hiking to healthy

Waterton Canyon, Littleton 1/12/13

A view of the mountains along the canyon

Waterton Canyon/ The Colorado Trail Segment 1:

Starting elevation: 5550 Ft

Highest Elevation: 5721 Ft ( total gain of 171 ft but strangely I got 90 flight of stairs on my fitbit….)

Trail Length: We did a total trip of 8.5 miles, 4.25 in and back. This is a trail with endless possibilities given it is part of the Colorado Trail all the way to Durango ( approx. 500 total miles). One day I would like to connect with the Carpenters Peak Trail in Roxborough State park or better yet do a multiple day hike on the Colorado trail…..

Trail Uses: Hiker, Biker and horses.

Degree of Difficulty: EASY

Bathrooms: Yes and plentiful. However this is a heavily populated trail in spring, summer and fall so it might not hurt to have a roll of toilet paper along for the journey just in case one of the many restrooms along the trail is out when you have need to use it.

Pets: Dogs are NOT allowed because there are actually herds of long horned sheep in this canyon.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Waterton canyon Map and rules

After my crud finally let up last Sunday-ish, I was able to start working out again. It was a slow week and I only got in about half of my usual workouts or working out time. I knew my lungs and body weren’t up to too much so I decided an old standby was in order. Waterton Canyon is very easy, when we started getting into shape last March this would often be our second hike in a weekend and then it would be our easy hike. There is almost no elevation gain but you can make it LLLOOOONNNGGG. Plus it is close to Denver and one of Aaron’s favorite features is that we can walk side by side ( he still likes to hold my hand occasionally, I am such a lucky girl!). The trail itself is the width of an almost 2 lane dirt road and every time I have walked, at least 2 cars have driven up it. Mostly the Denver Water treatment people as it runs along the Platte River and eventually to one of the reservoirs that is part of the Denver water system. While it is insanely crowded almost every time I have used it on a weekend day, today was a bitterly cold day which is actually unusual in the Denver area, so we were almost completely alone the whole hike. My first January/February here it actually averaged around 60 -70 degrees a day, sure it would go down to 20-ish at night but who cares, it was 70 in January during the day! Today though it started out at a bitter 1 degree and a wind chill of -13….when we started it had warmed up to 11 with a wind chill of -1 and when we finished 3 hours later it had only gone up just 2 degrees. Needless to say, we bundled up the most we have to date and did not peel off one layer for the duration of the hike.

The first mile is partially paved and a little industrial, which makes it Aaron’s least favorite of all the hikes we have done so far.

After these pipes the only industrial aspects are the various dams and river crossings you could work your way through. The restrooms seem to hit between 1-2 miles apart which gives you a lot of options, I did feel bad for the scantily clad runner who had to wait for me today while I pulled all my layers back up during one of my pit stops….

These picnic/rest areas also having learning signs to help newbies learn about the wildlife in the area, which was incredibly helpful to us in the beginning.

I love it because surprisingly, there is the opportunity to see a ton of wildlife along this trail. I have walked through a huge herd of mule deer, long horned sheep and a family of beautiful red foxes before. My girlfriend said one day she even saw a black bear on one of the mountainsides. Don’t even get me started on all the varieties of birds that hang out around here. In this way it is a very special trail and one every Coloradoan should check out. Today we saw a few mule deer and one beautiful long horned sheep, a ram. Unfortunately, we only brought our tough Olympus cameras because of the extreme cold, so our limited zoom made it impossible to capture them from today but here is a picture of a herd of long horned sheep I caught in April a few years ago.

Today we walked up a little past the main dam, I only call it the main dam as when someone asks you if you made it to the dam, this is the one they are talking about even though you pass a smaller one earlier…. it is about 3.1 miles up

We actually walked almost to where you cross over the river, but the wind picked up and we had been in shadows for a while by this point it was getting COLD so at 4.25 miles we turned around.

The trail after we turned around.... — The trail after we turned around….

It took us longer then we expected, about 3 hours, when we have cleared 12 miles in 3.5 hours in the past on this trail. The cold was an unexpected factor to Aaron’s blood sugar, the poor guy was eating sugar every 15 minutes for more than half the hike and still we had to stop a lot to wait for it to rise. We have learned a lot over the past 10 months on how to manage it at different altitudes but the cold was a new wrinkle. He is such a trooper and kept at it until he felt better. Being a type 1 diabetic has added challenges we never thought we would have to work through, but I am so thankful it has brought us closer together and taught us so much about ourselves and each other. I don’t mention it much because it is still relatively new and painful for us but one of the side effects for us of moving to Denver was that it triggered that type 1 diabetes gene in Aaron so at 32 we had to learn a new way of life. His sister is also a type 1 diabetic so it wasn’t completely foreign, but it has been incredibly hard. He is amazing in his determination to make it work and continue to do the things he loves, but he goes through a lot every single hike and so do I…… If you know a type 1 diabetic, hug them ….hard, what they have to go through on any given day for the weirdest reasons is awful but they keep on keeping on. This week the barometric pressure was changing quickly and for no reason he almost passed out in a meeting with his coworkers because it shifted, imagine doing everything he could to stay at a good blood sugar only to have the weather make it harder for you. It is freaky to be on the other side of that, fortunately the one blessing is once his blood sugar goes extremely high or low he often has no memory of what happens, if only I could get that same blessing…..

Any-who, I digress. This hike is a great gateway hike to help you figure out if hiking Colorado is for you and a great way to build stamina. Like I said before, most of the time there are a zillion people out here and the huge parking lot on those days is hardly enough, so come early.

Directions: From Denver, take I70 West to C470. Take C470 East to the Wadsworth Boulevard exit. Go south (right turn) off this exit and travel about 4.2 miles. Turn left onto Waterton Road and the parking lot will be about 0.2 miles on your left. It is a big open parking lot and is hard to miss.

Weigh in Day 1/11/13 -1.4 Lbs, 45.4 lbs down 44.6 Lbs to go.

I was pretty thrilled with my weigh in today, it was a tough week getting back on track and I blame popcorn. Yes, Popcorn. Not my inability to control my urges or the fact that I fell off the wagon, so to speak, a few weeks ago, but popcorn. It was in my dreams and I thought about it all day, every day this week. I would try to save just enough calories at the end of each night so I could throw a bag of it in the microwave to help get me through the day. I am ashamed to say I ate it even when I wasn’t all that hungry.

You know how it seems most people have a weakness towards either sweet or salty stuff, well I am a salty girl and nothing makes my salty monster happier then a buttery bag of popcorn. Ok maybe Cheetos make me happier, but I am a pretty indiscriminate salty girl add some cheese and I am in heaven! This was my challenge this week.

All the above confessed too, I managed to stay pretty close to my daily calorie allotment or exercise enough that what I went over didn’t matter too much. I dipped my toes slowly back into exercise this week after 8 days of illness and probably coughed through half my sessions, not too bad considering I couldn’t even talk last week without coughing for 5 minutes in between statements. Oh and I started doing a yoga class once a week at work, it is super cheap for eight weeks while not being remotely intimidating. Plus there are only like 5 people in there seeing me not quite get my plank to downward facing dog right….. it’s a win win!

It was exactly the kind of win I need this week! I have an easy hike planned tomorrow in remembrance of my cough-o-rama last week, but it is a hike as it is non paved through a lovely valley where a gillion other people will congregate for jogging, biking and hiking on a cold snowy day along the front range. I am not overly excited about the crowds but glad to get back out there and get back into some hiking lungs.

The reality of the scale +4.4LBs ….44LBS down 46 LBS to go…….

Well now I know, it takes just 19 days to gain back what it took a month to lose. I will admit I ate more than I ever thought I would, the above picture is evidence of the sweet feast I created with my family on Christmas eve and mostly at my urging….. Man do I love to bake. I just don’t do it very much because I love to eat what I bake too much, well that and anything Frito Lay. After this feast of fresh-baked cookie awesomeness, I hopped a plane and headed back home but not to get back on the bandwagon. In fact I knew that I just wanted to be on break until 1/1/13 but I wanted to keep active. Unfortunately I wasn’t planning on getting so stinkin sick and so all my good “be active” plans went out the window, as the only time I have been out bed in the past week is to go to work. When I stood on the scale this past Friday I was not shocked just surprisingly disappointed, but I did feel better in general noting I didn’t need any medicine just to get into the shower.

I had such high expectations that I would bound out of bed this morning, miraculously better after 6 solid days of head cold hell. I am sure no one is surprised that I more crawled out and stared at my hiking outfit like,” please don’t judge me”. The good thing is Aaron had no false illusions about what I could tackle today so when I charmingly said yeah I think I got 4-6 solid miles in me let’s hit Waterton Canyon, he coyly responded how about Cherry Creek State Park and let’s take it easy today. This way we are close to home just in case and there are lots of easy paths to get your lungs back. I was so not into this idea as it isn’t hiking to me, but he is too smart for his own good! The first tiny,itsy bitsy incline just a 100 feet away from the car kicked my butt and I was coughing nonstop. I don’t even want to talk about how slow I was walking and how I kept thinking it seemed like he was running….. less than 3 miles later I was climbing back into the car wondering how long I had to wait to get back into bed.

I know everyone and everything has been talking about how bad the cold and flu season is this year, but I seriously didn’t think it was as bad as what I have been living through for the past week. And I am still not better! For the next 6 days I am focusing on eating healthy and getting in as much exercise as this recovery will let me. I am going to tentatively plan an easy hike for next weekend in hopes that I have finally stopped coughing by then. I hope none of you are so unlucky as to get afflicted with this nastiness, suck down that vitamin C and wash those hands excessively!

My Break from EVERYTHING!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

I am getting back from self imposed break from everything…. I am re-energized by my visit with my family (most of them pictures above) for Christmas but to be honest I didn’t care a lick about what I ate and the quantities in which I ate it. I have not stepped on scale since Tuesday December 18th and I will not step on until this Friday which is my usual weigh in day. I am sure I have gained weight back and I am ok with it. I will lose it as I get into shape for my first 14er ( mountain that is over 14000Ft high). Plus I am determined to get to healthy weight before I turn 40 which is just 11 months away. I did get in some exercise over my break but not what I would have liked, mother nature and a nasty cold have been huge road blocks. I got a solid 6 mile walk in the sunday before Christmas and was going to take pictures of all the beautiful lights we saw to share it, but it was insanely cold. I had forgotten how cold 20 degrees was with humidity in the air, I felt like such a wimp and after all the hikes I have done in bad weather…. so no pictures after all.

Now when I go to sea level, coming home to 5600Ft takes me a couple of weeks to find my high altitude lungs. This time was no different but I kept on walking at lunch time at work and had a hike planned for this past weekend. It was a repeater because I needed something I knew I could do, we did Deer Creek Canyon close to home and it was 6.8 miles so I knew it would be a good challenge but hopefully not too hard after traveling earlier in the week. What I hadn’t counted on was the head cold I ended up getting after the hike. I kinda knew I had been working on something in the cold family and I think I naively thought some good hard exertion would get it out of my system before taking root.

There has been snow off and on the past week or so here, but it was pretty fresh Saturday morning so we didn’t need any additional assistance outside of our poles. It was cold, like 12 degrees when we started but without humidity it was still warmer then my walk with my sister in Springfield…LOVE COLORADO!!!! I was seriously huffing and puffing up the first mile, I didn’t want to stop because I had to get over that altitude crush at the beginning of every hike even though this one was doubly bad after my return. This was a great hike as it always is, and it was even more challenging than I expected because the fresh snow was like walking in sand….up hill, that is occasionally slick.

What I had not counted on was the bizarre amount of sweat I produced on that initial 2 mile incline, I don’t know if you can tell in the picture above but my hat was soaked from it. Honestly I never thought I would need a backup hat and so didn’t have one on hand. I had to keep it on because my hair was soaked through and it was still under 20 degrees out although sunny! It was just before this picture that my husband commented that I didn’t look so good and he was worried about my wet hat….. I was still feeling pretty awesome at this point but could tell whatever I had been working on for the past 3 days was about to win. We finished the hike in just 2 hours and 20 minutes, a record for us. Then we hit REI and I picked up 2 new hiking books, one on 14ers and one on alpine lake hikes. I can’t wait to plot out the next 11 months of hiking!

I love this hike for so many reasons, but mostly because it always reminds me of where I started 9 months ago and why I moved to Colorado. It always helps to get me focused back on my goals to see how far I have come.

Sadly the cold I got as a result has completely kicked my butt and I have spent the past 3 days in bed trying to recover, which is pretty bad since I am usually a 24 hour and done kind of girl. I am at least in a sitting position today and trying to stretch all my sick sore muscles. I am hoping tomorrow I can get at least half of my usual workout(s) done and I am going to work hard to get better so that we can get a hike in this weekend. It may be an easy one but a hike none the less.

Thank you so much for following me on this journey! I cannot tell you how much all of your words of encouragement have helped me!

Here’s to a brand new year and the excitement of reaching my goals! I hope your goals are met too!

Merry Christmas

I am taking a short break from hiking and blogging since I traveled to be with my family for Christmas but I had stop by to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I hope to get a hike in this weekend!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Apex Trail in Apex Park – Jefferson County Open Space 12/15/12

Apex Trail > Enchanted Forest Trail > Apex Trail

Starting Elevation: Approximately 6200 Ft

Highest Elevation: Approximately 7400 Ft, elevation gain is 1200Ft, but the trail goes up and down so the total gain was likely more.

Trail Length: 5.8 miles is what we did but there are more options to make it longer.

Trail Uses: Hiking Biking (portions of the path go only one way on odd-numbered days) Skiing & Snow shoeing

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate

Bathrooms: Yes at the trailhead – and the trail is pretty exposed with a lot of traffic.

Pets: Yes but dogs have to be on leash.

We learned about this hike from 2 sources, my hiking superhero Wendy and a coworker of Aaron’s. It has been on my to do for a while but I was saving it for a bad weather weekend, this weekend we were going to originally going to retry Ben Tyler #606 but there was snow forecasted for Friday night into Saturday in the nearest town which meant 11,700 was undoable. Apex Park is pretty close to home and really easy to get to off of I-70. We started out pretty exhausted as our bed is on the outs and we have been trying to ignore how badly we need a new mattress. We hit our usual hiking breakfast of bagel sandwiches from Einsteins and as I was chowing it down I thought hmmmm this ham tastes a little odd….. and about an hour into the hike I discovered that in fact I was right. But I wanted to finish at least a short hike and really ham should wait 3-4 hours before the stomach really got bad so I figured I would push it…. we have not had much luck lately!

Any-who….. The trail itself starts off from the north corner of the Heritage Square lower parking lot. The first stretch is just along this parking lot not very exciting with a nice a steady climb, at the first trail break we stayed left to follow the Apex Trail:

It was also an unusually cloudy day (did you know that Colorado is one of the sunniest states in the country with an average of 320 days of sun a year?) , which made the terrain seem a little gloomy. The trail goes straight back between those 2 mountains in the above picture. This is a favorite of bikers but apparently there were a number of reported incidents with bikers being dangerous and ignoring the rules so Jefferson County Open space changed the rules by implementing a ticket system and having several stretches of the trail allow only one-way bike traffic on odd-numbered days….today was an odd-numbered day so there weren’t too many bikes.

We came across the first trail break at the Pick N Sledge trail pretty quickly:

We stayed straight on Apex Trail, but notice the map this is at almost every trail break so it is nice and easy to stay on track. It is just under a mile to the next trail break at the Sluice box:

At this point I started to feel the effect of that not tasting right ham and started to worry a little… so we decided that we would make it a shorter hike then planned, and just do the Apex trail instead of trying to get the Grubstake Loop where the views are supposed to be at.

When we got to the Enchanted Forest Trail, the surrounding terrain changed considerably to a lovely forest ( probably why it was named enchanted forest). Lots of pretty pines and huge boulders, my favorite part of the hike.

I am not going to lie, things got pretty bad for me here and my focus was to not get sick as opposed to the hike. When we got to the last trail break for us that day and followed the Apex trail all the way back to the car, I was thrilled and a little worried about my chances of getting back to the car without an incident.

From the 6-ish miles we hiked, the trail seemed very nice and I honestly cannot wait to get back to try our original route under better circumstances. I also think this is best in fall, spring and summer, but not too bad in winter. My state of sickness did not make pictures a priority and I(really Aaron at that point) got just few so that we could keep moving. Here is the only one of Aaron and I, he took as we were walking in an effort to finish as quickly as we could…. I look miserable!

The next couple of weeks will be crazy with travel and holidays so I am not sure I will get a true hike done, but I will likely get some type of walking in so I will post anything that makes sense. Just in case I get no walks in, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

Directions to the Hike:

Take 70 west out of Denver to the Morrison Exit #259, Travel 1 mile North on Route 40. Take a left into Heritage Square. Take your first right and enter a large parking area – on the north end is the trailhead….You can’t miss it!

Weigh in Day 12/13/12 – 3lbs!!!!! 48.4lbs down 41.6 left to go!!!!

I am doing my weigh in a day early because today is my birthday so I am making it my cheat day as well. My husband and I have taken the day off work to relax and enjoy it together. After one work meeting this morning I have to host, we are going to get pedicures and then a nice birthday lunch and I don’t want to watch my calorie intake. I have to say I was super shocked when I stepped on the scale this morning and saw a 3 lb loss, especially after the last 2 weeks of gains! It was such a wonderful moment after 2 disappointing weigh-ins. I had stopped hoping I might get to 50lbs lost before I head home to Chicago for my Christmas celebration but if I really work hard in the next week I might get really close!!!!

I am not sure what worked this week as I didn’t change up anything like I had planned. Work has been insane I have been working late and doing stuff after work with friends. I did get my 50 minutes of elliptical every morning and a 3 mile walk lunch but that is all. I think it was all the wonderful support and advice everyone gave me after last week’s gain! My body must have needed me to read your words of encouragement, so thank you!!!

Whatever the reason, it couldn’t have come at a better time!

I am posting a picture from when my husband and I eloped 8 years ago….this is 20 pounds over my goal weight and just 21 pounds away from where I am today. Plus Aaron is such a cutie in these pictures!

Riverside Trail – Breckenridge 12/8/12

Riverside Trail Between Breckenridge and Frisco

Starting and ending Elevation: 9600

Trail Length: The path goes all the way to Frisco from Breckenridge, which is 9 miles one way 18 miles round trip. We did 9.5 miles round trip.

Trail Uses: Bikes, hiking whatever its paved….

Degree of Difficulty: Easy

Bathrooms: As you walk along the path there are some public places that likely have a bathroom.

Fees: None

This is not our kind of path/trail, but our original plans had to be scrapped as a snow storm moved into Breckenridge this past Saturday. We had planned a weekend in Breckenridge as a pre-birthday celebration for me and just to get away for a few days. We wanted to get some type of walking in and we decided that no matter how bad the snow got this trail would still be doable. It actually starts just behind Mainstreet as you walk through parking lots along the river. Then a paved path makes its appearance around Ski Hill Road where it will start to go under the roads. As we got further out of town, there was more of a natural path that went right along the edge of the river and if not for the busy road a few yards away, it would have been very lovely.

The snow helped with the traffic noise but not all that much. Also about 2 miles from the town the only choice became the paved path, which really was ok at this point because the rate of snowfall had doubled since we started. The one nice thing was in that there was no one else really on it because the snow was getting so heavy. Everyone was either skiing or tucked away inside nice and warm.

We went all the way to Tiger Road and then turnaround and headed back. The snow just kept getting heavier so we tried to speed it up a little to get back as quickly as we could in order to get warm and some drinks in hand.

It’s not an exciting trail but certainly did us just fine in a pinch. Sometimes weather will get the best of the situation and this was a great way to get in almost 10 miles at 9600Ft. We finished in 3.5 hours and started my pre-birthday celebration, which entailed a lot of drinking, soaking in a hot tub and the occasional appetizer.

We will probably find ourselves doing this one again because we love Breckenridge, but it will likely only be when we have company in town or when we have nothing else we can do because of weather. It is a great way to get the legs moving and the blood pumping. I also think I might be able to attempt Ben Tyler again since we spent the whole weekend up at 9600Ft. I am trying to decide what would be best this weekend, so much to think about.

We didn’t get many pictures because of the snow but here is one of the last ones we took as the snow got to its heaviest while we were hiking.

And since there wasn’t much to share of this weeks hike, here is our youngest cat sitting in judgement as we get ready to leave for the weekend.

The Liebster Award!

I have to say I was quite shocked and honored on Wednesday when Henry at the MoweryJournel nominated my blog for the Liebster Award. At the MoweryJournal, Henry focuses on all those passions of his that has made his journey though life amazing! He does all ranges of topics and does them amazingly well! He is a gifted writer! Thank you so much Henry!!!!!

The Liebster award is given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. I started this blog as a way to help remember the hikes I had been doing, as well as help me track my weight loss, I never realized how much I would love meeting so many talented writers that have given me so much to aspire too. To find out someone else likes reading my blog enough to give me an award made me feel incredibly special!

What is a Liebster? It’s a German word, meaning dearest.

Here are the rules to accept the award, bloggers must do:

Each person must post 11 things about themselves
Answer the questions the nominator made for you and also create 11 more questions for the blogs you nominate
Choose 11 people to receive this award as well and link them to your post
Go to their page and tell them.

11 Things about myself:

I am the youngest of 6
I am on the edge of being a crazy cat lady with 4 furry friends ( 3 of them rescued, 1 an impulse buy like an expensive purse).
I am a Halloween super freak, I decorate like crazy and all my storage space is mostly filled with those decorations.
this might be Obvious, but I really love to hike
I am addicted to pinning stuff on Pinterest….but not necessarily doing any of those things
I love to read books and I shamefully switch back and forth between Sci-Fi Fantasy & Young Adult.
I used to play World of Warcraft to the point that sometimes I would call in sick just to play all day. ( I no longer play it)
I went to Culinary school instead of Law school.
My Favorite city I have visited so far is Rome.
The one city I can’t wait to visit is Paris
I want to learn more about photography

Eleven questions from MoweryJournel:

1. How did you name your blog? – Hiking is a passion I have always had and somehow I had lost my path. After 6 months of doing it every weekend I realized it was making me healthier and it was as simple as that

2. Link to your favorite post on your blog. Upper Mohawk Lake Why this one? It was the highest I had gone at the time and the views were the best motivation ever. Since then I cannot wait to get to my first 14er( Mountain Peak over 14000ft)

3. When do you most like to write? Immediately after my hikes, when the experience is fresh in my mind.

4. What do you do for fun, other than blogging? Well hiking mostly, but I also love to read and cook. I may become addicted to making Jewelry thanks to my sister Mary, and my old Vegas lady personality who loves all that sparkles.

5. Who would you like to interview? Oops I forgot this one. My dad died when I was15. I would like to interview him to see what he would be like with me being an adult…..

6. Why did you start writing your blog? I wanted to remember all the hikes I had done and have a place my friends and family could go to see what I have been up to. If they ever wanted to do a hike, this would be a place for them to pick out a hike they think they might like. I also wanted a place to hold myself accountable on my weight-loss journey

7. Favorite food? Pizza

8. Favorite drink? Diet Coke or Vodka

9. What are you reading now? The Hobbit for like the 100th time

10. Favorite vacation spot? Las Vegas not because I like to gamble but because I love all the glitter and lights

11. Favorite Musician/Band? U2

Here are the 11 Blogs I am nominating in no particular order:

Califraven: Janet loves hiking and tells us readers all about the beauty of those hikes.
Life with John: John who, after a long career in the Army and then Defense consulting, is writing about all his interests now that he is retired. He is a great amateur photographer.
Adam Sawyer, Professional Gentleman of Leisure: Adam is following his love writing and experiencing the great outdoors
Kazzabee: Kazza is a lovely woman who is living her life to the fullest and sharing her amazing adventures with us all.
Acadian Soul: Carol is a courageous woman finding herself through photography and hiking after losing her Husband.
The Jeep Experience: A fun Colorado Couple is experiencing their loves of off-roading, hiking and adventure in Colorado
Walksandrambles: About a woman who loves to walk and hike is telling us all about the great trails in her new home of Montana
Fossicking: Melissa lives in Strasbourg and I just love her pictures and posts on a vast array of things!
Bruce Czopek: is a talented Designer and artist living in Hawii, I love his pictures and posts
HikingAngelesForest: Kyle writes about his hikes and gives so much more than just trail details and lovely pictures.
Live Laugh RV: Ingrid and Al are amazing people who are sharing their love of adventure and travels.

And here are the 11 questions that I want you all to answer:

What’s your favorite movie?
Who is someone you consider a role model?
What is your favorite dessert?
Are you a salty or sweet person?
Have you jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon? If so what is the thing you love to pin most?
What is your favorite post on your blog with a link? Why?
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
What do you do to relax?
Where do you like to go to clear your head and get a change of perspective?
What do you look forward to most each day?
Where is your dream vacation going to take place?

Weigh in Day 12/7/12 +.6 lbs 45.4lbs down 44.6lbs to go

Aaaarrrrggggg, I don’t even know what I did wrong this week and yet I gained weight. I stayed within my calories each day and got in great workouts all week-long.

I have spent the weekend trying to figure out how to change it up and stay motivated, which was hard given that we were in Breckenridge for my birthday celebration where we drank a lot and ate pretty recklessly, in between hot tubbing. This is admittedly the hardest time of every year for me to stay on track, but I need to figure it out….. ugh

This week I am going to focus just on not gaining any more weight back and try to do more strength training as I tend to do mostly cardio.

That and repeating this mantra, “do not give up, do not give up, do not give up”

Wish me luck.