Getting in the game...

My whole adult life I have avoided exercise. I hate exercise and it hates me too. I have been the type of person to watch from the sidelines secretly wishing I could get in the game. Too bad I knew I couldn't actually do it- physically. I have never been to a gym. Good lord, even the word gym scared the ever livin' crap out of me! Imagine my shock when Chris suggests that we stop in to our local gym to inquire.

Inquire? As if. I don't need to inquire to know what goes on in there. A busload of meat heads and their body builder girlfriends are inviting each other to come see the "gun show". Not only do I not belong in a place like that, I know people would stare at my jiggly bits. Frankly I am just one large jiggly bit. I know I am on the right track and I have lost weight, but not enough to go into a gym! Here's the conversation between Chris and I:

CHRIS: Hey, since we're in the neighbourhood, why don't we go inquire at the gym?

ME: Inquire? Inquire about what? I already know what happens in a gym, and I'm not going.

CHRIS: I mean about prices and services.

ME: You can go, I'll wait in the car. I am NOT signing up for a gym.

AUSTIN: I wanna go too, maybe kids can work out there.

ME: Kids aren't allowed in gyms.

CHRIS: Come on... just come with me.

ME: No... I'm good. I'm not going.

CHRIS: You'd be better if you went to a gym.

ME What!!!???? What does that mean.

CHRIS: Nothing... Just come with me...

ME: Fine but I'm not signing up, END OF STORY!!!

So in we go to the gym. Me going into a gym is like the devil walking into a church. I practically brace myself and close my eyes tight, I know at any moment I'm going to be struck by lightning. I wait a minute or two then after realizing I am ok, I look around. Yup, it's a gym alright. Workout music is blasting people are working out upstairs and a manager rushes at us, obviously smelling new prey. He asks how he can help us and of course Chris starts up this big chat with him. He offers us a tour. Great now we're gonna go look at the meat heads and the female bodybuilders I spoke of before... We tour the women's locker rooms. It's really luxurious and the change rooms and showers are really private. Perhaps no one will see my naked jiggly bits after all. I go continue through and find a eucalyptus steam room! Hmmm... so far so good. Then comes the pool, I like the idea of a pool, but I bet it costs extra to use it. I tour the women's gym, no men aloud in the section! This could be ok... No beefed up chicks in here, just regular women big and small.

I come back and meet up with the guys who just finished touring the men's locker room and the youth gym. This must mean that kids CAN workout her after all. I owe Austin an apology. He is soo excited and he tells me that when working out he can play video games!! Cool!

Next we go upstairs to the main coed gym. I nearly fall over when I look around and see REGULAR people, not a single meat head!!! Whoa, I never thought it would be possible!

In the end I am so excited about this place!! That I am the one begging to sign up.

We got a family membership for all 4 of us. Wait... you must be asking why we would get a membership for Ruari right? Well, daycare costs 175.00 for 1 child and since she would just be an add on fourth member, her membership is only $96.00 for the year, giving us unlimited daycare and uses of the pool for her! It turns out that they were running a 1/2 price sale on the cost of memberships so I pay $68/month for all of us for full use of EVERYTHING!!!

I have already been 3 times and we only signed up on Thursday night. We all went on Friday night and I went for 3 hours Friday night and 3 hours yesterday morning.

I don't feel like I am out of place there a bit and best of all when I was there yesterday I burned 340 calories PLUS whatever I burned doing laps in the pool for 40 minutes!!!

I FREAKING LOVE THE GYM!!!!

I AM NOW A WORKOUT JUNKIE!!!!

Gotta run, I'm heading to the gym... Again!

From frumpy to fabulous...

BEFORE <---------> AFTER

The first photo is one of me at my heaviest. this photo has NEVER EVER seen the light of day. In fact I deleted all of the photos taken in this time of my life. When deleting them I kept one but hid it way down in the depths of my photos. Not sure why I kept it, but I think I knew that one day I would need it. That time has come!

The second photo was take of me today. No comparison.... I am beginning to be one hot mama!

So tell me... Click the comment button below and let me know what you think of the difference?

Finally some photos..

Let me warn you... what you are about to see is not for the faint of heart. It's scary despite the 16 pounds of progress. That's right folks I am down 16 pounds in total and 4 pant sizes! Here is a bit of proof. You can cick them to make them bigger for the "full effect". I've wonr black, and I even dared to put on white. that way people can't say buck the black is deceiving because it's slimming. I also am modeling the no makeup, frumpy housewife/mom look. It's very "in style" at my house.





Here are the views looking down. In the one where I am wearing black it shows you have my jeans just kind of hang off my waist.



In this one I have actually showed you how much room is really there.



Well, that's it. I always said I would post the good the bad and the very very ugly...

This is this the part where I say: "I told you so..."

The scale is making me smile...

We are almost done filming the show! I know... time flies eh?

It's been 6 weeks since we started the show and 4 weeks since we got our meal plan/diet and fitness plan. The scale is getting a bit easier to deal with. Seeing the numbers keep going down makes me feel amazing!! I am now down a good chunk of weight! For the first time I actually WANT to take pictures of myself and post them on my blog. In fact I might just do that today. I started in a size 24 (yikes!!!) and now I am in a 20!!! I lost another 2 pounds which equals 16 pounds total. For me that is huge! I can actually pull my jeans down without undoing them (put that on a resume!) I have until Wednesday morning to loose as much as I can in time for the final taping. Regardless of the short amount of time left, I think I have done very very well!

Today I will be taking a photo of myself in my favorite jeans so you can see exactly how my weight is coming off. Watch for that update later.

So many things going on!

Ok so here's a recap of the week.

On Wednesday Kelly (the AP) came over with s whack of wardrobe options for me. We were looking for the perfect outfit for the final day of filming. You know the rotating pedestal scene? Something that actually shows that I have lost some pounds/inches! One store they had picked up some items form was Lululemon... All I can say is OMG!!! I had hear it was really pricey and they would not have anything to fit someone of my size. Well first of all they had clothes in my size (yay!) and second, even though I can't afford it, I love it! It is worth every penny spent. Too bad I'll never buy it for myself. Though I can enjoy wearing it for that day anyway! I can't rationalize spending $200+ on a workout outfit for myself when I have 2 kids who I could spend that on instead. I don't get final say on what I will be wearing but I trust this team to choose the best option. You'll have to tune in to find out.

It was a ton of fun just trying on all this different stuff. Something I have NEVER done before.

Then came the news that they set up a hair appointment for me for Tuesday, so my hair will be freshly cut/coloured/styled for Wednesday's taping. The salon and hair dresser were recommended by Alison Griffiths who is the host of a Canadian financial show. She always looks top notch so, while I normally don't like to go to new stylists, I feel much more comfortable knowing she comes recommended.

I plan on wearing contacts and actually putting on some makeup for the last day!

I haven't weighed in since last weekend, but this has been a particularly bad end to the week. I wound up "emotional eating" and it really may have hurt me. I am feeling bad because of the guilt but I know I can't do anything about it now. I'll weigh in either today or tomorrow and will post the results.

I am on my way!

As you see on the right hand info bar my 1st weight goal was to get from 252 to 240. Yesterday I did it!!! For reaching that first goal I was going to reward myself. I just wasn't sure how.

Still not enough weight has been lost for new clothes, and yummy junk food was not an option. So today while I was out with my family and my mom, she suggested a tattoo! I have always wanted one with my kids initials but I chicken out every time. Last year I had it all picked out and the appointment book and then I found out I was pregnant with my little baby girl. So again I backed out.

Today I did not!!!! I did it!!! I got inked! My very first tattoo and I love it. It hurt like hell but for me it represents the hard work that I have gone through to loose this first 12lbs. As you see it is a 4 leaf clover (a way of wishing myself luck in my weight loss/health journey and it has our initials, Coleen, Chris, Austin and Ruari a symbol that we're all doing it together!) vIt will always remind me of the show and the amazing people I have been fortunate to work with because of it. I can't thank them enough!

I still have a long way to go, but I am motivated and finally ready to do it for myself and my family rather than just because I don't like how I look. I know in my mind AND my heart that I need to do it for my health and for my kids future.

FREE JEANS!!!!

Okay well, I thought I had heard it all until I stumbled across a lady who will insure your jeans and in the event you loose weight she will send you money to buy new jeans!!!

So how it works basically is this: You go out and buy jeans, you then mail her the receipt and 30% of the price of the jeans to pay for your insurance. So let's say the jeans cost $100, you send the receipt and $30. When you loose weight and are in a new size she will send you the original price back to you. So with my example you buy the jeans and for get your original purchase price back. Meaning you pay $30 to get a new pair of jeans.

There may be a catch about you sending your old jeans to her as well. I think she plans to either donate them or start a jean swap thing.

Check out the site!!! http://loseandwinfreejeans.blogspot.com/

More details on how it works: http://loseandwinfreejeans.blogspot.com/2008/04/this-is-how-it-works.html

What do you think? Is it worth the trouble? Heck I'm not even sure they will deal with Canadians but I sent in my receipt and money... We'll see!

Skinny jeans on my chunky butt!!!

I have been wearing my everyday jeans for ages now they are size 22-24 with the 24's being the most comfortable. Well after loosing my first 10lbs I was feeling pretty confident about trying on my skinnier jeans. They are not exactly skinny, but they are a small 20 that I haven't been able to wear for over a year. I thought I would be able to cram myself into them, but I was wrong... I did not need to cram at all, they slid on perfectly!!!

I am thrilled and it is sooo motivating for me!!! I have 2 more pound to get to my first goal of reaching 240.

I still have a long way to go but I can see it's paying off!!!!

Weigh-in day and I am scared to death...

I am sitting here knowing I can't eat until I get on the scale and weigh-in. But I am almost afraid to do it. At this rate I might never get breakfast. it's been 3 weeks since starting this TV show and less than 2 weeks since the diet and excercise began. I have been working really hard but I don't feel any lighter. If I get on the scale and I've lost nothing or I've somehow gained it will break my spirit and motivation. If I get on and I have lost a few I'll be elated. The risk of that first option is just too great for me at the moment, so for now I will sit her and have a "staring contest" with the scale.

Eventually I'll get so hungry I have no choice but to get on. Afterall I have to do it before I eat...

It seems that today this metal box has all the power...

UPDATE:

I got on it... I started at 252, I am now at 242. That is only 2 lbs away from my first goal to get to 240. I am so close I can smell it!!!

I have lost 10lbs since I began less than 2 weeks ago!!!!

Woo hoo!!! It's working!

Somebody stop me! I am so close to eating chocolate

I am rationalizing it with the fact that it is an 100 calorie mini Aero. But the problem is not with the fact that I want to eat it, it's with the fact that I shouldn't even have it in the first place... Did I mention it's good for me? It has vitamin A... So I should eat it right?? No... whadaya mean no... I must have forgotten to tell you about the calcium and Iron it has.. So does that convince you? I know I shouldn't eat it and I'm trying really hard not to but it's screaming to be eaten.

I will not eat it.... I will not eat it.... I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....I will not eat it.... I will not eat it....

hmmmm... I STILL WANT TO EAT IT!

The Biggest Loosers freak me out...

First of all I must admit, watching shows like this used to just make me feel horrible about myself. Until we signed on to do our show and now I am hooked on this type of show. Last night was the premier of "The Biggest Looser" I nearly fell off my chair when I saw the final weigh ins for the end of week 1. Did I miss something? Was it REALLY just one week? How in the hell did these people loose that must fricken weight? It was a time relapsed week right? A week of TV time vs. 3 months of "real time". What gives? How could these people have possible lost between 9 and 27lbs. Seriously one Guy lost 27 lbs in one week. I'd have to lop off a body part to do that in one week. (Hmmm which one should I sever? Where's my hacksaw?)

I am not quite sure what to do with that? Does it mean I am failing miserably by loosing only 7lbs in 2 weeks??? Perhaps, All I know is my goal is to loose at least 10 lbs a month for 10 months. That'll get me down to 150 then I can see from there.

I read a story about a woman who's family was so supportive that they sponsored her weight loss. Basically one friend said "when you have lost 10lbs I'll take you for a pedicure", another friend said "great idea, when you've lost 20 I'll take you shopping for a new pair of jeans", and so on ans so forth to help her loose all her weight. Her friends/family were sponsoring her and giving her a HUGE amount of motivation to get the weight off!!!

Anyone wanna sponsor me???

Whew... We're wiped!

Yesterday we had another day fo filming. We filmed so many things it's hard to remember them all.

Let's see....

* us all learning the workout plan.
*learning the nutritional plan,
*making a healthy breakfast with 3 food groups,
*ordering a pizza that fits into our diet (on occassion),
*Chris and I having a heated discussion about whole wheat.
*Austin and I discussing his refusal to eat breakfast.
*Suzanne going through our fridge/cupboards and garbaging the junk and pop.

I can't really give too many details because then you wouldn't need to watch the show. Let me just say this:

THERE WILL BE SHOCK VALUE IN THE FINAL PRODUCT!!!!

You'll just have to believe me until it airs.

I had a point of near meltdown, when (on camera) Suzanne ad libbed that a box of granola bars was THE ONLY healthy thing in my whole kitchen. I yelled "CUT" Kelly the director looked at my like I was crazy and I told her if that was going to be in the final edit, I would throw them all out on the street and refuse to continue. We might not be the healthiest eaters but I have TONNES of healthy things in my house besides that. She apologized, and told me it was not scripted that she just said it for dramatic purposes and the associate producer made a note not to include that segment. She then rephrased it to say "This is a really healthy option!" After the meltdown was over, my son whispered to me that he thought "I was going all Shaniqua on them." They all heard him and cracked up, thus lightening the mood.


They arrived at 10:30am and were walking out the door at 8:30pm. TEN hours!!! When they left we literally flopped on the couch, exhausted and just vegged for a bit then headed to bed.

side note: My apologies to any reader named Shaniqua...

My before pictures

Just to give you all an idea of what I am working with:

I will probably regret this but, It only works if I am honest right?

Thanks for reading,

Coleen

XOXOXO

Hearty, healthy chili

This is what the Thompson family had for tonight's dinner:





Hearty Vegetarian Chili

1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped onions
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1 cup chopped sweet green pepper3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped carrots
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tblspn chili powder
1 1/2 cup quartered mushrooms (I don't add them... ewww)
1 cup cubed zucchini
2 can tomatoes (28 oz), undrained
1 can (19 oz) 3 bean mix
1 can (19 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (12 oz) kernel corn
1 can tomato paste
1 tblspn ground cumin
1 1/2 tspn dried oregano
1 1/2 tspn dried basil
1/2 tspn cayanne pepper (or to taste)


Spray a large saucepan with non-stick spray. Add onions, green and red peppers, celerey, carrots, garlic and chili powder. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until vegetables are softened (about 5-6 minutes)

Add mushrooms and zucchini. Cook and stir for 4 more minutes. Add tomatos, rinsed beans, rinsed chickpeas, corn, cumin, oregano, basil, tomatoe paste and cayane pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

You can also add cooked ground turkey,chicken or extra-lean ground beef (both drained of fat before adding) if you want a meat version. I personally add 1 pound of extra-lean ground beef.

Before and After (cupboards)

So part of this whole "lifestyle change" included ridding ourselves of all the BAD stuff. You know the proccessed foods etc.

Here's a peek at my cupboards before they were cleaned out.

Now they look like this:

Much better. More organized and full of healthier options!

Meal Plans

So today we got our meal plan from Suzanne our nutritionist. It looks like we can really handle it. We do haveto cut out the junk of course but for the most part me eat normal healthy things, following Canada's food guide. I will start posting some of the recipes we are using.

The Trainer kicked our butts...

Yesterday Steve, our fabulous personal trainer, came out to show us the workout routine he designed for us. It was designed in a way that we can do it in the local park. No need to go to a gym... yet. He encouraged us to just stick with this routine for at least 2 months before considering a gym. Though once we are ready he is going to come out and help us find a gym that will fit our needs. Did I mention that he owns a chain of upscale gyms? Well he does! We can't afford to go there though and there isn't one in my town.

Steve was the one who went through my cupboards at the beginning of all this. He was horrified by what he saw. We were consuming garbage. So last night he asked if we had made changes. Of course we have!!! He asked to look in the cupboards and fridge and was PROUD of what he saw. No more bad food, all good foods! He is happy that we are really doing it! So are we!

Let's get to it...

Our fitness plan consists of the following:

*Walking EVERY night for 1 hour as a family.

*The workout routine 3 times a week, every other day.

We need to do each item on this list until we can't do it anymore, then switch to the next one.

We walk to the park to workout which is about a 10 minute walk.

Start out with 3 stretches to get warmed up.

jog the length of the park, then walk back
long steps, then walk back
skipping, then walk back etc... each time changing the way we get to the end and walking back.

Reverse crab walking
stepping up and down the bleachers
push ups (using the park benches instead of the ground)
pull ups (using the monkey bars)
lunges
curls (bicycle style) in the grass.
The floppy fish (I can't even describe this one lol)
squats
We finish off with a game of soccer, Frisbee, basketball etc
Then we walk back home.

So, now I hurt, but it's a good hurt. You know the expression "no pain, no gain"? Next we get our customer designed meal plan from Suzanne, our nutritionist. She'll be here on Thursday evening. Honestly, we've just been winging it so far by reading labels and using common sense. I'll be thrilled to see what she's come up with for us!

****************************************************************************

Also, Remember the episode of Oprah from last year, where she had weight loss all-stars as her guests? Terrific people who had lost a large amount of weight? Well this lady name Lynn Bering was featured. She has lost 165 lbs!!!She read my blog and sent me a very encouraging email! I was thrilled to hear it. Plus she also posted my blog on her website! That's HUGE for me and such a compliment!

Here's her story from Oprah: http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/slideshow1_ss_slide_weight_tows/9
And her personal Blog: http://lynnsweigh.blogspot.com/

I hope I am a successful as Lynn! Congrats on keeping it off Lynn!

Thanks for reading!

Coleen
XOXOXOX

Brown Rice isn't so bad after all!

We are huge lovers of the white Minute Rice. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. So it was heartbreaking to learn that we can only have brown rice now. Today I cooked it for the first time and lo and behold we all liked it! Hooray!

Here's what we had for dinner tonight:


Last week I made hom-made salsa to eat with flatbread as a snack in the afternoon. We still had a bunch left, and Austin mentioned he thought it would be good with chicken. Thus the inspiration for our salsa chicken, with brown rice and broccoli. It was delicious!

Austin's pants are falling down...

Today Austin announced that his pants no longer fit!!!!! He asked for a belt. I thought he was nuts but he showed me that without undoing his jeans he can pull them right down. Obviously we haven't been watching what we eat for that long. About a week now, but the weight seems to be melting off him... Can't wait to get him on the scale and see how much he's lost.

I wish I felt as confident about how I'm doing. I know I am eating really well, and sticking to the no carbs after dinner rule, and the long walks after dinner, I just don't feel any lighter.

Just wanted to say thanks to all the "MM's" visiting the site. I know you are reading and following my story, so I wanted to say THANKS!!!! Your support is helping!

Walking and snacking...

At first when Steve (our trainer) said We have to go for a 1 hour walk, every night, as a family, I thought we'd never find time. The truth of the matter is that after dinner we watch shows that we don't even like, just because there's nothing on. So that is the time that we are using to walk. We usually have dinner between 5:30 and 6:00. Once the table is cleared and the dishes are done/dried/put away we head out for our walk. usually we are walking between 6:45- 7:45 giving us enough time to get our walk in and be home before 8:00. Last night we stopped at the corner store to see if we could find a carb free snack to have while we watched a movie. We search the store from top to bottom. Not one single carb free item. My point is that snacking has become obsolete in my house. Mostly because we can't find anything with no carbs.

If you have any ideas please let me know!!!!!!!