First Ever Fitbloggin’ Local Meetup – Norcal Edition!

Today, I had the great pleasure of attending the first-ever Fitbloggin’ Local meetup of Northern California health and fitness bloggers, hosted by Susan (@foodiemcbody) of foodfoodbodybody.  Not only did she invite us all into her beautiful home; she also organized a wonderful agenda of activities for us all.

We started off with an easy hike at Redwood Regional Park, which was just a short drive from the venue of our gathering.  We walked about two miles on the West Ridge Trail.  It was an easy hike, and we all were able to spend some time chatting and getting to know one another.

By the time we got back to the house, we were all ready for lunch (or, at least, I sure was!).  Fortunately, everyone who came brought something tasty and healthy to share – we had quite the feast!

A host of fresh fruits and veggies, with an assortment of dips…  Cakes, pies, and cookies made with healthy ingredients…  Grilled sausages…  A wonderful vegan pasta salad and a tasty barley salad…  For the most part, I’m not sure who brought what, but it was all totally YUM!!!  I made my shrimp ceviche, which seemed to go over very well – I brought home just enough for a nice lunch tomorrow!

After lunch, Danica, from Danica’s Daily, gave an awesome presentation on “Taking Your Blog To The Next Level.”  I picked up some good pointers that I hope to start implementing here soon.  I actually recorded the presentation, but still need to review it and get her permission to post, before I can share it here.

We finished up our afternoon with an introductory session of Nia, which seems to be a fusion of a number of disciplines including yoga, tai chi, and martial arts with dance.  Terre Pruitt, the instructor, was quite good at leading us through what turned out to be a very free-form session.  It was at once intense and relaxing, and I’d love to try it again!

I had a great time, and I’m really looking forward to taking part in more of these meetups – hey, anyone, would you be up for a hike followed by some wine tasting, perhaps?

Many thanks again to Susan for putting this together for us!!

Got Hope?

I saw this bumper sticker on a car on my way to work this morning, and it got me thinking...

I know that something like this typically has religious overtimes, but what is to preclude its application to other aspects of life, too?  I mean, if you have no hope achieving a goal, then you're most likely not going to work very hard to get there, right?

I think that this has beena big gotcha for me for a very long time...  I have had people telling me I would never amount to anything for most of my life.  After hearing it long enough, it became difficult for me to believe otherwise.

More recently, though, I have been able to make changes for the better in my life.  I'm beginning to believe that I can succeed in achieving my goals, as long as I focus on small steps and small successes.

I think that losing the weight and getting fit is probably the most difficult task I have ever set for myself, at least from my point of view...  but now, I am starting to feel that I can do this...   yes, there is hope for me yet.

Posting A Loss For The First Time In A While…

So I’ve been slowly bouncing upwards over the past few weeks again, which is why I haven’t been updating my progress page – I’ve been somewhat ashamed of myself…

Of course, it’s really tough to get in a workout when you leave the house at 7 am, and don’t get home until nearly 8 pm…  Fortunately, I’ve gotten the last bits of that project kicked out, and hope to be looking at a more normal schedule that will let me get onto the treadmill more regularly – yes, treadmill – it was nearly 100 degrees where I live today.  In fact, I only just opened up the windows again within the last half hour (it’s after midnight now).

I have to say, I’ve also been being a bad #fitblogger…  I haven’t been taking the time to post updates here.  I’ve had some good ideas hit me, but usually when I’ve gone to bed for the night, or when I’m driving to work – not the most conducive times to write a blog entry, right?  I did note down some of the ideas I had, but they’ve since lost relevance…

I’m really excited for the #fitblog meetup next weekend, though – it will really be great to meet some of the successful bloggers in my area.  I’m hoping that they will rub off on me to some extent…    At the very least, it will help restore my enthusiasm for the journey, I think!

My New Favorite Workout

Today, I had the opportunity to try out a new physical activity – white-water rafting.  If you’ve never done this, and don’t mind a “little” bit of water, you really should give it a whirl.

Not only is it Mother Nature’s roller coaster (and far better than any man-made one I’ve ridden so far!); it’s an amazing workout with an excellent calorie burn (at least according to my entry on MyFitnessPal.com).  And it’s so much fun that you don’t even realize how hard your muscles are working…  Remember, you’re not just paddling gently down the stream!  You and your raftmates are following the instructions of the guide, paddling forwards and backwards through powerful maelstroms of water, all while wedging your legs against the inflated ribs of the raft to ensure that you stay aboard.  You also have the opportunity, during the gentler parts of the ride, to drop off the raft for a swim.  This was interesting today, as we were cruising along a river that was swollen with snowmelt – not the warmest water to take a dip in!

As I sit here writing this, I can tell that I’ll certainly be feeling the workout tomorrow, and I’m now reaching for the ibuprofen….

Still, if I could afford it, I would definitely enjoy this workout every day…  I can’t wait to go again!  Who wants to join me?

A Change In The 10’s Column

Today is a bit of a milestone.

A digit other than the two immediately surrounding the decimal point in my weight changed.  It’s been a long time since that number went down instead of up.  It’s a great feeling to know that I’m making progress, and it’s also an excellent motivator for sticking to the plan I’m on.

It gave me a reason to strap on my sneakers and hit the treadmill for the third run of week two of my #5kin100days program, even though I didn’t really feel like it.  The workout was rough – it’s warm today in the house (but not enough so to spend the bucks to turn on the AC), and I started to feel a bit nauseous about halfway into the intervals.  A couple of weeks ago – heck, a couple of DAYS ago – I probably would have given up and turned off the machine.  Today, I convinced myself I COULD finish, even if I had to slow my pace to a total crawl.  Still, it was another small victory – just because of one little number.

It also gave me a reason to adjust my meal plan for the day upon finding that I would be over my calorie goal.  Normally, I would have said, “OK, well, so what?  It’s not by that much, so it won’t matter.”  Instead, I looked for the easiest substitution on my dinner, then went to look at my salad dressing options for one that would put me under my goal.  I’ll be enjoying a high-quality balsamic vinegar and some some herbs and spices this evening.

Sure, I know that there will come a time when the numbers may not change for a while, and I’ll have to find other motivators to keep me on track, but for now, I will bask in this triumph for as long as I can!

Two Good Days…

Today is the second of the best couple of days I’ve had on this journey for a while now…

I’ve managed to stay under my calorie goal for both of them, and I’m on track with my #5kin100days program, too!  Plus, I finally got some household work done – been procrastinating on that for a while now.

I’m hoping to be able to continue the streak, and I am going to try to be a bit more consistent with posting here.

Can’t wait to have my hubby home in a couple more days!

Musta Got Lost

…  or lost my mind for a while…

Started last week… or maybe before that, I can’t remember…

I’ve been feeling so lethargic that I feel as if I’m fighting my way through molasses, both physically and mentally.  There was one shining day of clarity, this past Sunday, when I took part in the See Jane Run 5K, and actually managed to run for 7 minutes of it as part of my #5kin100days workout.  That day, I was on top of the world, and felt I could do almost anything.

Then I crashed again.  Been #TOTW (Totally Off The Wagon) for the last couple of days, eating everything bad for me in sight, and haven’t worked out at ALL since the race Sunday morning.

However…  I’ve decided I need to STOP feeling sorry for myself (I’m not even sure what that’s about this time, other than maybe feeling lonely for my hubby, who flew off to Toronto to visit his folks for a week – more on this later).  I’ve scheduled my next #5kin100days workout for tomorrow, so I’ll get up and eat breakfast, then strap on the sneakers.  I’m also going to get back to logging my food intake, and try eating more mindfully (which reminds me of another post I was wanting to write).

Oh – I’m going to try to keep up with this blogging business a bit more, too.  I want to commit to an entry at least every other day, because I find it’s really helpful to get things off my chest here.

And maybe, just maybe…  I can get some pounds off my butt, too.