May- a month abroad!!!

 

May was a busy month, a month where I was home for a total of 6 days and not all of those were full days!   I traveled to San Diego for my annual travel conference May 2-5th,  I was home for a full day and then we traveled to Athens to begin our European Adventure on May 7th.   We made it back home late on May 24th, celebrated Memorial Day on the 25th and then left for the Bay Area May 29th for a weekend of birthday & graduation celebrations. 

How did I do?   Well, the weigh-in after San Diego was fine- I did not gain any weight.  In fact, I was up at 7am to get my walk in before morning sessions began at 830am-9am.  The 1st morning I went to the fitness center but after talking to colleagues, I was reassured that an easy loop could be made around the hotel grounds, so the next two mornings, I did just that and it was a fantastic way to start out my day of sitting! 

17 days in Europe and though I have to say that eating was easy, under control, I did not feel as though I overate, I had dessert some nights, but not every night.  I did have my fair share of  bread, aka my kryptonite!  It's the alcohol that kills me and I travel with friends who are bad influences, LOL  But sure, I could say "no" but it's vacation and I'm in Greece and Italy- of course, I'm going to say "yes" to the Lemoncello Spritz!  I can't say that I made an effort to exercise every day, but Europe is one big outdoor GYM!   I mean, you walk everywhere, so I did not have any troubles getting my steps during our trip and there were a few days that I did actually "exercise" to make sure I would get my steps.  This meant 2 nights in our Athens hotel, I line danced until I achieved my goal and then there was our one Sea Day that would mean lounging most of the day- we walked for an hour on the deck before we sat our butts down on lounge chairs...and then there was the one morning when I think jetlag caught up with me and at 6am, I could not go back to sleep, so at 630am I was walking on the deck as we pulled into Mykonos.  I saw the most beautiful sunrise, while we were sailing into port. 

By the time we got home, I was brave and got on the scale on Memorial Day and was shocked that I had gained 7 pounds--WTF????  But I also knew that it was mostly sugar pounds.  The food in Europe is different, it's wholesome, it's not filled with fake ingredients or preservatives.   By Thursday, I had lost 5 of those 7 pounds.  Of course, a weekend on the horizon in the Bay Area with eating out, celebrating friends and family, but I managed to maintain and I think that is partly due to staying on track with fitness.   I woke up Saturday at our hotel and searched our area and found that there was a park within walking distance so Bill joined me and we walked to the park and walked around the walking path several times to get our 3 mile walk.  It's great to have a partner who supports your goals.  Sunday, we were driving home, so getting steps was a combination of a short walk and then dancing and that was of course, May 31st- the end of a month.

For May, I managed to average 14,458 steps per day, with a total of 448,464 steps in the month. I averaged 5.98 miles per day with a total of 185.68 miles for the month.  I "exercised" 31 days of 31- this means that my activity level registered 30 minutes or more per day.   My sleep could have been better, I averaged 6 hours, 50 minutes per day and only met my goal of 7 hours 17 days but part of that was the traveling and also the excess of sugar (aka wine) as I am starting to see that too much wine really disturbs my sleep- having cut back so much the past few weeks, I really do feel it now when I over-indulge. 

It's now June and I am on track and ready to attack my goals.  I would like to enter ONEderland by the time our line dance conference BLISS happens in August.  I'm not far and it is completely an attainable goal.    There will be a few more celebrations this month,  Bill & I celebrate our 20th wedding Anniversary next week, we will celebrate  Bill's 62nd (WHAT?) birthday and we have our friends and wonderful band, The Rob Tracy Band coming to town for our Regency Rodeo Kick-Off concert, knowing Tiina, Tequila will be involved.   Moderation is key! 

Some of my favorite photos from May: