Super Chef Austin

We had a really entertaining meeting this morning with the hospital chef, Mike Austin. He cooked up a great lettuce leaf, but more than that, he talked with us about dieting in a light, jovial way. He has had his challenges and he told us about them. I think we all could identify with his struggles. I could have easily listened to him for another hour.

Thank you Mindy for scheduling Chef Austin for us. I am going to miss these morning meetings with only one more left. It has been super getting to know such great people all fighting the same struggle I am having.

Hospital chef

Somebody said we are going to get to sample some food tomorrow morning in the nutrition class. Now there is something I am good at--sampling food. Mindy said the hospital chef will be teaching our class--what a treat!!

I ate and ate today and I am still hungry!! Some days are like that. Last Saturday I had a hot dog--I love hot dogs, or I did until the scales screamed at me the next morning. I wish I had the metabolism to eat and eat and snub the scales, but I don't.

Oh well, we're all in this together, so I guess I am not alone with my battles. Good luck, everybody !!

I have found it very hard to get my exercise in this week and I need to do some serious house cleaning. If I can just get myself organized maybe I can merge the two activities like Ali talked about in one of her blogs.

We moved our exercise training days to Monday and Thursday. I find I like the timing of the training better this way--there is more time for my knees to recover between sessions.

I surely see a lot of progress when I look around at everybody. Good work !!!

Traci

And a special thanks to Traci and Riley who are always ready to help and encourage.

Week 11 begins

Today we started week 11 with our workout with Shan'tel. Our workouts are changing a lot--new ways to exercise our muscles. We are doing a lot of exercises that we can do at home without having to go to the gym. We're trying hard to keep the muscle names straight. It is great of Shan'tel to teach us these alternate exercises since it is not always possible or easy to get to a gym; now there is no excuse.

And tonight, after our workout, I am tired for sure and feel like I could sleep for a week. But it is a good tired. It was great seeing Dennis and Marlene Murray there tonight working hard. And Traci was there teaching her son and his friend. I am really glad to have met so many great people in this Challenge. We are in the countdown now--only three weeks left after this one. Here's hoping everybody has a great Week 11!

This has been a super special week--our first grandchild to graduate from college donned her cap and gown this week at BYU. And there are several more currently in or just entering college, so we feel mighty proud of them all.

Only four weeks left for me to manage that push-up; I don't have it yet, but I am working on it. Julianne worked us hard this morning in Zumba class and I also learned the difference between the mambo and cha-cha. I particularly enjoyed the beat of the Latin music. Only one more exercise class left and I think our trainer Shan'tel is going to lead it.

Mindy's class

I certainly appreciated some of the comments in Mindy's class this morning--I especially appreciate Marlene telling us about the bone scanning going on tomorrow. Mary Halverson's bountiful baskets are certainly something to look into. What a great place to exchange information. And Mindy always brings us some information and handouts to digest. And thanks to Brenda and Brittany for the treats they so often have favored us with.

What a great group we have. I am truly going to miss the time we spend together...just four more weeks, can you believe it?! I am grateful for the change in my body. It is a long way from where I would like it to be, but it is also a whole lot better than I began with. What a treasure we were given !! And we're all in this together !!