A number of my friends have sent me private messages asking why I haven't blogged about working out lately and have been concerned that I fell off the wagon AGAIN! You are too sweet to have such a genuine concern... but I have good news... I'm still working out 5 days a week... heck I even worked out over the holidays! On Christmas Day, my present to myself was a 45 min run (I know... I'll say it for you WHAT A WEIRDO)! Over the holidays, I drank and ate bad food (like pop, chicken balls and egg rolls, shortbread cookies etc.) BUT still managed to loose weight because I just made sure I kept working out and moved around extra (like dancing and walks on the beach etc) to burn those extra calories.

To be honest the reason why I haven't written about working out is because exercise has become such a common part of my life now (like brushing my teeth) that I really don't have much to say about it anymore.

I've now lost a total of 85lbs since 2007, with 50lbs of that total melting away over the last 5 months (when I started jogging)! I know it's crazy. For the record, my butt is LOOKIN' FINE (I'm tempted to make it my profile picture on facebook)... It's no Beyonce or Coco butt YET... but it's definitely more round and bootilicious then it's ever been!

A lot of you are now entering your second week of a New Years resolution to exercise, give it a month and you'll see results... and after 3-4 months it will become a routine that you'll NEED in your day and won't seem like a TASK anymore.

Everyone keeps asking what my secret is... honestly there are so many things I've changed in my life... here are a few:

1) Drink ridiculous amounts of water (like 3+ litres/day)!

2) Only splurge 1 day per week (when I do.. some days I go crazy on cheesies and ice cream etc.) BUT the rest of the week eat protein rich foods, remember fiber is your friend and stay away from complex carbs like bread and pasta (you need some in your diet but I just try to eat it in the mornings)!

3) Eat 5 small meals per day, if your belly is hungry you've gone too long without food (FOR THE LAST TIME - I don't starve myself)!

4) Each time you exercise, push yourself to the point where you can't wait for the last 1/2 of the workout to be over... if you have to countdown the last 60 seconds... you are working hard!

5) Listen to your body. If your bones, joints or muscles are uncomfortable where you think you may injure yourself, take a day off.

6) Devin and Gina are my Gods! http://www.360online.ca - they answers my questions about food, push me in bootcamp and encourage and educate me on working out. Hire a professional to help you.

7) Don't let issues in your life manifest to the point that you eat because you are stressed - just deal with the situation (even if you hate conflict like me) then close the door and move on. Life's too short for drama so minimize it (especially if you are a stress eatter like me).

8) Do it for YOURSELF because you want to live longer and have a better quality of life!

Though I'm still not competitive (like some in bootcamp *hehehe*), I have become an adrenaline junkie. I love the exhaustion of running intervals and look forward to the post-work-out high everyday. I have learned to enjoy working out by myself, and now entertain my brain by trying to improve my run times, recovery heart rate etc. I go to bootcamp twice a week to get some social aspect of working out... and have made an amazing # of girlfriends in the class (AKA Booty Girls - see their hot photos on the side of this note)!

It doesn't matter how bad my week is, when I exercise, the stress of people and situations in my life seem irrelevant and it gives me perspective. One day on my cool-down, I couldn't believe how much I had sweat, so I took a picture! Each bead of sweat in this photo is symbolic of all the things I have to deal with in my life that cause me distress - but I just sweat it out and don't worry about it as much after a good workout.



One thing that I found really helpful is having a picture to remind me of what I looked like (thanks Tim, Taylor and Jan for encouraging me to post this photo even though I'm mortified to look at my old photo now).



No matter if you have 10lbs or 100lbs to loose, all of us have that embarrassing photo. I keep mine nearby to remind me where I was and where I don't want to be again. This photo was 65lbs ago... my Nubody's membership photo next to what I look like today. It almost makes me cry to see how I let myself go after I had the twins... BUT NEVER AGAIN.