Thoughts:
This is going to be a happy post simply because I am happy.
- As you could have read in my yesterday’s post I’ve lost 2.3 kg / 5 lbs. last month and I feel great. I feel thin and healthy.
- Yesterday and today there were three co-workers who said to me I look great and asked if I lost weight.
- I feel very comfortable with my body right now.
- I get a little more confident every day that this time I actually might reach goal weight.
- My recovery week and going back to Pilates were the best decisions I’ve made in the workout part this year.
- I look forward to Syl’s challenge because it is going to be a challenge: no more excuses when I don’t feel like working out for the next two months.
- I’m happy with Marcelle as my friend even though we haven’t met yet (still hope we will in September). Since I’ve got a Blackberry I can chat with Marcelle for free because she has one too. Since last week we start our day daily by chatting our plans for the day and the weight of the day so that we stay accountable to each during. During the day we chat about how it’s going. This is very helpful for me and I want to thank you for your support Marcelle.
- I’m happy with K. who’s always supportive and I’m glad she’s one of my best friends.
- I’m happy with R., my love, for many things.
- And I’m happy we found Bella, she makes me smile everyday.
Today I’ve bought online 4 gifts, as soon as I got it in the mail I’m going to send/give it to:
- Marcelle for being my BB help and support day in, day out.
- Syl for hosting the challenge for September and October.
- K. one of my best friends and biggest supporter and who’s so sweet to take my outfit picture every day at work.
- And to myself because I’m worth it too.
Ladies, the three of you all read my blog and I’m not going to tell you what it is, you just have to be patient.
Today it’s September 1st, let the challenge begin!
Exercise:
Last night I went to the Pilates class and loved it. I noticed that my legs are very strong from all the running but also that my muscles have shortened because of the running. Pilates will help me lengthen them again. Also I noticed that my flexibility isn’t it what it used to be. Therefore I will go to this class every week from now on. Man today I feel muscles I forgot I had
Today after work I went for an easy run since it is recovery week. I decided to run at least 20 minutes for the challenge, after I went for 4K, then 30 minutes and ended up doing 5K. Didn’t watch pace just ran at a comfortable pace. I was tired when I finished but not exhausted and was surprised to see it was a fast run (at least for me).
Stats:
Weather: sunny, light wind, 21C/69 degrees
Distance: 5 K / 3.1 miles
Time: 00:33:26
Average time: 6:41 /km
Average speed: 9.0 km/hour
Last song on Ipod before finish: Enrique Iglesias – Bailamos
The final countdown:
Monday
A piece of beef meat, potatoes and broccoli.

Calories: 1453 (goal 1500-1700).
Calories burned: 157 (daily exercise not counted)
Note: First day of the new plan and a good one too.
Tuesday
Again beef, potatoes and red cabbage.
Calories: 1420 (goal 1500-1700).
Calories burned: 125 (daily exercise not counted)
Note: Good day.
Fran’s daily outfit:

Tuesday

Wednesday
Book review:
Sarah’s Key – Tatiana de Rosnay

De Rosnay’s U.S. debut fictionalizes the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations, in which thousands of Jewish families were arrested, held at the Vélodrome d’Hiver outside the city, then transported to Auschwitz. Forty-five-year-old Julia Jarmond, American by birth, moved to Paris when she was 20 and is married to the arrogant, unfaithful Bertrand Tézac, with whom she has an 11-year-old daughter. Julia writes for an American magazine and her editor assigns her to cover the 60th anniversary of the Vél’ d’Hiv’ roundups. Julia soon learns that the apartment she and Bertrand plan to move into was acquired by Bertrand’s family when its Jewish occupants were dispossessed and deported 60 years before. She resolves to find out what happened to the former occupants: Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel. The more Julia discovers—especially about Sarah, the only member of the Starzynski family to survive—the more she uncovers about Bertrand’s family, about France and, finally, herself. Already translated into 15 languages, the novel is De Rosnay’s 10th (but her first written in English, her first language). It beautifully conveys Julia’s conflicting loyalties, and makes Sarah’s trials so riveting, her innocence so absorbing, that the book is hard to put down.
When I was reading this book Shelley mentioned in a comment she has read it too and had no idea what happened in France in 1942, she was never told about it in school. I answered her that I too didn’t have an idea that this had happened. We were at war with Germany in the second World War and of course we were teached a lot about the war in school but it was mostly focussed on Holland, I think you all know Anne Frank.
That being said back to the book. It started promising, I could hardly put it away as I wanted to know what happened to Sarah and her brother but when I found out about that I lost my interest in the book a bit. I had expected that the book would be more about Sarah but it was more about Julia. But overall conclusion is that it’s a good book and worth reading.
































































