Back on Track

Weekly Stats
Current: 313.8
Weekly Loss: 2.6
% Weight Loss: .80%
To Go: 138.8
Total 11.2
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 40+ minutes

I am happy with today's report. It reflects the good week I had. Exercising went well and I was able to fit it around a busy week.

The weather was great on Saturday. I was able to go up Dry Canyon again and made it further than I ever have. Every quarter of a mile is filled with steep climbs and I really get huffing and puffing, but I think a once a week workout like that is good. I made it a little ways above the Curley Springs trail. The part of the trail that I climbed from there winds it's way up to the saddle. I would like to make it up to the saddle by the end of July, but we will see. I feel that would put my on pace to make it to the top of Big Baldy by the second weekend of September which is when I would like to make the first of the three summits.

Things I've learned this week: 1)It is hard to drink enough water! I was really busy Saturday and I don't think I stopped sweating until I got clean up for Stake Conference. I was thirsty all weekend. 2) I need to get a good nice sleep on a regular basis in order to eat right. When I get tired, my body sends out signals that it is hungry, but I really think what is needed is a good nice sleep. Makes it especially hard at the end of the day not to snack.

Change of pace. Change of Shoes.

First the weekly stats:
Current: 316.4
Weekly Loss: -0.2
% Weight Loss: -.06%
To Go: 141.4
Total 8.6 Exercise - 5/5 Days – 30+ minutes

I did well on eating this week until Saturday night. Kind of a funny story. Barbara asked me where I wanted to go for dinner. I was debating back and forth and decided on sushi. Barbara had not gone before and was reluctant, but I knew she liked sea food and thought after one bite she would love it. Well after one bite, I knew that I was never going to take her out for sushi again. You would have thought we were eating fried rat instead of fish. I ended up eating more than my fair share of sushi to say the least.

Sunday was hopeless for portion control and eating right, but boy was I treated good on Father's Day! I had a 6:30 am meeting to go to and Barbara fixed me a nice breakfast before I headed out the door. Over and beyond the call of duty! Lunch was fixed immediately upon my arrival after church and then the mother of all dinners! Prime rib, creamed potatoes, homemade rolls, great appetizers and yummy desserts. It is amazing that I only gained .4 of a pound this week!

Exercise went really well this week except for Saturday. I got up a bit late since I had driven to Moab and back on Friday. It had already rained a bit and it looked like more was on the way. I thought it might not be a good idea to go up Dry Canyon if it started raining hard. I decided to go for an extra long mileage up the Provo Canyon trail which is paved. I think I would have been ok except for to things. I went four miles, but should have gone three, and I wore the wrong shoes. The shoes I wore were too loose and I ended up with big quarter sized blisters on the balls of my feet. I was in quite a bit of pain the rest of the day. I had to doctor up the blisters three times before they stopped swelling up. Luckily I didn't have much to do the rest of the day and was able to stay off my feet. I fresh pair of socks and proper shoes got me out the door this morning with a little soreness, but manageable.

Lesson learned (I've been taught this lesson before.) Proper foot wear makes all the difference.

Right Where I Need to Be

Weekly Stats
Current: 316.2
Weekly Loss: 2.2
% Weight Loss: .68%.
To Go: 141.2
Total 8.8
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 30+ minutes / Average of 2 miles of walking each time.

One of my goals was to lose on an average of 2 lbs a week. I am right on this week. I also hit my exercise goals which I am happy with. I seem to be able to hit 2 miles a day when I walk the canyon. I am really happy with this as well.

Hike of the week: I hiked Dry Canyon again on Saturday. I have been fortunate not to get rained on during my hikes considering the weather we have been having. It got to the trail head about 10 and the temperature was great. I made my goal to make it to the Curly Springs trail junction. It is only .5 miles up to it, but the key work it UP. It is quite steep in several sections and it leaves me huffing and puffing and causes me to take several rest along the way, but man is it a good workout. From the junction, the Dry Canyon trail heads up to the right and towards the saddle behind Baldy. My next goal is to make it a short ways up the Dry Canyon trail towards the saddle. I have hiked it before, but it was quite a while a go. If memory serves me correct it is more steep climbing, I want to be able to make it up to the saddle by the end of July, but we will see what kind of progress I can make going up the second part of the trail over the next few weeks. I am glad that I remembered that I had some walking poles. They have been helpful in both uphill and downhill (especially downhill!).

Tip of the week: Water and fruit are your friends. If you are having problems with hunger/cravings, a lot of times, you are just thirsty. Drink a nice tall glass of water and see if that is what your body is trying to tell you. Still hungry, grab a piece of fruit. It is low calorie compared to what else you might quickly grab and tends to satisfy that craving rather fast. Include another glass of water with it and I bet you will be more that happy that's all it took to get you past that challenge.

Hang in there and I will too!

Woohoooooo!!!!

Weekly Stats
Current: 318.4
Weekly Loss: 5.4
% Weight Loss: 1.66%
To Go: 143.4
Total Lost 6.6
Exercise - 5/5 Days – 30+ minutes

Two important things happened this week and they are both related. First of all, I was struggling increasing my exercise time using the elliptical that we have. Despite being on the lowest incline and resistance, I was having a difficult time making it over twenty minutes. I decided to try a walk up the canyon on the Provo River Trail for a change of pace. I was able to go 30 minutes quite easily! I think something is wrong with our elliptical. Maybe the calibration is off. Regardless, I think I will work on walking for a while. It is much less stressful on me, I enjoy getting out and I can go longer.

The second great thing that happened is that I lost weight. There are many factors that contributed, but I think I was over-stressing my body with the elliptical and my body was working on building and repairing my muscles. Walking seemed to put me more into a fat-burning mode. Two other factors were donating blood and missing two meals on Sunday, but I think that was minor in comparison to the walking.

On Saturday, I headed up Dry Canyon again. I was able to do about a 3/4 of a mile round trip which may not seem like much, but the first part of the trail is quite steep. I was huffing and a puffing quite a bit. I did make it to the part that I call the "steps", where the rock creates some natural stairs. I was happy about making it that far. Next week my goal is Curly Springs.

All in all a great week!

Wrong Way - Right Way?

Here are my weekly stats: Weekly Stats Current: 323.8 Weekly Loss: +1.0 % Weight Loss: +.31%. To Go: 148.8 Total 1.2 Exercise - 5/5 Days - 22 minutes

When I go from the scale, it looks like I am loosing the battle. However, I am still increasing my exercise time, hitting my days/week goal and am getting stronger. I have to keep things in perspective as well. I use Monday as my weigh in day and I try to weigh at the same time each day. When I weighed in this morning, I was up a pound. However, I do weigh myself daily and the interesting thing is on Saturday, I had weight in at 320.4. That would have been a great number to report! I didn't feel like I over ate as much to justify a 3.4 lbs weight gain, so I just have to attribute it to my body is still adjusting to the change in exercise. I will try to keep all things in my mind. I am pleased with my exercise progress and feel like this is a good foundation to start with. When I am up to 30 minutes, 5 times per week, I will focus in on the diet a little bit more.

My son Corey and I went on a hike on Saturday morning, up Dry Canyon. It has a steep start and I had to rest a bit, but knew that I made it further than I would of just a couple of weeks back. My goal is to hike to the top of Big Baldy which sits in front of Timpanogos by the end of summer. Not the hugest of mountains at about 8,000', but a good challenge for me. It is the start of my three mountain challenge during the next three year. Big Baldy this year, Timpanogos next year, and Kings Peak the following.

One motivator for me is to have goals associated with my weight loss and these three peaks are part of that motivation. What do you do to keep yourself motivated?