2025 Colonel’s PT Challenge

 The 2025 Colonel’s PT Challenge is in full force, and I’ve been working hard towards my goal of 30 hours of activity in 10 weeks. 

 

I have completed 32.5 % of my goal and walked 9.58 miles. 

 

My activity consists of walking on the treadmill, walking on the indoor track at the gym, using the floor elliptical at work and home, and attending fitness classes.  I’ve been going to two classes I’ve not been to in a while, Core Focus is a 30-minute workout that gives you a nice all over body workout in a good amount of time.  I really despise 60-minutes gym classes.  The other class is High Fitness which is your old-style aerobics.  I really love aerobics.  This class is 45-minutes which is also an acceptable amount of time.

 

It feels good to be more consistent with activity.  This week’s tracking has been going well and eating meals at home sure does help.  I am anxious to get on the scale Tuesday but am thinking I should be down.  It would be so nice to end the month lower than I started!  I also must complete my official employee weigh-in for January.  It will be up because I have not checked in since before our December cruise.  But that is okay because I know I am making progress and it will soon show on the official scale too.

Weekly WI: We Have Turned A Corner

Good Morning!  Happy Thursday.

Several staffing woes at work have made this week really tough.  But, we are hanging in there!

I had a much needed break in the scale at my Weekly WI.

I was 100% on point last week working on consistency, my Word Of The Year.  I earned a couple of Apple Watch Activity Awards over the last few weeks.

This week is more of last..consistency with my activity, meal planning, and tracking.  

I also celebrated the anniversary of when I joined Weight Watchers, which was in 2007.  I can’t even believe it has been 18 years with WW.  What a ride it has been.  FB Memories send me this reminder.

I’m not in goal range anymore…far from it!  But each day is the BEST day to show up and make a commitment to yourself and your health.  A reminder when I look at my starting photo.

London Before Our Return Home

Don’t forget to read about all our UK and Norway adventures:

Southampton and P&O Britannia

Port of Call: Stavanger

Port of Call: Flam

Cancelled Port & Our Scenic Cruising Day

Port of Call: Haugesund

 

And just like that…all good things must come to an end.

 

We spent our final day of vacation in London where we met up with some of our favorite travel friends we met last year on our Ireland Cruise.  Nothing cements a friendship more than three cancelled ports and four total sea days stuck indoors on a ship.  I am forever grateful for the travel friends I met on that cruise and was elated to be able to see Denise and her husband Paul so soon.  Oh, how I wish we had less miles between us!

 

Denise and Paul as they are absolutely lovely, and I am so thankful they rode the train to meet us in London.   Since they are “locals” but have not done many “local” things in London,

I got to play tour guide and we rode the hop on hop off (HOHO) bus. 

 

If you are in a new city and don’t know what to do, check if they have a HOHO option as you just cannot beat it.  It allows you to ride through the whole city if you stay on for the entire loop and/or get off and see what looks of interest until you are ready to hop back on the next bus. 

 

Part of our adventures included pints at several pubs around London and getting lost looking for the Notting Hill Gate. 

We had the BEST time and wished so much we’d had more time together.

Weekly WI: The Scale Is Going The Wrong Way

The scale check-in for November has not been going in the right direction.

I am taking control this week and feeling energized after two days.

I made a plan yesterday prior to going out for pizza with my Wine Club friend and stuck to it!  That made me feel so good today.

I’m back to a consistent activity routing logging at least 30 minutes of exercise since Monday and went to two gym classes.

I swing into Trader Joes and added some yummy freezer meal ideas to my meal plan this week.

So far, things are going well and I am committed to be consistent the remainder of the week.

Norway Adventures: Port of Call - Haugesund

Our final Port of Call was Haugesund. 

 

Boy did this port look totally different than those small towns within the fjords.  After a couple of early mornings, we had a low-key day with a later wake up time and used the hop on hop off bus to tour this quaint town.

 

As it turned out, we could have used more time for this port and will know that if we ever visit again.

 

We spent time touring an old mining town and the Viking Village which took up our whole day.

 

After riding the bus to the cruise port, we set out on foot up a big hill to grab some Coke Zero with the last of our local Norwegian currency.  At that point, it was time re-board the ship for sail away and our final sea day.

 

Other Norway posts:

Southampton and P&O Britannia

Stavanger

Flam

OurScenic Cruising Day

Weekly WI: Year End Review

Well…Hello there 2025.  You snuck up on me.

 

Booking a cruise vacation that took up half the month really made December fly by.  I owe you more Norway recaps and then I’ll recap our Western Caribbean cruise.  So much to catch up on.

I have been reflecting on the past while still looking forward.  You can’t do anything to change what happens but being aware only adds fuel to the fire.  Just like the new year may have snuck up on me…so has 25 pounds.

I wish I could pinpoint one thing that contributed to my gain.  If I could, then I’d just stop doing it.  I find that I swing between “on track” and “you only live once.” 

 

In 2024, I gained 15 pounds.

 

In 2023, I gained 10 pounds.

 

I am feeling every pound of my 25-pound gain.  Not only in my clothes but also in my movement.  It is not easy to start again.  One of our members shared this in our Facebook page.

 

It has been a couple years since I’ve experienced re-gain of this caliber.  I know if I don’t get a handle on it NOW, it will only continue to spiral out of control.

The silver lining is that to take of 25 pounds this year, the average loss is 2 pounds a month.  That feels 100% doable!