Nancy’s Photo Journey

Hi Sue!

Here’s a photo documentary of my ‘100 Day Challenge’.

I can’t believe how fast these 100 days went by!  I had a lot of fun participating in the challenge, and more importantly I have made some big (and hopefully permanent) changes in my life.  I have always loved being outdoors, but this challenge took my love of nature to a whole new level.  Hiking, walking, yoga, dancing, skating, and snowshoeing all played a huge part in my success.

My goals were: to lose at least ten pounds, attend yoga classes regularly, and to be active three times a week.  I am happy to say I met all three of my goals.

Here are a few photos of my fitness journey….

I measured myself 4 times throughout the 100 days.  My waist measured 44 inches on Day 1.  Good Lord!  That’s bigger than most women’s hips!

I weighed 205 pounds on Day 1.  (I forgot to take a photo of the scale at the beginning of the challenge, so I took this photo a week later.)

My husband and I did a lot of hiking with friends this autumn.  Here’s a photo of the first of three stunning Joffre Lakes.  This hike was 11 kilometres long.

Next we hiked to Rainbow Lake.  This hike was 14 kilometres long.

The Elfin Lakes were our next destination.  This hike was a whopping 22 kilometres through snow!

We ended our 2009 hiking season with an ascent to the Stawamus Chief’s second peak.  It involved all manner of getting to the top.

But what a reward when we got to the top of the Chief’s second peak!

I had never participated in a yoga class before.  Here I am with Christy, the most loving and caring instructor on the planet!  Restorative yoga is where it’s at people!  Please try it!

I went skating at Robson Square….something I hadn’t done in decades!  (I’ve kinda forgotten how to skate though.  But no matter.  I had lots of laughs at my own expense.)

As a regular part of my fitness regime, I went to Shopper’s Drug Mart to take my blood pressure on a weekly basis.

At the end of the 100 days, I had lost 10 pounds!

But even more exciting than losing weight, was losing INCHES!  I lost 3 and a half inches off of my waist!  I now have the beginnings of an hourglass figure!  Woo hoo!

Another exciting development was that I can now shop in the regular women’s clothing departments!  No more buying my clothes in the ‘Large Marge’ section of stores!  The tag is XL, but that is music to my ears!  I almost want to wear my clothes with the size tag sticking out.  (Oh wait, I already do that…..)

To kick off the New Year, my husband Joe and I have recently registered for the ‘Edge to Edge Half-Marathon’ in Ucluelet in June.  I figure if I can walk 22 kilometres through mountainous snow-covered trails, I can certainly train to run/walk a 20 km half-marathon.

In closing, I want to thank you Sue for inspiring me to get out and get active!  It has been a LOT of fun and I am looking forward to kicking it up a notch in the New Year.  I’ll keep you posted regarding my marathon training.

Love,

Nancy