Thursday, March 1, 2012

Losing it while Hiking around San Antonio

I bet you didn't think I would stick with it. Well. So far, so good. I am down 15 pounds since I last posted, and determined not to give up until I reach my goal.

Not winning The "biggest loser" contest could have been a major obstacle and was emotionally disappointing, but grit and determination won out, so I am hanging in there with my 2012 resolution. Yay homegirl!

The contest was actually kind of fun. With the help of myfitnesspal.com, I learned by journaling what was going into my mouth and what kind of energy I was expending that this should really be a no brainer. If I cheat or fudge on what I journal in my fitness pal, I am really only cheating myself. If I am honest about the input, then my body responds with the appropriate weight loss in relationship to calories in and out.

There were competitors that lost much more than I did. The winning female lost 25 pounds in a month. Wow, now that's impressive. When I asked what she done to lose so much, so fast, she was a little hesitant, but said that she had cut to 500 calories a day and worked out twice a day. She drank no coffee, no soda, no simple carbs, very little fat and mainly existed on lean protein and complex carbohydrates. Even though she didn't tell me, I bet she had to avoid any Realtor functions like she would avoid the plague.

My lifestyle has changed, but not so much. I still manage to go out for dinner or happy hour with friends and clients. My diet has included almost anything you can imagine. Cooking light recipes are my friend, but I could still enjoy a dirty martini or 1 glass of wine. I could have a bite of fried avocado ( although indulging in the fried stuff or alcoholic beverages greatly reduces the other good things I could be enjoying). Dairy Queen visits mean that I order a plain small cone in lieu of a banana split. The bottom line is that I have to be accountable and disciplined.


Hiking in Government Canyon
The biggest change has been incorporating exercise into my lifestyle. Randy and I love to hike! Walking on a track or repeating the same routine is the ultimate boredom for me, so the exercise quest became an adventure. The goal of walking about 4 miles a day was surpassed by a need to explore and find more challenging paths. Even getting off the beaten path (in and away from urban development) was part of the process. San Antonio has many parks with hiking and biking trails to explore. Please follow the links below:


Downtown/ Southtown Route

River Walk / Museum Reach

Metro Health to Lexington

Brackenridge - Alamo Loop

San Antonio Highlights

San Antonio Greenway Map

Dry Creekbed in Government Canyon

I am Stephanie Kelley, Realtor® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions about San Antonio real estate or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call me at or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail me at swkrealtor@aol.com Our experienced Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs. Visit me at http://SanAntonioHomeQuest.com

Post Script:  I have let almost a month pass without publishing - Sorry about that, but I am down another 5 pounds.  Yay me!

1 comment:

  1. This is great! Here in Germany, we go hiking pretty regularly, thank goodness for great walking/hiking/biking infrastructure! Also, we most often walk to the grocery store for our food and we almost always walk the mile into town when going out for drinks or dinner. We live less than a half mile from the Danube, which has a biking/walking trail going in either direction for several hundred miles, into Austria or Italy, depending on which direction you want to follow. Now, I am not planning on going further than I can walk and return in a day, but it is a great resource for daily exercise, and their are many paths leading from it into the forests and little villages. In fact you can walk 'Jacob's Way" from it, which is a pilgrims walk hundreds of years old and I love the idea of walking a path that people have walked for so much of history. Regensburg lies on the Compestello de Santiago, with several churches dedicated to the pilgrims. If I cross the Danube, their is a ginormous ridge that rises from the river valley. It also has great paths up and down and across, leading to other villages and fantastic vistas of the valley and the farming countryside on the backside of it. And it is a fabulous workout to walk up and down the ridge. I end sounding like a freight train I breathe so hard! We also eat very well, we don't 'diet' we eat very healthy. But we also don't restrict any foods or treats, we just eat the treats a little less often and we make a point of eating them after a long hike, or very active days. Part of the German way of life is beer, and they have a saying here "three beers is a steak" So we may eat a less hearty meal if we are going to be drinking beer, just like we would eat less heartily if we were indulging in something rich for dessert. We don't eat meat daily, there are some days when we will eat large salads for lunch, with some dark whole grain bread, and maybe a mix of cooked veggies for dinner. We drink pots of tea frequently through the day too and that helps ease hunger or cravings. I never even liked hot tea, or tea of any sort before I came here. I find that being mindful, like your journaling, of what I eat, and of exercising, allows me more freedom of both, and makes me healthier overall. The less junk food I eat, the better real food tastes, the more I enjoy it. And the more active I am the better everything tastes, and I definitely enjoy a big plate of pasta with olive oil and garlic and chilis more! Even doing laundry for me is exercise since we live in a penthouse flat 5 flights of stairs up from the garage and laundry room. I don't take the elevator for washing clothes, in fact we rarely take the elevator at all, only for carrying plants and garden supplies up from the garage after we have been to the nursery to indulge in blooms and greenery for our terrace, which is as big as our flat (our flat is only 650 sqft) I still need to lose a fair bit of weight, and living at mom and dad's through the autumn and holidays was a bump in the weight loss road, since I gained a bit there. (yay stress!) But I am so much healthier now than I think I ever have been, even still carrying a spare tire (or two) around the middle. I can pretty easily walk 6 miles daily, in addition to doing other things. I can run up and down those 5 flights of stairs without passing out when I reach the top. When I first came here, I could walk, but it was slowly and I had to sit down on many benches along the way. Now I still sit on benches sometimes, but only because I want to, not because I need to. I hope, as I learn more german to maybe take some courses on local wild plants, medicinals and edibles, as I like to forage when we go hiking. Nothing like working up an appetite then coming home and eating what you found out in the wild! Anyway...It is great to hear of your own improved health and I hope you are able to keep it up as a lifestyle change more than only a weight loss habit. Take care! -Alex

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