Road Trippin'

I just returned from a week long road trip to Colorado. It was a lot of fun and I took some fun pictures that I wanted to share. This is mostly a recap of the trip, with a few blurbs on eating...since that is why I am blogging.

Matthew and I set out on Friday morning and began the trek across Washington, Idaho and Montana. We bought some healthy snacks and packed two days worth of lunches in our cute new cooler. We bought oranges, almonds, bananas, and saltines for snacks. The first day, we stopped in Ellensburg and ate our homemade sandwiches with some Popchips (healthy but still an indulgence).

We listened to The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis on tape and finished in time to eat dinner in Missoula, Montana. Matthew was craving Chiptole, which is not present in Montana. However, we stumbled upon a place called Taco Sano which was actually very similar! We drove a little further and stayed the night in Bozeman, Montana.

The next day we set out to finish across Montana, down through Wyoming and onward to Denver, Colorado! We ate breakfast at the hotel and yogurt and granola for lunch. Our friends, Haley and Jesse were why we were going on this trip. They were in Montana for a wedding and were leaving Billings when we left Bozeman. We ended up catching up and meeting in Cheyenne, Wyoming for a dinner over burgers. We reached Denver late at night, got settled and prepared for our busy Sunday.

Jesse is the youth pastor at a Chinese Church and he asked us to play on the youth worship team for the service! It was a lot of fun to play new songs and some in Chinese. We all went out to Chipotle for lunch.

Then Haley, who is the children's pastor at an international church, and I went to gather kids for church that evening. After church, we all ate at Jesse's parents house and ate Buffalo! It was such a good meal and fun to feel like family and tell stories.

Monday we went snowshoeing in Loveland, Colorado. There was a slight slope we were treking down and realized a little too late that the way back was entirely uphill. We were so exhausted and our thighs were burning. I wanted to sit down and gasp "Leave me...save yourselves!" but I refrained. We rewarded ourselves with a scrumptious homemade Adobo chicken recipe. I managed to stay under calories, thanks to the 600 burned while snowshoeing!

Tuesday, Jesse had to work so Haley took Matthew and me to the Celestial Tea Factory in Boulder. We got a free tour and unlimited free samples of teas! It was a lot of fun and perfect for a snowy day. We bought some tasty new teas, my favorite of which is Bengal Spice!

We ate at a local Pho place and headed to downtown Denver. We looked at some shops but were so cold in the wind and 18 degree temps that we called it quits and headed home. It was snowing and very cold! My car got very dirty and had icicles on it. It also froze into this awful looking pattern. I will post a picture, but I can't look at it without getting goosebumps all over. It's all those microbiology classes....

We ate dinner at home and had a delicious taco soup and cookies! We then traveled through the snow to our respective dates...boys to Guitar Center and the girls to Bubble Tea! We played our speed games and enjoyed our girl time. I don't know what the boys were doing...but they didn't spend money or do anything else dangerous ;)

I was getting a little discouraged that I was going waay over my calorie budget as indicated by evil red numbers and bars on my iphone app. Matthew encouraged me and said, "It's vacation, do your best and we can get back on track when we get home." He was right. I was here to enjoy myself, my friends and my time away from work. Sometimes that involves food. I was still careful but did not obsess over it for the rest of the trip.

Wednesday morning we packed up and toured the nearby neighborhood. Little ramblers were being bought, torn down and having HUGE million dollar homes built in their place. This has been going on for years and years, so there are now more mansions than ramblers, but the ramblers still exist! We then met Jesse for lunch and ate Colorado Style Pizza. Colorado style? Big crust you pour honey on! Yes, I am serious and it was lovely. We then sadly said our good-byes and headed towards Salt Lake City, Utah.

We went through the passes of Colorado and much enjoyed the scenery. We didn't plan lunches as well as we did in the beginning of the trip. Oops. We crossed into Utah and headed to a hotel just outside of Salt Lake City. In the morning we drove through the city and then off to Nevada. We came across the salt flats. Water would evaporate and leave miles of salt. We stopped and took cool pictures.

We crossed into Nevada and listened to The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. The trip across Nevada was pretty dry and long, so we welcomed the site of civilization when we hit Reno. We turned south and soon were at our destination of Minden, Nevada. We ate dinner with the Johnsons and got a quick tour of Minden. It was great to see and catch up with them as they have been so influential in both our lives. We stayed in a nearby hotel and headed home!

We drove through California and happened to stop for lunch at the ORIGINAL Black Bear Diner. We shared a yummy summer harvest salad with fresh and dry fruit. We also shared a tri-tip dip which was also super wonderful. We then drove through Oregon and ate granola bars for dinner. We reached home at 11 at night and collapsed into our bed.

It was a wonderful trip. We got to see beautiful scenery from 9 different states and catch up with our amazing friends. I went over on my calories, but at least I am aware of how much I am consuming when I am NOT trying to be conscious of my eating. It was interesting to see how much every food "costs" and how quickly it adds up. Now we return to our normal lives and I am back to eating healthy and getting fit!

Coming Alive

We finally did it...my husband and I got smart phones. It was a long time coming and it has opened up a whole new world to us! A GPS so we don't get lost, we can text and send pictures, we can Google things and most importantly, be healthier. I found two apps that I am soo excited about. One is the Nike Run app and the other is the Lose It! app.

The Nike Run app tracks your run route, speed, weather conditions, how you felt after the run, etc. Cool way to know how far you have run without knowing the route!

                  

           

The other is the Lose It! app. This has changed my life. You put in your current weight, your goal weight and how quickly you want to lose it. It tracks the calories allotted in your day to achieve this goal. You plug in everything you eat and it calculates all the calories and nutrition facts for you. It even scans bar codes for the exact food you are eating! You can also put in your exercise and how many calories that burned. This then increases your caloric allotment for the day. Basically...I was eating too much. It is really hard to stick to 1200-1300 calories! Either that or I need to exercise a lot more. Or both. Which, I think I knew this...but this app made me REALLY KNOW this and be confronted with it. It was a little discouraging at first, especially when I found out 1/4 cup of cheese is 110 calories...and 1/4 cup was really limiting myself from a usual helping. Ay ya yai! But this is a good thing. It is really helping me get real and make healthy choices that will last a lifetime.

Oh, I also made some kale chips! Just rinse and dry kale, sprinkle with olive oil and seasonings of choice and cook for 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven. Mine were a little salty, but they were pretty good! Try it!

I have been doing my weekly weight and measurements. It appears that I have lost 2 pounds...but I think the scale can fluctuate due to barometric pressure changes or how my hair is sitting. But, I'll take it! My measurements haven't really changed, but that will probably happen with more exercise.

Speaking of exercise...I am soo out of shape. I did this OLD Tae Bo tape I have which uses cardio and exercise bands. It was hard stuff.

I had to fast forward through some parts because I was so tired. This lady's face described how I felt for most of the workout.

So I decided to "take it easy" the next day and try my new Pilates tape. Easy!? EASY!!!??? I can hardly move now and I yelled at the lady once by saying, "No way! Are you kidding? I am NOT doing that. And stop making it look so easy!" and then collapsed to the mat while she smiled on.

But I am not giving up completely. Each day I get a little stronger, gain a little more endurance. The better I eat, the better I will feel, the lighter I will get, the more energy I will have. I know this...I just need to get the ball rolling first to gain momentum.

And lastly, I did something for myself. It is my 3 week vacation from work. Hallelujah! So I did what anyone would do with so much freedom. I painted my nails and I got a new haircut. I have had the same haircut for 13 years and I felt tired and boring. So I drove to Mt. Vernon and told amazing Chelsea to cut it however she saw fit. Eeek! Such power, and such great results. I feel healthy, fresh, vibrant and fun! It is an extra boost of confidence that will help me continue down this hard but oh so worth it path of healthiness. I challenge you to do or change something that will boost your confidence and help inspire you to be healthier as well!

Gettin' Serious

I did it. I weighed and measured myself for the first time in...a long time. I wrote everything down and will check progress once a week. My ultimate goals:

1. Lose 13 pounds
2. Lose 1 inch everywhere, 3 inches off lower abdomen, bum and thighs

After taking my numbers, things seemed to get more real and I felt like I had something to work towards. Something to track progress and not lose hope. So, today I stretched, ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then lifted weights at our gym. I came home and ate an apple with peanut butter. I went grocery shopping and got kale and frozen fruits for some smoothies, whole wheat bread and pasta, and some good ol' Chobani yogurt. For the first time, I feel like I got a shot at succeeding.

To really get in gear, I signed up for a race. This helps me get motivated, because I will NOT be able to finish the race unless I actually train beforehand. I signed of the the 5k Color Vibe in Bellevue on May 25th. They throw different colors at you for each kilometer you pass. It's not timed, so it is a good way to start the running season. Anyone want to join me?

More info and sign up here!

Now for some randomness. One of my days at work last week was pretty busy. By the end of the shift, my pedometer was at 12,000 steps. That's more like it! I also have been going on a walk every day to ensure I get all my steps in! It's easy to walk and nice to get outside. I can't wait for warmer weather though.

My parents got a juicer, so after a walk with them I decided to try it out!

Kale, blueberries, apples, pear, strawberries, carrots and a touch of ginger

 Nothing added, just the juice of fruits and veggies. It may look a little funky, but it really tastes good!

I also enjoyed this delicious meal I found off Pinterest. Stuffed red peppers without any meat. SO GOOD! Thought I would sure the yummy goodness...and recipe ;)

Get the recipe here!

Another random note...my BFF at work got me this great water bottle.

My goal is to drink 3 of these a day. Why did I change water bottles? Because this one is a map of Mt. Rainier. It will always remind me it's about hiking and enjoying the scenery, not sprinting. And it has an awesome sipping straw. Thanks Jodi!

I am going to ride this wave of motivation as long as I can. And even when it runs out, I will keep going and push through it. Join me?

Encouraged

Definitely needed that encouragement today. Since my last post, I worked 2 shifts and got sick which led me to call out sick the next two shifts. I think it was a sinus infection, but it totally knocked my energy and motivation for being active. What a bummer when I was so motivated just a few days earlier. I lazed around, took 200 steps and just rummaged around for any food that sounded good. Great. Go me.

This discouragement made me want to just give up. Quit blogging. Sleep all day. I can't seem to make any progress, I can't see any results, I have failed my whole life, did I really think this time would be different?

Thankfully, I am married to the most wonderful husband in the world. We stayed up late last night, sitting and snuggling on the couch while my husband encouraged me, asked me questions, challenged me and gave me some of the best advice ever. What really stuck with me?

1. Think of food as energy to fuel your body. Not treats, not joy, but fuel. It helps your body do what it needs to do, do what you want it to. I think about this every time I open the fridge now. What am I going to do today and how can I help my body do that better? Am I eating this for fuel or pleasure?

2. Set ultimate and intermediary goals...use numbers and be concrete. I touched on this earlier, but I need to be more concrete than "healthy". In the next few days, I am planning on weighing myself (which I haven't done for a year because it vacillated so much and I got discouraged) and I will take my measurements (meh). Then I will base ultimate goals and intermediary goals so I can SEE progress and celebrate the little victories.

3. Have a plan. This is how I asked my husband to help. I get too easily offended for him to tell me to "drop the cookie!" So I asked him to ask me, every day, what my plan is for food and exercise. Then I have to stick to what we discussed and it makes me think and decide ahead of time how I am going to succeed. Examples: My husband asked me "What are you going to do when you wake up?" "How are you going to ensure you get at least 5,000 steps?" "How are you best going to handle eating out with your friend tomorrow?" It was HARD to answer these and I didn't want to commit. But I did. And it was HARD to follow through, but I had agreed with myself and my husband the night before and I had to stick to my word. I made sure to eat a good breakfast, I went on a 1.5 mile walk with Buddy and my mom, and I brought half (1/3) of my dinner home for Matthew to taste.

4. It won't be easy, but worth it. It WON'T be easy...and I secretly think/hoped it would be for me, once I got started. Some days will be easier, but easy does not define success. I was getting discouraged on how LONG it will take me to achieve my goals and see results. But the time will pass whether I am being healthy or not, so might as well let the time add up and be on MY side.

5. "I know you can do it...but I don't know if you will. It's up to you." Hard to hear but encouraging at the same time. I am capable but I need to DO IT. It's up to me. I can do it. And this time, I WILL.

Tomorrow

"Tomorrow I'll start." "Tomorrow, I'll be good." "Tomorrow I'll start working out. "Tomorrow..."

No more tomorrow. I am changing my vocabulary to "Today". 

I am rather surprised at my complete lack of investment and energy when it comes to my health. I am always too tired or uninspired to get on track. I wouldn't typically describe myself as this type of person. I am hard-working, intentional and faithful. So why am I not myself when it comes to being healthy? What makes me cave at the overwhelming mountain instead of conquering it like I have many things in my life? Am I burned out? Is my perfectionism preventing me from making any progress at all because I want perfection or nothing?

I realized something over the past few days. I believe I take challenges on like a sprinter. I was a sprinter on my track team in junior high. I was pretty fast...one of the faster ones on the team. I loved putting all my energy in and running as fast as I could for 14 short seconds. Then I was done. We sprinters would increase our endurance during practice by running long distances. I dreaded it. Hated it. Couldn't do it. Would practically keel over! Just let me put it all on the line for a short time and be done with the misery before my mind realizes what's going on.

I had this attitude in school. I would work really hard for 7 weeks of the quarter and then coast until finals. My grades were usually high enough and I had invested enough that I could coast through while maintaining an A. 

When I clean the house, I dump EVERYTHING out and start by tackling EVERYTHING. About 1 box of papers and a clean toilet later I quit...with EVERYTHING still scattered about the house and floor.

So I have come to the conclusion, that this is how I approach challenges. Sometimes it works great and I receive great rewards for my hard work. But when it comes to being healthy and making changes to LAST A LIFETIME, I have yet to succeed with my well-worn yet futile plan of action.

So TODAY, that all changes. TODAY I woke up and fueled my body for a workout. I ate some raisin bran for breakfast followed by a banana and a cutie. I fueled my body with water and went for a light jog around Bradley Lake Park. 0.8 mile jog followed by 0.8 mile of walk/intermittent jogging. Not much....but something. A start. A beginning.

TODAY I make concrete goals of HOW to be healthy instead of the vague goal of BEING healthy. I can't work with vagueness. I need to have a checklist, or actual goals I can aim for. Otherwise I get overwhelmed. So what are a few of the starting goals I came up with?

1. Drink at least 2 of these bottles a day for a total of 54 oz of water.

2. Walk at least 5,500 steps for the next 7 weeks so I can reach my healthy at work goal. (P.S I take about 8,200 steps at work...more than a typical day, but I think I was secretly hoping for 15,000 or something ridiculous like that.)

3. Try and get a serving of fruits and vegetables in every day.

4. DO some sort of physical activity on my days off.

5. Work up to running a 5k distance without needing to stop. (I ran my first 5k last year, but have gotten out of the routine and need to work back up to that distance again since 1 mile is kicking my toosh.)

Seafair 2012 - My first 5k

6. Eat HALF of a restaurant portion and take the other half home.

Those are some of the goals I came up with and will continue to find in what areas I need to be specific in order to succeed.

And no more throwing a whole day away if I mess up a meal. Every bit counts, I can't have the all or nothing attitude anymore. 

I am no longer going to try to sprint up the mountain, because I will fail. I need to backpack and hike my way up, enjoying the scenery and company who have agreed to come with me. Only then will I be able to stand at the top and see all that has been experienced and accomplished.