Lots Of Random Thoughts For Friday

This was a short week and yet it felt so long!  I’m super stoked the weather is warming up and we are expected to be in the 60s this week.  Hello Spring.  I’ve missed you.

I’ve been seeing a lot of weight loss motivation through Weight Watcher Connect and Instagram.  My Mom is still having wonderful success with her weight loss too.  I’m so happy for all of those people but it is also hard not to compare your own weight loss.  I’ve had to start seeking different perspectives so I can keep myself motivated. 

 I had a Facebook memory pop up the other day that said one year ago I was celebrating 20 pounds of regain weight “gone again forever.”  I looked back at my weight record for March 2017 and my weight was 233.0.  I was also reminded that I had gained weight after our New York/New England vacation and I’m finally just now getting all that excess weight back off.  Before vacation, I had gotten down to 222.0 and when we returned from vacation, my weight was up to 231.6.  My weight last week was 222.8.  While I am currently down an additional 10.2 pounds from a year ago, which is awesome, I feel like I’ve worked extra hard over the last year to re-lose weight several times.

Isn’t that how it can feel?  Like you are taking a few steps forward and then a few steps back?  That is why it is easy for me to get depressed when I compare my success to another.  And why I should do it.  But I am human and I do.

I can so very clearly see how I’ll celebrate reaching my 100 pounds lost milestone again and getting back into Onderland (when your weight is below 200 pounds).  I have to keep focused on that feeling of sweet victory and I have to keep my spirits up.

I also want to explore other WW meetings times, days, groups, and leaders in my area.  I will step on the scale at home on Monday but I am seriously considering waiting to do my official WI next Friday morning (I have the day off).  I really want to see a nice size loss on the scale.  And, I really like morning WIs so you don’t have to worry about your food/water intake throughout the day.  I’ll have to just wait and see.

TMI: Periods & Girl Stuff

I’m about to become an over-sharer today about all things menstruation and being a woman.  So if you’d like, skip along to tomorrow’s post.

“Never trust anything that bleeds for seven days and doesn’t die.”

I’ve never had an issue with my periods.  I’ve always been regular, fairly light, and it’s never lasted that many days.  Oh, and no cramps!  So, I’ve got nothing to complain about in that department.

I went on birth control in college and was on it into my 30s.  A few years ago, my sister Jenny had a blood clot that sent her to the hospital.  Jenny is adopted so her risk factors are different than mine but when we were talking with the ER nurse about family planning, she suggested getting off the birth control pills.  She had seen many women in their 30s come in after having a stroke, which can be one of the links to birth control.  While my risk factors weren’t identical to Jenny’s, Kenyon and I had to make some decisions as far as our future kids were concerned.  We were pretty sure we didn’t want kids so Kenyon got a vasectomy and I went off the pill.

Fast forward a few years later and since we weren’t going to have any kids, I was tired of getting my period.  I mean seriously, why do you have to bleed each month when you aren’t planning to get pregnant.  I checked in with my OBGYN a few times about how soon I could start menopause (she said I was many years from that phase of life) or what my options might be for stopping my period.  She prescribed the “mini pill” which is a progesterone only pill and wouldn’t have links to blood clots or stroke because it didn’t contain estrogen.  I took the mini pill for a whole year and it never stopped my period.  What was a little more concerning what that I had two different months where my period was very heavy, which was not the norm with me.

I had once again researched options for stopping your period and my choices were getting an IUD or having ablation done.  The second option sounded scary but I was at least willing to talk it over more with my doctor.  Insurance would pay for the IUD 100% and the ablation would be cost me several hundred dollars out of pocket.  So, my decision was to get the Mirena IUD inserted last November.  Mirena is also progesterone only so I didn't have to worry about the estrogen factor.  I was nervous and had my doubts about how bad the procedure was going to hurt.  I had talked to some of my girlfriends/coworkers who had one and also read up on several experiences online. 

Thankfully it wasn’t as bad as I had thought.  Since I had the couple months of wonky periods, my doctor suggested also taking a sample of uterine wall while she was inserting the IUD so it could be tested for cancer (all clear on the C-word).  That is what hurt the worst.  Then, the IUD came after and so it was painful for sure.  Bleeding was minimal considering the nurse scared the crap out of me explaining how much blood was enough to seek emergency attention.  But, nothing like that happened.  I had made sure I had the whole day off work, which I think was a great idea.  That way I could go home and rest.

The days that followed were…interesting.  It was like my body could tell I had foreign object inside of me and it wanted it out.  Part of why I had not gotten an IUD before was because of the horror stories of your body expelling the device, especially if you have not had children.  With my luck, I’d be the one person that it would happen to.  I had some major doubts about a week after really questioning if I had made the right decision.  I had a lot of itching/discomfort and after Googling the symptoms (FYI don’t do this), I read all about infections and what-not so I was convinced I had made a mistake.  The irritation got much better by my one month follow-up appointment so I’m chalking it up to the healing process from the snipping of the uterine wall as why it was all so uncomfortable.

The research I did ahead of time said the IUD was successful in 7 out of 10 by significantly reducing and/or eliminating your period.  I had my doubts that I’d probably be the 3 out of 10 that it didn’t work for.  But, instead, I’m happy to report it has all been going well.  It has been four months now since I had the IUD put in and only twice have I had any visible signs of a period, all of which needed no more than a panty liner.  I have super sensitive boobs and I they still get tender once a month and that is about all the signs of Mother Nature visiting. 

The Mirena IUD is good for five years and my OBGYN says I’ll love it.  She shared with me that she is on her third one.  I’m still a bit nervous/scared for when the time comes to remove it and put another one in.  I’ve heard/read horror stories that it is quite painful.  Thankfully I don’t have to worry about that for a few more years.

The reason I share all this is because when I was doing research of my own, I liked reading about other people’s experiences.  And while a lot of them can be negative, my experience overall has been very positive.  I really love that I don’t have to worry about my period when we are on vacation.  There is nothing worse than Aunt Flo coming to visit when you are relaxing on a beach.  That is the number one reason that I wanted to stop my period and why I chose the IUD.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Extra Day Off

I had an extra day off this week and was able to squeeze the most out of my weekend for sure. As usual, I'm not ready to go back to work later tonight (it is currently 3:30am). That is for sure a sign of a good weekend.

I rented some Redbox movies this weekend. I really liked Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle. OMG it as hilarious! I loved how the adult characters channeled their teenage characters. And Jack Black playing the femine roll was spot on. The scene where he/she realizes she now has the male anatomy is priceless! I was laughing out loud the entire time. Daddy's Home 2 was just okay. As far as sequels go, I liked Bad Mom's Christmas better. The last movie I saw was Downsizing and is not recommended. We saw the reviews were not good and about 20 minutes in, you could tell it was a very slow movie. But I still liked the concept enough to keep going and I just had to know how it ended. Well, it ended. I hate movies that just end with no actual ending. Ugh. I do not recommend seeing Downsizing.

It was a pretty low key weekend and last night I hosted a SpringJamberry Party. It was a small group of just five of us. My niece Hailey came over and spent the night, but she didn't do her nails with us. Teenagers!

I changed out the Scentsy warmers to my Spring ones

After the party Hailey and I attempted to see the third installment of Maze Runner, however, not seeing the first two movies left us really confused. So, we gave up after 20 minutes and just left the theater. Hey, the popcorn was yummy. We came home and played a few rounds of “Shout About Movies” and then I sent her to bed at 1am. I was trying to get her to pull an all-nighter with me.

I have my last three graveyard shifts at work and then hopefully I am on day shift for the next six months. Let's do this!

Weekly WI: Staying Focused On My Goals

Another month of 2018 has come and gone and with it, not quite the 5 pound-per-month goal I had set at the start of 2018.  In addition to my goal of losing 5 pounds, I also wanted keep the weight off.  So, the month of March is a successful month as I have kept off the weight I’ve lost since starting the new Weight Watcher Freestyle Program.

I am also counting March as a success because I am not holding onto any of my Vegas vacation weight.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to work hard to drop those “temporary” pounds.  It feels good to end this month with a loss, even if it is a small one.

I had a great week and earned blue dots all seven days (blue dots are earned when I eat within my points range of 15-30 points).  Even though I was on track all week, I still managed to gain 0.2 pounds at my official WW WI.  I was down 1 pound on my home scale yesterday.  That darn scale is sometimes not our friend.  Of course I was bummed but my hope is that by staying the course, I’ll have a nice size loss to get my started for the month of April.

And, since I have no vacations planned, I want April to be successful towards my weight loss goals.  I have some social events planned but I’ll work my points around that.  I am also going to explore some other meeting times/dates once I go to day shift to see if I can also give myself the best chance at success.  Getting back to the gym and out for walks is also on the agenda.

It's The Weekend

It’s Friday!  And, I have a four-day weekend.  Yippie!!!

Now, in order for me to get to that weekend, I still have to work my graveyard shift tonight.  Booooo…..

I actually planned some field trips to visit other dispatch centers around the valley so I’m excited because it is my turn to go.  We will be visiting Washington County and Payette County, both on the western side of our state.  So, it would make for a fun Friday.

I have also been on track all week earning my blue dots each day.

 

I haven't started my food day yet for today

(pats self of back)

Now, the weekend is where things tend to get sketchy because I am not as controlled at home as I am on workdays.  Kenyon and I don’t have any real plans for our four days off together.  But, of course, the thoughts of eating out have started to circulate!  I have some meal ideas planned and on Tuesday I am having a Spring Jamberry party so I am thinking ahead on my party foods (both costs and calories because for a second month, I did great on my budget).

I do know one thing that will help me have a successful week at the scale is to not have social gatherings and/or alcohol this weekend.  So, I’m steering clear of that.  And, I need to make sure I track 100% because that also helps me stay the course.

I really want a great loss on Monday so I am going to do my very best to stay focused this weekend.  I made goals at the start of the week to dig deep and really stay on track.  And, I wanted to acknowledge those feelings I have for yummy foods I’m not eating, own the craving, but not given into it.  Since I’ve been on track this week the eating out thoughts become pretty intense.  I am just going to have to make my meals at home just as appealing.

Cheers to the weekend!

Carry-On Only Travel: Eagle Creek Load Warrior International vs. Rick Steve's Rolling Backpack

When Kenyon and I officially booked our Europe travel, we made the decision that we would plan our trip as carry-on only.  What is carry-on only travel?  Well, it means you pack all your clothing, accessories, toiletries, etc. you will need for your entire vacation in one small suitcase.  We also learned that when you travel abroad that your suitcase has to be even smaller because airline limitations are smaller than domestic travel.  We will also have to make sure our bags don’t get to heavy as there are stricter weight restrictions.

Knowing all this…I can see why I have always been such a lousy packer!  I tend to over-pack and that is never fun because then you are hauling around a big heavy suitcase your entire trip.  That is one more reason why we want to travel carry-on only so that we can get around much easier on planes, trains, cars, and boat! 

I did some practice packing before our New York/New England trip and was able to successfully travel carry-on for that trip, for my trip to Missouri, and both of our recent trips to Las Vegas.  We really like the carry-on system and will be no longer lugging large baggage with us unless a trip requires it. 

When we traveled to New York/New England, I bought a new carry-on bag by Eagle Creek.  It was their international size Load Warrior bag.  After our return, Kenyon found some Rick Steve’s carry-on bags that had both backpack straps and wheels.  In hopes we would find an all-in-one bag we would use for years to come, we made the purchase and used them on our recent trip to Las Vegas.  It worked pretty well and I prefer the Rick Steve’s bag to the Eagle Creek bag.  So, I thought I would do a comparison review.

The Eagle Creek International Load Warrior measures about the same but lighter.  The Load Warrior measures 20.25 x 14 x 8 and is 4 lbs 9 oz.

The Rick Steve’s Rolling Backpack is squarer in size and measures 20 x 14 x 7 (including wheels) and is 5 lbs 6 oz.

There are some notable differences between the two bags.

• The Rick Steve’s bag is squarer and the zipper opens up all the way.  This made for easier packing because I could access the entire inside of the suitcase easier, including the top zip pocket.
   

  

   
  

  

   
  

  

  
  
•   The Eagle Creek bag is more rounded and the zipper doesn’t open up all the way, making packing harder.  I felt like I had to stuff items into the top inside zipper pocket when I packed for New York/New England.
   
• The Rick Steve’s bag has more outside pockets, giving you more room to store items.  With the size restrictions on international travel, I won’t plan to stuff these pockets full.  But, it is nice to have my 3-1-1 products ready to pull out of my bag.  The top outside pocket also runs the whole length of the bag, which would make storing a rain coat or map/books easier to access.
   
• The Rick Steve’s bag has the benefit of both wheels and backpack straps.  The straps tuck away nicely when not in use.  I know I am not the type of traveler that enjoys lugging my bag on my back so I prefer a wheeled bag.  While in Vegas, we tried to be mindful of times when we could spare our shoulder/back by using the wheels and then pull the backpack straps out when we needed to move through crowds.  The wheels were not uncomfortable either when the bag was on my back.

  

  
  
   

  

   
  

  

  
  
• The Rick Steve’s bag has a pocket for your water bottle, however, depending on the bottle size, mine fell out in the car and I almost left the Boise Airport without it.  The Eagle Creek bag has more outer straps that made attaching my water bottle easy with a carabineer clip.
   
• The Rick Steve’s bad has a longer and more comfortable wheel pull handle than the Eagle Creek bag.
   
• Lastly, both bags have about the same amount of easy-to-use handles in all the right places.  This makes for getting your bag up/down from the overhead compartment on a plane really easy. 
   

  

   
  

  

  
  

I think you can tell which bag I prefer overall…the Rick Steve’s bag. 

So far, this bag appears to be better suited in my quest for carry-on only travel.  I will note that I backed less clothes for our recent Vegas trip than I did for New York/New England.  And, I will be packing more for Europe.  I’m going to have to practice several times since I don’t have a real trip planned before Europe with the amount of clothes I plan to bring.  I am going to use the Rick Steve’s bag for the rest of my upcoming small trips between now and September.

Kenyon and I really like the flexibility of carry-on only travel and will continue to back this way on future vacations.  If you want to learn more about carry-on travel/packing, Google has a lot of fun tips/tricks/videos.

10 Years Of Mr. & Mrs.

10 years ago today

I started my day as a Bride

And ended it as a Wife

And it has been the most wonderful 10 years alongside an incredibly amazing man.  I look forward to many more years to come.

Nine Years Since Reaching My Weight Watchers Goal

This month, nine years ago, I met my Weight Watchers goal set by my doctor.  Nine years ago, I stood in a dressing room in both disbelief and tears of all I had accomplished.  Nine years ago, I lost 130 pounds.

I’d like to say that I am still at my goal weight as I was 100% positive that I would keep the weight off.  Sadly, that isn’t the case.  Even though I am no longer at my goal weight, I’ve been working hard to get back there.  Honestly, I didn’t think it would take me this long either.

The have learned many lessons along my maintenance journey and the most important lesson is to be kind to myself. 

When I lost the weight, in addition to being very public during my weight loss journey, I got so many wonderful compliments.  When I kept the weight off for several years after, I continued to get compliments but they were geared more towards the longevity of staying at my goal weight.  As the scale started to creep up, nobody said anything.  Talking about weight gain is so taboo where talking about weight loss become so natural.  Plus, I was already beating myself up enough that I didn’t need anybody reminding me that I wasn’t as thin as I had been.

This is why kindness is so important.  I am no less of a person after re-gaining weight than I was at 304.8 pounds.  And while I am continuing to work hard to get back to goal (some days my motivation is more on track than others) I have also learned so much about myself through this process.  I am not the same person I was when I got to goal so I can’t expect to get back to goal in the same way.

I have lost almost 30 pounds of my re-gain weight…and it feels so good to be able to say that on this nine year milestone anniversary. 

 

I will admit that seeing some of the photos from our recent Vegas trip didn’t make me very happy.  But, I also remember that at 175 pounds, I was still picking myself apart in a photo.  Some days I have to look in the mirror and say, “there is nothing you can do about how you look today so go out there and be as confident as you can.” 

Regardless of what size I’ve been in my life, I notice that I’m always smiling in my photos.  Try and find the positives in your life and above all, be kind to yourself.

Here is a look back at my other goal/maintenance anniversaries:

11 Year Weight Watcher Anniversary

Cheers to 10 Years With Weight Watchers

Six Years With Weight Watchers

Goal – Five Years Later

Sharing Blog Posts From My Weight Loss Journey: Four Years With Weight Watchers

Sharing Blog Posts From My Weight Loss Journey: MyTwo Year Anniversary With Weight Watchers

St. Patty's Day Festivities

It felt so good to return to my normal routine after getting home from Vegas early Friday morning.  Sadly, St. Patty’s Day festivities put a kink in staying on track.  I had fun celebrating yesterday but once again, I’m glad to be back on track today.

 

 

I stepped on the scale when we got home from Vegas.  I know my vacation gain won’t have dropped off by the time my meeting comes Monday evening.  I’m nervous and a little mad at myself for getting so out of control.  I am leaning on the positive that it is only temporary and that as long as I stay on track, I’ll get back to the downward trend of my weight loss.

I’ve got two months until my Ladies Weekend in Bend, Oregon (i.e. drinking) so until then, I want to limit my social outings where alcohol and food are involved.  I’m looking forward to being back on day shift in April and hopefully will be able to schedule some social outings that involve activity.

My liver needs a break…for now.

Las Vegas: New Experiences & A Celebrity Sighting

Happy Friday and Pre-St. Patty's Day to you all!

We are home from vacation. Our days in Vegas were enjoyable, full of new experiences, and also quite indulgent.

This trip we stayed at MGM Grand on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. I liked this location as it is really convenient for using the bus system and made getting around really easy. You have to walk quite far into the hotel to reach the room elevators and our room was almost at the end of a long hall. There is always so much walking when you go to Vegas.

My steps/miles from my Apple Watch Sunday - Thursday

In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, I had my first White Castle experience on the strip. It was pretty good but I don't really like sauteed onions on my burger. While we were waiting for our food, somebody standing by me asked if we notied Flavor Flav, a celebrity personality/rapper/comic, had just walked in. Sure enough, he was standing in line to order his food wearing a clock around his neck, his signature look. Once I saw others were bugging him by saying hello, I stepped up there to take my turn. Oh boy did he look wasted. I'm not even sure he knew what was going on but he was still polite and greeted fans. You never know what you will see in Vegas at 2am!

Later on Tuesday afternoon we met up with some friends, a prior coworker Kelsie and her trooper husband Dan. We enjoyed happy hour at Beerhaus, watched them play at the craps table, and then had dinner at Nine Fine Irishman. I am so glad we were able to meet up with the for the evening. Kelsie and Dan live a few hours from Boise and were in town for the Golden Knights Hockey Game.

On Wednesday we met up with my cousin Amy and her husband John who were in down for March Madness from Lee Summit, Missouri. We started at Bellagio so we could see the conservatory, which was done up for Chinese New Year/Spring Awakening.

From there we used their car rental to go off strip to the Pinball Museum. This was amazing! There are rows and row of pinball machines from all decades. They also had other “old school” gaming consoles and a popcorn machine for $0.25. The popcorn machine was an instant win each time!

We finished off our day of new experiences at the Mob Museum. This was a three story building exhibit that told all about the different types of mobs, how they began, the ties to Vegas, and eventually how it ended for some. This museum takes several hours to see it all and we really enjoyed it.

We said goodbye to Amy and John and took the bus from Fremont Street to Twin Peaks. Boise has a Twin Peaks restaurant/bar and while we have never been, my parents have taken Grandpa there once (there is so much in that statement that seems odd) and she always told me how good the beer was. She was right! The beer is super cold that after getting to the bottom of my 22 oz glass it was still cold. We actually popped into Twin Peaks twice, once early in the week and again on Wednesday for the $6 beer special and some dinner.

The burgers we had were good and we enjoyed the chips and queso too. Of course, the main selling point for Twin Peaks is the “scenic views” and boy were those girls wearing hardly any clothes!

Our final day in Vegas was a long one. We booked the latest flight out, which didn't leave until after 10pm. We thought this would be a great idea since we are on graveyard and didn't want to get up super early for the first flight out. Since we weren't doing good at the slot machines and our gambling money was pretty much gone, this meant a really long day with nothing to do. After checking out of the hotel, we had breakfast/brunch at the MGM Grand buffet, which was AMAZING and included all-you-can-drink mimosas.

We killed time at the Fashion Store Mall and eventually used the bus system to make our way to Hard Rock Casino and a nearby German restaurant called Hofbrauhaus that Kenyon's coworkers have been telling us about. It was expensive but since we were in the mood for authentic German cusine, we shared the potato soup, sausages and pretzel, and finished off with some black forest cake. It was all really good!

You better believe I had myself a big German beer. I wanted to do the really large one, just for show, but that is a lot of beer to drink at 3pm and it was $17. So, I settled for the smaller one that was just as tasty.

We took the bus again the rest of the way to the airport, which put us there five hours early as there was a flight delay. Not much to do in the Vegas airport but the one plus side is that it was smoke free. Between cigarette smoke and legal marijuana in NV, it was a stinky few days on the strip.

We always enjoy going to Vegas but know we need to branch out more. So, I'll have to start researching other non-stop flight destinations for the future.