Ch-ch-ch-changes...

As I've mentioned a few times, Mr. McMuffintop goes away for 2 weeks at a time to work in another province on the other side of the country.  It isn't easy, but we work really hard at keeping in constant communication with each other to keep our marriage on solid ground.

But it has gotten old.  Really old.  When he comes home it's great.  It's almost like we get a bit of a honeymoon every two weeks, which is fun.  But when he's gone we miss each other like crazy.

On Friday he received a new job offer.  In the same province where he works.  An offer too good to resist (i.e., we could likely semi-retire in about 10 years - Mr. M is 39, I am 38).  But the job requires him to live there full time.  And since we already hate being apart from each other 2 weeks at a time, it means we are moving.  To the other side of the country.

*gulp*

I/We always knew it was a possibility.  We have talked about it continuously over the past year and have mentally prepared ourselves for this.  It is not permanent, so we plan to keep our existing home because we have put a lot of work into it and always envisioned it as being our retirement home.  Since it is on a beautiful lake it will be our "cottage" over the next few years and we will always come back every summer, Christmas and probably at least one other time during the year.

Here is a list of the pros and cons of moving I've been battling with over the past couple of days (although, we are indeed moving):

PROS

• Mr. M's high income allowing us to retire early.
• More/better job opportunities for me, as we currently live in a teeny-tiny town where there are very few opportunities.
• I can actually see myself fitting into the new community more than I do in my current community (there are a lot of older, retired people here).
• There are a lot of beautiful walking/running/biking trails in the new community, which fits in with my current efforts of getting fit and healthy.

CONS

• We will be far away from our families.  In particular, it bothers me a bit that we will be so far from our parents.  I already lost my father two years ago and my mumsy isn't getting any younger.  Note to self: teach mom how to use Skype sometime over the next few weeks.
• I am really afraid to give up my current doctors because they are amazing (general/family doc and my diabetes doc).  And if you are from a small town in northern-ish Canada, you will understand how difficult it is to find a doctor accepting new patients at all, let alone a GOOD one.
• The cost of living in our new community!! (Yes, double exclamation point on that one!)  Although we will be able to afford to keep our existing house AND to purchase a house there, my goodness the houses there are expensive.  EVERYTHING seems to be so, so expensive.
• We will have to give up on the public adoption process we had begun in our province.  We weren't very far along into it (because it such a loooong process), but it has already taken almost a year for us to get to the point we are at.  We will likely try private rather than public adoption in our new province in the hope that it will be somewhat quicker.

We are still waiting for details from the company Mr. McMuffintop will be working for so that we have a better idea of the timeline we are working with.  But from the little bit we do know, it sounds like we will be residents of our new province by July.

So. Much. To. Do. So. Little. Time.

p.s.  I am determined not to let the upcoming events derail me from my weight loss efforts.  I know busy times are ahead, but I will not let it be an excuse to not exercise or eat properly.

just another weigh-in wednesday

Actually, not really.  I've been sitting on exciting news all week, but I wanted to wait until official weigh-in day to share.

A couple of days after my disastrous weigh in last week, as much as I knew I shouldn't, I stepped on the scale two days later and I saw 166 lbs!  I guess my gain on weigh-in day had a lot to do with the Easter debacle and I was retaining some crazy amount of water. 

So today, on official weigh-in Wednesday, I am 164.6 lbs.

Not only did I break back into the 160s, but I have cruised half-way through!

Here is a small visual of my weight-loss progress so far:

 

I've noticed an almost-trend over the past 3 months.  My weight loss can be broken down into 4-week cycles:

• Week 1:  4-6 lb. loss.  Mr. McMuffintop leaves for work this week and I always go back to doing a week of Jillian Michaels' 7-Day Kickstart Your Metabolism meal plan.  Lots of veggies and lean protein are the base of this loss.
• Week 2:  1-2 lb. loss.  Mr. McMuffintop is still away for work and I am able to continue in my healthy-ways routine.
• Week 3:  1 lb. gain (except for January where I actually went on to lost another 4 lbs.).  Mr. McMuffintop comes home from work.  I continue to exercise and watch my food portions, but the food is not as clean and healthy and probably has more salt than I would use or isn't as lean.
• Week 4:  0-1 lb. gain.  Mr. McMuffintop is still home from work and I continue to exercise but also continue to eat a bit less healthy (especially if it's a holiday or special occasion... I'm looking at YOU, Easter!).

I should also mention that a couple of those gains in weeks 3 and 4 can be attributed to "that time of the month", so there's that too.

But overall I have still managed to lose 25 lbs. in 3 months at an average of 1.9 lbs. per week.  Yeah, I'm patting myself on the back a little bit.

I can now fit back into ALL of my old clothes that had been packed away for the past 6 years.  THAT is an incredible feeling.

Muffins by McMuffintop

I've been a busy, busy bee this morning.  This McMuffintop is trying to turn into a HEALTHY muffintop, therefore I have been in the kitchen baking various healthy breakfast muffins courtesy of the cookbook/meal planning guide that came with Jillian Michaels's Body Revolution.

I baked all 3 muffin recipes (at 12 muffins each = 3 dozen) to freeze so that I have something quick and easy to grab on those mornings that don't allow for much planning.

I wish I could give you a review of each muffin recipe right now, alas that would mean sitting here and eating THREE MUFFINS at 250 calories each.  Once upon a time, is was a very likely possibility that I would have done that, but since this muffintop is dedicated to getting healthy, I will let you know how they are once I've had a chance to sample each one over the next few mornings.

By the way, the 3 flavours are:
  - Banana Blueberry
  - Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
  - Pumpkin Cranberry

Now before you get all "whoa, Whoa, WHOA McMuffintop, are those REALLY healthy?"  The answer is yes, Yes, YES! 

I followed all recipes to the uppercase Tee.

 - The banana-blueberry and oatmeal chocolate chips are each full of healthy walnuts.
  - The chocolate chips used were 70% dark chocolate.
  - Olive oil was used as the... oil (duh).
  - Honey or pure maple syrup were used as the sweeteners.
  - One recipe includes plain yogurt, the other two coconut milk.

You get the idea.

Bee Tee Double-U, I never use canned pumpkin.  I make my own pumpkin puree in the fall from a REAL pumpkin and freeze it (in portions equivalent to a 15-oz can) for pumpkin goodness all year.

p.s. The pumpkin cranberry muffins are so pretty!

Friday Pondering

One thing I've always found curious about weight loss is when other people notice the loss and say, "Wow, you're looking great!"  I know, I say it too when I notice someone has lost weight.

When a person gains weight, no one ever says, "Wow, you're looking terrible..."  Well, not usually.  Someone did say that to me once.

It was a lady I worked with around 15 years ago.  She didn't say I looked "terrible", but it was strongly implied.  I think her actual words were, "Oh, you've gained some weight haven't you?" with a tsk-tsk look on her face.  I'm guessing it was a cultural thing (i.e., I don't think she realized that in North America, commenting on someone's weight to their face is generally bad etiquette).

I'm hearing a lot of the "wow-you're-looking-great"s lately.  Which feels... GREAT!  But I can't help but wonder what people were thinking as I gained the weight...

If at first you don't succeed...

My disastrous self-sabotage continued after my last post.  I feel like I must now refer to March 27 through April 2, 2013 as my Week of Shame.

Easter dinner at Mr. McMuffintop's parents' was another glorious gluttonous free for all.  Ham, potato, turnip, 4 types of pie... oh my!  So many starchy, carb-filled, tasty foods to choose from.  My portions were fairly small during dinner, but the pie.  Oh the pie!  I sampled two flavours at dinner and since Mr. McMuffintop brought home a big plate of leftovers including the other two flavours I HADN'T tried on Easter Sunday, on Monday I ate the other two kinds.

Yeah, I was a total mess.

I was so far over on my Weight Watchers points that I stopped tracking.  And since in my twisted mind I knew that my new week didn't start until Wednesday, I gave myself permission to continue my downward spiral on Tuesday.  My mom had given me a chocolate bunny that had been staring at me since Friday.  Yesterday I ate the whole thing.  Every. Last. Crumb.

I spent about 10 minutes last night feeling really terrible about myself.  Why is it when I fall off the weight-loss wagon I fall so damn hard? (answer: probably because I still have 170 lbs. of me fighting gravity... hahah...).  But instead of feeling bad, I shook it off and said to myself, "Self, only you control you.  So hop to it.  Get back on that wagon and make better choices starting NOW."

And that's what I'm doing.  I began this morning back on Jillian Michael's 7-Day Metabolism Kickstart.  This week will be full of lots of veggies and lean protein while I kick all the sugar out of my system again.

In terms of exercise, I really am amazed with myself on how hard I worked during the past 12 weeks.  I actually did all 12 weeks of Body Revolution without missing a single day.  For me, that is a HUGE accomplishment.  The old me would have probably given up by week 5 or 6. 

But now that I am finished the program I need to figure out a new exercise routine.  I could do Body Revolution over again, but I feel like I need to change it up.  I am really enjoying running outside, so much so that I bought a GPS/heart-rate watch last week to track my runs (the Garmin Forerunner 410 at Costco for $154.99 - great deal considering anything comparable at MEC was at least $300).  I have every intention on entering a charity run sometime this summer, but for now I have to wait to register for anything because I'm not sure yet which part of the country I will be in this summer (but that's another story for another day).

Today's weigh-in:  171.2.  Yeah, that's another 0.6 gain, however I thought it would be a lot worse after my Week of Shame.  So back on the wagon I get, and here's hoping that I see the 160s again by this time next week!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter weekend!

It has been a busy, busy, busy few days in the McMuffintop household.  We are knee deep in a bathroom renovation (it's looking so pretty!) which we are trying to get done by Monday, so I haven't had time for much else.

But I did have time to squeeze in my daily work outs, so I'll give myself a pat on the back for that!

Unfortunately, that is about the only good weight-loss-slash-making-myself-healthier related tidbit I have to report.  Meals this week have been a disaster, and I only have 5 Weight Watchers weekly points left until my new week starts on Wednesday.

On Thursday I tried out a lemon cupcake with raspberry icing recipe in preparation for my sister's anniversary party this summer.  And guess what happened?  I licked the bowls while making the cupcakes and just had to have one that evening after supper.  I logged 50 Weight Watchers points on Thursday.

I brought the remaining 11 cupcakes to my Mom's house on Good Friday so others could give their opinions on the flavour (with a couple of small tweaks it looks like it's a winner, by the way!).  We had a Good Friday fish fry, so not only did I eat another cupcake yesterday, I also ate pan-fried fish.  I calculated the day at 42 points.

Today has been better because the cupcakes are now out of the house and out of my reach.  I am ending the day at 29 points, and the only reason it's that high is because I battled a low blood sugar after my run today and had to drink 8 oz. of orange juice (3 points).

Tomorrow we have a family Easter dinner at Mr. McMuffintop's parents' house to get through.  I think I'll probably be dipping into my Activity Points, which I never do (I usually manage to keep myself at 26-28 points total per day).  I seriously can't wait for this week to be over!  And I seriously envy those who managed to not be tempted by treats this weekend.  It's not easy, give yourselves a huge pat on the back!

Oh, and if you haven't already noticed I am way late on my weigh-in report.  The scale was up 1 pound, and I am already dreading this week's weigh-in.  BUT, it will be a new week and I already have a master plan running through my brain to get back on track (i.e., following Jillian Michael's 7-Day Kickstart meal plan again)!

p.s. I only have 2 MORE BODY REVOLUTION WORK OUTS TO GO!  I am OVER THE MOON EXCITED if you can't already tell.

WI Wednesday

Weigh-In Wednesday: 169.6 lbs

Why hello 160s, nice to see you again!  Do pull up a chair and stay for a bit, but not too long.  I'm hoping to have a date with the 150s soon...

After the dinner I had last night, I thought for sure the scale would be up.  I solved my vegetable problem and made an assortment of roasted brussel sprouts, carrots, zucchini, and mushrooms to go with my 3 oz. of chicken breast.  I was so stuffed I could have sworn I'd just eaten a Big Mac and large fry.  Even when I woke up this morning my belly still felt a little heavy.  But hey, whaddya know.  A full belly of nutritious calories rather than gross, fat laden calories = a loss on the scale.  Now why didn't I think of that sooner?