Happiness is Making it to the Top

I went camping this weekend with some friends.  We went up to Mt. Baker north of Seattle right next to the beautiful Baker Lake.  On Saturday after breakfast, we headed off for a hike.  I wasn’t sure how far I would go on this hike, originally thinking I would just hike a little way, pick some berries along the way, then turn back to the car.  But there were no berries to be picked, so I continued to hike up the trail.

I made it about a mile and half along a rather rocky trail to a point where a river crossing was required.  Wet rocks and camera gear on my back made me doubt myself at first and I told the others to go on ahead without me.  But after a quick rest, I started to explore up stream a bit and found a rather large tree trunk strung across the river.  Much easier to cross a river on a relatively dry tree trunk than wet rocks.

After crossing that stream, I was then faced with a rather steep set of switchbacks.  At least the trail was now dirt as those rocks are so much harder to hike on.  I was now determined to make it up this trail to this apparently heavenly mountain meadow with a fantastic view of Mt. Baker.  So I climbed and climbed and climbed, eventually getting a second wind about 2/3 up the switchbacks.

But I made it and the view was indeed fantastic.  The trip down was a little easier on the lungs, but harder on my poor knees.  I was quite dirty and sweaty at the end of the day and the campground we stayed in had no showers (the joy!).  But there was always the lake and happiness is also taking a swim with friends in a rather cold, glacier fed lake after a hard days hike.

Thank You Canada!

Thank you so much for your Canadian Broadcasting Company and for broadcasting the Olympics LIVE to us poor folks on the west coast.  Ya see, NBC seems to think we out here in the Pacific time zone are lesser citizens and don’t deserve to watch Michael Phelps achieve history live like the rest of the nation.  We watch the Superbowl and the World Series live, but the Olympics?  We are apparently not worthy.  

But thank goodness I have the CBC on my cable and can watch all the same coverage without having to stay up until 1am.  I was able to watch most of the swimming and gymnastic events on CBC live where everything was completed by 9pm.    

It is interesting to watch Olympic coverage on another countries broadcasting network.  After watching NBC’s highly USA-biased coverage for years and years, I always figured other countries coverage was a bit more even.  That isn’t necessarily true with the CBC as it is heavy on the Canadian action…. as it should be.  But good thing for me that they are just as caught up with Michael Phelps as the rest of the world, so they showed all his swims.  

So thank you Canada and boooooo to NBC.

Finally Someone Noticed

I have been on this diet thing for 8 months and 11 days before someone noticed that I had lost weight.  I was heading down the elevator yesterday when a coworker, who I haven’t mentioned the diet to, asked me if I lost weight and commented that I looked good.   Granted, I still have a lot of pounds more to loose and I am still wearing my large baggy clothes, but it was still a nice confirmation that I am on the right path and the weight loss is starting to get noticeable.

Another lady, who overheard the conversation, asked what my secret was to loosing all the weiht (43 pounds to date).  My response… “Counting calories, working out, and drinking water”.  As she turned to leave I added one more thing to the list… “and the will power to do it.”

It really is that simple.  With all the diet fads out there, weight loss really comes down to eating a well-balanced meal that is less calories than you burn per day.  Working out helps increase the amount of calories you burn and helps increase your overall metabolism and I think we have all read or heard about the numerous benefits of drinking 8-8oz glasses of water a day.   And No, Gatorade G2 is not a valid substitute for water, mom!

The last one, the willpower to do it, is probably the toughest one of the bunch and the one that stops most folks from getting past that 2-4 week stage in their diet attempts.  I have seemingly always been heavy and attempted many, many diets over the years.  I have always headed into those diest wanting to loose weight, but days or maybe weeks later, the motivation is gone and its back to the bad eating and bad health habits.

So, what makes this time different?  i am not sure.  They say, with age comes wisdom and maybe there is some truth to that.  Maybe I am now old and wise enough to really commit to this diet, to go and workout despite not wanting to on some days, and to know that here will be stumbles along the way and that is ok. Maybe it was cause I was turning 40, in the worst shape of my life, feeling bad, and I needed to make a change.  I didn’t want my 40s to turn out like my 30s.  Or maybe there are better tools out there now (nearby pools, calorie counting websites, & friends to hold me accountable) to accomplish this diet. I am not sure if it was one or a combination of all of them, but there was something deep down inside of me that really was ready to make this time different and I must say, I knew it from the start.  I knew that my mindset was different this time around.

I would add one more thing to my list.  Patience.  I know this won’t happen overnight.  I know there will be parties and life getting in the way which leads to ups and downs on the scale. I know when you come across those inevitable weight gains, to keep eating well and working out and drinking that water and eventually the weight will come off.   You don’t loose 40 pounds overnight, so patience is needed.

I am not a patient person (stop laughing), but I orignally gave myself 1 year to try this diet thing.  Now, 8 months later, I am in it for the long haul; however long it takes to loose all the weight I want to loose.  I may never get there or it might take me years, but after loosing 40 pounds, I am willing to make the effort go further.

I received one other comment yesterday.  I was called “Sir” by one of our security guards.  I guess my new haircut is a bit too short.

Olympic Quiz

Now this is a quiz I can get into.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/swimming/photos/galleryid=156776.html

Olympic Swimming

USA wins the 4x100 Free Relay

How awesome was this moment?

I grew up as a competitive swimmer. 10 years of my life, from 8 to 18, spent at daily swim practices with swim meets on the weekends. So needless to say, I love the Olympic swimming events. This relay event on Sunday night (US time) was simply spectacular. From the “open mouth insert foot” French stating they were gonna “smash” the Americans, to Michael Phelps quest for 8 golds on the line, to Cullen Jones who almost drowned at 5 years of age, and to Jason Lezak who anchored two past failed Olympic attempts at Gold in this event; it really was a Hollywood script coming alive on our TVs.

But it did happened, the US unbelievably won the Gold, and as an American sitting at home screaming at my TV, it was a great moment. Congrats to all the US men’s 4×100 free relay team members who gave us an Olympic moment we will not soon forget.

And on a side note, when will athletes learn that trash-talking before an event like this never really plays in your favor. The US’s brash Gary Hall Jr. opened his mouth 8 years ago with a wonderful inane insult in Sydney and the US relay team was subsequently upset by the Aussies. Now it is the Frenchies turn to stupidly open their traps, insult the US, thus motivating that US team to overtake your world-record holding best swimmer in the final lap to take the Gold. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Flag Bearers

I finally watched the Olympic opening ceremonies last night (the joys of being at the back end of the International Date Line) and two moments caught my eye.

First, this one.

Lopez Lomong carries the US flag into the Opening Ceremony

Lopez Lomong was one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who escaped the atrocities of his home country as a young boy and lived in a Kenyan refuge camp for years before finally being relocated to a foster home in the USA. If you have never read any of the stories of the Lost Boys of Sudan, you should check out either God Grew Tired of Us or They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan. These are amazing stories of amazing young men.

Carrying your countries flag at the Opening Ceremonies is always a huge moment and for to see Lomong carrying our US flag is a wonderful representation of the the good parts of the USA; a fabulous mixing pot of world cultures where, with hard work, anyone can achieve success.

The other amazing photo….

Homa Hosseini of Iran carries her countries flag into the Opening Ceremony

I remember watching a past Olympics years ago where a certain middle eastern country wouldn’t even walk behind the female carrying the placard with their countries name.  They changed to a male placard bearer for that country.  This is amazing to me.  A woman carrying the flag of the Iran leading her team (of mostly male athletes) into the opening ceremony. There were several other predominately muslim countries with female flag bearers last night.  It was just good to see that kind of progress. 

As for the rest of the Opening Ceremonies.  Kinda boring.  I mean, the Chinese precision was impressive, but it was kind of robotic and soulless.  Proves that a massive amount of money and people doesn’t always get you a great show. 

PSA

Your public service announcement for today…..

You still need sun screen lotion even if its windy and cold.

Yours truly,
Lobster Girl