Saturday, July 2

ACK! Where are all the early morning peeps???? It's weird being the first one to post. Such a novelty...

I am basically the same as yesterday (up .2 - negligible). Had a fantastic workout with my trainer, Mauricio. He had me doing an entire workout of next level exercises. I felt strong being able to accomplish what he set out for me. Sure it was not easy, but I did it and didn't have to stop for "breathers". My pulse was delightfully high at 160 when we finished. But within 2 or 3 minutes it was back down to 130. I followed up the workout with a 2.5 mile interval training on the elliptical.

Ron is really quite upset about his weight gain. I think there is a part of him that would like to blame me. I say this only because yesterday he spent a lot of time focusing on what I was eating. Things like, "You hardly ate anything." & "I wish you wouldn't buy ice cream." (which I did the other day for my "sugar experiment". It was a purposeful purchase. Other than cookies ice cream is my go to addictive food stuff, so it was the perfect poison.) and the best, "We ate like pigs." Well, I can't eat like a pig. My restriction is pretty darn good for 4+ years out. So I think there's a little projecting going on.

Last night at dinner I did let him and my friend Kevin know my plan to get through the weekend and the 4^th and then commit to sugar free living for an indefinite period of time (at two week intervals, of course). After having sat with that decision for a day, my inner kid seems to be okay with the plan. Oh, one of the reasons I hate pancakes is that eating them sets me up for a day of sugar consumption. The refined flour combined with the syrup is like heroin for me, I think. So, I went and bought some sugar free breakfast syrup to take with me to the pancake breakfast on Monday. I'm hoping that will be the answer. I don't usually react strongly to refined flour foods. There has to be a lot of sugar in the food to cause a reaction. (Yes, I can eat a piece of bread and it does NOTHING to me. Crackers, chips, etc... I can eat a few and be done.)

Thanks for the support and encouragement regarding this sugar thing I have going on. Being able to write about my thoughts and how I deal with it is helpful to me. It's nice to know that others find learning about my sugar life informative and helpful.

I have a client at 10:00 and then a bike ride planned. My "to do" list activity is to start tackling the office which is a clerical mess at the moment.

Wishing us all a satisfying Saturday.

And I'm second in. Where are the early birds?  I'm back up to 112. Lots of calories but certainly not all healthy ones. Lots of sweets yesterday! 

Things are starting to settle down for us so we're no longer wondering if we made a huge mistake in starting this crazy venture. Today we finally truly ride so hopefully that should swing us back over to the positive side of things.  And we found a decent wifi connection close to our site so feeling like we're closer to being connected to the world around us.  Sorry but we will never be off grid people!

A little Canada Day kids parade here in the campground and a celebratory lunch in the picnic shelter. Then we will be on our way! 

It is odd that you are the first to post today. 

No ides what my weight is but I'm guessing more then 130. Too many calories yesterday with the dinner and magic show. I felt uncomfortably full for the first time in a long time. I ate a dinner roll which I never do, a small dinner salad and then tasted the entrees (shrimp stir fry, ckicken, beef and fried salmon). Ended with a small piece of pineapple cheesecake and decaf coffee. 

Going to drive up the coast today for some more sight seeing and then not sure what else. Will grill out steaks for dinner tonight. 

Fruit has been bountiful. Had a combo of pineapple, papaya and mango with my Quest bar this morning. Yum!

Better be off to get ready for the day! 

It sounds like fun.  Are all your boys with you?

Just dh and it is heaven!

Hi all

Everyone is busy having fun. Good deal. Got up early this morning to go to our local dog show which is at fairgrounds about 45 min away. Its a nice little show and being near the ocean its always cool.  My border terrier breeder had several of hers entered but didn't do so well. Go figure. 

Brought home a nice new raccoon toy for Tesla and she is enthralled with it. Hope it lasts. The big dog likes it too. 

We went out to lunch after the show and I got a grilled chicken sandwich and brought half home. We hardly ever go to restaurants any more. It was nice. 

Well thats about it. House work beckons but I am ignoring it.   Diane S

Lost Coast KC at the Humbolt Co. Fairgrounds???? 

Yep, humboldt county fairgrounds indeed in Ferndale.   I think there was only one airedale entered.    diane s

HELLLLOOOOO (I am especially loud since I am way up north.)

Speaking of that, I am not all that far from the town of North Pole. But, too far, sadly, to justify spending extra hours to run up there to simply document that I was there.

Devon, thanks for sharing your sugar journey.  I think it is likely that we are all working on something and I for one enjoy hearing you walk thru your thought process. For me, I admit I have been grazing.  Just admitting that is difficult. It takes a fair amount of mental effort to reject my disordered rationalizations for small portions of generally VSG friendly  food.  And, it doesn't take all that long before VSG friendly food paves the way for small amounts of various crap foods.  It all adds up to damage. 

Some day, I want to discuss spouses/families/eating more in-depth.

Yesterday, I was on a school bus with comfy seats for 12 hours that went all the way to the end of the park road.  Most of the road was gravel or dirt/mud.  Epic rain during parts of it. You know what I do on 12 hour bus trips? I bet you can guess. Food choices weren't bad, just too much. The tour company provided lunch and a giant bag of snacks but very little of it was VSG friendly so I gave it away. I don't think I was judgemental as I watched other people eat everything the tour company gave + the high carb/calorie foods they brought as well. (Clearly, no one trusted the tour to provide enough food.) But, I marveled. It is no wonder that we have an obesity problem.

This park doesn't allow private vehicles very far into the park so you get around on buses. Another difference from other parks is the decided lack of merchandizing/retail shops. Mostly, I think this is grand although I would have dearly loved the opportunity to buy leashes/collars branded with the Denali Sled team paw of approval.

In other parks, you "stay on the trail." Here, there are several well maintained trails mostly around the park entrance. Otherwise, to hike, you literally ask the bus driver to drop you off along the road and then you plunge into the wilderness. If you hike with someone else, they ask you to not walk in a straight line in the steps of the person in front of you.  Your goal is to NOT develop a trial.

I didn't have the courage to plunge into bear/moose country on my own so a couple of days ago I went on hike lead by a ranger with 6 others. The ranger had never hiked this area personally because there are rules about how often the Rangers can go into any one area.

Within seconds, I had an intimate understanding of "thickets" as I plowed thru them for much of the 5 hour hike. Some were short, some were tall. Thickets are quite hardy and snapped back as soon as I pressed thru. Keep in mind that we were discouraged from walking in a line. Instead, we fanned out, each finding our own path.

When we weren't in thickets, we were on "tussocks" or on tundra. Landscape all around was grandiose and studded with seasonal windflowers.

The tundra in this area is isn't dainty and easily bounced back after being stepped on. It was like walking on bouncy marshmallows with occasional water in-between.

Not a ton of steps for a 5 hour hike but those steps were mostly high steps.

We all yelled "Hey Bear, HELLO MOOSE" to not surprise the locals. You feel silly for about 1 second but the lack of visibility in the thickets instinctively increases one's volume!

As we wound our way back to the road, we had to cross a stream using the outskirts of a beaver dam to keep somewhat above water.

My personal claim to observation-fame was spotting "something" that turned out to be wolf scat.

We came across kill areas where we had opportunity to look at big moose bones/skull/teeth. Things decompose slowly here so it was deceivingly fresh-looking tho the ranger reassured us it wasn't fresh. Still, it was eerie and us newbies were uncomfortable. HEY BEAR!

At the end of the hike, I emerged from the thickets with a lot more confidence than I went in with. 

A few pics below. One is of a caribou. Fascinating caribou fact: they look huge but average weight is 250 lbs. Like all the animals here, they have thick fur so I suppose that contributes to their size. My top weight was pretty close to 1.5 caribou! Gonna try to stay at about 1/2 caribou.

Have a fabulous day! We will be head south today toward the Kenai. Loved, LOVED this park!

Shel

'

Hello my friends!

133.4 today.  Navigated the big family picnic fairly well. Not too much family drama, but I couldn't help but note that my brother now has to be well over 320 pounds and my sisters are both upper overweight/obese. I am the oldest, and my healthy lifestyle clearly makes them uncomfortable. In fact, of the 25 plus people there, four were in a healthy weight range. Interestingly, the four healthy people brought veggies (hors d'oeuvres or salads) of some type, and the rest... not so much.  Grilled burgers for protein, so that was good. That kind of "eating frenzy" environment used to be my comfort zone. Imagine !

Devon... keep working through the sugar conundrum,  thinking out loud with us. It is helping me process, for sure. Fortunately, too much sugar literally makes me sick. Even though that has repeatedly been my experience, getting into the sugar makes me crave more sugar and simple carbs. I guess it would be like an alcoholic knowing they are going to retch and have a massive hangover, but drinking too much anyway. Interestingly, my body has begun craving protein and vegetables when my simple sugar and simple carbs get too high. The sugar in berries and most fruit doesn't trigger me, but dried fruit in the absence of nuts and too much banana can initiate cravings for me. My simple carb issues only happen after the sugar beast is awakened.