Whoosh--there goes the week

Just a quick update--busy day, even busier week...

I hope everyone had a great long weekend--mine turned out to be extra long as we got Friday off (wuhoo!) I didn't do a whole lot, but what I did was exceptional and activity filled.

Friday I took a ridiculously long walk outside in the gorgeous sunshine. That night I went to a church fair in CT and enjoyed a greek gyro without any guilt. Friday night...well, I got some exercise.

Saturday I recovered from Friday.

Sunday I went on this crazy spontaneous hike with my friend to Blue Mountain Reservation in Peekskill and we hiked for about three hours. It was cool & beautiful and perfect. We hiked to the summit of Mt. Spitzenburg (sounds more impressive, but had great views of the Hudson river, and a soundtrack of gunfire thanks to the nearby shooting range) and almost to the top of Blue Mountain within the park.
Photos L-R: Map of park & trails (note yellow & black shooting range area right next to Mt. Spitzenburg); My friend Sara at the top of Mt. Spitzenburg w/the Hudson & Palisades in the background; Me in random house structure at top of mountain.

Yesterday's adventures were in NYC with a busy afternoon of walking and shopping. I love being in the city because you do a ridiculous amount of walking without even realizing it (even as sore as I was from previous days). I should have worn my pedometer but I figure I burned off my Olive Garden dinner and Starbucks dessert (I know--a NY'er going to chain restaurants...blasphemous!)

Today I am still recovering from all that, but am feeling very energetic. I'm kind of sad that I didn't get to weigh in yesterday because of the holiday and probably won't weigh in this week because I'm only working three days and the WW schedule probably won't work.

However, I am VERY excited about my weekend because on Thursday I will be off to Seattle for my cousin's wedding! I'll be spending a whole four days there with lots of family & fun and hopefully some city exploration on foot. Plus I always get excited about staying at hotels with fitness centers to use equipment I wouldn't normally have access to. Yay!

My postings might be few & far between until I return next Tuesday, but I wish you all a very good four day week & I'll be back soon!

Until next time

Actively pursuing a goal

Woo!!! Activity points!

I don't know what possessed me, but last night i decided to take a walk because it was so gorgeous out. A long walk. To the grocery store. Like 2 miles each way. And on the way back I had bags.

It was great. And that was on top of a lunchtime walk and various strength exercises I threw in.

Tonight I'm actually going running with my friend Robyn. Well, I haven't been running in a while so it might be run/walking or something, but I'm excited about it nonetheless. Working up to training for that 5k.

I have so much energy. I'm going to take advantage of it while it's here!!

In the meantime, some updated photos. Only because I am wearing some capri pants that I've worn for a few summers, but they look REALLY good on me this year.

Sorry about the horrible backdrop...only place I could get a clear shot and I wanted to post this :)

Until next time

Cold and thin

It's cold. And when I say cold I dont mean like, I need an extra blanket cold. I mean like shiver me timbers-I can't feel my body parts-why are my eyes randomly tearing up even though I"m not crying-cold.

But on the other hand, since I am in a city I want to explore, it's a good thing. It encourages me to walk fast.

During my time in Providence and the conference, somehow I managed to go over my daily and even WEEKLY points. I am not really sure how. I wasn't by any means gorging in food, I was passing on (most of) the high-fat or sweet snacks they had with meals. And I flocked to the healthier options of vegetables, lean meat and I even passed on eating (most of) some REALLY yummy Creme Brulee. Twice! Just a taste to get the sweet satisfaction. I can't say that I was all good...I did drink (quite a bit of) hearty beer when out with the after-party crew. Go Guinness. And I also couldn't pass down the very creamy Rhode Island Clam Chowder. Though I just ate half the serving. So my points were a little out of control.

On the other hand--I rocked my plan to exercise while I was there. Both Wednesday and Thursday after meetings I headed straight for the fitness center and walked and ran for at least a half an hour each day. I also stepped outside for a couple walks while I was there to get a breath of very fresh and very cold air between meetings. And anywhere we went, we walked. On top of that, I spent my free day yesterday walking. I went on my own Providence walking adventure, hitting up a Museum, the Brown University campus, and lots of shops. Mind you this was mostly UPHILL and I was walking fast to keep my blood warm.

Then yesterday evening I arrived in Boston and did even MORE walking. Walking to the convenience store with my friend, walking the 10-minutes to the train to get into Boston proper, and walking between locations. And our frigid walks were even speedier than normal to cut down on the wind chill--or rather merely to arrive at our destination quicker.

If I had a pedometer (I don't because I don't want to be that person), I would have probably clocked anywhere between five and 10 miles yesterday. Rock on.

Which is why I didn't feel a bit guilty when I had the very hearty burger and fries for dinner last night. Bacon and cheese included.

So as I sit here typing away, I'm prepping myself for another really cold day of walking. While my body is telling me "NO!! Stay in bed and stay warm! You're too tired to walk around the city another day!" Alas--that will not be so. There is too much I want to see and do - nothing will stop me. Not cold nor rain nor sleet nor snow. No wait--that's the Post Office. Well--Call me Postal, but it will be so.

Until next time.

Holy pound drop batman!

Okay--so when I went to the Thursday WW meeting, I had overestimated my weight loss, but when I was ready to return to my normal Monday meeting, I was certainly not expecting to have a big drop, but it turns out I am down another 2.8 lbs bringing me to 12.8 total! I figured since my calculations weren't terrific over the weekend, I would lose some, but I was certainly not expecting to have lost almost 3 lbs!

I'm sure some of that was post-bloating weight, which is fine. It was funny that the check-in lady had to double check the number because it seemed high even to her. Hey, I'll take it!

And we talked today about Empowering Beliefs (go figure since I just blogged about it). We started talking about Winning Outcomes which was useful because Jill was saying that they don't have to be long term--what is our Winning Outcome for the end of the summer? (kicking ass in my bridesmaid dress for bro's wedding); What is our WO for the end of the month? (get to my 10%!!! Only 10.2 lbs left!); What is our WO for the end of the week (build the endurance to ride to & from work!!). So it helped put a different perspective on the idea of the Winning Outcomes because they will be constantly changing so you don't get stuck at an "end" goal.

Most excellent day. I was so invigorated & I went for a nice long walk around my area w/my neighbor again tonight. And an excellent walk yesterday to one of the historic estates in the area. I just happened upon it. As well as some very large, very intimidating deer.

OOOh--and I got my bike! I'll be picking it up tomorrow! I am so excited to ride it!! Hence the WO for the week. Yippee!!

Until next time