Categotry Archives: The Long Journey

Hey guys,

Still not much to report, I’m STILL sick.  Finally went to doctor yesterday to make sure I’m going to live.  I have an upper respiratory infection and laryngitis.  Doctor wrote me off work for the rest of this week, and prescribed some meds.  The only thing I can do is rest and get better.  All I have felt like doing is sleeping, so that is pretty much what my life has been for the past couple of weeks.  Little bit of work followed by a couple hours of sleep.

I have continued logging my food and wearing my Fitbit for what it’s worth.  I’m trying to sustain some of the good habits that are within my control.  I did weigh in this week, I gained 1.8 pounds.  No surprise there.  I will work it off when I get better.

I decided that I am going to set some new goals for next week to help me focus more on wellness rather than fitness and weight loss.  Here they are:

Week 38 Goals

• If I feel tired, I’m going to rest
• Drink lots of fluids and keep myself hydrated
• If I ever want to get my voice back, I need to shut up for now =)
• Walk 4000 steps per day this week.
• Track all of my food.
• Meditate

Okay, so those aren’t goals to get me more fit or lose weight, but more to keep me sane and feel like I’m accomplishing something until I get well.  I think the 4000 steps per day is doable, I will just take little walks and try to enjoy some of this nice sunshine we have going on right now and get some fresh air.

I put the number one goal of getting rest up there because I feel lazy and then feel guilty for doing nothing and insist that I need to get going and do more things.  That thinking seems to just get me in more trouble.  I also I’m just going stir crazy because this crap has stuck around so long and just can’t stand sitting around.  BORING!  Anyway, thats where I’m at right now.  Hopefully I will get better soon and will be back to my normal self.  Thanks for checking in guys and Happy Spring!

Hey guys and gals,

Sorry, I don’t have much to report this week.  Both my husband and I have been down with the sickness.  Some sort of cold/flu nonsense that has my head all clogged up and feeling like it weighs 50 pounds along with a fabulous four day fever.  It also messed with my eye and made it swell up and cry non stop, weird!  Today is the first day I haven’t had the fever part, so I’m crossing my fingers and hoping it’s a good sign and that I’m on the mend.

I haven’t been paying attention to any goals this last week, just trying to get some rest and be well.  I did weigh in today, I haven’t lost or gained any weight so thats cool.

My one and only goal I am setting for this week is to rest and get better.  I’m finally going to return to the office tomorrow.  I’m hoping I can make  it through an entire day.

Thanks for checking in guys!  Send me the hubs all of your healing vibes please!

Here is a gross picture of me trying to stay positive with my wacky swollen eye.  Eww!

Hi guys!

Welcome back to another week in review of my long journey.   I’m sorry to report that I was pretty lazy and way off the wagon this week.  No excuses, just being lazy.  I guess everyone has those moments, but I’m pretty disappointed with my self.  Here is the break down.

Week 35 Goals Check:

• Stay Hydrated – A+ – For some reason I have been non stop thirsty.  One day I recorded almost drinking 200 ounces of water. Not sure what is going on with this, but hey, I’m staying hydrated!
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit – C – I did cover over my count 3 times this week, not by a ton, but still over.
• 10,000 steps a day – D – I only hit this goal twice this week.  LAME
• Do The Step workout at least 3 times this week. – F –  Thought about it and just didn’t do it.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day – B – I have been doing this, my fitbit alarm is a good reminder.
• Meditate four times per week – A – I hit all four times this week.
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated – F – If I would have been more serious about my reflection, I probably would have gotten more done.
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday – D – I didn’t get very many posts up there this week.
• One hiking/adventure day per week – D – Wasn’t really a hike type situation, but I did got to a Disturbed concert and did a lot of jumping around that racked up some steps.
• Lose 1 pound per week – F – Ugh!  No surprise to report that my lack of excise in ratio to my intake of food, I HAVE GAINED ANOTHER 2.3 FUCKING POUNDS.  Grrrrrrrrr

Week 35 Goals

• Stay Hydrated
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit
• 10,000 steps a day
• Do The Step workout at least 3 times this week.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day
• Meditate four times per week
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday
• One hiking/adventure day per week
• Lose 1 pound per week

Okay so there you have it, probably one of my worst weeks since I started this process.  I’m really ticked off at myself.  I’m hoping this will help aid me in getting my shit back together.  I’m at a good start, I’m only 400 steps away from hitting my 10,000 steps today.  I have a favor to ask of those of you that I am friends with on Facebook and Fitbit, if you don’t see me moving and posting, please hound the shit out of me!  I am going to have a better week you guys, and with your support, I know I will succeed.  Thanks for hanging in there with me through this process and reading my Week 35 summary.  Love you guys!!!

Hi everyone!

I made it through week 34.  It wasn’t a very stellar week, I started out strong, but then went a little flat.  I guess I just needed a little break.  Here is how I did.

Week 34 Goals Check:

• Stay Hydrated – A+ – Done!
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit – B– I went over a couple of days, but I did keep logging it.
• 10,000 steps a day – C – I hit this goal four days this week.
• Do The Step workout at least 3 times this week. – F – Not at all.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day – B – Not as much as I wanted to, but there was some really good days in there.
• Meditate four times per week – B – Three times
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated – C – Kind of in a funk this week, didn’t have my heart into it.
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday – C –I posted every day, but not as many 10k post as I would have liked.
• One hiking/adventure day per week – F – None.
• Lose 1 pound per week – F – Big fat F, I gained 1.6 pounds!  Gah!  I guess that isn’t really a shocker given my over eating and lack of exercise this week.

Week 35 Goals

• Stay Hydrated
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit
• 10,000 steps a day
• Do The Step workout at least 3 times this week.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day
• Meditate four times per week
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday
• One hiking/adventure day per week
• Lose 1 pound per week

Okay, so a pretty crappy week, not too impressed with myself right now.  Time to suck it up and move on.  I will have a better week this week.  I’m going to join some Fitbit challenges, the competition keeps me moving.  Going to stay within my calories this week, not sure what caused me to fall of the wagon, but I’m getting back on it!   Thanks for hanging in there with me guys and reading my week 34 summary. You’re the best!

Guys, this is my week 33 summary!  I have been doing this for over seven months!  Crazy, it doesn’t seem that long.  I feel like I had a strong week.  I have been focusing on the goals, getting those steps in there and counting those calories.  Lets see how I did.

Lessons Learned:

Sorry everyone, I don’t have anything new in this department to share with you this week.

Week 33 Goals Check:

• Stay Hydrated – A+ – Done!
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit – A – No sweat!
• 10,000 steps a day – B+ – I hit this goal six days this week, going to make it seven next week!
• Do The Step workout at least 3 times this week. – D – I did it once, lasted 10 minutes.  I will do much better next week.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day – A – I am moving and grooving!
• Meditate four times per week – A – Boom! Five times.
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated – A – Done!
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday – A – I am posting like crazy.
• One hiking/adventure day per week – A – Got in another trip up at Mt Tabor.  I love the fresh air and view from up there.
• Lose 1 pound per week – C – I lost .4 pounds this week.  Not a full pound, but I will take it.

Week 34 Goals:

• Stay Hydrated
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit
• 10,000 steps a day
• Do The Step workout at least 3 times this week.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day
• Meditate four times per week
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday
• One hiking/adventure day per week
• Lose 1 pound per week

This week I am going to focus on getting those step work outs in, no excuses, I was just being lazy.  For the past week, I have been getting off the Max at Burnside and walking the 14 blocks up to the office every morning.  It really helps wake me up and get those steps in there.  I also get to take my measurements this week, I’m anxious to see if I lost some more inches.  Thank you for checking in and reading my week 33 summary.  I am so grateful for all the cheers and support you guys give me.  You guys rock!

Hi everyone!

Welcome to my week 32 summary.  I burned this week to the ground!  It’s been a great week.  I’m feeling some good energy, and I got out there and did some serious moving this week.  I tried to go shoe shopping last weekend, that was a joke.  I have long feet and it’s tricky to find shoes my size. I hit three stores, no luck.  Anyway, lets see how I did this week.

Lessons Learned:

I really only have one lesson to share this week, about shoes.  Don’t wait until your walking shoes are completely thrashed before buying new.  I wore my walking shoes down to the soft part of the sole, the tread is almost completely gone!  I put some serious miles on those babies.  I also started noticing that my feet, hips and knees where starting to get sore again.  Derp, the support system in my shoes were also completely thrashed.  So ya, this weekend, I ventured out and tried to by some new running/walking shoes.  SO AGGRAVATING!  I know I have big feet, size 11, I don’t think that is too far out there.  I went to DSW, Famous Footwear and Foot Locker, NOTHING!  And another thing, why the fuck are most of the women’s running shoes out there pink?  Not all women like pink people!  It was not a good shopping experience.  The only positive thing about it was that I got over 5,000 steps in shoe shopping.  Score!

Week 32 Goals Check:

• Stay Hydrated – A+ – Check!
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit – A – Even walked extra one day so I could enjoy my home made lasagna guilt free!
• 10,000 steps a day – B+ – I hit this goal six days this week!  I’m feeling pretty good about that.
• Do The Step workout at least 3 times this week. – F – I didn’t do it.  I was pretty worn out and sore from all the walking.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day – A – Setting up alarms on the Fitbit has really helped me out with this one.
• Meditate four times per week – A – Nailed it, just me and my singing bowl =)
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated – A – Everyday!
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday – A – There were lots of posts this week.
• One hiking/adventure day per week – A – I got back up to Mt. Tabor, cold as hell, but I did it!
• Lose 1 pound per week – F – I didn’t lose or gain this week, blah!  I worked so hard.  Maybe I will see it next week.

Week 33 Goals:

• Stay Hydrated
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit
• 10,000 steps a day
• Do The Step workout at least 3 times this week.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day
• Meditate four times per week
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday
• One hiking/adventure day per week
• Lose 1 pound per week

Phew!  That felt like a fast and furious week.  Shoe update, I finally found a pair today, so I will be breaking those babies in this week.  Also, I am pleased to report that I received a new Fitbit badge this week.  The New Zealand badge for putting in 990 life time miles.  Holy shit, I walked 990 freaking miles!  Pretty amazing stuff!  This week I’m going to focus on getting that step work out in, I can do it!  Okay, that is all I have guys.  I appreciate you guys stopping by to read about my week 32 summary and I will see you all next week.  Keep on moving and grooving!

Hello and welcome back!

I feel like I had a pretty good week.  I didn’t hit all the goals, but I feel like I worked hard and accomplished some things.  I am managing my stress better and trying not to let the crazy at work have such an impact on my personal life.  It’s a work in progress, but definitely a lot better than last week. Here is the breakdown.

Lessons Learned:

• The Step Workout will kick your ass.  My friend, Stacy was getting rid of some of her old workout gear that she no longer uses and she happened to have a Step bench.  I had actually been looking at these and was going to pick one up, how convenient, thanks Stacy!  So I found a youTube video for the basic 30 minute step workout.  I made it through the first 10 minutes before my legs started wobbling and I started losing control of them.  I was huffing, red faced and got some good sweat going.  Awesome workout, I will have to work up to that 30 minutes.
• Tibetan Singing Bowls are freaking cool.  I finally got to hang with my BFFs this weekend and in doing so, my friend Stacy gave me my Christmas present (we hadn’t hung out for a while).  She gifted me this beautiful Tibetan Singing Bowl to aid me in my mediation.  Really cool little thing once you get the hang of it.  It makes a really pretty ringing sound.  I found that once I got the thing going and just totally zoned out while focusing on the motions to keep the tone going.  Really relaxing.  I love it, thanks Stacy!

Week 31 Goals Check:

• Stay Hydrated – A – Nailed it… of course.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit – A – Piece of cake.
• 10,000 steps a day – C – I got two days in there, and really came close the rest of the week.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day – B – Much better this week.  I set a couple of alarms on my Fitbit to remind me and that helped out a ton.
• Meditate four times per week – A – I love my meditation.
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated – A – No problem here.
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday – B – I posted everyday, but didn’t have a 10k step post to share everyday.
• One hiking/adventure day per week – D – I did go up to Mt Tabor this weekend to hike, but the road to  my normal walking area all torn up for construction and I didn’t know another route to get in there.  Michael took me up there later and showed me some other ways to get there, so hopefully next week I can get back up there
• Lose 1 pound per week – D – I only lost .2 pounds this week.  I guess it’s better than gaining, but not as much as I hoped for.

Week 32 Goals:

• Stay Hydrated
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit
• 10,000 steps a day
• Do The Step workout at least 3 times this week.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day
• Meditate four times per week
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday
• One hiking/adventure day per week
• Lose 1 pound per week

Okay, not to shabby.  I will do better this week.  I’m feeling like things are starting to be more natural for me like it was before I got sick.  This week, I added The Step Workout into my goals.  It’s a really good cardio work out and sets your legs and ass on fire. I’m going to really be focusing on my 10k steps per day this week.  I know I can do this!  Thanks for dropping by and reading my week 31 summary.  You guys are terrific!

Hi guys!

I did it, I made it through week 30!  It was a super challenging week for me.  Work has been super busy and has me completely stressed out.  I have been trying to take a few steps back and take some deep breaths to  chill out, but I can’t help myself  I still get all wound up.  I also haven’t been getting away from my desk to move very often.  I just get sucked in.  I am going to have to do something to remind myself to move.  Maybe I will setup a few reminder alarms on my Fitbit.  Anyway, lets see how the week went.

Lessons Learned:  

• I must be part bear, hibernating during the winter months.  I took a look back at the past several weeks.  I have not as active as I was in the summer months.  I feel like I could just curl up in a ball and sleep.  I was very excited this week to see some spring flowers popping up already.  I can’t wait for the warmer days to get here already!
• Stress sucks.  I need to figure out how to get rid of some of this baggage.  It’s my own doing, my constant worry if I’m dong my job well enough, the busyness, projects at home.  the meditation and breathing exercises usually help, but lately it’s been a bigger beast.
• Ozzy Osborne maybe an old man, but he can still rock your ass off!  Last Saturday, me and the hubs adventured up to Tacoma to rock out with Black Sabbath live.  They were so good.  Can’t believe those old dudes still have it.  It was a great show.

Week 30 Goals Check:

• Stay Hydrated – A – I have been drinking tons of water.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit – A – I had a couple of close stress eating days, but I pulled it out.
• 10,000 steps a day – F – I didn’t hit 10k, but I wasn’t sitting around.  Just not moving as much as I should have.
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day – F – There has just been so much going on at work.  I need to make more time for myself and step away from the desk!
• Meditate four times per week – A – Five times this week, it’s kept my sanity in check.
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated – B – I reflected, but my heart just wasn’t in it this week.
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday – B – I didn’t get any 10k post this week, but I still posted my activities.
• One hiking/adventure day per week – B – Not really an exercise adventure, but I should get some points for attending the Black Sabbath concert, jumping up and down and screaming my head off =)
• Lose 1 pound per week – F – I did lose this week, but only .1 pounds.  I need to get moving!

Week 31 Goals:

• Stay Hydrated
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit
• 10,000 steps a day
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day
• Meditate four times per week
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday
• One hiking/adventure day per week
• Lose 1 pound per week

Not a very stellar week, but I’m not giving up.  I’m hoping work will calm down a little this week, but that isn’t looking to promising.  I just need to relax a little bit and quit working about everything so much.  I guess the biggest part for me is control.  I can’t control everything, shit happens.  I just need to learn to let it go.  I will also figure out a way to get my ass out of the chair more often at work.  I’m sure that will help with the stress as well, breathing some fresh air.  Thanks checking out my week 30 summary guys!  I will see you all next week, until then keep on moving!

Hi everyone!

It feels great to be back! I made it through an entire week of work. I’m getting my waking mojo back. Feeling pretty good.  Let’s see how I did.

Week 29 Goals Check

– Stay Hydrated – A- No sweat.
–  Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit – A – Done!
–  10,000 steps a day – C – I made it three days and had a couple close days. I’m getting there. 
–  Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day – C – I could have done better. 
–  Meditate four times per week –  A – Deep breaths. 
–  Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated – B – I could have done a little better.
–  Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday – A – There was lots of posting happening. 
–  One hiking/adventure day per week – F – No adventures or hiking happened.
–  Lose 1 pound per week – C – I lost .4 pounds this week.

Week 30 Goals

–  Stay Hydrated
–  Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit
–  10,000 steps a day
–  Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day
–  Meditate four times per week
–  Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated
–  Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday
–  One hiking/adventure day per week
–  Lose 1 pound per week

There you have it, not too bad. I will continue to work toward achieving my core goals.  Once I am completely back on track, I will switch it up. I didn’t lose an entire pound thus week, but I was very happy to see some progress there. This week is going to be a challenge. It’s crazy busy at work and I get sucked in and forget to get up and move, so I will have to be more conscious about that.  Thanks for checking in on my week 29 summary, see you all next week!

Hi everyone!

I am alive!  I’m all better now and back to moving and grooving.  It’s going to take me a couple weeks to get back to where I was.  All my aches and soreness that I worked so hard to get over are back.  That is a total drag, but I will get there again.

Last week, I didn’t set any goals because of the illness I was suffering from.  Basically, any suddent movements sent me into a head spin.  Have any of you ever heard of positional vertigo?  The long medical drug out term for it is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV).  Basically, there are these little tiny crystals in your inner ear that float around and keep your balance in check.  Sometimes those crystals get lodge and don’t float around anymore and basically complete screw up your equilibrium and eyesight making you want to yack (ya, that happened a couple of times, neato!)

For treatment of this condition, the doctor had me lay down, had my head fall below the end of the table and they positioned my head a different angles a few times until the dizziness stopped.  I wanted to throw up at first just doing that, but we kept repeating it and it freaking worked!  Can you believe that shit?  All of that trouble and many doctors visits later and it came down to a few head angles.  Oh well, I will take it, I feel so much better, my head is so clear!  I’m very happy to be back at it again.

I didn’t really do much of anything last week because of that crap.  I started feeling better Saturday and started moving around and doing things.  I did track my water and food.  I gained 1.8 freaking pounds last week, but that isn’t really shocking given the situation. So now that I am well again, I am going to start with my core goals and work my way back up to where I was.  Here we go!

Week 29 Goals

• Stay Hydrated
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit
• 10,000 steps a day
• Get out of my chair for a spin around the block three time a day
• Meditate four times per week
• Reflect on my goals every day and keep my vision board updated
• Keep posting on my blog and Facebook, posting my Fitbit Dashboard everyday
• One hiking/adventure day per week
• Lose 1 pound per week

Okay, so there you have it, I am back!  It so great to be here with you guys again.  I really appreciate all your support and kind words while I was going through this fiasco.  I hope my report next week will be tons better!  Thank you for checking out my week 28 summary.  You guys rock!