I have to say, it’s been a pretty damned good week! Busy, as usual, but really, really good! Even after a “gain” over the weekend, I’m still down another pound overall this week, which makes me HAPPY!  My body is feel MUCH better!

Wanna hear something funny?  I WANT TO RUN! If you’ve been following me for a while then that statement should make you laugh, because you know good and well how much I HATE running. But, lately it’s all I’ve wanted to do. I’m sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I’ve told myself “absolutely no running until September!” Nothing at all. Nope. I NEVER want to do things that I’m told I can’t do! Ha!

Brett will tell you, that is so far from the truth. The second someone tells me “no” (even if it’s myself) I’m all like…it’s the ONLY THING I WANT! Whether it’s taking on a challenge, traveling to far away places, eating a brownie or (apparently) running. It’s all I can think about. So ridiculous. Minds are so weird– and very, very powerful little suckers! 

I WILL NOT RUN! Because for the first time in a LONG time, my hips are finally feeling better! (Thank you Melinda Stewart at Greenheart Wellness!)

You know what I have been doing though? Walking! You know what I hate more than running?  WALKING! But, I keep telling myself that if I want to run, I have to walk first. So I am. I have been putting in my ear phones, turning on my audio book– currently listening to “The House We Grew Up In” (that title bugs me because it ends in a preposition– fine when I do it, but not okay on a book cover! yes, double standards! *raspberries!*) and then I hook up Coop to his leash and we walk a mile loop. He loves it and I find it bearable.

Actually, it’s really not that bad. In fact, I almost enjoy it! WHAT?!?

This weekend we went up to the mountains to visit some friends and went on a beautiful hike. Coop came with us and seemed to love it! I was the one holding the leash which required a lot of upper body strength, sure-footing and even more stamina! (one more reason to be grateful for my strong capable body!) There were a LOT of people (and dogs) on the trail! Coop is not used to so many distractions. I got an extremely good workout and so did he!

Actually, he did really well and I’m looking forward to more hikes with him in the near future!

This is where we hiked, Crabtree Falls. Isn’t it beautiful? It was a mile in and a mile out. Downhill all the way to the falls…uphill ALL. THE. WAY. BACK!

We tried to do a family picture which just ended up being comical…

But this one was my favorite. I can’t look at it without laughing.

You many already know that Brett and I have struggled with finding common ground when it comes to our differing lifestyles, but after this hike he said he was inspired to do more. He says he wants to backpack Bryce Canyon next spring. Of course I was like, “hell yeah! Let’s do it!”

The coach in me (which tries REALLY HARD not to be a nagging wife) went on to say, “I don’t just want to talk about wanting to do it. I want to actually DO it.” Then I went on to say (because I can’t keep my mouth shut…and also because I know I’m right) “There’s a difference between wanting something and actually doing something. If this is something you want to do, then let’s actually DO it. Let’s plan and train and make it happen.”

Of course he was slightly annoyed with me (lectures!) but he agreed. I asked him how he was going to train and he said he would do Daily Burn every night (to which I said, “that’s unrealistic, so let’s commit to 3-4 nights per week”) and that we would go on weekend hikes whenever possible.

Dude, I’m totally down! So…that’s the plan.

Now, we’ve made plans like this before…lots of them, which have never actually happened, so I would be lying if I said I wasn’t cautiously optimistic.  But things like this: lifestyle changes, weight loss, physical fitness goals, etc., can’t happen unless you believe they are possible. I KNOW it’s possible, I just have to hope that he believes it too…and follows through. I love him so much and want to see him happy, comfortable in his body, DOING the things he says he WANTS to do. I’m not sure what else to say about it. Fingers crossed.

That got deeper than I had planned.

So ANYWAY…

Because we were gone all weekend I didn’t get to the grocery store like I usually do, which meant we had to go after work on Monday night. We didn’t finish until after 8pm and we were both starving! Hence the Wendy’s drive thru!  You may or may not know that I LOVE fast food– mostly Taco Bell. But because it was a weeknight and because we were hitting up the drive thru as a convenience and not as part of a splurge, I followed my rule of ordering something that I’d make at home and ordered the BBQ Chicken Salad. It was delicious!  (I actually have a recipe for this in the COMING SOON cookbook!)

Because I’ve been so ridiculously busy lately, many of my meals have actually looked more like this…

SUPER simple! Protein (ham and cheese), fat (cheese), carbs (apple). Perfection! Well, I’mperfection! Good enough for me. Good enough for now!

Oh my gosh, I almost forgot!

The scale!

After a weekend away, the one where we hiked and hung out with friends, I came home up FIVE pounds. This was mostly water weight, but it also included several extra calories found mostly in beer and Doritos. (I <3 Doritos) Which is why it was muy importante that I come home and get right back at it– plants, protein, fat, starch. AKA, salads, meat, fruit, and cheese, mostly.

Here’s how the complete update looks…

See that Monday morning gain?  Followed by a four-day-later loss?  That actually puts me one pound less than last week and over 10 pounds down in one month. Hooray! 

It’s the trend that matters!

***

My flight is booked for my trip to LA to work on the film, “The Drama Club” and I will be scheduling a meet-up soon!  So if you live in the Los Angeles area, let’s get together! 

I think that’s all for now. More to come, soon!

<3 Andrea