Our Engagement!!

So part of my reason for starting this blog was to share my wedding plans. I am a little less then 8 months to my wedding date and very much in the middle of planning.

We were engaged at the end of May 2010….the exact date I don’t even know(is this bad?). It wasn’t some big romantic adventure, just very simple and very much us.  I had just finished a long day at my IT job an my fiancé was off that day. He kept telling me he had a surprise for me that evening, thinking it was an IPAD (they were just released in Canada) I was reluctant to go anywhere other then to the couch and veg out. Now don’t get me wrong I very much wanted an IPAD, just thought it was something that could wait. After we did our errands that evening, he asked me if I wanted to go get my surprise, I honestly responded “Can’t we go to the Apple store this weekend?”. That’s how sure I was that it was an IPAD. He looked at me, then kind of nervously said “It’s actually the bigger thing you want”. Well now I am TOTALLY awake and running on pure adrenalin. I even asked him a few times if he was telling the truth….and apparently he was. We got my engagement ring that night! (I got to pick it out)



My fiancé is Serbian Orthodox…..soo it looks like I am getting baptized * thinks of the scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding * I have however been reassured that there will be no kiddy pool or a bathing suit! THANK GOD… I mean Hallelujah? This is still something on the long list of things that need to be done, but it’s coming soon.

As soon as we were engaged I wanted to secure the location for our reception. As I design Wedding Invitations and often browse the web for ideas, I already had a vision of where I wanted my reception and what it would look like. Now don’t think I am some crazy bride, I am just surrounded around this type of environment that its hard not to vision my own. I have had the idea of my wedding invitations forever! Just never put them down on paper or on Photoshop/Illustrator, just in case a client saw them and wanted them for themselves….yeah selfish I know. 



Here are some photos of our church and reception venue.

Church

Reception

Our ceremony will take place at Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church and our reception at the heritage building called the Millennium Centre in downtown Winnipeg. The Millennium Centre used to be an old bank that is now often used for wedding ceremonies and receptions. It’s GORGEOUS and almost impossible to get within a year. We originally wanted a summer wedding for the upcoming year, but it was fully booked. We ended up securing September 24th, 2011!!! I’m extremely happy with this date as the leaves will be orange and the weather shouldn't be to too hot or too cold...Perfect!

Oh and btw I still don’t have an IPAD…but I think I got the better surprise!

Beat Your Personal Best!

In my first blog entry I touched on my current workout program.  I see my lovely trainer Kim twice a week (though this may need to be increased to three times.) I also work out at least 1-2 days a week on my own.
 


The workouts are structured into three programs as follows
 


• Day One: Arms
Day 
• Two: Legs
Day 
• Three: Core

Each program has a number of exercises for various muscles in those groups, and I usually do 3 sets of 12 reps for each exercise. My weight training is always followed by 20 minutes of cardio, which helps to burn fat and keep me trim. I do each of the three programs twice, then Kim creates a new set of programs for me. This  allows my body to never get used to the same thing.


For example, today is my Core day. Here is my program:

 


She may change/add things during a session to make it harder

 Those leg raises…..so hard! But I will push myself,  because as the saying goes, “No pain, no gain.” Pain will definitely be a part of this, but don’t confuse this with bad pain. It’s all gooood.
 





We finish each session with stretching. Now I know that when I was in school, we always stretched before a workout. But many studies suggest stretching afterwards (though it depends on your trainer/health professional, some suggest stretching both before and after a workout.) After you spend any amount of time working on a specific muscle it gets tight and sore, but if you stretch after the workout you allow that muscle to relax. Proper stretching will reduce soreness, improve circulation and reduce the risk of injury. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do any type of movement before you start working out. I usually walk around the track for a few laps to help warm up my muscles. 


I have only done this program once; this will be my second time today. I always try to push myself further then I did the last time. As Kim always reminds me, “Beat your personal best.”. And that’s all I think, over and over, while I am doing this. I find the best person to compete with is yourself. The you from last time, the you that keeps saying “I’m tired”, “I’m sore” or “I want to give up.” And when you do beat your personal best, it feels awesome and TOTALLY WORTH ALL THE PAIN!!!



This morning I beat my personal best! I weighed myself at 124.2!!! YAY gooo me. Now to go even harder!

Please note that I am not a trainer nor a health or fitness professional. You should always consult a professional before beginning any health regimen.  I am only relating my own personal experiences.

My Journey....



Okay, here goes… My name is Destini. I am a 27 year old Graphic Designer/IT Nerd. Just over 4 years ago I met the love of my life, and lo and behold… we’re getting married this September!! When I first met my man I was 110 lbs., but with the comfort of love, restaurant dating and happiness, that quickly changed.

My journey for healthy living started in November 2009, when I went to see my doctor and weighed in at 164 lbs. That was a devastating day, but also a wake-up call. Something needed to change, even more so with my best friend’s February wedding fast approaching.

At the suggestion of a friend who had lost weight with Herbal Magic, I contacted them. I’m not sure whether Herbal Magic is a gimmick or not, but I know it worked for me. They taught me a lot about my body and healthy choices for food. REAL FOOD.  However, the initial cost is quite high and there is a constant need for supplements, which can be a significant factor in making it work for some people. You invest a lot, and I knew personally I couldn’t afford to not make it work. My program was for one full year. My goal for the weight loss portion of Herbal Magic was to lose 30 lbs. at 2 lbs. per week for 15 weeks. After reaching my goal, I’d be moved to stabilization for 8 weeks where they would slowly raise my calories, followed by maintenance for the rest of the year. I actually lost the 30 lbs. in less than 15 weeks, so I was able to continue losing more weight on top of that.

After I was moved into stabilization I stopped going. Now, this isn’t something I’d recommend for everyone. But my reasoning for stopping was that I wanted to know that I could do this on my own and without the supplements. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone else unless they feel quite confident with their body. When I was finished with Herbal Magic in April 2010, I weighed in at 129lbs. And I was very, very happy with no regrets!

I was able to keep the weight off, though it did go up and down over the next 7 months. During this time my boyfriend (now fiancé) proposed to me and we set our wedding date for September 24^th, 2011!! If you haven’t been engaged or planned a wedding, let me tell you this: Everything goes SOO fast. All of a sudden, 16 months to our wedding date became 9 months and soooo much needed to be done. Including things I felt I needed to do with myself.

So this brings us to December 11^th, 2010. My best friend (who is also my maid of honor) and I went to start “browsing” for wedding dresses. I saw this wedding dress in a store window and contacted the store to find out the number. I knew from the moment I saw it that it was “the one”. I tried it on and fell in love! I put down the deposit on it that day. The only things I felt that needed some TLC were my arms and my back. I may have lost the weight, but still had some extra “meat” (as I call it) that remained from my heavier times. This got me to contact my personal trainer whom I had oddly met dancing at a local club. We set a date and time to meet at the YMCA. To say I was nervous is an understatement. I’d never been an avid gym member so this would be something new. On December 15^th I weighed in at 131lbs, a little more than when I left Herbal Magic, but all in all a good starting point.

Fast forward to today…I’m about 6 weeks into my program with my lovely personal trainer Kim. So far it’s been a hard, sweaty journey but I’m starting to see results and couldn’t be happier. With my social and wedding quickly approaching, my goals have never been more clear, which brings me to why I am doing this blog; I know losing weight is never easy. Dieting and working out is INCREDIBLY hard. I know if it wasn’t for other people’s stories of inspiration and encouragement I wouldn’t be where I am today.

I have decided to document this journey all the way to my wedding day, not only with stories of working out, but also with healthy recipes that I enjoy and my wedding plans. Every day, people get engaged, they create healthy choice goals, and they struggle/succeed with it all. This is my journey; this is my story of running to the aisle.