Greetings from Texas!
Arrived at Rancho Cortez (aka the Fitness Ranch) around 5pm yesterday, thanks to Ma and Pa 'kin picking me up at the airport in San Antonio and driving me out here. They'd originally put me all alone in a cabin that was like a mobile home, and could house about 6 people in it. Apparently, though, it hadn't been cleaned recently - there were piles of towels, and some of the beds had been stripped and not remade, so they moved me into a different cabin, Arapahoe, which is a single room with a comfy bed, nice bathroom, a/c and ceiling fan, bench and chair, and not much else (except for the closet and dressers). No TV or anything else, and no internet or phone signal.
Fortunately, there is WiFi in the fitness lounge, so that's where I'm updating from.
Anyway, I got here just in time to get upacked and have dinner. Dinner consisted of some turkey breast, half of a large sweet potato, green beans, and a small salad. Since I'm on the fitness plan I wasn't allowed to have a roll or butter, but I was filled nonetheless. Went to bed around 10pm, but didn't sleep all that well - I slept for about 3-4 hours, then woke up off and on until finally waking up around 7am this morning.
Weigh-in this morning was around 7:30. My starting weight is 242.5 lbs, which is actually about 4 pounds less than when I was at the doctor's office last month, but of course each scale is a bit different.
Today has been busy - got up at 7:00 am, had the weigh-in, ate breakfast (one whole wheat pancake with strawberries, scrambled eggs, about a dozen grapes, and some caffeine-free tea. Then we went on a long hike about half an hour later. We drove out to Hill County Nature Park (I think that was what it's called - my map is back in the room) and the seven of us went on a hike. Of course, I was in the back of the pack with April, who is one of the fitness coaches, and Brooke (a 21-year-old hairdresser). We walked for a total of about four miles in a little under two hours. I had to be careful about where I was stepping due to loose rocks, tree roots, and the occasional pile of horse poop, since it's also a horseback riding trail.
Afterwards, we drove back to the ranch, had a little relaxation time, then ate lunch, which consisted of a chicken breast topped with some white cheese and diced tomatoes, about 1/2 cup of brown rice that had some peppers and corn in it, and some beans, along with salad and iced tea.
This afternoon, we spent an hour in the pool playing volleyball, three on three, then got changed and had a small snack in the fitness lounge which consisted of half a green apple with 1 tablespoon of homemade peanut butter, which was very yummy and way lower in fat and sugar than the store bought brands.
(PB Recipe: 4 cups roasted peanuts, 1/3 cup canola oil, 1/2 tsp salt to taste, and an optional 1 tablespoon honey - in a food processor grind the peanuts until you reach a rough powder type consistency. Add oil slowly as needed to reach desired consistency. Add honey if desired. Continue processing until the PB is at the desired texture, add salt to taste. Makes 40 servings of 1 Tbsp each, calories 99, fat 9 grams, .6 grams sugar, 3.8 grams protein).
Later this afternoon, we had a 20 minute Zumba practice. I've never done Zumba before, and let me tell you that I am NOT coordinated enough for it, but I tried and at least kept moving, which I guess is what counts.
Right now we are in the fitness lounge and Joanne is showing us how to make a foil-pack chicken fajita dinner, and the recipe is available on the Kraft Recipe website (www.kraftrecipes.com) for those who are interested in looking it up.
Dinner will be at 6pm, then I think we have the evening free. Phew!
More updating as I have time!
Fortunately, there is WiFi in the fitness lounge, so that's where I'm updating from.
Anyway, I got here just in time to get upacked and have dinner. Dinner consisted of some turkey breast, half of a large sweet potato, green beans, and a small salad. Since I'm on the fitness plan I wasn't allowed to have a roll or butter, but I was filled nonetheless. Went to bed around 10pm, but didn't sleep all that well - I slept for about 3-4 hours, then woke up off and on until finally waking up around 7am this morning.
Weigh-in this morning was around 7:30. My starting weight is 242.5 lbs, which is actually about 4 pounds less than when I was at the doctor's office last month, but of course each scale is a bit different.
Today has been busy - got up at 7:00 am, had the weigh-in, ate breakfast (one whole wheat pancake with strawberries, scrambled eggs, about a dozen grapes, and some caffeine-free tea. Then we went on a long hike about half an hour later. We drove out to Hill County Nature Park (I think that was what it's called - my map is back in the room) and the seven of us went on a hike. Of course, I was in the back of the pack with April, who is one of the fitness coaches, and Brooke (a 21-year-old hairdresser). We walked for a total of about four miles in a little under two hours. I had to be careful about where I was stepping due to loose rocks, tree roots, and the occasional pile of horse poop, since it's also a horseback riding trail.
Afterwards, we drove back to the ranch, had a little relaxation time, then ate lunch, which consisted of a chicken breast topped with some white cheese and diced tomatoes, about 1/2 cup of brown rice that had some peppers and corn in it, and some beans, along with salad and iced tea.
This afternoon, we spent an hour in the pool playing volleyball, three on three, then got changed and had a small snack in the fitness lounge which consisted of half a green apple with 1 tablespoon of homemade peanut butter, which was very yummy and way lower in fat and sugar than the store bought brands.
(PB Recipe: 4 cups roasted peanuts, 1/3 cup canola oil, 1/2 tsp salt to taste, and an optional 1 tablespoon honey - in a food processor grind the peanuts until you reach a rough powder type consistency. Add oil slowly as needed to reach desired consistency. Add honey if desired. Continue processing until the PB is at the desired texture, add salt to taste. Makes 40 servings of 1 Tbsp each, calories 99, fat 9 grams, .6 grams sugar, 3.8 grams protein).
Later this afternoon, we had a 20 minute Zumba practice. I've never done Zumba before, and let me tell you that I am NOT coordinated enough for it, but I tried and at least kept moving, which I guess is what counts.
Right now we are in the fitness lounge and Joanne is showing us how to make a foil-pack chicken fajita dinner, and the recipe is available on the Kraft Recipe website (www.kraftrecipes.com) for those who are interested in looking it up.
Dinner will be at 6pm, then I think we have the evening free. Phew!
More updating as I have time!