My Life in the Southwest: Health

Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Life

Soooooo much going on. But it's somewhat comforting to know I'm not alone. This mess is happening everywhere.

Honestly, I've been a bit surprised about how rough it's hit me. Not physically of course (I'm healthy), but mentally.

I am 100% working from home until further notice. I'm guessing it will be at least throughout May...possibly longer. There's just no way to tell right now. I do think people are VERY optimistic about time-frames...I'm not one of them.

I work in healthcare. I see/read/hear ALL THE THINGS. All the scary stuff that isn't reported in the news. I see the numbers before they are published. I hear about the PPE issues and what's going on inside hospitals. I get 30-40 emails PER DAY full of nothing but COVID information that I am expected to keep up with. Medicare literally changes things by the minute.

I can't get away from it. My work is not an 'escape'. I work COVID all day and then at night the news comes on, alerts come up on my phone, etc. I can't get away. Which is why I am struggling.

Reading/watching the news stresses me out. But NOT reading/watching the news stresses me out too.

I cannot concentrate on anything outside of work. I concentrate on work for 8+ hours a day, and then after that my brain is just done. I only read 2 books last month because I cannot concentrate on anything. When this first started, my initial thought was 'wow, I'll be able to get SO MUCH DONE!!'. Well...that's just not the case. I just can't concentrate. And I seem to be in a permanent funk, which makes me want to do zero. I'm hoping it gets better.

We are following all the rules. We only go to the store once per week (if that). We are home 24/7. We've started starting our cars once a week just so the batteries don't die. New Mexico is on a mandatory 'Stay at Home' order so we can only go out to go to the grocery store pretty much. Which is fine by me...I honestly think the whole nation should be doing this. ? But I guess it's up to each state.

Last night my husband did the grocery store run for the week and when he came home, I immediately sprayed down the doorknobs/surfaces/groceries/counters, etc. with Lysol spray. This is our new normal.

The cloth masks I ordered from Etsy arrived a couple of weeks ago and now we are using them when we leave the house. I only ordered 4 (2 for my mother-in-law, one each for hubs and I) because, well, we don't leave the house much.

But enough negativity.

Things I am thankful for:

*Zoom. We are able to see our dear brothers and sisters twice a week on Zoom. We can associate 30 minutes before and after the meetings (before they mute us ha ha). We haven't missed a beat with the Zoom meetings because we need them now more than ever.

*Our home. I'm thankful that I love our home and that we all have room to spread out. I'm thankful for the outdoor space so that the dogs can run.

*Our neighborhood. It's walkable, it's safe, it's friendly. 6 feet apart, of course.

*The weather. It has been gorgeous here. Absolutely perfect weather.

*My job. I am thankful that I have a job that allows me to work from home. I have moved my workspace into the guest room. The front room just wasn't cutting it space-wise so I moved all of my stuff into the giant desk in the guest room. It's working so much better. It's more like an office. I can shut the door when I'm done. Even though my job is mentally exhausting, I'm glad to have it.

*Pure Barre. They have not missed a beat getting everything set up with their Live Stream classes. I am able to still take classes from home which is wonderful. It is so good for my head. AND my husband installed a barre for me in our gym. It is so great!

*My health. I am holding steady with my weight, which is 100% fine by me for the moment. I'll start doing my regular weekly health-check ins soon. For now I'm thrilled to be maintaining.

*The extra time. Even though I can't concentrate and am in a funk, I have still managed to get a few things done/organized. I'll try to post pictures when I can.

*I'm thankful that I never scheduled our 10-year anniversary trip. It's just so odd....It's so unlike me to not plan these things way ahead, but there was just something that was holding me back (we were going to go to Florida for a week). I never pulled the trigger. And now I am soooooo glad that we didn't make those plans.

So that's my random brain dump on this past month of life. :) Thanks for reading.

PS: STAY HOME. I hear of people having 'quarantine' parties and it makes me so angry I can't even see straight. I hear of nurses at hospitals with bruising on their faces from wearing masks all day and the back of their ears completely destroyed from the elastic begging and pleading with people to stay home and people aren't listening. Just STAY HOME. And wash your hands. All the time. They should be red and dry and ugly! We keep lotion by all of our sinks (my hands are destroyed).

Monday, March 16, 2020

03.16.20 Health Check-In

January 2020 loss: -2.7
February 2020 loss: -4.6

Total 2019 Weight Loss: 38.3
Total 2020 Weight Loss: 7.3

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: -45.8

Welp. I think I may be on a plateau. The good news is that I haven't gained. The bad news is that I haven't lost.

I've done pretty well. There's always room for improvement of course. I know these plateaus happen sometimes. And I am going to KEEP GOING. That is the most important thing.

Monday, March 2, 2020

Health Check-In

I have been on the struggle bus the last couple of weeks. My next weigh in will be Saturday, March 7th. I put on a couple pounds, so I will be happy to get back to where I was.

I've been trying to figure out WHY I've been struggling. There are a few mental issues, but I think I've pinned it down and I think it's more of a physical thing actually.

I've been working out a LOT the past 2 weeks. I've taken 11 Barre classes in the past 14 days. Which is going to become my new normal. My goal is 6 classes per week. But that's another story.

Whenever I work out more, I feel famished a LOT. Which makes sense. You need to eat more when you work out more. But if you don't plan for it....it leads to disaster. Like Friday. I went to Barre at 6:00 a.m. Then I didn't eat much at work the entire day. So THEN I got home from work and was starving. I started grazing. Then husband came home and I asked him if he was hungry and then we decided to order a pizza. And pasta for me. Sigh. And THEN I proceeded to eat my ENTIRE (large) portion of pasta AND the garlic bread that came with it. I ate WAY past my 'full' feeling. And then I felt miserable for at least 2 hours afterwards. Both physically and mentally.

So this weekend, I bought some chicken salad cups from Costco and a big bag of celery. I washed it, cut it all up and put it right at eye level in the fridge. That way when I come home from work starving I'll have a go-to. I'm also going to divide some oatmeal into ziplocks for an after work snack. After work is my downfall. I don't have an issue with eating/snacking at work OR eating/snacking late night. But between 3:30 - 4:30? I can go to town. I'm also going to start immediately making some tea when I get home. I would like that to become a routine. I also want to stay off my phone from the time I get home until around 7:30 or 8:00. Because what happens is that I get on my phone, start scrolling/wasting time and then I want a snack to go with it. Which turns into a meal. Which turns into 2 hours of total wasted time.

So those are going to be my baby steps so far. And I AM feeling better today, both mentally and physically. Onward!

Monday, February 24, 2020

02.22.20 Health Check-In

Loss this week: -1.2
January 2020 loss: -2.7
February 2020 loss: -4.6

Total 2019 Weight Loss: 38.3
Total 2020 Weight Loss: 7.3

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: -45.6

First things first. I'm changing my weigh-in day to Saturday. I tend to use most of my weekly points on Friday and Saturday and that usually doesn't lead to a good weigh-in on Sunday.

Secondly....I need to do better. Yes, I had a decent loss. And yes, my February numbers are looking better than January. But I can do better. I've been more detailed with my tracking, but...I can do better. I tend to not track the 3 bites of trail mix or the Fiber One treat that I ate at 9:00 p.m. because I was hungry. Stuff like that.

I also need to drink WAY more water. I was doing so good with a gallon a day and now it's probably half that.

Oh well. I'm a work in progress.

Treats I enjoyed this week:

Tacos (twice)
Chips & guac (which I didn't track)
One donut
Wine (2 glasses)

Monday, February 17, 2020

02.16.20 Health Check-In

Loss this week: +0.6
January 2020 loss: -2.7
February 2020 loss: -3.4

Total 2019 Weight Loss: 38.3
Total 2020 Weight Loss: 6.1

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: -44.4

I gained .6 this week. Which I am completely okay with. I think my body is still re-hydrating. I seem to be hanging on to every bit of water I take in. Plus, I hit Barre as soon as I got back (after a few days off) and so my muscles are sore and hanging on to water.

But that's okay! I'm not letting the scale mess with my head. Like I said last week, it all evens out in the end.

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

02.10.20 Health Check-In

Loss this week: -3.0
January 2020 loss: -2.7
February 2020 loss: -4.0

Total 2019 Weight Loss: 38.3
Total 2020 Weight Loss: 6.7

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: -45

I was out of town Thursday - Tuesday. I weighed myself at my mom's on Monday morning.

My large loss is all because I got sick and didn't eat for 48 hours and was (and still kind of am) COMPLETELY dehydrated. I'm working on re-hydrating myself this week. So maybe I'll have a gain next week. But that's totally okay! It all evens out in the end.

Monday, February 3, 2020

02.02.20 Health Check-In

Loss this week: -1.0
January 2020 loss: -2.7
February 2020 loss: -1.0

Total 2019 Weight Loss: 38.3
Total 2020 Weight Loss: 3.7

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: -42

Lots of thoughts this week. Yes, I had a loss. Yes, that's better than a gain. But I have GOT to start doing better. I am disappointed that I only lost 2.7 in January. I see a pattern here that I want to change:

August 2019: -11.2
September 2019: -9.1
October 2019: -6.8
November 2019: -6.9
December 2019: -4.3
January 2020: -2.7

My weight loss each month is declining. I'd like to get back to losing at least 6 pounds a month.

I totally think this is possible. The problem is not my metabolism, my age, my water retention, etc. It is ME. I haven't been tracking honestly, and sometimes I'll skip tracking all together. Obviously, that isn't working. I know my body is capable of losing more weight than 2.7 pounds a month. I don't think it's unrealistic to set a goal of 6 pounds a month. That's 1.5 per week. I would be thrilled with that.

So no more dishonest tracking. No more 'free Sundays'. No more excuses!!!

Monday, January 27, 2020

01.26.20 Health Check-In

TOTAL 2019 WEIGHT LOSS: 38.3

01/05/20 loss: .5 (TOTAL -38.8)

01/12/20 loss: 1.4 (TOTAL -40.2)

01/19/20 loss: .4 (TOTAL -40.6)

01/26/20 loss: .4 (TOTAL -41.0)

TOTAL 2020 WEIGHT LOSS: 2.7

More details next week.....(too busy!)

Monday, January 20, 2020

01.19.20 Health Check-In

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

11/2019 loss: 6.9 (TOTAL -34.0)

12/2019 loss: 4.3 (TOTAL - 38.3)

TOTAL 2019 WEIGHT LOSS: 38.3

01/05/20 loss: .5 (TOTAL -38.8)

01/12/20 loss: 1.4 (TOTAL -40.2)

01/19/20 loss: .4 (TOTAL -40.6)

TOTAL 2020 WEIGHT LOSS: 2.3

Shocked by my .4 loss because I ate TERRIBLY this week. I tracked everything, but I ate like crap. It was an extremely busy week, and when things are nuts I tend to just eat what is quick and easy. I used up all of my weekly points and some of my activity points. And I wasn't a very honest tracker.

Treats I enjoyed this week while losing weight (don't judge me ha ha):
Big Mac (yeah)
3 chocolate chip cookies
Lots of trail mix
3 mixed drinks
orange chicken
chocolate
sausage, egg and cheese biscuit
cheese enchiladas
1/2 piece of cheesecake
carmel corn
a baguette from Panera

See? Not great. And I'm sure there's more that I forgot.

Random thoughts:
*It feels SO GOOD to be back at Barre. 8 classes down this month, 7 more to go to hit my 15! I took the 5:00 p.m. Sunday class last night for the first time. I actually really, really liked it. I came home energized and was able to get ready for the week, folded and put away all the laundry, and was still in bed by 9:00. There was 13 people there (which is pretty full for our small studio, even though technically I think 18 is the cap). So I'm hoping to make Sunday evening Barre a regular habit. It's a nice way to squeeze in another class at the end of the week.

*I went through all of my Barre clothes. Which consist of leggings, sports bras, and tops. I got rid of probably 6 pairs of leggings that were too big, which left me with 5 pairs. Which is plenty for now. Tops are another issue though. I went from probably 15 tops down to 5. And the 5 I have are not great. I don't like flowy tops...when i'm planking, I don't like my shirt to hit the ground. So because a lot of my previous shirts were XL, they just are too baggy now. I need to get some more fitted shirts or ones that I can tie in the back. I've been looking, but not hard. I didn't find any at Target or Nordstrom Rack. I might check out Carrie Underwood's line of workout clothes...I think I remember seeing some tops that will work. It's on my list of things to do!

Monday, January 13, 2020

01.12.20 Health Check-In

Monday, January 6, 2020

01.05.20 Health Check-In

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

11/2019 loss: 6.9   (TOTAL -34.0)

12/2019 loss: 4.3 (TOTAL - 38.3)

TOTAL 2019 WEIGHT LOSS: 38.3

01/05/19 loss: .5 (TOTAL -38.8)

I'll take it. I was VERY lazy last week with my tracking and measuring.

I'm trying to be better at tracking and keeping track of my weekly treats. So hopefully this week I'll have a larger loss.

Monday, December 30, 2019

Health Check-In 12.29.19

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

11/2019 loss: 6.9   (TOTAL -34.0)

12/2019 loss: 4.3 (TOTAL - 38.3)

12/09/19 loss: -1.3    (TOTAL -35.3)

12/16/19 gain: +0.1 (TOTAL - 35.2)

12/22/19 loss: -3.1    (TOTAL -38.3)

12/29/19 loss: 0.0 (TOTAL -38.3)

TOTAL 2019 WEIGHT LOSS: 38.3

Not surprising. I didn't track very well this week and was exceptionally hungry it seemed like. So I count not gaining as a win!!

I also count my 4.3 loss in December as a win, even though it's far less than previous months. We traveled, I also had a lot of solo time (sometimes it's easier to 'cheat' when you're alone), and there were lots of temptations at work this month. So I'm happy with the 4.3!

More thoughts later on this year.

Monday, December 23, 2019

Health Check-In 12.22.19

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

11/2019 loss: 6.9 (TOTAL -34.0)

12/09/19 loss: -1.3 (TOTAL -35.3)

12/16/19 gain: +0.1 (TOTAL - 35.2)

12/22/19 loss: -3.1 (TOTAL -38.3)

I'm back on Sunday weigh-ins. I'm not exactly sure how this loss was possible, but I think it has a LOT to do with still being dehydrated. And not exercising (muscles retain water).

Anyways, sorry to run but I have to run....

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Health Check-In 12.16.19

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

11/2019 loss: 6.9   (TOTAL -34.0)

12/09/19 loss: -1.3    (TOTAL -35.3)

12/16/19 gain: +0.1 (TOTAL - 35.2)

This is beyond shocking. That's a GOOD shocking. We traveled this week. I started off okay....but then everything sort of went downhill ha ha.

Things I enjoyed this week:
6 drinks (4 Cali & 2 Vegas) - all 'social'. 2 @ Hamilton, 2 @ graduation, 2 @ Vegas dinner w/ hubby
BBQ (Cali)
Mac & Cheese (Cali)
A cheeseburger from In & Out (Cali)
A sub from Jersey Mike's (Arizona)
1/2 of a cheeseburger (Vegas)
Cheesy fries w/ pork nuggets (Vegas)
Ice cream & macaroons (Vegas)
Chocolate & taffy
Peanut M&Ms
Breakfast bars (did you know those things are like 6 points a pop??) Like the Nutrigrain ones (only the Trader Joe's brand)
Road trip food: gummy bears, Doritos, reeces, etc.

Pretty bad right??? But...we did some walking in Vegas. And I didn't finish anything. I think that was the key. I didn't finish my burger. I didn't finish my sub. I didn't finish the cheesy fries. I didn't eat an ENTIRE bag of anything (gummy bears, Doritos, etc.). I stopped when I was satisfied. I did however finish my drinks ha ha.

We'll see how this week goes. I was back on track as soon as we got home.

Non-scale victories:
In California hubby had to poke more holes in my belt. I suppose I could just get a new belt, but I REALLY love my belt (yes, I only have one) and I don't want a new one yet.

Things to work on:
*Water, water, water. I pretty much dehydrated myself on Saturday and Sunday (our long car ride days). So I need to get re-hydrated. This may show a small loss for the week (or even a gain) but that's okay.

*BARRE. They're doing a 'Black Barre' challenge next year that runs the entire year so I think that will help kick my butt a little.

Monday, December 9, 2019

Health Check-In 12.09.19

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

11/2019 loss: 6.9 (TOTAL -34.0)

12/09/19 loss: -1.3 (TOTAL -35.3)

So this week and next week, Monday will be my official weigh-in day (too long of a story to explain).

1.3 is surprising...I did not have the best week food-wise and didn't drink nearly enough water.

Things I enjoyed this week:
macaroni & cheese
angel food cake
red chile beef brisket quesadilla w/ queso & guac
Chinese food x 2
scalloped potatoes
3 English muffins
2 mixed drinks

See what I mean when I didn't have a stellar food week? Ha ha. Oh well. And this coming week will be even more difficult because I'm traveling and that ALWAYS is a challenge. But, I'll do the best I can.

Non-scale victories:
I got rid of about half of my wardrobe. Skirts, work pants, jeans, shirts, sweaters, everything that I absolutely cannot wear anymore. I was so disappointed (well, kind of) because when I went to get dressed for meeting on Saturday I grabbed one of my favorite skirts that I haven't worn in a while and it just hung on me...it came down to about my hip bones and there was no belt or anything I could use to make it work. Again...disappointed but also happy.

Things to work on:
*More Pure Barre! Sigh. I need to stop making excuses.
*More vegetables!
(the same two things as last week)
*Eating well while traveling!!!

Monday, December 2, 2019

Health Check-In 12.01.19

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

11/2019 loss: 6.9 (TOTAL -34.0)

This past week I lost 1.1 pounds. I included it in my November weight loss, even though I weighed in on December 1st.

I am going to stick with the Purple plan. I really like a little bit more freedom and my body likes the carbs!

Things I enjoyed this week:
2 mixed drinks
Chocolate every night
Pasta (once)
Potatoes almost every morning (1/2 cup serving)
Burrito from Del Taco

Non-scale victories:
I bought some new clothes on black Friday. I am now wearing size 8 jeans. !!! They are slightly snug, but I don't even care. And I bought 4 sweaters, all Medium.

Things to work on:
*More Pure Barre! Sigh. I need to stop making excuses.
*More vegetables!!

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Health Check-In 11.24.19

(Hello old friend)

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

Monday, 11/4/19 -1.6   (TOTAL -28.7)

Monday, 11/11/19 -0.4 (TOTAL - 29.1)

Sunday, 11/17/19 -1.2   (TOTAL -30.3)

Sunday, 11/24/19 -2.6 (TOTAL -32.9)

2.6 is a HUGE loss for me. As you can see above, I am kind of a slow(ish) loser.

This was my first week on the Purple plan. I have to say....this week was really easy. And I felt better. My body just likes carbs. I need carbs with protein to really fill me up.

There were even two days where I didn't eat all of my 16 points!

I am going to be better about portions though. Just because it's zero points doesn't mean I can go nuts.

I made our 3 Home Chef meals today (we eat them for our lunches) and one of them included pasta. So I switched out the white pasta for whole wheat pasta AND made it into 3 portions instead of 2. Doing that cut WAY back on the points.

Things I enjoyed this week:
3 drinks (one mixed, two of my spiked seltzer water)
Chocolate every night
PASTA!!!!! (twice)
Potatoes almost every morning (1/2 cup serving)
BBQ pork tacos
Oatmeal (3 times) with caramel almond creamer (it's like dessert....2 points)

Non-scale victories:
I now have 4 pairs of jeans and 2 sweaters that no longer fit.

Things to work on:
More Pure Barre! I have been a HUGE slacker this month with Barre. I don't have any good excuses except for being exceptionally tired and drained. But I need to remember that Barre does HUGE things for my head (mentally). So I packed my gym bag and am going tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m.

More detailed tracking. I've been using the 'Quick Add' feature on the app WAY too much. I really need to track more, especially the zero point foods.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Health Check-In 11.17.19

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

Monday, 11/4/19 -1.6 (TOTAL -28.7)

Monday, 11/11/19 -0.4 (TOTAL - 29.1)

Sunday, 11/17/19 -1.2 (TOTAL -30.3)

A few things. I'm changing my 'official' weigh-in day back to Sunday. I don't know why, but I REALLY hated Monday weigh-in as my official date. It just feels better to do it on a Sunday.

Also, I decided to switch plans on WW. They recently reorganized some things and now have 3 plans to pick from: blue (the original), green, or purple. I'm going to try purple for 2 weeks and see how it goes. Currently, on blue, you get 23 points a day. With purple, you only get 16 points per day, BUT a lot of grains and starchy vegetables are on the 'free' list - like brown rice and potatoes. Even whole wheat pasta! So I'm going to give it 2 weeks and see how it goes. I do love my carbs.

Things I enjoyed this week:

FOUR pieces of deep dish pizza (not all at once lol)
Chocolate
Lots of cereal (mixed in with yogurt)
Cheeseburger and french fries (split with my husband)
A mixed drink

I eat this almost every morning, whether at home or at work:

It's scrambled eggs, pinto beans, red chile, and cheese. 4 points and it is SUPER filling. At work I eat it around 8:00 and I usually don't get hungry again until 1:00 or 1:30.

This is also amazing and my stomach appreciates it:

And THESE. They are 2 points each and worth it. Even if you don't like dark chocolate....trust me, these are delicious:

I got them at Costco.

I also had to put sizers on my rings. They were WAY too lose for my comfort. So I ordered ring sizers on Amazon. They work perfectly!

I'll keep you posted on plan purple!

Monday, November 11, 2019

Health Check-In 11.11.19

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

Monday, 11/4/19 -1.6 (TOTAL -28.7)

Monday, 11/11/19 -0.4 (TOTAL - 29.1)

Small loss this week, but I'll take it. I didn't drink enough water. I did exercise more, so the water that I DID drink probably stuck to my muscles and didn't budge.

But, it's still a loss!

Monday, November 4, 2019

Health Check-In 11.04.19

08/2019 loss: 11.2 (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss: 9.1 (TOTAL -20.3)

10/2019 loss: 6.8 (TOTAL -27.1)

Monday, 11/4/19 -1.6 (TOTAL -28.7)

I noticed my monthly losses have gone down each month, but that's okay. I have not been 'perfect' and a 6.8 pound loss in one month is still really good. According to WW, the average loss is 1-2 pounds per week. A 6.8 loss in one month is 1.7 pounds per week. So I'm still right on track!

Here are the treats I enjoyed this week and still had a weight loss:

1 hard seltzer
peanut butter crackers
biscuits and gravy
1 piece of pizza
1 small blueberry muffin
1/2 of a Kit Kat bar

And here are some non-food related wins/random thoughts:

*3 pairs of jeans that no longer fit (too big!)

*I put on my 'winter' jacket (which is just a light jacket) yesterday morning and after I buttoned it up, I pulled it away from my mid-section...I had a lot of room. I may need to get another jacket, but not this year. I rarely wear a jacket here at all, so it can wait until next season. Plus, the jacket has a belt, so I can cinch it up if necessary.

*I did a 3+ mile hike yesterday by myself. It was a moderately easy hike, but at one point I thought about turning around. I saw a couple ahead of me hiking on a steep incline (think...staircase) and I paused because I wasn't sure if i had the motivation to do that and I couldn't see where the incline ended. But I wanted to finish, so I did it. And it wasn't bad at all.

*I had to keep hiking up the leggings I wore on the hike.

*I said 'no' to a LOT of treats this week. Peanut Butter Pie, lots of chocolate, and pastries at break yesterday.

*I drank a lot of coffee this week. I found some almond milk caramel flavored creamer that is delicious.

*Trader Joe's mandarin chicken with cauliflower stir fry mix makes a great dinner. It's kind of pointy (10), but it's a lot of food. SO GOOD.

And here are goals for November:

*More Barre!

*At least 2 more hikes

*More detailed tracking. I track every single meal, but sometimes I get REALLY lazy and will do a 'Quick Add' in the WW app, and just plug in 'Breakfast' 6 points and 'Lunch', 8 points, etc. I want to be more detailed so I can see how many vegetables I'm not eating ha ha.

*More water. I haven't been hitting my gallon per day lately. Usually I get around 75 - 80 ounces, but I'm going to strive for 128 oz consistently this month.