Day 511: Coming Back To Center

"You got a little crazy and distracted for

 a while. That's ok. Now come back to

 center. Re-align with your best self.

 Every day is a second chance."

 ~Brendon Burchard~

It's Day 511 of Nutrisystem and Day 4 of my vacation. The last couple of days I've slept in and slacked off on my exercise so today was the day to put the train back on the tracks and get back to business. All was not lost as I have worked out every day, just not as much as I'd have liked. I could offer 100 reasons why and they all fall into one category: excuses. Bottom line is I got up with purpose today and that purpose was getting back to center. I re-aligned with my goals. Reminded myself where all those excuses got me in the past. Reminded myself the journey is not over. Reminded myself there is still the matter of those last 20 pounds. Reminded myself that failure is not an option. Reminded myself that history will not repeat itself. Too often in the past I would get tantalizingly close to a goal and then give up or perhaps get too confident and end up failing. I feel like I'm wobbling on the edge of that now so it's important to refocus and get my eye back on the prize: that 150 pound bear and that "goal" bear from Nutrisystem ! So I also reminded myself that after losing 134 pounds another 20 should be a breeze. Notice I said "should" be. It won't be a breeze, it's going to take the same amount of hard work (if not more) that the first 134 pounds took. So there's another reminder to self.

Breakfast was a 2.1 ounce 160 calorie cherry cheese roll with hazelnut coffee and a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit tiramisu yogurt. Last one of this flavor .😕 The only flavors I'm finding in Walmart right now (that I like) are the toasted coconut vanilla & strawberry cheesecake. Finding variety has always been a problem at the Walmart in Central Square. Morning snack was a 155 calorie chocolate shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 4 ounce 230 calorie spinach & cheese pretzel melt with a chef salad. Dressing added 30 calories. I didn't get around to my afternoon snack since I had lunch so late. Dinner was a 4 ounce 180 calorie artichoke & spinach stuffed chicken breast with steamed brussel sprouts. Evening snack was a 2.2 ounce 140 calorie lemon zest cake. Total calories for the day are 985 and I got 64 ounces of water in.

As I mentioned earlier, I've been slacking off in the exercise department the last few days. Today was on track to be another lost day since I did not get to sleep until after 5 am ! I forced myself to get up just after 9 am and I'm glad I did because FedEx was here at 9:30 with my Nutrisystem order. After breakfast I got to work cramming those 120 items into my freezer ! Nutrisystem had a 50% off sale for Memorial Day and I was able to get 30 days worth of food for about $70 less than I usually pay for 24 days worth ! I didn't expect to receive my order so soon so I had to scramble to figure out how to fit it all in the freezer. Once that task was done it was time for the treadmill ! I completed a 23 minute walk in New Zealand with iFit guide Jed Brophy. The pace ranged from 2.2 to 3 mph and I let the machine control that as there was a lot of steep inclines. By noon I was sitting on the front porch with that second cup of coffee. Today I earned it and that felt good ! I got my second workout in before lunch and it was another walk in New Zealand with Jed. This 23 minute walk had no incline over 3% and the pace ranged from 2.8 to 3 mph, so I just set it to 3% incline and 3 mph for the duration. After slacking for a couple of days I figured I could put in a little extra effort ! After my workout I sat out on the front porch to enjoy my lunch. We had a very brief rain shower and once that passed the sun came out and it got humid for about 5 minutes. Then the dark clouds came back. I can't really complain about the weather I've had this week. We didn't get more than a light shower today and the skies cleared again around 6 pm. Before dinner I got in the 3rd workout of the day and it was a quick one. It was an 11 minute hike up Baldwin Street in Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand with Graham McTavish. It is recognized as the world's steepest road by Guinness ! Since it was a short hike I set the pace at 3 mph for 10 of the 11 minutes. I reduced it to 2.8 mph when the incline hit 10%. I logged 57 minutes, 2.7 miles and 369 calories. I had my dinner out on the front porch and once it settled I hit the Total Gym to make it a complete day. It felt so good to run through that 40 minute workout ! I sat down on the couch with my evening snack and a cup of coffee at 8 pm, satisfied but glad to be "done" for the day ! 

I didn't make any calls to a landscaper today because I decided times are just too uncertain and the money I would spend for that really should be directed toward other things right now. I think struggling with that decision is part of the reason I couldn't sleep last night. So I'm going to stick with my original plan to do a little DIY gardening and spruce up the front porch. I'll see what things look like next year and maybe have a professional do something then. I spent the evening browsing online and found a couple of chairs and some indoor outdoor carpet that I like. I'm also looking at bamboo blinds but I need to remeasure the windows and then see if I can find an affordable option. I found some I love but of course they are expensive !

Tomorrow is my last official day of vacation ! Planning to spend some time with my mom and get a nice fish dinner "to go". On that note I'm heading for a shower and bed .. hopefully I will get to sleep before 5 am tonight !