Does this fall into the category of fad dieting?

We've been having so much fun lately that the weightloss side of me got pushed aside so it took a while to get back on plan. After a lot of thinking about switching things up, Chris and I decided to try out carb cycling. Our friends have been doing it for four weeks with a ton of success and it seems like it is up our alley. We are doing the workouts but the nutrition has been so sloppy lately that we are begginng for some structure nutrition wise in our life. So would this count as a fad diet? Looking back, I lost a lot of my weight when I was making the egg white omelets in the morning. I haven't done that in years so maybe this system will help. I'm open to new ideas at this point. We eat every 3 hours, this is the 1sy day, no hunger pains, and I'm not tearing anyone a new one yet...I'll let you know how it goes!

Schedule...

Okay, lately it seems like our structure is somewhat out the window lately and we are looking to firm it up. Getting to the gym earlier for my power/strength class is really wearing on me. Who would have thought adjusting my schedule by 45 minutes would make such a difference but it does. I'm still learning to adjust but man it's been a rough week. We're also having our schedules vary of when we get home. There are days that we are getting home on time and then there are days we are getting home late. So it's all about firming things up this week :) we can do it, we just need a plan. As for eating healthier we our new sets of friends, we did! We hit the symphony on Friday and went out for one drink afterward :) which is better than getting more to drink or ordering appetizers. Yup, we can make healthier choices around new friends.

How to be healthier when socializing???

So all of a sudden we are totally busy. We have been extremely social lately so the nutrition needs to really get firmed up. We are eating out a bit much and our old rule of eating out once per week has fallen by the wayside. So how do you create a balance? Any ideas especially when you are meeting new people? We need to work on this :)
With meeting new people I got hooked up with a new weightloss buddy too. It's kind of nice to have someone at the meeting you know that will be there so there's no excuse to skip. On another weightloss front, I joined a strength training class at the YMCA. I'll let you all know how it goes. The only downfall is that it starts at 5:00 am. Eek!

My old website is going...

I almost forgot that my old weightloss page is going offline in two days. When I started to write it was 1999. I was in my second year of grad school, poor, overweight, dating sluggy, miserable with some parts of myself, and determined to meet my goal. Look at me now, 10 years later, I got an awesome life. Great husband, my parents are stll alive, I have a job, and I'm healthier now more than ever plus I'm comfortable in my own skin. The web was exploding with journals and I thought what the heck why not put one out there myself. I lovEd that page. My enteries were inspiring, I really put my all into it. I got to meet cool people like my girl Anji who I hope to meet in real life one day, made amends with someone I did wrong in high school, and basic got awesome support from others. Though there were a few downfalls like a former client finding my page and eventually stalker but I learned some important lessons like "don't assume you are anonymous on the web" because people can find you and "don't put anything out there you wouldn't want your enemy to know out there". But it's been worth it. I hope oneday this page could but half as good as the old site. Geocities my hosting site is shutting down on the 26th of October. I hope I get time to back it up but if not at least it leaves me with some great memories and a sense of accomplishment on who I have become. So here's to the next 10 blogspot and I hope we are both around!

Now I understand why I didn't wear that sweater...

Have you ever had a top that you haven't worn in forever just to wear it to then get the aha moment of "so that's why I stopped wearing that"? That was me today. It's been about two years since wearing that top and it totally made me semigrumpy because I know that it wasn't the most flattering top. I've been encountering that a lot lately since bringing out the fall clothes. I started a small box of clothes that I need to drop off at goodwill or Salvation Army. The stuff needs to go! The old me would just hold onto the item but lately I have been somewhat mindful of getting the clutter out if my life. It feels good so goodbye icky sweater that makes look like a total pear :)

Did I mention how fab the IPhone is?

Okay, I cannot stress how much I love the weight watchers application. It is simply AMAZING! I logged my points all week so I had a super week last week. It's quick and easy. I should have had this phone a long time ago! Oh well, I have it now.

Chris and I celebrated our five year wedding anniversary. Chris is an amazing husband and our relationship keeps on growing. He's a terrific guy and I love him dearly. I'm very fortunate to have such a man in my life. So here's to many more years of happiness :) We went to Frankenmuth for the anniversary and it was terrific. We had a great room, hit a brewery, and then hit Zehnders for their "famous chicken dinner". They had free drinks at the hotel and I had two beers so it knocked me off my butt! I'm not a drinker, I usually eat my calories so I was surprised to see how smashed I got on 2 beers. Yeah, that was something. I'm a lightweight now. Then on Saturday we got together with our wild friends and hung out with them. We ended up going to a charity basketball with them which was awesome because some college kids were playing against all the local coaches. All I can say is that the college kids were amazing. We were supposed to go to a party with them but we got to the party and the house was all dark so we found out the get together was cancelled. The company is always good so that didn't matter.

My dad finished his radiation treatment last week so everyone send him some positive thoughts. He did well during the treatment so hopefully the cancer is gone. We'll find out more in January so we'll take it day by day. My dad is amazing man so hopefully everything will be good. I believe it will.

Felt spot on today...

So maybe I am getting back into the swing of things. Day 2 of logging all the food. One thing I've noticed about tracking is that it keeps me so accountable with what I put in my mouth. Like today I was so tempted to stop at Jimmy Johns to pick up a Turkey Tom sub but I weighed my pros/cons and opted for an apple, protein bar, and some butternut squash soup. That was a much better choice not only financially but health wise too.

I finally broke down and got my own iPhone. I love it! The weight watchers application is amazing. It's helped me a great deal this week so far. When I eat, I log...no excuses so far. What put ne over the edge about getting my own phone is that my favorite radio stations got switched over to sport talk radio and there's only so much NPR I can put up with because it tends to repeat itself in the morning and evening. Pandora is amazing. Goodbye regular radio!

Nice...

Awesome day today. Not only did I count all my points but my attitude is back in the weightloss mode. The icing on the cake today is that professionally I got asked to be the regional coach of the therapy technique that I specialize in. Which is totally awesome because it's a huge state thing! So I'm not a big fish in a little pond but a good sized fish in the big pond. I've been working really hard at being the best I can be in this therapy and it's really shown in my work. So here's to a good day! Let's keep them coming :)

Having trouble coming up with a snazzy title...

Very unoriginal, I know but I'm having trouble with coming up with a title. I think the running theme in my life for the past year is getting back on track. How do you do that when you go off slightly? It's like, how do you veer back over to get into the right path? My old friend noted that she thinks that I've been lost for a few years. Maybe I am...I don't know. But are you lost when you are happy with the majority of things in your life? I know it sounds strange but when one is lost, I tend to think that they are confused, unhappy, but I tend to think that I just don't have a path right now. Maybe I just don't know what I want with things. It's not like I am in limbo but my goals are unclear. I used to be a type of person that would have this type of goals like "I want to save money to pay off..." (did that), "I want to go back to the gym" (did that/doing that), and "I want to lose weight" (got partial of it off). But what are my goals now? I don't know. It seems lately my goals is "make it to the weekend" mentality. Trying to keep in the moment but looking forward to that down time so I can enjoy my husband, family, cats, home, and new friends. Having 3.5 hours a night before bed time just stinks. The other night, I got home at 5:15 and I thought it was the most wonderful thing. I got to cook from scratch, organize my pantry, and relax. I haven't done that in months. I want to do that more. Maybe that's a goal to have. Maybe I just need to target things more realistically, get specific but it's like I can't right now because I don't exactly know where to go. Things are good but they can be better but then there are always those forces that we can't control.

Things are going excellent for us. We did our yearly pilgrimage to Amana. It was awesome as usual where Chris and I rested and relaxed. We sprung for the condo and it was well worth the money. It was so nice to just chill out, sit on the couch, and hit the festival whenever we wanted. Our social life is continuing to pick up. It's nice to be hanging out with decent people again. We're hitting a museum today and lunch, then tonight we're going out to a barbecue with the other friends. We call our one friends our "Frasier friends" because they are highly intelligent, love to travel, and cultured. Then we have our "wild friends" and oh, are they wild. Which is awesome because I don't think I've ever hung out with people like them but they are a hoot. We're constantly laughing around them. So we're doing better in the social department. Now, we just have to tackle the personal goals...yeah, it will happen but I just need to get back on the right path. I'm patient.

Getting back on track...

I've always been a future orientated thinker but since my dad's dx of cancer, it's made me more focused on my present. I used to think/worry about tomorrow but now I'm just focusing on today. It also made me focus more on what I can control, which is nothing but by reactions to situations and being the most effective person that I can be. Lately, I've been pretty effective :) I've been getting back on track and I've needed to.

Weight wise, I'm staying put but not losing. I need to get back to tracking because it's just not budging. I know what I need to do. I let my emotions get me off track because of stressful situations so here I am again. The workouts continue to be strong though. We met up with Ryan our trainer last week for a tuneup and he made some helpful suggestions so that adds to the support. I'm planning on going back to weight watchers this morning after a 3 month hiatus...yeah, that is not good.

One goal I've had this is year was to meet more people. Chris and I have been extremely active socially lately which is good. Though, it doesn't always balance in with the healthy eating. We've met a few new friends and so far, it looks promising. We have a few couples that share similar interests and tastes and they appear to okay. It's hard to meet people when you are in your 30s with zero children and that don't have "issues" or an "agenda". One thing is that a couple of them are challenging our comfort zones, which is always good. We went out to a club with one couple and it was like at first "oh God, I'm too old for this" but at the end of the night it was like "wow, that's awesome". We'll see how it goes but it's nice to get out of the house and socialize with others.

My dad is doing well. The scary thing about parents is watching them go through health stuff. That just sucks but I believe that my dad will be healed. He's in awesome spirits. Now, I'm just worried about my mom and how she is handling the stress.

So my life is keeping me grounded...it's good to be back.

Getting back to our normal...

Things are finally settling down. I've been meaning to post our vacation pictures for a while but it just took forever to organize them. Overall, it was the best trip yet. I loved outwest and I can see why people are attracted to live out there. Eastern Colorado and the Mt. Zion National areas were two of my favorites. So enjoy the pictures.

Life is interesting...

I have to say that I have been blessed with an amazing life. Really, it is amazing. I am so thankful for everything that has been given to me especially for my parents. I just found out that my dad, who is 74 has prostate cancer. They've known for about a month and half and dad is undergoing radiation tx right now. So if you can, even you don't necessarily care for me, send out positive thoughts to my dad. He's a terrific man, hard working, honest, caring, and considerate. He is so positive right now. I'm truly amazed by his strength and character. He's the best.

Loving this..

We are having an AMAZING trip. We just got out of the backcountry in Rocky Mountain National Park. I burned 7000 calories in the past two days and I am not sore! Thank God for our trainers or we would have been dying. We made it up to Boulder Field below the Keyhole, which is a huge success.

We are loving the trip so far. Today we are hitting the breweries in Colorado. Chris is in heaven. We were able to hit Brekenridge and Tommyknocker. We were going to hit Flying Dog but they moved and another was closed. We have to get those calories back that we burned :)

Lots of fun!

Okay... No offense if I have any Nebraska readers but omg Nebraska is the worst state. Driving through it takes forever. We were trucking through there and I got pulled over fo doing 5 mph over. Luckily I got off with a warning. I was rush to get to my favorite store Sierra Trading Post before it closed. So I learned my lesson no speeding. We made it to Fort Collins, Colorado and what a town. It's an amazing town. Lots of fun...2 breweries and great night life. So far, this trip is wonderful. We're going to hit Rocky National State Park today and I can't wait until we get out on the trail!

Traveling and eating healthy...

One thing about travelling is the challenge of eating healthy. It's almost like you just want to go with the notion of " hey I'm on vacation who cares about eating?". Yeah, it's good to indulge some but you have to pay the price when you get home. Plus eating out gets really boring after a while. What we have been doing the last few years is that we pack breakfast, lunch is usually a sandwich and fruit, and dinner can be a stop at a grocery store or out but at least it's planned. Having a plan is good :)

Backpacking pizza and Pad Thai on the trail?

Who says that trail foods need to be boring? We practiced making backpacking pizza and Pad Thai tonight and it turned out terrific. Who says that trail food has to be nasty? Chris successfully dehydrated pizza sauce last night and he was able to whip up some pizza on the backpacking stove. Amazing! I never knew we could cook like this. He's just giving me trouble for making him eating oatmeal in the morning but I keep on telling him I'm going to jazz it up with some berries, cinnamon, milk, and some nuts.

I can't wait. I'm getting more and more excited. Today I looked at a coworkers map of the US and we are hitting a ton of states. I'm so ready for a vacation! Only a little while more. Thank goodness I have a hubby that likes to travel :)

My workouts have been strong and I've been working on the treadmill a ton to get ready. I'm at a 15 incline walking 3.0 right now (which is terrific for me). That will prepare us for the Narrows at Zion. Watch out...here I come :) Here are some sights on where we are doing some major hiking. Thank God we have been working out for a year now! Yup, it feels great to be active!

It's not a good idea to...

We're gearing up for our trip within the next month so we've been trying to dry our own food. Yeah, there's a bunch of commercially foods out there but they are loaded down with sodium so Chris had the idea of drying the food after doing some reading about it. Well, it's a great concept but man, it's difficult. In my attempt to make organic peach roll ups, they turned out horrible. Chris has been attempting to dry up some eggs so we can have scrambled eggs out in the back country but so far, no luck.

I'm getting so excited for our trip. It's going to be awesome. We got our bear canister in the mail on Friday so we will be safer. We are going into bear country so it didn't help matters that we watch Timothy Treadwells Grizzly Man last night. Yeah, that was great timing :(

We are this close to....

Vacation!!! Yup, just a while more but we are almost there! The count down is on :) It's going to be an awesome time. Chris booked a room at the Bellagio for one night while we are out west. He figured that we are going to be close to Vegas so why not go? It's an awesome feeling to know that a terrific vacation is going to happen soon :) The one thing I love about Chris is that he likes to get off his butt and explore. This vacation is going to be packed with exploring. We're tenting, backpacking, hiking, geocaching, and doing the things we love to do. Within the month, we will be out of here!

Cherry picking...

The one benefit of living in Michigan is the availability of fresh fruit. I'm loving the fresh cherries and blueberries that we are able to access. Chris and I went cherry picking last night and had a blast. I love this time of year!!!

Life is good. I've made it to the top of one climbing wall and almost to the top of the other. Weight is stagnant at this time but hopefully that is going to change. We still need to get back on track but we're almost there (that is, Chris and I). We just need to track our food. The workouts continue to be strong.