so many more reasons that I had just had enough.

My trainer encouraged me to get out and go for a walk. BUT I had SO much to do, when was I going to fit it in? But, I said I would go, so I did. When Rylee woke up we both bundled up and headed off. By the way -- pushing a stroller through slushy snow is quite the work out.

Within 5 minutes of starting the walk I became SO thankful that I had taken the time to go. The fresh air did a world of good and really gave me a chance to step back and think about what was stressing me out, break it down, and focus on what was important. As I was walking I was remembering that during the holidays exercise is usually the FIRST thing to go when people get too busy or stressed. They say (much like I thought today) I don't have time for that. BUT, you need to MAKE the time. Even if it is just 30 minutes a day or 3 times a week, you need to still incorporate it into your schedule through out the WHOLE holiday. 

Even if you can't make it to the gym, spend time outside with your family, take them sledding and walk up the hill, or go for a family walk, or pop in a work out DVD after the kids go to bed. And learn to say "no" sometimes. You can't do everything so maybe you will have to pick and choose what events you attend.

I am SO thankful my trainer cares about my well being and that I did take the hour to go out for a walk today because I was able to step back so I can now move forward and be far more effective than if I had kept running around on auto pilot like a chicken with my head cut off crying because...oh I don't even remember why that is how small and insignificant it was. I was able to remember what my goals are and remind myself that by keep up with my physical activity this Christmas season, not only will I be taking care of myself, but I will be better able to take care of my family. 

On a very similar note tomorrow I am taking a partial me day. Sean and I agreed that I would take one this week and he would take one next week since we have been working so hard on the kitchen and everything else going on.

I am going to sleep in (well as much as I can since I'm pretty sure I lost the ability to sleep in haha). I plan on painting my nails and having a nice long hot shower. I am also going to get my hair cut. A perfect way to spend the day (well the most of the day since I will have to take Rylee when Sean goes to work). 

SO -- to sum up what I have said, take care of yourself this season, don't become a zombie. Take that walk to clear your head, say no to a few parties to give yourself some extra time to get things done, and ENJOY the holidays.

Of course, if you are still too busy during the normal hours of a day, Anytime Fitness in London is literally open 24/7, with crazy good membership deals right now -- so what is the excuse now?! 

Have a safe and healthy holiday season!

Oops!

It has been just over a week since I posted. Sorry about that! Life has really gotten in the way. 

We are SO close to being done our kitchen renovation. So between that and business stuff the past week writing has really not been an option. But! Don't worry! Things at home are settling down again a bit before ramping up for the holidays so hopefully I can keep you entertained again. 

Our kitchen renovation started out SO small - honestly we just wanted a cheap make-shift floor to last us a few years until we replaced the whole kitchen but then we decided that we might as well remove the wall before we do the floor and it just snow balled. But now it is almost all done. And I'll give you a little sneak peek:

We still have to put up the curtains and paint the bottom of the island and that will be the two pops of colour. 

Speaking of the island I had a slight mishap last night. I was priming the island and part of it slid off the place I was painting and landed right on my second toe on my right foot. OW! The way it landed and where it landed has caused quite a painful experience. 

Last week was my first week with my new trainer at Anytime Fitness. So far so good! We had 3 sessions last week and I actually REALLY enjoyed them. On Saturday we even did the session together which was fun and kept me going! Even though I hurt my toe quite badly last night and probably will not be able to put my foot in a shoe yet that is not going to stop us at tonight session! We are still going to do a workout but it will be modified to upper body and core. We are going to crush this next 25lb goal - injury or not. That is totally not something I would have done before. I would have sat with my feet up and rested till I was fully better. NOW, saying that you obviously need to rest appropriately but don't let it be an excuse to do nothing. 

The training at Anytime London is really above and beyond a "big box" gym because they do such individual plans and really care about your success. Not that "big box" gyms don't -- it's just a different setting on a smaller scale and they are more invested in you so it's not "just another client". I also love how dependable they are. Anyways enough about them but if you are in London you really should check out their gym. 

On a side note: my Christmas cards are ready to go and just waiting for the 1st of the month which is also when our Christmas tree will be decorated and getting our house ready for the holiday season! 

We got a DUMPING of snow yesterday...

So we stayed inside and had grilled cheese for lunch. 

Anyways I'll write again soon - I promise! 

My fitness goals

Like many people I have a list of goals that I want to achieve for my life. I have a list of five main goals that are very important to me. Weight and fitness is one of the goals. I'll lay out exactly what my weight/fitness goals are:

Weight:

My first weight goal is to drop 25 more pounds by March 1, 2014 by following the automatic body program and working out.

My second weight goal is to loose 56 more pounds (that includes the 25) and get back to my goal weight. I don't have a dead line for this one as I will set that on March 1st when I have reached my next 25. At this point I should be back into my size 8 clothes which is very average for my height. I have a large bin of basically new clothes waiting for me...calling my name!

My third weight goal is to maintain my goal weight. 

Fitness:

My first fitness goal is to increase my upper body strength.

My second fitness goal is to increase my flexibility.

My third is to tone everywhere in general. Since I have a lot of loose skin it will take some time, but I am confident I can do this.

I also want to pick a physical goal like doing a mini triathlon, or running a race ect. But I don't quite know what I want it to be yet.

______________________________________________________________________________

My biggest concern is to get the weight off and focus on living a healthy lifestyle. Which I have already been working on with the automatic body program, making one small change, and weight watchers and have been having good results. Now it's time to kick it up a notch!

I am SUPER excited that I am going to be starting with a personal trainer again. I know when I worked out hard before I felt great. This time will be different though for a few reasons. I am going to be working with a new trainer who has very clear goals for our sessions and what we want to accomplish. He is listening to what I want but will also put in things that he knows will help as well. He is as committed to my goals as I am and will be reliable and consistent. We are going to change up the workouts every time so that we aren't just doing the same exercises or even types of exercises week after week. 

Today we met up as an intro and did my measurements, "starting weight" (starting weight with him, although not my automatic body starting weight) and went over what my goals are and a rough plan. Monday we are going to do our first session so he can see where I am at and make a more detailed plan to follow. I'm really pumped to get started and take my weight loss and fitness goals to the next level. 

He says that we will crush my 25 pound goal -- I'll hold him to it and he'll hold me to it!

So although I really liked my old trainer, it wasn't the right fit. I'm ready to get serious, and my new trainer is ready to help me with that goal.

Follow me on my journey!

Kooking in the kitchen

My cousin Carolyn would be proud of me. We spoke a while ago about collecting amazing recipes but never using them. Lately I've been focusing on adding new recipes into my menu plan and I've had some really great success. I previously wrote about my Greek chicken that was very good and here are some other new ones I tried:

Peanut butter chocolate chip blizzards with Greek yogurt. This was amazing. 

Meat sauce with tons of veggies done in the crock pot. I put this over spaghetti squash. 

Tonight's dinner was amazing. Spinach dip grilled cheese with asparagus fries. Oh wow this was SO yummy and will be added to our rotation I think. 

I have a few more things to try put into this weeks plan -- like zucchini chips for example. I am not usually one to experiment with foods or new recipes but I'm really glad I have tried these. 

I have also decided to bring new recipes when going to holiday events to keep trying more things. I have some great desserts I want to try. 

Today Sean and I went to the states early this morning. I needed to pick up some things and I finally found Rylee's Christmas dress (but you will have to wait to see it closer to the time). 

Thankfully we got back to Canada just before 11am so we were able to pull over and observe a moment of silence while listening to a radio tribute. 

Then we went to work on our kitchen cabinet doors at Sean's parents farm. When I got home I had a shower and made dinner before having a team meeting. 

My parents gave me their old vacuum that is very different from mine and does a lot more so I was excited to use that tonight as well. I was able to clean things that I haven't been able to clean before like my fake flowers from my wedding, my art work and my lamp shades. I am one happy camper because it makes my life much easier and I didn't have to buy it!

Now I am enjoying a nice coconut yogurt (with added coconut as well) in front of the fire. It has been a good day. 

Yes. I eat it with a baby spoon so it lasts longer. 

Meal planning and grocery shopping

I am writing this post even though it may provoke some intense teasing from people, however, if you know me you really shouldn't be surprised.

When I first started doing meal planning it took me A LONG time to do each one. Honestly, over an hour. But each week it got quicker and quicker to the point where it now takes me just a few minutes. I do two week rotations because I find that groceries are cheaper than doing it once a week and I don't really want to be bothered to grocery shop every week. I do however get fruits and veggies once a week.

I like to be very organized and I like things simple. Especially now that I am grocery shopping with a baby in tow (most times) I like to be efficient. I don't like to go to more than two stores -- I go to a cheaper store like Wal-Mart, No Frills, or Food Basics for the regular stuff and then I go to Superstore or Remark to get my produce as the produce from the other stores doesn't last very long and is not high quality. I don't get everything from Superstore or Remark because it would double my grocery bill. 

So to start I skim the weekly flyers to see what is on sale. If there are items I like then I build them into my menu plan and I also go through my freezer to see what items I already have on hand. The great thing these days is most places ad match so if there is something that I like in one store I can still get it at other stores for the same price. For example, last week I bought a box of chicken burgers at Wal-mart for $4 something even though Wal-mart's price was $10 because they were on sale in the No Frills flyer. When I plan on ad matching something I note the price first and also which flyer it was in so at the store I can check the price there. Sometimes it is just cheaper to buy it without ad matching. I know this sounds like a lot of work but honestly it is very simple -- remember I don't like complicated things!

So once I note what is in the flyers I go through my calendar to check what is on the schedule for each day before I make my menu plan from a template that I have in Excel (I love that program and use it whenever possible). By adding events from the calendar I can plan the meal around what we are doing. If I don't have time to make a full meal I will make a quick one or make a crockpot meal. If I have more time I might make a more in depth dinner. Once I make my meal plan I print out two copies, one for the fridge and one to make my grocery list from. 

When I make my list I have it broken down into sections so that I don't get to the other side of the store and realize that I forgot a produce item that was hiding at the bottom of my list. I cross off each meal one at a time on my spare copy once I have added what I need to my list so I never miss anything. If I don't know if I already have something I put a ? next to it and check before I leave. 

Then when I am at the grocery store I can focus on getting my items and getting out of the store. I have tried using my phone for a grocery list to reduce carrying extra paper but honestly I really like the paper. I have had it happen more than a few times where I have accidentally erased half my list on my phone then have no idea what I needed. By having the paper there is no way to erase part of my list!

I also leave some wiggle room so that I can buy things that are on sale (not necessarily in the flyer) to put in the freezer for a later date. You can also see that on my menu plan Thursday nights are listed as Flex nights. Since I don't always feel like eating what is on the menu that night I can pick a different nights dinner and make it that night instead. Or if we end up eating out on a night that I had already bought the groceries for then they don't go to waste because I will have it Thursday night (hopefully that makes sense).

The other thing I keep (also in excel) is a meal data base. I have different categories of meals and I can mix and match especially when we are looking for some new ideas. I also use a board on Pinterest (can't get enough of that site) so that I can keep new recipe ideas handy. I try to add in one every two weeks. 

Maybe this all makes me a nerd, but hey, I'm okay with that. This makes my life much simpler and it helps me to save a lot of $ that is often wasted at the grocery store. What makes it even more simple is that my breakfast is delivered right to my door, no grocery store needed! If you are going to give it a try remember that it will take some time at the beginning. 

If you want a copy of my menu plans send me an e-mail or inbox message with your e-mail address so I can forward it on to you.  

Until next time!

Monsters University

I have been meaning to write this post for a few days but haven't really been feeling well.

Last Monday our founder Aaron Parkinson did a call on our dreams. Society today has been conditioned to scale back their dreams to prevent being let down if they don't come true. What we need to do it condition our society to dream BIG then teach them to make them a reality through hard work with failure not being an option.

So often we set ourselves little goals, or no goals at all. If we don't have goals than we can't fail right? Setting little goals is okay -- as long as those little goals lead to one big goal. For example, if your goal is to lose 50 pounds total, setting little goals of 5 pounds every X number of weeks/months is okay because it makes it realistic and obtainable. But when you have 50 pounds to loose and you say I will only try to lose 5 you are selling yourself short of your potential. This theory can be applied to many aspects of your life. You need to be willing to push yourself to get what you want in life. Things don't come for free, you aren't going to loose the weight just by sitting there wishing you were thinner, and you aren't going to make the income you want to make just by sitting there wishing you had more money. It takes change - but being willing to make that change is where it all begins. The saying goes "the first step is the hardest".

Setting a reason why. This is really important when you are on your journey to accomplishing anything you want to accomplish, your reason why. Things won't always go according to plan on your journey. You will have hard times, and in those times you need something to focus on to get yourself through. This is your reason why. It will push you to reach your goals when you think you have nothing left and cause you to dig deeper. 

I suggest putting your reason why on paper so you can see it when times get tough. You can also make yourself a dream board and post all of the pictures of things you want to accomplish in one spot to refer back to.

So what does all of this have to do with Monsters University???

Well...if you have seen it, you should be able to piece it together, but incase you didn't I will share with you what this all has in common.

At the beginning of the movie, Mike (the green, one-eye'd monster) sets his sites on being a scarer. As the movie plays on you see that he does ANYTHING he can to make his dream come true. He works really hard even when all of the odds are against him -- he still pushes through to make it happen. 

He gets kicked out of the scare program. Most people would accept that as defeat and pick something else...what would you do? Something you worked for your whole life was no longer an option. Would you give up and find something else or would you explore all other options until you found one that would put you back to where you wanted to be?

Too often today we are too scared to jump over the walls that we become comfortable where we are.

If YOU don't make a change, YOU won't get the results. Is that what you want for your life? What are you willing to do to get to where you want to be?

Travel wrap up

We are finally home "for good" now. Meaning we don't have any more travel plans in the near future.

Our last few days in Florida were amazing. Friday Mel and Ryan went to Seaworld so Rylee and I did some more shopping. I bought her a few cute things/souvenirs. I was walking around the mall killing time waiting for it to open when I came across these:

They looked SO good and I was REALLY glad that they were closed so I wasn't even tempted to buy one. I think that I will plan on making these sometime in the near future perhaps at a holiday event.

I also saw this:

Paul Blart mall cop!

On Saturday we packed most of our stuff for Dave and Kathie to take with them and we then headed to Sean's cousins house for a visit and dinner. They made an amazing dinner of BBQ Chicken, asparagus, carrots, and potatoes complete with crescent rolls and baked apples. The chicken was huge and really juicy! I was in a food coma afterwards as it was all so good! Then we watched Despicable Me 2. It was a perfect way to end our time there and I was really sad to go.

Yesterday we got up bright and early and headed to the airport. The flight was uneventful and Rylee was really good. My parents and Sean picked us up and we went for dinner and got groceries before waiting the two hours in the border line up to get home. 




I got two new "treats" while in the states yesterday and they are actually REALLY yummy. Totally perfect for a little sweet something with a cup of tea. 

As soon as we got home we got Rylee ready for bed. I knew that we were going to have a bit of a struggle getting her back into her routine so I slept upstairs to avoid going up and down multiple times during the night. She did have one crying episode in the middle of the night that lasted about 30 minutes. I didn't give in to picking her up or giving her a bottle and she fell back asleep on her own and didn't wake until morning. 

So far today she has had two naps and seems to be doing quite well. I plan on sleeping upstairs for a few nights to make sure she gets back into her routine as smoothly as possible.

I have wanted to get Rylee a sock monkey for a while now and I finally found one I really liked in Florida. As you can see she has already taken a shine to it. Follow more adventures with Rylee and Socks here on my blog!

When I got home from BC and Chicago I was completely beat. I was exhausted and very frazzled. I was able to do some mental visualization in order to get back on track but I was still not feeling 100%. 

This trip to Florida was awesome. We had such a great time and other than one rough night Rylee was really good and went to everyone lots. I am excited that I came back rested and feeling GREAT. I am full of energy, have already done my meal planning of the next two weeks and am ready to go. Big difference from last trips. 

I had a really healthy lunch today too!

Tuna with lettuce on vegetable bread with apple slices, snap peas, and my energe!

Tonight the menu is Shake n bake chicken, asparagus, salad, and stuffing. I love this time of year as it is "crockpot season" and so many wonderfully yummy and healthy things come out of that! Of course I'll keep you all updated on anything that turns out stellar!

The beginning of a lifetime...

Yesterday was the wedding that we came to Florida to attend. Sean's couzin Kari was getting married so we made a family trip of it.

As I previously mentioned the weekend started off with a kick off kick ball game on Thursday night. Friday night was the rehearsal dinner. It was at a golf and country club. Rylee hadn't pooped since Sunday and we had been feeding her prunes to try to get things moving for her and no sooner had we pulled into the venue and we heard the poop. When we parked and pulled her out of her car seat --OH BOY! It was up her back, all over the car seat, it was a full blow out (and of course she was already in her outfit). So we stripped her down, cleaned her up, changed her clothes, and washed her outfit in the sink. 

When we got into the room is was SO pretty. Kari's colours were dark purple and silver sparkle, and it looks great! I wish I had gotten a picture of the centre pieces because they were SO pretty but we were caught up in talking with people. For dinner there was a salad bar, pulled pork, chicken, flank steak, mac n' cheese, green beans, and brown beans. What I had was really good:

I went back up for seconds of the salad bar because it was so good. I had a brownie made by the groom's grandmother, and it was very good. There were speeches and then the bride sang a song she had written for the groom it was pretty funny and very much the brides personality.

Saturday morning when we got up Melanie and I (my sister-in-law) went to get our nails done and then we went with our mother-in-law Kathie to all get our hair done.

The wedding was really nice and the bridal party looked great. After the wedding we went to the reception. When we got in the room is was all purple and silver sparkle and looked really nice and well done. We were all very hungry and were high anticipating the food. They had 5 food stations. Salad bar, sliders, french fry station, taco bar, and mac n cheese bar. I started at the taco bar, tried a bit of the mac n cheese, then salad, then a slider, then the fries. They had FUNNEL CAKE FRIES. Oh wow -- they were SO good. It was like a mini stick of an elephant ear. It was a great way to have a little bit of it without having a huge amount. The cupcakes were filled with frosting and they were very good as well. I didn't go way over board but between the two events my extra points are gone (it was all SO well worth it, because it was all very yummy).

                     

I had no idea how much Rylee liked music but during the dance part of the evening she was having SO much fun! She was laughing and laughing as we were all taking turns dancing with her! As Will and Kari began their life together they ran out of the hotel down a sparkler line -- super fun. Over all we had a great time. The theme was pulled together so well from the invitations to the rehearsal dinner, to the wedding, to the reception -- even the washroom was decorated with purple stuff!

                                 

                               

Today I got up and had a shower and we are going to have a lazy day before having our thanksgiving dinner. Sean leaves tomorrow to come home so we are spending as much family time as we can with him.

I'll leave you with a picture Melanie took:

Busy busy busy

I feel like the theme of my posts lately are about how busy I've been but I have not stopped or slowed down in a few weeks and this week is no different! 

Yesterday Sean upgraded his blackberry to an iPhone and I upgraded to a iPhone 5. It is SO much faster and will allow me to do business stuff much quicker. Now that Sean also has an iPhone we can face time while I am away in September and October. 

Today I was getting the phones transferred over and set up for a good chunk of the day then went to Walmart to get a few items that I needed. Tonight I have my second last soccer game but not sure how well I will do since I trimmed the skin around my toe nail too short last night. Gross right? Thursday night is our last game so that will be one less thing to go to. 

I am really looking forward to this weekend but I'll write more about that later this week! 

Even though I've been really busy I have still been eating really well and making healthy choices. The other night it had been a VERY long rough day and it was 8:30 pm and I still hadn't had a chance to eat dinner so I was just about ready to order pizza when I talked myself out of it and just ate the healthy food I had already bought for dinner that night. Needless to say I was proud of myself! 

Last night for dinner we had a feast of a chicken  burger, green beans, asparagus, and the best corn on the cob you can imagine. Then we went to Kiwi Kraze for a frozen yogurt treat. 

Anyways, that's all for now or I'll be late for soccer! 

A results update

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone had a good weekend! We went away for the weekend and had some really great family time. We got some shopping done, and went to a place that I hadn't been in a long time. It was a lot of fun and I am really glad we went away. One of the places we went you get to try fresh made fudge, and it was amazing. 

We walked around a lot, I kept drinking my water and made sure I wrote down everything I ate and stayed on track. It was great to be able to know that I can go away for a weekend and not blow it - but still just eat fairly normal, with a few little treats of things I might not get normally.

So as you know I have been growing my own business with a company called Nutrie that has 3 amazing products. I've been taking them regularly a
s well as focusing on making one small change and making this a life style change and not just a diet. Even when I lost weight before, looking back, I can see how I still treated it as a diet where as now it is very much a life style change. I made a proclamation that I was going to loose 80 pounds total to get back to my goal and I do that by a combination of weight watchers and taking the Nutrie product as their philosophies are actually very very similar so the product complements the program very well. 

Anyways, here are the numbers:

Total weight loss since starting product: 14.4 pounds
Total inches lost since starting product: 13.25

I am VERY happy with these results. Although I may not be dropping weight as fast this time as I was last time there are a few key reasons for this -

1) I am focusing on having a lot of protein, which keeps me fuller longer, but also helps to build muscle. When I lost weight last time, a lot of that was muscle and I got fairly weak. This time I feel very strong.

2) I am making small changes that add up to a life style change, so that when I get to my goal I will have an easier time of staying there, instead of putting it back on.

3) The type of exercise and length of exercise that I do has changed. Before I was married, had my own place, or a baby I was able to devote 1+ hour EVERY day to intense exercise where as now I do go to the gym when I can but I get out and walk more than I used to.

I am not sure if I told you guys this or not, but for my 25 pound loss prize I am going to buy myself an ipad mini. This has helped to keep me focused as it is something I really want, but instead of just going out and buying it, I am working for it. Of course I will use the tools to help me in my business but also along my weight loss journey so I thought it was very fitting. 

If you are interested in learning more about the Nutrie products I can send you a quick 14 minute video or you can check out my website at fuelyour.automaticbody.com. Message me for more details.

I hope you all have a happy and healthy day!

NSV's

Good afternoon everyone!

I hope everyone is having a good, productive Wednesday so far. Last night I had my soccer game (we lost) but afterwards I still had a few points left over. I was thinking I wanted a donut with my left over points but then I got thinking about an ice cold fuel and that won.

When I got home I put my fuel into a glass with ice, had an apple with peanut butter and was quite pleased with my choice of snack.

Since starting weight watchers again after Rylee was born I have been really focusing on making small changes that I am able to do forever. Because let's face it - this is a life long journey I am on and I need to be able to maintain my weight loss. Which is why when I found Nutrie I was SO excited to get started because that is their slogan - one small change - and their products are so simple and tasty because they believe that ingredients matter!

The program is SO simple to follow and I do it along side my weight watchers (since again they promote the same idea of small changes for a healthier lifestyle). Automatic body even has an app that sends me reminders of when to do things. It gives me one new small change a week and sends me little text message reminders when to drink my fuel, and a glass of water, and each little change that it makes. It has actually become very routine now - so much so that I have been carrying a water bottle with me when I go out of the house now, which is something I never used to do before.

So I mentioned a bit yesterday that I have been having a lot of NSV's (non-scale-victories). I am really really proud of how I have been able to do things - like throw out a pan of dessert that I didn't care for so that I wouldn't eat it anyways - that I haven't been able to do before. Now, I am not perfect, I still have slip ups, but the difference is I am getting back on the wagon right away and making up for it.

Tonight I plan on getting to the gym for a cardio workout once Sean gets home from work, then I am going to take a nap because I am going to be picking up my dad from the Toronto airport at 1:30 am. It's going to be a very long night and tomorrow will be long as well since Sean is on days so I'll be home all day with the babe.

Some times I wish I liked coffee - but at least I have my energe drink!