Wedding down... next stop 100km bike ride

The wedding is over and it was absolutely beautiful. I chose the green dress and I loved it BUT.... I got zero pictures in it. Don't know what I was thinking. So stupid. 

It was super hot that day - 36 Cs or 97 F.  I had antiperspirants over my entire body!! 

But it was lovely and we had a great little vacation getaway to wine country. 

Now we are back for a few weeks and then plan for our 100km  or 62 mile ride to Sooke, BC. I'm not overly concerned about the ride as it's fairly flat terrain and our ebikes should get us there without having to charge but I am concerned about my buttocks! I will purchase a pair of padded bike shorts to help with the cushion. 

I'm hoping my peloton rides will help my endurance and allow me to turn off the motor on my bike and ride without assist. We will see. 

A little update on the Peloton. Do I still love it? I do.... I started a strength training program as well but with vacation etc, I get interrupted doing it so I will wait until our vacation is over to pick it up again. You have to do it on certain days or you don't get credit for it so I'll wait until my days are free once again. 

My weight is still the same - 180 but I have drastically reduced carbohydrates again and limited my wine consumption so I hope to see that number start to drop in the near future.  We had two friends in the last month have big scares. Our friend Bobby, had a stroke. This was his 3rd one and it's a bad one. He's been in the hospital for over a month and is not yet ready to move to the therapy ward. He lost the ability to swallow so he is on a feeding tube and has a trach. So hard to watch a friend go through this. Bobby is 52. 

And then another friend had a massive heart attack a few weeks ago. She had 5 stints placed in her and is back home recovering. She is 51. 

Just gotta take better care of ourselves. More activity and less crappy food!  I really want to be around for my kids' weddings (should that happen) and hopefully one day grandbabies! 

I have a small dress shop at my house....

I have purchased so many dresses for this darn wedding....most have been returned but I've managed to narrow it down. I first bought this one.... but found the color washed me out. 

So then.... I bought it in these two colors. I really liked the fit and I could get away with wearing a halter bra so didn't need to worry about dragging out the strapless, which I hate!! Nothing like constantly pulling up a bra that naturally wants to fall down to my waist! 

The green arrived but it's quite a bit more muted than this green below but I still like it. 

And before I make a decision I'm waiting on pink too.... 

And when I was checking out the status of my delivery,  I found these two below. Soooooo bought them too and they arrive today so will give them a try and get it all figured out before the weekend. 

  and   

It is a summer wedding so I could get away with a summer style floral dress but I like the elegance of the top 3 dresses so I think I will stick with one of the top 3 ones and maybe just keep one of the bottom ones for myself for a dinner out etc. 

 I love dresses... I wish I could keep them all but I just don't have enough occasions to wear them! 

Diet Medications

 I have a very very good friend that has made the decision to hop on the Ozempic train. She is overweight and has struggled with her weight for many years and has done about every single diet that is out there.  She is usually quite successful when she finds a new way of eating and does well for 4-6 months and then an event or thing happens in her life and she goes back to her eating ways.  I'm also going to add that in no way is she morbidly obese. She would be considered obese by medical standards but isn't everyone??  She's quite active and exercises regularly but says she's just not happy in her own body. My guess is that she is approx 170 lbs and is 5'4. She might be less weight than that but it's a rough guess. Weight is not really something any of us are public about. 

On Saturday night she broke the news to my other friend and myself that she has been taking Ozempic for about a month. She is thrilled about it and lost about 12 lbs. She has a protein shake for breakfast, a small salad or veggies/dip for lunch and then a regular dinner. 

My immediate internal reaction was "Is she crazy?". Of course I did not voice that concern to her as I could see her excitement and I really didn't want to rain on her parade. 

I know there are pros and cons to all "diets" and weight loss theories. I for one have been on the very controversial low carb diet for almost  4 years now. I lost a chunk of weight following a Keto lifestyle and then transitioned to more low carb which I still follow now. I have maintained my weight within about 10 lbs for over 2 years. It creeps up, it goes does, but I am able to manage it fairly well. 

After I got over the initial concern of her taking a drug to lose weight and the possible complications and side effects one can have with any medication, my feelings turned from concern to anger and jealousy. 

Was she taking the easy way out? Why is it fair that I have to work my ass off to maintain or lose when she can give herself an injection once a week and lose tons of weight and it just be easy?

I was mad at myself to feeling this way. She's such a good friend and I love her immensely but I couldn't stop the feelings.  Why can't I just be happy that she has found a solution that will make her happy?  

Ah.... Vacation...

We spent 5 nights in California last week. The first two nights we were in Laguna Beach and I have to say, I LOVE Laguna Beach. What a beautiful place. I felt like I was in Hawaii with the palm trees and the gorgeous beaches.. so lovely.  Very clean city. Visited with my brother for a few days and helped him do a bit of packing as he was ready to leave his rental and move to a new home. Plan to visit again once he gets all settled and gets the pool built!! :) 

A few quick pics - view of ocean while having dinner on lovely patio

The last 3 nights were in Temecula which is about 1 hour from Laguna in the desert. Here is a view from patio of lovely brewery/winery in Temecula. Our final stop on our 6 hour bike ride. 

 I could have stayed there ALL night looking out at those hills..! 

The view from our morning walks through the Vineyard at the Estate we stayed at - Carter Estates Winery! 

One of many Wine Tasting Flights.... 

Temecula is so different than Laguna Beach but equally as beautiful. We had such a wonderful time. Great weather, rode bikes and saw most of Temecula in one day,  drank some wine and had some great food..... and then turned around and flew home! 

It was a lovely trip and one that we will do again, but it's back to life and reality! 

We have a wedding to go to in July so I gotta get going on toning this body or/and losing some lbs so I can get me a cute dress and look uber cute at the wedding! I have 2 months!! 

Spring 2023!

It's finally that time of year!!! Spring has sprung

Although we are still colder in temps than typical for this time of year, the blossoms have arrived! 

It's so beautiful seeing all the pink from the cherry blossoms and I know that means I'll be sniffling and sneezing more with the pollen and exploding foliage around me, but that's ok! YAY... winter is OVA! 

But in all honesty, I love spring. It's the start of longer days and warmer nights. Whoop Whooop! 

A little bike update from my last post - I received my Peloton on April 2nd and I have to say, I LOVE it! I'm not the fastest or the strongest rider, but I love riding it and more importantly, I love the feeling when I finish riding it! 

Been dabbling in some of the off bike sessions as well. After a beginner full body strength work out last thursday, I was walking like a zombie! But no pain, no gain, right?! All good.. 

Will schedule another strength this week sometime. It's nice to be excited about something again...

A little bad/ a little good

Well it's been awhile since I wrote anything and surprisingly, it's not because I had nothing to write, I just haven't sat down and put everything together. 

First off, my weight is the same, my skin is the same... I'm the same as I was mid february. I have cut out some things from my diet, but it's going to be a journey. When I lost my weight some 4 years ago, I was just younger and things were easier. Maybe because I had been so big and then losing the weight just came easy cause my body was happy. Now I'm older... and my body is just happy it seems at this size. I know I want to be lower, even 10-15 lbs at this point would make me much happier, but it's going to take some work. More work than before it would seem. 

A couple good things and a couple bad things happened over the last month. I'll try to sum em up 

On Feb 28th, I had what I'll call "an episode". I was going through my day like any other day.  It was approx. 12:30 and I had just finished a call with work and realized I hadn't had lunch yet.  I made a quick egg salad sandwich, but also noted that I felt a little "off".  A little dizzy... nothing crazy and had some chest pains. I figured I was just hungry.  

So I ate and about an hour later, I felt worse. I had a stabbing pain in the left side of my chest and my left arm was tingling from shoulder to fingertips. I've had this before and it's passed after a few minutes. I had some electrolytes because low minerals comes out in me with chest pain and numbness. It didn't help and I started to really worry. Of course I checked out Dr Google, even though I knew that all symptoms pointed to heart.. I called my husband and he rushed home. When he got home I felt ok. Had a little nap on the couch and felt good. I started to wonder if it was anxiety.  Then it returned about 20 minutes later. The pain was not as bad but it was there. Hubby said... "we are going to emerg"... so off we went. 

A quick note that I have severe "white coat hypertension" so I knew as soon as I got to the hospital that my bp would be screaming (220/150).  By the time I walked into emergency and was triaged, it took about 10 minutes for them to get me into a bed,  hook me up with all sorts of wires, take my blood and  set an IV. I had 2 doctors, 2 nurses a blood tech and someone else in the room. It was all a blur. Oddly, by then the pain was very very light. Barely noticeable. But I was there so might as well make the best of it. 

Long story short. My heart was OK dokie. My potassium was low which was causing the numbness and the pain in my chest.  They gave me my BP meds, potassium, did a bunch of heart marker tests and monitored me for 4 hours. I did have a higher than normal WBC so they discharged me with instructions for a follow up stress test to ensure that there was no inflammation around my heart. 

A few days later, I returned to the same hospital but this time for a routine mammogram. Deep down I knew I was going to get a callback. I always do but I really hoped that maybe, just maybe this time I would be cleared. Nope... call back a week later.  I went back to the hospital for my callback mammogram and ultrasound. The mammogram technician was great, she showed me exactly on my film the area of concern. It was a small pea sized dot. Very different from the other blobs (cysts) that I typically had.  Panic set in.  I was taken to my ultrasound room with a male technician. I don't really care male or female but in all the past ultrasounds that I have had, I know that female techs are much more forthcoming with results (even though they shouldn't be). So he gave me nothing. Scanned the boob for approximately 2 minutes, left the room for about 4, came back in and told me I could leave and I would get my results in about a week. Seriously?!?? 

Well good news I guess is I haven't heard from my doctor so I'm just waiting for my letter from the government to tell me I'm good. Hopefully that comes soon. 

Yesterday, I went for my follow up stress test!!! So same shit, white coat hypertension... BP was high, tech was worried... Had me walk on treadmill for about 9 minutes and then stopped the test. I could have done way more but they just stopped it.  Met with cardiologist after the test and he said my results were great.... normal. No problems that he could see. 

So there are a couple bad with a couple good rolled into the above. But here are the two REALLY good things that are happening:

1) during my stress test yesterday I realized how much I miss going to the gym and working out. During the pandemic, our gyms closed and I have never returned. The main reason I haven't returned is because I have no way of getting there!! I used to have a car which I solely used to drive to/from the gym. I never used it outside of that, so during the pandemic I got rid of it. It was literally just sitting in my driveway taking up space. I never replaced it because I just didn't need it. I had cancelled my gym membership and I didn't see the point of buying another car, insuring it just to go the gym. I could go the gym when my husband gets home from work, but honestly it's just too late. I want to workout right after work and be done by 4 so I can get dinner ready etc. Waiting for a car, just isn't convenient. 

So this morning, I bought myself  (and the rest of the family) a Peloton! I'm sooooo excited. I have wanted one for years. It arrives on sunday!! 

2) We have not been on a decent vacation in years. We go away with the family every year, but sometimes that just feels like being home, but in a different home because I still cook every day and do the dog walk thing etc. So after my "episode" I decided to book a vacation, just for me and the hubs.  At the end of April we are going to California! Orange County to visit my brother for a few days and then we are heading to Temecula to spa and drink wine and just be lazy!!! 

I am going to make this year about me. In January I enrolled into a VIP spa program where I pay a monthly amount to a local spa which forces me to go in and get treatments etc. It's been so wonderful to "treat" myself while taking care of my skin too! 

Even though the heart episode that I had last month resulted in no terrible health news, it also woke me up that I really really need to increase my heart health. I'm getting older, I need to get control now. 

And it's just time to do something different. Yeah, it's going to be expensive to travel to california and stay in expensive spa resorts, but who cares??? In addition to taking care of our bodies, we gotta take care of our mind and soul too! 

Breaking old habits

The scale has not moved but that's ok. I'm working on developing new habits, or rather breaking old ones. 

It's crazy how quickly we develop new habits. Back in the summer, even though I was pretty lax on what I ate, I did not snack. Ever. Or very very rarely. Lately, I have had what feels like scheduled snacks. I have a small snack at 2 in the afternoon and then usually again around 4 or 4:30 after I finish work. It's a small snack, but it's a snack and it has become the norm.  I need to get back into my proper eating window of 2 meals (no snacks). 

I'm desperately trying to break those little habits that have crept back into my life. Habits that I didn't even notice were happening because they had just become the norm. 

The goal this week is to break old habits and create new ones. I'm trying to break the habit of snacking in the afternoon. That means I have to eat enough at lunch to sustain my hunger pangs until dinner time. I'm pretty good about not eating anything after 7:30. 

I have managed to greatly reduce the number of carbs I have been eating and I've already noticed I'm sleeping much more soundly and my skin is improving! Yay... so good news on that front.  Eating less carbs should help with the "snacking" too....