365 Days Until My Next Cruise

 365 days to go!!!

I am  so excited for our upcoming cruise, which we booked months ago.  Sadly, it is still one year away.  I am going to see if we can book something in the meantime to tickle my cruise-bug.  Until then, I’ll just be waiting.

We booked a Group Cruise as part of travel Vloggers I started following when cruising re-started post-COVID…er…first post-COVD…(really it feels like post-COVID is not really ever going to come).  None the less, I convinced Kenyon to allow me to book a cruise with a bunch of other strangers and I also talked Phoenix and Stacey into joining us along with my WW Buddy Wanda and her husband Michael.  Oh man…I’m stoked.

Sail from New Orleans – Down the Mississippi River

Sea Day

Costa Maya, Mexico

Harvest Caye, Belize (NCL Private Island)

Roatan, Honduras

Cozumel, Mexico

Sea Day

Arrival back in New Orleans

We plan to spend a few days in New Orleans, which we have not visited, pre-cruise and then board the ship and have tons of fun with old and new friends.

If you’d like to join us, reach out and I’ll send you the details to the travel agent.

Weekly WI: Friday Instead Of Tuesday

 Good Morning and Happy Friday.  I can’t believe it is almost the end of January.  Typically this month passed quickly followed by a long February.  Our temps are so cold I am ready for warmer weather.  

While I stepped on the scale Tuesday,  it did not get recorded.  OMG it was rough.  Let’s rewind to January 18th.  After having a few days off work to de-stress, I was really loose with my tracking and ended up with a 2 pound gain.  While that was rough, I had planned to get back on track and Saturday through Monday was on track.  The biggest setback was my grandpa passing away.

I was able to take the whole week of work and while I tried to balance eating out with eating in and made a commitment to myself to NOT turn to sugar for indulgences, I was up A LOT on January 25, the day I had planned to complete my employee weight-in for the month.  For the first time in a while, I saw 200 pounds again.  

GULP.

I was legit embarrassed to step on the “official” scale.  After a rough end to January, my tracking was less than stellar and the scale showed it.

I re-focused as I knew I had to get my employee weigh-in on record today.  I checked in on the scale throughout the week and saw so many ups and downs.  I was really stressing it yesterday when my home scale jumped back up again to 199.  UGH.  It was so frustrating.  When I woke up today, the scale had come back down.  

It wasn’t enough of a loss and I still had a on both my home scale and the “official” scale.  I am 100% on track this week which feels really good.  I have also stayed committed to my activity this entire month, which makes me feel proud of myself.

I will bring the scale back down.  I am always glad when I can catch these gains on the small(er) side vs. having to navigate 5+ pound gains.  My monthly weigh-in for 2022 is still under 200, which is my main focus.  I was up 2 pounds from the end of 2021 but that is okay.  

I have a new month ahead of me where I can work hard and stay focused.

The Last Of The Grandparents

 The world lost a great man.

Last week, my grandpa passed away.  He had just turned 92.  He had an aortic aneurysm and while we knew he could go at anytime, we were not prepared at all.  Thankfully we believe it as swift and he didn’t suffer.  We also believe he enjoyed playing his usual card games and meeting his friends for coffee in the day prior.  That gives us peace during this difficult time.

We are also holding onto the happy memories and so thankful we spent time together at both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  You never know when the last time you will see somebody will be the last time.  You hope you hugged them tight enough and told them you loved them.  I wasn’t able to celebrate on Grandpa’s birthday due to prior work commitments but I did call him to wish him well and sent a card in the mail.  

He is the only grandpa I’ve known my entire 42 years.  My other grandpa and my two great-grandpas had already passed away.  I was able to spend time with all four grandmothers (including two great-grandmas) but only one grandpa.  There are no more grandparents left.

Goodbye Grandpa.  I will miss you so very much.

I Do This For My Members

There is a reason why I do what I do. 

A reason why I wake up at 7:30 a.m. to coach at my weekly WW workshop after getting off work from my regular job at 2:00 a.m. 

A reason why I work a secondary part-time job on top of a full-time job that already includes an abundance of overtime.

Although it is difficult at times to adjust all my schedules and I have felt more than my share of being exhausted, I do what I do because of my WW Members.

Yesterday before the workshop began, a member joined us that I recognized from another location.  I exchanged pleasantries with her and told her she looked familiar.  She shared that she knew me from the Northgate location, which is where I attended pre-COVID shutdown.  When I asked her what brought her all the way (and this location is way out of her way) to Nampa, she simply said, “you did.”

Wow.  What an impact.

She continued sharing with me that she was at the Northgate location the week prior and was told by members that Lindsay had been there.  While it wasn’t me, it was another coach standing in as a sub, she asked the guide if I was coaching and learned I had my own workshop in Nampa on Mondays.  She does not live close to my workshop location and yet she drove across town to attend my workshop.

She stayed for orientation after the regular workshop.  At the end, I told the group, “I hope to see you next week.”  She told me I would and that she felt very motivated after attending my workshop.

This is why I do what I do.

It was 15 years ago I walked into my first WW workshop and never looked back.  I am so lucky to be able to continue to assist our members on this next level.

A Week Of Indulgences

 Earning my 200% movement goal this week was rough.  It took all I had yesterday, including four workouts, but we got ‘er done.

I was able to get off work early from my overtime shift on Tuesday evening and have been of work Wednesday and Thursday.  I worked a substitute guide today at the Friday morning WW Studio in Meridian.  It is always nice to see those members and work along side the Friday coach.  With the new Omicron COVID variant ramping up, along with cold and flu season, I’ve been filling in at other WW locations.  Between that and an abundance of overtime at my regular job, it has been a tough few weeks.

Having these days off were nice.  I hope to have all three days off next week although I am feeling in for the graveyard shift three days as well.  My days off have been about relaxing and relieving stress, although striving for that 200% has wore my body out.  I don’t know that I feel fully rested but I am happy for just three days ahead in the work week.  

I’ve also realized that I am a stress-relief eater/drinker.  As much as I tell myself each day I won’t go overboard…here we having spent many points over my daily and weekly allowance.  I have been going a bit crazy these last few days and with my employee weigh-in planned for Tuesday, it is getting a little bit scary.  On one hand, I wish I had stayed committed to my plan.  On the other hand, I just didn’t have it in me this week.  It has been a week of lots of indulgences.

I am working on getting a meal plan in place so I am successful for the remainder of the week ahead.  I have been focusing on my activity and if I continue to power through, I am looking at earning a perfect week.

There is a chance I could have a perfect month too.  

So far I am on track for filling those three circles each day.  The hard part is my body is just really tired and sore today.  I maybe start up some Obe videos that offer a nice stretch and/or add a “shake out” low intensity walk on the treadmill.  Whatever I decide to do, I’m going to really work to relax this last day off before I return to the crazy schedule of life.

Weekly WI: The Downward Trend

 The downward trend continues…

When I peeked at the scale on Monday it showed I was up 0.4.  The biggest bummer is that I was feeling really good and thinner as the week progressed.  I had one high point day with the rest of the week earning any blue dots.  I also was on an activity streak and have been working on closing all three circles on my Apple Watch each day.  The scale typically comes down between Monday and Tuesday thus, I had a loss of 0.6 this week.

It isn’t quite the one pound a week I’d like to see but down is down and I am staying committed to my WW plan.  As I said above, I am also working really hard on daily activity and will continue to strive for a full month of filling my three Apple Watch circles.  It is nice to have a good boost to start the year off on the right foot.

It has been rough this last week.  I subbed at two extra WW workshops, one as a Guide and one as a Coach.  This followed my very long work week with extra un-planned overtime and only one day off.  I have consistently ended up with just one day off from work for a few weeks now and I am just exhausted.  Mentally and physically.  I am so thankful that I am not a stress eater and last night I really struggled with giving in and going crazy as stress relief!  I guess I may not be a stress eater in the moment but when it comes time to finally release it and (hopefully) get a few days off, I sure do want to go cra-cra.  

I had an unplanned high point day as we went out to dinner after I got off work from my overtime shift early.  I’ve tracked it and will move along.  I don’t want to derail my hard work and commitment to my goals and my WW plan.  I am inching closer to 190 and I really want to re-claim goal.

200% Movement

 I finished out 2021 completing all 12 months of my Apple Watch Activity Challenges.

 

This make the third year in a row I have been able to stay focused to the activity portion of WW’s four Pilars.  Having this type of goal pushes me and keeps me focused as well as giving me the motivation to build a daily activity habit.  

January 2022 is off to a start with my goal this month being 200% of my movement calories four times this month.  A lofty goal but doable with it just being four a month.  Using our STAR Goal method from WW (Specific, Truly Doable, Active, and Relevant) I am able to break it down so it is more manageable.  With having to complete 200% four times and the month having four full weeks, I am making this goal more specific in striving for extra activity one time a week.

On Wednesday, I hit the first of four 200% movement for this month.

Hailey and I spent the day at Boise State University getting her all set for starting college on Monday.  When I got home, I was exhausted.  It has been a rough few weeks with lots of overtime and coverage at work coupled with my three day weekend no longer in existence.  I noticed I was over 800 calories burned and I needed to start up the bike machine and burn those last few calories.  Success!

The start of the New Year also yielded a special award for earning a 7-day streak of activity.  Boooooya!  Let’s start this year off on the right foot.

Weekly WI: Excited To See A Loss

 Good Morning and Happy Wednesday.

I was not able to check in yesterday as the call-in for work coverage came early in the morning and I was so looking forward to my days off this week.  Idaho has been hammered with winter weather and our unprepared drivers have made being at work taxing and difficult.  Needless to say, yesterday is in the past and I want to focus on today and being more positive.

I was fearing a possible gain this week after just being “off.”  As I shared a few days ago, my mental health has been dwindling and I’ve just not been functioning at 100% and feeling very overwhelmed most days.  I was pleasantly surprised that I was down 0.8 pounds.  

After three weeks of maintaining and navigating through the holidays, I feel even more energized.  There is power in maintaining, even when you don’t plan on it.

I also happened to have a Facebook memory of re-claiming goal back in 2012.  

Looking back at my weight record, 2012 was the last year I was in goal range, which was two pound above or below 175.  At that time 175 was a goal weight I set with my doctor.  The goal weight I set with my doctor now is 190.  I have been so close to toeing that line that 2022 is going to be my year.  Those last five pounds can be the hardest so I will need to dig deep and really stay focused.

I’ll share with you some changes that I have made the last few weeks and after seeing a loss, I am hopeful I found the right “click” for getting my body back into downward movement on the scale.  I also plan to add in strength training.

Your Mental Health Is Important Too

Hello 2022.  It’s good to see you.

My New Years Eve as uneventful in the party-front and really eventful on the work-front.  We were slammed between weather road closures, traffic, stops, crashes, warrant arrests, stuck motorists within the road closure, and DUI arrests.  It as nice to have a more mild shift Saturday vs. Friday.  

For weeks now, I’ve been telling myself, “it will slow down soon.”  Each time I say that, life feels busier and busier.  I really want to make 2022 about better work-life balance.  I’ve let others tear me down and I hate feeling that way.  I am a very positive person and dwelling on the negative makes me feel awful all the time.  I plan to seek out a counselor to help me work through some of what I’ve been dealing with.  I need professional help to guide me towards a healthier mindset which will trickle down to other areas of my life.  

I am very lucky to have seen success in 2021 with my weight loss and health journey.  I plan to continue that into 2022 and really hunker down to re-claim goal.  It is time.  

A fresh new month always makes me feel energized.