Day 534: Love Yourself

"Love yourself... enough to take actions

 required for your happiness... enough to

 cut yourself loose from the drama-filled

 past... enough to set a high standard for

 relationships... enough to feed your

 mind and body in a healthy manner...

 enough to forgive yourself... enough to

 move on." 

It's Day 534 of Nutrisystem. This quote sums up what the past 534 days have been all about. December 25, 2018 was my day of reckoning. That was the day I saw just how out of control my weight had become. Life might have gotten better but food was still my unhealthy source of pleasure. Over time I've realized I hadn't fully cast off the past 20+ years of turmoil, so signing up for Nutrisystem on December 29, 2018 was the first real step I took towards wellness. I knew I needed to let go of the past completely and rebuild my life with healthy eating habits and a fitness regimen. I also needed to improve my financial status and develop healthy spending habits. It was a lot to commit to and for me it was a step out into the unknown. I knew nothing about healthy eating. I knew nothing about fitness. I also had a deep financial hole to climb out of. I still have a lot to learn about healthy eating because I still rely on the structured regimen of the Nutrisystem program. Thanks to iFit and the Total Gym I have access to endless and varied workouts, so I feel like the fitness part of the journey is in a good place. Getting out of the financial hole has taken time but has progressed faster than I expected. I expect to be free of credit card debt by the end of the year. It's a little unnerving to think I will be at my goal weight, physically fit and out of debt by December 31, 2020. As a result, I'm already trying to come up with some new goals for 2021 ! Financially, I could accelerate payments on my car or mortgage. Maintaining my weight will definitely be a lifelong goal and there will probably always be a pound or two I want to lose. I think you can always be more physically fit, so there will be work to be done there too. I've never been a goal oriented person but I'm seeing the benefits of having them.

Breakfast was a 2 ounce 180 calorie cinnamon roll and a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit strawberry cheesecake yogurt. After that I was out for the day and eating off program. My morning snack/lunch/afternoon snack/dinner was a plain donut, a bacon cheeseburger and french fries. I also had a margarita ! Before bed I had my evening snack, which was a 2.2 ounce 140 calorie lemon zest cake. I can only guesstimate my calories so we'll leave it 1200+. I got 48 ounces of water in and I'll get the remaining 16 in before I go to bed !

Today was the third quest for a bridal gown and she found "the one". Yep, she said YES to the dress ! It's a done deal and the gown is gorgeous ! You know it's the one when the bride's face just lights up as she spins around on the pedestal. It was a beautiful moment, one that I never had, so I was glad to be a part of the process. After I dropped off the bride I headed over to my mom's and yes, we ended up going to Turning Stone casino. Even though I said no casino this weekend ! What the heck - it was a beautiful day, I was all dressed up and I wanted someplace to go ! It was all good - I only spent $20 !! $5 went to the server at Emerald's, $5 went to the valet and I lost $10 on the slots ! I really didn't lose anything because I had a free dinner thanks to mom's casino credits. My dinner would have cost me over $20. Mom had a good day and brought a few extra dollars home so we both really enjoyed ourselves.

I got up early enough to get a workout in before heading out for the day. It was a 31 minute hike in Lake Tahoe. Speed ranged from 2.5 to 3.2 mph and there was plenty of incline. I got home just after 8:30 and as much as I didn't want to, I forced myself onto the treadmill. I completed a 31 minute hike in the Grand Canyon. This was the last descent so there was no incline, which was perfect. The pace was 2.6 mph for the first 20 minutes and 2.8 mph for the last 11. I logged 62 minutes, 2.8 miles and 367 calories. I did not use the Total Gym so we'll call today my day off for the week. Fitbit says I did nearly 14,000 steps so it was a good day ! Since I didn't get my 3rd workout in today it will roll over into tomorrow. I'm going to dig deep and try to get 4 workouts in plus a Total Gym session. Three of the treadmill workouts are 27 minutes or less and the fourth one is only 34 minutes. That's a commitment of about 115 minutes .. 139 with the 3 minute warm ups and cool downs .. 179 if you count the Total Gym. I don't have anything planned for tomorrow other than a quick grocery run but it's going to be near 90 so the heat is a concern. I will start the day with a workout, breakfast and then groceries. After that .. who knows !

On that note I need to get to bed, so it's time for a shower !