There and Back Again: A Wandering Maia's tale

Well hello there.  No, I did not forget about this blog.  I have been busy traveling the globe and taking a bit of break from life, pretty much.

The last you heard from me, I was in Japan sweating my ass off.  While it was hot and I did lose some weight there, the experience in Japan was more of a "life journey" one rather than  "weight loss journey" one.  Aside from the quick visit I made for work about a month prior (in which all I saw of Tokyo was from inside a taxi cab) this trip I was able to go out and explore.  I soaked in the culture, and I can't lie... the food.  Hey, Tokyo is pretty known for it's food!

Shibuya intersection.  Right in front of my hotel

Japan was quite a trip and I am so glad that I was able to go and experience such an amazing country.  Unfortunately I was not able to really work out there AT ALL.  The hotel we were staying in did not have a gym and the one that hotel guests were able to utilize required you to wear their provided clothing.  Honestly, I couldn't get down with that.  Also, since I was staying in Shibuya (the Times Square of Tokyo) taking a run was pretty much out of the question.  Have you ever seen the movie "Lost in Translation"?  Well, basically that movie was shot all around where I was staying/working.  It will show you what I'm talking about.

When all was said and done when I got back from Japan I had actually lost a few pounds simply from sweating like a beast and walking around a lot.  It wasn't any significantly huge number, but it was something.  Unfortunately that loss disappeared in the weeks following.  Why?  Because I had 5 weeks off from work while our set was being shipped back to the States and I took advantage of it.

By doing what?

By going to New Zealand, of course!!

Seriously, GO TO NEW ZEALAND!

For those who don't know, my little sister lives in New Zealand and I thought having 5 weeks off from work would be the perfect time and excuse to go and finally visit her and see a beautiful country.  I took two out of my five weeks and flew BACK to the other side of the world (I came back to the States for ten days before I flew out.  Gotta rack up those frequent flyer miles!)  I did and saw so much in those two weeks.  I got to spend some great quality time with my little sister touring primarily the south island and seeing the breathtaking landscapes that this country has to offer.  I saw the breathtaking Milford Sound and hiked a glacier!!  I mean, come on... how cool is that?

While in New Zealand, I did a lot of walking but that's about it.  I wasn't really careful with my diet and even though I had brought my running gear with the best of intentions of taking a few runs along the waterfront in Wellington, I decided that chatting with my sister over a cup of tea was more important.  Needless to say, I didn't lose any weight while I was down there.  I did gain back the five pounds I had lost in Tokyo and brought back an extra couple just for good measure.

My little sister and me on Fox Glacier.  Admit it, we're awesome.

The real damage I think that I did came in the days upon my return to the States.  I flew back to NYC and had ten days before my trip back to the world of "Million Dollar Quartet" and my life on the road.  I should have taken advantage of this time by taking some runs through Central Park and watching what I ate.  Did I?  Nope.  I was lazy.  I knew the entire time that I was making bad choices, yet I just kept right on making them.  Telling myself that it was okay because I was still technically on vacation (um... no) and that I would just lose whatever weight I gained from said bad choices once I got back to my "real life."

Yeah, I ventured back into the headspace of Maia circa 2010.  I didn't think I would ever see the day when I started saying stuff like that to myself, but I did.  And what was the result?  I gained another three pounds.

On my last official weigh-in on 7/29 I was 249.2 with the hopes of losing 15 pounds in three months.  As I mentioned above, that did not happen.  Instead I came back to this:

254.9

That's the highest weight I've been in a LONG time.  Well over a year.  I have no excuses except that I was enjoying myself.  I wasn't taking care of myself, but I was enjoying myself.

I know that the journey I'm on and what I'm doing is a marathon and not a sprint.  I know that there are going to be set backs and this is one of them.  That's why I'm not really all that worried.  Because I've been back at work for four days now and I've worked out all four of them.  I'm tracking my calories carefully.  I'm making pretty good choices when it comes to food.

Also I am pre-training for my half marathon at the end of February.  I lost some of my stamina and I need to get back up to being able to run 3 miles consistently if I want to be able to complete this thing.  

Between moving my butt and tracking my diet I know that I'll get the weight I gained off, and I'm ready to keep right on going!  I'm tired of telling people that I have more I want to lose, I want to go right ahead and lose it!  I want to hit that goal weight!  I want to drop two more pants sizes.

These are all achievable goals and I'm in a pretty good mindset to do it.  My boss is doing really well and so we are supporting each other through this.  A simple "I'll see you in the gym tonight!" helps so much...

So, that's where I'm at.  Some amazing experiences in the past three months, with the pounds on my thighs to show for it.  But I'm refocused and ready to go.

This will happen.  I know it.

Why?  Because I'm going to MAKE it happen.