Sore on Saturday!

I didn't get to go on the Stop Sign Hike today. I went to a local Walgreen's and talked to the pharmacist there who advised I stay off of my feet for 24-48 hrs and soak in Epsom salts. I did just that. However, instead of the hike, I went into the gym and did 30 minutes on the NuStep machine and 30 mins on the Eliptical. Then I did each weight machine for 15 times for 3 reps each to give myself a 2 hr workout this morning. Then I took the 11:15 Stretch Class! So, I did a little something! I am getting measured in the morning for my inches (I hope I do good with that loss) and I weighed in this morning and lost 3.5 pounds for a grand total of 9 pounds lost!

We had a great time tonight! Sandi (my roomie), Kassie Kay, and I went to see a movie ("The Lovely Bones" ... movie sucked). It was our send off to Kassie. We'll miss you girlfriend!

My feet are terribly swolen today though. Hoping I get to hike on Monday as that is the best way to lose weight here! I also would like to work out for 2 hrs tomorrow, but not sure if that's a good idea with my bad feet. I do have a massage at 3:00 though ... can't wait!

For those of you coming here, they have rental car places in St. George. I have used Budget both times. Approx. $80 for 48 hr rental. Not too bad... :)

Finally Friday!

Well, it's finally Friday. We did our usual morning thing and went hiking to 3rd Ravine. A really hard climb for me due to my awful heel blister! I even bought new hiking shoes, but that didn't help me much. But, I'm soaking in Epsom Salt water right now and hoping for the best.

I had another thought for those of you coming here to FR. I brought a "goal outfit" with me to HOPEFULLY wear on my graduation Saturday. For those coming for several weeks, bring something you have been wanting to wear but couldn't because it didn't fit. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can do that in 2 weeks! :) I'm weighing in tomorrow or Sunday to see my number for the week. However, like I've said before, you get a lot of inner knowledge which I think is way more important! I can tell I've changed physically though. My clothes fit differently. :)

DON'T FORGET: If you use my name, Dee Dee Palmer, as a referral when making your reservation to FR, I get $100 and YOU GET $100 TOO!!! So, please, use my name when booking your stay ... if you're reading and likeing my blog (of course). :)

Okay ... today's schedule:

6:00 am Kickboxing or Open Gym (optional ... I didn't do either today)
7:00 am BREAKFAST (Scrambled eggs, 1 pc of Wheat Toast, Fruit dish)
8:00 am Leave for hikes
8:30 am Hike to 3rd Ravine (I'm in the Moderate Intermediate Group)
11:15 am Pool or Stretch or Cardio Intervals (I chose Stretch)
12:15 pm LUNCH (Chili with cornbread ... the best thing so far)
1:15 pm Meeting ... preparing for next week at FR
2:30 pm Total Body Conditioning or Circuit (I chose Circuit)
3:30 pm Cardio Disco Jam or Circuit (I chose Disco Jam)
4:30 pm Pool or Cardio Disco Jam (Again, I chose Disco Jam)
5:30 pm DINNER (Turkey Meatloaf and Grilled Watermelon)

Tonight, roomie and I rented a car and went into town to the little mall here to Dillard's and then to Walgreen's for some stuff to help my blistered feet! Tired and I'm trying to figure out what to do for tomorrow's hike up to The Stop Sign hike! I honestly don't think I'll be able to do it if this blister doesn't improve! More tomorrow night! :)

Tough Thursday!

Well, another Thursday at Fitness Ridge has come and gone. Treading on Thursdays is just crazy! Treading is a class where you pick a cardio piece of equipment (treadmill, eliptical, bike) and you warm up then to 5 minutes of hardcore then 5 minutes slower, then 4 minutes of hardcore then 4 minutes slower, then 3, then 2, then 1, then usually (depending on trainer) do a few more 1 minute rounds. It's awesome to see how much you sweat in that class!

Just to let all of you know, when you call reservations and you mention my name ... that I referred you to BL@FR, you get $100 and I get $100 to go towards our stays. So, please, let them know I referred you when you call them! :) I have rebooked for next Jan. 2011 and plan on bringing my hubby so he can see what I've done here. I only booked a month though!

I bought new hiking/trail shoes here at FR tonight. I have major blisters going on today from my hike. Cody here is awesome! So helpful! Seriously, buy good hiking/trail shoes way before you come and break them in. Bring scissors in your checked luggage, bring blister paks for your blisters and hot spots (they sell them here tho), have at least 4-5 pair of good hiking socks (I like Wigwam vs Wrights), bring 2 bathing suits, bring quarters for laundry ($1 per load wash & dry), you don't need a beach towel!

Today's goodies:

6:00 am Total Body Conditioning or Open Gym (optional)
7:00 am BREAKFAST (Egg Sandwich & Fruit Dish)
8:00 am Leave for Hike
8:30 am Hikes (I did Barrel Roll which is Moderate Intermed)
11:15 am Pool or Gym Class (I chose Pool today due to bad blisters)
12:15 pm OFF CAMPUS COOKING DEMO (Made Romaine Salad with homemade dressing, Turkey Meatloaf, and Glazed Sweet Potatoes)
1:45 pm Open Gym (missed it due to off campus trip and didn't get back in time
2:30 pm Ballworks
3:30 pm Treading
4:30 pm Pool (I did a 2nd Treading class instead)
5:30 pm DINNER (Baked Chicken with Potato Salad and Apple/Peach Cobbler)
7:00 pm Jewelry Exhibition (from local jewelry maker/artist)

The off campus cooking demonstration was once again awesome! Kim, the owner of Signature Suppers, was great. We made a great lunch at her healthy style cooking facility where you can have foods shipped to you on the West Coast or you can go there to learn how to cook healthy foods and take full healthy meals home with you.


I was happy that I burned 3400 calories today, but that's nowhere near to what one guy did today ... 8000!!! Yup, Brad from Canada is the bomb! He loses at least 10 lbs per week. He stayed on the eliptical today for 3 hours straight! Dedication! And, did I mention that Seth Word from BL Season 2 is here too? He's here for a month ... just like me. :)

Okay ... more tomorrow! Time for bed now though. Thank all of you that have written to me about my baby girl, Mittens, passing yesterday. It was a hard day yesterday. I wanted to go home as I was worried about my husband, but thank goodness his sister got there today to hang out with him. That made me feel much better! But, thank you for the kind words!

RIP My Little One! :(

I woke up today and went on my hike to White Rock. On the way there, I called the vet to find out about Mittens. They said she was lathargic and they needed to run more tests. They found that she was still loosing blood and that they would run an ultrasound. They found that she had tumors in her liver, so my husband had to make the decision to put her down. I've been crying ever since! I was on the phone with my husband while he was at the vet's office and he was holding her when they gave her the injection. He said she meowed once prior and looked up at him as if to tell him goodbye. My husband hasn't stopped crying yet! Our oldest of our babies has passed on and she will be sorely missed. That spot on our couch will be empty without her pawing at our arms. The spot on my bed will be cold. RIP my little one. Mittens ... 17 yrs old and gone today at 4:20 pm Eastern time.

My hike today was extreme! We did Moderate Intermediate and it was between 5-7 miles, but intense uphill climbs and sandy dessert. My legs feel like they're going to fall off!

Schedule:

6:00 am Yogalates or Open Gym (I did Open Gym)
7:00 am BREAKFAST (Spanish Sopas and Fruit Dish)
8:00 am Leave for Hikes (We did White Rock)
11:15 am Pool or Core Maintenance or Circuit (I chose Circuit)
12:30 pm LUNCH (Zucchinni Soup and Greek Pizza)
1:45 pm Open Gym (I skipped today due to Mittens)
2:30 pm Kickboxing
3:30 pm Mountain
4:30 pm Pool (I don't do, but did Kickboxing ... I don't swim)
5:30 pm DINNER (Cafe Salad and Chocolate Sorbet)
6:45 pm Yoga (I didn't do ... too upset today)

So, sorry for the short blog tonight, but I'm still not over my traumatic day. I feel so bad for my husband having to take care of this alone. I wanted so much to give my old girl a hug and kiss before having her taken away from me! No kitty can take her place! :(

My Worst Day Ever!

Well, today has been very traumatic for me here! I wanted so badly to go catch the first flight I could to go home, but I know that my body needs me to stay here! I received a call from home from my husband that our 17 yr old kitty, Mittens, was deathly ill and had to be rushed to the vet this morning. I've cried in every class, cried on my morning hike, cried at breakfast and at lunch ... It sucks that I'm here and my husband has to handle such a crucial matter. The vet finally called me on my cell phone to give me her update ... she was on the verge of kidney failure and has colitus. They've got her on iv fluids and antibiotics and gave her a blood transfusion. I'm praying and keeping my fingers crossed for her to make it ... at least until I can get home and hold her and let her know I love her. :( They said they'd give me another update tomorrow. Hubby is special to me ... he sent me 24 red roses and told me it was 1 for every day I'm here! Love you honey!

Today, my roomie, Sandy and I, went on the West Canyon hike. It's a 4 mile hike up and 4 mile hike back. Well, we made it up only 3.5 miles up and 3.5 miles back, but that's good considering we're still in pain from yesterday's 10.5 mile hike we took! So, we walked a total of 7 miles today! I'm still good with that as my blister is still killing me as well as my hip from yesterdays walk. My roomie's happy though ... she feels her muscles in her butt working more. LOL :) She kicked butt today though on the hike and left me in her dust! She was in her own little bubble and nothing could slow her down!

Another thought for all of you who watch The Biggest Loser ... You see them dump off the new contestants on the beach and made to walk a mile to get across the finish line. Well, here, on Mondays, they dump us off and make us do a 4.5 mile hike up an 11% incline that is timed! So, I no longer feel sorry for those contestants!

We have yet another Biggest Loser Contestant from Season 2 here ... Seth Word who was 2nd runner up to Matt. He sat with me and talked today at lunch. He said it's harder here at the Fitness Ridge vs there at the Ranch!!! Lots of interesting info from him too today! A really nice guy from California who's married with 2 kids and one on the way. He's here for a month so I'm sure we'll talk more. He's a really nice person to talk to!

Here's today's schedule:

6:00 am Hardcore or Open Gym (I chose Open Gym)
7:00 am BREAKFAST (Banana Muffin and Fruit Dish)
8:00 am Leave for Hike (West Canyon Hike - 4 miles up and 4 miles down)
11:15 am Yoga Stretch
12:30 pm LUNCH (Roasted Pepper Soup, Salad with Tuna Salad, Potato Slices)
1:00 pm Calorie Challenge
1:45 pm Open Gym
2:30 pm Cardio Intervals
3:30 pm Total Toning
4:30 pm Pool (I no longer take pool as I don't swim ... so I get to take the gym class which todat was Cardio Intervals)
5:30 pm DINNER (Veggie Lasagna with Baked Eggplant and 2 Chocolate Covered Strawberries)
6:30 pm Relaxation Techniques (I didn't take this class tonight)

Okay ... time for sleep as 5:00 am comes really quick and yet another hike! Sandi and I have signed up for "Intro to Intermediate" Hike. This is harder than the others we've chose so far. It ought to be interesting. More news tomorrow! :)

Those Dreaded Mondays!

Yup, another Monday has come and gone! It's the hardest day of the week as you have to once again do that dreaded Stop Sign Hike! Myself, Sandi (my roommate), and Kassie Kay (our 21 yr old sidekick) decided we wanted to change things up a bit though. We walked up the first part of the hike to the 3.2 mile Mini Stop Sign and told the guides that we were going to walk back down instead of finishing the remaining 1.3 miles up the 11% accelerated incline to the major stop sign for a timed event. And, we told them we also wanted to walk the 4 miles back to the Biggest Loser Ranch instead of riding back in the vans! Yup we're nuts today! So, we did the walk back to equal 10.5 miles of walking. In doing that we got to skip our 11:15 class! We have now accomplished yet another feat that we would have never done at home! The furthest I've ever walked in my life (before coming here) was 3 miles and that was on flat ground, not in mountains! I'm thrilled at my accomplishments here! And ... I've burned 4000 calories today! WooHoo!

Today was extremely hard as far as classes went! John, another trainer that I had for the first time today was AWESOME! He made me sweat like I haven't sweat in a very long time! Take his Step-n-Pump class ... just like Sharon ... John Rocked! Here's today's events:

6:00 am Yogalates
7:00 am BREAKFAST (Frittata and Fruit Plate)
8:00 am Leave for Stop Sign Hike
11:15 am Choose either Pool or Mountain (We walked back 4 miles instead)
12:30 pm LUNCH (Carrot Soup, Salad and a Bean Burritto ... amazingly good)
1:45 pm Open Gym
2:30 pm Circuit Training
3:30 pm Step-n-Pump (AWESOME CLASS)
4:30 pm Pool (But since I don't swim, they let me take Circuit Training)
5:30 pm DINNER (Salmon Burger and Raspberry Sorbet)
6:15 pm Tai Chi (I didn't take this class as it was an optional for me)
7:00 pm Tara giving another Lecture but I didn't want to go again. Instead in my room doing this blog and relaxing after a day of 8 hours of training classes!

Another exciting thing about today ... I ate dinner across from a new guy that I was talking to. After much conversation, I found out he's from Season 2 of the Biggest Loser, but no one has made mention of this AT ALL! (Everyone's just gaga over Tara instead). He was 2nd runner up to Matt (the wrestler). His name is Seth Word. Check it out! He's married and has 2 kids and one on the way! He's gained his weight back and is now here working on losing it! He's here for 4 weeks. He said tonight that the classes and walks here are way harder than those on the Ranch of Biggest Loser! All I know is that I'm exhausted and in bed right now and it's only 7:30!

As I've already said before, I have climbed so many hurdles that I am absolutely amazed with myself right now! I'm excited everyday to get out there and work my butt off (literally)! I took 2 extra classes instead of the required 1 out of 3 offered. This means so much more than that number hanging over your head. For those of us that constantly give to others instead of thinking about ourselves when we're at home ... having this place to allow us to find ourselves is just amazing! When I get home, I now know that I will go to my gym and take so many more of their classes and eat better. The food here is really great! I bought their cookbook and plan on going home and keeping up this great venture of my weight loss!

The young 21 yr old that hangs out with me made a really good point. On the Biggest Loser show, they pull up and dump off the guests to have to do a 1 mile walk on their first day and we're all overwhelmed by it! LOL :) When you get here to the Fitness Ridge, they dump you off and you climb a 4.5 mile mountain! So much harder! Something to think about .... Until tomorrow night! :) D2

Saturday Nights & Sundays at Fitness Ridge

Saturday night was fun! We went bowling with a group of like 18 and one of the trainers, Sharon and her hubby. It was a lot of fun! :) The only sad part was seeing some of our new found friends leaving. We'll miss you Tina! Kassie was excited to get a pic with Tara (from BL). I posted it here! :)

Sunday ... Well, finally a day off without having to go to a class! WooHoo (that one was for you, Candace). My roomie rented a car and myself along with 3 others went with her to Target and a sporting store as she was trying to find a Polar Heart Monitor/Watch. After that, we all went to go see a movie, "Leap Year". Pretty good. BL@FR served us a breakfast of Muesli w/ Almond Milk and a Fruit Dish then they gave us a brown bagged lunch to take with us. Lunch was Chicken Salad with a piece of Flatbread Pita, Tortilla Soup, and a ziploc of Baby Carrots and Cucumbers and an apple. We all ate that outside of the movie theater before going in so that it would hopefully curb the desire to want popcorn. We got back to BL@FR around 5:00 and saw a lot of the newcomers. I got to meet Robin Coe ... so cute! (One of my followers of my blog). We then ate dinner at 5:30 which was a bowl of Chicken and Potatoes and Peppers as well as a dessert of Key Lime Pie. After dinner, my roomie, Kassie Kay and I went to the gym and worked out for about 45 minutes. See, even on our free day, we worked out. :)

Tomorrow morning brings The Stop Sign Hike again! Ugh! Dread it! More tomorrow!