More Self Love –Week 4 #52DTS

Happy Holiday Monday to my Canadian friends…
and Happy Monday to everyone else!

I’ve had a great long weekend and happy that we’ve had a bit of sunshine even!! For me it’s even better as I’m enjoying a 3 day work week because on Friday I’m going to

NEW YORK CITY!!!

I can’t even begin to describe how excited I am or how much squealing and jumping and skipping and smiling there has been leading up to this trip. It will be my first time in the city and I feel like I might not want to come home. I have a list of things I want to do and can’t wait to take lots of pictures, tweet and blog about my excursion – stay tuned!

Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to @cocomonsterblog for being the winner of Peggy’s book and some Vega yummies!! Send me an email wwleaderashley [at] gmail [dot] com and we will arrange to get you your goodies!!

Week 3 Check In

I didn’t do a check in on Friday – I’m sorry! I rocked my workouts again this week:

Monday: 60+ minutes with trainer
Tuesday: 50 minutes spin
Thursday: 30 minute run + core
Saturday: 60 minutes zumba

+ lots of walking in the sunshine

How did everyone do with their eating?

Following an awesome dinner with my roomies on Monday I ate lots of leftover soup and kelp noodles from Peggy’s book, enjoyed some delicious oatmeal breakfastsand enjoyed some yummy meals out with friends, including a trip to Rawlicious and delicious brunch at Lady Marmalade with my little sister yesterday. I am working on consistently making great choices, listening to my body and eating mindfully. Also still working on getting the sugar out while not feeling like I’m restricting myself too much. It’s an ongoing struggle, but it’s necessary.

Speaking of necessary…

Week 4 Challenge – Love Yourself

The process of positive self talk has been a constantly ongoing, seemingly never-ending battle for me. I’ve talked about it on the blog many times (here, here, here and here) and there have been a bazillion other times when I’ve had conversations with friends, family, WW peeps, or written in my journal about my challenges. I’m thankful that people can’t actually see inside my head because there’s some pretty messed up stuff that goes on in there.

Lately it’s been really really hard, and this was part of the reason for the 52 Days to Summer Challenge in the first place. I have been working on getting rid of the thoughts that don’t serve me, but holy jeez are those thoughts loud sometimes.

I have so many things in my life to be thankful for: amazing friends, familia, and awesome peeps who love me, a great set of jobs, performance opportunities, an amazing house with fantastic roommates etc. etc. etc. But for whatever reason, I still freak out and go to the negative self loathing place. I don’t know that my body image has ever really been stellar, but I’ve found that since beginning my weight loss journey in 2006, the issue has been much more prominent; in the years since I’ve been harder on myself since losing the weight than I ever was before.

I find that I feel better when I’m treating my body well with exercise and awesome eating, but that is not always the rule. On Tuesday I was on my way to spin class and in the elevator on my way up to the class I started tearing up as a result of some negative stuff in my head. I cried on my way home and later that evening - yes, even after 50 minutes of hardcore spin and heading home home to make green juice and a delicious, healthy, vegan dinner. This has got to stop.

I read a great post on Ange’s blog that really inspired me awhile back, especially the idea that self love is an ongoing process and that (for now) the “goal is not to eliminate negative thoughts, but to reduce the frequency of those thoughts and to counter them with positive ones”.

This week I would like you to work on self love.

If a negative thought enters your head, write it down and then take a minute to turn that thought around into a positive one. I am also going to take some time to journal some of my thoughts because I’ve found that process to be very helpful in the past.

What kind of messages have you been sending yourself? Are they things you would ever say to another person? How have the messages you’ve been sending to yourself changed over time? What process do you have to reduce your negative thoughts?

What Does Preparing Yourself Mean to You?

Is your calendar for December filling up with social gatherings, parties, dinners and other events? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Now is the time to figure out how you’re going to handle it, by preparing yourself.

At my meetings on Saturday, I asked my members what preparing yourself meant to them and here’s what they came up with:

• Planning – including meals for the day and/or week, Points values for favourite treats as well as activity. Having a game plan means that you’re more likely to make things happen the way you want them to go. While it might seem daunting while you’re doing it, planning ahead saves you time in the long run and makes your life easier.
• Learning from experience – what has worked or not worked in the past? Where were you at this time last year and what are you going to do differently or exactly the same this year? Take these lessons learned and apply them to your intentions for the holiday season.
• Asking for help – getting support from others to help you through the challenging times is so important. Talk to friends. Read blogs. If you’re a WW member, make your meetings a priority. You’re not alone in this and will always have people to help you be successful.
• Taking care of yourself – Putting yourself at the TOP of your busy to do list even when you’ve got parties to attend, presents to buy or meals to make allows you to achieve balance. You can do this in whatever way feels good to you. Maybe it’s having a nap or going to bed an hour earlier. Taking an afternoon off work to do a bit of shopping. Finding some quiet time to do yoga or read a book. It’s an easy time of year to forget about the #1 person in your life – you. Putting yourself first, puts you in a better place to take care of everyone else in your life.
• Making healthy options available – Stocking up your pantry and fridge with healthy choices and easy grab n go options, making it easier for you to make good choices even when you’re super busy. Or if you’re attending a pot luck, bringing a healthy dish so you know you have at least one great option available to choose.
• Mentally rehearsing – Practice makes perfect! Who are you going to encounter? (I’m going to talk more about this next week when the topic is managing food-centered relationships…) What are you going to say? Where are you going to position yourself? What are you going to eat? Rehearsing these things ahead of time makes it a lot easier to actually do them when you get to the event.
• Keeping your goal in mind – When you have a goal, you have a direction and know what you need to do in order to get there. Is having a whole box of Turtles or skipping out on exercise for a week because you “don’t feel like it” going to help you get to where you want to be by December 31st? What needs to happen for you to reach your goal? What are some ways that you can remind yourself of your goals when things get busy? Maybe you could write them on a sticky or card to keep in a prominent place at your desk or stash in your purse.

It was great to hear my members’ thoughts on preparing themselves. Between all of them, I think they came up with some really great ideas and strategies and it was great because they were able to do almost all of the talking! Thinking about these strategies now is so important because the objective is that you’ll feel less overwhelmed and stressed by the time that you’re up to your ears in holiday baking, wine, and wrapping paper. Preparing yourself is setting yourself up for success!

How are you preparing yourself for busy times ahead?
Where would you like to be by December 31st 2009?
What needs to happen for you to get there?

Tips for Maintaining Sanity During Tech Week (or Life)

This week has been absolutely insane.

On Friday I had a date night with Joey. We went for Indian food (delish) and did a little shopping. On Saturday, I led three busy meetings, did two classes at the gym and read my new book. On Sunday I went to Lindsay’s WW meeting, meal planned & grocery shopped, took a Weight Watchers conference call, made dinner then went to the theatre for 6 hours. Since then it’s been chaos as we prepare to open Annie on Thursday.

This feeling has inspired me to share some tips on keeping sane during tech week or just busy times in your life (like the month of December, perhaps?)

1. Be prepared
When performing in a show, it’s not just about knowing your lines, cues, costume changes and choreography, it’s also about planning your life. For me, being prepared is meal planning, having good food in the house, slow cooker meals that are easy to prep and packing everything with me so I can eat throughout the day. That’s lunch (mega salad with mixed greens, avocado, cucumber, peppers, sprouts, chickpeas, hummus & hemp seeds), dinner (potato kale enchiladas from Veganomican) & snacks (apple, banana & pb&j larabar) It requires a little bit of thought in the morning, but for me it is a safety net because I know I have delicious, Ashley-friendly food for the whole day AND I don’t have to spend money.

2. Take care of yourself
I called in sick yesterday because I needed to rest. I took a 2.5 hour nap and it was glorious. (Although I felt like I was back at square 1 again when I got home from the theatre at 12:40am) I also used the time to make a yummy dinner and actually spend some time with Joey enjoying it! Roasted acorn squash stuffed with snobby joes (another Veganomican fav) with some steamed Brussel Sprouts on the side. I also made the effort to go to the gym on Saturday because I knew that it would be a great way to relax (Bodyflow + Zumba) but also because I knew I wouldn’t have time to get back there for a few days.

Onstage, taking care of yourself, also means worrying about your own business. This is a good approach to take in life as well. As Byron Katie says, if you’re busy worrying about other people’s business, there’s no one there to worry about yours!

3. Have fun
Even though you’re tired or cranky or stressed.
Even when you have to get up for work early the next morning.
Even when your hair and make up goes from looking like this:

to this:

Not everyone in the world can say that they get to be onstage, acting singing and dancing up a storm. Performing is something that I find so much pleasure in, yet sometimes I need to be reminded of that after rehearsal that lasts from 6pm-12am! At the end (or beginning) of the day, I’m excited that I get to do what I love!!

How do you prepare yourself, take care of yourself and/or have fun?

Finding a Grounded Place

Between a full time job, part time job, 2-3 shows/year, choir, Joey, friends, family, cooking, eating, sleeping, dancing, yoga, exercising and blogging, it’s a huge understatement to say that I’m a busy gal. And I’m not going to lie – it’s not always easy.

I always feel like I’m on the go, checking my calendar and figuring out where I can ‘squeeze’ in time to see Joey or friends or have a nap. Last weekend before having brunch with Lori & Joey, I had a bit of a mental breakdown because I had brunch, zumba, grocery shopping, and cooking on my to-do list before rehearsal, but realized I didn’t have enough time for everything, yet didn’t know what to cut out. There were tears before I decided that I wanted to hang out with Joey & Lori, that I needed to grab some food and make some dinner and that unfortunately my favourite classes (zumba and BodyFlow) were just not going to make the cut.

Time management has a lot to do with prioritization – what is going to be best for you in this moment? This question has been seemingly challenging for me to answer lately because I feel like I’m running around like around in circles. For example, here’s this week:

This weekend was super busy so I feel like I’ve been going non-stop since Monday October 19. As a result, there are things that are definitely slipping, like housework, laundry and Joey time. So what is right for me now??

Rehearsal ended up being cancelled tonight which has meant some extra ME TIME!! I’m hanging out with the kitties, watching So You Think You Can Dance and plan to do a little journaling before going to bed early.

On the days when I feel like it’s never going to end I’m taking time to smell the flowers and enjoy the beautiful sights of fall….laughing with these beautiful gals who I’m spending a lot of time with as we gear up for our big show….

and talking to Joey who tells me that it’s all going to be okay. I love that. 

I feel like my posts are following a pattern of time management, balance and taking care of yourself – but it’s a huge focus for me right now! I’m sorry if I seem like I’m repeating myself. Writing this blog is something that I do because I love to connect with all of you and reading your comments brings me down to a grounded place.

Second to last week of summer – eats & learning from experience

It’s sad that “summer” is coming an end – but I’m looking forward to fall! It was weird to get back to work this week after my time away, but I was busy so I had no choice but to adjust pretty quickly! This week I also started rehearsals for “Annie” so I’m coping with having rehearsal up to 3 times each week. I’m going to do a post very soon on planning for dinners when you’re super busy!

I made some yummy eats this week, beginning with the lasagne from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook.

It was delightful!! (Sorry for the sloppy picture, mine was the first piece out and that NEVER goes well!) It was so filling and I loved the tofu ricotta. To make it gluten free I used no-boil brown rice noodles which worked amazingly well and to bump up the veggie content I added sautéed mushrooms and peppers and served it with a green salad with a simple salad dressing (apple cider vinegar, grape seed oil with a bit of Dijon). Both Joey and I really enjoyed this recipe. It makes a lot so there is some in my freezer for quick go-to meals. Can that cookbook do any wrong? Seriously.

One of my amazing & thoughtful members sent me this recipe for Portobello & zucchini tacos awhile back and I finally made them:

Wow!! So simple and delicious. I served them on brown rice tortillas with some salsa and avocado alongside the lentil black bean salad from La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin' Made Easy. Such a great combination! We enjoyed everything again for lunch the next day:

(Note the cheese in Joey’s and the avocado in mine ) Joey’s so cute about his packed lunches. He prefers taking a lunch to having to buy it as well! It saves us both a ton of money, and I feel good knowing that he has healthy choices, because who KNOWS what he would choose if left to his own devices (kidding, sort of).

On Wednesday night I went into a frenzy making roasted ratatouille,

(which I enjoyed with some brown rice on my way to rehearsal the following day)

homemade larabars

(enjoyed with some oatmeal for breakfast) and then doing the 30 Day Shred. Both recipes were awesome! I will definitely be making more “larabars” in the future because they are super easy, delicious and a lot less expensive than buying them! I’ve stored some in the freezer for future use.

In the meeting room this week we talked about looking ahead to the fall and learning from our experiences from the summer. Here are some of the things I learned this summer:

• Taking PROPER vacations are an important way to take care of myself. I will be taking more in the future. Vacation days are not just for running errands and appointments!
• I learned that I am capable of a lot more physically that I ever thought possible. This summer I tried indoor cycling, Booty Camp and performed in my first public belly dance performance. I’ve also joined a gym and am having a ball doing classes!
• I’ve also realized how far I’ve come from the girl who started Weight Watchers 3+ years ago
• I’ve also realized how much I love fruits, vegetables and foods from the earth and have tried a ton of new recipes

On Saturday we also talked about applying our newfound summer knowledge to the achievement of our goals. I’m still working on the goals that I set out back in July and I’m currently using the storyboarding tool to determine the best course of action to help get me there!

What did you learn this summer? What are you going to take away from your experience to apply to the goals you’re currently working towards?

Boot Camp - Week One

Last night I lined up alongside 19 other women in chilly temperatures with threats of rain to be weighed, measured and poked at. My body will never be the same. This week marked my first encounter with Boot Camp and I'm loving it so far!

To assist in tracking your progress you're measured at the first class. Get ready to learn more about me than you've ever known before. Here are my current measurements (in inches):

Left upper arm: 11

Right upper arm: 11

Chest: 33

Waist: 27.5

Hips: 32.5

Butt: 36

Upper left thigh: 21

Upper right thigh: 21

Weight: 130.6 (I weighed in on Saturday morning at 128.8 for my official monthly WI)

Body Fat %: 27

(I also took a before picture, but you're going to have to wait until week four to see my progress, so stay tuned!)

So many of the girls in my group were not happy about being weighed and measured - but who would be really? I kept a positive attitude about the whole thing - I've already lost more than 30 lbs and have been maintaining that weight loss for over 2 years! I feel healthy and happy! These numbers are only going to get better! I am proud of myself for doing this and I know that I'm going to see great results! It felt good to stay positive and it really reinforced my commitment to this new challenge.

Our first session started an hour later and it was tough. We did lots of squats, push ups, punches, kicks, lunges, and other fun things I would never include in my own workouts (unless I was with Jillian of course) Our instructor was lovely and motivating, calling out "you're doing great girls" on more than one occasion and was able to answer questions and check on our technique.

For the first 20 minutes I used the Motivating Strategy technique to visualize myself on stage at my belly dancing recital in a crop top, shimmying and feeling good. At around minute 21, the happy, hip-swiveling Ashley in my head disappeared and I used sheer determination and brute force to get through the remaining 40 minutes.

I was definitely hurting on my walk home. Once at home I got about halfway down the stairs to ask Joey if he had eaten supper. I had a yummy supper, a nice hot shower and went to bed at 10:00. When I got out of bed this morning I felt the effects of boot camp on my legs and bum and at work I started to feel it in my arms and back as well. That means it's working right?

Today I decided that I am going to do the full 8 weeks of boot camp. Enrolling in boot camp was one of my goals for the year and I really want to go at it full force. My short term motivation is as a result of having to wear a crop top at the belly dance recital, but in the long term I'm looking to change my body and increase my personal fitness level. I know that it's going to be challenging but I think I'm ready for it! I am so proud of how far I've come with my weight loss, eating and attitude and now I'm looking forward to pushing myself with my activity.

Over the next eight weeks I will be writing about boot camp and keeping you posted on how I'm feeling physically, what we're doing in class as well as what I'm doing outside of class. I received a handbook and at-home workout DVD and after browsing through the book last night I think I'm going to do the assignments and will definitely write about them. I think that they're going to be great!

I know this might sound crazy, but I'm actually really excited! (Remind that I said this when I'm complaining about the pain a few hours or days or weeks from now)

2008 - Year in Review

I'm sitting here and I can hardly believe that it's December 26, 2008. I feel like it was just 2007 and that this year has slipped by.

I hope that everyone had an amazing holiday and a wonderful Christmas with their family and friends. I've been surrounded by wonderful treats up here in the North with my fiance's family, but I've been tracking and I know that we're going home Sunday and I plan to get things back to normal. How is everyone doing on their exercise in December? I was doing great until I got up here. We've gone for a few walks, but a lot of time has been spent napping or watching The Wire or The Tudors. (I was also reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter, but my book was missing 30+ pages right in the middle!) I'm still happy with the number of stickers that I put on my chart and I plan to do the 30 Day Shred at least once before January 1st.

2008 has been a pretty good year, despite it passing by very quickly. This year I started leading meetings for other Weight Watchers. members. I started a brand new meeting in January 2008 and was able to grow it to over 20 people. It was so wonderful to get to know the members and help them achieve their goals. I have been at my new location since June and I absolutely adore it!!! I'm so happy to talk about WW each week, inspire my members and teach everyone about Momentum in the last few weeks. I hope you are all enjoying the new program and I look forward to helping you reach your goals in 2009.

This year I maintained my weight each month and felt good about being on maintenance. I'm also happy that I tried some new physical activities (softball and bellydancing) and quit my gym membership!! (Very liberating)

In the last few weeks I've been very thankful for Weight Watchers and all that it has taught me about eating well and taking care of myself. In November I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, and it has really opened my eyes. I'm thankful for the good habits that I've already made courtesy of WW and I'm confident that through what I've learned and proper medical attention that I'm going to be able to keep my disease in check.

I can't say that I have any resolutions for 2009 at this point... I want to continue to maintain my weight and health... I want to continue to eat more organic produce and cook as much as I can... I want to continue with belly dancing classes and maybe try another sport this summer or play some more softball. In 2009 I want to stick with the great balance of things that I have in my life right now -- amazing fiance, family and friends, great jobs, opportunity to be on stage (Silk Stockings is coming up!) and a lot of happiness. I really can't complain and I hope that I am lucky enough to continue with all of it in the New Year.

If you haven't already, take some time to think about 2008 and what you've already accomplished. Learn from everything this year and try to think of some things that you would like to have happen in 2009.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of my readers. I can't believe this blog has reached more than 4000 views. Thank you for reading and I look forward to writing more and hearing all of your stories in 2009.

Lots of Love,

Ashley

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

How is everyone feeling about this upcoming eating holiday? It's the first of many that are just around the corner, so now is the time to prepare! (and not just the stuffing...)

Last week in the meeting room we talked about the importance of Learning From Experience. What has Thanksgiving been like for you in the past? How have you behaved? What did you eat? Not eat? How did you prepare, if at all? Think back this week and realize what you've done previously and take what you can from the experience. Like I said in the meeting, you need to see it as feedback and not failure.

Turkey and stuffing and gravy - oh my! Not to mention pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and whatever other goodies your host may prepare. What can you do to help prepare yourself for the food that you will encounter? Are you hosting the meal? If so there are lots of great recipes on the Weight Watchers site as well as in Clean Eating magazine. If you're not hosting, perhaps you can ask the host if you can bring something? Or find out what the menu is in advance.

If you're doing Flex you can budget for the meal(s). Make your weekly allowance last and make great choices throughout the week. If you're doing Core, a lot of Thanksgiving foods can be Core, and don't forget that you always have your weekly Points allowance of 35 to use for those non-Core favourites. Whatever plan you're doing, try to make some time for activity that day. Even if it's a 20 minute walk before or after dinner, those extra AP's will help! Make room for the foods that you're really looking forward to. Maybe it's stuffing or pumpkin pie. Skip on the potatoes, because you can have them year round! Load your plate up with veggies and be mindful of your Comfort Zone.

And just remember, that whatever happens at the table during your Thanksgiving meal, it is only one day. You can track it and move on. Make it an amazing week and be thankful that you are making an amazing change in your life by doing the Weight Watchers program! I know that I am thankful for being on plan this year and for all of my amazing members and friends who keep me inspired and positive. Lots of love to you all xo