John Quincy Adams once said, " If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Today I had an amazing workout with my trainer! We did some cardio but a lot of weights. Every time I train with her she is showing me new things. I've never been so motivated before at the gym. The way we workout makes it so much easier and my heart rate is constantly up which helps immensenly. Even in a mere hour, I feel like I've worked out in double the time.

The last time I went shopping, I discovered this AMAZING new product. Well, perhaps only new to me. It could've been around a little bit longer than I may realize. This company is from Italy and decided to give us an easiter way to eat pasta and in controlling the intake of carbs into our bodies. I LOVE pasta. My problem, however, is that I have a hard time with portion control. I suck at figuring out how much pasta to put in the water for 1 or 2 servings especially being a single person, but when I went shopping at Superstore last weekend I found a cure! This product has little nests ready made for you and all you need to do is put it in the water. Each nest is 1 serving. So, if I want some pasta with my meal I just drop a couple of bundles into the water and in mere minutes it is ready to go. And, thankfully, I found some delicious organic pasta sauce to go with it. It's perfect for when I'm craving some spaghetti but I don't have to worry about going overboard.

I've already posted this on facebook, but I'll reiiterate for the world. As of this morning I have officially hit my first target! My first target was to lose 50 lbs and I've done it! As of this morning I have officially lost 51.5 lbs! Amazing what hard work and determination can do. My biggest barrier before was my addiction to sugar and weakness in overcoming discouragement which I have finally been able to overcome. The more I see results, the more energized I become for more. Watching my two sisters has has helped a lot as well. My sister Mary has been such an inspiration. I've mentioned her in a previous post I believe. Quite some years ago when she was diagnosed with the same condition as I, she had a different goal/motivation. She and her husband were trying to have a baby and didn't know why they were struggling and after some significant events in our extended families lives, PCOS came to light and my sister suddenly had a reason for why and began to learn the how's to overcome it. She never let anything become a barrier. She lost weight and got her health in check and has since given birth to two additional amazing children to her growing family. Both were and are healthy and just what our whole family needed. My other sister Kathy has always been very active and she has instpired me with her lifestyle and zeal for life and health and nutrition. It has greatly impacted my journey more than she probably realizes. I'm not sure if either of them realize the role they play in my life. I feel more than fortunate to have them for sister's. We've had our bumps in the road, especially with the PCOS and my lack of ability to initially address it (Mary will know what I'm talking about.. lol ), but it has all paid off and has shaped my current progression and results. My long term goal is to be able to get out on the road with them and run alongside them in marathons or just be able to be active with them. It would be the greatest gift.

I can't leave without mentioning my brother; the same whom help create the newest baby in our family. At 16 he was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and it took years for him to truly get himself in check 100%, but thanks to some eye opening experiences, zeal for life and a wonderful wife ( whom I know has played a big role in his newfound love for running, or at least leading to it) he finally got truly serious about his health and with a lot of hard work has become and avid runner and is very open about it. He blogs about it as well and shares his own journey through his website http://www.robgolbeck.com/ which links to his many websites of his multifaceted persona.

And last but not least, my father. He began his journey after being diagnosed with breast cancer, ( yes, men can get it too) and he began making changes to get healthy and lose weight. The man at 65, yes 65! began riding a bike in Lethbridge across Whoop Up ( yes, when I first saw that, I rose an eyebrow too). He began with riding half way and walking the rest of the way and did not stop until he made he no longer had to get off the bike and walk. The bridge, though not New Westminster ( meaning steepness with hills...), is a very long tough hill if you don't walk, run, bike, skate ect. up it often or are very active. It was certainly an amazing accomplishment and I figure that if he could do it, what the heck is wrong with me that I can't?

So there you have it. A great workout, great options for better eating habits and an astounding family. What more could one ask for?

A baby and more updates!

I've been meaning to update this for a while. Sorry for the delay! Lots has happened since the last update.First things first, about a couple of weeks ago now, my brother and sister welcomed the newest member of our family into the world. My nephew NathanielLawrence Frederick Golbeck was born on July 4th. He was completely unexpected because he was about a month early according to the doctor'scalculations. Despite that, he was born at a healthy weight of 6lbs 3 oz. I'll be in Vancouver next month and I am completely ecstatic to meet him!Time is flying by already. Before we know it, he'll be running around wreaking havoc. They're both brand new parents and I know will be excellentparents. My brother is already so enamoured by him and I know probably had a hard time going to work his first day back.

Now for my weight loss/health update! I'm waiting a bit longer for my next weigh in, but I've continued to do pretty well in my eating and activelifestyle. My trainor is amazing and never ceases to show me new things. Now each workout gets better and better. I've learned how to be moreconsistent in keeping my heart rate up while alternating b/w cardio and weights, but learning to work out my whole body or more than one area witheach excercise. With all the squats i'm doing, I'll be surprised if I don't have night legs and a bum by the end of this. Lol
I'm going to the gym again today after work. My gym is amazing and a great location as well. Though it's a little bit of money for my trainer on topof my membership, it's still completely worth it. I'm already down to a size 16/17 jeans. I was more recently in 19/20 but now they're practically falling off. I've also officially gone down to the lowest size in plus sizes and can not wait to be back into the regular section for clothes shopping.It's still somewhat of a challenge not eating goods with a few extra calories, but it's getting easier and easier. One thing that amazes me thoughis the amount of sodium on the market! I'm not sure if people realize the dangers of too much sodium. It's sad that I can't eat some of my favoritefoods because of it. According to health Canada, we only need about a teaspoon of salt a day to be healthy on average, but with premade soup,ready made meals, or take out food, we consume much, much more than that. This would explain the high risk of heart and health problems in our society because this severely increases our blood pressure which can lead to many other health risks. I've become much more conscious over the lastfew years, but even moreso recently. Tomatoe soup is one of my favorite things and although I've opted for the organic because it's healthier,I've learned that the sodium in it may not be worth it. Perhaps I'll just stick to one bowl a month for a treat to myself.

If anyone has any suggestions for a tasty healthy meal that they would like to share, let me know! I think I'll eventually begin searching and tryingrecipes and eventually post them on the blog. I'll keep everyone updated!

Next month when I go on Vacation will be a bit of a struggle. Travelling rarely brings results, but I'm going to try to stay on top of healthyeating and excercise, so we shall see how that goes.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment! Tips and suggestion are always welcome and highly appreciated!

P.S. Any suggestions on good protein foods to help keep me feeling more full during the day to help decrease snacking or want of foods when I don'tnecessarily need it?