I feel like each week when we weigh in, it is our time to confess whether we exercised enough or ate well. This week I did really well until Saturday. I felt cranky due to PMS on Thursday and thought about getting something sinful for dinner. But what I really craved was a raw vegan dinner. Interesting how my taste has changed. I think it is because the raw vegan food is so flavourful, but you also feel amazing after you eat it. Yesterday was my birthday and I indulged in birthday cake twice (white vanilla strawberry shortcake for lunch and ice cream cake for dinner). I felt awful after I ate the ice cream cake. This will make me think twice about splurging in the future. I also had two of my favourite drinks (Smirnoff Ice) on my birthday. I thought all week about not having cake or alcohol on my birthday, but when it came down to it, I had a very busy, tiring week at work & a very busy birthday running from one place to the next. I just needed a break from the plan for one day.
Weigh-In Results for Sunday July 29, 2012
Heather: -1.6 lbs
Paul: -2.0 lbs
Total Weight Loss to Date:
Heather: -56.6 lbs
Paul: -44.0 lbs
Combined Total Weight Loss: - 100.6 lbs
We have now lost 100 pounds combined! I was 0.3 lbs off from my goal of getting down to the "overweight" category for BMI. Must have been the two pieces of cake & drinks. I will weigh myself on August 1st and see if I lose the 0.3 lbs, as my goal was to reach it by then.
 Paul, seven months in to the one year challenge, having lost 44 lbs.  Heather after seven months of challenges to be Greener and Leaner and down 56.6 lbs.
We watched a documentary called “FAT, SICK AND NEARLY DEAD” on the weekend. It really hit home to me. It was about this man named Joe who was overweight (around 300 lbs), he was 40 and he was starting to actually get sick because of his weight. He went on a road trip across the USA on 60 day “all juice diet” and ended up losing around 80lbs in that short time period. And the thing is, all his vital stats improved and he was feeling better too. Now he is a little heavier than I was at my peak, but I was going down the same road..... It was a little Deja vous for me...I am over 40 and I am in an office job where I am tied to my desk and I was putting nothing but fast food garbage in my mouth for lunch (for the most part)... and I was slowly ballooning up and I didn’t even realize how big I was getting because it was happening gradually.... I mean I knew it was, but I don’t think that I wanted to believe it..... And in the documentary, Joe had interviewed various “average Americans” about why they are overweight and they all admitted that it was their own fault for not eating right but none of them wanted to change their lifestyle... and that got me to think... I also was like that.... I knew I should change but didn’t think it was important enough to change... If my wife hadn’t have given me a kick in the butt to start this process, who knows how big I could have got? Instead of losing 40 lbs, I could have gained 40 lbs.... what we are doing is not as extreme as what Joe did but we are changing our lifestyle ... and the thing is, what we are doing is sustainable in the long run.... People always have an excuse for why they can’t change (I know, because I have probably used everyone in the book) but if you keep making excuses, you will continue down the same road ...Nothing will change..... If you want to change, you need take a new road .... Now that new road might be bumpy at first and it might be a little scary at first because you don’t know what you are getting yourself into.... but some of the best things in my life have happened because I have taken a road that I have not tried before.... you won’t know until try.. BUT YOU HAVE TO TRY!!..... And that is what I have to keep telling myself...... and that goes for everything in my life. You know, we don’t all have to do the extreme diet that Joe did in his documentary, but just by making better choices when you have the chance to, you will change your life little by little... you won’t even realize it... I have lost 42 lbs in 28 weeks.... that is about 1.5lb/week mainly due to dietary changes....It has been slow but gradual... It is like compound interest for your weight loss... At first doesn’t seem like much and then all of sudden you check your balance and you have a number that is significant (that’s the finance guy in me talking).... Sometimes in this “fast paced” society that we live in, we want results yesterday ... rarely do the quick results ever last in the long term unless we change the underlying things that got us there in the first place.... Quick fixes are just that.... Temporary... There are my thoughts for the day.
Weigh-In Results for Sunday July 22, 2012
Heather: -3.2 lbs
Paul: -1.6 lbs
Total Weight Loss to Date:
Heather: -55.0 lbs
Paul: -42.0 lbs
Combined Total Weight Loss: - 97.0 lbs
This week was my final week of school :) It was long and stressful and I feel exhausted. I did manage to stick to eating well and exercising alot. I found it helped me to deal with the stress. The one thing I didn't do as well on was the packaging. Two days this week I was rushing to catch my train downtown and picked up breakfast when I got there. I got oatmeal with berries, which had a plastic lid and plastic spoon. I could have picked up a muffin or some other fatty pastry without the plastic waste, but I wanted to stick with the healthy food. It is so hard to do it all & now I feel guilty for getting oatmeal.
I would like to lose 1.9 lbs this coming week, to take myself out of the "obese" category for my BMI and in to the "overweight" category. It will probably be the only time in my life that I will prefer being called overweight! It would be great if Paul & I lose a combined 3 lbs this week too, to reach a combined total loss of 100 lbs.
I am catching up on my sleep now, which is supposed to help with weight loss.  I am going to be spending more time here, catching up on my sleep until I go back to school in September.
After I finished my practical testing & presentation today, I was off to shop to use my Addition Elle gift card before I no longer fit into plus sizes. I wished I had the time to go to a vegan restaurant for lunch, then as I was walking through the U of T campus, I saw this sign:  This sign was outside the Cumberland House at U of T, advertising a fantastic deal- $4 for an organic, primarily local & vegan meal every Wednesday! This was the menu for the meal all of this was included.  The food that was included in my lunch today.  My surprise healthy cheap lunch (& with reusable dinnerware)! I stopped for lunch & went shopping at the plus size store for hopefully the last time :)
Paul & I were downtown tonight for our film festival volunteer sign up. I took the opportunity to pick up some vegan take-out from Fresh. Quite tasty!  Our takeout dinner from Fresh (& note in compostable, not styrofoam containers) :). I got the Dragon bowl with soba noodles & Paul got the Magic Tofu wraps.
Weigh-In Results for Sunday July 15, 2012
Heather: -1.4 lbs
Paul: -1.2 lbs
Total Weight Loss to Date:
Heather: -51.8 lbs
Paul: -40.4 lbs
Combined Total Weight Loss: - 92.2 lbs
I tried really hard this week, exercising alot and eating healthy. I was told by a couple of people this week who haven't seen me in a while that they didn't recognize me initially. Paul has been told by a coworker this week that he is losing too much weight, although he still has a way to go to the weight the doctor recommended. He didn't exercise alot this week. I am in my last week of my course and am stressed out, studying for a practical exam, the OSCE (objective structured clinical examination). Paul has been making all of the meals, watching Logan & acting as my patient for me to practise. Hopefully a big weight will be lifted off our shoulders at the end of this week, when this course ends.
 The book I have been reviewing, which is causing alot of stress for both Paul & I this week. Only a few days left, then hopefully the rest of the summer will be less stressful.
Weigh-In Results for Sunday July 8, 2012
Heather: -0.2 lbs
Paul: -0.6 lbs
Total Weight Loss to Date:
Heather: -50.4 lbs
Paul: -39.2 lbs
Combined Total Weight Loss: - 90.6 lbs
This week, I missed most of my daytime walks because I was either too busy at work or it was too hot outside. This took my exercise down almost by half. I was very careful with my food intake and did my toning exercises and walked/ran with the dog at night. Although I feel better, I know I still have alot of weight to lose. It will probably take me the rest of the year to lose the remainder of the excess weight.
Paul also didn't exercise as much as he felt he should have. He was trying a few times to use his Wii and Logan was not happy, wanting to watch cartoons.
At least we both lost something this week, though, no matter how small.  I missed all but two of my lunchtime walks this week. Less exercise = less weight loss.
I was told about a local organic farm a few years ago. I checked out their website recently and saw they were open Wednesdays to sell their food. I took Logan for the long drive there after work this week, only to find they were not open. I guess if we don't support local farmers, they can't keep on with their business. So we went to the small Organic Farmer's market in Oakville today. We are gaining an appreciation of when things are in season, as we are only buying local produce now. When shopping in the grocery store, we are now only buying products of Ontario. It's odd not being able to buy whatever we want, when we want. Once my course is done in two weeks, we will look at preserving what we can, to get us through the winter. I wish my grandmothers were still around so I could ask them what they used to do. I'm sure they would have loved to pass on this wisdom.  The local organic food we bought today: radishes, Swiss Chard, red onions, 2 types of lettuce, cilantro, snow peas, asparagus, gooseberries, raspberry jam, sweet potatoes, red & white potatoes. Not bad for our first week of local fruits & vegetables! No plastic either :)
I thought I would post some pictures of some of the vegan meals we have had. I have been making hummus & veggie collard wraps quite a bit for lunch. I keep forgetting to take a picture of the meals, and when I do remember, the food is usually half eaten!  Daiya cheese sandwich on gluten free bread from Naked Sprout  Chocolate & fruit crepe from Naked Sprout  Blueberry "cheesecake" from Raw Aura  Lemon meringue smoothie and Creamsicle smoothie from Raw Aura  Yellow Coconut Curry Noodles from Raw Aura
The Rules For Our Seventh Challenge are:
1) All new fruits and vegetables must be produced within a 100 mile radius of where we live, or if not known (such as in a grocery store), must be a product of Ontario.
2) If we are at a conference or at someone else's home, we may eat what is served, even if it is not from within a 100 mile range.
As with our trash and organic challenges, we will use up what food is is in the house already. We have not stocked up on any foods, just bought what we typically would.
Reasons For Eating Locally:
1. The food does not have to travel as far to your plate, therefore it produces less emissions.
2. It is fresher and tastes better.
3. We support local farmers and the local economy.
4. We are more familiar with our food and know where it comes from.
 The book Locavore which outlines the benefits of eating locally produced food.  I went to see the author of Locavore, Sarah Elton, speak about the contents of her book a few months ago.
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