On The Cusp Of A Much Needed Break

Good Morning!  Happy Saturday.

I do not officially get to start my vacation today as originally planned but once I wrap up some last minute work stuff, I should be good to go!  We kicked off some fun last night with a concert at Ironwood Bar & Grill in Garden City to see Casio Dreams.  I love this 80s band.  We arrived early and I am so glad we did because service was backed up as soon as the concert started.  I was bummed we decided to wrap it up early but with a few more concerts on the agenda this summer, I know I’ll get to see them again.  If you are local, check them out.  They are really great.  

The focus this week has been balancing my social outings with on track meals.  I gave in to some stress eating with cinnamon gummy bears at work so the week could have had some improvements.  I am feeling good and still debating on if I’ll step on the scale at home before vacation.  A portion of me wants to and then the part of me that has gained two weeks in a row doesn’t want to.  I have been clinging to the thoughts about how good I feel in my body even if the scale is higher then I’d prefer.  I have also been getting in activity between gym classes and walks.  It is a beautiful day today and I’m meeting Kelsey and Julie for an outdoor walk.

I am going to try to not slip into vacation mode too soon but after the snag with needing to give a few more work hours, I want to reward myself with meals out.  There will be lots of meals out soon.  I just have to continue to remind myself of that. 

Weekly WI: Ending The Month With Another Gain

I ended April with another gain, at least it was a small one after last week’s unexpected large gain.

I does not make me feel very successful getting ready to go out of town and I know when we return, I’ll be back over 200 pounds.  The goal this week is to balance the social outings and high point foods with lower point foods and really stay mindful of what I am putting into my mouth around the meals in a social setting.  While I did not expect the gain two weeks ago, last week was tough.  I gave into work stress consoling myself with alcohol and ice cream.  I am mad at myself but what does that do?  Instead, let’s make this week a better week shall we!

I had a lot of positives last week too.  We did meals at home and one day when we ordered Dominos Pizza, I checked in with myself and ate less than I pre-tracked.  I also go out three times last week for #WWWalkingWeek.

Even those there are so many things I could have done better last week, there were helpful aspects too.  I have schedule two gym classes this week and have a walking date with two gal pals later this week.  I only have a supervisor meeting and a 10-hour shift standing between me and vacation time.  I am so ready for a break!

I also celebrated 14 years as a Weight Watchers Lifetime Member.

That is 100% something to be proud of and I am for sure.  This journey has been lined with weeks we are super focused and weeks that life gets the better of us.  At any rate, it has always been worth it. 

Weekly WI: It's WW Walking Week

 I’m on a six-day stretch at work and have a trainee each day with is taxing.  I can’t believe I’ve lost a whole week here on the blog.  I guess I can sum the last week up with work, work, work.

We got checked in for our upcoming cruise so knowing at then end of all this work there is fun on the agenda.  And I get to meet up with my favorite Dawny is even better!  I am super stoked.  

My weight-in this week did not go well.  I was shocked after having such a great week to see such a large gain.  Since Tuesday, I’ve been back to business as usual hoping it is just a bump and that it will come back down.  One thing I know is I feel really good so you just can’t go by what the scale says.

This week the plan is meal prepping, tracking, and activity.  It is WW Walking Week and I sort of met up with one of my members for a walk on Tuesday.  We missed each other as we parked in different areas at the park and I should have walked the opposite direction to meet up with her sooner.  None-the-less, we had about ten minutes of visiting and we are both planning to meet up Thursday to walk again for Walking Week.  I popped into the gym last night and did a circuit workout on the weights followed by three minutes on the stair climber.  I have a member that inspired me to get on the stair climber. 

I got this!

Checking In After Vacation

Good Morning!  Happy Thursday.

I made the decision to skip the scale this week.  I was so inspired by my members who faced the scale despite much talk about Easter Sunday.  In my case, it was several days out of town and feeling super bloated that played a part.  My members always make me feel so energized and proud but skipping the scale this week was the right decision for me mentally.  I had hoped to maintain and while it didn’t feel like we overdid it on our vacation, I found myself back on the sugar train.  Ugh. I makes me feel so crapy.

I feel so much better after being back on track the last two days.  It has been tough.  The sugar cravings are strong and it has been so hard to stay the course but each day I say no to sweets, I feel empowered.  It is worth it for sure. This week will be tough with National Telecommunications Week and our BBQ planned Friday.  I will track the food items I eat and I am planning a zero point dinner to off set the high point day.  I will not be eating any desserts.  I can’t take steps back after I’ve worked so hard this week to break the sugar habit again.  I plan to enjoy sweets on our cruise in May and on Monday for Michael’s birthday.  Other than that, I need to stay the course and keep sugar out of my daily meal plan.

I was so looking forward to my return to the gym yesterday and at 2am, the text message for coverage at work came.  Whomp! Whomp!  I didn’t have any actual plans so I agreed cover.  I forgot about my lunch date with Kenyon for National Grilled Cheese Day at Meltz Extreme Boise.  We ended up having a dinner date instead and it was just as delicious as always.  I let my hunger drive my ordering and got the big basket of chips.  I was excited to see their FB deal mentioned half priced full size original Oozie grilled cheese which made the sandwich just $4.50.  That was a killer deal.

Since I knew I’d possibly be eating grilled cheese and chips for dinner I planned a low point lunch and pretty much starved all day!  That wasn’t the plan per se but I forgot my yogurt snack and many times I’ve not needed it but yesterday was a different story.  I was hungry all-day-long!

A country music station was giving away Boise Music Tickets for a concert in June but I didn’t win.  Booooo…

Anyway, I will make my return to the gym today with a strength training class.  The TRX class was cancelled last night so I am bummed to miss out.  It will be nice to get a guided weight workout in.  

And with that, I better get ready to go to the gym!

Upcoming Travel: Carnival Radiance

Next month, I’ll be boarding my first ever Carnival cruise ship, the Carnival Radiance.

I have only cruised Norwegian Cruise Lines and Viking Cruise Lines, with their long ship fleet, and so this new experience is so exciting.  I am also meeting up in Los Angeles with my best gal Dawny who will come along for the fun after booking a single cabin.  The Hubs and I will be in our first ever aft balcony room, the very back of the ship, which is also an experience I’ve been waiting to try.  We got a great deal on this five day cruise with two ports of call, Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico, as well as a fun day at sea.

The Carnival Radiance has so many delicious and fun looking restaurants and bars that I’ve not been able to experience as were have stuck with one cruise line.

Red Frog Pub (and also Rum Bar) brews their own beers!  I am 100% stoked for a ship that offers a decent selection of craft beer. 

In preparation for drinking a lot of beer in a can, my parents gave me the idea to get life vest koozies.  I’m all set and above all, safety first!

BlueIguana Cantina serves tacos and burritos for breakfast and lunch.  I hear the taco flour tortillas are made fresh.  I love a good fresh flour tortilla so I expect to hit them up for breakfast.

Shaq’s Big Chicken has some really great looking breaded chicken sandwiches and tenders and thin fries that also look amazing.  I spotted on the menu they offer grilled chicken on request.  I do plan to try an actual Big Chicken sandwich once but I love knowing I have grilled options available too.  It might not be 100% the same but it will help balance out my splurges.  They also serve breakfast with chicken on biscuit with honey.  OMG!

Guy’s Pig and Anchor Bar-B-Q is a small venue on the Lido deck and I hear it is only open limited hours.  I love BBQ and I am anxious to grab some to try so I’ve got to keep an eye out as soon as we board and make note of the hours so I don’t miss out.

Guy’s Burger Joint is supposed to be a really great spot to enjoy a yummy burger along with my Red Frog Pub beer.  I see us visiting this place often as the burgers looks amazing and I love a good burger.  I hear Shaq’s fries are better though.

I have heard the buffet is not that great but main dining room is decent.  We might also splurge on the steakhouse or the Italian restaurant, which serves complimentary pasta at lunch.  The drink package includes speciality coffee, Dawny’s favorite, so we plan to grab some coffee, some drinks, meet some new people, and have a GREAT time.

Weekly WI: A Nice Looking Loss

My return to exercise might be the ticket I needed to board the losing train again.  I had a loss this week!

Just as I feel I’ve found my momentum, (insert trip to visit my in-laws).

The plan this week is to maintain!  I will be out of my usual routine but also not faced with the abundance of vacation temptations as visiting the in-laws doesn’t involve alcohol.  I would like to visit a brewery or two but we never seem to fit it in.  So, we will see if this trip is successful!  None-the-less the hardest part of visiting New Mexico is the eating out since the restaurant choices are not as easily accessible in the small town my in-laws live in and often, we end up getting burgers.  

But, it will be okay and when I return next week, I’ll get back to my routine.  I am slated for some extra OT in the weeks to come but upon our return, I’ll have my three days off to really re-focus again.  That is why the plan this week is to try and maintain.  I am always my worst enemy so other than birthday cake for my father-in-laws birthday, I want to NOT talk myself into tempting sweet treats.  I just don’t need that extra right now.  

I’ll have three weigh-ins until we leave for our next cruise so it is business as usual until then!