Seeing Success

I'm beginning to learn about the crazy schedules of students. I have NO personal time. My personal time includes sleeping and going to the gym. That's about it. Working two jobs, school, field placement, the joke that I refer to as my social life. It's crazy how busy I have become lately. I remember someone saying at an orientation that you need to schedule your meals or you will never eat. That is real, my friends. I never anticipated the hustle and while I complain that I have a mere imitation of a social life... I have to also acknowledge how much I love being busy. I do not love being this busy all the time, but I definitely feel accomplished. I think being busy builds peoples' esteem.

I have some exciting news to announce and I just can't have a simple facebook status about. It would also be a very, very long facebook post. I am very aware of how much people hate those (because I hate them too.)

I have lost a lot of weight since about April 2011. It's hard to say exactly how much since then. I wasn't weighing myself regularly at that point in time. We've all been there; where we know we're overweight and we don't dare step on that scale out of fear of what it may tell us. It may confirm all of our worst fears. I have to say, I look back and think it's absolutely ridiculous that I lived in fear of my bathroom scale. It's important to know your weight to be in good health and to make realistic goals. My BMI also made me feel a lot more comfortable with how I was at that point in time. So be a courageous person today, weigh yourself. Make friends with your scale.

Thank you, pinterest, for this gem!

With that preface, I have somehow found the motivation to eat healthier and work out at the gym that's included in my school fees. Eating healthy has always been a challenge. I like food. It's something I have no problem admitting. I just changed what I was eating at first, and then the quatity. I eat a lot more vegetables, a lot more fish, a lot less carbohydrates and smaller portions.

Some of my favorite new habits include: 
- I love pasta. I think I was Italian in a past life. I love carbs, but unfortunately, carbs drive your insulin. If you want more information, click here. Of course, I'll acknowledge that this has been claimed to be a myth by many other sources. However, it is important to know how your body works and that carbs need to be limited, not necessarily eliminated. Elise introduced me to this squash that when it is cooked becomes stringy like spaghetti. It does not taste like pasta and the first time I tried it, I hated it. I have grown to love it though. I can eat a huge bowl of spaghetti with this squash and feel fine within the hour. Trust me, I indulge. Regularly.
- I also love popcorn. I worked at Cineplex for 3 years. I had to love it. I get the munchies when I sit down to a movie at the theater or even at home. Well, when I worked at Cineplex I read this lovely article and I haven't been able to eat much of it since. What do I have instead? Pomegranates. You get to munch away on them for a decent amount of time. These are a lot of work to get out and usually my kitchen looks like I murdered someone with the juice exploding everywhere. Here's a trick, open the pomegranate and pick out the seeds in a big bowl of water. The seeds sink to the bottom and the white part of the fruit float at the surface. It makes your kitchen a lot less like an episode of Dexter.
- Chicken and beef. Staples of the North American diet... I must say, I have seen a huge difference since I've started eating mainly fish. Seriously. It's so much lighter and better for you. There is so much goodness in fish. The other aspect of this is that I rarely eat meat anymore. Trust me, I'm surprising myself. I have meat only about 3-4 times a week and I don't find myself getting really hungry all the time. A lot of dieticians will tell you to fill up on vegetables because that's exactly what you should be eating. They're so good for you and your body will love you for it. They also taste amazing. There's so much you can do with vegetables.
- Sour cream... My mom always bought light sour cream. Now, we buy plain greek yogurt. Do not knock it until you try it. It tastes more or less the same and it has protein! So good for you! I heart greek yogurt. Vanilla flavour tastes like whipped cream - it's seriously delicious.
- Being a poor student, I can't afford to go out to eat all the time like I did when I was working full-time so, I pack a lunch. I pack a lunch that I can be excited about! Pack your favorites. I like nuts, granola bars, rice, veggies, quinoa. If you have access to a microwave, your options expand so much. Do not give into the accessibility and reasonably priced Tim Hortons. You save so much money too!
- Use smaller plates. Your eyes are bigger than your belly. It really helps to have a full, small plate rather then an empty, big plate.
- I take the stairs and walk everywhere. I refuse to pay 10$ every time I need to drive myself to school so I have a residential area that I will park in and walk a couple blocks to the school on a fairly regular basis. I also don't even know where the elevators are in my school; I plan to keep it that way.

These are just a few, small changes that I've made in the last few months that have really helped get me on track.

I mentioned that I have lost a lot of weight since April of 2011. I think that's when I was my biggest ever... Seeing that I wasn't weighing myself it's hard to say where I was at that point. Last year at around this time, I started going to the gym again for the first time in years... I weighed myself regularly around that time because I wanted to track my progress. The scale did not help me one bit at that point. It was discouraging, very discouraging.

I started losing weight working at the waterpark. When I came home, I started living with Elise and we eat really healthy with the help of the tricks mentioned above. I posted a photo to facebook in October and I got a lot of positive feedback. I wanted to give more information then I was able to share in a couple of comments.

At present, I have lost 22 pounds and 2 BMI points since February of last year (2012) when I was going to the gym 6 days a week. I haven't taken my measurements yet but that is definitely on the to do list. It's been a very, very rewarding experience. Everything in my wardrobe is fitting better. Pants that I used to have to squeeze into are getting loose and practically falling off. I may be in need of a new belt and new pants soon. I encourage everyone who had the new years resolution to be healthier to absolutely DO IT. It is so worth it. Don't give up!

Here are a few before and after pictures...

April 2011 - January 2013
People always say that you see weight loss in your face... Yeah, that is real.  

March 2011 - October 2012

May 2011 - January 2013

What will be my reward for my hard work? My family and I are going on a cruise in 2 weeks! If you have read about our trip back in 2011, you know that it's going to be a fabulous time. I am very excited. I feel like I never get to see my family anymore with my insane schedule.

Have questions, tips or success stories of your own?

I want to hear them! Post them in the comments.