MIEVIL

Hi everyone!

Wow, it’s been two months now since I began this crazy journey of mine!  Doesn’t seem that long.  So far its been a fun ride.  I have learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of, surprising myself along the way a few times. Last week was tough for me, still recovering from what ever bug I picked up and building my energy back up.  Lets see how it all panned out, shall we?

Lessons Learned this Week:

• Sweat is good!  I was feeling a little bloated and gross so I went out and walked 1.5 miles as fast as I could go.  I was DRENCHED in sweat when I got home, but I felt so much better!  Exercise does seem to have some magical healing properties.
• New walking shoes require a break in period and how they are laced up makes a difference.  I picked up some new walking shoes and was a little worried because I had sore spots on my heals and one of my toes.  I was kind of bummed out because I didn’t pick up on that in the store and I really didn’t want to hassle with trying to take them back and finding another pair.  The hubs recommended adjusting the laces and giving them some more time.  So I played around with that and it worked!  No more sore spots, I am good to go!
• I woke up!  I feel like I have snapped out a sleepy fog I have been in for the I don’t know how long.  Instead of plowing through the daily grind, I have stopped to smell the roses so to speak.  I find that I am enjoying more time with family and friends and just enjoying life in general.  I’m slowing down and taking a moment to appreciate what I have and what I can do.  I feel great!

Week 8 Goals Check:

• Stay Hydrated  – A+ I drink tons of water every single day.  Love it!
• Walk 10,000 Steps Per Day – B I missed two days this week.
• Maintain a 500-Calorie Per Day Deficit – A+ This one was a little tough this week, my daughter made some home made chocolate chip cookies.  I did it though, walked a some more and enjoyed some cookies!
• DDP Yoga 3 Times Per Week – F I didn’t do any Yoga this week, the week before I snapped my prior chest injury and it hurt like hell.  I am going to have to modify this to exclude the moves that stress that injury.
• Water Zumba One Day Per Week – NA Due to a scheduling conflict, I have to move this to a different night, so I couldn’t get it in there this week.  I should be good to go next week.
• Meditation 4 Times Per Week – A  Nailed it!
• Reflect On My Goals Every Day – A I formatted my vision board a little differently and have been using it every day!
• Keep Posting on My Blog and Facebook – A+  You can’t keep me off the interwebs!
• One Hiking/Adventure Day This Week – A We went up to the Amphitheater in Ridgefield, WA for a Foreigner/Kid Rock concert.  It was over a half mile hike from parking in and out of there and all that rocking and dancing, I consider an adventure for sure.  FYI… Foreigner can still rock the house.
• Lose 1 Pound Per Week – C I only lost .7 pounds this week, not a full pound.  I will take it tho!

Week 9 Goals:

• Stay Hydrated.
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.
• Altered Yoga 3 times per week to avoid that stupid injury.
• Water Zumba one day per week.
• Meditation 4 times per week.
• Reflect on my goals every day.
• Keep posting on my Blog and Facebook.
• One hiking/adventure day this week.
• Lose 1 pound per week.

Well there you have it, the 8 week summary wrap up.  Missed some things, but still felt pretty productive.  This next week is going to be fun and challenging for me.  I signed up for the 5K Color Run.  I will be walking, not running, but still challenging and fun!  Can’t wait to see how colorful I become.  Have a good week everyone!

Hi guys!

I made it through week seven, barely.  This week was hit and miss for me.  I started out strong and then finished not so great.  I got hit with a mini anxiety attack Sunday that took a turn into a nasty migraine all night and day and then turned into some kind of bug.  I am fighting to get my energy back and move through it.  I will get there.  Lets see how what I did get done last week!

Lessons Learned this Week:

• MyFittnessPal’s food data base is more extensive and accurate that the FitBit app’s.  I had used MyFittnessPal before the Fitbit, but really wanted just one place to go to information.  It’s worth it just to use the two apps and everything I enter goes into the FitBit app anyway since they are connected.
• I like late night walks.  I find that I like them for the same reasons I like early morning walk, the air is cool and crisp and their is hardly anyone out and about.  Took a walk last night, and got caught in a little rain storm.  It felt so refreshing!
• Headspace meditation app.  I had been using another guided meditation app, but found the women’s voice was starting to annoy the hell out of me so I went looking for a new one.  This one has a soothing British gentleman’s voice and a way to log your progress and a social media aspect to it to help me be accountable.  It starts out with a 10 day free trial and then you can pay for subscription that unlocks lots of different styes of guided and non guided meditation sessions.  I’m still on the free trial, but I will most likely be buying subscription.
• My Teva hiking sandals have a weakness, BARK DUST.  I can’t believe it, these things have been so awesome for all my walking and trail hiking excursions.  I thought they were invincible, nope freaking bark dust.  I went for a walk around the Glendoveer Golf Course Fitness track last weekend and no matter how I adjusted them to fit my foot, they kept scooping up that bark dust like a pair of shovels strapped to my feet.  My walk looked more like I was auditioning for a spot with the New York Rockets, walk kick, walk, kick to shake the bark dust out.  Awesome work out though, it was a two mile walk, but Fitbit also logged it as 36 flights of stairs because of all the kicks, awesome!  I invested in a new pair of running/trail shoes this weekend for future bark dust encounters.
• Best lesson learned this week, MY WEDDING RING FITS ON MY FINGER AGAIN!!!  I stopped wearing it a while back because my fingers go too fat and I refused to go get it resized.  Haha, I win!

Week 7 Goals Check:

• Stay hydrated.  A+  I have been drinking tons of water, I crave it now.  I haven’t had a soda in weeks.
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.  C  I got my 10k in 4 times this week.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.  A+  This is such an easy goal.
• Water Zumba one day per week.  F  The virus won on this one.
• Meditation 4 times per week.  B  I got 3 days of meditation in.
• Reflect on my goals every day.  B  Again this week, I read them but didn’t really reflect on the importance.
• Keep posting on my Blog and Facebook.  A  I love posting when I exercise with all my goofy pictures.
• Work with Max.  F  I didn’t do any work with Max this week.  Boo!
• Throw in some sort of hiking day.  A+ Did the Glendoveer track, I get extra points for the kicks.
• Lose 1 pound per week.  A+ I lost 1.6 pounds this week!

Week 8 Goals:

• Stay hydrated.
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.
• Water Zumba on day per week.
• Meditation 4 times per week.
• Reflect on my goals every day.  REFLECT
• Keep posting on my Blog and Facebook
• One hiking/adventure day this week.
• Lose 1 pound per week.

Okay, there you have it.  Not a stellar week, but I still got some stuff done.  One more thing I have to add.  My measurement check in landed last week.  I lost a total of 9 inches last month and I have lost a total of 28 pounds.  Right the fuck on!  I am so glad that I have found a way to make this work.  I can’t stress enough how fortunate I am to have you guys here supporting me and keeping me motivated.  Thank you for checking in and reading my week 7 summary.  I am going to kick some ass in week 8!

Hello everyone!

We did it, we made it through week six!  It was a very tough week for me both physically and emotionally.  I had a lot of stuff thrown at me this week, both good and bad.  I definitely slacked on my goals this week.  No excuses, I own it.  Onward and upward!

Lets break it down!

Lessons Learned this Week:

• Maximus does much better walking on the Gentle Leader.  We had a nice, well behaved long walk this weekend.  We will still be working on collar training, but for the sake of my upper body and sanity, we will be taking our long morning walks on the Gentle Leader.
• I have a stalker and I love it!  I have a Facebook group that I post a picture in every morning when I go on my walk.  I was a little late moving one morning this week and hadn’t posted yet.   My friend, Amy was on there asking why.  AWESOME!
• Smokey forest fire air sucks for walking.  Ugh… so foggy, I shouldn’t have walked in that, I ended up with a sore throat and a massive headache.
• High density styrofoam roller for the win!  I had a really bad calf muscle cramp up and seize on me this week to the point where I could hardly move my foot or walk.  I reached to my friend, Kris for some help.  He let me borrow his roller to need it out.  Hurt like hell, but worked like magic!  I will be purchasing one of those for sure!
• I do like water! Finally!  I haven’t had a soda in weeks.  I don’t feel all bloated and gross when I drink it now.  I find it refreshing!

Week 6 Goals Check:

• Stay hydrated.  A+
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.  C  I hit that goal four times this week.  Boo!
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.  A+  This one is so easy now and I still eat all my favorite foods.
• Water Zumba on day per week.  A+  My instructor got a new sound system and some new moves this week.  She totally kicked my ass.
• Meditation 4 times per week. C  I got in 2 days this week.
• Reflect on my goals every day.  B  I did view them each day, but I don’t feel my heart was completely in it.
• Keep posting on my Blog and Facebook.  A  I don’t think I could make it through what I do each week if I didn’t.  Thanks for being here with me guys!
• Work with Max on his collar training.  B  We didn’t really work on collar training, we worked more on behaved walks in public.
• Lose 1 pound per week.  A++++  I blew this goal out of the water.   3.9 pounds!

Week 7 Goals:

• Stay hydrated.
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.
• Water Zumba one day per week.
• Meditation 4 times per week.
• Reflect on my goals every day.  Think!
• Keep posting on my Blog and Facebook.
• Work with Max on training in general.  He needs some work, but we will get there.
• Through in some sort of hiking day next week, just one.  I need some adventure and fresh air!
• Lose 1 pound per week.

Well there you have it.  Wasn’t a really spectacular week as far as meeting my goals went, but holy shit!  I lost 3.9 freaking pounds!  I have now lost 25 pounds!  Wow, I don’t get it.  Maybe my metabolism decided to wake up after years of slumber?  We shall see what transpires next week. Thanks for reading my week 6 summary.  I can’t do this without you guys.  I really appreciate you all being here and holding me accountable.  Thank you!!!

Hello!

Here we are wrapping up week 5, it’s been another fantastic week!  There were so many things going on.  It was my wedding anniversary week.  The hubs and I celebrated 21 years of wedlock with a zoo trip, some hiking up in the Forest Park area, restaurant hopping and truly enjoying each other’s company, it was awesome!

My friend, Amy was also in town last week for a visit so I got to enjoy some good times with friends.  I was a little worried about how this week would go down since with Amy’s visit and the anniversary there was lots of food which included High Tea at the Heathman with lots of yummy pastries, mini sandwiches and deserts.  Other foods I devoured this week included some Southern BBQ, Coney Island Dogs from Nick’s Famous and a few Blood Mary’s.  So much yum!

So lets see how this all played out this week.

Lessons Learned this Week:

• I am stronger than I think!  We went hiking on the Forest Park Wildwood Trail from Newberry Rd.  The hike was rated “easy” and was supposed to be just shy of 3 miles.  Easy to whom a pro hiker?  No… so many ups and downs and steep climbs.  I didn’t get to the turn around point I wanted to, but we still did a lot.  By the time we got back to the car, it was almost 3.5 miles.  I did that!  I wasn’t physically fatigued, just winded.  I felt so fucking good!
• Maximus the Husky is the best self defense tool on the market!  So on my long weekend morning walks, I have run into some real creepers.  I have been trying to figure out if it’s a wise idea to carry mace, stun gun, asp, gun, something to make me feel safer on my treks.  Dah!  I have this giant husky!  Ya, people don’t look at Max the same way I do.  They just cross the street and stay away.
• Maximus does his best work with his Gentle Leader on.  So, I decided that I wanted to try Max out using his regular collar instead of his Gentle Leader.  Holy shit that dog is a power house.  I think that was the best upper body workout I have ever had.  We were both wiped out after that.  Max and I will be working on improving his collar walking skills together.
• Ninja Workouts.  One of my Facebook groups turned me on to this thing called Ninja Workouts.  Just little things you can do secretly at your desk and other places.  My favorites so far are the squats before squatting in the bathroom stall and the under the desk knee raise.  Doesn’t seem like much, but it starts adding up.
• Ping Pong Posers.  So we have this Ping Pong table at work that we use for little mental breaks.  Yesterday me and the homies figured out a new way to play.  You have to “strike a pose” when you hit the ball.  Oh my god this was so fun.  I was laughing so hard that my ab muscles seized up and I could hardly breath.  It was a really good little work out.  Got some sweat going and the heart rate up.  Next time I think I will set up a time lapse camera, this shit has got to look hilarious.

Week 5 Goals Check:

• Stay hydrated.  A+ I drank tons of water this week.  I think I’m actually starting to like it.
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.  B I missed this goal on Sunday.  I was just completely wiped out both mentally and physically after my walk with Max.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit. A+++  I ate so much yummy food this week, but I kept logging it all and stayed within my calories and added more exercise in there when needed.
• Water Zumba one day per week.  A+ So much fun!
• DDP Yoga 3 times per week.  F I didn’t do Yoga at all this week, but I really don’t feel bad about it.  I did so many other physically activities that I made up for it.
• Meditation 4 times per week.  A+ Ahhhhh so relaxing.
• Reflect on my goals daily.  A+  I keep using my dry erase board, that shit works.
• Keep posting on my Blog and Facebook.  A+  Love you guys!  I love posting.  You guys really help me be accountable and keep my motivation and energy up.  Thank you!
• Lose 1  pound per week.  A++ With all the crazy foods and drinks I still lost 1.7 POUNDS this week!  NICE!

Week 6 Goals:

• Stay hydrated.
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.
• Water Zumba one day per week.
• Meditation 4 times per week.
• Reflect on my goals every day.
• Keep posting on my Blog and Facebook.
• Work with Max on his collar training.  That will add some steps and a good upper body workout!
• Lose 1 pound per week.

Wow, great week!  I can’t wait to see what I am going to accomplish this week.  Haven’t got any solid plans for the weekend yet, but hoping we can get at least one hiking adventure in there. Thanks for tuning into my Week 5 Summary.  You guys rock!  See you next week!

 

 

Hi everyone!

Wow!  It’s been an fantastic week for me.  First off, I have to give a shout out to everyone for posting their love and support on my Blog and Facebook.  You guys are amazing!  I didn’t expect such a huge response.  You guys have helped me stay energized and motivated to get through the week.  Some of you out there have even gone out and purchased Fitbit devices to join me in Weekly and Weekend Fitbit challenges.  You guys are so fucking awesome!

I feel like I have had a very busy and productive week. I have been focused on my weekly goals, which has helped me keep moving.  This past weekend, Michael and I took a day trip to the coast.  It was such an amazing day!  We had planned to do lunch there, but at the spare of the moment, changed our minds and stopped at Camp 18 for breakfast instead.  Damn, their biscuits and gravy are so good!  When we got to to Cannon Beach, we took a TWO MILE walk on the beach and visited our favorite place, Haystack Rock.  It was a little windy and raining, but the walk was so refreshing!  The best part of it, I wanted to walk!  It felt so good to me!  I also got to share something with my husband, usually I pull out a camping chair and sit on the beach while he goes for along walk.  Not this time, it was so awesome!

Okay, enough of my rambling, lets get down to business.

Lessons Learned this Week:

• Everyone’s support and posts on my Blog and Facebook really gets me amped up and energized.  Love it!
• Getting off my butt ever hour and taking a quick spin around the block has really kept me moving and racks up those steps without wearing me out.  It helps break up the work day too!
• An hour of Water Zumba will kick your ass.  I don’t think my legs, abs and chest will ever be the same… NICE!
• If my room is cluttered, I don’t like to go in there to meditate.  While trying to figure out why I didn’t meditate last week, I realized it was because I didn’t want to look at my messy room.
• Writing my weekly goals out in a centralized place in my home helps me focus and get shit done.

Week 4 Goals Check:

• Drink all the water.  A+ I kept clocking my water intake on the Fitbit app and hit my goal every day this week!
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.  A+ For the first time ever, I nailed this goal.  10k every day baby!
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.  A+  This one just keeps getting easier.  I don’t feel like I’m denying myself anything.  It’s working!
• Water Aerobics or Zumba one day a week.  A+ Whoo!  The next day is a killer!
• DDP Yoga 3 times per week.  B  I got two days in there.  Next week!
• Meditation 4 times per week.  A+  I cleaned up my space and meditated 4 times this week.  This was super helpful to get me to unwind and get a good nights sleep.
• Keep reflecting on my weekly goals.  Read them every day and keep writing this shit down!  A+  I bought myself a little black dry erase board with neon pens and hung it in a heavy traffic area in my home.  Worked!  Look at all of those check marks baby!
• Lose 1 pound per week.  A+ 1.2 pounds this week for a total of 20 fucking pounds!!!   

Week 5 Goals:

•  Stay hydrated.
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.
• Water Zumba on day per week.  Feel the burn!
• DDP Yoga 3 times per week.
• Meditation 4 times per week.
• Reflect on my goals daily.  Use my dry erase board to keep my vision and momentum going.
• Keep posting on my Blog and Facebook for the love and support of my friends and family to keep my energy up.
• Lose 1 pound per week.

This week has been fast and furious.  I feel really good about what I have accomplished.  Holy crap, I hit the 20 pound weight loss mark!  I’m going to keep moving and look for more opportunities to stay active while having fun.  Tomorrow is my 21st wedding anniversary!  To celebrate, I took the next couple of days off.  Thursday morning, we are going to the zoo and get some good fun walking in.  Friday morning, we are going to explore and hike Forest Park.  I’m pretty excited about that, I have never been up there.  Thanks everyone for taking the time to read my Week 4 Summary.  I love you all and I’m looking forward to another terrific week!

 

I’m not sure how I feel about this week, I have mixed emotions.  I feel like a did a lot and tried some new things, but slacked on other goals.  I’m not going to get myself down about it.  Onward and upward!

Lessons Learned This Week:

• I have a great group of friends here that have my back!  I really appreciate you guys being on the lookout for me and reaching out when you didn’t see my Fitbit steps.  This is just what I need, so awesome, thank you!
• I apparently don’t like sandwich bread that much.  I have been doing a great job of preparing and bringing a lunch everyday for the last three weeks.  Every lunch, I feel like I am chocking down my sandwich and not enjoying it that much.  Towards the end of this week, I switched things up.  I bought some Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper Triscuts made with brown rice to go with my lunchmeat and cheese.  OMG SO YUM!  Way better than bread and fewer calories.
• Water aerobics will kick your fucking ass.  The day after, I was all out of sorts and just down right fucking tired.  It took a lot to keep my energy up the next day and to keep moving.  Even though it was kind of brutal day, it emotionally felt good to because I knew it was due to my hard work.
• If you a peel a banana from the non stem side, it peels so easily!

Week 3 Goals Check:

• Stay hydrated.  CHECK!  I drank that shit all down.  I love cool, refreshing water!
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.  FAILED!  This is the cause of my mixed emotions this week.  I know I did other stuff too, but I really feel bad that I didn’t meet this goal.  Going to fix that guild this week.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.  CHECK!  I counted all the calories, and got to eat all my favorite yummy foods.  Love that!
• Man Yoga 3 times per week.  CHECK!  Even got my first Energy workout in!
• Meditation 4 times per week.  FAILED!  I got 2 days in.  Not sure why I’m not hitting this goal.  Maybe I am just getting too comfortable in my chair at the end of the night?  Not sure, I will be more focused on this one next week.
• Keep reflecting on my weekly goals and writing this shit down.  HALF CHECK  I’m writing shit down, but I didn’t really spend time looking back on what I wrote.  Maybe that is my problem with not hitting some of my weekly goals.  Note to self… REFLECT!
• Lose 1 pound per week.  MOTHA FUCKING CHECK!  I lost 1.3 pounds this week!  Insert big giant smile.

Week 4 Goals:

• Drink all the water; it makes me feel good inside.
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.  I can do this dammit!
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.  I have this one down =)
• Water Aerobics/Zumba one day a week.
• Man Yoga 3 times per week.  I am a little skeptical about this one with the water aerobics thrown in there.  We will see how I handle it this week.
• Meditation 4 times per week.  I can do this!  This will help me to mentally calm my shit down and get a good nights sleep.
• Keep reflecting on my weekly goals.  Read them every day!  Keep writing this shit down and post on Facebook and my blog.
• Lose 1 pound per week.

Okay, so after writing all of this stuff down, I don’t feel as bad about the week as I thought I did.  The 10,000 steps per day is a big weekly goal for me and I didn’t get it.  Big deal, I will get it next week.  I did lots of other stuff that was physically challenging and I should feel good about that.  Look at all the goals I did hit last week.  I feel pretty good about that!  Thanks for checking in and reading about my week 3 summary.  Love you guys!

This post was really on July 29th from Facebook…

First off, thank you guys for all of your love and support.  Your strength and cheering has really kept me motivated, love you guys!

Lessons Learned This Week:

• Drinking all the water has helped me a lot.  I’m feeling much better and stronger.
• Eating an apple and an ounce of jerky mid afternoon has conquered my 2PM crash!
• Diamond Dallas Page Yoga is not your average yoga… So fun!
• Writing out my lessons learned, accomplishments and weekly goals has helped me focus, reflect and get this shit done!

Week 2 Goals Check:

• HYDRATE DAMMIT!  CHECK!  I drank all of my water plus some the entire week!
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.  CHECK!  Much easier this week, I think the water has helped.
• 10,000 steps a day – ALMOST  I missed it last Saturday.  Next week though, lookout!
• Yoga at least 2 days.  CHECK!  I did one day with my iPad app and one day with Diamond Dallas Page.
• Start my meditation again.  CHECK!  I did get two days in there, want some more though.
• Lose 1 pound per week.  CHECK!   I LOST 3 FUCKING POUNDS THIS WEEK!!!

Week 3 Goals:

• Stay hydrated!  Continue using the Fitbit app to track my water intake and drink all of the cool, refreshing water.
• Walk 10,000 steps per day.
• Maintain a 500-calorie per day deficit.
• Man Yoga 3 times per week.
• Meditation 4 times per week.
• Keep reflecting on my weekly goals and writing this shit down!
• Lose 1 pound per week.

I feel like accomplished a lot this week.  I feel good about myself. I’m so excited that this is really working.  I’m still waiting for the feeling of a good habit, where I want to do this stuff every day.  I hope that feeling gets here soon.  Thanks for checking out my Week 2 Summary!

This post was really on July 22nd from Facebook…

Today was weigh in day!  Drum role please… 2 POUNDS!  Yes!  This shit is working!  So I think I will stick with the 500 calorie per day deficit plan.  I can still enjoy eating the foods I like if I just maintain the calories.  I even enjoyed Five Guys Burgers & Fries last night to celebrate Athena’s birthday.

Lessons Learned This Week:

• I re-arranged my meal schedule so I wasn’t starving by dinnertime.
• Eat little healthy snacks between meals to keep that blood sugar up!
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.  I need to drink lots of water!
• Long walks in the morning are way better than suffering an afternoon sun stroke.

Goals This Week:

• HYDRATE DAMMIT!
• Maintain a 500-calorie deficit per day.
• 10,000 steps a day at least.  (I have a 2 day streak!)
• Yoga at least 2 days.
• Start my meditation again.

I feel really good about week one and I’m giving myself a pat on the back for sticking with it.  I’m going to keep this momentum going.   Thanks for reading my week 1 summary.