I am so tired of my wardrobe lately. My closet needs a complete makeover. It has no identity. With a large section dedicated to running clothes and another for the clothes that don't fit anymore that leaves only a couple of dresses, 2 or 3 tops and a few sweaters. Sadly, I can't put much of it together and make it work. 

one of the few outfits I can pull out of my closet.

It's the bleak of winter so I don't feel like investing a whole lot and will make due with what I have got until the grass begins to appear. 














Until then, I have been having fun on Polyvore creating storyboards and pulling ideas together. Now if I can just find these pieces my wardrobe will be fresh for spring and summer. This may prove to be difficult to do locally, I may have to resort to a few favorite online shops. 

Cole Haan shoes are on order with Urban Shoe Myth. Can't wait.

I love lace.

This could very well be one of my favorite combos. 

Today was one of those days where I just didn't feel like working. I had been curled up on the sofa most of the lazy day, I needed to get up and go burn some calories. I managed to go 4 miles but it felt like torture while I was running it. I couldn't wait for it to be over. I have been trying to figure out why my last few runs have felt like such a chore. Maybe it is the weather. Our cold Canadian winters can play an awful mind game, making the most optimistic feel exhausted and sluggish.  Or it could be the week I spent lazing on the Cuban beaches followed by a week of cold and flu. No matter, I am determined to turn it around and get back at it. And the great thing is, now, all showered and relaxed I feel great and got a little mental buzz, ready to do it again. I am so glad I did it. 

After a cool down and stretch, I made a protein shake. I decided to change things up a bit and wow, what a difference. Finally, a milkshake I can love: the Pina Colada Shake.  I just happened to pick up a fresh pineapple at the market yesterday and the rest of the ingredients were already in the cupboard. 
I got in the habit of making a shake after a hard work out over a year ago. A few food allergies keep my diet pretty restricted so my hubby suggested I start supplementing with protein shakes since I was burning a lot more calories. Made sense to me. 


Since then I have learned of their benefits:They help the body recover from intense exercise and help repair damage to muscle tissue. Not to mention those who supplement with protein shakes reduce their chances of infections, have less heat exhaustion and reduce the amount of muscle soreness. I couldn't tell you if it works as a weight loss tool. It doesn't for me. 

Pyramids, Lunges and Kickbacks

I thought I was feeling better and I guess when resting, I am but once I start working out my lung capacity is shot. It's like the last four months of PB's never happened. Realizing this, I decided to skip the normal workout routine and change it up completely. I gotta say it was a great workout and I need to change it up more often. My butt, quads and hams are gonna feel it in the morning. 

Not matter, I tell myself to just slap the spandex on and do it~ it's only 30 mins. I used 5lb dumbbells for the upper body moves. 

Warm up by doing 10 min on the elliptical. 

100 jumping jacks

10 tricep kickbacks in lunge position

10 bicep curls in lunge position

10 rows in a squat position

30 squats 

2km run at 5.7 mph at incline of 2

Cool down 10 min walk*

*Every minute of the walk I raised the incline by 1 until I reached level 10 and then walked it back down to starting incline of 2.

My clothes are in need of replacing and with spring just around the corner I decided to do a little browsing online and see what my options are. Now I am down to a size where I can shop in regular sized clothing stores and I don’t have to rely so heavily on specialty shops. I may have dropped 4 dress sizes but I still have to deal with my curves. 

So, while doing a little online window shopping, I stumbled across ModCloth and fell in love. 1000’s of dresses in all sorts of colours. I was drawn to the 1960’s style mostly. I have to admit I got a little shopper’s high when I typed in my credit card number. Of course my mind was whirling … I’m going to need new shoes, and a purse, and a hat - I wish I had bought that hat at Banana Republic - it would look perfect. It's still bitterly cold outside so I have a few months to pull this outfit together.  

What's the Plan, Ann?

I have had a few people ask me lately "what are you doing? Can you share your training/ weight loss plan" 

It really is as simple as calories in vs. calories out. And I always thought I was following that rule until I started running. My running life has evolved very slowly. Walk 2 min/ Run 1 min/ Walk 2 min for 2 or 3 miles and eventually I kept adding more running minutes and less walking. That was 2 yrs ago. I still have days where I need to take a 1 min walk break here and there. Eventually, I got the runner's high and that set me off... I wanted to improve my time/ go longer distances/ avoid shin splints etc. so to do that I started doing strength training and cross training on my non-running days. Spent $10 on a Jillian Michaels dvd and joined Tribesports , got myself a set of 2lb, 3lb, 5lb dumbbells and a yoga mat for strength training. Dusted off my bike/ and kayak. Now I have the tools for burning the calories. 

I LOVE food but I knew that had to change too. I cleaned up my eating in just afew very small ways (I knew if they were drastic changes I would fail)  

1. More water. Aim for 2 to 3L a day. One or two of those drinks may end up being green tea
2. 1/2 my dinner plate is veggies 1/4 starch and 1/4 protein... Did I mention I love food? I may not adhere to this everyday but at least 5 of the 7 days a week I do. 
3. gotta have a piece of fruit a day. Or more. It's true "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" 

These simple steps have made me feel so much better. And if I go crazy with a big bowl of pasta and some wine, I am determined to burn the calories the next day. 
And my weight loss is not off the charts but I look and feel healthy than I ever have. It's not a fancy program but it is working. Notably, it is working on the stuff on the inside which is showing on the outside. 
I should mention that I set goals often and I reward myself when I reach them. This is a great motivator because sometimes my wants are greater than my needs (whose aren't?) and when I set a goal, I feel I have earned the reward. My rewards range anywhere from a pedicure to new running pants. 

Most importantly, don't give up. That is the easy way out. Anything worth having is worth the hard work!