About a month ago, I wrote about a new diet that had come out by a team of scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University called the ‘Breakfast Cure’ Diet where you can eat ANYTHING for breakfast, as long as you eat low-carbs for the rest of the day.

Well I did great for the first few weeks. I did drop 5 pounds, I was eating dark chocolate for part of my breakfast along with eggs and toast.  I found that would fill me for most of the day.  I would have to remind myself to eat lunch.  After having dinner I was full until morning.  I find this way of eating very easy for me, because I have been doing the Atkins diet for quite some time and really like it.  With this diet, I like that you can eat just about anything for breakfast and as long as you follow the low carb routine, you will lose the weight.  The only thing I didn’t do too much of was drink 8 cups of water or exercise as much as I should, so I did hit a plateau.

Here is a sample of what to eat on this diet:

Breakfast -

2 eggs scrambled with 2 oz. lean ham, 1/2 cup spinach and 2 slices wholegrain bread, 2 tsp. butter, 2 small apples, 4 chocolate kisses or 2 Oreos ( I eat dark 1 oz chocolate)

Lunch-

2 oz. lean turkey, 1 hard-boiled egg (sliced), 1/2 cup mushrooms, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 2 cups fresh spinach, 2 tbs. light dressing, 1 tsp. nuts, 1 cup of fruit.

Dinner-

2 oz. lean beef, 1/2 cup steamed broccoli with 1 tsp. olive oil and 2 tsp. Parmesan cheese, 2 cups salad, 1 tbs.  light dressing.

I realize that you have to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.  And as for exercise, for me I have do to it everyday.  Now that I am starting to do both those along with the the BCD. I am on my way to being fit and fitting nicely in my bathing suit!

About a month ago I said that I was going to start to train for a half marathon because when I reached the finish line in my first half they did not issue any medals.  Now it isn’t supposed to be about the medal, right?…well what a load of – okay it is ABSOLUTELY about the medal! Don’t get me wrong.  I am very proud of myself that I did finish my first half and how I trained for it.  But I really do want that medal and darn it I deserve it, right?

Well, I’m unhappy to say that so far this time around I haven’t done any training for my planned half marathon. None.  It seems that every time I go to train something happens like I get a cold or my back is sore or my neck is sore.  I have even used the excuse that I am too tired!!! What’s with that?  I have said that I want to do this, and I shall.  I have been going to the gym and pumping iron LOL.  What I do need to do is join a running group and train properly.

So you ladies out there as my witnesses.  I shall do a half marathon by the end of next year!! I shall keep you updated when I start my running course and probably all my aches and pains

After 3 weeks I thought it was time to update my weight loss challenge.  Well ladies, I haven’t moved  any of it yet! In fact, to be totally honest, I have gained weight.  I went to Mexico a month ago and stayed at an all inclusive hotel.  You know what that means, well for me it was 5 desserts after every meal, and a drink was always in my hand.  So, why was I surprised when I got on the scale and noticed that the scale went WAY up instead of just up a bit.  For the past 3 weeks I have lived in my lululemon pants, because no matter what size you are, they always look good .

Now that spring has sprung:

The weather is slowly changing.  It’s getting lighter longer, and the sun is starting to stay around a bit more (you may have heard it rains in Vancouver a lot).  I feel that the weather will soon be shorts, flip flops and dare I say it swimwear and I am not ready yet .  It is now time to get down and get serious.  I am going to start to do things differently. How? Well I am going to try again on my own for 4 weeks and see how it goes:

1. Start going to the YMCA gym 3 times a week.
2. Start back on the Atkins way of eating.
3. Start running 3 times a week with my running partners (the M&M’s).

Let us see how this all works out and in 4 weeks I shall check back with you and let you know if this works.  I would love to hear from you and get some other ideas that have worked for you to help me lose now, the last 20 pounds!

On Saturday, I went with my daughter, my parents, and brother-in-law to watch and cheer on my sister in her first triathlon.  It was held in South Delta, BC at the Ladner Leisure Centre.  Over the past few months I have been hearing a lot about how she was doing with her training.  She talked about her latest swimming time, cycling (which I mentioned in one of my previous blogs), and her running (which she doesn’t really like). It was so exciting hearing about how she was doing because I knew she has wanted to do a triathlon for a very long time and I know how hard she had trained for this event.

The night before the event my daughter stayed up late to make a huge sign for us to hold up while cheering on her aunt. The day had finally arrived! We got there in time to wish her luck and give her a huge hug and kiss. There were lots of people there to cheer on their loved one.  The atmosphere was incredible!   As we were waiting for her to start, we were all peering though the glass wall while she waited for her turn to get into the pool.  “There she is,” yelled my daughter.  Watching her swim, I had a tear in my eye – okay a few tears.  I could feel my heart fill up, I was so proud of her!  We were all so excited we could hardly contain ourselves.

We ran outside and around the building, waiting for her to finish the swimming part.  She ran outside into the cold.  The weather was not what the weather man had said it would be.  He had predicted sun but it was freezing!  Later she told me her body was so numb she couldn’t feel anything – which I guess was a good thing – because she had to run quite far to get to her bike.  Once she got there, on went her gear.

We were standing close by, yelling and cheering her on, waving our sign and our balloons. I think we were the noisiest ones there! Wow! The thought going through my mind was, “this is incredible!” I had never watched a triathlon before so this was very exciting for me.  We stood by cheering everyone on their bikes as they went by.

Then my sister went from biking to running. I ran with her for a block to see how she was doing.  She said she felt like she was going to die.  Nevertheless, she held her own, and as she crossed the finished line we were all there to cheer her across. I felt SO proud of her!   She did a fabulous job and was very happy with her time of 1:37:53 as she was hoping to do it in just under 2:00. She was beaming all day and had every right to.  Later that day I got an email from her saying that she wants to do it again.

“Who’s in?” she said.

“I am!” I said.

I will do the running part in her next event as I’m not a swimmer or biker.  I am so looking forward to it!

Photo by brimelow

My sister called and asked if I wanted to go biking with her and our mum.  Although I ride my stationary bike a lot at home, I was a bit reluctant to say “yes” for two reasons: one, my bike was buried in the garage somewhere, and secondly,I haven’t ridden a bike since before my first child was born and she is now 10! Yes, that’s right, I haven’t ridden my bike in over 10 years!!

I hesitated a bit…then looked outside at the beautiful sunny day.  “Why not?”  I thought, so I went to the garage to dig out my bike.  As I wiped down the inch of dust and blew away the cobwebs I noticed I had two flat tires.  My husband (bless him) pumped them up for me, put the bike in the back of the truck, and sent me on my way.

I arrived at my parent’s house ready to start our adventure.  Then realized I didn’t have a helmet and remembered my dog had chewed mine to bits a few years ago, along with the pedal on my bike. (If you have watched the movie “Marley and Me,” our dog was a lot like Marley.) I borrowed my dad’s helmet and a way we went.  As I started off I was a little wobbly at first. I felt like a kid again learning to ride her first two-wheeler.

My sister rode up beside me and giggled. “It’s like riding a bike! You never forget.” She was right.  Fairly soon it was as if I had never stopped.  As we were riding around the neighborhood, the wind and sun in my face, I thought to myself, “This is so much fun and a good workout to boot!”

When I got home, I told the kids what I had been up to.  My eldest couldn’t believe that her mum was on a bike.  It wasn’t until she saw the bike in the truck did she believe me.  Now all the kids want to go biking with me, and I think that is just so cool.  Making exercise fun is the secret!