I met my goal of adding 3 days of strength training to my week. I did a kettlebell DVD 1 day and did 3 sets of 12 squats, lunges and crunches for the other 2 days. I did 6 zumba classes and my z fit group training class also.

I did okay on adding more water to my day. I drank about 8 to 9 glasses a day.

This week, I want to continue on increasing my water intake. I also want to see about switching up my diet. I want to see what happens when I add more fruit to my diet as a substitue to the 2 yogurts I eat a day. I think dropping to 1 yogurt a day may help me drop more weight.

Jenny

I made it to the gym 6 days this week, ended with about 60+ minutes of cardio and I just added some strength training to the work out so that is about another 25 minutes. So at this point I am happy with how things are going. I have never had a problem with drinking water, I just think I may have to cut back on some. I have a 32 oz. bottle that I fill and empty any where from 4-6 times a day. Usually at least 6 times when I work a full shift at work then off to the gym after that. I have discovered the Berry/Pomegranate flavor of MiO which is delicious! and there are no calories, carbs or sugar in MiO to worry about!

Ug, the last two weeks have prevented me checking in. Sorry guys!

Today I'm starting my Jenny Craig diet. I'm surprised by it, and interested to see how it will work out. It's reducing my daily calories to 1,200. I don't know how to change it in my profile here.

I'm also going to try to go to the park down the street from me and walk a few afternoons this week while the weather is still nice.

Last week was rough because of the challenges of the RT convention. I started off with great intentions and a firm decision to stick with the healthy eating, drinking water and exercise. Then things started to go wrong.

The first problem I ran into was not sleeping on the train on the way up. At all. And the train left Memphis at 11 pm on Tue. and got in at 9 am on Wed. The dining car was open for breakfast but the seats were all full and they couldn't seat and serve me in time so I had to wait to eat. I got a hot cocoa in the snack bar. No healthy eating choices there. By the time I got a taxi to the hotel and checked in, it was already 10:30. I opted for a hot shower and room service breakfast which was more like brunch. Egg whites omelette, hash browns, orange juice and breakfast rolls. Then went to bed. Had to wake before 5:00 so I could go register and start attending events. Wasn't hungry for dinner and really just wanted to sleep, but had to keep pressing on.

That was pretty much the story of my week. Not enough sleep and pressing on. Water was an issue. It was hard to find. I'd go into one of the conference rooms and scan the room for water. It would be hidden off in a corner. You really had to hunt for it. The hotel had no other restaurants within walking distance so unless you took a cab or walked across the street to another conference hotel there were no other food options. The food was very salty. (I don't cook with salt,) My ankles started swelling and I kept having to go up to the room and elevate them. Couple of nights it hurt to walk. There was no pool to exercise in which was what I needed with the ankles. They had a small gym with machines but that really wasn't an option for me. My left ankle hurt when I walked. I did some yoga in my room but mostly kept the ankles up. Hotel air was drying everyone out and making our skin dry. That had to be contributing to dehydration. People were getting sick and losing their voices so I made sure to have a big glass of orange juice every morning and wash my hands often. One night I nearly lost my voice too, but there was a Starbucks in the hotel so you could get some soothing tea.

I lost track of what I was eating when and didn't keep up with logging anything in. I was doing well just to get the events I was required to be at and to find some sort of food at least two times a day. It felt like we did a lot of walking the way the hotel was spread out but I don't know how to measure that and lost track of it too. Frankly the whole week was challenging on a lot of levels.

This week I am still dealing with the aftermath of last week. Came home on the train Sunday night and again didn't sleep at all 9 pm to 6:30 am Monday am. Yesterday I spent much of the day sleeping.

So this week my goals are simple. Get caught up on sleep. Plenty of naps and going to bed for a long nights sleep every night. Drinking water. Getting in the the gym for the water exercise classes today Wed, Thur and Sat. Stretching.

I gained two lbs in Chicago so I'd like to take that RT weight back off and then some. But one thing at a time.

Debra - this sounds exactly like my challenges when I travelled to DE a few weeks ago. I guess 2 lbs are the travel lb conversion. It sounds like you made the best of a very difficult situation. I never realized how difficult it was just to find water to drink when you are travelling. You would think, of all things, that it would be the easiest to find. But no, apparently we're living in some sort of Dune where water is scarce and precious. It also becomes quickly apparent that for a nation so focused on obesity and getting healthier that every where we end up having to travel is a health horror! Everything is so salty you can't eat it, or it's so sugary you can't eat it, or it's processed and you shouldn't eat it, or you don't know what they put in it and don't want to eat it! I am surprised we can eat out at all without gaining 10 lbs every time. It's insane and so frustrating when you are doing everything you can to be a healthier you and these types of challenges just keep getting thrown at you. Those 2 lbs should come off quickly and then you'll be back in the zone again. Hope you can get some rest and catch up on the missed sleep.

Serena - Congrats! Good luck on cutting the caffeine and bread. I know that can be pretty hard and admire you for taking that step. I love your idea of pacing at your desk. I'm going to try that this week. My job is pretty sedentary too, and for the past few weeks it seems like I am on back to back calls from the time I sign on until I sign off. I'm going to try pacing or walking since I have a cordless headset while I'm listening to calls and see if that helps. Good luck with the workouts!

My goal is to get back on treadmill on regular basis. I want to go upstairs when I go to bathroom instead of the one next o kitchen. I am trying to park in the back of lots instead of handicapped spots. I think I'll also try setting a timer to remember to eat.

I was a slug on the weekend and didn't get in my extra exercise sessions. I am blaming the yucky weather but in reality I was just lazy. Have had some outside issues this past week and it has affected my thinking in a bad way. I know I will snap out of the funk soon. Things just have to run their course. So no I did not meet my goal from last week.

My goal for this week is to try and stay away from sugar as much as possible. If the exercise goals don't work out work more on the diet right? That's what I am thinking. So less sugar is my overall goal this week...so far so good.

I am staying pretty close to my calorie goals. have went over a few times but each time it is less than 200 calories and most times less than 100. If I could just get in the exercise mind set then an extra 10 to 20 minutes would take care of it in most cases.

This journey is a series of ups and downs and for the most part I have come to accept that so all will be on the bright side again soon.

I didn't do well last week with my cardio. I think I am doing well with my diet and strength exercises but have been having a hard time getting myself motivated to do my cardio. So that will remain my goal this week. I am hoping to kick my butt into shape.