114 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS...OOOO MY

Well it's official, I am climbing the CN tower! I first heard about it last year when a co-worker spoke about climbing it for the World Wildlife Foundation. Last year, I wanted to do it, however didn't do anything about it. This year I took matters into my own hands.

I made flyer's, and I put my name on the sign in sheet that I created. After a long 12 hour night shift I went home and thought to myself: There is no turning back! My name is out there on the sheet, that is that!

To my amazement, many other co-workers are up to the challenge. Fantastic! There is about 10 of us so far that have signed up, and it will be great to complete this challenge together.

But don't be fooled. 144 flights of stairs is A LOT of stairs. The floor I currently work on is on the 8th floor, there are 9 floors in the hospital in total and approx 150 ish stairs. Training has included going up and down the stairs for work, as well as the stair climber at the gym. A lot of training is needed!!

The first attempt going up the stairs it was around floor 3 when a co-worker and I would start to loose are breath, and by floor 4 we would no longer talk with one another lol. Now a days it's around floor 6 that we stop talking with one another, and my quads don't hurt/burn like they once did however it's more of a cardiovascular concern. I often wonder if this will be my first and last time in the CN Tower lol.

The scale says 284lbs. I would like to drop at least 15 pounds before the climb. I think I should get half the time taken off when I reach the top since i am climbing with the weight of another person on me. Ahhh if only I could make the rules!!

Needless to say, this a great fitness challenge, and a event to look forward to. Next year I hope to do this again, and beat my final time this year....Love a good challenge!

A Bag of Salt IS A LOT of Weight!!!

I don't know about you, but I struggle with compliments. Why is it so easy to give a compliment, but not recieve one?

Lately co-workers have been giving me compliments regarding my weight loss. The attention hasn't been as dreadful as I had thought it would be, but it's still hard to take at times. You may be shaking your head "Dreadful"- yes I said dreadful!!
I dislike attention, and attention on my body still makes me quite uncomfortable. However I am a work in progress ;)

I know my weight loss is offically visible now. I have been down playing the
47lbs I have lost thus far, because my goal is so large. However yesterday was a eye opener. I carried 4-44lb bags of water softener salt down to the basement. It wasn't until I picked up the last bag to place in the water softener that I thought to myself "wow this is heavy!!" I looked at the bag 44lbs, and a light bulb went off-I have lost more weight then this bag of salt. Holy Shit!

I then began to walk around my basement carrying the salt looking completely ridiculous lol. I took this experiement a few steps further-literally. I decided to go up and down the stairs (only 5 stairs mind you lol) to see what it would feel like to carry this "lost" weight around again. I thought to myself how much harder I had to work to move that weight. I also thought of how it would be if I had to strap the 44lb bag of salt to my back and walk around all day with the "extra" weight.

Giving compliments are easy. Receiving them can be difficult. As I carried that salt around for only a few minutes, I thought about all the hard work I have done to loose the equivelent in weight. I thought about how much easier it is to move around, to bend, to stretch, to breath. My quality of life has improved, and it's only going to get better and better. No longer am I an observer in my life, but I am living my life.

This bag of salt may not mean too much to others struggling to fill their water softeners-but to me this bag of salt represents a healthier version of me. From now on when I receive a compliment, I will remember that bag of salt.