I'm behind again in my postings!!

My goal for the weekend is to catch up on my postings.  This has been a rough week for me as I got the stomach flu Monday afternoon.  I missed Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday & I was really going stir crazy by Tuesday night!!  I started to look for patterns in the ceiling plaster...yes, it was that bad!  Wednesday, I was ready to go hit the gym again...but after 3 hours I hit a wall & could hardly make through lunch...so I went back to my room for the rest of the day.  This morning I got up & I was completely confused...do I take it easy?  do I keep going??  I felt overwhelmed & didn't know what to do.  I spoke with one of the trainers & she suggested that I set a goal of working out for 2 hours today.  I ended up working out for 3 hours and am feeling completely spent again!  She said I should set the same goal for tomorrow.

It's such a strange thing...actually resting after you have been sick & taking it easy for a couple of days.  The problem is...I didn't come all this way & spend all this money to learn how to take it easy!!  The other strange thing that has been happening is that there have been times this week when the thought of eating anything turns my stomach!  Not sure if that indicates that I am not completely better or if it means that I might be sensitive to soy (one of the trainer's suggestions) or something else...not sure.

I feel like I am living in an alternative universe.  Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I don't even know of any churches around that have a Christmas Eve service!  It's hard to believe all the hustle & bustle that is taking place in the rest of the world preparing for Christmas!  Here, it's all about the workouts, the food & getting ready for the next day.  I know it will be sad tomorrow night when I won't be able to see one of my children perform during the Christmas Eve service.  Today, my family is making a gingerbread house & they asked me for the recipe.

Here's a photo of Christmas decorations in Ivins, UT:

I know why I am here and I have known for several months is was going to be a lonely Christmas, but the reality is starting to set in!  It seems like it would make it easier if I could remind myself how many calories I have burned this week & how much stronger I am than last week...but with the flu bug, that has dampened things a bit.  Still burning more than I am consuming...which is good, but it's just not going as fast as I would like!

Over the weekend, I chose not to weigh in.  They recommend that we only weigh in at the beginning & the end of our stay.  I spoke with 2 different women who were here last week & they had 2 very different experiences with the scale.  One lost 11 pounds (HAD to be some clothing differences!!) and the other lost 2.  I decided that since I have a tendency to get wrapped up in the numbers, that maybe I should just wait.  I calculated from my bodymedia fit that I should have lost around 5 pounds, but who knows if my body would have cooperated with what it was SUPPOSED to do!!  It hasn't this week, that is for sure!

I know I am making progress in a positive direction...just wanting to go FASTER!!

In case I don't get a chance to post again before tomorrow/Saturday, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!!  Don't forget the REASON for the SEASON!  If you see my family at church tomorrow night, give them a hug from me!!

Love,
Mitzi

Here's some menus from days I missed: