Diane's Journal to a Happier/Healthier me...encouragement welcome!

[Amy&Dan]

Yeah Diane, I wouldn't call this a restful vacaton thus far! Whenever I watch those HGTV shows, I think the same thing, sign me up for that! Just think how nice it will be to come home to your like new house!

I can't wait to see the pictures. And there is no such thing as a boring Disney report. It can't happen so make sure you write one!

I am proud of how hard you are working with Tim. If you figure out how to clone him, send him to me! Just remember, he can only inspire people who are willing to work hard enough to be inspired and motivated. He's great, and so are you! He probably tells all his friends about his gem of a client Diane!

Keep it up!

 

[Goofydiane]

It's time to stand up and cheer....all the major rooms in my house are done. My office is the only room that I still want to get done, otherwise it was 10 rooms in 6 days. Every muscle in my body aches, but it was worth it, the house looks so organized and put together again. Thank heavens I'm going to be out of town for a week, I've got enough trash for two weeks already!

Friday - day of rest here I come.

The best thing happened while working out tonight. Another trainer came over while Tim and I were doing a circuit and said - you look like you have been losing weight, you can really tell. I wanted to reach out and give her a big 'ol hug for that! It is nice when someone other than yourself or the people that see you all the time comment. That just motivated me even more today. I already felt like a bundle of energy, even when every muscle in my body is for from painting, cleaning, moving furniture, but it was a great night. Almost makes me wish I wasn't going to Disneyland next week and I could do another week with Tim 4 of 5 days.....I said almost!

This break has been really good for me, it is nice to just kick back and do something other than work. I had forgotten what all there was going on. I've spent a lot of time cleaning, but now I've got the rest of the weekend for relaxation!

Things I'm proud of today:
1. Finishing my house
2. Staying out of email and work for another day

 

[Goofydiane]

Wow, not only did I leave the job behind, I left almost everything behind even my journal. The two weeks went by fast and I could go for another week off just to recover, but I'm back at work this morning and it is like nothing has changed.

Disneyland was fabulous, I have pictures from Club 33 and will post them as soon as I figure out how. I have an account with Ophoto - does that work here? I ate what I wanted to eat and just continued the workouts each day either at the hotel, or walking all day or both.

I'm going back to follow the WW core plan next week and Tim and I are going to do weekly weigh-ins at the gym. I need to have accountability in this journey, I can't be the only person I weigh in with.

Things I'm proud of over vacation:
1. I stuck with my plan and got my entire house cleaned.
2. All laundry from vacation is done and put away
3. I worked up to running for 18 minutes a day
4. I enjoyed Disneyland and made decent food choices most of the time.

 

[Goofydiane]

I need to get back into journaling, I just need to find the time to do this. I'm so tired now at the end of the night that all I want to do is go to sleep.

I got into a mindset that I just need to get back from vacation and everything would be ok. It isn't quite that way, but it is getting there. I am getting back to working out consistently and understanding that the issue for me is making correct food choices. I've been doing so much of this just saying 'I can do it myself' and 'I don't need anyone' to understanding that I do need people to assist.

I contemplated going back to Weight Watchers, but while I enjoy the program, I never felt a sense of belonging at the meeting. I'm not good at talking up in front of people I don't know so I didn't participate much in the meetings. I am working on following the Core program and Tim and I are weighing in every 2 weeks to keep me on track. I feel like he is my own weight watchers meeting and I enjoy keeping it all together.

I haven't posted much about Disneyland, it was a fun trip but it felt a little lacking. I think it was more me, that I was just physically exhausted from the first week of vacation that I finally allowed myself to relax and I wanted to sleep a lot of the second week. I will post pictures and my impression from Club 33 in a different post this week, I would do a trip report, but it isn't a full report, just my impression of Club 33.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Diane, Welcome Home!

I can't wait to hear more about Disneyland, maybe you were just worn out from your home improvement week beforehand? Sometimes the anticipation of going to Disney sets up the trip to be somewhat disappointing. I slept a lot on my Disney trip too, I figure I have been to the parks so much and its okay to relax on vacation, even a Disney one.

I think your plan of doing WW Core and weighing with Tim sounds good. WW is wonderful but like everything else, it can certainly be accomplished in more than one way! I think the leader is what makes all the difference in the world personally.

I am proud that you are getting back on track. I need to journal regularly again too, but I know its going to take me most of this week to re settle in. I am home but not quite all the way!

Glad we are both back and ready to face our challenge of getting healthy once and for all!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Oh, forgot to add, that is awesome that other trainer came up and commented on your weight loss. I can't wait to get back on track and have some praise thrown my way! I can well imagine how much that motivated you! Hey, it motivated me.

 

[Goofydiane]

I had absolutely no energy last night to stop by and check in. These runs in the morning take some getting used to. I just can't hop out of bed and go run for 18 minutes, it takes me at least 4 try's with the snooze button to get out of bed and now I'm trying to do it with just 1 snooze button. I do feel good after I'm done, it is just leaving the comforts of my bed to go run, one of my least favorite activities.

I discussed with my trainer and he said to stick with it, it just takes getting used to and to develop habit strength. The goal is to get to 24 minutes of running at 5.0 and then work on increasing the speed.

It is amazing the difference I feel within myself when I not only exercise, but eat healthy foods. I need to remember this when I start to stray back to the dark side of fast food or junk food. Work doesn't seem to have as much stress and I'm more relaxed the rest of my day. There is something to be said for eating properly. I'm reading an article about being addicted to Fast Food and that your body ends up craving it, and I can believe it. I'm going to start calling it the dark side and try and stay away from it.

Things I'm proud of yesterday:
1. Running in the morning, that is a tough routine to get started.
2. Made great food choices all day long and didn't snack on all the treats around the office.
3. I relaxed last night!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I read once that the surge of contentment you get when you eat fast food is the same thing (on a much lesser scale obviously) that heroin addicts get when they shoot up. So fasfood is definitely addictive (I oughta know!).

I am proud of you for getting up and running like that. I know you will stick with that.

It sounds like you are really back into your routine post vacation.

How was Club 33??

 

[Goofydiane]

It's been a while since I've been able to post. I'm having terrible DSL issues at home and the frustrating cable company is no help and can't get here until next Friday!

I could write a novel over the past 10 days, but I'm goint to be brief for myself as I've been living it and say, I'm getting through each day 1 day and 1 meal at a time. Some meals I'm making good choices and other meals not so good. If losing weight was as easy as gaining weight, then there wouldn't be so much money in the weight loss industry. I truly believe this is the hardest battle I may ever have to fight in my life and I'm going through a phase of 1 step forward 2 steps back and then 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm scared of getting any further on this weight loss journey then where I am right now. Scared of what will happen if I make this goal, scared of pushing myself harder than I've ever had to push myself before. It's almost like a wall that I can't figure out how to get over it and I can't get around it because it encompasses me on all sides.

I haven't even gotten around to providing an update on my Disneyland trip. I will tomorrow if my internet connection is working fast enough.

Thanks for hanging in this with me Amy, I know with you around I'm not here alone!

 

[Goofydiane]

I finally have my internet fixed! Wow, 8 days without being able to sign on to anything. I might have to take a week off to catch up on my journal, other journals and the boards.

Now that the internet is fixed I also am testing posting a picture from Club 33. I'm a rookie at this, so I hope I do it correctly. If so, I'll post my report from Club 33 shortly.

Here is the plate that is on the table when they seat you, they take them away almost immediately, so I'm glad I was able to get a picture!

It worked on the preview, so let's hope it works when I post it. I know this isn't the appropriate place for a food report, but I have enough trouble keeping up on one thread I've started, I can't imagine what I would be like trying to keep up with 2!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Hi Diane, sorry I haven't been around in awhile, but I have been thinking about you! Very cool plate, more pictures pleeeeaaaasssee! I'll never get to go to Club 33, so I have to live through you on this one!

I think sometimes the thought of getting to goal is very scary. I know whenever I have come close something inside me sort of gets gripped by fear. There is some comfort and security in being fat. If nothing else, we can sort of hide behind our weight. But I think you are pretty much there. You have some more pounds to go, but your mindset, habits and determination are much stronger than anything else. I know you can and will do it. Its only natural to feel this way. Its been a long time you have had this issue, nothing, even things that make us very unhappy is easy to give up when its been a part of our lives for so long. You can do it Diane.

I am glad you internet is up and running! Just remember, every step forward is a step closer to the end goal of being healthy!

 

[Goofydiane]

Finally have the internet back and some time to sit and give an update. Thanks Amy for sticking with me - I know you have had so much going on in your life and it means so much when you stop by and provide words of wisdom and encourage. I'll journal after this post.

I realized I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I did, so I went back to my other visit 4 years ago and took some pictures from there as well.

My reason for Club 33 this trip was my friend Mike's 50th birthday. Here are Mike and his lovely wife Davida in the lobby of Club 33.

The lobby is a rich red color and has a stairway up the far side. Mike and Davida are in front of the elevator that would take people up to the dining area. When you get upstairs there are two dining areas. The trophy room and the main room. The trophy room was where I sat the first visit and this time we were in the main dining room.

I'm going to break this up into 2 more posts. One with the entree's and desserts and then one with the artwork.

For anyone reading this if you know how to copy a post, I will post this over in the dining review thread too - I don't want to type it all twice.

This is the trophy room and the group of people I went with 4 years ago. I'm looking at that picture and going wow, I have come a long way since then. I'll let everyone here decide which person I am in the photo. It isn't that hard to figure it out.

The trophy room has wood paneling and seats 3 larger groups. I enjoyed this room more than the main dining room as I felt it less formal.

Here is the main dining room where we sat this time. We had a party of 9 and sat smack in the middle of the room. All the other tables in the room were for parties of 4, so I felt that we stood out.

The trophy room is over Blue Bayou and the main dining room is over Cafe' Orleans. There walkway between the two rooms goes over New Orleans Square and this is where the bar and the buffet is located.

The meal works that you order your main entree off the menu and then you indulge in the salad/cheese/seafood buffet as an appetizer. Below are a few pictures of the appetizer bar.

These were the salads that were offered. It's been so long I can't remember what they all were other than I tried them all and each of them were fabulous! I'm usually not a big salad person due to digestion issues, but I tried each one and would have them again. the one in the lower left was the best.

This is what the fruit/cheese area looked like before I got to the fruit! I filled up on melon and pineapple to ensure I got my fruits in for the day. The fruit was so sweet and fresh you wanted to go back for more and more and skip the main meal. This was my meal for the day and I made sure I enjoyed it.

Next up were some cold foods. Grilled tomatoes, mixed vegetables and I think Salmon. I tried none of these, but others at the table did. I have allergies with peppers and onions and a huge aversion to fish, so I skipped over this area.

The seafood area was pretty picked over by the people I was dining with, but it was a combination shrimp, crab legs and lobster. One person in our party ordered her entree as an item specifically to go so she could enjoy the seafood.

Here is another picture of the main dining room. This was what I was looking at during our meal, we were in the middle of the room and there was a fireplace behind the person in the picture.

 

[Goofydiane]

After the absolutely fabulous appetizer buffet, there was still the entree to be had. Our server was absolutely fabulous and they definately earn a spot to work in the Club. I never had an empty glass of water, and he did a great job walking us through the menu and answering the many questions we had. Normally for meals like this I go right to the chicken because I know it is probably one of the healthier choices, but this time I wanted to enjoy the food and have something that I normally wouldn't have.

Below is a bad picture of the current menu. Serves me right for trying to take a picture with one hand while holding the menu with the other. Especially when I'm holding it with my left hand and I'm left handed! I should have been taking the picture with the left hand!

I was quite undecided and ended up asking our waiter for a recommendation. He told me they were all great choices, but he would steer me away from the pasta which was good since that was the one item I knew I didn't want. I also knew I didn't want the salmon so that left chicken, lamb or sirloin. I ended up chosing the Sirloin because I'm not a fan of truffles or cherry flavor. I've never taked food pictures before and I warned everyone beforehand that I got to get a picture of their food prior to them touching it. They didn't seem to mind, but I still think taking pictures of food is a bit weird.

This is the prime london sirloin, cooked to a deliciously, slightly red medium. Just how I like it. It was a bit weird having steak fries with a sirloin, but they had a garlic seasoning on them and were really good.

This is the pan roasted chicken. It looked great and the people who ate it cleaned their plate, so I'm going to assume it was great.

Here is the Norweigen Salmon. Only 1 person ordered this and they were looking over to the sirloin and the lamb with envy, so I'm not sure if that meant it wasn't good, or they just thought the others looked better.

Here is the Colorado Lamb. A part of me wishes I would have ordered this only because I can make a sirloin (yeah right), but it would be harder for me to cook lamb. The people who had it sad it was fantastic and some of the best they ever had. Unfortunately, my pictures don't do any of the dishes justice - I just didn't have a steady hand that day.

Once you finished what you could of your entree' it was time to move to the dessert buffet. Something I was looking forward to and didn't care how many calories I tasted.

I thought I had more pictures that I do, but I just have the one and will describe as many of the items as I can remember. If you look immediately to the left of the picture and behind the plates - this was the best dessert they offered. It was their version of a Smore'. Crumbled Graham cracker, chocolate, marshmellows. Absolutely fantastic, it was like heaven and a glass. Sadly, you could only eat 1 of them, they were also very rich.

They had pralines in one of the glass containers. The lower left is a creme brulee that was ok, above that is a lemon/custard eclaire that a few people ate for an appetizer and above that are their fabulous macaroons. In the next section is something I don't remember, but it involved strawberry. Then miniature banana nut breads and then mini strawberry jello dishes. The next section is what looked like a chocolate moose, but it wasn't, it was a chocolate layer cake with caramel - oh boy, was this good! then you had raspberry mousse cakes and a chocolate dish that I can't remember what it is. I don't remember what the lower right dessert is, but the top dessert was a chocolate mousse. As you can see you can go into chocolate overload here.

This is a dessert they brought for my friend Mike for his birthday. It was probably the worst thing on the menu, the taste was just not good and we left all of it on the table after the two small samples that people tried.

Mickey and Pluto made their rounds throughout lunch and spent as much time as requested at the tables.

The next post will show pictures of artwork and the must have restroom picture.

 

[Goofydiane]

One of the reasons I enjoy going to Club 33 is to see the original artwork that they have within the restaurant. Below are a few of those pictures:

This one is actually for sale as a print.

Here are some pictures of the balcony outside of Club 33. Dinner guests can watch Fantasmic, but the view is blocked by the trees.

The balcony wrapped around and here are pictures from the balcony that looks over the entrance to Blue Bayou.

And finally, no trip to Club 33 is complete without a picture of the ladies restroom toilet. I had to wait until I had a post with no pictures of food in them. Toilets and food just don't need to be in the same post. The lid is down as well.

I enjoyed the meal at Club 33, however it cost each of us 93.50 which included the park hopper pass. I'm a very plain food eater, so the foo-foo portions of the food were lost on me. It was a great meal with friends and that is what is most important.

Now, back to the journey of getting me back on track.

 

[DisDee]

Thanks for sharing your pics with is Diane! I really enjoyed viewing them! If you get a chance to post again, let us know how everything is going.

Have yourself a super week!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Oh Diane, thanks so much! I know I'll never get to go but your pictures made me at least get an idea. Love the ladies room shot! Now that is one classy potty!

You keep up the good work, you'll get back on track. Vacations always make it hard to come home and get back to all routines. I ought to know!

 

[LovetheGoof]

Encouraging thoughts being sent out to you from one Goofy to another. I just started journaling here today and hope to be a better me soon. BTW I loved your pics of Club 33.

 

[Goofydiane]

Denise, Amy and LovetheGoof - thanks for stopping by and giving words of encouragement. They are helping me get through some tough food times.

I haven't posted about my journey lately due to a few reasons. I am struggling with what I'm going to call Food Demons. When things go bad, I get stressed out I go right back to my bad habits and eat whatever is a bad choice. I don't even enjoy what I choose, I just choose it because I feel like I need to punish myself even more - if things are already this bad, what's a pizza going to add to the mix....comfort, yet it isn't even comfort anymore. I don't really like pizza, yet feel like I should have it when a commercial comes on the tv and I think...hey, I could like that, forgetting that I don't like tomato sauce, so I have to try it.

I rationalize food so much and I need to stop doing that. I weigh every other week with my trainer and the day of the weigh-in, I immediately start thinking of what I can eat that day because I have two weeks to work it off. Why can't I think, wow, what progress I just made and let's keep going strong with more great choices.

These poor food choices do not digest well in my system anymore, yet I still make the decision to put them in my mouth. I don't understand why I make the decisions that I do when I know what the end result will be. This is why I have started calling them my Food Demons. It is going to be the fight of my life and I'm determined to conquer it no matter how long it takes.

I need to ensure I journal when I'm struggling, not just when I'm going good with the journey and I seem to only journal when I'm happy with what is happening. I hate to show people a weak side of me and when I struggle, I feel so weak and just want to hang my head in shame and hide out until the struggle passes and I'm going good again.

I realized that the encouragement anyone who comments in my journal gives me when I'm going good makes it easier to continue, yet when I need the encouragement the most is when I walk away and not let anyone in. I'm not sure how to change this behavior, as I think it goes back to my childhood, but I think I can learn how to deal with the Food Demons and the mental demons and minimize their negative effect. It isn't going to happen overnight, but it will have to happen because I don't want to stay where I am forever.

So here starts not only journaling the good, but owning up and writing down the struggles that I'm facing. The Food Demons will not win.

Thanks Amy and Denise for being there and sticking with me through the struggles, I consider you both friends and I couldn't be doing this without your words of wisdom and support.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Diane, you have been a great friend to me! Your journal has given me a great deal of motivation.

I think we all have food demons. I laughed at your chocolate cake comment on my journal, I too am not a big choc. cake lover but I recently ate several pieces because its there, its bad for me and I seem to want to sabotauge myself as much as I can.

Keep journaling! Even if its several times a day. Put down your thoughts, your goals and how you are feeling. I find the more I journal the better I feel. Which doesn't explain at all why I vanish for days at a time, but there you have it.

Old habits die hard Diane. But they can die. I have a cousin who has smoked like a chimney for 40 years. She just quit. It got me to thinking about my 33 year struggle with weight. Its never too late for any of us. You are just recently back from a vacation, that is not easy but you are hanging in there. I believe in you!

 

[Goofydiane]

Thanks Amy for more words of wisdom! I don't know what I'd do without them.

I know I haven't been around this week, but it isn't a bad thing, I've just been busy and between work, working out and then nightly walks with my neighbor I just hit the sack earlier than normal.

I think cleansing out my mind helped and I'm feeling much better. Today while being trained, I kept saying 'ok' to everything and even suggested additional windsprints and I hate them. Something has clicked in my brain that is proving to me that I can do this and I feel good when I do this.

the challenge will be to keep the positive stuff going!