Cruising Fitness

The ultimate challenge to healthy eating:  a tempting variety of abundant, bountiful, delicious, beautiful food that you already paid for; breakfast, lunch, dinner and anytime between, on a cruise ship for a week. I started off thinking I would try lots of things but not eat the entire serving of anything. Well, as the week went on, it got easier to eat the whole thing! I thoroughly enjoyed so much amazing food, some healthy and some not so much. But I don't regret it. A week of indulgence on a cruise isn't totally unacceptable to me!

I did better with the exercise part of the trip, starting with running stairs at 11 p.m. at the Denver airport on Friday night at our three-hour layover (or was it four?)  on our way to Houston via Miami. Oh yes, we took the long route. Something about maintenance delaying our flight, causing us to miss the connection in Denver. So lucky we were, not needing to pay for a night at a hotel in Houston because instead we were not sleeping much on a plane from Denver to Miami between midnight and 5 a.m. We made it to the cruise ship on time, that's the important part.

The other important part is that I was able to get in some great exercise every day and loved it, except the last day when we got off the ship and hung out in Houston.  The first day I went to the fitness center with Venisa and Anthony (my niece and her husband who were traveling with us). We did a fun cross-fit workout together. After that I got up every morning and either went for a run around the promenade deck (2.7 times around equals one mile!) or went to the fitness center and used the rowing machine and treadmill. I tried to run the 15 flights of stairs each morning and evening as well and sometimes in between. We took the stairs instead of elevators every chance we could, unless we were wearing our fancy heels to dinner.

I also went to the Zumba class one day. Talk about entertaining. The instructor was perkier than any other Zumba teacher I've ever seen, and they're all the perkiest people in the world! She wanted everyone smiling and having fun every moment. Occasionally she would mimic our serious, boring looking faces.  People-watching was very amusing at this class, which was held by the pool and attended by varying skill levels of people, one of whom was wearing high-heel wedgie sandals.

 It was also kind of thrilling waiting to see if the instructor might fall off the platform and maybe into the pool. (Didn't happen.) See the man in black right in front of the instructor? In the picture below he's turning around. The choreography was very simple with no turns, but this guy was quite the salsa dancer and he kept throwing in spins and turns and extra fancy steps and loved all the wows he got from the instructor! Total show off! You can't see me so don't even try, I'm in the shadows in the back so that I can people watch and not be watched by the cruisers standing on the balcony! I wasn't there to wow anybody!

Oh look, class is over and here I come (still got my groove on) to join my loving fellow travelers at breakfast. (I debated long and hard about whether to crop the somewhat unflattering close-up of my brother eating. I was nice and cropped it. You're welcome.)

 Then through the buffet line, boy was I hungry. Oh look, not necessarily the best choices. If I didn't eat the crust of that delicious crab quiche, that helped though, right? I loved getting a different flavor of yogurt parfait every day, and I always took most of the granola off before I ate it. Yum.

I liked to watch the sunset with my husband and sometimes our other fellow travelers. A couple of times after it went down, I was able to run around the promenade deck a few times to watch the sea and sky continue to change colors as dusk turned into darkness.

I love it. It's impossible to capture the beauty with a mere photograph.

Yes, that's a ship. 

Then it would be time to shower and get dressed up for DINNER!

Prime rib the first night.

I got up to see the sunrise every morning after the first day (when I desperately needed my beauty rest after that harrowing cross-country trip spending the night in airports and airplanes). Sometimes the promenade deck would be closed at first so I would run up stairs to the top level and work out at the fitness center a bit before coming back down to run laps when the deck opened. 

A sunrise run.

Such a fabulous way to start the day.

I got in a late afternoon run or two also.

In Belize, we toured the Lamanai Ruins. This is the High Temple. It was quite a climb, to put it mildly.

 The steps were eroded, uneven and varied in height, but all at least a foot high. It felt so good to be in shape to effortlessly climb this, and I did not use the rope provided. The old heart rate was definitely up a bit by the time I got to the top though! Here's looking down from partway up. Taking pictures is always a great excuse to stop a catch your breath. (Try not to gasp and pant.)

At the top, great view of the New River beyond the jungle.

Below is my brother Galen and our guide, Elvis Usher. Yes, Elvis can sing, and he belted out a stirring a capella rendition of the Belize National Anthem on the return bus ride. He also ran up those steps and back down later like it was nothing. I asked him what he does to stay so fit and he looked at me like I was a stupid foreigner or something. He rides his bike everywhere (gas is $6.00/gallon) and he "just does all the things a man does". If he climbs those steps a couple times a week with his tour group, I imagine that helps too!

 We were given strict instructions to stay on the steps, which go around to the side at the top. We were chatting up there with Elvis when suddenly this young man was there, climbing free style up the limestone. Elvis nearly freaked out. "What are you doing, don't climb on the limestone, it could break off," as he reached out his hand to grab the kid (who went from carefree to terrified in 2 seconds!) lest he plummet below should the limestone suddenly give out just as he was nearly to safety. Another thrilling moment as the shaken young man was hauled to safety.

 Water was provided to us in plastic bags!

 Good times.

So the cruise is over. The  multi-course dinners topped off with creme brûlée or cheesecake or bananas flambé,  the amazing buffets, that International Cafe with it's fantastic pastries and desserts, etc. added three pounds to me in spite of my faithful exercise. But according to my Activity Tracker, my exercise averaged out to my usual daily 7 points while my food consumption was well above my average 33 points! (I admit I was not tracking it.)

Soon Monday, our first day back, we ate mostly just fruits and veggies, and for the next two weeks are sticking to the new Weight Watchers Simple Start, which is mainly eating "Power Foods" - lean protein, fruits and veggies, whole grains, fat-free dairy.  The cruise was fun for so many reasons, food being one, but the best part was sharing it with my brother Galen and his wife Carol and my niece Venisa and her husband Anthony.  And now we all have a common goal that will help motivate us to be as fit as we can by August: We want to climb the South Sister together, and hopefully more family and friends will join us. More good times!

Resolved

New Years Day 2014. The day that hopeful, optimistic people around the world make resolutions and goals in an ongoing effort to become the best that they can be. Are you making resolutions? How'd you do with last year's?

I am happy to reach the end of the year still fitting into my clothes and maintaining the Weight Watchers Lifetime status. That's definitely a goal for next year as well!

My fitness goal in 2013 was to run 700 miles. I was thrilled to reach that on my birthday, December 12. Every time I run since then, the Runkeeper app is bugging me to set another goal, but I haven't decided what that will be. Probably less than 700, since I don't plan to run another half marathon this year. Probably.

In 2014….

I am resolved to continue the goals and lifestyle on the sidebar of this blog. I realized this month when I was struggling with some outrageous compulsive eating that I had taken my eyes off the commitment and was focusing on the details. It's important to have a plan to accomplish the goals, but when I'm focusing on tracking or other food rules instead of the big picture, it's harder to make the right choices. Every day, and sometimes many times a day, I renew my commitment to making healthy choices for my body and to staying focused on giving "my utmost for His highest" in my daily life.

I am resolved to start my day by focusing on God, because without His strengthening love and grace, I can do nothing good. I love the One Thousand Gifts devotional by Ann Voskamp. It's always an inspiring way to start the day with the awareness of the constant presence of Jesus in my life, and the reminder to recognize and thank God for the many gifts of His love and grace that each day brings.

Resolved. Committed. Faithful. Determined. Persevering. Steadfast. Tenacious. Never give up! Enjoy the satisfaction that comes from accomplishment!

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, overflowing with thankfulness…and in Christ you have been brought to fullness." (Colossians 2:6-7, 10)

Happy 2014! May it be your healthiest and happiest year ever! What are you resolved to do?

Hangin' in There!

Well, sometimes it's just a struggle to be good and do what you should. Last week I was up .8 and I missed my meeting yesterday because of the Snow Day. It was kind of a relief because I was a little worried about what the scales would say! There may have been a slight loss of control during a cookie baking episode along with a few other issues!

I am still determined to not get completely derailed like I did last year during the holidays, and for me, that means I must track my food every single day. Yesterday I made a firm commitment to do that, and today I ran into a fellow successful Weight Watcher's friend at a coffee shop and asked her to hold me accountable, which she gladly accepted. I tracked everything today!

It's also been fun getting out there and running in the freezing temperatures with snowy landscapes everywhere I look.  I wore my hiking boots the first day (awkward!) but after that the roads were clear enough to wear my running shoes. By the time I come home I'm toasty warm and the house seems quite hot!

I love how different everything looks when it's white instead of green!

Hang in there, friends! It's not about the food, it's about the people you're sharing it with and your relationships with them. You will enjoy the season even more if you have a plan, stick to it, and feel good at the end of the day when your pants haven't suddenly become too tight!

And this morning when I read Ann Voskamp's blog at "A Holy Experience"  I was reminded of where my focus needs to be:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! What do you do if you wake up at 4:40 a.m.  start thinking about all the things you need to do yet before the guests arrive, realize that you haven't gotten around to writing in your Fitness blog for awhile….5 a.m. is your usual time to rise up, so when it rolls around, you might as well get up and start writing!

The last two weigh-ins have both found me down a little, .2 then .8 for a total of 1 whole pound. The Weight Watchers meetings have been very helpful to plan ahead for a successful feasting day. We did a pretend Thanksgiving dinner buffet and totaled the points. It's pretty hard to get a Thanksgiving plate of foods plus dessert for less than 30 points, and the daily goal for losing is 26! That's where the beauty of those 49 extra points and activity points comes in. Being extra careful the rest of the week means I can enjoy all the delicious foods today (in moderation of course).

The past few weeks I've been dipping into the chocolate stash in the office way too much and just craving food all the time, so I decided on Saturday that I would not eat any sugar until Thanksgiving. That lasted until I made apple crisp for the boys on Sunday! But after I had some of that, I went back to the plan. This time it lasted until I was at Hope's house on Tuesday night and had to have some of Janelle's fabulous cherry pie with a little ice cream! I'm so glad that I'm not a legalist! Other than that, I did pretty well! I realized if I only ate sweet treats when I am enjoying them with other people, sugar addiction would probably not be a problem!

For today's dessert, I made a crustless pumpkin custard from a Hungry Girls recipe that only has 2 points per serving, because I didn't want to use 11+ points on pie today. Gotta save points for leftovers later in the day! I wonder if I'll really be able to leave the apple and berry pies alone? I plan to save one piece for Will and send leftovers home with guests! There's not much will power between me and pie!

Exercise is especially important to this week's plan. I enjoyed a beautiful run at sunset last night (wearing my neon reflective vest of course) and intend to do my own little 30 minute Crossfit workout this morning that will include sit ups, push ups, squats with dumbbells, lunges and burpees.  And my guests don't know it yet, but there will be a group walk around the loop between dinner and dessert!

The heat came on a bit ago and wow did it suddenly get hot in here. I had to run upstairs and exchange my cozy fleece pajama top for something a little lighter. That's the other nice thing about getting up extra early, you get more time to sit around in your comfy jammies. And I do love my fleece jammies. Have I mentioned that lately?

Just had to share this…I'm thankful for awesome pjs!

I've been reading each morning from Ann Voscamp's "One Thousand Gifts" devotional, and several of them this week have focused on slowing down and eliminating the hurry from life. I loved Devotion 10, "Recognizing Grace", which told of eating dessert with her family after being stressed by her noisy, fighting, messy children.  "Life is dessert—too brief to hurry."  My prayer for you and for myself is that we will slow down today and truly taste of God's goodness.

The turkey is now smoking in the Traeger!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."  (G.K. Chesterton)

P.S. 7:47 a.m. I just pre-tracked my food for the day. Now stick with it, girl!

Coasting and Grace

Where does time go? The past few weeks have been extremely busy and some very stressful things have happened. That's my excuse for not living up to my commitment to post once a week. Have I mentioned that I have a little problem with self-discipline?

So here I am, three weigh-ins after gaining a pound on the last one I wrote about. That pound is now gone and I am exactly where I was October 15. So you might say I have been coasting. I haven't been focused on counting points or tracking much at all the past few weeks, and only my consistent exercise is saving me from gaining. 

I got in some extra exercise while Will was gone hunting for 10 days. I drove home at lunch most days and took Zeek for a walk. It was always a great triumph that we made it down the road to the ditch in time for him to do his dirty business. Yes, every day. The dreaded pooper bag never had to be used. 

Last year I had a lot of trouble during the holidays and that's where the pounds started creeping back on. I'm determined not to let that happen this year. I still want to lose a few pounds but I think my goal will be to just maintain during the holidays and try to focus on eating healthy while enjoying moderate amounts of holiday goodies.

I am loving the Cross Fit class. My goal is to still do Zumba twice a week also but that's suffered a little because work is so busy. Tonight I was going to make it on time but when I got to the gym I realized I didn't have my shoes. Grrrr. I raced home, I mean drove sedately home, changed, and got back for the last 20 action packed minutes of Zumba, then stayed for Cross Fit. It feels so good to challenge the body to do different things, things that are hard!

Since I'm so inconsistent and wishy-washy about things, it makes me very happy that I serve an unchanging God. 

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13: 8)

And I've been thinking about the following verse as well: "Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings; for it is well that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited their adherents."

May I keep my focus on the God who gives the grace that strengthens my heart. Because of His grace, I  persevere in spite of my weakness and failures.

CrossFit and Fritters

Today I'm not aware of every single muscle in my body from the knees up like I was every time I moved a muscle yesterday. I'm still aware of about half of them, but the others have started to heal up a bit! I started CrossFit this week, and it is indeed quite an all around workout.

What is CrossFit you ask? Well, this is how it is described on the website of Fitness Experience, where I participate:
"CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program that uses functional movement and high intensity training so your body is ready for the unknown of life.  At CrossFit R3, our program is designed for everyone to succeed, no matter what your fitness level.  We utilize gymnastic, metabolic conditioning and Olympic lifting to challenge you physically and mentally,  but when you are done, you are empowered." 

(You are also tired. And every muscle in your body is just a little bit sore the next day. And a few of them are REALLY sore!) But it's very fun. I was happy that a middle aged couple is in our prep class so I'm not alone in there with all those strong agile young folks. Another week of two prep classes and then I hope to do it three days a week for the next couple of months. I figured this is a good time to do it, since it's hard to run with winter darkness and rain, and I hate treadmills. Besides, it's just fun to do something a little different.

Hmm, have you noticed that I've avoided mentioning how weigh-in day went on Tuesday? I gained a pound, ok? I'm not happy about it. I made some excuses, like there were four days in a row of food events, and I didn't track, and...I just like to eat, ok? At our Weight Watchers meeting, the topic was evening snacking. Why do you do it? Are you really hungry? I generally try to save some points for it, but I admit that on those days when I haven't tracked and I know good and well that I'm over my limit, I often have a little popcorn, a piece of fruit, or a little yogurt anyway. It's a habit. Right now, I find myself back in that place where I just feel like eating all the time, and I'm not resisting it the way I want to. Remember, LeAnn, you don't live your life just doing what you feel like. You exercise the will that God put within you to make smart choices!

The experts often encourage us to think about why we overeat. I am not one who enjoys examining my feelings and delving into my underlying motives. I can't really come up with any good reason, even after thinking about it for about five seconds, other than that I just like to eat. It's really enjoyable. Obviously there's a good reason why some food is labeled "comfort food".

I really did have occasion to indulge in some amazing and unique eating experiences last week. One was a fabulous French toast with pears, pecans and blueberry syrup,  enjoyed in the sunshine outdoors with a panoramic view in the company of wonderful friends.

 Another was a family evening to enjoy Mom's delicious homemade apple fritters. My niece Serena shows the uninhibited way this treat should be enjoyed!

Life's treats should definitely be enjoyed....occasionally!

My favorite healthy treat lately is vanilla Greek yogurt with diced pears, cinnamon, and a sprinkle of chopped walnuts. Wonderful for dessert or breakfast. What's your favorite healthy treat?

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:13-17, 22-24)

Bitin' the Hand that Feeds Me

What am I excited about? The new season of Biggest Loser starts today! It is recording as we speak. I'm gonna watch it as soon as I get done with this! Biggest Loser helped motivate me to kick start my weight loss two years ago, and I've been hooked on it ever since.

Good weigh in day today. Down 1.2 pounds for a total of 6.2. Not too many challenges this week. I thought I lost my activity monitor and went without it two whole days before I found it clipped onto my fabulous fleece zebra jammies yesterday morning when I donned them to ward off the morning chill as I was getting ready for work.  I'm just glad it hadn't gone through the washer. Again. And again. How amazing, it's true what they say. That thing continues to work even after going through the washer and dryer.

A few weeks ago at the W.W. meeting, I was amused by an older lady who kept shaking her head and rolling her eyes and making little tsk tsk noises as the leader and other people were talking. When discussing challenges, someone mentioned how weekends were harder because the whole routine is different. She scornfully said, "Well, you must all work or something. I'm retired, so my weekends are exactly the same as every other day of the week." Then when the importance of accurately tracking food by weighing and measuring was mentioned, she scoffed again, telling how she has so many sets of measuring cups and spoons, and five books to look up Points Plus, and she weighed and measured every single bite for five years and didn't lose any weight. Her doctor finally told her that she had to stop weighing and measuring because she was driving herself crazy. (Aha!)

Anyway, she became my friend today. Candy corn (one of my own personal weaknesses which I have not yet touched this fall) was mentioned (by someone other than me). My friend asked if I knew how many points it had. I didn't. She looked it up in two books she was carrying and told me she would go buy a bag and calculate the points for me. "Why thank you, but you don't have to do that. I'll look it up on eTools," said I. ("Did you find it yet? Did you find it yet?") Yes, 3 points for 1 ounce. But I don't know how many corn candies are in an ounce. She insisted she would buy a bag and figure it out for me.  But she won't eat any. What a nice person. I hope she not only informs me how many I can eat for 3 points but gives me the bag! What a nice person! (Is it proper to say corn candy or candy corn?)

All this to say, listening to her makes it especially obvious to me how important it is to realize that my routines and habits are not necessarily going to make sense to everyone else even if they bring success to me. There are basic things like eating appropriate portions of healthy food and getting some physical activity that we all need to do. But you can certainly lose and maintain weight without running. Maybe even without tracking your food. (But I doubt it!) Just kidding, there I go again. We all just need to figure out some specific things that help us stick to what we know we need to do, and not think we're superior to other people who are doing it wrong, I mean different!

Impulse eating is another thing we talked about today. I have to giggle when I think about a recent impulsive bite I took. Will was eating breakfast as I was heading off too work. As I leaned down to give a little goodbye smooch, a piece of toast deliciously slathered with Nutella was right there in his hand. I grabbed the hand and took a bite. Of the toast, not the hand, but sadly, a bit of his thumb did get in the way. My steady husband is not one who generally displays much reaction to pain, but he recoiled, dropping the toast, which hit the edge of the table, smearing it with Nutella on the way to a face down landing on his lap. I dashed to the sink to get a rag and clean up the mess. He shrank away from me in fear, resisting my efforts to clean him up. After I finally was able to stop laughing and stand up straight again, I expressed my great concern for his thumb and was happy to learn it was fine, no blood or anything.

Impulse eating. Avoid it whenever possible. Someone is likely to pay a price for it!