So how did my journey get started: Well it was a progression, I have spoken before about my "tipping point" with the big pharma incident, but how did the fitness and weight management start.. well that is a different story. I have an old friend from high school called Bev. Her and I were best buds, and are connected on Facebook. I had noticed that she had trained for and competed in an amateur body building competition, and placed! Yet if I remembered she was not into that kind of thing, and was overweight like I was. So I asked her how she did it.. she told me her story and it motivated me into doing the same thing. Although her methods and mine vary, the dedication is there. Anyway this morning on Facebook she had sent me this message: "Jewels about 25 people asked me 12 months ago how I did it and they wanted to do it too, and your the ONLY ONE who actually did it!! And now you have a 'routine'!! Because there is no try only do. Some proud of you, i am."To which I responded with: "And you ALWAYS make me cry you know that right, and I have yet to figure that out... hehehe ... Wow... thank you for this.. I know it's hard work, I fell off that wagon many times last year, just looking at my food tracker and exercise trac...ker for 2010 you can see the varying gaps, but I kept getting back on... but this year I said there is no try anymore, there is only resolve to do. I have a WHY... Why am I doing this? Because I want to LIVE a long and healthy life and by LIVE I mean be able to play with my kids, go hiking, kick a ball around, run to catch the bus that was early, go camping, walk to the store and back without feeling like I am dying, to be active and enjoy my self and my body again!!! Sure I could get hit by a bus next week, or whatever, and say what's the point of it all, but at least I live as if that will never happen and not use the "what ifs" as an excuseSo... I set some new goals, not just the working off the fat an reaching a goal weight, but solid goals for doing the 5 and 10 k events for charities in York Region, and working towards a half marathon in November for the local hospital. I actually enjoy doing this now, I never ever thought for one second I'd like exercising, ever!!! Now I look forward to it, (ok there are moments I groan but when it starts it's a rush), I love that rush of energy, the endorphins, and how I feel over all... I understand why people quit, this month I put on weight, now it's coming back off in little bits, but I also realize I slacked off huge Oct/Nov/Dec and my body is fighting me, that and I am gaining muscle - tape measure comes out on Feb 2nd.. see what it says vs my daft scale. (which does measure body fat, hydration, and bone mass as percentages of weight which is handy)I have also decided to dedicate myself to helping others do what you have helped me do. Yeah sure I am using some products to support me on my journey ( I should forward you the info on the Access btw - it's rather interesting) but I know you don't have to do it my way... I've learned so much this past year about myself, my food, exercise, calories in vs calories out, when to eat my "white/refined" carbs, etc... it's incredible. In fact I am considering taking two new courses: Fitness & Nutrition and Personal Training via correspondence after i am done my Relaxation Therapist program. It's been that big of an impact for me... I see people that are the size I used to be and think to myself, Dang it, I have information and ways to help you if you only want to help yourself... I know what it's like to be unmotivated, not have good supports, to have negative supports, depressed, etc.. and what worked for me... The interesting thing is now my motivation is no longer something on the outside of myself, it's not the youtube videos anymore, it's inside of me... I am my own motivation now... I know how great I am feeling, and that is all it takes... It was like I suddenly woke up late December 2010 and realized how much lighter and smaller I feel, how great I feel compared to a year ago, and it was kind of like throwing on a big bright light that can't be turned off and won't burn out! I motivate myself now. In so doing I hope I motivate others too. And all of this was due to what? YOU BEV!!!! You started this ball rolling for me, I know I had to pick up that ball and run with it, but you tossed it to me first. For that I can never thank you enough... I owe you so much... Truly I do.. I feel like a million dollars wouldn't fulfill my debt to you for this... but I bet there is one thing that probably would as you are sat there reading this, and that is my reaching my final goals for my weight, and completing the 5 & 10 k events, and going for that half marathon (22k wow) and staying with it... am I right? Love you.. and I think I will use this soap box ramble as my new blog!"So there you have it, a morning ramble, but it says so much. I was considering changing and editing this story, but this was written from my heart to her on my Facebook wall. I hope that by my sharing my own personal journey with you who read this, that you too will catch this same ball and run with it too... I consider myself to be very blessed indeed to have had a friend like Bev tell me how to do this, what kind of things to do, and support me in the first few months of my new life, and she continues to support me with little messages like the one that triggered this blog. So here is your personal ball... are you going to play with me? (Dedicated to my friend Bev - you rock girlfriend)

I have been steadily exercising and watching my food intake since January 2nd this year (my restart date) and I have noticed that I at first lost 4lbs in the first week, and since then put it back on.. I have been sitting around 199lbs for the past couple of months now. Now I realize that October I was lax, and in November I got really sick with dental issues, then I took half of December off but ate freely.. so that didn't contribute to anything very positive where my weight is concerned. However, I am thinking I have hit my first plateau.. I am changing up my routine every day, still doing the same 60 min cardio in the morning, and now doing 30 min at night too. So I am thinking that the weight gain is both muscle and some water retention due to muscles being worked oh so much harder. So.. I am looking forward to February 2nd which is my tape measure day, it's tempting to see now if my inches are down, it would be the only real "proof positive" to me that I have continued to lose fat and gained muscle.. However, how I feel is more important than anything else. I feel great, so much stronger. I dragged out of my stash my old workout tapes, I tried some of them when I first started exercising a year ago now, and quite literally tried it, then sat on my bed crying as I watched the workout go by and my feeling so very weak, pathetic and small... (or rather Large!!!) Now I am able to do these tapes with relative ease, it's a hard workout (Did Cathy Smiths weightloss vhs tape this morning for an hour) don't get me wrong, but now I can do them, all the way through, and the only water on my face now is sweat!!! (and a few tears of joy). So.. I am feeling better, stronger, happier, and I have to focus on that, more so than what my scale says, but I can't help checking that scale you know... :-)

 Julie: Posted on January 2, 2011 7:19 AM I definitely learned a new lesson on December 31st 2010. That being that there is no such things as not enough time to exercise. I used to use that excuse, I am too busy, have too many things to do in my day, I work all day, I this... I that... so on and so forth, and after what happened on the last day of the year, taught me that the words "I don't have time to exercise" is absolute hogwash (would say something stronger but I won't - but I'd like too).Let me share with you what happened on Friday. I woke up at about 5am, and thought "nah, I won't get up yet to exercise, it's a holiday, so I will get up at 6am instead" and promptly went back to the warmth of my bed and snuggled next to my hubby.  6am I got up, I did. Came down stairs, made a tea, and my Access, drank them both, and was about to throw on my Your Shape routine and then it happened. A sick child. It took a whole 10 minutes to realize that this was a trip to the hospital type sick. Poor kid was in so much pain, sick to her stomach, and gray skinned and in tears... So throw on a pair of track pants over my spandex outfit, not showered, stinky still from yesterday, and off to the Emergency department in the back of an ambulance we go. We arrived at the hospital at about 8am, blood work, ultrasounds, cat scans, and here's me, bouncing off the walls as I am getting used to my morning routine and my body wants to MOVE!  But hard to do a cardio workout in the emergency dept! Besides, kiddo needed me there to hold her hand! By noon we had the diagnosis, appendicitis... surgeon is being called in, OR is being booked, and here we go... Surgery started at 445pm, and I was told to go sit in the waiting area for an hour before I'd know anything... sit on my duff for an hour... and do what? Ok then... well this is New Years Eve, this area was really quiet, not many people at all... so it started, I was bored, I started walking around the waiting room (which is rather large btw) and tidied up the newspapers, wrappers on the floor (oh no I am not a Mum now am I) and then it hit me... I can speed/power walk while I wait for the news and go see her in recovery.  But where? Around the outside perimeter of the chairs!!! And that is precisely what I did, I walked square circles around the outside of the waiting room chairs, first one direction for 10 minutes, then go the other way so the movement of the cornering was equal on both sides of my body. I power walked a good clip as I didn't have to stop, and I figure my top speed had to be just over 3mph.  I walked like that for just over 40 minutes, so I know I did a minimum of 2 miles...and I reached and maintained my target heart rate doing this for fat burning!!! I had a few looks from patients, the hospital staff thought it was great and had never seen anyone exercise like that before... So, I say to those who say "I don't have time", that's just an excuse, it's absolute hogwash, and I bet if I sat down with you and your schedule we'd find 30 minutes at least 3 times a week for you to work out in... I learned a very valuable lesson on that day, actually a few of them, but in this case, the lesson is that there is always time in the day to do some form of activity to get your heart rate going. Even if you head off to your office bathroom and do jumping jacks for 3 - 5 minutes, or jog on the spot for a few minutes, go out at lunch time and take a brisk walk, or like me, get up an hour earlier so you have the time to do it. I saw a cartoon, and it's so bang on, the message was , what's better for you, exercising 30 min a day, or being dead 24 hours a day... The choice is always yours, and I hope that I have inspired you somehow to make the right one for you and your health! (and the child is doing great now too!)