Gym Dandy

We got ourselves a gym membership for a year. Our goal is to go to the gym a minimum of two times a week, preferably three to five times a week.
Our activity level is already higher. We are noticing a difference in our shape and weight in just two weeks.
Coffee is our down fall. Coffee with creamer. Food is not so difficult to cut back and cut out the not so good for us foods. I look at pictures of me a couple years back when I was weighing less and eating better and I know that changing my eating habits is the right thing to do for me. I want to feel better physically as well as mentally and emotionally and I believe that taking better care of the one and only body I have is very important to being a better me.
Having my husband join me on this journey makes it that much better. We help each other to stay focused on our goals and keep on task.
By next year, our twenty-fourth anniversary and my forty-fourth birthday, we will be in better shape, better state of mind, and will have changed our lives for the better. Day by day we will trek our way through the ups and downs together until the end and then we will begin again.

Twenty-three Years

Marriage. It is not all bubble gum and lollipops. The changes that each person goes through every day of every year makes for moments both good and bad. Our perspective is constantly changing. Our emotions are constantly changing. We evolve through our experiences and our connections with others. Marriage is built and remodeled and sometimes it has to be demolished before a new stronger foundation can be created to help support the marriage that will survive the earthquakes and hurricanes that our nature builds around us.
During an earthquake our world crumbled. My nature followed it up with months of torrential rains that attempted to wash away all that we were together. He fought against the mud slides and helped to save me from the depths as I tumbled down over the cliffs edge. He encouraged me to climb, to find footing, and trust him to be there for me.
His hope and desire lit my path, his belief and compassion gave me the rope I needed to drag myself up as I found my footing, and his love and willingness were the building blocks that we used along with the mortar of communication and my love and willingness to build ourselves a new foundation for our marriage.
We have an open floor plan that requires that we work together and communicate to allow for the flow of our love and the strengthening of our bond.

Two for the Gym

Stepping on the scales at the gym this evening was not a confidence booster. I weighed in at 191#, down a pound from my starting weight.
As I went back and changed for my first ZUMBA class I thought about my weight and how the scales make me feel and what I can do to change my perspective so that the scales don't sabotage my ability to reach my goal.
This is week one. I am a "girl" this week, so bloating happens. I had not been available to work out at the gym since last Wednesday because I was working the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City. I wasn't eating regular meals because I was away from home for three full days.I hadn't had much water yesterday or today. I had eaten dinner less than an hour before weighing myself.
All of these factor in to my weight on the scales. I didn't do "bad" this past week. I didn't do great either. What I did or didn't do last week no longer matters. It is what I do this week that is going to affect the outcome of next week's weigh in. I will do my best during each moment and strive to make good choices. I will not beat myself up over things I cannot change.

Indulgence at the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City

I spent from Thursday to Sunday working at the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City surrounded by amazingly rich and flavor filled foods. I'm glad to say I kept my indulgence to a minimum. The trick was to not take money with me. No money-no buy.
I did eat a couple bits of a Fri-jo from the sister booth of the Elephant Ear stand I was working in and I did have a small ice cream on two of the days courtesy of the owner of the stand I was working. Other than that I didn't try any of the foods surrounding me.
Exercise on its own was non-existent. I was on my feet standing at a frier cooking the Elephant Ears. The muscles in my upper right arm and my right hand got a constant workout from pinching the tongs closed, lifting the Elephant Ears out of the oil to drain, moving them to a draining rack, and transferring them to the warmer. There was some lifting of other product, but not a lot.
By the end of my day I was ready for a shower and bed. By the end of four days my feet were ready for a break.
I looked at the class schedule for International Fitness at Gateway Mall and plan on giving the ZUMBA class a try this evening. It will be my first time attempting this form of exercise.
I am tracking my food and water intake so that I am better aware of what I eat and when I eat. I want to be better. I want to reshape my body and lose weight. I want to be able to fit into my clothes again.

Meal Time Mapping

I downloaded an app that allows me to track my meals and snacks by writing a description of the food or by taking a picture. Day one is going well. I have taken a couple pictures and written a few descriptions.
I also made contact with Joy Muller about finding a way get a membership to the gym she manages. I will be going there today after I a done hanging out with the grands.
Procrastination is not my friend. Procrastination adds pounds. If I am procrastinating I am not being present in the present.

I Wanna Be a Loser

This new line of my blog is in memory of Robert Mcleod, a man that grew up in the same small town that I did - Oakridge, Oregon - who passed away last month. He was a big man in more ways than one and had recently been working hard to lose weight, weight that was holding him back from being as healthy as he wanted to be for himself and his family.
His widow and close friends created a group on Facebook to give friends and family and anyone that is able to find inspiration in Robert's story a challenge and support group for losing those extra pounds that affect our health and energy levels.
I have joined the group and set my goal to lose 40 pounds by January 6th, Robert's 40th birthday. Excess weight has been a challenge for me more and more with each year that goes by. I am turning 43 years old on the 19th of August. I have not stepped on a scale in over a year, but I know that I am steadily gaining weight and decreasing energy and having more difficulty with my breathing. A trip down the stairs to the laundry room and back up increases my heart rate and makes me feel a bit out of breath.
I have six grandchildren and I want to have the energy to get up and play with them and not feel exhausted after a few moments. I have the desire to be healthier and stronger and to have a higher level of activity in my life. I want to live life, to experience new places, and be unafraid to go out on an adventure.