Sunday, September 29, 2013

Hitting the Re-Set Button!

Hello There,
Happy Fall!  I love saying that.  Now if the weather would just get a little bit cooler!  Well, I survived the last 2 weeks.  I'm sooOO happy that is over.  Things all went well for the most part, but I'm worn out.  The 3 day meeting was a lot of sitting and eating.  And eating and sitting.  I did well the first day.  Even took a long walk at Seaport Village. But the second day, it was all over.  They had amazing food.  Not typical catering food, but the Manchester Grand Hyatt Restaurant food!  Even a freaking candy bar with all my favorites!  I did avoid any alcohol to not complicate matters.  But, man, I was hyped up on coffee and espresso beans.  Each night I got home around 10pm and then had to work because I had a deadline amongst all this.  As soon as the meeting was over Saturday, I went straight to the gym and did a 5K.  My WI for that week had me gaining 2.4 lbs.  Yikes.  I had gained 0.8 lbs the week before.  So, I was really worried about what was still to come.

The next few days were crazy at work, but I was able to be back on plan.  Did some very long workouts each night, which I think saved my butt for the next week of insanity.  My colleague and I then headed to Madison, Wisconsin for a vendor meeting.  What a cute college capitol town!  I loved it.  Again, I did well the first day of travel.  Packed my lunch, ate a healthy breakfast, but had Mac and Cheese (with cheese curds, buffalo chicken) for dinner.  Yeah, that pretty much set the tone for the next few days.  Cheese Curds galore!!  They were raw, they were broiled, they were fried in vodka batter.  They were even on the healthy beet salad we ordered.  They were everywhere!!  The second night, I had, yep, Mac and Cheese again but with Pulled Pork.  Lunches were not light either.  It was more pasta and tons of desserts.  WW, healthy eating, what's that??!!  Yeah, I pretty much lost my mind and what I was supposed to be doing.  Even went for the regular Coke, M&Ms at night in the hotel room.  It was like every bad habit I had (and had gotten rid of) had come back!  It was even topped off with a dinner stop at Jack in the Box the night I flew back.  Say what??!!!  I felt soo horrible and ill.  I was very happy to get back on plan Saturday.  In fact, I got up pretty early and went straight to the gym.  Walked 4 miles!!  I was starting to not feel so ill anymore.  I went to my WW meeting and was really dreading what was about to happen.  I vowed I would not let it get me down, but we would hit the re-set button.  Much to my crazy surprise, I lost 0.2 lbs.  Huh??!!!  Seriously??!!  I was surely expecting a gain of about 5.  I'll take it!!  I think all the exercise I did before I left and the 4 miles helped things.  Now to be back on track for the next 3 weeks before I leave again to Virginia.  This I do promise needs to be a better attempt at balancing health with food enjoyment.  My hubby will be with me, so I think it will be slightly easier to help keep each other on track.  Plus, a lot of walking will be involved!

Sooo very proud of hubby!  He hit a big goal, and has lost 52 lbs so far. :) :)  He looks good and is catching up to me!  Well, it's time to shuffle off to the gym again.  Just taking it easy today and catching up on house stuff.  TOM has arrived, so that makes the next few days oh so fun.  NOT!! :(  Just glad it didn't grace me with its presence during the trip and hopefully it will bypass the VA trip as well.  I have another all day offsite meeting this week with catered food all day, so will opt to eat breakfast at home and skip the dessert.  Need to make this a good week and get back on the losing train!

I hope you all have an awesome and successful week!!

Cheers,
Jessica :)

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Yellow Caution Tape Up - Brutal 2 Weeks Ahead

Hello All!
How are you on this fine Sunday evening?!  Me, I'm beat... exhausted..... toast.... fried... tuckered.... washed up..... spent.... empty...... you get it!  I'm officially in the brutal days and weeks of September.  I apologize in advance if you don't hear from me much until the end of September! :(  We have a big 3 day 15 hour/day work meeting this Thur/Fri/Sat downtown at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.  Which will probably be filled with pretty crazy long days leading up to Thursday.  Then, I go to Wisconsin for 3 days for work following that.  Just hope I can get in some exercise somewhere and stay decently on plan the next 14 days.  I've worked too hard to slip and gain a bunch.  The reality is, I probably won't lose over these 2 weeks.  So, my motto is: Minimize the damage the next 2 weeks.

Last night I was not looking too forward to the plans I had.  One of those things that sounded okay at the time, but was turning into being not so fun.  Rarely do I go into something not looking forward to it and just wanting it to be over, but last night was one of those times.  But, I was pleasantly surprised. :)  It turned out better than I had anticipated, kind of fun, and I was able to stay on plan for the most part.  That was a big worry! I'm glad we went.  But, I'm also glad I didn't cut my workout short yesterday so we could be on time.  Was able to still get in a 5K and only be 20 mins late.  Was worth it!

Today, I stayed in bed until 9:30am.  What???!!!!!  Yeah, that's crazy for me.  I'm usually out of bed walking the dogs by 7am.  I just couldn't get up.  When I finally did, I was so out of it and dopey.  After an hour or so, I dragged myself to the gym.  Was really tired but I don't know what it is about exercise - as soon as I start, all the tiredness is sucked out of me and I'm in athlete mode. :)  I ended up doing 20 min fast hill interval walk, 15 min elliptical, then back on the treadmill for another 30 min hill interval walk, followed by an extra 10 minutes so I could finish watching the Chargers game.  Yay!!!!  They actually pulled it off and WON!! :)  Oh man, I was sore when I was done.  So what do I do?  I go to the strip mall, park at one end, and walk clear to the other side to the grocery store, back to the car.  Then the bank, back to the car.  Then Starbucks, back to the car.  Did I forget that somewhere I said I was freaking tired and SORE!!!  Geesh.... I got home and was a vegetable on the couch for an hour before we had to leave again to drive to my nephew's bday dinner.  That was nice.  It was great to see everyone, been way too long!  Was able to avoid the chips, fabulous queso, and margs to stay on plan.  I'm learning and it's getting easier to focus on the people and conversation versus the food when eating out.  At these events, IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE FOOD! :)

So, for WI this weekend.  I was up 0.8 lbs.  Not sure what that was totally about, but I could tell I was having fluid issues again this week.  Ankles swollen. :( At our offsite meeting Thursday I did indulge in the dessert they served, some incredible caramel apple bread pudding pie thing with creme fraiche drizzle.  It was definitely worth all the pts!  Oh well, moving on to this week.  Hubby lost 1 lb.  He's now 1 lb from 50 lbs lost!!  So excited for him.

Well, it's time to get this weary girl to bed.  Hope you had a wonderful weekend and aren't having as brutal days of September!  Have a fabulous week and be kind to yourself and others. :)

Cheers,
Jessica

Saturday, September 7, 2013

She Shoots, She Scores!!!! Goal!!!! :)

Happy Saturday y'all!
Oh my heck it is still freaking hot and humid in San Diego!  We've had the AC on 24/7 at home, the car, and at work.  Can't wait to see this electric bill!! :(  I hear it's supposed to break early next week.  Thank Heavens!!!  Hope it lasts for awhile.  I actually broke out the shorts today! :)

I can tell you though, I feel so much better right now going through this heat wave and being 60 lbs lighter!  YEP, I said 60!! :)  I lost that 0.2 lbs last week and then some!  1.6 lbs to be exact. :)  Soooo thrilled!  So, 61.4 lost since Jan and 70 since last year. I'm also only 2 lbs away from being half way through what I need to lose in total.  Plug in Bon Jovi song here.....Woah  Ohhhh, I'm half way there!!!!  Woah Ohhhhh!!!  :)

I really didn't know what would happen at WI today.  TOM is in town so I've eaten more points than normal.  I've had way more caffeine then water and I'm retaining fluids like crazy!  I did work out a lot this week though.  Got 34 activity points which is my most yet!  Did 2 5K's last weekend and an extra workout last night.  Thank gosh for big industrial fans at the gym!!!  Hubby had a great loss too, 1.6 lbs gone!! :)  He is so close to being down 50 lbs!  T had a great WI too and got her 10%!  Soooo happy for you!!  You are doing it girl!  And J, holy cow, just caught up with her and she is just 13 lbs away from Lifetime GOAL!!  Amazing!!  It is soo inspiring and encouraging to be around all these folks reaching for their goals and taking charge of their health.  Now is the time!!!  If you haven't started but want to, it's a great time to join WW.  One month free!  Let's do it together!

Also, for those of you interested in joining me and some friends - we will be celebrating my birthday by doing the Iron Girl 5K on December 8th in Del Mar.  Looking forward to this!  I can give you a discount code for joining our group, so just let me know if you are interested.  This one is just for the girls. :)

Well, not doing too much this weekend.....again!  Just surviving the heat, going to the gym, and relaxing.  I have a crazy next weekend and 2 weeks after that, so just enjoying the downtime right now.

Hope your September is off to a good start!  September is the new January, a great time to make new commitments and goals or strengthen current ones before the holiday months hit!  What will you do different this year to get through the holidays in one piece with less padding added?! :)

Cheers,
Jessica