Hello. It's me. I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet....

Last Monday, I decided it would be a good idea to start fresh. Peter went back to work after recovering from his hernia surgery, meaning we're forced to get up early, meaning I have time to go to the gym before work. The timing was right. I went Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. And I feel good. I'm doing a strength training program that I found on bodybuilding.com. It's marketed as the best way to lose fat, outside of excessive cardio. It's easy, and it's working for me, and it's a lot easier to go to the gym when you have a schedule.

I've opted against trying outside supplements or diet enhancers. Things like tea detoxes, and the like, don't appeal to me. I know with a careful eye on my diet and exercise, I can accomplish my goals.

Speaking of, remember when I posted weigh-in Tuesdays and Vs. Thursdays and Feel-Good, Freak-Out Fridays? I'd love to do that again... So, tomorrow is as good a day as ever.

Monday: I'll answer a random question.
Tuesday: Weigh-in.
Wednesday: Reaction.
Thursday: Vs.
Friday: Feel-good.

I'd also love to share my work-outs and food related qualms and successes. Maybe some reviews. Progress on my 2016 goals...

Here are my links to my social media... follow me, won't you?
MyFitnessPal
Instagram
Twitter (personal)
Twitter (professional)

moving fail.

Remember when I was supposed to move back to Chicago the weekend of the 23rd?

Nope.

Complications arose, which forced me to stay in Montreal for at least a week longer. Which means my start over healthy lifestyle got postponed another week. Did somebody say cookies, chocolate, soda, and cupcakes?! (ugh.)

I've been thinking about my start over. Here are my goals:

• I want to cut out most processed foods. Boxed mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, ketchup, BBQ sause, cookies, hotdogs, etc. I want to abide by the rule of ingredients. Saying if the ingredient list contains more than 10, it's not for me. So I'll eat more veggies, nuts, fruits, stuff like that. 
• I'm going to start DDP Yoga and follow the provided routine. 
• I'm going to do cardio every other day. Spinning, running, elliptical, biking. Rotate what I do so my muscles do not get into a routine. 
• I don't want to count calories anymore. I was becoming obsessed with the numbers, and it's just not me. If I eat mainly unprocessed foods, I don't think I'll need to count calories anyway. I still want to record what I eat, and how much I exercise, but I don't want to obsess over it. Why? Because I know I won't want to count calories for the rest of my life. 
• I want to record my weight weekly (Tuesdays) and record my measurements (waist, hips, thighs, etc) and take progress pictures on the 1st of the month. 
• No more soda.
• No more picking.
• I want to brush my teeth twice a day. 

Honestly, aside from this blog, I want my journey to be a bit more private. The encouragement is great, but I don't want to do all this and only strive for that "Way to go!" comment on My Fitness Pal. Like satisfaction will come out of a lousy comment made by some person I don't know. It's more annoying to me than anything else. 

SO! This all begins once I move someplace where I control what I eat. 

Small Hiatus

In light of current life events, I'm going to have to put this blog on hiatus, at least until July.

Life events include:

• Packing the apartment.
• Moving back to Illinois.
• Unpacking life.
• Dealing with the United States Government and Immigration. 

I'm not sure if I'll have the time or the space to exercise in-house. And given we need to eat the rest of our food, it looks like I'll be eating a lot of pasta and canned beans and tuna. Thus, I'm not going to be concerned with my diet until I'm settled in Illinois. 

Julien and I will be separated until the US Government decides he can move in with me. We were apart for a year, together for a year, and now we'll be apart for up to 6 more months. It sucks, it's unexpected, I just hope we can settle the Immigration stuff quickly and correctly so we can continue our life together. 

Otherwise, I have a few prompts for when I begin blogging regularly again. Until then, stay healthy!