Nan's Post: "The Power of 10"

Hey... 

Got lost in the blogging arena... 

It's been a hectic week so far, but thankfully my long-time friend Hallie and her son, Adam, came for the weekend and are avid and strong hikers. They invited Michael and I and the dogs to hike up Aspen Mountain on Sunday morning. What a way to start the Power of 10! 

It took 2 hours and we gained over 3k in elevation. It was rough because we took this steep incline called Spar Gulch which is the intermediate trail that skiers race during competition. The dogs were tired and thirsty; tongues were very long. Our trooper Smokey had a cool Ruffwear backpack on carrying our water and treats and powered up to the top. Mei Li would make sprints and found occasional rest stops in the grassy areas. We reached the top, saw lots of people up there for family fun (they took the gondola up), stayed a bit, took photos and then rode back down in the gondola. Saved our knees. In sum, we think we lost a couple pounds from that hike... 

All that work for nothin' to lose (literally)... we had dinner at the Viceroy Hotel with some friends, Allyson and Justin, who just welcomed their baby boy a few weeks ago (I got to hold Andrew the day he was born!). It's Restaurant Week in Snowmass this week, so this didn't help our efforts earlier that day. We got a prixe-fix 4-course meal for $39 pp that we couldn't pass up! It was like the "Power of 10 courses!"  I know, we were not good, but the dinner invitation came first ;)  In sum, it's about moderation... you've gotta mix it up a bit, but get back on track if you mess up for the following days ;)

Michael loves competition so he's been better than I at this weight loss competition... He's going to prove a point after me getting on his case this past couple of months about him eating too much carbs, sugar and meat. I hope he wins! Since our last Wii weigh in last year, he has gained several pounds, but he believes he could lose it all and be at a healthier weight. I weighed in a few pounds less than my last Wii weigh in.. Whew!! However, I was evaluated as a 64 year old because my balance was poor, and I didn't get the rules for one squat task... yeah, thanks to the dogs leaning on my board! In sum, don't always believe the Wii analysis report.

I'm going to shoot to lose 5 lbs. and tone up more. I haven't done yoga in so long.. I've ridden my bike once and played tennis twice this summer... however, I hike almost every day. I'd rather work out than deprive myself of good foods ;)  I do best with routine, but get tired of the same things... so I have to make sure to do an activity once a day. I actually don't pig out on dessert or snack much. I may get the craving for salt and vinegar potato chips or chocolate. I try to eat and buy healthy, although we like our margaritas once in a while (I can only have one drink or I am sluggish in the morning). But really, the fact is that I am walking the dogs a lot more on a daily basis than Michael, now that he works during the day. He used to have that role and that's when he lost some pounds. In sum, dogs are great weight loss companions!

I'll report for Michael... He went river rafting with his colleagues on Monday, so he had fun working out his upper body while paddling and getting soaked as the front paddler. He knew they would make him be in the front... the biggest one blocks the waves! I was jealous. Yesterday, he rode his bike to and from work, so a fun quick 5 minute downhill and an invigorating 15 minute uphill. Michael thinks he's halfway there to his goal, but he really should lose 20 pounds (the doctor said he should be at 200, but that's not healthy for him). He is in great spirits and I see more smiles than his Eyore-like demeanor (we joke about that... "Cheer up, Eyore!"). 

Today, I put on my yoga wear just to motivate me, although I did no downward dogs yet. I took the dogs to the Vet and they have digestive and skin problems and have to put them on meds. I'm heading out to a hike with them now and then will chow down... Oh, I mean, Ciao!!

Wii Love U, 

Nan