Discovering Phoenix Lake

As ridiculous as that sounds I went on my first hike ever. And I survived! My mom had heard of Phoenix Lake in the city of Ross and we decided to go explore it today. It was such a gorgeous day in the Bay Area and after the hike was over, I was very glad that I did it. I like going on these walks/hikes with my mom because it's quality time that we get to spend together. My relationship with my mom has been rocky at times but with time it is getting better.

Can I tell you how glad I am to have bought my Asics sneakers? I am pretty impressed with myself that I was able to go on a 3 mile hike when most of it was going uphill. A couple of months ago I would have never done that. Kudos to me!

On to the pictures...

Let's talk about socks baby

How great were Salt-N-Peppa?

Anyhoo...who knew socks could be so important? When walking this past weekend, I wore my cute Nine West socks. At the end of the walk, my feet were uncomfortable and a blister was the reward for my walk. When I bought my sneakers a month ago, I ended up getting 2 pairs of WrightSock CoolMesh II socks. At$10 a pop, I thought these socks better be worth it.

I went on a walk today and my feet were so comfortable. I used the WrightSocks so I think they were worth the $10. I thinking that my reward for losing 60 pounds will be new socks. Exciting stuff huh? Typically I would be rewarding myself with make-up but I am saving for my trips to LA when I go to IMATS. I only wish that the socks weren't so expensive.

For walkers/runners out there, are there any brands of socks that you recommend? I do know that I shouldn't get 100% cotton sock but that's all I really know about these types of socks.

Weekly weigh in... BOOM!

I was so not expecting this weight loss but I will take my 4.6 pounds this week. Whoo mutha freakin' hoo! I knew I had lost at least 3 pounds since I stopped by WW on Saturday morning to see how I've been doing. Lately if I have a chance I will stop by either on Friday or Saturday to do an unofficial weigh in. It helps keep me motivated and keeps me on track through the weekend.

My total so far is 58.8 pounds in 31 weeks. Break out the confetti!

I did really good with my food. I am not a fan of actually having to cook. I prefer nuking or pre-made food but I recently found a recipe which I made quite a bit last week. I've been trying to incorporate more veggies into my routine but don't really like to take the time to prepare them. This recipe for roasted cauliflower from Summer Tomato is so easy and tastes amazing! If I can do it, anyone can. One day last week I had dinner at my mom's and she made fish tacos with habanero pico de gallo and I made the cauliflower. The next recipe I want to try is pan roasted baby artichokes with pistachios, lemon & black quinoa.

I did work out this week and on Saturday I went on another 5 mile walk in Tiburon. The last time I did this week it took us 2 hours and 20 minutes or so. I was also hungover and was breaking out my new sneakers. This time, we did the same walk in an hour forty minutes. Yay for me! It may seem slow for most but for me it's a huge improvement especially since even 3 months ago I was barely working out.

In the picture above I was trying to get the attention of the helicopter flying by. I wanted to be rescued... hee hee

I am feeling really motivated right now. I am on track to losing 75 pounds by the end of June and it feels great!

Live shows galore!

This year will be pretty amazing music wise. In January, I went to see Luis Miguel for my mom's birthday. I've been a fan of his since I was a kid. It was such a great concert and it lived up to my expectations. Now starting in May to October, I will be going to six more concerts.

I bought the U2 tickets back in October 2009 for June 2010. But Bono had back surgery and the show got postponed. I was bummed because the opening act was The Fray. But now the concert is on my actual birthday and the opening act is Lenny Kravitz. OMG! So much better.

Do you like going to live shows? Is there someone you've been wanting to see? I've been pretty lucky to have been able to go to a lot of kick ass shows in my life. This summer is gonna rock!

Weekly Weigh In - Week 30

This week the scale was kind to me and I lost 1.6 pounds. Yay! I was so happy to see a loss. I really worked hard to be on this side of the scale. I watched what I ate although I did have a couple of splurges throughout the week (uumm sangria, sweet potato fries and too many visits to the self serving non-fat yogurt shop) and I also worked out 4 times this week.

I am excited that my hard work paid off and I pushed myself with my workouts. My next goal is to reach 75 pounds by the end of June. That means I have 10 weeks to lose 20.6 pounds. Can I do it? I hope so. I know I've mentioned in the past that my body tends to not lose as much weight when I eat bread. I am putting myself on a no bread ban from here til the end of June. I am also going to up my water intake. I am going to work hard to lose these next 20 pounds. It won't be easy but I need something positive to focus on right now.

On a random note, I am so excited that the weekend before my birthday I am going to see Adele. I am such a fan of hers and her latest album 21 has been playing constantly at home, on my walks and in my car. I didn't know she was going to be in town until after tickets were sold out so I checked Stubhub and tickets were $144. Now I am a fan but I wasn't about to pay that much for general admission tickets. This weekend I heard on the radio that the venue was changed and more tickets were going to be released. I mentioned it to my mom and sister and since they always have a hard time getting me a birthday gift I suggested we get some tickets to her show.

Check out this awesome video of some amazing kids doing a cover of Adele's Rolling In The Deep

Today is a new day

I gained two pounds this week. Le sigh...

As I sat in my car & updated the gain on my WW iPhone app, I looked at the phrase posted on the window of the WW center I go to. It reads Today is a New Day. This has been with me all day. I know exactly what I did to gain these two pounds. I went out Friday night and after too many vodka tonics and appetizers, I stopped caring about what I consumed. Should I feel guilty? I could blame it on the ah-ah-ah-alcohol but really, I made these choices and I need to be accountable for it. Today is a new day and it's back to tracking and sticking to my points.

My gain would probably be worse if I hadn't worked out twice this week. My plan for this week is to work out at least 4 times. I need to make an effort to get out of the house and not let mysel get sad/disappointed/depressed over my job situation. That is the worst thing I could do right now.

On Thursday as I was filling my unemployment information, it finally hit me that I was unemployed. I started to feel helpless and a sense of uncertainty was the only thing on my mind that day. I ended up binging on some fruit and popcorn. Not necessarily "bad" food but I ate more than I should have or have been used to. Also, I wasn't hungry. On Sunday when I went to lunch with my mom, I ordered a salad with a side of parmesan truffle fries. In my mind, I justified getting them since I worked out on Saturday. All day Sunday I felt so sick, both mentally and physically. Why did I do this to myself?

That was my week and I can only try to do better one day at a time.

Feel the burn!

During the week, I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to go on a walk in Tiburon. For those of you not familiar with the city, it's 10 minutes north of the Golden Gate bridge and there is a great path that takes you to the downtown area which is very picturesque which is full of shops and restaurants.

Friday night I ended up going out for drinks with my friends and had too many vodka tonics. But I couldn't back out and my mom & I went on a 5 mile walk. FIVE MILES! What was I thinking? But I had my new sneakers and was ready to go!

It was a slow start but I kept with it and completed the walk. Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with some low fat yogurt (similar to Pinkberry). My legs & thighs were burning but it was a good burn. Today I am a bit sore but it was worth it. That has been my longest walk yet. I am not sure how my weigh in will go tomorrow. I've been pretty good all week except I had too many cocktails on Friday night and kind of let loose.

Here are some pictures I took along during our walk yesterday. It was such a nice day in SF.

Taken with Instagram. You can see the two towers of the Golden Gate bridge.

Photo op :)

Dealing with Ups & Downs

Break out the confetti! I am a 50 pound loser. Actually, 54.6 pounds in 28 weeks to be exact. At yesterday's weigh in, I lost 5.6 pounds. I was so excited! The past couple of days have been filled with ups and downs. And here is why...

On Friday I was laid off. My company's US division got bought by another company. We were told at the beginning of the year that there would be some evaluations of the staff. Unfortunately, my position was one of the ones that was eliminated. To be honest, I am glad that it happened. I have been very unhappy working there and I haven't been as proactive as I should've been in looking for a new job. Now my energy is going towards finding a new job that will make me happy.

As I left my office on Friday, I was driving back home and I drove by an In & Out. My first thought - I want a double double. My second thought - NO! I decided to go to Weight Watchers to see how I had done so far that week. When I weighed in, I had lost 3 pounds. I was so excited because I knew that I reached 50 pounds that I decided to make the smart choice and not get a burger. Instead of feeling depressed, I was focusing on the weight loss. I was proud of my decision especially when I could've used my job situation as a cop out.

I am not going to let myself get negative over this situation. I will be ok. I truly do believe that things happen for a reason and I just have to wait to see what life has ahead for me. When talking to my mom, I was bummed because I thought that I wouldn't be able to get my new sneakers. I didn't think I should be spending money on them since I don't know when I will get another paycheck. But my mom told me that would be the worst thing I could do. She told me that I deserved them for the hard work that I have put in to reach this goal. I hate to say it, but sometimes mothers are right. But don't tell my mom I said that =)

I did end up going to a great running shoes store and bought a pair of Asics. So comfy and it was kind of cool to get fitted for them. I tried on different pairs and found the ones for me.

I am going to a A's game so I was trying to get in the spirit. I am finally starting to notice my weight loss in pictures.

And here is my 50 pound loss reward. Wheee!

My next goal is to reach 75 pounds by the end of June just in time for IMATS LA. Now that I have time I should be able to reach this since working out is gonna become a priority.