On the Road Again

This past week was split between a few days of work and a few days at a family reunion at my sister's cabin located in Weber canyon.  When I say on the road again, I literally mean it!  I took my bike and road every day-it was absolutely beautiful.  I rode from the cabin to Smith & Morehouse reservoir which was roundtrip 16 miles.  The first day while the guys were all golfing, I was by myself and ran face to face with a beautiful moose as well as a brand new little wobbly baby deer with his mom.  It was great to get some exercise in all while having fun with the family.

Perhaps the best part of the weekend was to see how my lifestyle has changed in comparison to my family.  Each morning was started off with a big breakfast of waffles, French toast etc.  I would ride and come back and have cantaloupe and cottage cheese.  There were treats galore and I was able to resist most of them-i would be lying if I said I didn't have just a little dutch oven chocolate cake or cheesy potatoes but I tried to monitor portion sizes.  On the last day of the gathering my oldest sister made the comment that she could see that I was really trying to make the changes I needed to.  My thoughts as I compared my changes of exercise, fruit, veggies and portion controlled seemed much more enjoyable than the very limited selection of food choices that one family member who had recently undergone gastric bypass surgery was struggling with.  I appreciate the changes we are both making but I am really glad this is the way I have chosen to go about doing it.

I have great support at home with my husband and kids.  My husband is doing great and keeping me motivated when I get discouraged.  It is really nice to do this as a team.

This is really looking down the river but I can't get it to flip, so stand on your head and look how beautiful it is.

The pictures attached are on the trail i was riding and taken by me (now you know why my head is cut off) with my phone.

Vacation Bliss

I spent the past week doing some of my favorite things. 
1-time with my husband and boys
2-biking and hiking in some of the most beautiful areas in the state
3-time in the sun, swiming & relaxing
4-staying up late watching movies and playing games which leads to sleeping in and not going to meetings
5-driving, talking and laughing with the kids.  They think they are really funny but I am sure it is just our odd family sense of humor.

We were able to visit Zions National Park, The Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon & Cedar Breaks.  We ventured near 800 miles and ranged in temperature from 100 degrees to 50 degrees.   As we traveled through Cedar Breaks my son  was able to see snow for the first time in over two years and of course had to have a snowball fight to top off the days adventures.  It was a great break from the day to day routine.

We started out with a drive to stay focused on our new healthy lifestyle.  I packed a cooler with fresh fruit and veggies and a few rice cakes.  That lasted for the first day until the kids were determined I was rationing their food.and they were going to starve to death.  My husband and I did ok until we found a great little gelato shop as we were entering Zions.  We did split a small cup and it was delightful!  Perhaps the worst falling happened as I indulged in the nectar of diet coke and yes once again gained almost 5 pounds once I started drinking soda again.  I guess I am a slow learner.

Grand Canyon North Rim

I am a little sunburned and a little tired but overall feel like I made some good choices as I make food selections and enjoyed the joys of exhausting my muscles on the redrocks of southern Utah.

Jake was even able to translate for a family from Main Land China that was lost in Zions.  If he only had a Book of Mormon to share the trip would have been complete!

Zions

Falling of the Diet CokeAchollic

Throughout my entire life I have had to prove to myself lessons that others can learn from others.  The lesson this week was related to my diet coke additction.  As many of you know, we had our internal quality survey this week at AFH which leads to a little extra stress.  I was not getting my daily work done so stayed up late to try to catch up.  This is where the addict feel off the wagon and fell victim to my diet coke addiction.  I was eight whole days without a soda and bam! three days of indulgence which led to a five pound weight gain.  I didn't eat the cookies, eclars, chips, candybars etc or even the delicious artichoke dip when those around me were enjoying.  Lesson learned (Traci-I am now a believer!) soda definately adds to weight gain.

I have been really impressed with my counterparts in this challenge who are working so hard to make needed changes in their life.  Bruce is especially inspiring as we spin next to each other in the mornings.  Great job guys, keep your eye on your goals and we can do this together.

If you ever want a good laugh, you should join us for a little Yoga with security and engineering.  We are there about 5:30 in the wellness center but there are no pictures allowed.

Diet Coke Junkie

Being a Diet Coke addict I thought this would be one of the most difficult adjustments to make during this 100 days.  I am finding that giving up the Diet Coke hasn't been that big of a deal.  Traci told me that I wouldn't see near the results if I kept drinking carbonated water.  I have a ton of respect for Traci and took her up on the challenge.  If I am really going to make the lifestyle changes I need to then so be it-pour it down the drain.

The real challenge has been finding time to log my food, blog, attend the nutrition class and yes get up at 5:00 so I can get my exercise in before meetings start.  I have really enjoyed the changes in food choices we are making in our home.  My husband Rick is joining in on this journey at home so I will keep an update on occasion on how he is doing as well.  So far, he still thinks he needs chocolate milk and a Hostee cupcake before going to bed so we will see who has the best success.  After all, a calorie is a calorie as we learned in our nutrition class this morning.  If you want to safe it up for a reward, it might just work.

Facing the facts

This week I have experienced a few firsts, first time I have blogged & first time I have journaled my food intake.  I have not loved the journaling piece as I have been in denial about all of the little snacks that I love throughout the day.  When you journal you have to be honest with yourself and count every morsel.  It has been really good for me so far and I hope to see some lifestyle changes just from this habbit.

I was able to meet with Tracy & my trainer yesterday.  It was an eye opener to get my numbers back and have them slap me in the face.  I know I have a strong family history of heart disease, so I don't know where the lack of motivation for changing my lifestyle came from.  It is now or never!  Tracy told me I was strong, I have always been strong headed but to have someone else recognize that your body is strong was a nice motivator.  I now need to take that strength and be strong in the ways that will lead to a healthy lifestyle.

Thank you for this opportunity.  I am committed not only for myself but also for my great husband who is making the changes in his lifestyle at home right along with me.  I am excited to see where we will end up at the end of this 100 day challenge and hope we have been able to make the needed lifestyle changes.