Get Fit: Week 8

Normally I try to post these on Saturday or Sunday (Sunday if I can do it, so my weight is the lowest possible!), but we were on vacation this week and had no wifi or cell service for 90% of the trip.  It was actually kind of nice being so absent from the world of connection via technology. 

Exercise: I yogaed Monday and tried DESPERATELY to find someone to watch my kids so I could go Tuesday, but despite my best efforts, I couldn't. :( I was extremely bummed. I'm wondering if my commitment to exercising isn't beginning to become a bit of an obsession - I am serious when I say I was bummed.  I did do aqua zumba on Monday night, which wasn't what I was expecting, but it was still fun and much more of a workout than I was expecting!  Tuesday was travel day, and since I was responsible for my kids and packing clothes, food, and kid/baby gear for all of us for five day (and couldn't find anyone to watch the kids), it was the day of no exercise.  Wednesday we arrived in CO at about 2:30, and since my parents weren't arriving until evening, I went to a yoga class at 4:30.

 The studio was about the size of ours at home, but it was so light that it didn't feel that way.  It was also WAY cooler.  When I left, the thermostat said 89, but without humidity it didn't feel hot at all.  I don't think I dripped on my towel once.  Also, there was a dog:

I thought that was a little weird.  But whatevs.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I walked at least two miles (probably totaled over seven for all three days.)  Thursday and Friday I walked with my kids, and on Friday we found this adorable bridge:

Can you see the smile on this boy's face?  He made me go over it four times.  This boy loves bridges.  Saturday I walked with my dad.  It was nice father-daughter time - pondering the deep, philosophical questions of life while you walk through the mountains was a pretty good way to spend 45 minutes.  I also yogaed again on Friday morning.  Sunday was travel day, and while I planned to walk with Lindsey when we returned, I forgot to figure in the time change.  We didn't get back until 8:45, not 7:45 as I originally planned.  So all in all, two days of no exercise this week.  I'm trying to cut myself some slack and remember that it was vacation, but I'm still a little disappointed with this. :(

Diet: Okay - I decided to cross this week off the "losing weight" train and try to make it through the week maintaining my weight.  Obviously, this was not ideal, but I lost 28.1 pounds heading into this week, and my family were preparing meals together, so I decided that 1) I didn't want to be a burden (even though I make the fourth person in our family of nine with dietary considerations), and 2) I was going to allow myself to enjoy a few special things within reason.  Some may disagree with this approach, and to be honest, I knew this was going to make weight loss harder if I gained (a real and terrifying possibility), and I still made the choice.  I knew what I was doing.  That said, here are a few things I "put in my hole":

Brocolli cheese soup.  I ordered a salad, but as the Soup du Jour just happened to be one of my favorite soups of all time, I ordered it with a promise from my husband that he would finish what I didn't eat.  I probably ate a third of this by dipping my spoon in it.  True to his word, he ate the rest so I wouldn't be tempted.  It wasn't the best I've ever had, but it sure was close.

Greek pizza.  This was AMAZING.  Pita bread with a thin white (delicious!) dressing, spinach, onion, tomatoes, and what was supposed to be feta but ended up being mozzerella.  I forgot to take a picture until after I had already had a bite.  It was so good.  I ate two pieces of this.

And here is a picture of me actually putting something in my hole:

S'mores.  That's right - plural.  I ate two.  I don't remember the last time I've had a s'more, but these were both totally worth it.  Cooked over the campfire with my brother, his wife, and my husband after the kids had gone to bed and before my parents returned from their date.  De. Lish. Us.

I also split an order of fajitas with my husband on our date night - flour tortilla, lots of grilled veggies (which was easy since he's not a huge fan), and I allowed myself one piece of meat per fajita.  I added guacamole, so for fajitas, it was actually pretty healthy.  But I did eat some chips and queso too, which was a TOTAL splurge.  And there were several other things, like a few bites of my niece's birthday cake, some cheesy potatoes, a few french fries, etc.

But I think something needs to be said for the fact that most of the time, I ate right on target.  I made quinoa salad and my version of Panera's vegetarian black bean soup (which I will make and post the recipe for, because it is amazingly good) and ate lots of fresh fruits and veggies courtesy of my mother who made sure we had plenty and that they were chopped and readily available.

Week 8 Goal Review:

• Walk eight miles this week.  I did seven.  I'm calling this good, considering I had two days of no exercise.
• Yoga four times this week.  Only three, but not from lack of trying!
• Aqua zumba this week!  Yes!

Breakthroughs:

• My brother and sister-in-law were both very complimentary about my weight loss, and my husband made numerous comments as well. :)
• Weigh in pre-vacation: When I left on Tuesday, I was down to 156.8.
• Weigh in post-vacation: I was extremely nervous stepping on the scale this morning after five days of making exceptions. The number? 156.6

I was pretty happy with that, and since technically, I lost .2 lbs, I am calling this a success!  Overall, my weight loss totals 28.9 pounds.

Week 9 Goals:

• Hit the diet hard this week. No cheating (which means I have to go to the grocery store pretty much immediately.)
• MY FIRST 5K.  This Saturday morning. Yikes.
• Walk 13.1 miles. Yep, that's right. Ten plus a 5k. Setting my sights high, even though it looks rainy.
• Yoga five times. This is really my last week to get yoga in before school starts, but it's also a week that Rick has to work overtime to make up for being gone from work for three days, so we'll see if I can get childcare.

:)