Little changes

So I've been good the last week, but no movement on the scale. Yes, it went down a few lbs and then back up right away. 

It's time to make some changes. I know that my weight only changes when I make adjustments in the kitchen. It won't matter how often I ride the bike or go for walks so it's time to change the kitchen habits. 

Things I want to improve or change this week:

1) more water 

2) no snacking after dinner - I want to limit snacks in the day as well but current goal is after dinner

3) track my food - this will be the hardest but if I can get back into the routine, I can at least see what I'm eating and more importantly HOW MUCH I'm eating. Cause it's more than I think it is. 

Let's see if this can kick start something.... 

Where oh Where did the summer go?

 It's been a hot minute since I've updated and even though it's been extremely busy, it hasn't been overly interesting and note worthy! 

LOL - but here we are at the edge of another fall season. I like fall. I used to love fall but our falls have been dreary lately, with lots of rain and colder days. It is the start of football season which I love because it means family time. Yes, I like the game too, but I LOVE sundays with the family, hunkered down, yelling at the TV. It's my happy season for that reason. 

A little update on me. Nothing much new. I've been a little slacking on the exercise front, although we had been doing lots of bike rides, it's now the time to dust off the old Peloton and get some regular cycles in. I was doing min of 1 ride a week but I want to ramp that up to 4 a week with a few strength sessions as well. 

My weight is up. As expected. It's always up in September - which is another reason that I no longer love Fall! :) I'm hovering between 183 and 185. I thought it might just be water weight after our 2 week holiday but it's still there after a week so it's not water weight. Time to get rid of it though. 

Hoping to do more updates as I do think they keep me more accountable. Also catching up on youtube pages and other blogs that I regularly read for motivation. 

Here we goooo again. 

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...