This past week was an insane week in every way. The craziness started on Tuesday morning when I was picked up at work at around 10:30am to catch a Virgin America flight to LA. I got dropped off at a terminal I've never been to which is rare as I've flown all over the world from JFK. It was really quite strange and a little deserted. What was even stranger was there was no curbside check in and I couldn't even find the Virgin counter to check in. There were just rows of closed counters for airlines I've never heard of. My destination ended up being around a corner so I was finally able to get my boarding pass.

I then proceeded down some stairs to some kind of shopping mall but no security line. I aimlessly wandered for a bit inhaled a piece of pizza as I was getting aggravated. Always a bad idea in any situation. With a little investigating you can always find a nice salad. I then proceeded to walk for a while to attempt to find the security line for wherever the gates were as this seemed to be a big mystery consisting of construction and long empty corridors. Finally, voila I had arrived at the empty security line.

I made it through and stopped for an iced Peet's coffee with plenty of skim milk. I've read a lot of research about the relationship between adequate amounts of calcium and weight-loss. I try to include some in my diet whenever possible.

As I boarded the plane the interior was accented with purple lights and there were pink headphones aligned perfectly in front of the seats in my row. I noticed a computer screen which I began to explore. You could order drinks and snacks to be delivered right to your seat as well as foreign films, chat and games. The five hour flight went by pretty quickly. I had some cheese and fruit with a glass of wine to pass the time.

When I arrived in LA I was met by a driver who said we were going to a hotel in Hollywood but that wasn't my intended destination. Stay tuned next week for my LA adventure.

I've read a lot of magazine articles recently that say you can get a decent calorie burn from chores around the house. I decided to test that theory out today.  I cleaned my kitchen for about four hours.  I put some tunes on and got ready.  I emptied all the cabinets and fridge.  I vacuumed out all the cabinets, scrubbed them down and cleaned all the items before putting them back. I followed the same process with the refrigerator. I also threw some old stuff out. I kept the garbage bag on the floor on purpose so that I had to use those core muscles each time I threw an item out. 

Later in the day I went for a walk into town. I was definitely tired and my muscles were even a little sore.  I would say it worked.   I don't think it can replace navy seals or anything to that extent but it is a great feeling to know I got a lot accomplished in my apartment and burned some calories at the same time. 

I fasted this past weekend for Yom Kippur and then proceeded to eat a ton on Saturday night. The next day I did about an hour of cardio at the gym. Did this make up for the extra 1000 calories I consumed?  

I had made a mental note of what I had eaten.  Of course I don't normally just eat with no regard for the calorie count.  As I started to record what I inhaled I realized that it didn't matter that I hadn't eaten in 24 hours. One bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon was 14 points. So one item was more than I normally eat in two meals.  I definitely ate more than one item too!  Pretty disturbing. What would I do. 

On Sunday I did the only thing I knew. I went to the gym and tried to work some of it off.  Maybe I burned off a quarter of it. That is the thing. You can eat something that is so fattening and it is literally impossible to burn it off in one gym session.  I think that is why it is so important not to eat it in the first place. Also one eat crap it is that much harder to get back on track and stop eating crap. I am definitely waiting a few days to weigh myself. 

L'shana tova to those that celebrated the Jewish New Year last week.

As it's the new year it seems like the perfect time to focus on some recent observations I've made since I've lost my first 38 pounds. If I count down from my heaviest and not just since I've started this blog I've lost a total of 68 pounds. Now that is a lot of weight to lose so there are some differences in my every day life.

During my travels the last few weeks I stayed in three different hotels with three different types of towels and bathrobes. This is very embarrassing but at my heaviest no standard towel or one size fits all bathrobe would fit me. I am happy to report that now they all do with extra room.

Then there were the airplane seats, seat belts and even movie theater seats. I used to be so uncomfortable never getting into quite a good position. The seat belt on the airplane not digging in but it certainly was never loose where I could fit two of me in it like I can now :)

There is also the walking. I could never really walk around. After about 30 minutes my legs and my back would always start to ache. I successfully walked miles and miles all over Chicago and San Francisco without any pain. I realized how much I love to walk. No more taxis for this girl!

It is the little things in life that bring happiness and contentment. I still have a long way to go but in the interim I am just so comfy in my new body.

This past week was a very difficult week for me emotionally and with my diet. Aren't those two items always linked for us one way or the other? I literally flew all over the country the last few days. New York to Chicago on Monday. Chicago to New York Thursday night not getting home until 1am because of flight delays and then New York to San Francisco yesterday morning.

I enjoy traveling to a certain extent but I can honestly say I would have been happier at home going to spin class and navy seals. All these trips played havoc on my hunger, stress levels and time for the gym. I was able to get three workouts in but they were only maybe 40 minutes of cardio each and some abs. Nothing compared to what I normally do in a week. I also consumed many more calories this week so no weight loss but I managed to maintain which is van actual miracle.

In San Francisco there is a Crunch Fitness close by the hotel so just maybe I can get a free week pass and get some spin classes in. There are also some great organic restaurants to try. The issue will be not to overindulge which is still tough for me. I have learned however if I mess up at one meal the whole day doesn't have to be a wash. I can do an extra workout and eat healthy the rest of the day.

My saga of weight loss continues another week. Some weeks like this past one are much harder to get through. Experience and learning about being healthy now will only make the rest of my life that much richer in the future.

38 pounds loss this week. I tried something new this week which was a three day juice cleanse. I had gotten a tad off track with my travels consuming just a bit too much alcohol and sugar. I thought this would be the perfect plan to get me back on track and feeling extra healthy. Little did I know how hard it would be.

My friends sent me the instructions and warned me to eat healthy the day before I started. To prepare for the juice cleanse you are supposed to only eat fruit and vegetables the day before. I don't think any of us adhered to that goal unfortunately. Maybe it would have been easier. For day one I was at work. I started my day with a large iced green tea and water with lemon. I thought this would keep my tummy semi full as my normal coffee with skim milk actually does. I was wrong but still ok. I drank my juices every two hours. I had a slight headache the whole day and was hungry. It was kind of like Yom Kippur but for three days. I didn't know how I was going to sleep being starving but your last juice of the day is a cashew with cinnamon drink and it is actually filling. The spices seem to relax you. I slept well and woke up feeling great.

Day two was easier but by Saturday afternoon I was starving again and my juices kept me less and less full. The headache from the day before continued. I tried to go about my day but the only thing that distracted me from the hunger was playing angry birds on my iPad. I spent a lot of this weekend playing angry birds and catching up on my dvr shows to try not to think about the cleanse.

Day three is ending as I write this. I have my cashew cinnamon drink to consume and I am done :). Would I do this again? Yes but for one day or two days max. Three was a bit much. We did the Blueprint Cleanse which I've been told is the best. The juice is light and blended well so you can drink it with a straw. Aside from my headache and feeling very hungry I feel good. My skin looks and feels great, I'm not bloated and I'm glad that I did it. I'll let you know next week how I fare for my first meal after the cleanse. It will be at the airport so we'll see how I do!

I am 35 pounds down. The biggest change in myself that I've noticed is how I've learned to deal with my emotions. Instead of letting myself feel my emotions in the past I would stuff them away by stuffing myself with food.  

 A recurring example of this was when I would have a bad day at work. When that occurred I would take a trip to Taco Bell which isn't necessarily a problem in itself. You see if I just grabbed a taco no big deal.  Aside from the fact it is junk food and has lots of chemicals one taco isn't the end of the world.  Would I eat just one taco? Of course not :(

My experience at Taco Bell would be one of total disregard for normal portion sizes. I would eat a days worth of calories in one sitting.  I felt disgusting and stuffed each time I did this but I guess I got exactly what I was looking for-to feel stuffed!  Did it solve the days problems? Not at all. It was a way to just not deal with things and ignore them. 

Now if I have a bad day, I have a bad day. I go to the gym or relax with a great book. Most importantly I let myself get upset and then move on. I don't use food as a substitute for feeling my emotions. Not anymore and never again.