Week 36 & 37: Thanksgiving!

I haven’t posted in two weeks. I was really anxious for the Thanksgiving holiday and I am really grateful it is behind me. It is difficult to imagine anything worse for a weight loss journey than an entire day devoted to eating. After last week’s weigh in I decided to wait until Thanksgiving was over to post. I spent countless hours planning my Thanksgiving week. My best friend from college was scheduled for a C-section on the day before Thanksgiving, and I wanted to see her and her baby girl. I know that eating right on road trips is not easy – so that, combined with Thanksgiving, no gym access, and limited time, meant I would post either a low number….or no number at all. My goal for the week was to not GAIN anything.

Success….kind of. I still wanted to lose 2-3lbs. I ALWAYS want to lose 2-3lbs, so this was kind of a blow for me. However, I am in the middle of the holiday season and this was not an easy week, eating or exercising. I did fairly well with what I ate – but part of the problem is that I traveled on my low carb days, and not eating carbs while traveling takes more willpower and sacrifice than I was willing to give. I did not eat any pumpkin pie (yeah!) but I may have had a little too much chocolate..

I drove home on Friday, made a detour to pick up a ½ off basketball at Sports Authority, and made it home in time to pick up my bike from the shop, learn a little zumba, and shoot hoops with my roommate. I woke up the next morning knowing I needed to go on a hike, but not super excited for the lonely trek. I decided to hike South Mountain because I am familiar with it, but I took a different trail. I have wanted to do an 8 mile hike for WEEKS but I just couldn’t seem to get there. 7.2 miles, 7.5 miles, 7.6 miles, but I couldn’t hit the 8. Just before heading down from my 7 mile hike I realized I could take a little detour, see a great view of Phoenix, and extend my hike to 9 miles. Great idea right?

I missed a turn off. I walked, and walked, and walked, and finally decided I had gone the wrong direction. I checked the tracker on my phone to see how far I had gone only to discover that it thought I was on the other side of the world. I reset my tracker, turned around, and started the trek back. 2.6 miles later I was back to the top of my descent. I was exhausted, running out of water, and so excited to be done. I decided that if my total (I added up the mileage when I found the map at the bottom of the trail) was above 11 miles I was going straight to Wendy’s. My planned hike, combined with my detour, and my mile walk back to my car, gave me a total of 13.2 miles. 13.2 miles!! AH! The best part was that I didn’t roll my ankle until the VERY end. Good gracious.

My Wendy’s bacon cheeseburger was good, not as great as it would have tasted with fries and a frosty, but still good. However, it wasn’t nearly as good as the cookies my roommate made. UGGHHH. Cookies are my arch nemesis! More than fries, or cake, or PIE, or ice cream, it’s COOKIES. I think I may have eaten my weight in them. They were delish.

Goal time. I want to be at a 75lbs loss by 12/8. I am 5.8lbs away and have less than 2 weeks to get there. It’s time to begin.

Week 35: Angel Basin

I went to bed late last Sunday (so…10ish days ag) and decided to skip my Monday morning workout to sleep. Usually if I decide to skip a morning workout it is because I am too sore, too tired, or just flat out do not want to work out (so, an excuse...), not this one. I know that sleep is important, especially if you are trying to lose weight, which is why I make sure I am in bed 8 hours before I have to wake up. I didn’t get to control my bed time on Sunday, so instead I slept on Monday. Instead of hitting the gym on Tuesday night I met Mandy at a local community college and ran/walked about a mile on the track, did the bleachers once, and suicides twice. We were going to spend more time on the bleachers but the security guards closed the track. We’ll go to a high school next time where fancy security guards with fancy bikes and fancy locks on their fancy gates don’t exist. Instead of calling it a night we grabbed Mandy’s basketball ball and shot some hoops/pretended to do drills (at least I pretended…) at the LDS Institute. I skipped the gym on Wednesday night to hang out with a friend, and did some p90x kenpo on Thursday.

So..

Monday: Physical Therapy/Personal Training

Tuesday: Track/Bleachers/Basketball

Wednesday: Morning Cardio

Thursday: Kenpo

Friday: Morning Cardio & Physical Therapy/Personal Training

I still skipped workouts, but at least I was active every day! My nutrition was…not perfect, but not awful. One of my coworkers happened to bring in bagels on my high carb day. On a low carb day those are an ABSOLUTE NO, but on a high carb day…I can justify my way into eating one….or two. I KNOW they are not good for me, but they taste good! And then you crave more. I think my total was closer to 1.5. I know I did something else I should not have done, but I don’t remember what it was. Either way, I weighed in Thursday morning at 227.2 – HIGHER than the Saturday previous. I was upset, but there was nothing I could do about it. I knew that at most I could lose 1.5 lbs.

I was excited for Saturday morning because I was going on a new hike – but approached the weigh in with some trepidation.   

So I am SURE you can imagine my absolute joy and amazement when I saw 224 on the scale!!!! What a way to start my morning!! I was not expecting a 3 lb loss, so I was quite excited. Oh gosh. So excited. I was excited and SO ready for my hike.

Angel Basin. We left for the hike at 6:30am and BOY was it cold. We drove 30 minutes to the mouth of the “canyon” and another HOUR to drive the final 12 MILES. You have to have a high clearance vehicle to traverse the climb. It was bumpy, there were sharp turns, and I felt like I was on an Indiana Jones ride the whole time.

By the time we got there the temperature had dropped (higher elevation) to 37 degrees.

My cold weather friends may not find this cold – I was frozen. I had a light jacket and was wearing capris. THANKFULLY my bishop brought extra jackets and David had an extra beanie and gloves.

After a quick prayer we started on our hike and within minutes my pants were soaking wet. The rain from the night before mixed with the morning dew on the trail vegetation created an excess of moisture for the plants – moisture that found dry capris appealing. Cold air aside, this trail is BEAUTIFUL. And the day we went was just perfect. We crossed a little river 10 times (though by the time we returned it was more of a stream), the trees were covered with orange leaves and the ground was littered with them. 

The smell of autumn was in the air and I was in heaven. This trail is PERFECT for trail running, so I did just that, for 45 seconds at a time J Hey. I’ll get there.

At the end of our 4 mile trail we climbed into some Indian ruins. Their doors were very small. I don’t know if the residents were just as small or if their doors were made that way because it was easier to build. Either way, we had fun. And the view was breathtaking.

This was such a good group and such a beautiful hike. Most of the hike was covered with trees and other vegetation - this happened to be the only open spot (and a great spot for camping!) on the whole trail. 

It is now a new week and while I am excited for Saturday's weigh in, I know I have not done as much as I could have to get a good number. I had Monday off for Veteran's Day observance and it threw me off a bit. I skipped my Monday workout and instead of hitting the gym tonight I am going to take my bike to the shop. We'll see. I am hoping for at least 2 lbs, but 3 would be nice :)

What do you do to lead an active life outside of a gym?

My Support Team

I know this is an out of the ordinary post - but I could not find a way to fit it into another post (without it being ridiculously long). So here goes...

I have a lovely family. Both my mother and my grandmother encouraged me to lose weight while I was growing up, I just didn't care enough to listen. My older sister was a health nut. I remember her going for runs and refusing to eat "unhealthy" food while she was in Junior High. She tried to rub off on me, I mean REALLY tried. I know now that she cared about me and wanted to see me be happy and healthy, but I really did not want to hear about my bad decisions. She is probably the reason why I got gym membership after gym membership - she made working out seem "normal". Eventually she learned that unless she wanted me to be angry with her she should refrain from speaking to me about diet or exercise. It took some time, but I came around.

When I decided to start working out my mom and older sister were my first phone calls and became my first cheerleaders. When I told my sister about my desire to participate in the Bisbee 1000 she mentioned that it was still odd to hear me so excited about exercise and physical activity :) Shortly after making the decision to try and get healthy I spoke with a friend of mine about my goals; she had recently lost 50lbs and was still working on losing more. She became my 3rd cheerleader. My little sister was eager to go on hikes with me and she still never fails to tell me how small I look. She was my 4th cheerleader. I talk to ALL of them on a weekly basis and they push me, encourage me, inspire me, motivate me, and cheer for me. Four people is a GREAT support team, but I have been so lucky and so blessed to have my team grow.

About a month after I made the change to be healthy I was referred to Rehab Arizona for Physical Therapy. I continue to be AMAZED at how supportive they have been. Chris, Mandy, Josh, and Jared have helped me so much. They push me, challenge me, teach me, train me, and celebrate with me. I am always excited when I hit a new goal because I know that my success is their success. They are not just my cheerleaders or my support team, they are an integral part of my journey. They have become part of my family.

I am a proud member of the Mesa Caledonian Pipe Band (MCPB) where I play the bagpipes. I took the first three months of my journey off and by the time I went back to band rehearsals I was 30lbs lighter. They made me feel so wonderful about what I had accomplished. MCPB is already a family, and will forever be part of my family, but they now join the ranks of my cheerleaders. When I am frustrated or discouraged they NEVER fail to give me the  motivation and determination I need to press forward.

I have support through the Relief Society ladies at church, my Bishop and his counselors, the gals I work with, my roommates, the students I teach bagpipes to, friends I haven't seen in years, and so much more. I am so blessed to have so many cheerleaders I can turn to for support and motivation! There are definitely times when I need to be reminded that the hard work, the dedication, the sacrifices, are all worth it. I depend on you and THANK YOU so much for being a rock I can depend on!

THANK YOU

Mom, Jessie, Emily, Sarah, Chris D, Mandy, Josh, Jared, Chris H, Debra, Lois, Kelly, Adrienne, Betsy, Kathy, Kristen, Maura, Brother and Sister Ostlund, Bishop and Sister Nicholls, Clara, Brother and Sister Haynie, Mo, Krisjana, Erin, Nichole, Kimberly and SO SO SO many more. 

YOU keep me fighting. This is so important to me and I absolutely could not do it without your love and support. THANK YOU.

Week 34: The Dieter's Plateau

I apologize for not having a post last week. I noticed my weight starting to plateau, so I did a few slingshot days and did NOT want to weigh in during the middle of it.

A "slingshot" week (or in my case, 4 days) is when you change up your diet for a bit. Our bodies get used to our diet the same way our minds get used to schedules. Once my body has fully adapted to my diet it stops losing the weight and instead stores extra fat. You can only consume less than your daily calorie expenditure for so long until your body hits that "starvation" mode and decides it needs to store the energy. During my slingshot days I eat high carbs and up my calories for 4-7 days straight - which then causes me to retain water and the scale to be a bit deceptive - hence the lack of desire to weigh in. However, these "slingshot" days basically tricks my body into releasing stored fat instead of storing more fat.

Unfortunately, many people trying to lose weight will hit a plateau and instead of giving their body what it needs (energy) they try to eat less and exercise more, doing exactly the opposite of what they should be doing. When this doesn't work they might give up. Plateau's can be the end of a weight loss journey, that is why many refer to it as the "dreaded dieter's plateau". It is not so much the physical battle of getting over the plateau that is challenging, but the mental battle. Have you ever tried to lose weight and plateaued? What did you do?

So....last week.Mentally, coming off the plateau was difficult. I had spent a week not losing weight even though I worked incredibly hard. I was looking forward to Saturday's weigh in, but was terrified for it at the same time. I changed my diet, then changed my diet again, and my body was not responding well. I was already tired by Tuesday morning and it just got worse and worse as the week went on. By Friday I was exhausted - physically, mentally, and emotionally. Yes, I wanted to keep fighting for my goal, but I just did not have the energy to do it. My desire and will-power was there, but my fight and energy were gone. My older sister called me on Friday - to check in and to chat. I told her what was going on and she recommended that I take the evening off. I have no idea why that felt so foreign to me. Could I actually do that? So I did...kind of. I went to physical therapy but skipped band practice. I focused on me for the rest of the night. I woke up on Saturday feeling refreshed and got out the scale for weigh in...

3.4 lbs is a GREAT loss for one week. I would love to have seen a bigger number for 2 weeks, but honestly, I am just so happy that I finally got past 228. I'm nervous/excited for this Saturday's weigh in as well. I hope I am under 225, but I'm nervous/scared that I'm not quite over this plateau. I am not a very patient person and weight loss requires patience. Ugh.

After my 6am weigh in I met up with my Bishop and some guys from my stake for a hike. I expected a few more people to be on the hike, with at least one more girl, and I was hoping for someone close to my fitness level. Nope. I got 3 super fit guys and my super fit bishop. As soon as we started the hike two of the guys took off. It turns out there is some awesome climbing on the side of the trail and they wanted time to climb, so they raced to the rocks. David and my bishop stuck by my side and allowed me to set the pace. The hike was about 6 miles and it was so fun. The worst part wasn't the uphill climb, it was the descent! We hiked up for about 3.5 miles and down for 2.5 miles, so you know the downhill was steep! I was super sore the next day but SO proud of my pace. I may have slowed them down a bit (especially on the downhill..) but I was still SO proud of what I accomplished.

I love hiking.

I'm going again on Saturday.

I can't wait.