Great going Ashley! One step at a time and you will reach your goal. )

Took me a while to think of searching for an Ottawa group!
Hi guys,
I'm Alexis. age 25. Working a desk job 9-5. I like to run and drink beer. Never at the same time, but I've been thinking about it.
You can learn more about me on my profile. Feel free to add me.

We should get drunk and go for a jog sometime lol

Salut Michel! Nice to meet you. You have quite the success story!

Hello everone

Newbie here have lost 37 lbs before joining mfp hit plateau and my fitness counsellor hooked me up on here. looks great looking forward to seeing more results.

High Five for the progress you have made in such a short time! Keep it going!

I got a free one month membership at the Snap Fitness in Rockland.

Hey, I've lived in Ottawa for the majority of my life (was also born here). I'm 29 and a married father of 2 children (2 year old son and 2 month old daughter). I joined yesterday to help me keep on track with my diet and fitness goals. After getting some blood work done, I found out that I have high cholesterol. I started P90X and my goal is to drop down to about 150-155 lbs. from 175, and to lower my body fat percentage from 28 to 18. With diabetes, heart disease/strokes being part of my family medical history, it's time to change. I will not become another statistic.

Hello All!

I'm Mira and apparently one of the very few people who migrated to Ottawa from Western Canada instead of Eastern Canada.

Originally from small town Alberta I came out here for University and never left (my darling Husband may have something to do with that). My 7 years of university led to a rapidly growing behind and a sense of denial about my fitness levels. I'd always done something for exercise, (fencing in undergrad, jiu jitsu throughout law school) but I found my true exercise passion in long distance running, a habit that I've been happily feeding since 2009 (did a brief stint of running in 2006-2007 but then got "the fear" when I twisted my knee).

I lost a fair amount of weight before my wedding in 2010 and then entered wedded bliss which lead to more blinders about eating habits. I realized when I barely made it through my first full marathon in 2011 (fall colours is an evil course by the by) that I had gained back all the weight that I'd lost pre-wedding and then some. After about 14 months of hard work I'm down to right around my high school weight and fairly happy with it, though now I'd like to get into uncharted territory and see if I can't shave a bit more time off my next marathon (I shaved an hour and 37 minutes off my second one in October 2012).

Now you can regularly see me being one of those crazy people who are out running in all kinds of weather. The canal is a few blocks from my office and I love strapping on my running shoes for a quick 5k at lunch (hooray for government employment!) or in the west end on the trans Canada trail with my dog. I am also a pretty common sight at races. I'm usually the one yelling at the spectators that we need more cheering and complimenting other peoples' fun coloured shoes. Anyone else doing Ottawa Race Weekend? I'm marathon bound for that one!

That's my novel- feel free to add me if you'd like!:happy:

Hi everyone,
My name is Janet. I recently moved to Ottawa this summer with my husband and two teenage kids from Trenton, ON. Both of us are in the military.
I have had problems with my weight forever which is why I decided to undergo lap-band surgery Dec 19th. So far so good but it's a big learning process.
I joined MFP because of it's terrific food and exercise tracker. Now that I can exercise I have started figure skating with my daughter and have joined the YMCA. The only problem is I can't seem to get the motivation to go at night so next week I am going to go in the morning before work instead. (Winter is sooo depressing with the dark nights)
I am 205 pounds now and hope to get down to 140. I walked/ran 2 half marathons in the past and would love to do a full marathon once I get a bit of weight down.
Ottawa is an awesome city for running!

Hi everyone!

I decided 3 days ago that this was the place for me! I heard about this website on Pinterest -- of all places! LOL. I can't believe what an amazing site it is! I've done the Weight Watchers Online thing before, and find this site to be far, far superior!

I work at a desk and the "secretarial spread" has been creeping up on me for years. 3 years ago I lost 30 pounds but then stopped. I've kept it off, but decided it was high time to take care of the rest

Glad to have found the Ottawa group!

Hello all...
My name is Lesley and Ive been on MFP for about a year. Fell off the wagon quite some time ago and just getting back into it. Ive been in Ottawa for 25 yrs but cant really say it feels like home ( Im from Cobourg ON). Have had a craptastic 2012 which sent me reeling. Lost both of my parents in a 6 month span and feel like Im lost. Because Im an emotional trainwreck, have not been exactly taking the best care of myself. Hoping to find a support network here to get back on track.
Im a newlywed (the one amazing thing of 2012) and a proud Mom and step Mom to a 15 yr old boy and 15 yr old girl. Work in the social services sector and love my job, although it is quite stressful.
Im an occasional runner, and feel great after I do a run (no marathons for me....5k is my thing) . Problem is getting motivated to do it!
Looking forward to getting to know you!

Hello everyone! I live in Stittsville, and find it tough to meet people to workout with...without the time feeling like a workout!

After a few years of injuries and a desk job, I found myself over 240lbs. A serious but temporary health issue was my wake-up call last year. The doctor told me I would need to quit smoking and lose weight. I have been a non-smoker for a few months now, and am embarking further onto the weight loss "action plan". I have already shed some weight, and am down to 205lbs. I am typically fairly active, but having physical barriers to working out for the last few years has hindered my progress.

I already eat uber-healthy, thank goodness, or I would likely have a loftier goal and a more difficult path.

I am losing weight the healthy way, by upping the level of physical activity. Last week, I joined a gym, which is not my ideal...I would rather be outdoors any day! My end-goal is huge...80 lbs, healthy and fit. I am realistic though, and have a plan to lose it (in consultations with my doctors) gradually, in a healthy way, averaging about 2-3 lbs per week. I break down my goal into weekly achievements to keep me motivated.

I plan to celebrate the return to my healthy weight with participation in the Spartan Race in 2014. (so if anyone wants to build a team....might be a great way to celebrate our success!)

What I am trying to get on here is the social aspect of working out...making it more fun!!

Hi! My name is Josée and I am from Gatineau. I'm not new to MFP but I recently began to use the community section of the website

Looking forward to talk with you guys!

Hello!

My name is Jennifer. I just joined MFP today. I live in Centretown.

Glad to see that there are other people from NCR here!

Good morning everyone! I have been on MFP for a while, but only recently decided to look through the groups and see if there was a group for those living in the NCR. I was happy to see there was!

I live downtown and work at Carleton University while finishing up my Master's degree at the University of Ottawa. Needless to say, working a full-time job and writing a thesis can make finding the time to fit in workouts a little difficult. With the warmer weather coming though, I am feeling motivated to get into shape in preparation for bike season!

I have lived in Ottawa off and on since 2000 and love this city I am an avid biker and am hoping that there are others out there who love to bike and would be interested in some group riding on the weekends!

At my heaviest in 2nd year of my Undergrad, I was hitting the 200lb mark. A back injury in 2007 was my wake-up call to get myself back into shape and I have been slowly and steadily losing weight and getting back into shape since then. Right now I currently hover between the 130-135lb mark and my goals now are to increase my endurance and tone I would like to try and get into running this spring/summer as I live so close to the canal.

I look forward to getting to know everyone!

Hey! I've just moved to Ottawa in July from Toronto and didn't have a chance to explore the biking ventures this city has to offer. I am really excited to purchase my first ever bike this year and I want to take advantage of the bike routes here. Any suggestions? I live right beside Mooney's Bay and Hogs Back Falls.

I was also my heaviest during my 2nd year of undergrad and I have vowed never to go back to that. My weight loss has been stalled for a good year now, I fluctuate between the same ten pounds. I started spinning classes at my gym and they are the only thing that have made a difference for me. While my weight hasn't decreased my body shape has changed completely! This is why I really want to start biking outdoors and also to cut down my ecological footprint

What are you writing your thesis about? I can understand how hard it is to stay on track with so many life distractions, but that's what we must do.