January 4, 2013: 2012 did not go as I had planned. I let breaking my leg be the reason for not doing a lot of things. And the result: I'm back up to 196 pounds. So I'm back to square one. Tickers and goals are all being reset. I will also get running back into my life. I have missed it.

May 30, 2012: March, April and May have not been kind to me. After fracturing my leg in March, things kind of slid downhill. I wasn't able to exercise and even my eating was wacky. I found myself ...

January 4, 2013: 2012 did not go as I had planned. I let breaking my leg be the reason for not doing a lot of things. And the result: I'm back up to 196 pounds. So I'm back to square one. Tickers and goals are all being reset. I will also get running back into my life. I have missed it.

May 30, 2012: March, April and May have not been kind to me. After fracturing my leg in March, things kind of slid downhill. I wasn't able to exercise and even my eating was wacky. I found myself eating a lot of convenience foods simply because I wasn't able to stand for long periods of time and prepare meals. I have gained 11 pounds since January and I don't like that one bit.

So, today is the day that I am recommitting to this. I have now been out of my cast for 3 weeks and I have been increasing my walking and use of the recumbent bike. I have reset all of my tickers and I will again be tracking my food, my exercise, my water and all the other little things that make up success.

While my ultimate weight goal is to get to 130 pounds (I'm back up to 178.2 as of this morning), I am going to focus on 10 pounds at a time. And that's what my ticker reflects.

I can do this. I know I can.

Jan 1, 2012: After a highly successful 2011, in which I lost 24 pounds, discovered a love of running and finally embarked on my dream career, I have decided to change things up for this next year. 2012 is going to see a change of focus for me. I want to focus on my health and find ways of battling my depression so that I don't require tons of medication. That means exercise, good food, good quality sleep and just taking care of myself.

I also want to become a better runner this year. Not necessarily faster (although that would be nice), just better. I want to be able to run 5k without stopping. And I want to run a 10k with no more than 4 walk breaks.


This isn't the first time I've tried to get this weight off. I started my journey in November 2004, at a high weight of 191 pounds (I'm 5'2). I was lazy, hated to exercise and while I ate relatively healthy, my portion sizes were out of control! I managed to get down to a low weight of 147 pounds but then let life get in the way and I ballooned back up to 200 pounds.

A big part of my problem is that I LOVE food! I love preparing food and trying to make it look and taste like restaurant quality meals. In October 2011, I graduated from the local college with my Chef Training certificate.

I am also trying to find a happy medium when it comes to exercise. I have a Wii and I use the WiiFit, Dance Dance Revolution, and Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010. I also have dumbbells and I love to dance around my living room, incorporating Tae Bo style moves into it.

Fitness update on April 14, 2011: I am currently training for a 5k. These days I don't even recognize myself. I never ever thought I'd be training for THAT!


RACE RESULTS:

Britannia Beach 5k (11/06/11): 41:59
Army Run 5k (18/09/11): 41:16
Freedom Run 5k (23/10/11): 41:00
Resolution Run 5k (31/12/11): 40:19

I have implemented a rewards system for myself.

Weight Lost and Rewards:

10 pounds lost: an afternoon at the National Art Gallery
20 pounds lost: a site-seeing tour of Ottawa
30 pounds lost: new workout clothes
40 pounds lost: an evening at the NAC
50 pounds lost: a facial
60 pounds lost: hire a housecleaning service to clean my apartment
Maintain 60 lbs lost for 6 months: get my tattoo

Read More About CHEFKATLEANER (Updated January 4)

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