Happy Thanksgiving!!!! (A Little Late)

So I was off on some wild adventures for the week of Thanksgiving and never had a chance to write about anything. Here is a recap of the Thanksgiving Trip... part 1.

The bf and I started out early Saturday and headed to Colorado National Monument. We did some hiking and it was BEAUTIFUL! The rocks were amazing and the formations were cool. You could see for miles and it was just gorgeous.

From there we headed to Moab, UT. The next day we hiked a LOT in Arches National Park. Again... BEAUTIFUL!!! And the arches look so strong but when you learn more about them you find they are really fragile. Also, some of the trails in the Devil's Garden are very high up with little around you. It was an intense hike on the anxiety front for sure. After a mile or two total in Colorado Nat. Monument and then a good long hike in Arches, my legs were tired but not done yet.

Monday involved driving to the end of the overlook road from the Island in the Sky Visitor's Center in Canyonlands National Park. Again... BEAUTIFUL!!! At the end of the road we hiked out to the end of the trail and back. The legs were still going!

Then the snow hit and we changed our afternoon plans and avoided seeing Canyons of the Ancients and Hovenweep National Monument. Tuesday brought with it a trip to Mesa Verde National Park. Now, when I was about 8 years old and in 2nd grade I remember seeing pictures of cliff dwellings in a book. I added seeing such things to my bucket list immediately. Imagine my surprise when I moved to Colorado and found out it was IN Colorado!! Then finding out how long of a drive it was... then how hot it gets in the summer so no driving, camping, and exploring for me. But now. This trip. We were going to actually see it. I have waited 20 years for this!!!! And again... BEAUTIFUL!!! Amazing.

The last day on the road, Wednesday brought a trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park. The hike to the top of the dune was SO difficult. Nothing like working your legs more than you ever have in the last 5 days only to spend the 5th hiking up sand! BUT I DID IT!!!!! And I'm glad I did.

Then we were back home and ate dinner with family on Thursday. Surprisingly I survived what the fitbits registered as almost 40 miles worth of walking. FOURTY miles of walking in 5 days. I'm kind of a beast!

Every place we went I thought it was the most beautiful thing and it nothing else could come close. Then we would get to the next stop and again... same thought. I couldn't have imagined how beautiful these places are and although we were exhausted from all that I crammed into the trip, it is wonderful to be able to say I saw these places, hiked, and am still able to walk. :)

It is paying off... slowly

The other day I stepped on the scale and saw a number less than 170 for the first time in a long time!!!! A week later I saw it again!!! Now, I know 169.8 isn't a huge win but when I stop and look back I'm down over 10 lbs. Today when I stepped on the scale I saw 167!!! I can remember seeing 183 on the scale (more than one day in a row) and this morning I was down 16 lbs!!! (According to my BMI I should lose another 20, I'd be happy with another 7-10)

What have I been doing?
-Less Stress
-Living Happier
-Focusing on the Positives
-Eating Better
-Following more of the diet I paid good money for the blood test to find out
-Working Out

Overall just being more satisfied with life, decluttering it in many ways, and working to enjoy it. Instead of focusing on the bad I try more to focus on the good. It doesn't always happen, but I try and that is the first step. :)

So, just a quick post about my win today and how my weight is better than yesterday. :) Along with the eating habits...


Oh, AND I wore a skirt today. It is cute, I just don't always wear skirts because I'm a teacher and they make me nervous at times being around 8th grade boys all day... Anyway... wore a skirt all day, spent the whole day walking around the room, did a review game so I had to be on my feet and moving things on the board and everything... It was the last period of the day before I realized I never put deodorant on my thighs. (It is a trick to prevent chafing and if you haven't tried it, you should.) I never put deodorant on my thighs and I had no chafing issues!!!! There are a lot of little payoffs to all this...

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Last week I set the goal of eating all Whole30 or at least Paleo to help kick the sugar issues that I have and to get back on track. This has sort of been my whole goal since Halloween time but last week I said it was going to happen! Two weeks till Thanksgiving break, a trip, a turkey, and all the overeating that goes with the above. So, two weeks to reset and make better choices to hopefully help curb all the bad habits over break.

Well, last week was a horrible week when examined up close but when I step back it was actually a great week. Up close it included some late nights at school to get grading and other things taken care of, some crazy time where kids were building constantly on their projects, an election that has led to the worry of a possible pay cuts (definitely not getting raises next year) based on not passing some school funding items, and some really stressful times. But, when I step back I see a week where kids were able to create unexplainable project pieces, rock a presentation to their parents, cook some great food for teachers, and overall show that they are great and why I do what I do.

That being said I was invited to Pizza and Punch by students in the FACS class. I was ecstatic because all of last year I never received an invite for their days to cook for teachers and this year I was invited right away! How can you turn down a chance to sit with students who want you to be there and eat some delicious pizza? It was amazing! Just... it wasn't paleo...

Then Thursday came along. I was tired, had cramps, a to do list a mile long, and just wanted to curl up and go back to bed. Instead I had to be at school, had to get a video made, round up photos, organize some stuff, and put on a happy face until 8pm while students showed off their projects. So, when the math teacher walked in with donuts I may have eaten one... or four... throughout the day. Then, for dinner the other teachers who ran to the store to get sides for our pulled pork brought back cheesecake and berries. How could I resist?! It was a rough, emotional day. Friday I may have helped finish off more cheesecake even though I'm not proud of it.

So, I had some wins in that I kept the cravings down until the end of the week. I even went to the candy drawer, dug through it, and none of the candy sounded good so I closed it and walked away. But I did give in at the end of the week big time!

This week is a new week and everyday is a new day. Today I saw 169 on the scale for the second time in a week. That is a HUGE win!!! I will take it and use it as incentive to keep going. :)

So today I was better at getting my workout in, drinking more water, and avoiding the last of the cheesecake along with other things I shouldn't eat.

Halloween

Well, I survived Halloween!

This weekend the bf and I carved pumpkins and they were adorable. Then I came home so I could workout on Monday morning. It was difficult to get up in the morning but the workout was good. We did Fight Gone Bad again! I talked about it in my Week 3 post from April. I looked it back up and saw that my score was 179 in April. Monday I tallied up 182! It isn't a huge difference but it is an improvement. :) Just gotta be better than yesterday.

Monday night the bf and I handed out candy for trick-or-treaters and I cooked. I made caramel popcorn balls, chili, and cornbread. I was going to do a Paleo chili but I'm not supposed to have zucchini and that's a big veggie used in place of beans. Also I figured that my list says legumes are approved so I opted for beans. I made a huge pot full and then froze some and put some away for lunches. This led me to find that I should stop thinking my freezer is empty.

I'm also part of a group of positive, encouraging women and the leader mentioned starting a Whole30 for November. I have wanted to do a Whole30 round before but have never found enough food I am supposed to eat on the list of foods I should eat. So all day today I thought about it. Then, as I finally finished entering grades at 5pm and packed up to head home, I decided that this week it just won't happen. I need time to plan and shop. My goal for this week is to keep drinking lots of water, eat mostly Whole30, and only allow one meal a day to be a healthy, non-Whole30 meal.

My bf said he would also do the diet with me for support but I'm thinking it may have something to do with all the candy we ate last night making us feel so bad this morning... I also haven't done measurements for November because I've gained about 5 lbs from eating KALE SALAD (seriously... kale salad... there is really truth to this ALCAT test...) and then pigging out on candy last night didn't help.

So, now it is time to do more research. :)

Happy November!!!