Thursday, May 28, 2009

Still Floating...

Tonight I went swimming with my trainer and did laps for 2 hours. Man it feels so good to swim. I just love swimming!! I do so miss our pool we used to have out in Don Mills...

I didn't realize how lucky we were until we lost it! Swimming laps as it turns out can burn loads of calories too.. I looked it up, as of course I can't wear my bodybugg in the pool.

And last year I bought an essential piece of swimming equipment, which is prescription swimming goggles. Last week I bought a new bathing suit, I now wear a size 20 bathing suit..compared to my old suit, I've come down from size 38 !!

My trainer just moved into her new apartment last week. It's a rental ; This apartment is the bees knees in new modern Toronto living. Not only just she have a stunning 30th floor corner suit with a view of the WHOLE downtown core of Toronto, it comes with a whole list of amenities , that just come with the whole complex.

Main floor consist of rock climbing wall, indoor pool, outdoor tanning deck, whirlpool, massage spa, steam room, yoga/spinning/dance studio, gym, outdoor exercise area, open lounge, outdoor patio and bbq. Second floor includes party room with outdoor terrace, dance floor, open lounge with outdoor terrace, table tennis, billiards, theatre, children's theatre, game room, arts and crafts room, children's play room, karaoke/music room. Montage will also offer guest suites, conference room, media lounge, fire place lounge and spadina lounge. Montage LE additional amenities include private lobby and concierge, two exclusive elevators, upgraded elevator lobby, executive lounge with media centre & wi-fi internet access.

wow !

Click here to read more about this new condo complex in Toronto

http://www.cityplace.ca/montage_le/

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The most amazing night of my life!

Last night, here in Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, ( ACC- home of the Toronto Raptors, and the Toronto Maple Leafs) I went to a live concert of Elton John with Billy Joel. I was very fortunate to aquire 7th row seats!

It was the most amazing night of my life!!

I went to the concert with my great friend and dear neighbour, Aaron Hay, we first went out to dinner to
‘ Nota Bene’ classified as one of the best restaurants in Canada!

Then off to Elton and Billy…

Pictures of the evenings concert can be enjoyed by clicking on this link below ....

http://picasaweb.google.com/wlimbertie/EltonJohnBillyJoelConcertACCToronto

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Rock that Lifestyle too!

After a really tough  3 day conference last weekend  ( tough meaning being locked up in the middle of nowhere with only the food you could eat , was the delicious , fatty, sugary food served ) I am back on track! Last night I went to the gym for a training session with my trainer. We are going to see each other every day now. She has agreed to train me in private at her home, and she has a swimming pool too, so finally I can do some low impact swimming exercising. I haven't gone swimming since I was 365 pounds, and as you know fat floats, so now with being 135 pounds lighter, less fat to float, it will be an interesting experience!  will I sink?... 

but tonight.. FIRST.. my big concert. 

I am going to see Elton John and Billy Joel live! ...

5 months ago I bought 7th row tickets to see this special once in a lifetime concert! ...I am going with my dear, sweet, very good looking (gay) neighbour! we are both dressing up in hope that at least one of us will maybe attract Elton's' attention!!. LOL... doughty.. but one can always hope!!.. 

... so no gym tonight! 

...tonight Crocodile Rock all the way! 

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Sharing thoughts and tips from other blogs....


I recently discovered this new blog.. BODA and i just wanted to share today's entry as it's totally relevant to my struggles and so many others as well... very smart writing !
Over the years... I have learned the practise of accepting failure, not with Dieting, because I really didn't attempt it untill now, but auditioning for horn positions in orchestras.. over and over and over again.. that has what made me stronger, and a better horn player. Every time I learned from my mistakes, and grew and improved in my strategies! this piece written below totally explains the thought process behind it... please read on...




What do these people have in common: J.K. Rowling, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Winston Churchill, Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, and Henry Ford? Besides being household names, these are only a handful of extremely successful people who credit FAILURE with making them achieve greatness. Yep, failure.


So what, you may ask, does this have to do with health and weight loss? Simply this: The theories and practice of accepting failure can actually contain the seeds of success when it comes to transforming your health and body. This is because failure, scientists are learning, seems to be hardwired in the brain to equal learning–the more wrong we are, the quicker we learn. By utilizing this understanding, we can actually temper ourselves to setbacks and get the most out of them. Here are a few things that failure teaches us:


Resiliency: Simply put, the more we fail, the more we understand that we are always a work in progress and nothing about our lives is fixed in stone–this includes our bodies, the way we eat, and the way we look. This gives us incredible freedom to change. Instead of beating ourselves up every time we slip up with our diet or because we didn’t know something about what makes us healthy, we see it as a learning opportunity. And the more we learn about ourselves, the more we know in the future what will and won’t work for us. For our brains, failure is all about making our thinking more efficient. So you will learn that eating every three hours doesn’t work for you and move on, each time getting closer to the real changes that will transform your health.


Opportunity: Successful people are people who have put themselves out there and tried whatever they could get there hands on. They are not more talented, or smarter, or luckier than anybody else–they have simply tried more and different things until something worked. They aren’t afraid of failure, of falling down. They know how to get back up. Apply this to your own life–what would you try if you were not afraid of failing? Just take the example of exercise. We know that it is one of the most important lifestyle choices in being healthy, but it isn’t always easy to find the perfect sport or activity. For those of us who aren’t afraid of failing, trying everything is seen as an opportunity–so get out there and try it–run, bicycle, do aerobics, swim, yoga, rock climb and find what you are passionate about. It’s out there just waiting to transform your life.


Perspective: Finally, becoming fearless in the face of failure gives us perspective, that is, where we are now is tempered by where we have been and that has the amazing ability of putting our fears, our cravings, and our emotions in their proper place. Perspective soothes our anxieties; it calms us. And when we are calm our emotions cease to rule us. We know that if we slip up and eat junk food we are not bad people, we are simply having an off day and we can recommit ourselves the next day. If we go two weeks without exercising we don’t throw in the towel, we shrug, love ourselves, and get out there at the next opportunity. Perspective allows us to understand that our lives are made up of a million small moments, that we will always fall down, and that it is the getting up that is important, the constant getting back up that makes the difference between an average life and one that is extraordinary.


When embracing your own ability and need to fail, think about how children learn. Take running, for example. We are not born with the ability to run, we learn it slowly. First we learn to roll over, then we learn to push ourselves up, then crawl, then stand, then walk, and finally run. Throughout this whole process, we fall down over and over again and over and over again we stand back up and we keep falling now and again throughout our whole lives. So let’s keep the perseverence and innocence of children in everything we do and be willing to put ourselves out there because that is how we learn, always.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

And Today the Sun Shines

So my post yesterday was a bit down.. I'm sorry to disappoint some readers.. but dieting... or Lifestyle change is hard sometimes! Motivation is the main and major hiccup in this whole process. NOT TO GIVE UP!! 

I went out last night looking for something fun but physical to do... and what did I stumble on a local pool( billiard) hall! hey thats it... ! it's fun, you are with other people, playing a fun game, and still somewhat physical. So off to the pool hall I went. I ordered a Diet Coke! I haven't had a Diet Coke in a year! it was weird but way better then ordering a beer! I was there from 9 - 11pm sipped on my one coke the whole time, while playing several games of pool. It was tons of fun, good music in the background too! Now this is a fun way to go out on a Saturday night, and still feel like you are out partying! 

So after getting home, plugged in my bodybugg, and found I burned 500 calories while playing pool... ( standing for 2 hours, and constantly walking and circling around a pool table, you don't knowtice it, but it's physical exercise! ) 

So today on the scale... hmmmm .....down another 2 pounds.. 

that's better! 

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Big Frick'n deal!


I can't believe I"m starting to run out of stuff to write... wait a minute! ... I have been writing about my dieting for over a year now.. no wonder!! 

the battle of the bulge continues! 

down a pound this week... 

big frick'n deal! 

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Biggest Loser Finale shocking!


WOW! Talk about a huge wake up call for ALL middle aged overweight people struggling with their weight! It’s not too late! You can do it ! look at what happened tonight on the Biggest Loser show! The 3 oldest contestants all were huge winners!

The Biggest Loser – a 48 year old woman! Winning $250,000.00 Wow – she lost 140 pounds
The Biggest at home Loser – a 64 year old man!! Winning $100,000.00 – he lost 177 pounds

And the Biggest Loser of them all , did not take a prize at all….

Ron, a 54 year old man, with bad knees and a bad arm started at a whooping 430 pounds and lost over 200 pounds! Huge, huge health issues.. the sickest contestant in BL history.. and He didn’t win because of the ‘percentage’ factor.. but still I think he is the Biggest Loser! Way to go Ron!

And I do have to mention though the youngest contestant as well.. Mike, he is 18, Ron's son he also lost over 200 pounds! A huge statement for all those obese families out there. Coming from a family with also huge obesity problems, when your dad or mom sets such a great example of weight loss, of course you can only be proud of them, and try to follow in their footsteps! Ron and Mike, father and son, have set a huge positive example for 1000’s of overweight families in North America! Way to go guys!

So the big message here is...
So what you are 48, or 50 or 55 or even 64, you can change! You too can lose weight! Look at what they did!

Way to go guys! A huge inspiration for all us ‘Middle’ ager weight strugglers!

Friday, May 08, 2009

Bobs Boot Camp rating...


So after using and working out to Bob's Boot camp video I am sorry to report that I can only rate it a D-

I wore my bodybugg during my morning workouts with the video, and was shocked at the LOW amount of total calories you actually burn after the 1 hour work out. 

I tested it for 3 days, and each reading was the same... only 240 calories are burned in 1 hour! that is really, really bad, and low results. I used all the proper equipment, didn't slow down, keep up the pace, and still this low result. 

This morning I went on my treadmill, with my bodybugg on, and found that after a 1 hour walk at a moderate pace of 2.0 with no incline, burned 520 calories!! way better!! 

So Bob.. I'm sorry.. I'm sticking to my treadmill... and will use all my new workout equipment ( barbells, medicine ball, flex strap and inflatable training ball) on my own, and design my own calorie burning effecient workout. 

BODYBUGG: for those that do not have one... once again proven in this trial, that getting one if really , really important to see and learn about your own bodies burning powers. 

When people tell me they are on a diet, and work out, but still don't lose any weight after a week of going to gym every day, working hard ... then I 'd say, you are missing an essential tool to find out why you are not losing weight. 

for most people.. 1 hour of working out at the gym, non-stop, with lots of sweating ( sweating means you are burning!) will transmit to burning about 500 calories. So again almost all people burn about 500 an hour. 

Now, if you do nothing all day, just go to work, sit behind a computer, eat, go home, watch tv, sleep.. that equals about 1800 calories alone of burning. So add the 500.. you have burned with a 1 hour workout between 2300 - 2500 calories. That means if you want to lose 1 pound a week you need to eat NO MORE than 1300-1500 calories a day!! 1000 calories deficit per day for 7 days equals 1 pound of weight loss! 

So why most people don't lose weight, even though they think they are working hard at the gym 1 hour a day, is because they are eating TOO MANY CALORIES !

So heres a breakdown

Daily  activities= 2000 calories
1 hr. exercise = 500 calories
eating = 1500 calories
Total deficit= 1000 x 7 days = 1 pound of weight loss

I work out now 3 hours a day, 1 hour in the morning and 2 hours at night from 9-11pm
Burning 1500 calories

I consume about 2000 calories a day in food
I burn in total according to my bodybugg on average 3000 calories a day. 
there is the 1000 calories deficit. 

today's weight.. finally down... 231

** Also tip for the day.. buy a food scale!! as you can see from the picture above, you only can really measure how many calories you consume but first really weighing the food! like morning cereal... you'd be so surprised to know that you actually are probably eating way to big a portion according to the ' nutritional facts' that are on the box, that for example tell you that 34 grams equals 110 calories... like on the box of Guardian high fibre cereal that I eat in the morning.. also check out www.calorieking.com for the best extensive list of how many calories are in the food you may want to consume. 



 


Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Summer Boot Camp Begins!....


So this morning I started training with Bob Harper!! 

yup.. he was in my living-room this morning training me hard! 

NO.. sillies... I bought the video.. for those that thought otherwise... 

for the next 13 weeks.. it's exercising morning and evening!! a must in order to reach my goal of weighing less that 200 pounds by July 23. 

The workout is great! good cardio/weight training mix, Bob makes sure your heart rate is up the whole time! 

you will need hand weights, a medicine ball and a resistance band


I highly recommend it! 

Monday, May 04, 2009

Kirstie Alley's Weight Struggle

Kirstie Alley's Weight Struggle

Kirstie Alley's bikini reveal
Kirstie Alley first opened up onThe Oprah Show about her weight battle in November 2004, when she signed on to be the spokeswoman for Jenny Craig. At the time, Kirstie told Oprah a paparazzi photo had jolted her out of denial and made her face her weight problem for the first time. 

For the next two years, Kirstie followed the Jenny Craig plan and inspired people around the country to lose weight with her. Then, in 2006, Kirstie graced Oprah's stage with a new look, fulfilling a goal she'd set for herself one year earlier—to wear a bikini in public. Seventy-five pounds lighter than her starting weight, Kirstie donned a bikini for all to see. 
Oprah inspired Kirstie Alley to come clean.
It's been two and a half years since Kirstie bore her bikini bod on The Oprah Show. When Oprah came clean about her own falling off the wagon story, Kirstie sent her an e-mail saying she'd gone through the same struggle. "It's not easy to come forward and admit something like that," Oprah says. "But Kirstie's ready to talk."


After all these years, Kirstie says she can't believe she's still talking about her weight. "It's humiliating," she says. "The most painful thing for me is that I have all these people that I inspired and then I let them down." 

Kirstie says the weight started coming back when she stopped being the Jenny Craig spokeswoman. "When you're a spokesperson for a weight loss company … somebody weighs you every week. It's pressure but it's good pressure. I do better if I have some pressure on me," she says. "When I didn't have that anymore … I just said, 'I'm going to cut myself some slack.' Big mistake." 

A little slack turned into a lot, and Kirstie says after parting ways with the Jenny Craig company, she didn't weigh herself or work out for a year and a half

Kirstie Alley stopped smoking.
After gaining back the weight she'd lost, Kirstie says she's struggled emotionally as well. "I've hated myself," she says. "You beat yourself up, and I [asked myself], 'What am I doing?'" 

Though her first weight loss attempt wasn't entirely successful, Kirstie says one thing came out of it that's she's very proud of—she stopped smoking. "When I was on [your show] and fat, you said, 'You really have to stop smoking, because you can't be fat and smoke,'" Kirstie tells Oprah. "So I haven't smoked since. … I think that this should be celebrated." 


Kirstie Alley talks about the paparazzi.
One of the hardest things about gaining the weight back has been the negative attention from tabloids, she says. After a flight home from Paris, Kirstie says a paparazzi photographer was waiting for her. "First of all, I'd been on the plane and I looked hideous," she says. Kirstie tried to avoid the photographers, but she says they were all around. "This guy said to me, 'Fat ass, turn around so I can shoot you!'"

The experience was degrading, Kirstie says, but it still wasn't a turning point for her. 

Kirstie put the weight back on—plus an extra 10 pounds—over a year and a half, about the same amount of time it took her to lose the original 75 pounds, she says. "My whole life I battled with 15 to 20 pounds. I either weighed 125 or 145. ... To me, it was a big deal. That was sort of my life with weight loss," she says. "Then when I gained weight the last time—really gained weight and lost it—I honest to God thought: 'This is it. This will be the last time I ever do this again,'" she says.


Kirstie Alley's home gym
While Kirstie was losing weight, she worked out so much that she decided to turn her living room into her gym. "Then, I had all my equipment moved out about a year and a half ago, and I haven't worked out since," she says. "Big mistake." 

Kirstie's bringing her workout machines back into the house, but she says the decision wasn't easy. "Deciding whether you're really going to do it again or not, there's a lot of pressure," she says. 
hough Kirstie says she still hasn't gotten back on the exercise equipment, she has begun the weight loss journey. "For the last year and a half, I've been researching and developing my own weight loss line, and I've actually lost 20 pounds in the last five weeks doing that," she says. 

Watch Kirstie recreate her workout room Watch

Kirstie says she can't reveal anything just yet, but she's convinced she's cracked the weight loss code. "It's not going to be on the market until probably between November and January 1, probably November," she says. "I'm really hardheaded. The program I did last time [was] great; I have no complaints. It was so excellent for me, and they treated me excellently, but I want to do this my way." 
One of Kirstie's biggest regrets when it comes to her weight gain is letting down the people she motivated to lose weight, she says. "I really want to inspire again," she says. 

Kirstie found her own inspiration in Valerie Bertinelli, the current Jenny Craig spokeswoman. In about a year, Valerie lost almost 50 pounds and recently revealed her bikini body in a national commercial! 

Kirstie says she was the person who originally encouraged Valerie to join Jenny Craig. "I wanted to take someone else on the journey," she says. "And now the pupil's like A-plus. … She's surpassed me, but now she's inspired me." 
Though Kirstie says she knows she shouldn't compare her body with others, she can't always help it. "We're not blind; we look around. We see what we want," she says. "I'm like…I could have those arms. … I think I'm ready to work." 

With her new motivation, Kirstie says she's confident she can lose the weight again. "It's sort of nutty, but I think I can do it. And if I do it, then that really is an inspiration," she says. She isn't necessarily planning to get back into a bikini in public, but Kirstie says she did see a dress recently she'd love to wear. "I thought, 'Oh, I want to have that dress on.' But you know, my whole issue is my butt and my legs."


This time around, Kirstie's proposing a six-month timeline to get herself in shape. "By November, I have to look ripped," she says. 

Oprah says she's learned over the years that setting a specific time limit on weight loss can hurt the end result. "I want you to do in in your own time," Oprah tells Kirstie. "Do it in a way that's going to be good for you. I don't want you on national television setting yourself up for November. … I know what happens when you set that goal for yourself. Then you go home and eat for a month trying to make yourself feel better about what you just committed [to]."