Day 509: Inner Peace

“The life of inner peace, being

 harmonious and without stress, is

 the easiest type of existence.” 

~Norman Vincent Peale~

It's Day 509 of Nutrisystem and Day 2 of my vacation. I definitely woke up stress free with a feeling of harmony and inner peace. I think seeing my family the past 2 days did me a world of good. Although I haven't really minded being "isolated" at home you do get tired of your own company after a while ! 

Breakfast was a 2 ounce 180 calorie cinnamon roll and a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit key lime yogurt. Kinda sad, it was the last key lime and I haven't seen this flavor in the store lately. 😕 Morning snack was a 155 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 4 ounce 230 calorie spinach & cheese pretzel melt with a chef salad. Dressing added 30 calories. Afternoon snack was a 1.3 ounce 180 calorie Jif Power Ups Chewy Granola Bar. Dinner was a 5 ounce 210 calorie broccoli & cheese stuffed chicken breast with roasted veggies. Evening snack was a 2.1 ounce 130 calorie strawberry shortcake cupcake. Total calories for the day are 1195 and I got about 80 ounces of water in thanks to the 90+ temps !

Before I even had breakfast I decided to put the screen in the back door so I could leave it open for a cross breeze today. The litter boxes needed a refresh so I did that too since it was garbage day. I like to replace all of the litter once in a while and today was a good day for that. After I swept the floor, put fresh dry food out and cleaned the water fountain it was time for me to have that delicious first cup of coffee and my breakfast. After breakfast I got the laundry started and put fresh coverings on the furniture. I use flannel sheets to protect my furniture from cat hair and other assorted cat debris. It's easy to whip them off when you have company and then throw them back on when they leave. Later I was upstairs folding laundry and reflecting on my weight loss journey. I was folding undies and remembering when I wore size 13 I would just throw the clean ones in a drawer without folding. Folding them meant acknowledging how huge they were. Now I stand there and fold every pair while admiring the 7 printed inside and hoping to one day be folding something with a 6 or maybe even a 5. I also pulled some clothes that are too big for me out of the drawers so I could wash and donate them. I also tried on a few things I had held on to for years because I wanted to "fit back into them". These are clothes from when I was at my lowest weight back in 1997 and they were my connection to happier times. Over the past 23 years I've yearned to fit back into them and now almost everything is too big. So I've reached a milestone. Getting back to where I was in 1997 was important to me because that is when my life started to go so wrong. So I've done that and I feel like I can finally .. FINALLY .. move forward. I tried on a sundress I bought back in 1997 and it didn't fit at the time. I bought it because I loved it and hoped to fit into it. Today I do .. with room to spare. It only took 23 years ! I feel like I finally completed a bridge to connect 1997 to 2020 and then walked across it to my future. What will that future bring ? I don't know, but I know it will be better. I still need to lose 20 pounds to reach my goal and that will continue to be my primary focus. However, once I reach my goal I'd like to lose another 10. Reaching 150 pounds will bring my BMI into the "normal" range for my height so I'll be happy with that. Losing a few extra pounds will just be the sugar-free icing on the high protein cake .. lol ! 

I spent a good part of the day sitting out on the front porch enjoying the beautiful sunny day but I did manage to get 2 workouts in, despite the heat. First workout was #20 of 24 in the Alps incline series with iFit trainer John Peel. This 23 minute hike was at max incline for most of the workout. The pace ranged from 1.8 to 3.2 mph. Second workout of the day was another in the New Zealand series with Graham McTavish and Jed Brophy. This 25 minute walk had quite a bit of incline in the first 6 minutes but after that it was mostly flat. The pace ranged from 2.2 to 3 mph and I didn't try to push myself because it was 90 degrees ! I didn't get a 3rd workout in as it was just too hot. I logged 48 minutes, 2.1 miles and 299 calories. It was too hot for the Total Gym too. I'm ok with the exercise effort today because I spent a lot of time doing other things, like getting the air conditioner in the window in my bedroom. I swear that thing got heavier ! I like the heat but when it's over 90 it just saps my energy.

I have so many bags of plus size clothes to donate ! I need to load them in my car and take care of that soon. There are several places close by that accept used clothing so I have no excuses ! Tomorrow I'm going to venture out to Walmart and the post office. I may also go to Lowe's to look at shades for my porch windows. I'm considering shades or blinds as opposed to curtains.

Time to turn on the air conditioner, grab a shower and then head for bed ! Thoroughly enjoyed my day and very glad I decided to take my vacation !