Week One - Ups and Downs

Starting Stats
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Age: 38
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 305
Calories/day: 1600-1850 (32-37 points)
Calorie average this week: 1700 (34 points)
Exercise: 3.5km walk, 5km river valley walk (hills!)
Week 1: -5.0 lbs!!!!!!!!!

I'm really happy with my results. I don't know what I enjoyed more... my lbs going down or my butt going up the last hill on my river valley tramp!

I did a 3.5km walk earlier in the week and I had such a great 5km river valley walk with my man and kids a few days later! It was a blue sky, -2 degrees (very warm for January in Edmonton) day and I managed to keep my booty shakin' the entire time. Not a single stop on the hills... just a slow, steady pace. Normally, I would crack a joke about needing to either stop for a breather or have someone else carry my bum up the hill for me... not this time... this time I proudly announced at the bottom of the hill that I would be carrying my own bum and therefore would not be available for trail side observations or jovial conversations until I reached the top. My man and one daughter decided to take the 170 stair challenge to the top instead of the hill, my other daughter answered that she was fine with not chatting because she needed to do some training for the school running club she belongs to... she ran up and down the hill 2.5 times before I reached the summit. We both chuckled and felt great afterward!

Had a great week of eating. Kept it simple so it would be easy to re-learn all of the points/calorie values. I also didn't eat out this week, so that I wouldn't have to estimate. I needed a week to remind myself of what food looks like when it has been weighed and measured properly. I had a few hungry moments and filled them with protein rich snacks. Here's a snap of my favourite yum yum of the week...3 Wasa Hearty Rye crispbread slices (you can get a Light Rye one that is lower in points, but I prefer this one) with a tablespoon or two of light cream cheese, tomato slices and purple onion rings on top...or, 3 crispbread slices with tomato slices, crumbled feta and basil... a touch of sea salt and a generous grind of pepper and you've got some serious crispy, crunchy flava'!!!



My Reason of the Week
For Losing Weight:
To not have to carry an extra 100+ pounds up and down hills. Despite my size and because of my adventurous spirit, my love of nature and my joy in participating in shenanigans with others, I have never let myself get to the point where it is difficult to walk around the block. That said, most of the time it ain't easy, I don't always do it with dignity, and it ain't always pretty to see! In fact, it is my adventurous spirit which leads me into situations like diving off a boat in Fiji to snorkel with the sharks... only to discover that getting back onto a boat with no ladder in the middle of the ocean is no easy task for even the slim and trim among us.

As my friends and family all shimmied and slithered there way up onto the deck, I looked at my two Fijian guides and we all began to laugh nervously in acknowledgment of the mammoth (pun intended) task ahead of us. I sidled up to the boat, gave my flippered feet a whale of a kick... and managed to raise myself approximately 2 inches out of the water (somewhat short of the 2 feet I would need to get my hips to a level where I could potentially grope my weigh onto deck). At this point, the captain took note of this unfortunate situation and came to my side. As I was now profoundly aware that I was stuck bobbing like a snack in the ocean, I assured the captain that if my friends could be allowed to hum the da-na, da-na, dun-dun-dun-dun sounds of the shark attack scenes in Jaws, that I would find the strength to haul my butt on board. Needless to say, my 2nd attempt failed. In the end (pun, again, intended), the captain took my arms and hauled and the delicious guides each shoved a buttock, and I was unceremoniously beached.

Did I die of embarrassment? No. Would it stop me from doing it again? No. There is no failure in trying and no joy in sitting out. Do I want a different experience next time? Yes. Swimming in the open ocean and snorkeling down to reefs is physically demanding. I had to turn back much earlier than I wanted to. Being unable to get myself onto the boat was dangerous (what if we really had needed to evacuate the water?!?). A healthy, strong, fit body is worth it!