What an insane couple of weeks!! But let’s be honest, one of the things that is keeping me energized and not super stressed is exercise!!  So as of Tuesday morning (and WHO weighs in right after Thanksgiving), I have lost 16 lbs.  I also took on a new challenge at work and leased a restaurant with Peter West… so one could say my life is a little busy these days.    The exercise is going well.  I switched the trainer to the mornings and while being at the gym at 7 AM is hard… I am getting used to it.  One could say I actually enjoy it.  The amazing thing is that if you workout at 7 AM, then by 9 AM you are at work and you don’t have to do it later.  Except for all those team sports I currently play in the evenings, but those are decreasing.   Anyway… that’s all for now.   I may be spending must more time posting to the cooking section because we have to figure out and finalize this menu!!

Holy cow!! Denver was a challenge but I feel like I did a pretty good job all things considering and i am down 11 lbs!!! Got to do some amazing hiking in Vail, went to a boot camp, and played two soccer games with my sister and soon to be sister-in-law!

Today it was back to the real world!! Back to work…. Back to the trainer….. Back to being in total control of what goes into my mouth!! But I am at the point now where being hungry is getting easier, drinking lots of water is becoming more natural and I have discovered that not all green tea tastes the same!! Who knew!! And on top of it all…. I have only given in twice and chugged a diet coke!!! For those of you who know me well….. I used to drink 3 a day and slowly over the last year have decreased it but giving it up totally, sounded next to impossible but it is not!

Lots going on in Ottawa these days! Lots of big changes in my life! New job! New challenges! New adventures!!

Today it begins, I weighed in. Then I went to the airport and boarded a plane for 9 days with my siblings! For those of you who know the Bowman’s, there isn’t normally a shortage of alcohol when we all get together. We drink wine and create fun! So what the hell was I thinking?!! Well, the trip was planned before I knew about the challenge!! However, I cannot think of a better way to begin then with this 9 day test of my willpower! Will I have a drink or two?? Yes. Will I stick to my meal plan??? I am going to try my best! Will I go to the gym with my sister and exercise every chance I get?? Yes. So I will be ok and just think, everyone will have a DD!!!

For my 32nd birthday, I got myself a personal trainer.  I could not do a push up, my squats were horrible and even though I regularly ran 7km, I knew I wanted more.  I wanted muscles and abs and I wanted to feel stronger.  I knew I could not do it on my own.   So I was introduced to Kris Trainer (that’s not his name but it’s what I call him)!  Slowly but surely I have gotten stronger.  I can do a man push up, something I cannot remember ever being able to do in my life.  I have been overweight since I was a kid and to be honest, it has never really bothered me.  I was an active kid, I was good at sports but I just liked food and cooking.

Anyway to get to the point, last week Kris Trainer asked me if I wanted to participate in a challenge at the gym.  My initial reaction was, “what the hell! I don’t have anything to lose… ” But really, I do have something to lose, at least 50lbs.   The challenge is pretty simple in theory.  Real life Biggest Loser but you never get to go to a ranch, you don’t get time off work to work out 3 times a day and you still have to participe in life.  I have spent the last few days thinking about it and all the things it means but I don’t have any excuses and I can only find good reasons why I should do this.

I mentioned it to some of my family the other day and said I wasn’t going to drink for 3 months (with two exceptions,  Meg’s bachelorette party and her wedding).  My uncle laughed at me, then he started to explain calories in and calories out.  I walked away.

So yesterday, I signed the paperwork.  I agreed to the terms and conditions (which were not written by a lawyer).  And now I wait until September 20th and I weigh in.   Then I have until December 14th to lose the biggest percentage of body fat that I can.  It would be amazing to win the challenge out of all the gyms in Ontario and that is what I am going for but I am doing it for myself.