Weekend Update - LOST first 10 POUNDS

Welcome to the weekend - This morning I weighed in at 224lbs.

I've lost my first 10 pounds since May 3rd when I started this blog!

Did the happy dance this morning!

This is the Long weekend in Canada- the Victoria Day (May 24) weekend! I am going up to Parry Sound this weekend to Chris's Mom and Step Dads. Another opportunity for food. I hear for dinner we are having a Mexican dish - I'll have to creatively dissect out the four, white starch if I can. If I can't I hear we are also having Caesar salad. Caesar salad is full of calories (it's the dressing)- but I can probably get away with having a small portion of salad for dinner if I can't dissect the Mexican dish. Breakfast tomorrow morning should be okay - they usually have eggs.

The biggest challenge will be all the snack food - they will have a great assortment of food such as cream cheese dip, crackers, chips etc... I'll have to keep my mental game in control and resist!

This last week I've had a lot of crazy thoughts about food. There was a staff lunch on Wednesday - I had a hamburger patty no bun and some fruit I brought to work. The salads they provided were the macaroni, potato, cold slaw salads in a bucket. I read the calories and fat on the side of the cold slaw bucket and was floored at how many calories where in 1/2 a cup. I really wanted the cold slaw too! But I resisted. It seems like every corner I turn someone is offering me food - high calorie food, or food with sugar, flour, white starch in it. It is everywhere! I'm still dreaming about food. I was dreaming about chocolate cake last night.

Yesterday a gentleman posted an encouraging message (thank you). One of his observations he had when was he was visiting the United States was he noticed people didn't walk much. Now this is Canada (and for all us Canadians out there we are very sensitive about being compared with the USA due to their not so positive aggressive world image, so don't be offended with the USA comparison) - but I have to say that the North American culture does rely on cars for everything. When I was living in Toronto right down town in the city, I found I was much more fit! I didn't take a subway to the Eaton's Centre - it was only a 20 minute walk, so I walked. I walked to get my groceries, to get to work downtown. I walked to socialize up and down Bloor or Yonge. I walked everywhere. Taking a car downtown Toronto is a pain in the butt, and to park it costs you at least $10.00 or more!

Now I'm in a community 120km North of where I lived in Toronto, living in a suburb. I keep hoping they will build a corner store in an empty lot not far from my house so I can go walk and get milk. I walked to Walmart-Zhers plaza a couple of times. It's a 45 minute walk from my house one way - not very walking friendly! We drive down to the lakefront here - and they have a 5km trail of paths along the lake downtown, and we enjoy walking there, but the point is we DRIVE to get there!

North America has built up the "box store" life style - where walking to anything is a chore, even dangerous for the pedestrian as sidewalks are disappearing and traffic is heavy.

I have to say, living down town Toronto made me healthier on a daily basis. It was my life style to walk. The only difficulty about living down town Toronto was the crowds, the expense, the noise, pollution (both car and electric/magnetic pollution), very little green space, living on top of each other etc... Though I LOVED living there when I did live there - I had an amazing social life, always something to do just around the corner, believe it or not - the people are friendly there - there is a sense of community in the down town neighbourhoods. People know their neighbours, get involved in the community, living so close to each other encourages a sense of knowing each other. I just could not afford to own a house or have any savings in Toronto!.

Anyhow I degress. My walking here goes down in the winter time too. They don't plough the sidewalks to the very last - and with my knees, I need a clean surface to walk on. The roads are ploughed well! Good for cars - not for walkers!

Well there is the blogg for today!

I hope you all have a GREAT long weekend!

Namaste
B.