A Full Day of Food Ideas

 I know it can be hard to come up with a variety of healthy, low calorie meal ideas that you like, are easy enough to prepare that you're willing to do it, and that fit into whatever meal plan you are following. My best advice is always to choose things you genuinely like and enjoy. If you're forcing yourself to eat food because it's "healthy", you're way more likely to eat junk later anyway. It's so much better to be satisfied by what you're eating, even if it's a small portion of a treat. There's nothing wrong with having the occasional treat anyway!

I also suggest coming up with a few different things you like and having a rotation. Especially when you aren't hungry, taking the time and energy to come up with something to eat can be difficult and can also lead to us picking something that's "easy" but maybe not the best choice like hitting a drive-thru.

There are a lot of different recipes in my Recipes tab, and I'll continue posting these full day plans so maybe they can give you some ideas!

Breakfast:

I've found myself craving a lot of fruit lately, which is interesting for me. While I like fruit, it certainly wasn't an everyday thing for me and often I'd buy it because it sounded good but it would end up going bad in my fridge. I have found yogurt to be a great choice for breakfast because it's grabbable, which means on a bad day I'm not floundering and more likely to grab a donut or something. 

I prefer vanilla Greek yogurt for the added protein, but I just can't stomach plain by itself. I often use plain Greek yogurt as a mayonnaise or sour cream swap so eating it for breakfast just doesn't work for me. For a garnish, I'll add shredded mint leaves or sugarfree caramel sauce, or just a little something to jazz it up a bit. Stats are for a single serving cup (100g) of vanilla Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup strawberries.

Breakfast Summary: 103 calories, 0g fat, 16.5g carbs, 9.5g protein.

Morning Snack:

These strawberry cinnamon muffins are nutritious, full of fibre, and a great choice when you are feeling like something sweet. Recipe is posted in the link! I'd suggest adding some slivered almonds for a little extra crunch and protein, but since I have a child with nut allergies who loves muffins, I ate mine on the side.

Snack was 1 muffin plus 1oz raw almonds.

Snack Summary: 293 calories, 17.5g fat, 28.5g carbs, 10.5g protein.

Lunch: 

Continuing in the vein of my previous discussion about generally finding salads boring, I've been going out of my way to find salads that are delicious and packed with flavour. The shrimp salad I posted this week was fantastic, and this one is so good I've already had it twice!

2 cups baby spinach 

8 heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 sweet bell pepper, diced

1 package Costco Fresh Additions fully cooked chicken breast or else 3oz cooked chicken breast

20 grams whole pecans, plain, toasted

1 oz goat cheese crumbles

2 tbsp dried cranberries, unsweetened

1 tbsp of your favourite dressing (I chose Kraft Calorie Wise Poppyseed)

It's easy to toast your own pecans in a dry pan if you have raw ones like I did- it only takes a few minutes until you can smell that rich, nutty smell! It's definitely worth taking the time.

Assemble your ingredients on a bed of baby spinach and drizzle with the dressing, and enjoy! Serves one generous portion or two smaller salads. I'd rather have a big one and pick at it all day!

Lunch Summary: 483 calories, 28.5g fat, 25g carbs, 35.5g protein.

Afternoon Snack:

I wasn't super hungry after eating that big salad, so I went for a small but protein packed snack. I just took two slices of prosciutto and cut them in half, and two cheese strings and cut them in half so they fit the width of the prosciutto. Tuck a fresh basil leaf around the cheese stick and wrap tightly with the prosciutto. If you like, drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar.

Fresh herbs can really boost the flavour of food; I would definitely recommend giving this a try! And again- it's quick and easy, portable, and can be made in advance.

Snack Summary: 153 calories, 8g fat, 0g carbs, 17g protein

Dinner:

I've always enjoyed breakfast for dinner, and when I don't feel like cooking it's pretty easy to rustle up as well. I toasted two slices of Weight Watchers whole wheat bread, pan fried two eggs over easy in a little cooking spray (but you could use 1 tsp butter if you prefer), and tucked a fat free cheese slice between each egg and the toast so it gets all melty. You could also add some sliced tomato or avocado if you like- just watch how many calories you're adding! I prefer to eat these open faced rather than make a sandwich- how do you like yours?

Dinner Summary: 310 calories, 12g fat, 26g carbs, 24g protein.

Dessert:

This white chocolate raspberry treat is a great end to your day, but it does take a little more prep! I'd do them in advance and let them chill in the fridge.

1 pkg Jello fat free/sugar free White Chocolate Pudding
2 cups skim milk
2 cups raspberries, crushed with a fork (reserve 4 whole)
4 tbsp light whipped cream 
4 tbsp protein powder (optional)

Mix together the pudding mix, milk, and protein powder until well blended and allow to sit for 3 minutes. I recommend chilling for a while- I like the flavour better that way. Take a clear glass and spoon 1/8 of the raspberry puree into the bottom of each glass. When pudding is prepared, spoon 1/2 cup of pudding into each glass, and top with 1/4 of the remaining raspberry puree. A squirt of whipped cream and a fresh raspberry on top gives this treat a really nice look. Makes four servings.

I'm not a big fan of protein powder, but this dessert hides the taste really well so if you're looking to boost protein this might be a place to add a little bit. 

Dessert Summary: 105 calories, 0.5g fat, 19g carbs, 5g protein.

Daily Total: 1447 calories, 66.5g of fat, 115g of carbohydrates, and 101.5g of protein.

Hope this helps! What did you eat yesterday?

Salad Thoughts

 I grew up in the 80s and 90s, when diet food basically meant a grilled chicken salad. Let me tell you; for the longest time when I moved out on my own, I wouldn't touch either grilled chicken or a salad because they had become synonymous with bland, flavorless, textureless sadness. Which is sad, because since then I've had several wonderful grilled chicken salads! But I can't be the only one who remembers those terrible fast food salads that were basically a bed of plain lettuce, maybe a tomato wedge and one slice of cucumber if you were lucky, and a piece of plain unseasoned grilled chicken chopped up?

Also, I admit that I love carbs. So most of the time, salad is way, way down on my list of food picks. That being said, when you put in the work to make a salad out of this world, it can become something that a tortilla or bun would only detract from!

This crisp, flavourful salad was the star of my day; I would definitely recommend doubling the recipe so that you have lunch the next day! It's a perfectly balanced mix of spicy shrimp, tangy lime, and cool garlic crema!

Mexican Shrimp Salad:

285g shrimp, peeled and deveined
170g shredded cabbage/carrot mix

1 fresh lime

1 sweet bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 Roma tomato, sliced into rounds

1/2 red onion, small diced

226g baby spinach

3 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

1 tbsp Mexican seasoning blend

3 tbsp sour cream

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 tsp olive oil

1 sprig fresh basil, chopped

Zest your lime, and reserve the zest in a large salad bowl. Juice the lime and reserve the juice. Discard remaining lime. To the bowl with the zest, add the Greek yogurt, fresh basil, and lime juice, and mix until well blended. Add your shredded cabbage and toss to combine. Set aside so the flavours can soak in.

In a small bowl, add the sour cream and the minced (or pressed) garlic. Season with a little black pepper and salt to taste, and set aside.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When pan is hot, add the olive oil. Drain your shrimp and pat them dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle them with Mexican seasoning blend, and cook them until they are pink and cooked through, 1-2 minutes per side.

Take out two salad bowls, and split the baby spinach between them. To each bowl, add the coleslaw mixture, then top with shrimp and garnish with the other fresh vegetables. Drizzle with the garlic sour cream.

This flavour-packed meal has only 244 calories, 7g of fat, 21g carbohydrates, and 25g protein, and you won't be hungry after eating it! It's definitely not like the sad, limp salads I remember from the 90s! 

Week 20 Weigh In!

I can't wait for spring to really come. It was so nice outside yesterday that I could finally do an outdoor walk, and this morning I wake up to snow. Blecch. Just a few more weeks hopefully!

So I was struggling this week with the exercise, but I did manage to keep going, and I'm proud of myself for that. I got myself some new exercise clothes that fit better as a reward! I like my exercise clothes to be tight so that bits and pieces aren't flopping all over the place when I'm working out, and now I'm down to a size 16 from a 22! I think it's finally time to stop wearing my original ones much as I hate to waste them, because it's just uncomfortable to have to keep hiking them up even though no one is seeing me in them. Which is probably a good idea because I've been buying whatever is cheap and my latest set is this horrible mustard yellow that looks like a BBQ threw up on me. But hey, they're comfy and supportive, and so far the cats haven't complained! (I work out in my living room with my exercise videos).

When I stepped on the scale this morning, I was happy to see that my yo-yo had corrected itself. Hopefully I'm back on track now, but as I've said many times, weight loss isn't linear and it's normal to have some fluctuation. If we keep making good health decisions, eventually they will catch up to us much as the way bad ones do!

Over 20 weeks on Ozempic, and I'm averaging a solid 1.75lbs per week, which is great! I'm very happy with how it's working. 

Also, this past week I've had a noticeable decrease in nausea, which is a definite plus. I hadn't had many side effects until I raised my dose, and then I had been feeling nauseous probably at least once a day. I didn't actually vomit, just felt uncomfortable. This week was nausea-free, so I guess my body is adjusting to the higher dose which is great! I don't think I will increase my dose yet. If it's still working at 0.38mg then for now I'm just fine. I'll increase when it feels like my body needs the increase.

Start Date: November 7, 2022  0.25mg

OZ Week 1 loss: 3.4lbs

OZ Week 2 loss: 2.2 lbs
OZ Week 3 gain: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 4 loss: 4.4lbs

OZ Week 5 loss: 1.4lbs

OZ Week 6 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 7: skipped weigh in  0.39mg (used "bonus bit" in the pen)

OZ Week 8 gain: 4.4lbs  back to 0.25mg (started exercising seriously)

OZ Week 9 loss: 6.6lbs

OZ Week 10 loss: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 11 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 12 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 13 loss: 2.6lbs

OZ Week 14 loss: 1.6lbs

OZ Week 15 loss: 0.4lbs (took booster dose halfway through the week, so 0.25mg + 0.33mg)

OZ Week 16 loss: 4lbs  raised dose to 0.38mg

OZ Week 17 loss: 0.6lbs

OZ Week 18 loss: 5.6lbs

OZ Week 19 gain: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 20 loss: 2.6lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 35.8lbs

Walking

 For the past couple of weeks, exercising has gotten really hard again. I think part of it may be that jinx of thirds that I've written about in the past, but part of it is that my chronic health issues are starting to flare up again, so I'm sleeping very poorly and very low energy. 

Everything feels hard. I try to explain it to people by saying that on a good day, we can just make coffee. You do it, it's automatic, and you don't think of it beyond "making coffee". On a bad day, you have to go to the kitchen, open the cupboard door, look for the right container with the coffee beans, grind the coffee, open the cupboard with the filter, place the filter in the coffeemaker, measure the right amount of coffee, add water... etc. And at every step is the opportunity to get bogged down so that you can't finish what you're doing. Sadly, I've been having a lot of those days lately.

But I haven't wanted to stop exercising, because I think if I stop then it will be twice as hard to get started again. It would be so easy to give up and say well I couldn't do it. I have been taking more rest days when I'm exhausted, but I'm not giving up; I'm still hitting that recommendation of 150 active minutes per week. That's only just over 20 minutes a day- it's doable!

So instead I've been lowering the length and intensity of my workouts. It's been pretty bad weather lately, so I haven't been able to walk outside for quite some time. But I still have my exercise class videos and I've just been choosing ones that are shorter and lower impact. In a future post, I'll share a week of exercise with you all so maybe some of you would like to follow along with me!

On the subject of walking, I found this great article in the Wall Street Journal recently that talked about the benefits of simply walking. Research has shown that simply walking only 11 minutes per day briskly can lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, and even some kinds of cancer! So even if you aren't up to doing anything intensive, you can still increase your fitness level, burn some calories, and get healthier! No matter how busy you are, you can find 11 minutes a day- you're worth it and you deserve to put yourself first for just a few minutes at least!

Warmer weather should be coming soon and I'm looking forward to getting back outside again, not to mention getting a boost of vitamin D. I'm proud of myself for not giving up. It would have been so easy to say that I just can't handle it right now, I'm too tired, and I'll go back to it. But I really can do it, if I make modifications. If something looks too big or hard, see if there is a way that you can change it to make it a little easier. Nothing says we have to be at our best all the time, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try our best!

Week 19 Weigh In!

Well, I'm disappointed because of course I am, but not particularly surprised. That was a LOT of weight that came off last week so a dead cat bounce feels pretty appropriate.

It's okay to be disappointed when things like this happen- but don't be disappointed in yourself. I didn't eat an additional 7000+ calories last week so it's not like I gained two pounds of fat. It's just my body adjusting, which is normal for it to do. Weight loss isn't linear. You can eat perfectly and exercise and maintain your calorie deficit and you're still going to have weeks where you gain, plateau weeks, and more. Weight gain can come from so many places that are outside of your control- it could be your cycle if you're a woman, water retention if you've been exercising or from sodium, lack of sleep which apparently plays quite a big role in our metabolisms, constipation... the list just goes on.

Just keep plugging away and doing what you're doing, and the weight will come back off. And remind yourself that losing slowly is HEALTHY! Losing weight too quickly is linked to issues such as hair loss, gallstones, and other uncomfortable issues along with the nasty side effect of slowing your metabolism which makes it harder to lose in the future and much more likely to regain. As long as you're losing 1-2lbs per week on average, you're doing great!

Start Date: November 7, 2022  0.25mg

OZ Week 1 loss: 3.4lbs

OZ Week 2 loss: 2.2 lbs
OZ Week 3 gain: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 4 loss: 4.4lbs

OZ Week 5 loss: 1.4lbs

OZ Week 6 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 7: skipped weigh in  0.39mg (used "bonus bit" in the pen)

OZ Week 8 gain: 4.4lbs  back to 0.25mg (started exercising seriously)

OZ Week 9 loss: 6.6lbs

OZ Week 10 loss: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 11 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 12 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 13 loss: 2.6lbs

OZ Week 14 loss: 1.6lbs

OZ Week 15 loss: 0.4lbs (took booster dose halfway through the week, so 0.25mg + 0.33mg)

OZ Week 16 loss: 4lbs  raised dose to 0.38mg

OZ Week 17 loss: 0.6lbs

OZ Week 18 loss: 5.6lbs

OZ Week 19 gain: 2.4lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 33.2lbs

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

 

Well, after thinking about it for a few days, I decided to sign up for HealthyWage, a website that pays you when you accomplish your weight loss goals. I did the research- it's been around for a while, so it's legit, and has a great rating on the BBB.

I still felt reluctant to sign up though, and I'm not completely sure why. It does feel a little sad that the money they are paying out is coming from people who do not actually accomplish their weight loss, but bookies will bet on anything, after all. I read that about a third of people who sign up reach their weight loss goals.

They caught my attention by offering a free to sign up $5000 Jackpot starting April 1, where you can sign up for free and as long as you lose 6% of your body weight by June 24, you share the prize pot with the other winners. No cost whatsoever. I was thinking, OK, I'd try that and see how it goes. So I created an account and downloaded the app, although I can't weigh in or do much of anything until the start date when you have to verify your weight.

That seems relatively straightforward- you can either have someone record a video of you weighing in, with a few caveats to reduce the risk of cheating, use their app, or you can have your doctor or a Weight Watchers meeting or a few different places verify your weight. You have to do that again at the end of the challenge, too. And if you succeed? They pay out with your choice of a cheque or Paypal.

As I said, my intention was only to sign up for the free challenge, but of course, you gotta love targeted advertising- they kept sending me various ads to try and get me to sign up for the challenge where you bet on yourself to lose weight. And they did manage to get my attention when they offered me a free six month subscription to the Jillian Michaels workout app.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know I started out doing Jillian's program back in 2010. I used to watch the Biggest Loser, and while I still don't love the idea of commodifying and humiliating people who are trying to get healthy, nor do I think weight loss that rapid is a good idea, I have to admit that she got and still gets results. I have been mixing her exercise videos in along with my Leslie Sansone Walk at Home, and Jillian's are definitely intense!

So, I did ultimately decide to make a weight loss bet. I will have 8 months to lose 30lbs, and if I win, they will pay me $1101.42! That's less than a pound a week, so I think if I continue with my current exercise regimen and eat at a calorie deficit, that I should have no problem reaching that goal. I wish I'd signed up 18 weeks ago since I'm already down more than 35lbs! That would have been a shoo-in!

Losing weight can be expensive... why not get yourself a little reward so you can splurge on new clothes? If you sign up through my HealthyWage link, you'll get an extra $40 cash on your payout when you achieve your weight loss goal! Also, it would be great to have regular check-ins with people who are doing the same thing!

So let's do this together!

Week 18 Weigh In!

 I've noticed some changes this week. 

I've still been getting more nausea than I had at .25mg, but it hasn't been to the point of throwing up. Just enough to be annoying. It's manageable, but I might finally have to go find that ginger gravol and see if it helps. I don't plan on increasing my dose though until the side effects are back under control. The last thing I want to do is to make myself sick to the point that I can't take this medication. Ozempic has been doing wonders for my A1C and so the last thing I want is not to be able to take it anymore.

Also, I've noticed that my hunger is back, but differently than it was before Ozempic. So yes, I'm still getting stomach rumblings when I'm hungry (why this blog was originally named!) but my hunger goes away very quickly once I start eating. My appetite really isn't any different than it was when I wasn't getting a specific hunger signal, and that's great. I wrote in a previous entry about how I was feeling afraid about being hungry again, in case I started overeating again and ruining all my progress. I am really hoping that this will help me learn that it is normal and healthy to be hungry, and that it doesn't have to mean that I won't be able to stop at a normal sized portion. 

As a matter of fact, I have been having trouble eating those normal sized portions. While I get hungry several times a day (like a normal person! Who would have thought lol?), I stop wanting to eat relatively quickly. While it's not that sense of the "hard stop" that I felt in my first few weeks on Ozempic, where I got that urgent thought that I really can't eat more (not that I was ever sick), it's become more of a thing where I notice that I've slowed down and started picking at my food but I'm not all that interested in it anymore. I've been trying to take note of that and stop when I hit that point. I'm starting to think that I may need to bulk up my snacks a bit more so that I can ensure I'm getting my calories in, because I haven't been interested in finishing my meals.

Not that I'm depriving myself of anything! I try to have one treat item most days because I do enjoy sugar and sweets, and I find it very satisfying to be able to have small portions of the things I love and still be losing weight. 

With all the exercise I've been doing though, I feel like I need to up my calories a bit. I wasn't expecting the weight to start coming off quite as quickly as it has, and since I started working out I am averaging higher than the recommended 2lbs per week. I know, I know- sounds like a good problem to have, right? But really, it's not a good thing to lose too quickly. Not only are you at more risk of issues like having your hair fall out, or getting gallstones, but you'll also slow your metabolism down which makes it harder to lose down the road and much more likely to yo-yo back. I'd rather take a little more time and put less stress on my body, and keep the weight off.

That being said, I am still proud of all the hard work I've done- the 27lbs I lost by myself before Ozempic, and every pound since. Ozempic is definitely helping, but I'm putting in the work to exercise, to make healthier choices, and to try and take better care of myself. I still might have a hard time seeing the difference in the mirror, but 60lbs is a lot of weight, and I'm glad to see it gone.

Start Date: November 7, 2022  0.25mg

OZ Week 1 loss: 3.4lbs

OZ Week 2 loss: 2.2 lbs
OZ Week 3 gain: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 4 loss: 4.4lbs

OZ Week 5 loss: 1.4lbs

OZ Week 6 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 7: skipped weigh in  0.39mg (used "bonus bit" in the pen)

OZ Week 8 gain: 4.4lbs  back to 0.25mg (started exercising seriously)

OZ Week 9 loss: 6.6lbs

OZ Week 10 loss: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 11 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 12 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 13 loss: 2.6lbs

OZ Week 14 loss: 1.6lbs

OZ Week 15 loss: 0.4lbs (took booster dose halfway through the week, so 0.25mg + 0.33mg)

OZ Week 16 loss: 4lbs  raised dose to 0.38mg

OZ Week 17 loss: 0.6lbs

OZ Week 18 loss: 5.6lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 35.6lbs

Dinner for the Whole Family!

 I've found over the years that one of the things that bothers me the most about losing weight is eating food that looks like or feels like diet food. Maybe it's silly, but unfortunately it's a real factor and something I have to deal with. It's one reason why I work so hard to come up with healthy substitutes for all my favourite high calorie foods- so I can feel like I'm indulging and still lose weight. Of course, there's nothing wrong with a small portion of the real thing once in a while either!

That being said, it's really nice when you can make a dinner that is delicious enough that your whole family will eat it and never realize that it's actually low calorie too! Just smile and accept the compliments :)

Blueberry-BBQ Chicken:

520g raw chicken thighs, boneless, skinless

720g yellow potatoes, cubed

113g baby spinach

56g goat cheese crumbles

1 tbsp dried cranberries

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds

4 tbsp reduced sugar blueberry jam

4 tbsp light bbq sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp BBQ seasoning

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Put the potatoes in a container with a lid, and add the olive oil and 1 tbsp of the BBQ seasoning. Shake until it's evenly distributed on the potatoes. Put them on an air bake tray or french fry crisper tray and roast in the oven until golden brown, approximately 22-25 minutes.

Heat a small pot over medium heat. When hot, add the blueberry jam, and stir until the jam starts to melt, 1-2 minutes. Add the BBQ sauce and stir often until the sauce is smooth and well blended. Keep warm over low heat but do not let the heat get high enough to scald the sauce or burn the bottom.

Heat a large oven safe frying pan over medium heat (if you don't have one, you can transfer to a baking dish afterwards). Spray with a little bit of cooking spray. Season the chicken with the remaining BBQ seasoning, then add to the hot pan. Sear until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side (chicken won't be cooked through yet).

Brush blueberry-BBQ sauce onto the chicken thighs, and then put the pan in the oven with the potatoes when there is about 10-12 minutes left on the oven timer.

Portion out the spinach salad onto four plates, dividing the goat cheese, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds evenly. Drizzle a little of your salad dressing of choice on top. When the oven timer goes off, plate the chicken and potatoes as well, with more blueberry-BBQ sauce for dipping.

Serves four, or else makes a great lunch the next day! Each portion has 425 calories, 12g fat, 52g carbs, and 29g protein! You could choose to make it low carb by swapping out the potatoes for a veggie, but they really are delicious with a little extra blueberry BBQ sauce drizzled on top. 

Week 17 Weigh In!

So there has been some interesting research lately on how sleep affects weight loss- I saw a new article posted just yesterday. 

As a person with multiple sleep disorders, I can attest that the days where I am more likely to make poor eating decisions are the days when I get the worst quality sleep. When I'm tired, I'm more hungry, which makes perfect sense- my body will surrender a little more alertness in exchange for consuming more calories. And of course, willpower is at an all time low. The frustrating part is that you also get the least enjoyment of these extra calories, too, because you're too exhausted to really get pleasure from what you're eating. 

My sleep disorders tend to wax and wane, and every once in a while I hit a really bad spot. The past week or so I've had environmental disturbances as well as my normal chronic conditions flaring, and my sleep quality has been pretty awful. As a result, my calories were averaging higher the past week and I was also choosing food with lower nutritional value. I still had a significant calorie deficit and exercised all seven days, so I'm not concerned about the number on the scale today. It could be anything from sodium retention to bathroom issues to that week of poor quality sleep- plus I posted a very high loss last week. I know I'm doing the right things, so I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, one day at a time.

17 weeks ago, I made a small change- I started Ozempic. 16 weeks ago, I went from almost completely sedentary to starting to walk around my neighborhood. 8 weeks ago, I made another small change- started adding cardio and strength training videos. These are small, sustainable changes that will affect the direction my life is going. In a year, I will be a different person from the one I would have been without making these changes.

We can radically change our own futures. I want to be healthier. I don't want to be obese and diabetic with high cholesterol and blood pressure. 

What small change can you make today that will radically change your future?

Start Date: November 7, 2022  0.25mg

OZ Week 1 loss: 3.4lbs

OZ Week 2 loss: 2.2 lbs
OZ Week 3 gain: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 4 loss: 4.4lbs

OZ Week 5 loss: 1.4lbs

OZ Week 6 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 7: skipped weigh in  0.39mg (used "bonus bit" in the pen)

OZ Week 8 gain: 4.4lbs  back to 0.25mg (started exercising seriously)

OZ Week 9 loss: 6.6lbs

OZ Week 10 loss: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 11 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 12 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 13 loss: 2.6lbs

OZ Week 14 loss: 1.6lbs

OZ Week 15 loss: 0.4lbs (took booster dose halfway through the week, so 0.25mg + 0.33mg)

OZ Week 16 loss: 4lbs  raised dose to 0.38mg

OZ Week 17 loss: 0.6lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 30lbs

Starting Exercise

 So let me start off with this thought... I hate exercise. I have always hated exercise. It's boring, I hate being sweaty, and it feels like a waste of time. Just so we're clear that I'm not one of those gym bunnies who is out there every day happily doing a routine because they feel good doing it. That is NOT me.

But, I also like the concept of not dying, and exercise can improve cardiac health and also has a positive effect on blood sugars, so exercise it is!

I was given an Apple watch back in November, and I've been using it as a kick to get more active. I also set my baseline activity in the Lose It app to sedentary, which I was at the time. But as I started to lose weight, my calorie budget went down, of course. Now I was taught that as a woman with 100+lbs to lose, which I was at the time, that I should be eating in the ballpark of 1500 calories per day. Lose It wasn't giving me 1500 anymore, so that meant I literally had to move if I wanted to eat! And even if I didn't much feel like eating because of the Ozempic, that's how much food my body needed otherwise I'd run the risk of damaging my metabolism even further.

So, I started adding a walk around the neighborhood, which was really nice in the fall. My counselor told me once that if I was having trouble getting started, to set my goal very, very small; that way when I saw how attainable it was, I could go for it. She suggested on days that I really didn't want to go anywhere, to just lace up my running shoes and walk to the stop sign at the end of my street. I live on a very short street, so that's about a two minute walk. Most days, I'd get there and feel silly to turn around and go home, so I'd keep going.

At first, I still wouldn't go very far. Some days really were just to that stop sign and back if I really wasn't up to much, but I started walking further until I had two regular walking loops; one that was about 20 minutes, and one that was about 45 minutes. I never set myself any particular speed goals; I'd just put on some music and go, or ask a friend if they wanted to go with me. Over time, though, I started to notice that my watch let me know that I was walking faster (it conveniently announces your speed after you complete each kilometre!).

Then, an online friend of mine also got an Apple Watch, and it has a fun feature of being able to see your friends' daily activity and workouts (if both people give permission of course!). We decided to start working out together- either doing a Facetime audio call and doing a video together, or else if schedules didn't permit, to at least do the same workout for that feeling of connectedness.

And do you know what? I still hate exercise, but I hate it a little less with someone to complain with and swear at the workout videos when a particularly challenging move comes up. I started putting real effort and commitment into exercising, and you can see from week 8 onwards how my weight loss has dramatically increased! It really does work. I can see the changes in my body from developing more muscle as well, and that's great.

I've also seen a big improvement in my stamina. When I first started working out only two months ago (beyond my walks around the neighborhood), I was struggling to keep up and finish a 25 minute video. Now, I can do an hour and while I'm still winded afterwards, that's amazing improvement! Keep in mind that I was the dictionary definition of sedentary; average day would be fewer than 4000 steps and I spent much of my time sitting or laying down. It's only taken two months of dedication and determination to see that I can improve my health if I put in the effort.

I will never be a gym bunny. I have no interest in striving for the perfect body, and every time I put on a workout video I can't help but think that I'd rather be doing something else. But when things matter, you make them a priority. I deserve to be my own priority. 

If you're brand new to exercise, start small. Don't go crazy and start with hour long workouts or heavy weights. Just lace up your shoes and walk to the stop sign at the end of your street... and when you're ready? Keep going.