A Day of Challenges

Today I took my walk...and took it up a notch to challenge myself.  It's all about the inclines you know.  We live across the street from a large condo complex...done more tastefully than most...that has hundreds of units and dozens of buildings in a criss-crossing maze of streets.  The advantage of this is they also have a park and recreation area with bocci court, tennis court, basketball, and playground that they eventually gifted to the town park system and it is directly across from our house.  I love watching the neighborhood kids out having fun on the courts, and the senior gentleman who come every day to play bocci and, if I'm outside, flirt with me.  The property as a whole rambles up and down these hills and typically my path doesn't take me on these inclines but along a flat road pattern and over to the gravel walking track (another benefit of the complex proximity).  Today, if I saw an incline...I took it...and when I arrived at the gravel track I promised I wouldn't depart it until I had spent 30 solid minutes circling.  Then on the way back...while I seriously considered my usual path home...I took the inclines again.  Feel the burn.

This helped to offset our later indulgence....Sunday dinner out with Carl's parents.  We went to one of our favorite local  restaurants.  This was another challenge...eating out and not at a chain restaurant with menu items (Thank you Applebees) aligned with WW.  I had already been burned once last week when I miscalculated my points and realized I should have doubled my count for a Panera meal. Today, Hubby and I shared an appetizer of mozzarella, tomoatoes, onion and balsamic vinegar (otherwise known as Caprese Salad)...yum.... and by splitting it we helped to manage our portion. Then we each got a house salad with vinagrette, and a fish entree. I'm quite full...but craving a sweet before bed...so planning on a WW dessert in a short while.

Tomorrow I had back to Denver for the week and am happy to see very positive weather forecasts for the area. This will be my first week-long business travel while working the program.  I'm packing my walking shoes and comfortable walking clothes...a new addition to my usual packing list and looking forward to early morning walks with views of the mountains beyond.  I'm also packing some food...just a few things to be sure when I need a snack I don't head for the candy machine.  I have a few lunch and dinners out with colleagues, so the challenge will be staying on track and understanding points when dealing with restaurannt prepared foods.

I promise...more myself than anyone else...that this is not going to become a weight loss only blog.  But it is a bit all consuming right now as we try and learn our new lifestyle.  So for my next challenge....discover and discuss something beyond diet and exercise!