The Spiralizer- You can't help achieving your healthy lifestyle goals when you have cool tools

It's been a while- you know- busy with work, school, kids, celebrating and living the healthy life!

June was filled with celebrations for birthdays, staff lunches, Father's days... you know, I counted 16 meals this month that were 'out of the norm' for me. I am very grateful for the love, the celebration and the social fun times this month brought. I reconnected with old friends and made healthy choices and 'celebratory choices'  living 'The Month of Celebration'. 

I visited the Wharton Clinic this past weekend and was pleased with my progress living my healthy lifestyle despite all my celebrations. I lost an additional 3.4 lbs and 2 inches. Yeah me!!! A total of 75lbs lost since the beginning of my journey, now that's a great milestone!

I credit the reason for my success being that I continued with my valiant effort at being a 'Workout Warrior' and making fresh food fun!  Check it out my new toy, the Spiralizer!

Thanks to my sister and her family for this wonderful new gift that I have wanted to try for months! I got a spiralizer and wanted to try and make fresh veggies fun for my family.

Check out my spiralized cucumbers! I got my daughter involved and she had so much fun...' I wanna do it, I wanna do it!" she yelled.

Here's what I made with those spiralized cucumbers:

Cucumber Cilantro Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cucumbers
• 1 red pepper
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 bunch cilantro

Dressing

• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• S&P to taste

Prep all your veg, mix your dressing and assemble! You can add your favourite veg or fruits... both my daughter and I immediately mentioned that mango would be awesome in this salad.

So after a delicious meal, a night of aquafitness and pool dancing with my daughter, I showed up to the office before 7am the following day and totally owned the day, the short new hair, the hippie blouse and the honest truth about living life in a balanced and healthy way.

Healthy Lifestyle Update- Power on with Protein Balls

I'm happy to share with you that I went to the Wharton Clinic over the weekend and was down 3lbs and 2 inches since last month! This is a total loss of 72 lbs since I started my journey/blog!

It's definitively progress.... but slower than I would like. My goal is to lose about  1.5lbs a week... so I ran through the past month to see what some of the issues that may have slowed my progress down a bit:

• Stress (makes you hold on to fat for some reason)
• Less sweat inducing exercise this month. For various reasons, I missed about half of my 1 hour zumba/aerobics classes this month.
• Eating close to 1700 calories, rather than the 1600 calorie range I like to stick to
• Eating more simple carbs and less protein than I would like

Thanks to myfitnesspal.com,, I was able to analyze that the quality of my food choices, on a nutrient, clean eating scale value, was not where I wanted to be. The amazing BR I met with at the clinic suggested ensuring that I meet my protein goals at every meal and snack to help me achieve my weight loss goals and suggested making these Protein Balls for quick energy snacking after working out.

Here's the breakdown she suggested:

• 10-15g protein for breakfast
• minimum of 20g of protein with lunch and dinner
• always have protein with every snack

So, I went on a search for a good recipe for these illusive protein balls and found this really easy to make recipe.

The recipe suggests that it makes 20-24 balls, but I ended making 28 smaller balls, at about 70 calories and 4g of protein per ball.


Protein Energy Balls 
(adapted from http://www.thehealthymaven.com/2015/08/no-bake-oatmeal-protein-energy-balls.html)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup vanilla whey protein powder (about 2 scoops)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter (or any nut butter)*
• 3 T natural honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup raisins, chocolate chips, craisins or preferred add-in
• 2-4 T liquid (almond milk, milk, water etc...)

Instructions

Add oats, protein powder, cinnamon and chia seeds to a large bowl.

Add in peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.

Add in raisins (or preferred add-in). Mixture should be slightly sticky but still crumbly.

Slowly add in liquid 1 tablespoon at a time and using hands (get dirty!) combine until it comes together in a sticky ball that holds together. If mixture is too dry, add in more liquid but not so much that it won't hold shape.

Roll into balls using hands.

Place in a container to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Store in fridge until ready to eat.

Healthy lifestyle update - in 'Egg'cellent condition

Oh, pardon the funny pun, but seeing as how we just celebrated Easter... I just had to!

I wanted to share with you some more exciting updates on my Healthy Lifestyle progress.

This picture really explains it all. Since my last visit, I have lost an additional 6.2 lbs, but the best news is that I have also lost 6 1/2 inches in total across my neck, chest, waist and hips! Hip, Hip Hooray!

With my healthy eating, and 4 days-a-week gym habit- 2 of those being 'muscle building' days, my body is shrinking faster than the 'scale' is admitting to. As I have explained before, I am building muscle and loosing fat at the same time- so my great piece of advice for you is don't be angry like the green egg- be happy and confident in the knowledge that there are different ways to measure your success. If you do muscle building workouts, eat well-balanced meals and take your measurements once a month you will see how awesome the difference will be every time.  The blue egg knows!

Success comes in many forms my friends- loose pants and tops, needing to wear that belt one notch tighter... just look in the mirror and be proud of your effort. When you work hard, the rewards come showering down from a variety of ways!

Muscle Talk

Today, I'm going to share with you what it is about this healthy living transformation and journey that intrigues me.

I recently had a visit with my Endocrinologist and even though, I stayed the same weight since I saw her 6 months ago. She was thrilled to see me and see my progress. She says that she loves when I come into her office because it gives her hope that with healthy living, diet and exercise you can beat this diabetes and all that jazz! (well, she didn't really say it like that).

I have been 'diabetes' medicine free for 6 months and after my blood work, she confirms that I still have good blood sugar levels, that my cholesterol are good and that I still remain 'drug free'. Yeah! I love to hear that. Then I shared with her my findings: when I do exercise the day before, the next day my blood sugar is great, if I don't do any exercise the day before, my blood sugar is 'high normal'. DO EXERCISE EVERYDAY! I say!

But I asked her to explain the science behind that... I freakin' love science!

She explains that our muscles use the sugar we have in our body/blood to survive, so when we exercise and do muscle building types of activities, our muscles use up all the sugar in our blood, therefore decreasing the sugar in our blood. Totally makes sense right!  Now here's another bit of awesome information, after you do muscle building exercise, you actually shred/tear your muscles, so you need to quickly (as in no later than 20 minutes after the fact) replenish the protein in your body to rebuild those muscles right back up. By taking this protein in liquid form (read: whey protein shake) it will quickly get to your muscles who will continuously burn more fat as you are resting... this is awesome science eh! 

Bonus, I still take 1 pill a day for blood pressure, but she says if I continue down this healthy path, I will no longer need that pill. Key word : EXERCISE!

Healthy Living Transformation

So some of you are probably wondering...'Hey Chantal, how come you haven't posted any healthy lifestyle updates lately?' Well, you can lay your concerns to rest, 'cause here it is!
Since I started this reshaping of my life, if you will, I have been so eager and excited to share with you my monthly progress, however, over the past 9 months or so, it's been hard for me. I went through a lot of changes in my career and had to shift my focus away from my health to finding, getting, starting, learning and thriving in a whole new place with a whole new culture.
Funny enough, as I became comfortable in my new role, I also had the right frame of mind to drill down into what was important to me, my health, my family and refocus the energy back into healthy living.
I went back to the Wharton Clinic a month ago to face the facts. Yes, I had gained 17 lbs since my last check in January... but I went back to the clinic this past weekend and was down 2.2 lbs. So I am back on track. Having lost 70lbs to date, I have ABSOLUTELY seen the effects of what paying attention to yourself makes. Check out the photos that prove it!

I like to do this... when I need to be reminded of where I started from and the progress I have achieved, I make a collage. Where I started, large, unhappy, unhealthy... and now- blond, healthy, focus and in charge of my life.

I know what I need to do: record everything I eat in myfitnesspal.com, exercise- and I mean, 2 really good 'sweats' at least 3-4 times per week, drink, drink, drink, drink water. Make fruits and veggies at least half of the total food I eat a day, and I know it will be so rewarding. More than words can ever express. And the best part of this whole thing is that now my husband and daughter are totally into this with me. Absolute family commitment!

Healthy Lifestyle Share-out

Well, I am so grateful for the angels in my life! I have my beautiful daughter, with whom I have been going to the gym 6 days a week with- with whom we have lost 6 lbs for me and 9 lbs for her. We have gained muscles and filled with achy body parts we didn't know existed- a good ache! I have my wonderful husband who is our house manager- I write the healthy food lists, he finds the sales, shops and puts it all away, he supports us like no other love could. I have my wonderful coach, Szos, supports my heart, builds my courage and makes me see it all so clearly as the dance of life becomes more and more intertwined. I have the support of the Wharton clinic and the experts who follow my progress, give me advice and share wonderful tips for healthy living and weight loss.  Today, I went to the clinic and had a 3.6 lbs weight loss- for a total of 86.9 lbs. There is so much support around me, personally, professionally and even in the media. I have heard them all speak and there advice just resonates with where I am now (Health experts like Dr. Oz and Jim Karas. I need to know what to eat, when to eat and how to exercise- I need to know the way the body reacts to these foods, when to eat protein, when to eat carbs, how much .... the Universe is so clever. I was driving to work this week and wondering how much we really should be working out and what to eat for breakfast... and I flipped right into an interview with lifestyle and exercise expert -Jim Karas- who basically was reading my mind and answered my questions WOW right?
Before I share with you what I heard, I thought I would share with you some photos. You know... to kinda show me and the Universe... yah, you've come a long way baby! Oh, yah, and move aside... I am a tiger and you're gonna hear me ROAR because I am going to triumph all over this healthy living amazingness!!!

Just starting... full of hope and smiles!

Few months ago... full of hope and smiles.... and 85 lbs less to carry around!

Ok, now back to some juicy bit of knowledge:

Here's what Jim Karas (www.jimkaras.com) was saying on CHUM FM a few days ago...

This is how you lose body fat.... it all has to do with your workout intensity.

It's not how often you go, it’s your Workout intensity. He works out 3 hours a week, splitting the time up, maybe 45 minutes 4 times a week or 30 minutes 6 times a week.
He says there are 2 extremes out there. Those who think  walking will help them love weight. He says he has never seen anyone walking themselves thin. Walking is active resting. It's good to walk, but it won't help you love weight. The other extreme out those that go crazy with triathlons and bootcamps,our bodies weren't designed to work so harshly

In general, he says, cardio, doesn’t help you to lose fat. It’s resistance and weight training that does. To lose fat do weight training, huf and puf rest , do next machine/weights,- he says spurts and bursts, rest and repeat. Change it up, trick your body and metabolism by changing up your routine so your body doesn’t get used to it.

A question was asked, if you exercise first thing in the morning, should you do it on an empty stomach. He believes no. Exercising on an empty stomach will not only burn fat, but muscle too. Eat about 100-150 calories of protein rich food- yogurt is great, and egg or a some good bread and peanut butter.Then have a full breakfast- eggs, turkey bacon etc, after your workout. The bigger the breakfast the better- fill it with protein.Eggs are great they fill you up and leave you satisfied all day

Here's a last little tidbit of information, he mentions that your diet should be filled every day with about half your food coming from fruits and vegetables.

Birthday surprise... you've come a long way baby!

Well a few weeks ago I celebrated a little birthday... Brent was at home in the basement, recovering from his foot surgery so I knew it would be a 'stay at home' celebration when I got home from work (which I was looking forward too!)... but my sneaky friends dropped off a birthday bag filled with wonderful surprises that I have only dreamed of!

When Melanie got home from school before I did, she found this lovely gift bag on our front door step and as soon as I got home, she said 'You have a surprise Mom', well this is what I had to extreme pleasure of opening up.

 MY DREAM IN A BAG... I have always dreamed of going to Paris, so my friends  gave me the loveliest books and guides and agenda and a big Eiffel Tower - all screaming PARIS... In preparation for my eventual trip, they know I will make it there someday... and I was so overwhelmed by their thoughtfulness, kindness absolute surprise that I cried like a little baby, reborn again today, on my birthday!

...but then I read the sweet card that accompanied the presents and I was struck by an even more deeply moving and touching message. It means the world to me to see the way in which my 'transformation' has touched them so that they felt compelled to drive all the way to my home and 'honour' me with these wonderous enchantment of gifts. Jenny, Szossy and Georgia B.  you guys are more awesome than words can say... and when I write my book.... watch for your names in the front, you know where the acknowledgements go!

You know, it has been quite a ride and emotional trip shedding all this weight, changing the way I eat, breath, exercise... and trying to bring my family along. Just recently I visited my endocrinologist and after looking at my blood work she took me off more diabetes and blood pressure medicine. I am practically 'medicine' free. I am thrilled to be taking a half dosage of blood pressure medicine and only 1 dose of a diabetes medicine who she said I could 'ween' myself off of as I see how my blood sugars are! AMAZING!

It's hard with Brent being unable to walk/work for most of this year so far, and recently having returned home after a 3 week stay at the hospital. Mine and Melanie's healthy eating and exercising was put to the side as we wanted to visit him everyday. But what this has showed me is that there can be some set backs in your weight loss efforts, but if you continue with general guidelines of eating/exercising (wheeling Brent around the hospital for 1 hour is exercise!) then good things do happen... less medicines, and a renewed strength to get back on track.

... and another side-effect from this change in our home...Melanie has 'showed up' like I couldn't imagine. Taking on more responsibility, helping out when she can. For my birthday, she walked to our neighbourhood bakery and picked up my favourite cupcake treat, touched my heart! Thanks Brent and Melanie for making me feel so loved. P.S. love the Spa gift certificate!

Healthy Lifestyle Update

Well, whatever I did... it worked!

I went for my visit #16 at the Wharton Medical Clinic and guess what??? I lost another 3 lbs, for a total of 97.2 lbs. Woohoo! That is so close to that huge milestone 100 that I can taste it! Getting really excited about crossing that threshold and celebrating with a pedicure and a latte (thanks Julie!!!!).

Now, seriously, this is what I did. I changed up my routine a bit. I started walking a couple times a week first thing in the morning on an empty stomach for a 30 minute power walk. Thought behind that is that this will wake up your metabolism and it will get your body using your stored fat cells as energy. An another thing I started was making some whey protein smoothies. I add the powder to milk and frozen fruit and put it in the magic bullet and voila... now being used to regular smoothies with yogurt/milk and berries, there is a bit of a taste... but it's still good and fills me up!

Ok, one last thing... I have started resistance training, working with bands to build my muscles, probably do this a couple times a week too. And in fact that is one of the first questions my doctor asked after seeing my big weight loss number... are you doing resistance training? yes, I am!!!

.... and folks after 20 months of Healthy Living... this is what it looks like! Same park, some person, but completely different person inside and out. Wearing clothes 4 sizes smaller, doing laps around the park to get her 10,000 steps, sweating and breathing hard... and loving it!

It's time for a Healthy Lifestyle Update

Update time!!! Ok, so this time, it won't be a whopping huge weight loss number, lost only .5 lb of fat... but that's because I have gained muscle, that's right, according to my friend Janice (who took the pretty picture on the bottom), muscle weighs 3 times as much as fat. So far, I have lost 94.6 lbs of fat. That's pretty freakin' awesome. Check the 'during' and 'current' photo shots just to show off a little.

 

 During, having lost about 20 lbs   

 Now, having lost 94.6 lbs

So what amazes me is how awesome I feel now and how awesome I felt back then (December 2011), and how proud and excited I was to have embarked on this healthy living journey. It really is all about how you 'FEEL', I felt just as awesome as I feel looking at the picture of me now. But physically, my eyes can absolutely tell the difference, don't you agree! Sad to think that when I went for my Wharton Medical Clinic appointment I felt disappointed, deflated... really... that I had only lost  .5 lb. Well let me tell you, I decided to shake it off and decided to FEEL good by asking questions to my clinician about what I might do to make this process move along. Well she provided me with a wealth of information, that I will now share with you, so that I can get to my eventual goal of losing another 100lbs and I FEEL great about that challenge, because I have the drive, the energy and the passion to continue along my journey! Take that you half pound piece of .... fat. One of the big ones is to include more resistance training in my workouts to build more muscle.

Here's some helpful tips about weight loss plateaus provided to me by the Wharton Clinic taken from the advice of Dr. Natasha Turner, N.D.

• Mix up your workout. If you usually workout for 20 minutes, try 25-30 minutes and increase the intensity. Longer workouts are not always the answer, 150 minutes per week does seem to be the magic number that sparks weight loss.

• Try cardio first thing in the morning. Try doing 30 minutes of cardio on an empty stomach (no longer). This technique may make your body into kick-starting your metabolism.

• Pump some iron. Muscle is metabolically active tissue. Muscle mass determines the number of calories we burn daily while we rest. The more muscle we have, the more fat we can burn, even while resting.

• Make sure you are eating the right amounts at the right time. Don't skip meals, especially breakfast. Don't go too long without eating (Wharton clinic recommends eating every 2-3 hours). Eating the right foods frequently reassures your body that food is plentiful.

• Keep a food diary. ( I love using www.myfitnesspal.com, as you know)

• Drink lots of water. This is key! As fat cells begin to shrink, they release toxins that need to be removed from our system by our liver, kidneys and digestive tract. If we don't drink enough water to support these processes, the toxins may interact with our hormones and cause increased fat storage or inability to burn fat. Water can also make us feel full and regulate our appetite. We often think we are hungry but we may actually be thirsty. So this is what she recommends: (might not me the right formula for me though as I would have to drink 17 glasses)- multiply your body weight by 0.55, divide the result by 8 to determine the number of cups you need drink each day.

Ok, so I am going to start walking for 30 minutes in the morning on an empty stomach (4 days a week), double my water intake (well try!), and incorporate strength training by doing resistance bands 3 times a week. I will continue to do Zumba at least once a week and go for luxurious power walks on the weekend. Of course, continue to eat well and log my food on myfitnesspal.com. Sounds like an awesome plan, right! And who would have thought I would ever call power walks 'luxurious'?????

Healthy Lifestyle Update- Another 5.6 bite the dust!

That's right folks, this babe is inching her thinner, healthier, faster body ever so close to the big 100 lb mark. I went to the Wharton Clinic this weekend and got to catch up with my good friends and friendly support staff. I have lost 5.6 lbs since the last time for a magnificent total of 94.2 lbs - WOW, you know I can taste the big 100, it's just around the corner... I am so excited, I just might run to it!  Check out the photos I took just to share with you!

That's a picture of me sitting in the clinic office- CROSSING MY LEGS- wearing my kick-ass hiking shoes wearing my Nike hat too because I spent the morning power walking to a 70 minute walk around the 'hood where Mela takes her drama class. This visit was real special. While in the
'group' session I was asking a couple of ladies- who looked a little weary- how long they had been following the program - just a couple of weeks/months they said- so I felt compelled to share with them my success. I told them 'the program works if you work it- I have lost 94 lbs in 1 1/2 years and I track all my food and activity using myfitnesspal.com'. I felt like I gave them some hope, some evidence that this program really works. When I met with Dr. Wharton later he was so impressed and said ' You are the most successful client'... NICE! I can just see us touring the country with Dr. Oz! Everyone needs positive reinforcement that they are doing the right thing, that they are doing a good job, and when I hear from the founder of the clinic that I am the most successful, I just glow inside and out!

... I promptly got home and rearranged my pebbles. I'm not sure you've seen these, but when I started I labelled 2 bottles - Pounds to Lose and Pounds Lost Yeah!, I put all the pebbles in pounds to lose and as I shed the pounds I move the pebbles to the Pounds Lost bottle and scream Yeah! So I have 94 in that Pounds Lost bottle and I am so proud to see them almost even, and then eventually, there will be no more pebbles to transfer into the Pounds to Lost bottle, they will have all been lost! You know I will have to make a collage of those lost pounds in the form of a mosaic with podge .... or something crafty like that, what a proud moment that will be!

Healthy Lifestyle Update

Happy New You! Well that's what I feel like. A new me! I am pleased to share with you that I have lost another 8 lbs over the Holidays (I did have the Flu :-) !) for a grand total of 88.6 lbs. I feel FANTASTIC about this progress. I feel like I am shredding a new me! This year I am seriously going to sculpt out an even better me, mind, body and soul! This weight loss journey is not just physical folks. Thanks to the love and support of all that surround me, it has made me realize that the way I am on the inside is also now reflected on the outside in a much better and brighter way. A way that I am so proud of and continue to mold and shape into an ever-loving being... I feel propelled to transform the world around me into a beautiful joyous place..... so just wait until I lose another 50 lbs, birds will be sitting on my shoulders chirping away!

I wanted to share a crazy, scary moment I had this week- with pictures. I was looking through some old pictures and found this one of me- I couldn't believe it at all. I live in this body and don't look like myself all the time, but I know that's not me. I looked puffy and 'fake' happy.  Now, pan over the photo of me taken this Christmas... this is exactly how I feel. Vibrant, Sparkly and Alive!

 

OMG, right! Shock and pleasure all at once. I had a great visit at the Wharton Clinic yesterday. I got to meet with Dr. Wharton himself who was so pleased with my progress and asked me what I was doing to achieve such great results. I told him... "I have changed the way I live, this is a lifestyle change forever, there is never a going back for me. I try to eat 'clean', log all my food and activity on myfitnesspal.com, come and visit the clinic every 6 weeks or so and most of all, MOVE MY BODY. I love to walk and Zumba and feel 'bad' when I can't get to it- like when I was sick over the Holidays".  He said that I should right a book! I told him about this blog and that this is just like a book, with a new chapter every few days!

Did I also mention that I have stopped taking Blood Pressure, Cholesterol and Diabetes medicine about 1 month ago. And when the nurse at the clinic checked my BP yesterday it was 112 over 78. Fantastic! I am on my way to being drug free!!!

Healthy Lifestyle Progress Report

Hello to all my dearest friends, family and fans (LOL),

I thought I would share with you some awesome news about the changes that my healthy lifestyle (can't call it new now, it's been over a year) have brought about into my life.

A few days ago I went to visit my endochronologist (my diabetes doctor) and she was so happy to see me! When does a doctor ever tell you that? She asked how I was doing, and I shared with her that I had now lost over 80 lbs (which she verified on her scale to now be over 85 lbs), and took my blood pressure, checked my bloodwork and was amazed and so my next question to her was, "Ok, what medicine can you take me off of now?". Well she decided to take me off the cholesterol medicine, one of the blood pressure medicines and cut in half the diabetes medicine. She was so pleased to see me and share good news, because her appointments usually are filled with increasing medicine for her patients. Well, I am glad I could make her day!

So here is my Progress Report:

• Since the beginning of this journey I have lost 85 lbs,
• Stopped taking 4 1/2 medicines to control my weight-related chronic illnesses (only one blood pressure medicine and 1 1/2 diabetes medicine left to conquer),
• Gone down 4 sizes and can now shop at 'regular' stores for nice tops- like Old Navy- see picture below....
• ...but one of the most amazing transformations in the picture below is that as I found out at my latest tea party with the St.Germains, I can now cross my legs..... CROSS MY LEGS, like a lady!!!!

 I am beaming with joy and excitement for the next steps on this lifelong journey, in fact, last night I asked my husband what he thinks about being married to a Victoria Secret model, like the ones on the TV commercial, because one day I will look like that... not as tall though I told him, and maybe no wings either... he thought that would be fine! On a great note too, my husband has started going to the same clinic for weight loss and he lost 12 lbs so far! Yeah!!!! So one day he is going to look like Tom Brady (his football hero) and I will look like his wife Gisele Bunchen, who I believe, was a Victoria Secret model! Life is freakin' AWESOME!

I have lost 80.6 of these things!

That's right friends! Time to share with you that I have lost 6.8 lbs since last check for a grang total of 80.6 lbs.  And some of you might wounder, what the heck is that????

Well, it's a representation of 1 pound of fat. It's a soft, lumpy, yellowy mass.

Here it is in my hand, pretty big, eh? And pretty big deal!!!! I used to carry around 80.6 of these on my body. Needless to say, I am feeling much lighter lately and can walk faster, clean harder, stand longer and kick some ass! Goodbye yellow lumpy fat, hello new workout wear!

Happy Halloween- here's my treat!

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably have seen this picture. But for those of you who haven't seen it... Here is my treat for you, and me, on Halloween. My treat is that I am wearing a belt. What a treat it is! I have not worn a belt for over 14 years I calculated. And last week, I had the pleasure of wearing a belt and a new tight fitting sweater.

Thanks to my friend Kim at work for taking this picture. When I shared the belt story with her and noted that I needed to put this up on Facebook she took my new little Galaxy 2 and took some photos. She even said to take off the top sweater because it made me look bigger. She took another photo without the sweater, showing off my smaller curves even more, but it turned out fuzzy.

Let me tell you, on this day, I felt like a 'super style hero', I was all in gray with my new black belt, belting my gray pants that are already too big and wearing the loveliest of 'argyle' sweaters. My mom had just returned from a vacation to the US and she had purchased this sweater for herself, but I was over at her home combing through her closets for clothes that no longer fit her- as she is slimming down herself- and we stumbled upon this new one and I thought it would be too big for her and it fit me perfectly. Thanks again Mom, you made me feel like a queen!  You know, deep down inside, I think we all want to be noticed for the right reasons: for being kind, loving, and looking good! So when people come up to me and say, 'You know where I really am noticing it now... in your shoulders', it makes my inner and outer self just beam with joy!  Sometimes when days are hard and nothing seems to go your way, it's nice to know people notice your efforts. That's all the warm and fuzzy things I have to say!

Big Mile Stone- Healthy Lifestyle Update

Hello to my dear fans... I have such wonderful news to share with you, It now has been over a year (Sep.19.11) since I started on this healthy lifestyle journey. I felt so proud to start this blog and share pictures of me and the food, the places, the people and the adventures.... Well I an ecstatic to report that all your support and encouragement has really propelled me into 'Super Stardom' status. As of tonight's visit to the Wharton Clinic, I have lost another 7.8 lbs for a total of 73.8 lbs. I have lost over 70 lbs folks and I feel fabulous!

What is so amazing to see along this journey is that I see the transformation in me- inside and out. At the beginning of this journey, I posted this photo. 

I felt so proud of myself having taken the first few steps on my new journey.... that was then....

... this is now...

... here I am posing with my niece and I see my face and I love what I see. I don't feel embarrassed or upset seeing my picture. In fact, I love to see pictures of me now, just to see the difference... see the progress and I am so proud. I am celebrating every moment of life and enjoying wearing bright red lipstick, just try and stop me from screaming  'look at me'. I am loud and proud and showing off... and it feels great!

Healthy Lifestyle Update- The great and the ok...

Let me start with the OK. Usually I update you with great news of my weightloss, but today, when I went to my clinic I only last .6 lbs. I was told that at one point this would happen, but still, I wasn't ready in my heart for this. I was disappointed and wasn't come home and share with you.... but I had time to calm my heart down, reframe, look at the big picture and now I am pleased to share with you my journey so far... I've come a long way baby!

Now the great! Since September 19, 2011 I have lost 66 lbs, my BMI has gone from 57 to 47, I have lost 6 inches around my waist, 1 inch around my neck and 10 inches around my hips- oh yeah folks, hips don't lie! Whenever people comment on my progress, it's always around my butt, my hips... and thanks to eating well and now working out... I mean really working out, my hips really do hurt- but a good hurt.

This is a lecture to myself.... the scale is just one way to measure my success on this journey. How about this awesome before picture - one summer ago, just before my friend Gaetane moved...

... and now, a few weeks ago with my friend Gaetane again.

I actually look forward to exercising... I would have never said this before in my entire life. I feel 'grumpy' if I don't go for my big walk. What started out as torture for 15 minutes 10 months ago is now a pleasure, an addiction. In fact, I have made a 'walking' play list that has super fast beats... how about some Def Leppard or some Michael Jackson and even Justin Bieber's 'All around the world' - it's just gotta have that fast, driving beat. I have increased my walking from 3 times a week for about 35 minutes to walking 5-6 times a week for 1 hour. Never thought that would have ever been possible back then. Here's something else that I thought would never have been impossible... running. Oh yeah baby... when I went to visit Gaetane for a long weekend, her husband, a triathlete, was talking to me about exercising and something he said just inspired me. So when I went for a walk early one morning up north, I jogged for 10 seconds- HUGE deal for me- and since then I have been increasing it a little bit everyday. I am probably up to 30 seconds now... realizing- I need to get some supportive undergarments pretty soon! I want to be a runner- Visualize- I see myself running with white runners, white tank and white yoga pants... I see it!

Oh, no- I'm not done.... last week for the first time in my life I did Zumba. It was incredible rush of music, power and energy. The instructor was awesome, the class was pumped and the best was that my friend Lily told me about this class, $5, pay as you go, and I brought Melanie and she had a great time too! We sweated like crazy, it was a full 60 minutes and we did the whole class. It was exhausting, but the kind you get from running a marathon I am sure... and I can't wait to go again this week-armed with a sweatband and towels!!! I would have never been able to do this last year, but now I have the stamina and energy to keep up with the class. AMAZING GRACE!

Ok, so bottom line, my folks at the Wharton Clinic and I came up with some new strategies. Since I have lost so much weight, I now need to eat less, so I now need to eat 1900 instead of 2100 calories a day. Make sure I log everything I eat, all the time. Spice up my workout my routine... your body gets used to the same exercise all the time, so I told them that I do laps in my pool and aquafit too and of course the new Zumba sweat lodge! Also, keep track of my BMI, my theory is that I am now building muscles and muscle weighs more than fat, so keeping track of my BMI will show me if I have gained more muscles.... Ok, now I feel better about it all, therapy session is OVER!

The Band-Aid

You’re probably asking, ‘Why do you have a picture of a Band-Aid Chantal?’. Well let me tell you, this picture symbolizes triumph, progress and a change for the better!

I recently had to do some blood work, and it has always been a hard task, you see, they can never find my veins- I have deep veins, plus they were always buried under 65.6 lbs of fat. Usually, they poke around on both arms, can’t find anything… I am made to feel like a human pin cushion and they give up looking and take blood from the back of my hand (ouch) with the baby butterfly needle. But this time was different. I was practicing “The Secret” – the law of attraction and “The Power”- Love and the “The Magic”- Gratitude. Can you tell I am a Rhonda Byrne fan???

 I was in the lineup at 6:30 in the morning writing in my gratitude journal- as I finished, I sent love to all the people in the lineup, to the nurses, to the process. I get called up and I give love to the blood drawing that has been in the past-that has taken so long- and then I give love to the nurse, to the process again. I sit down on the chair and notice that I fit nicely in the chair- yeah! And I notice her name tag- Minda, and I send love to Minda as she is poking around my arm looking for veins, and she pokes and says is the other arm like this too… I say yes, the veins are in there- and we both giggle… and she continues looking on the same arm and she finds one, she thinks, so I close my eyes and give her even more love as she sticks the needle in and BINGO! She found one, I have never been happier in the blood clinic in all of my life.

I had to share this picture because I was so proud that the Band-Aid was in my arm, that giving love and positive thoughts to a situation can change it around and be awesome… the proof is in the ‘Band-Aid’.

Healthy Lifestyle Update- Time to share the good news....

I am so happy to share with you today that I went to see my Endocrinologist and my Wharton clinic today and last week and the verdict is out.... I am succeeding extremely well at loosing weight and getting off medicines.  I have now lost 65.6 lbs and over 8.5 inches on my neck, hips and waist. WOOHOO!

Here's a little photo with my new favourite shirt- smaller, sexier, prouder me! And just so you can see... a before picture... just in case you want to see the difference. A picture of me about 3 years ago... so this wasn't even my biggest weight.

But can you see the difference, I mean really see the difference. The smile... NOW it's from the inside out. It's for real, it's honest, it's real, it's the fire inside me, the passion I have for following this journey to the end and when I get there... living it everyday of my life. Because, guess what? I am worth it!!!

It took some time and some coaching to figure it out (thanks Szos), but I had to prioritize what was most important in my life. Time to take care of my body and soul. That is why I have started to get up at 6:00am everyday and going for a power walk for a fast 35 minutes with my music, with nature, with God being so grateful that my butt is even out of bed and outside in my Nikes before many people get out of bed. And then... one of the best part is that I cool down and spend time writing in my gratitude journal and working through the second book by Rhonda Byrne - The Magic. In the past 2 weeks, I feel like my whole world has changed... I am so 'aware', so in love with all that this Universe has waiting for me... it brings tears of JOY to my eyes as I sit here and write this.

Sharing my success with you... another Healthy Lifestyle Update

I have great news to share! I have lost another 5 lbs folks! That's a total of 55 lbs ( or 54.2 to be exact... but I am gonna say 55 because I was wearing a heavy necklace when I weighed in)!
I feel awesome! I am delighted and so grateful that my hard work preparing food, blogging about it, taking pictures and working out is all paying off! The fire is still burning deep within me and it's never going to die. This is my new life and I am LOVING IT!

Talking about working out... remember when I showed you my new Nikes - black with the hot pink stripe- and how I mentioned that I would have to get the matching hat. Well this weekend my daughter dragged me to the mall- we walked around for almost 3 hours, but in that time, mama got some stuff for her too! I came into the mall and found the most gorgeous fuchsia purse- shinny and big and loud... just like me!  I had to buy it, it was on sale and I needed a new Spring bag!  Then we stumbled upon a store called Lids, and we found it... my Nike hat- black with a white swoosh! I have never paid so much for a hat.... but it was worth it!

Do you like how my purse matches my shoes and my shoes match my hat... oh the fashionista that I am!!!! So even after hours at the mall, I came home, put on my hat, my shoes and posed for the picture and went for a big long walk ( I did remove the purse though!). I think the hat gave me superpowers- I have never walked so fast!

Healthy Lifestyle Update- I'm going down!

That's right people! I'm going down. I just came back from another appointment at the Wharton Clinic and got weiged and measured. Well.... drum roll please............ I lost another 7.8 lbs since about 1 month ago. I have now lost a total of 49.2 lbs!

I am freaking out with excitment, I feel like running all night long with my new black and pink shoes... except, right now, I couldn't run past my driveway... but one day, with the help of knee and quad massages I will be a jogger.

I am trying not to focus on the number and just know that I am successful on my journey by the way my clothes feel... but c'mon, could it not have been 50 lbs? Here's my mountain.

See this mountain... see how there are 4 peaks? Well losing 50 lbs would mean climbing to the top of one of those 4 peaks. So that is exciting for sure, and I can't wait to start climbing those other 3 peaks. It's such an awesome visual!