Link to Links

My continuing journey starts here...this blog has ended with this new one beginning:

http://cats1ife.blogspot.com/

Also if you haven't friended me yet on facebook my facebook link is:

http://www.facebook.com/cat.chez1

My daughter the nutritionist started a blog, to share her knowledge, follow her at:

http://ifyourfoodcouldtalk.blogspot.com/


(PS you can ask her questions about nutrition and leave her comments as well)

Hope to see you all on my new blog...

Thanks for following!!

Love, Cat

Viva Las Vegas!

(pictured me on the far right, my first week at Fitness Ridge)

This is my last blog entry for my Countdown to Biggest Loser Resort.  The only one that will follow will be my new link to my new blog that continues my healthy journey.  Working on the new name for my blog, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated?  We all don't get to go to the Biggest Loser Resort, and those that did still have to continue what they learned when they get home.  I hope to have my new blog guide me and those that want to follow through the perils of my persistence to good health.

I arrived in Las Vegas around 5:30pm on Friday night, greeted by my two sisters, two nieces and my mom.  All their jaws dropped when I jumped off the shuttle.  It is funny because when you are at Fitness Ridge the room mirrors are only from the sink up, and the gym mirrors are a little distorted so you really have no idea what you look like.  The camera shots for the most part make you look bigger than you really are.  The revelation comes when you stand in front of an "honest mirror".  As posted earlier I went shopping and was tearfully surprised to see my much smaller body.  So when I arrived in Las Vegas, mirrors suddenly were my best friend instead of my worst enemy.

I was super excited to start my night with a cup of coffee.  It wasn't as good as Starbucks or my coffee at home, but it was delightful either way.  I ended up getting a suite with 2 queen beds at the Pallazo hotel connected to the Venetian Hotel.  We all fit comfortably in the room.  It was a little scary joining the real world and all it's temptations once again.  My sister Terry brought me a bottle of wine and we all drank to my great success.  Apart of me wasn't worried about the wine or the dinner I would be having.

Dinner was a hodge podge of appetizers.  We had chicken lettuce wraps, Ahi Tuna and vegetable rolls.  Everything was low in fat and processed carbs.  I had a modest amount, as one thing I really am taking home from Fitness Ridge is the portion sizes.  Dinner was super enjoyable!  There is a lot to be said about eating food that is good for you, because it makes you happy!  I bought a book that has that quote in it and it really is true.  You know the food is good for your body, there is no guilt - only pride that you are doing right for your body.

I hit $500.00 on a slot machine in about 5 minutes while waiting for my mom to use a restroom.  We went to a shop and I fell in love with a denim jacket, and bought it with my winnings.  It is cute and "small" and I looked good in it!  More rewards for my weight loss!

We woke up on Saturday and I said I wanted to go to the gym and workout.  My nieces wanted to lounge by the pool.  My sister Clare stayed with my nieces while my mom and sister Terry went to the gym and worked out.  They have a 40 foot rock wall, and for the first time in my life I felt I could do it!  So I booked a climb and got it done!  It was a challenge but I succeeded straight to the top with ZERO FEAR!




































We ate both breakfast and lunch in the spa area of the Venetian, where breakfast was oatmeal and lunch was Quinoa salad and hummus.  I was in heaven being there all day and having all the right foods at my disposal.


At dinner time we headed another casino where I had Ahi tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes.  I didn't finish anything on my plate but the asparagus.   I once again used portion control. Following dinner my family dropped me off at the airport where I reflected on an awesome 24 hours in Las Vegas.  I was confident about going home and weighing in on my own scale.

I weighed in at home and since my first blog entry in January I have lost a total of 30.5 pounds.  I have lost 4 pant sizes.  And will be going through my closet because I don't fit in 90% of the clothes in there anymore.  My husband says I have never looked better and thinks I am a perfect weight.  I on the other hand know I want to lose another 20 pounds or so I am ready to venture forward on this new path to continued weight loss followed by maintenance.

Day 27 Fitness Ridge - Final Day

Today has been a bittersweet day for me.  I say goodbye to what has become normality for me.  I have spent 27 days eating a fixed meal 3 times a day.  I have worked out numerous hours for days on end.  I have been on 23 hikes and met numerous people who I will forever call my friends.  I have become a slave to exercise and am the happier for it.

When I say I will miss Fitness Ridge, it is an understatement.  It is a home away from home, and I will be forever grateful for all that I have learned, all the kindness I have been shown, and all the love from the many guest that I have had the pleasure to spend time with.

I started my day with my test out, which is meeting with a trainer and getting weighed and measured.  I knew before I came here that I had lost near 20 pounds and I had been eating right and working out for almost 3 months.  I didn’t expect magic numbers that happen when you first start a new regimen because I had been on a healthy program for awhile.  I had hoped to lose at least 10 pounds, but more importantly I hoped for muscle gain.  Marjorie did my test out at 7:00am and my dear friend, Teresa came with me for moral support.  As I stepped on the scale I watched my number as it climbed and finally came to rest giving me a 12 pound weight loss.  That followed my measurements which totaled a 16 inch decrease.  4 inches had melted away from just my waistline, 3 inches from both my hips and chest, and an inch off each calf,  And those arms I have documented as hating,  lost 2 inches per arm. Those 16 inches are just from the body parts they measured.  And I can’t forget that I am proudly wearing a size smaller jean. 

I brought my adopted daughter, Ivy some items I wouldn’t be needing at home, such as my over the door storage and many aches and pains items.  I also gave her a birthday card and present.  She was adorned with gifts from the many guest that have fallen in love with her in the past month.  I will truly miss her, however she comes to the NYC area a lot so we will see each other again.  I plan on seeing many of my new friends again, and will continue to stay in touch with the beauty of the internet.

I am writing my last day blog entry on my St George Executive Shuttle as it drives me to the Las Vegas Airport.  I will be meeting my sisters and my mom in Las Vegas where we will enjoy a 24 hour visit in Las Vegas.  Saturday night I will join the skies for my 5 hour plane ride back to Newark and to my life and family.  I am super excited to be heading back to my family, friends and dogs.

I left Fitness Ridge a day early because of the Ironman, there were concerns with getting to the airport on time.  I am disappointed I couldn’t stay since all the Fitness Ridge guest will participate in a 10K that day along with many of the Biggest Loser Contestants.  I may be missing that race, but I plan on getting on board many races and walks at home.

 I will post my night and day in Las Vegas as my final blog entry for Fitness Ridge, as the journey does not end at Fitness Ridge.  And as I  continue my journey to the new improved me I will start a new blog related to my continued success.  Feel free to comment with blog name ideas for the new blog!  I hope you have enjoyed reading about my experiences and look forward to those who join me on my new blog that will continue my journey to great health!

PS My last post will have my before and after pix!!

Day 26 Fitness Ridge

Today marked my last Treading class, Ball Works Class and Gym Class.  This morning I attended my last 6:00am class here at Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge.  It is a sad day as I am reflecting on the pleasures of having only yards to walk to get fit.  I have grown so accustomed to Anna Marie's 6am classes that I start her warm up before she does.  I will truly miss her and her classes, she will forever hold a special place in my heart.  As we started our Total Body Conditioning, this very fit Tonga guy comes in the room and its Sione Fa from Season 7.  Seems his cousin Felipe couldn't make it to our 6:00am class.  (jokingly)   Sione was adorable and full of wit and song.  He showed us how comfortable he was doing those squats and lunges Anna Marie had in store for us.

Breakfast was my favorite which I thought was fitting since I will only be dining for one more breakfast.  We had peanut butter and fruit sandwiches.  They are awesome as they are filled with berries, its a great breakfast starter!!

My new friend Lucinda a NYC girl that is originally from New Zealand has been so gracious to drive me to do the Stop Sign hike for the last 2 days.  Although it is customary to go on the assigned hikes in the assigned vans I have had no opposition from anyone to instead do Stop Sign.  When you are here a month there is a little leeway regarding the program.  I get an awesome calorie burn so it has been my desire to do that hike.  If I was given a hike I haven't tried before I would definitely go but after a month I have been on most of them.

On our return we had gym class and today we got to do cardio and/or weights.  I did a little of both because I am always wanting to work my abs and chest.

Lunch was an interesting mixture of tortilla soup, a HUGE favorite here and Hawaiian pizza.  It was all excellent as most everything is here.

Following lunch I took my last Treading class with Tiffany, I plan on incorporating that into my own exercise program once a week at home.  After Treading class it was Ball Works with John, he is great at kicking your butt.  Truth is, the trainers are all awesome they motivate you to be superior.  Due to lightening the last pool class was cancelled which left the gym very full.  While the Green Team was doing Treading the rest of us were working on the weight machines.  I was happy to work my abs and chest a little more.

Dinner tonight was stuffed chicken and brussel sprouts and dessert was the very tasty chocolate covered strawberries usually served on Tuesday night.  A friend, Kristen doesn't like the strawberries and so I held off on my early fruit so I could have her strawberries too.  It was a fitting end to my last dinner her at the Ridge.

Every Thursday there is a jewelry expo in the lobby where you can look at local jewelry made by one of the hiking guides.  I am taking home a ring that will forever remind me of this magical place.  It is cut from local crystal and the band is made of leather.

I settled my bill tonight so tomorrow I can worry about saying my goodbyes to the many friends I have made here.  I will be leaving a night early due to the Ironman that is coming in on Saturday.  I got a great group shot of all the Biggest Loser contestants that are here right now.  They are all involved in the Ironman or 10K that is taking place on Saturday.  There were so many cameras taking our picture they didn't know which way to look.  All of the BL contestants are like you and me, maybe a little nicer than your average Joe, because they know what it's like to overcome their addictions and get fit.  This is a place of relating to one another which adds to its magic.

In closing tonight, I have been through so much in the past month and have done so many things that a month ago I would have said "I can't do", and what I have learned is, the only thing that stops you from saying YOU CAN, is a T.  So consider the T, "Trust"... and trust in yourself that YOU CAN, and don't let anything stop you from achieving your goals.

Day 25 Fitness Ridge

Again as I start my blog tonight I am blown away by how many days I have been here.  It is really hard not to think about going home and joining my home and work life again.  It is on my mind all day long while I am working out.  My trainers say its my last Kickboxing class etc, and it really hits me that I am leaving this wonderful place.  Tomorrow will be my last Treading class and as it stands I have climbed my last Utah mountain already.  I am doing the stop sign hike both Thursday and Friday thanks to a new friend from NYC, Lucinda.  She rented a car and does it daily and I spoke to the guides and they gave me the thumbs up.  I have already done all the hikes they have me on this week so I would rather get that 1200 calorie burn on the Stop Sign hike.

Since the first day of coming here I have never swayed at all with the program.  I ate whatever they served me, and I did whatever class they asked of me and went on every hike.  But with just a few days left I have stepped up a little bit more by doing more cardio classes and not doing anymore pool.  Today I had one of my best calorie burn days since I came.  My day actually started really early.  I decided to get a RMR Test which lets you know how many calories you burn doing nothing.  That test started at 5:30AM, and when it was finished I was off to Yoga at 6:00am.  My RMR is low, 1400 which doesn't surprise me one bit.  That means if I eat more than 1400 calories I better be working out to make up the difference.  Although it was necessary to get my weight, I asked Sharon not to tell me.  She did tell me for every 8 pounds I lose I have to subtract another 50 calories from my RMR.

So I went with Lucinda to Stop Sign today, I opted out of Camelback which I did last week.  I really savored the view today and took pictures and videos along the way.  It was nice not focusing on my time for a change.  When I was finished I burned over 1200 calories.  I have posted some of my favorite shots from my Stop Sign Hike today.

On my return to the Ridge we had stretch, and what's not to love about that class?  We work our bodies so hard here that its great we focus on stretching too once in awhile.  Immediately following my stretch class I had my VO2 test.  This test your personal fat burning zone.  You wear a mask on your face and walk the treadmill while your heart rate goes up.  It is also a stress test.  My fat burning zone is between 130-151.  My anaerobic zone is 151-155.  So basically I want to try and work out in the fat burning zone most the time and the anaerobic zone once a week.

Lunch was french onion soup and greek pita.  I love the greek pita.  I was offered to go on a trip to Quizno's being a month long guest, but the VO2 was at the same time, and truthfully I was fine staying in.  I also turned down a grocery store trip last week, I spend a lot of time in my grocery store with my nutritionist daughter, Michelle.

After lunch I did my Mountain class followed by more of the same instead of pool, then as Sharon put it, "my last Kickboxing class".

Dinner was salmon and couscous and pineapple with a strawberry glaze.  It was all pretty good.  I went to Target tonight to buy my adopted daughter, Ivy a birthday present since her birthday is Friday.  I have made many great friends here, some have already left and others leave when I do, and some will be staying for awhile longer.  It is a bittersweet goodbye as I truly will miss them all!

I am grateful that I came here for a month, even though I didn't think I could do it.  I think I have learned a very important lesson here, nothing is impossible.  DREAM BIG!!

Day 24 Fitness Ridge

Teary Tuesday as its sometimes called seemed full of exhausted guest.  I watched a NY girl who came here looking super fit on her cell phone saying "this is really hard".  She is right, this is no walk in the park.  Where do you go and workout 7 to 8 hours a day?  This place is about YOU finding YOU!!!  When you come here, this place caters to YOU and its all about YOU taking care of YOU.  You leave everything behind and focus on you.  So many people come here leaving behind all those people and things that occupy all there "me" time.  It is a place that lets you get reacquainted with YOU.  It is magical.

Being my last Tuesday here I planned on stepping it up a bit more.  After all, when I go home I won't be able to walk 50 feet and be inside a gym.  I started my day with my last Hard Core class with Anna Marie.  This class really is great as it works your middle.  If you come here and spend the money why wouldn't you want to take advantage of the early morning classes?

My hike today was new for me, it was White Rocks.  We start at the Hidden Pinyon location and you walk to the White Rocks and over them.  We walked to the top of Piano Rock again, then a really high peak on another mountain top.  I posted a picture of the narrow walk down that high peaked mountain.  It was breathtaking.  It is liberating to be able to just head up these mountains and have no fear.  That is what 4 weeks have done for me.

After the hike I went in to the gym and worked out on the elliptical, bike and treadmill.  My new friend Teresa said I am an animal.  I just keep thinking about my weigh-in on Friday morning and it keeps me motivated to burn as many calories as I can before Friday morning.

Lunch was tomato soup and a turkey sandwich, it was yummy!  Following lunch I had to attend a departure meeting which basically has you plan your program for staying on track when you go home.  Going to this lecture kept me from taking even a small nap.  I decided not to take a pool class today and instead took an extra cardio class.  In this class I worked out on the stairmaster, bike, treadmill and elliptical.  It might have been after that class that I was called an animal.  Following that class I had Cardio Intervals and I was feeling a bit tired so I did them on the bike, but worked it on the highest level 25.  Following this class I still had my Total Body Conditioning class, it was a long day.  But to make it even longer, Teresa and I went back in the gym and did our ab circuit.  We worked up our hunger for dinner!!

Dinner was an enchilada and chocolate coconut sorbet.  The enchilada was filled with veggies and beans, it was pretty flavorful.  There was a lecture for the new guest following dinner, then The Biggest Loser in the aerobic room.  Even though its my last Tuesday, I once again opted for my room.  I needed to ice my knees and foot and I have an early day tomorrow so my room was the best choice for me.

Oh we have another Biggest Loser Contestant here now, Seth Word, Season 2.  So that makes 4 contestants, also Suzy Preston Hoover, Eric Chopin and Jim Germanako. You never know who your going to be working along side of here at the Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge!  It's pretty cool!

In conclusion for my last Tuesday here, we discussed having goals, making goals along the way help you to become the person you want to be.  Have reachable attainable goals, they can be small goals, they don't have to be measured in numbers either.  One woman wanted to be able to play with her grand child, another wanted to be healthy enough to start a family.  For me, it's a strapless dress by September.  Once you make a goal you add what you are going to do fitness wise, nutrition wise, education wise and relaxation wise.  So make a small goal, and create a plan for yourself to reach it.  Try not to put a date on it unless it is attainable.  You have the ability to make the necessary changes, if you don't create a goal, what are you accepting for yourself?

Day 23 Fitness Ridge

Monday Monday....my last Monday took place today.  This week has me thinking about going home a lot more than the weeks prior.  With every class I take I think wow, this is my last Pilates class, this is my last time on the Anasazi Hike.  I am trying to step it up a little more this week since it's my last chance to up my results.  Today I took the 6:00am class with Anna Marie, then my hike.  When we returned I took the Mountain class instead of pool, it is a better cardio burn.  I did mountain on the treadmill and went to level 15, the highest level possible.

Lunch was sunchoke soup and yummy yummy tilapia tacos.  I added a little salsa and cilantro to the top of them and I was in heaven.  After lunch  I went to my room for a little bit, closing my eyes.  I took about a half an hour nap then I got up and headed to the gym.  I did about 15 mins of cardio on the elliptical before the circuit training class.  I was really tired when we were finished with that class.  But with only 15 minutes to recover I was quickly in Step and Pump with John Yohman.  I don't know if he was trying to kick my butt, or everyones butt, all I can say is that was the hardest Step and Pump class I have attended here.  Whew!

I was so exhausted, it took all my energy just to get my bathing suit on and head to the pool.  I didn't workout in the pool as hard as usual but I was still burning calories.  4:30pm class always allows for a nice long shower before dinner.  Nothing feels better than getting a shower and dressing in my sweats for dinner.

Dinner was amazing tonight, we had wasabi mashed potatoes with chicken and asparagus with a pineapple sorbet for dessert.  Not only did the food look beautifully presented, it was out and out delicious!  Having a month of meals cooked for me, I worry about having to cook again at home. I am feeling a little spoiled, I haven't even washed a dirty dish in weeks!  Well there must be some calories burned cooking and doing my dishes, so I guess I will get through it!  (he-he)

Everyday isn't going to offer you a ton of energy, so on the days you feel tired do what you can to exercise.  Even if it's only for a little bit of time.  Not only will you be good to your body, you will be good to your mind.