Two Things That Have Me VERY Excited!

I have had a bit of a whirlwind of activity going on in my life in the past seven or eight days and feel compared to share.  I was talking to my friend, Marilyn, on May 27th, and she was sort of lamenting about how she'd really like to go on an Alaskan cruise in June. She mentioned it to me because we've talked about cruises before; Marilyn is a frequent cruiser and has been on over a half dozen of Alaskan cruises.  I was interested and asked, "You mean NEXT June, right?".  She replied, "No, THIS June!"  Long story short, within less than 36 hours we scheduled the entire trip and we will set sail June 26, 2016!  Crazy, right?

The Norweigan Pearl... Departs Seattle on June 26th. Here's my cruising buddy, Marilyn. 

Sadly, one of the first things I thought about once I booked the cruise was the fact that I've put on a few pounds since I retired and I wondered what clothes I would want to pack for the trip, knowing that I had fewer items in my closet that feel comfortable to wear.  Not many pounds, but I imagine many folks can relate; just enough extra weight that my underwear feel tighter than I want them to feel and I hate dislike how I look and feel in most of my clothes.  Ugh!

Now, just a few weeks ago, I bumped into a gal I met at work before I retired. She is seriously one of the most upbeat, energetic people I've ever met. I knew from seeing her on Facebook that she was really into working on her fitness and nutrition.  Long story short, I learned this week that she is a Coach for a program called "Beach Body".  You may have seen middle-of-the-night infomercials on TV if you have ever had insomnia.  This program, called "21-Day Fix", uses color coded plastic containers to keep folks on track with nutrition and, in the long run, lose weight.  The program also includes some exercise DVDs and some nutritious shakes.  Long story short, I decided to purchase the "21-Day Fix" program from my acquaintance and now she's my coach.  I am intruigued by the portion controlled/color coded plastic containers and I really need to get excited about the exercise DVDs.  For some reason, it's easy for me to get stoked about making changes to my diet, but it's much more difficult for me to get excited about exercising more vigorously.  But I know it's what I really need.  I keep telling myself, now that I am retired, I have no excuse for not being in the best shape of my life.  For years before I retired, I kept telling myself, "Sure, yes... I'll get in shape once I am finally retired."  Well, I've been retired since October 31, 2015, and I've actually put on a few pounds.  It was also me really fun to support my coach in her business venture.  I've heard she'd like to make fitness/nutrition coaching her career.

I feel compelled to add that I did not buy into this program BECAUSE of the scheduled cruise, but rather:  THE TIME IS NOW!  I just need to bite the bullet and make the changes I want to see NOW.

Just this week, as I've been waiting for my "21-Day Fix" kit to arrive, I've already made some good changes and I am feeling very positive about things.  I have to admit I had a little buyer's remorse after purchasing this program (I am such a frugal gal!), but I am worth this.

This week, I decided to gave up wine!  I have a nightly habit of a glass (or two) of red wine. This week, I actually measured the volume of my favorite wine glass.  Eight ounces! in just one glass.  That's right about 200 calories in one glass.  Quick math: one glass, seven days a week equals 1,400 calories.  The bad thing about having a glass of wine at 8:00 pm each night, is that I always wanted to have a salty/crunchy snack along with my wine.  So I have officially kicked the habit and I feel great!

Also this week, I started drinking more water. Each and every year, I make a resolution to drink more water each day and fail miserably with this goal.  But I am happy to admit, I am drinking a ton of water and I feel great about that, too!

I am hoping to get my exercise videos and color coded portion control containers delivered today. I have less than 21 days before my cruise, but I've made it a goal to remain very focused on this program so that I can confidently pack my clothes for my upcoming cruise and know I'll be comfortable.  Also, I like the idea of focusing on not overeating while on a cruise.  One of my favorite blogs, Skinnytaste, recently had some tips about how to not gain weight on a cruise.  If you'd like to read this article, you can find it HERE.  I appreciated the suggestions I found in the article.

So my goal between now and the cruise, is to work the exercise videos and figure out those fun, colorful portion control plastic containers.  There is a GREEN container for vegetables, a PURPLE container for fruits/berries, a RED container for meat and other protein sources such as yogurt, a YELLOW container for carbohydrates/starchy foods such as quinoa and brown rice, and finally some very small BLUE and ORANGE containers for higher fat foods such as salad dressings and nuts.  Basically, with this program, based upon your weight, you are told how many of each container you should eat in a given day.  I LIKE it!

When I sat down to type this post, I thought I might share about my history of struggling with my weight for the past 40 years.  I have been reflecting on that inside my brain over the past few days especially after my new Coach asked me about my goals.  But instead, in this post, I ended up sharing that I am feeling positive and energized and excited about making some healthy changes in my life now.  I guess THAT is what is important.  Don't dwell on what's been in the past... focus on the changes I am working to make now.  When I think of the question posed by my new Coach... "what goals do I have?"... the only answer I can think of is that I want to see a fitter/healthier version of me.  Does that sound cliché?  The other thought I have, when self-doubt creeps in, is that I've been down this weight-loss-goal road before and, if I am successful losing some weight now, how do I keep it off?

I can't wait to keep you posted about both my upcoming Alaskan cruise AND my new fun wellness program.