The day has come for me to announce, that I am not the Biggest La-Ooser. I know the grief is hard to bear at this point, but I'm here to tell you that it's really O.K.
After twelve weeks I watched 14lbs and nearly 20 inches disappear off my body (where does it actually go? I've always wondered...) and I'm incredibly satisfied with my accomplishment. I MAY have rewarded myself with a handful or two (or three) of Hershey's chocolate chips, and a hot cocoa lavishly topped with miniature marshmallows. On that note: f you're going to indulge in chocolate for the first time in three months, please, invest in Lindor, Ferrero Rocher, or at the very least, Cadbury - something with a little substance. Hershey's semi-sweet baking chocolate is not worth the hundreds of calories easily consumed in sheer minutes, but what's done is done.
Nonetheless, I celebrated, I indulged, and other than experiencing a rather annoying (but to be expected - my body hates sugar) bout of hives following my sugar binge, I really have no raging desire to go back for more. Of course there's always allowances, and surely I'll enjoy my share of treats between now and New Years Eve, but I hope to keep the patterns that I've developed over the last three months and allow them to shape my future for eating and exercise. I've enjoyed pulling on my jeans without have to do jump squats, and I'm soaking up the invigorating feeling of energy that runs through my veins after an 8 kilometer run.
I'm also looking forward to blogging about topics totally unrelated to my own personal weightloss journey, and venturing into the many things I'm inspired to write about. Stay tuned, there's definitely more...
Volleyball, horseshoes, good food, and even better friends make summer days in the Comox Valley complete. There’s a group of us that have gathered every week for the last 2.5 years. These gatherings consist of bible study, fellowship, sharing life together, and more often than not – there’s food. Our group is always changing, new faces appear, old faces return, and many regularly attend these weekly gatherings. This particular summer night, 50+ young adults gathered at the volleyball courts downtown Courtenay for a potluck-bbq, and amongst the many faces, a new pair of faces made an impact that day.
We’ll call them Jill and Tom. The middle aged couple rolled by on the streets above the volley ball courts riding a pair of old rusty bikes. Piled high behind their backs were two heaping bags 2 or 3 times their size, full of cans, bottles and anything else that could be turned from trash to cash. The night was coming to an end and nearly everyone had filled up on their fair share of salads, desserts and barbeque; even still there was much to spare. Jill and Tom came down the hill to the courts looking to add to their accumulating stash of refundables. They were quickly greeted and offered the empty cans and bottles we had left over, and accepted them without hesitation. If can-collecting wasn’t enough to show their need, it was also their disheveled, worn out appearance and the utter exhaustion in their eyes that let us know they were not just poor, but they were starving. It wasn’t long before heaps of food were being plated and served and Jill and Tom were feasting like they hadn’t eaten in a decade. There was little discussion as the rest of us sat in awe, never having observed such sincere gratefulness for a meal, so much more than any of us had ever appreciated the food we eat everyday, so oblivious to how blessed we really are.
After eating, Tom and my husband played the longest round of horseshoes in the history of outdoor games, while Jill stayed and chatted with those of us that remained. It wasn’t until later when Tom joined in to the conversation that they shared with us their situation. Tom and Jill had never been poor. They’d been comfortably living in Eastern Canada for most of their lives. The recession had hit them hard. They’d lost their jobs and headed West to Vancouver to find work and get back on their feet, but work was nowhere to be found. Tom’s experience in house building and contract work was useless and Jill had no more luck than he did. Weeks turned into months, and collecting cans turned into a full-time, an over-time job – a method of survival, a means to live. The money was decent, in that it allowed them to live in mediocre comfort in a rundown tent trailer onsite a campground in downtown Courtenay. The hot dogs, salad and dessert that they ate that night beat the canned beans they’d been eating for the last month. We offered them the leftovers – they were eternally grateful, and in that moment we were humbled, thankful for what we had and incredibly honored to share it with them that summer evening.
Tom and Jill's situation is nothing new. If we opened our eyes and took a look around us we’d see Jill and Tom everywhere, and if they had any children, we’d see them too – starving, cold, and impoverished - and they’re not alone. This year Canada has seen an almost 10% increase in Food Bank users, bringing the national numbers up to 867,948. Poverty rates in British Columbia have fluctuated over the years, but are consistently among the highest in Canada, with BC seeing a shocking 94,359 food bank users in 2010.
It’s unfortunate but true, that Food Bank users are stigmatized, and whether we care to admit it or not, there’s a decent population of Canadians that assume that those who frequent the Food Bank must have gone wrong somewhere – drug addiction, welfare wasting, credit card spending, or just good old fashioned lazy living. Though I’m sure this accounts for some of the population, the stats tell us that your next door neighbor is as likely to be seen using the Food Bank as the guy living on the street.
Who is hungry in Canada? The working poor make up a large percentage of food bank users. Children account for 37.8 percent, along with families with children, often single parent households, being close behind. Rural communities, people with disabilities, seniors and recipients of income assistance also largely account for those who rely on the food bank to solve their hunger. It’s your everyday Canadian, it could even be you one day.
Our food banks are constantly fighting to fill their shelves and keep a supply of food that can meet the demand. It’s the generosity of our communities that support their endeavor to end hunger, and only you can meet this need. So please, give. Give your time, volunteer at your local food bank, they rely on people like you to serve on-site. Give your food. Non-perishable items can be donated at your local food bank and grocery stores. And lastly, give your money. Any amount, big or small, will go a long way to feed the mouths of the hungry in Canada, in your province, in your city, maybe even a neighbor on your block.
This December 6-10th, Campus Christian Ministries, a Student Club at North Island College is running a 5 day food drive for the Comox Valley Food Bank. Non-perishables can be donated in the entrance of the Tyee Hall between 11am – 1pm over this 5 day food drive, Monday thru Friday. Donations are accepted year round at our local food bank. Call 250-338-0615 for drop-off hours and location.
See the blog for North Islands Campus Christian Ministries for more information on donating at CCM's food drive.
Let me start off by saying, my son has a rather large head. I optimistically believe that it’s simply accommodating his exceptionally brilliant mind (which I don’t doubt it is), but in all actuality, it’s size is likely inherited from his dad. Sorry babe.
In early fall I bought my son the sweetest little multi-colored, kint toque with a single pom-pom. As I checked out through the till, I internally applauded myself for planning early for winter, rather than doing my usual mid-winter dash to the store to find a toque, only to not find a toque, cause it’s too late in the season. But alas, all good things come to an end. November rolled around, and the perfect little toque (without a chin strap, I might add) is conveniently popping off my sons too-large-skull - it’s not even going to make it to solstice.
And so the search for a toque begins. Halfway through November, and it’s not looking good. If you know me at all, you know I’ll look high and low for the perfect toque; that I’ve already mentally drawn up exactly what I want, and I won’t stop until I get it. Ideally, I already know I’d love to get the same toque he wore last year; a blue, two tasseled , fleece toque with a perfectly set chin strap, warm, neutral colored, and just.so.cute. But of course, that was last year, so surely I’ll have to search high and low for anything even resembling this toque.
Now – I should mention, I actually came across the toque he wore last year. During some boxing day deal browsing it turned up on a sale rack, and I foolishly opted to pass. Surely it was MUCH too far ahead to buy a toque (It’s never too early! What is my issue? I blame my Mennonite ancestry – living in an idealistic world that tells me it’ll be there forever, and cost even less.) But of course, later is always too late.
As we cruised up and down the main strip of shops today in a last attempt to find a toque (before I decide to order online or drive to a different city), we found The Toque. The same sweet, blue tasseled toque that I’d known and loved. But the bin it was sitting in was not a sale bin, and the price tag was not pink, orange, or yellow - or anything resembling a discount. The crumpled tag from last year read the same, over priced amount, but without the 40% discount. “NO!!!!”
I want the toque, I have to have the toque, but I’ve got a few more stores to check. I pop it on the counter and ask for it to be held for the day, re-assuring the lady that this is The Toque, and more than likely I’ll be back for it. Store, after store, after store, and not a toque to be found. My heart is really set on this blue toque anyhow.
As we make our way back to the store, I know that we’re not going to buy it. If history holds true, the toque will fit for about 2 months, we’ll be lucky to see it last through the season, and let’s be honest, anything you can buy from a classy boutique store is sorely overpriced and hardly worth what you pay. But I put up a fight, just to find out if my gut feeling is right, or if perhaps I’m just being too cheap. I begged, and I pleaded to my husband, “Pleease, can we have the toque? We NEED this toque!?” (Followed by 15 reasons why. Honestly, I should have been a lawyer.) At last, he cracked (he usually does, like I said, I missed my calling).
But I can’t do it, even with his approval, I can’t dish up the cash to pay for the toque, especially when I’ve got a perfectly fine toque at home that I recently found on consignment(did I forget this part?), only this toque had three tassels instead of two, was slightly shoddy, and as Jabin had previously pointed out – looked like something birthed out of the nineties, a decade we’d all like to forget. Oh, and it cost about a 10th of what this toque did.
Money doesn’t grow on trees, not for us at least. Times can be tight and we are very conscious of being wise with our spending. Unfortunately pride grows easily, and even without a tree, pride is rampant like wild yellow broom, ugly, smelly, and absolutely everywhere.
I go in waves of getting caught in the trap of consumerism – I have this awful, burning need to portray the perfect family; to have just the right clothes, home décor, and anything else that my culture tells me defines me. It costs a lot to follow these consumer-culture trends, and not just my out of pocket cash and racked up credit card. My time (spent looking for the perfect toque), my self-worth, and my ability to give and be generous is decreased by my frivolous spending on things I don’t even need. I’m tired of this mentality. It’s physically exhausting to be constantly fighting a battle I literally can’t afford to win, and in the meantime, I’m hoarding ever dollar I have for the sake of seeing how far I can stretch it to expand my ego even further.
On the way home we stopped at my favorite consignment store, and for a bit of change I found a charming little multi colored knitted toque, with a perfect fitting chin strap and a pom-pom on top. It’s slightly pilled and gently worn, but it’s really all we need. The other one I’ve got, well, it’s free to someone else.
Not exactly what you want to hear from a Walmart clothing department employee peering at you from afar as you button up a snug fitting cardigan 6 weeks into a weight loss competition. Caught completely off guard I kindly agreed that she was right, but explained how I was dire need of a few clothes for the fall and was anticipating fitting into it shortly...not that she really earned any explanation, but somehow I felt obligated to give one (for, say...my ego's sake?).
I sheepishly peeled off the shirt and neatly hung it back on the foam lined plastic hanger and slipped it back on the rack exchanging it for another size, hoping that would send her on her way after accomplishing her mission to puncture my pride (I'm sure she was trying to be helpful...). But instead she stayed for the next shirt, and the one after that, cooing and smiling at my son while stealthily (not so much) eying my selection of too-tight-shirts. Needless to say, after the worst sales pitch of the century, I left the store with eggs and apple juice feeling slightly fat...and doubting my previous decision to preemptively purchase a winter coat that I can barely zip up, in hopes that I'll be 10lbs lighter in a few weeks...we'll see about that.
11 lbs down, things have slowed down and doubt creeps in from time to time. As much as I truly hope to win this competition and take home the pot - these 12 weeks are largely about developing patterns to a healthier lifestyle. It's a constant battle of my flesh to resist satisfying cravings for what my body is used to - (mainly junk) and get the exercise my body is begging me for. Some days are easier than others, and other days it seems it'd be easier to give up.
Whether its the know-it-all sales lady or my own thoughts of discouragement, I find myself having to counter those doubts with positive thinking and the realization that I've made it to here, surely I can push it to the next level!! If you know me, or quite possibly if we've so little as crossed paths, you know that I'm stubborn and strong willed and don't give up without a good fight. Rest assured, all doubts aside, I don't plan to stop here. Bursting buttons is not on my list of to dos, and zipping up my winter coat without cutting the air supply to my lungs is high priority this winter .
Case closed.
And so if you know me, cheer for me. If you're competing against me, watch out for me, and if you're living with me...well, then you can eat the rest of the chocolate sitting on top of the fridge.
So a few weeks have passed, and perhaps you've been anxiously wondering if I dropped off the blogger world to escape the shame of my previous public announcement about my newest endeavor to become the next Biggest La-ooser, only to fall of the wagon and gain 15 lbs. I'd like to think that you'd even think about my last blog post, but more likely you've forgotten about me completely and could care less about what I'm doing, I'm okay with that too.
But in case you were itching to know and dying in wonder, I'm doing fabulously, and the two pounds I packed on in my first meager attempt to begin this weight loss journey is a mere distant memory. 2.3 weeks and 8lbs down, I must admit much credit goes to my friend the flu who decided to pop by and give me a jump start, but I've got a few other tricks up my sleeve...
Tip # 1 Give it two weeks...at least. Alright so I'm 2 weeks and 2 days in, and you may think my advice is slightly lacking credibility, but this is my second time through a major detox from junk and incorporating a healthier repertoire of food choices to my daily life, and each time around it took about 2 weeks to kick the bad habits.
Whatever you are doing - whether it's dieting (which can help to kickstart a healthy lifestyle, but is not a long term solution), or cutting out sugar, your body needs time to kick the intense cravings for the nasty addictions you've developed. My 2 biggest addictions: snacking on anything - crackers, spoonfulls of ice cream, chips...etc, and sugar, ANYTHING sugar.
Fact: Okay, disclaimer: I'm probably off on my stats, but, well...you'll get the idea: The average Canadian/American eats approximately 75 lbs of processed sugar a year. AAH! That's nearly half my body weight (stop crunching numbers, I'm not telling you what I weigh). The amount of sugar we should eat: 5lbs. Yuck.
Tip #2 Stop eating multigrain cheerios for breakfast, they're not good for you. Say whaaaaaat?? If this is your weightloss program, it's not going to work, and you've been suckered in by deceptive advertising and brilliant marketing tactics. I don't care that they eat them on The Biggest Loser (my husband just informed me of this), they've got to get there funding from somewhere. This along with most other commercially proposed weight-loss solutions are not answers to a healthier lifestyle. Multigrain means nothing (in this case), and empty carbohydrates are not getting you anywhere. They make a good snack or nibble between meals, but breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day, and cereal is simply not the way to start off right. My good friend and author of the helpful cashew offers amazing recipes and information on the purest forms of food that are most beneficial for your body. Try a hearty breakfast of steel cut oats with berries and agave syrup in place of your usual bowl of soggy cheerios.
Tip #3 Jillian Micheals is right on the money..."If you want results, they're not coming for free"..."you are capable of working out, and workout out hard" so..."if you're looking for a modified version of a jumping jack...look elsewhere". She may be small, but she's got serious feist, and she'll kick you in the pants and make you sweat, A LOT. If you can't drag your butt out for a run, or don't have time to hit the gym for 2 hours everyday, burning your extra calories by eating stalks of celery is not the way to go (which, as a sidenote, isn't gonna happen anyways when you soak them in ranch dip or smear them with cheez-whiz)
I don't want to share all my secrets...it's possible my fellow competitors are scoping my blog for ideas, and that could jeopardize my future in first place.
Blog number two, and the tables have certainly turned from last time. The sun has disappeared into the abiss, my son chucked his morning nap into the grey, blistering skies, and I've showered 3 times already. Mind you, my second shower wasn't your traditional type - it was the - went for a run and got caught in the rain - type shower, and as refreshing as it actually was, I wouldn't recommend it, but its highly probable that I will do it again, and again, and again, and likely a few more times after that.
It's not January 1st, and I'm not making resolutions, but I recently committed to get active and healthy starting September 1st. How is it going? Well, its now September 6th, and let's just say the scales are not leaning in my favor. In fact I've tipped them 2 lbs in 5 days. But I promise you, that will soon change.
I recently joined a competition against 29 other ladies to become "The Biggest La - Ooser". I put my 20 bucks in the pot, and I hope to take $600 out in 12 weeks from today. I've become way too comfortable in my skin - and especially that skin underneath my skin - you know, that cushy layer that keeps you warm over winter in the Arctic North? Yeah, that skin.
I've never been overly active or dedicated much time to sports and vigorous exercise. I enjoy walking and being outdoors, but I've always leaned toward focusing most of my energy and time towards creative outlets such as writing and music. Unfortunately playing guitar burns about as many calories as were in the 10 mini carrots I just ate, and blogging - well, it keeps my fingers trim enough to stop them from turning into sausages.
Diabetes runs in my family, and heart disease runs our nation. I'm shocked at how complacent I've become (and let's face it, most of us are...) towards health and wellness. I hope to post some of what I learn and suggestions to get on track with your health, and hopefully it will take some of the focus off yesterday's zucchini cake that I foolishly made knowing it would taunt me to succumb to its goodness, but I won't!
And so it begins, today is the day, and tomorrow will hopefully be even better than this one. I will run, jump, squat, plank, push, and burn as many calories as it takes to get this body into shape, and hopefully win some cashola to boot!
It's a good day for a first post. Baby's sleeping, sun is shining, and I haven't showered yet. Alright, so you're asking yourself - "aaaand, why does this mattter???" I do my best writing before I shower. That's it.
I have another blog. I don't remember what it's called, and I wouldn't recommend looking for it. It hasn't been updated in about 3 years. I'm sure it's got some tastey little anecdotes and inspiring words of wisdom, but I still wouldn't bother. And on that note, I make no promises that this blog won't also expire. There's a season for everything, to live, to die, to come, to go, to blog...to not.
You may be wondering how I was so clever as to come up with a name as crackerjack as segacious. It was the word of the day on Thesaurus.com, which I also just used to synonym search clever for crackerjack. You might think I'm a cheater, but I think its rather resourceful of me. Segacious seemed a very fitting title for me, a mama (as well as a wife, daughter and sister). I don't claim to know it all, or have vast amounts of wisdom on many subjects, but I seek to know, I love to learn, and I hope to better understand, and that my friend, is wisdom.
What do I hope to achieve in this blog? I'd like to say I've got a mission and a theme to keep focused, like a blog about mothering; about the highs, the lows, the pros, the cons, what to do and what NOT to do (like letting your baby eat silica gel, which I didn't exactly LET him do, but it may have fallen out of some new shoes, and perhaps was on the floor of his bedroom, and just might have ended up in his mouth, but thankgoodness for dads, right? BTW - he's fine. He somehow didn't manage to saw all the way through the paper packaging with his little razor teeth.
I hope to write about many things mommy, but also about life. We learn something new everyday (don't get excited - me + blogging is unlikely to be a daily occurence). Nevertheless, if we are taking in what is going on around us and listening to those more sagaciously in-tune than we are, everyday is an opportunity to expand our borders of knowledge and understanding.
Stay tuned, keep posted, and get sagacious - like me.
