Marley... I mean Milo and Me!

Today I ventured out on my trusty electric scooter/bike.

I thought, well yes it's cold out, about minus 10 degrees Celsius, but if those ' Ski-Doo' owners can whip around the back roads of Ontario in similar weather, I should be able to too!! So I dressed as you would on a Ski-Doo, and Milo too, in her pink hoodie... only I found out I really need long underwear and better Ski-Doo gloves, as my fingers turned into 10 popsicles !!

oh.. well.. we made it home, and now I'm enjoying a nice cup of hot herbal tea to help me defrost. I wish it could be Hot Chocolate, but no such luck.. not good for the diet.

I saw the film ' Marley and Me' today... 2 Toonie Tuesdays at the local theatre.. I liked it, but didn't like the end part.. sniff sniff.. a real tear jerker!!

New Non-Fat Hobbies

Working out at the gym on a daily basis is not a hobby yet, it's still a huge task and a great effort to do this. Hopefully it will become one , one day soon...

For now a new/old love/ hobby.. I bought myself a Christmas gift of a new Canon EOS Rebel XS is a great hobby!

I have been having fun this holiday season with taking long walks with my dog, and taking some shot in and around Toronto. My dad was a great amateur photographer, as well as 2 of my nieces. So it kind of runs in the family. I missed my Canon SLR camera, where I had to use real film.. way to expensive, so the opportunity came up with a great door crashing boxing day sale from a local large electronics chain store, and I nabbed the chance to finally get a digital SLR camera.

( I received these tulips from my sister at Christmas, to see this picture in full view, click on it, also you can download it and it makes a great ' desktop' picture!)

This morning I jumped out of bed, looked at my BIGGEST LOSER 2009 new wall calendar, and one of the tips for the day was... Set up your equipment in order to do a proper workout. So I changed up my treadmill so that now when I'm on it, I can watch TV! that really helps with making the time seem to go faster. So I worked out for 1 hour this morning before taking a shower and getting dressed ( no one can see me, so I worked out in socks, runners, underwear and a bra.. nothing else!! he. he.... he.. that was fun, and very cool) I took the dog for a 1 hour walk after that, with camera in hand.. and took some winter shots...

tonight back to my 2 hour regime at the gym...

yes.. by the way.. I do have this week off.. no work.. so I do have time to get myself back on track, and back to my workout regime!! and my BIG PLAN !

Arrrggg... I've gained!

Well Christmas is over.. and the biggest gift it has given me is 5 pounds of extra unwanted weight gain!! Well I guess it's not to bad, considering I really didn't hold myself back! I had everything over these holiday from Turkey, to Ham to Chocolate and Candy Cane flavored Egg Nog...

I don't feel guilty, I feel good actually!... I got all the cravings out of my system, enjoyed some great times with my family. And just enjoyed what Christmas means to us all... sharing memories, and making new ones.

Last year I weighed 365 pounds at Christmas and this year I weighed 245 pounds, ( well actually today I weigh 250, but this extra will be gone by next week)  120 pounds lighter!! and to break it down, in 12 months, because I've been on this diet now for a year, in 12 months I have lost an average of 10 pounds a month. That was my original goal I set for myself last Christmas, and so far I have achieved it!

So now on to the next 12 months of my continued quest!

Merry Christmas...

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Today is a day of Joy and Peace, and sharing memories and making new memories with your loved ones.

( my goals and dreams for next Christmas 2009 will be: weighing 150 pounds, and being more financially stable)

My Christmas Card to You !!! Best Wishes

Getting into the Christmas Mood...

This past weekend I have been very busy getting into the Christmas mood! Well … lets rephrase that… because of all the Christmas music I performed, I was transformed on a Sleigh to the North Pole !

I performed with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, and was a part of their Yuletide Pops Program. Here’s the program I performed:

Veni, Veni Emmanuel
Here Comes Santa Clause
JOHN WILLIAMS: Home Alone
Pearsall, in Dulce Jubilo
Sleigh Ride
ROBERT SHAW: Many Moods of Christmas Suite No. 3
Sing-alongs: O Come all Ye Faithfull, Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Nutcracker Excerpts
Twas the Night before Christmas
A musicological Journey Through the Twelve Days of Christmas
Cantique de Noel
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas

As you can read… really all the top ten Christmas hits!!

Crazy when you think of it...We perform, sing, listen to this same Christmas music every year, and enjoy it every year too !... funny how we really don’t get sick of it! At least I don’t.. I love it!! I’m always sad when it’s January 2nd, all the festivities are over and I have to take down my tree… then get ready for 3 cold, dark months of Canadian Winter hell!!

Back to nice thoughts…

On Sunday I was invited to a best friends house for an afternoon of more carol singing… I brought my horn to play, but also found some bells to play during the singing of Jingle Bells!

Now Toronto has been blanketed with 50 cm ( 20 inches ) of snow…

I’m dreaming of a White Christmas will not be hard at all!!

**Click on this YouYube video below, to listen to my favorite peice that I performed ( this exact same orchestral arrangement ) this last weekend with the KWS with a childrens choir: "Somewhere In My Memory" by John Williams from the film Home Alone.. lots of great soaring magical HORN solos.. great fun to play!! it gives my goosebumps everytime I listen to it!

Snacking on Something!

Staying at home at night remains a huge challenge for me. I have this incredible erg to snack something! Therefore I have this bowl on my dinning room table filled to the brim with gum; all flavors, to suit or help some of my cravings. I chew on 1 or 2 pieces for about 30 minutes, then spit it out, and start chewing on another flavor. It may be a bit wasteful, but certainly better than snacking on chips or popcorn or chocolate as I have always done in the past. Even on the BL show, Bob gives advice to do the same. When you really need something sweet just have some Extra gum! … it really does help to keep me busy… and what ever works to make sure I don’t eat 500 calories of junk.. I’m going to go ahead and chew on all the gum I so desire!!

Today I discovered my collar bone! Felt weird to stroke it… It feels very exposed and without any protection…next big bone discovery will be I’m sure my hips…but I guess that will be a while still, as it’s so weird and frustrating that fat loss also happens by gravity. Starting with the bone at the top of your torso protruding first, and lastly your lower body, hips and thighs…

My boobs are starting to look like tennis socks with oranges in the ends…

Oops.. to much information I guess… sorry… strike that last sentence..

OPRAH- The Blame Game

In the January issue of O magazine, out this week, Oprah Winfrey says she weighs 200 pounds and has fallen off the wagon when it comes to healthy living. "I'm mad at myself," Winfrey writes in an article provided early to the Associated Press. "I'm embarrassed. I can't believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I'm still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, 'How did I let this happen again?' "

Okay.. now everyone has been writing and complaining about this, with comments like:

“oh dam!!.. she has so much money, she has her own chef, she has her own trainer…”
“…she has all the tools and money to lose weight, and with those, should be able to keep it off !…”
“…if she can’t do it, how are we peasants suppose to do it !”

Come’on people… give me a break!!… If I had as much money as her I would be in the same boat too !!…

.. why you ask??

Because the amount of money you make is reflective of how hard you work!!

If you make a shit load of money, you probably work 10-12 hours a day, every day!! To which I’m sure Oprah has pulled several hundred 14 - 16 hour days!

Oprah, is a very busy, busy lady, between having to edit a magazine every month, she has to produce a show every day, plus keep up with all her charity work, plus plus, plus…

I don’t work for Oprah, I’m not her publicist or any thing.. but I do watch her shows, and one has to admit that she has been a great help to thousands of women and men over the years… and taking time for herself is probably the last thing on her daily list of things to do…

I think she has done an amazing job … and we whiney women should lay off the blame game… !!!
If you need to lose weight.. Do it !!

Don’t blame others for your own lack of motivation and discipline!!

Getting Closer To Your Goals

After a weekend of playing my horn, eating some things that were not really on my Diet chart.. but playing some wicked Ping Pong matches with my Brother-in-law, I was rewarded with at least a 1 pound loss...

I even had 2 slices of Hawiaan pizza! the first Pizza I have had in 12 months!!!

Now the biggest challenge.. .Christmas!!

hold on Wendy !... you can do it!!

....only 95 pounds to my goal weight, which the deadline is fast approching of 7 months away!

If Michelle on the BL can lose 110 pounds in 7 months... so can I !! Dam-it !!

check out this video... some really SMART tips!!

How to Lose Weight - Top 3 Weight Loss Mistakes

Toronto's Biggest Loser!

After watching tonight's Biggest Loser Finale... I am once again doubly modivated to continue to reach my goal of losing 200 pounds.
I've already lost 119 pounds so far, with another 81 to go! but my real goal is to lose 215 pounds, and therefor reaching my goal of weighing 150 pounds by my 50th birthday on July 23, 2009.

Tonight once again I was working hard at the gym with my personal trainer.

I thought it would be fun to finally post some pictures of the typical workout I do every day 5 days a week, for 2 hours.

BTW... way to go Michelle.. I'm so proud you won this season's Biggest Loser! as you can see I am a proud black team supporter!

First I start with my personal training my 1 hour complex circuit weight/body training...







































































































after the 1 hour workout with my personal trainer, I then end my 2 hour workout with 1 hour of cardio...






















My personal trainer Sylvie, and the rest of the 'Dream Team' trainers at my gym...

The Week of Ups and Downs!

Boy am I glad this week is over! Wow.. What a roller coaster ride. Some good, but mostly bad turn of events. Starting with Monday; after a heavy weekend, with 2 major events that I had to organize, I ended up eating a whole bunch of really wrong fatty foods. I suffered the whole week because of it! Cursing at the scale on Monday morning, I had gained 4 pounds over the weekend. This was going to be a week from hell! All the while, I had been waiting to hear on some news about a new job I applied for, and still had not heard the results.

Tuesday was my day with my private trainer. I ended up eating my dinner way to fast, and had a terrible stomach ach going to the gym, which resulted only being able to train 10 minutes with my trainer, when she looked at me and said we better re-schedule, your stomach has to settle down, you should eat your dinner 2 hours before we work out, not 10 minutes!! Tuesday night I had to attend an office Christmas party, ( see blog entry Today's Facebook status says it all! ) so with a stomach full of very fatty food once again , I of course couldn’t sleep, not to mention the intense guilt I was feeling about my lack of self discipline! So early Wednesday morning, I was completely frustrated and couldn’t sleep. So at 4:30am Wednesday morning I got up, got dressed and drove to my gym, to be the first one there beside the staff at 5:00am! I worked hard for 2 hours! Then later at 7:00pm I went again, and worked out another 2 hours. Craziness, working out for 4 hours in one day! My bodybugg readings said I had burned 4000 calories that day!!

Thursday I got the double whammy of bad news! I did not get the job I applied for, and I may have to vacate my office space, because of financial troubles! God… what next!? My mom always said, bad news comes in three! So now it’s Friday, today I had given a horn lesson to a new student. That finally grounded me ! I was brought back to my real life! The horn! Thank god for the horn! I escaped to the gym, trying to get rid of all this stress from this week, but simply playing my horn, and sharing all my years of training and knowledge with a willing open soul, did a great job of cleansing my soul. Although tonight I had another training session with my trainer, I was enjoying it much more, with less stress and looking forward to this weekend of more music making. I’m going to great concert Saturday night, and Sunday and Monday I have a gig, and I have to go play with a regional orchestra again.

Playing a musical instrument is very soothing for your soul!

But cautiously as I am still waiting for the 3rd bad thing to happen….

Today's Facebook status says it all!

Today's " My Status" post on my Facebook page:

Wendy is ashamed.. I ate way to much at tonight's office christmas party.. dam those christmas parties.!! 10:32pm
- 4 Comments




Leslie Magowan at 11:39pm December 10
Shame isn't productive, Wendy. You've done amazingly, and tonight was just a roadblock. These parties are not healthy-eating-friendly places, but the season only lasts for a few weeks. Get back on the horse. Or exercise bike. Or whatever....

Roger Smith at 12:20am December 11
you fall (for me-butter tarts last night...) and then you say tomorrow I'm on track...so many are with you on this journey, we appreciate the reality...I got a new GoodLife T-shirt today cuz mine were wore out..I like that.

Wendy Limbertie at 3:26am December 11
Baaa hum bug... Christmas !!! .. how can anyone say NO to a whole tray of Nanaimo bars??? why oh why.. am I not strong enough??

Wendy Limbertie at 3:41am December 11
Yeeks.. I shouldn't have, but looked up the calories in 1 Namaimo bar.. . and they are 300 calories per square!! god help me! I'm not even going to look up what else I ate tonight... sigh!! :-( ...and now it's 3:45am.. I can't sleep cause my tummy and guts are all upset from all this fatty food.. I am looking forward to tomorrow.. I am going to RUN to the gym as fast as I can!!

" December remains a huge Challenge !!! OMG... give me strength!!"

December the Diet Nightmare!

This weekend has been somewhat a disaster as far as staying on track is concerned.. Wow.. This is hard.. And is bloody not fair! I gained 4 pounds this weekend, with not really eating overboard. But still enjoying some Christmas treats at the several events I was participating in. Dam! Such a pity! 4 pounds equals 2 weeks work! 2 weeks of sweat and tears at the gym. All for what! Let me tell you what I had I shouldn’t have, but did.

Friday I ate sushi for dinner, not to bad, right? Saturday I had to produce a multicultural Christmas Festival at City Hall. Now that was hard, comforted by all these delicious treats from around the world. I had some chocolate, some Serbian sausage ( 2, the size of the little breakfast sausages) and then later on at night I had a ginger bread cookie, after I decorated it myself, and a Dutch Croquette. All quite rich in fat and calories, but does that extra fatty food warrant an extra 4 pounds.

I thought you had to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 pound, but does that mean you gain a pound if you ate and extra 3500 calories as well? The extra treats I had consumed this weekend certainly did not add up to 3500 calories 4X3500 which is 14,000 calories .. is WAY Off.. I did not, certainly did not consume 14,000 extra calories!! … that’s not fair !!! and not right… it should be the same, you burn 3500 lose a pound, the visa versa.. life is sometimes just not fair!!

Man I have to work hard at the gym this week.. and Christmas isn’t even here yet!! December is a Diet nightmare!!

No wonder Gym membership sales are the highest in January!!

Dieting and Technological Gadgets

Today I am using for the first time my newest gadget to help me in my diet process. It’s call the “ bodybugg” . I learned about it on the Biggest Loser TV show. All the participants are using this device to help them keep on track. You wear it all day on your upper arm, and at the end of the day hot sync it with your computer through connect the device to your computer through a hard wire usb cable. The bodybugg then sends the data to the pre-loaded software program, and shows you how many calories you have burned during your daily activities. It also shows a chart of you peaks and lows of when you burn the most calories. Of course in my case, it’s when I was at the gym last night.

You then enter your daily food intake, breakfast, snacks, lunch etc…. this then shows another breakdown graph of how many calories you have taken in. Then it calculates how much you need to work out at the gym in order to lose 1 pound.

Basically when you initially set it up, it does a whole sort of body weight breakdown, with your present weight and goals.

So after wearing the whole day, at night you take it off, and sync it with your computer, add in your food intake, and then you can see when you are eating to many calories, or have as they call it calorie deficit of calorie surplus.

I am really excited with this new helpful gadget - The bodybugg, and hopefully will help me with learning to eat MORE! Yes, I actually don’t eat enough on this diet. Food is the gas of the car's engine! If you want to lose weight you need to make sure you eat enough. And with this calories burning device, I can now finally see, and understand that I need to eat more!! But of course eating more of the right foods!! ( the picture above is a ' screen shot' from my computer of my actual stats from yesterday)