The Journey Day 1

10/24/17 - Today is my first day of actually eating off the meal plan 5 and 1. It is basically eating 5 fuelings (these are the individual meals they send you) and 1 lean protean with greens which is called Lean and Green. I prayed this morning that I wouldn't get a headache from lack of sugar/carbs. I'm required to drink at least 84 oz. of water each day and I did that today. That required many trips to the bathroom, but all good.

We had a team lunch today and we went to the Bayou. It is one of my favorite places and I usually get something like the cheeseburger or the gumbo with their sweet potato fries. Today, I chose to eat my Lean and Green at lunch and had a grilled salmon over greens. Wasn't the best tasting, but it was filling. So far the little bars/meals they provide keep me pretty sustained until I have to eat again which is every 3 hours. The hardest thing right now is eating during meetings since the 3 hour marks sometimes falls between my meeting times, but it's okay.

Shannon called tonight and I reported that all went well, except I am really tired. This program requires at least 7 hours of sleep. I am definitely not getting that a night so I will need to change that tonight. She also encouraged me to weigh myself in the morning and that it is more accurate in the morning.

The Journey - Take Shape For Life - Pre-start Day

I need a place to track my progress in the program Take Shape For Life and so here goes...

10/23/17 - Received the box of food in the mail. Exciting! I just realized this is is a revamped version of the old Medifast program which I've tried. Hopefully the food tastes good. My coach is Shannon Schritter. I talked to her on the phone and I've decided to start tomorrow. There are 4 things I need to send her - front, side, back photos, initial weight :( and my 3 "whys" for doing this program, and my WATCH measurements.

3 whys are -

1. Be healthy, live long to see my girls grow up
2. Confidently look in the mirror again
3. Comfortably sit on an airplane or even ride a roller coaster without fear of not fitting in the seat

One of the reasons I always avoided programs and coaches was I hate being in a state of vulnerability. I don't like people knowing my business especially trying to get in to my head as to the "why" behind the things I do. This time, I feel like I need to let go and trust the process....sounds very cliché, but whatever. I sent Shannon the list of whys.

Initial weight at 10:30 pm tonight is 368.2
Waist - 58
Arm - 19.5
Thigh - 30
Chest - 55
Hips - 60

Here we go....

I'm back!

It's 2010...where did 2009 go? Lots to look forward to this year...

As I look back on the past two years since moving from Samoa without much more than the shirts on our backs and the few extra shirts in our suitcases, I have to say that we have been blessed! It's been amazing having my mom here with us this past year and hopefully many more years will be spent together.

Looking forward to spending time with family - having the boys, Mani and Nephi come with their families to spend a week with us at the end of the month. Looking forward to short, spontaneous weekend getaways, looking forward to Sina turning 4!, looking forward to a trip to Samoa possibly in November, and of course looking forward to materializing resolutions that always seem to fade by the first month's end. And all along...enjoying the every day associations we have here with wonderful friends and family.

Here's to a new year!!

Subsiding...

samoan culture at its finest

mountain pass right before Vatia village in Am Samoa

I just had to post something really quickly about the tragedy in Samoa and how much it has had an effect on me. It has been really difficult to think of all that has happened back home and not feel downhearted and depressed about it. Just this last week those feelings were beginning to subside, though the sadness I feel for those that lost family members, esp children continues.

As we celebrated Sina's 3rd birthday, I realize even more how much of a blessing she is in our lives and how privileged we are to have her. Just to imagine that I could wake up tomorrow and not have her because of some tragedy of nature that no one has any control over is really something I cannot fathom. My heart goes out to all moms that lost their little ones. I hope that time can heal their hearts. I also realized that its during times like these that I really, really understand why the plan of salvation is so important and why we need answers to life's questions that so many people in the world lack knowledge of. I'm grateful that I have a knowledge and testimony of these things. I find that life is easier to bear because of that faith.

Faamanuia le Atua Samoa....

Waking Up in Vegas!

This past weekend Anthony and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary in the city that literally never sleeps - Las Vegas! We left Bountiful at noon on Friday after giving Sina a million kisses because we are suckers when we have to be away from Sina for more than a day. We arrived in Las Vegas at about 5:30 and checked in to the Grandview Hotel on Las Vegas Blvd. When we got to our room the first thing I noticed was the awesome living room with flat screen TV and then the bedroom with a jaccuzi tub....aahh...it seriously was like a dream. This was the fanciest hotel we had ever stayed in. Usually our hotel stays consist of six people in a two bedroom room with everyone camping on the floor!! haha...love that about my family...we have too much fun together...



So after checking the place out we decided to give the jacuzzi tub a try...so awesome!! After hanging out for a little bit we decided to get some dinner. We cruised down Las Vegas Blvd and found a Popeye's chicken. I haven't had Popeye's since my mission. We decided to save our elaborate anniversary dinner for the next night while we splurge on chicke and red beans and rice. My childhood friend,Alvin Pritchard, was supposed to meet up with us that night, but we decided we would spend some "us" time and postponed all friends and family time until Saturday. We ended up spending the night in our hotel room "watching movies" ;)

Saturday was awesome. We got to spend time with Alvin and his whole family. We chatted for a few hours reminiscing about the good old days. We ended up going back to the hotel and swimming in the very cool waterfall pool! We ended the night by going to the Aloha bar with Serine and her huband Daryll. It was such a blast!! We sang karaoke after getting drunk off of water and cokes...we sang some Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill...just like old times! That night we ate dinner at the famous Rio Buffet. It was hands down the best buffet I have ever been to. We look forward to going there again next month on our way to San Diego. The Hawaiian coconut ice cream and eclairs were to die for!

Needless to say, we didn't sleep much the whole time we were there. We checked out of our hotel at 10 am and started our trek back to good old SLC. The anniversary was the perfect vacation and just the break we needed from life. It is good to be back now and to be with our Sina and mom and the family.

These past two years we have made time to take short weekend vacations and I have become a firm believer in taking advantage of opportunities in life to get out and enjoy family and friends because we only live once and since turning 30 I realize I am not getting any younger...so I look foward to many more of these weekend getaways!!

another milestone

I just had to note that Sina used the toilet for the first time last Saturday - Sept 5th! She thought she was a big girl...no diaper, getting the toilet paper all by herself....I just knew she would do it when she was ready....My lil' girl is growing up!!!

week 1 successfully completed

So the daily journal thing isn't working out too well, but the past 4 days have been amazing!

**Thursday**
Zumba dance class kicked butt. It is well worth the $5 I sacrifice for lunch. Looking forward to doing this every Tues and Thurs

**Friday**

Upper body workout - 1hr 2 mins
FLYS
PULL DOWNS
ARM CURLS
TRICEPS
SHOULDER LIFTS

**Saturday**
No Zumba. 20 mins intensity on elliptical machine with a 5 min cool down

**Sunday - FREE DAY **
Ate whatever I wanted and rested from the workouts

**Monday**
Lower body again - this time with intensity level crunches
Calves were straining from last Wed, but it feels dang good

WEEK 1 is completed....the hard part is over now for CONSISTENCY!!!