I DID IT!!

After my trip to Chicago, I am pleased to say that I came home without gaining a pound!  How did I do it?  Here's the scoop:

Breakfast:  The hotel buffet had everything I need.  Every day I ate hard boiled eggs,

fresh fruit (pineapple, strawberries, melon, and grapes),

and Special K cereal (no milk). 

This was delicious, filling and just the right amount of calories to get my day going.

AM Snack:  A protein bar and some dried fruit (apricots or plums) got my energy and blood sugar back on track.

Lunch:  The food offered at the event was NOT program friendly, so I took the rental car down to Subway every day and got myself a healthy lunch of roasted chicken salad with sliced apples and water. 

PM Snack:  Some fresh fruit and a small 50-calorie pack of beef jerky was enough to hold me until dinner.

Dinner:  We went to an Italian restaurant for two nights... I ate salad with lemon juice for dressing and for my protein, I had shrimp cocktail one night and grilled octopus the next.  Another night we went to McCormick and Schmick's... that was PERFECT!  I was able to get a salad and then a trout with asparagus dish that was out of this world!

Exercise:  The hotel had a fairly good fitness room, so I was able to get my walking in.  One night it got too late to work out there, so I did some pushups, situps, body weight squats in my room.

Anyway... I am VERY happy with the results.  Next trip, the goal will be to come home LIGHTER than when I left!

My Next Challenge is NOT About Losing Weight

Since I began this journey in January, I have traveled away from Adam's reach twice:  once when I went to Sonoma with my friends Bob & Tonya, and again when Shin & I went to Peru to celebrate our 30th anniversary.  While BOTH trips were great and I thought I was doing my best to stay on my program, I came back with extra weight both times!

This Monday I will travel to Chicago for a 4-day business trip, and I have ONE goal -- to NOT gain weight!  I am VERY proud of all of the progress that I have made with Adam's guidance and encouragement, but I have to learn to manage this process even when he is NOT at my side.  For now, it seems that every time I'm more than 20 miles away from him I end up failing.

So... I'm challenging myself:

Business Trip to Chicago - paid for by Okuma

Working Out in the Hotel - complimentary

Not Gaining Weight on My Trip - PRICELESS!!!!!!!!

For all my friends who will be in Chicago with me... your support will be appreciated.  For everyone reading this blog...pray for me, PLEASE!!

I Love My Friends!

After several weeks of disappointing results with my weight loss efforts, I posted a quite sad, "woe-is-me" update on my facebook page:

Mindy Chaffee Mikami is still struggling to break the 90-pound barrier! This is ridiculous! I'm SO frustrated, I could just cry...part of me knows it's going to eventually happen, but part of me is on the verge of giving up! Does that make me weak?
 
 
Imagine my surprise when I got all these fantastic comments from my friends!  I am truly blessed!  I love you all!!
 
 


Kenny Hill:  You need to stop . How many women would love to be in your shoes .Keep doing what you doing :)


Susan Marie:  Welchyeah and quit whining...the Melinda Chaffee I know was not a whiner. 90 pounds in 10 months! I would be doing a break-down hallelujah party.


Taj Orr:  Don't give up....your doing great, it will break before you know it.


Fennell Hi:  No..... the reason why you have done so well is actually quite simple..... it's not that you're doing something "new". The reason why you have done and will continue to do well is that you KEEP SHOWING UP... in the face of pain you SHOW UP in the face of just being tired you SHOW UP in the face of self doubt that we all have you SHOW UP! That's why you will continue on your path and find results because you WILL SHOW UP! Love, success and strength will always and forever be your mate and meet you at the door Mindy. Your strength is awesome and I'm watching and getting engery from it.


Adam Franklin:  Well Spoken Fennell.  No great feat without great effort.


Adam Franklin:  Well, which part of you are you gonna listen to?  The one that wants to give up after we've made it 75% to our goal(WTF!!!), Or the one that you and me both share, that will @#$%ing Die!!! Before it gives up, or concedes to failure.  It gets darkest right before the dawn. The sun will come up.(Soon)

Mindy Chaffee Mikami:  I am SO lucky to have so many amazing friends. I can't believe how many of you took the time to write words of encouragement on my behalf! Fennell is right--my success IS a result of continuing to "SHOW UP," but what I've realized today is that the reason I am able to continue to "SHOW UP" is that I have such an awesome support group in you--all of my friends! I love you all...keep watching closely...you're going to see less of me SOON!

Adam Franklin:  That's more like it.


Micho Velickovich:  ...and the crowd screams in unison..."Mindy, Mindy, Mindy"


Fennell Hi:  :-)


Leslie Hoehne:  Just remember - pain is fear leaving the body.

Mindy Chaffee Mikami:  Thanks, LH! I think I've heard Adam (my trainer) say that before! He's just full of nuggets of wisdom these days!! Miss ya'!

Adam Franklin:  "Pain is weakness leaving the body" It's a marine quote. U were close though. It's OK.

What Does Mindy Eat? [Part II]

So, in an earlier post I talked about what I eat for breakfast.  Since I'm kind of stuck with my weight loss right now, I thought I would use this forum to reflect on my food.  For this post, let's talk about lunch.  Most days my lunch is some kind of salad.  Today was:

Lettuce (about 4 cups)

Mushrooms (about 5 or 6, sliced)

Onions (a little bit, sliced up)

Salmon (3 oz)

All of that with a little bit of fat free salad dressing was about 250 calories.  It was delicious AND nutritious, and made for me special by my fantastic husband.  I am SO lucky!

Keep rooting for me... I'm still working towards that goal!

75% Done! Yay!

This week has been very exciting because I've passed the 90-pound mark in my weight loss.  Only 30 pounds to go until my goal... the end is in sight!

This week I have also had the opportunity to see some people who I haven't seen in a long time.  Most of them were totally shocked and amazed by my appearance.  It's been SO much fun to hear all the comments and to have the opportunity to tell everyone exactly how I've accomplished all this.

As always, I am MOST grateful to my trainer and good friend, Adam.  He has been there every step of the way and keeps me on track with his special blend of discipline and encouragement.  I couldn't (nor would I want to) do it without him!

Keep reading and keep cheering for me...everyone's interest and kindness REALLY helps me to keep going!

Once in a while it's good to look in the rear view mirror

When you're driving, you mostly keep your eyes on the road in front of you, right?  However, occasionally, we know we need to glance in the rear view mirror, too.  I think that the same can be said about our lives.  We don't want to spend TOO much time dwelling on the past, but a little reflection can be good now and then.

For me, that means that most of the time I have my mind and actions focused on my goal of losing 120 pounds.  However, once in a while, I need to think about how far I've come and what it's taken to get here.  This becomes motivation to keep going, especially now that the finish line is WAY closer than the starting line.

Adam, my navigator and coach for this journey, always says that there's nothing that two people can't accomplish together -- especially if one of them is God.  After running the 5K this weekend, this is what he wrote to me in an email:

Less than a year ago, you had trouble walking for very long, or even worse going up a few flights of stairs..... You just "RAN" an entire (3.1 mile/5k) F***ing Race! Let us not ever let anyone tell us what God can't do!


Load it up Sister!, cause we're about to burn thruogh this final 30!  "Let's Lock It & Load It!"

I am so lucky to have such a good friend and motivator.  Thanks, Adam, for reminding me to look in that rear view mirror!  I've got my foot on the accelerator now... buckle up, baby!

My first 5K!

Thank you SO much to everyone who supported me in my first 5K race (either by donating money or by sending encouraging words)!  A special shout out to my main man Adam for whipping me into shape for this event!  Of course, now he is not satisfied with my pathetic time (MY words, not his) of 39 minutes and has set the bar at 25 minutes for next year.  Wow!  I have a lot of work to do there.  Don't worry... that's not a BAD thing... just motivation to get stronger, faster, and BETTER!

The Race for the Cure event was spectacular.  I really struggled for the last mile (thanks to the kind planning staff who put an uphill climb at the end), but all in all it wasn't too bad.  I learned that I need to eat more (both the night before and the morning of) the event, and that I need to arrive earlier so I'm not so rushed and stressed. But mostly I learned that whenever I set my mind to something (especially with the support of my friends and family), I can do it.

I was especially grateful (and proud) to have my son, Ken, and my husband, Shin, with me at this race.  Ken, who can run WAY faster than me, stayed with me the entire time.  His encouragement and calming presence really helped.  Shin, who can't yet run the entire 5K had his best time of 41 minutes.  I'm certain that next year he will run the entire course and finish even stronger.

So... the Red Tornado carved a path in the downtown area yesterday--look out for any leftover debris! 

Love to all!

What's in a Typical Breakfast?

Everyone is always asking me what I eat to support my weight loss program.  To start at the beginning, here is a little bit about what I eat for breakfast.

Almost every morning (around 7:00 AM) I eat the same thing for breakfast.  On work days, I usually eat this in the car on my way to work.  It's not glamorous, but it's nutritious, filling and I like it!

  

                             

1 ounce of Kashi Heart to Heart (dry... I don't like milk)

110 calories

2 hard boiled eggs (my favorite part is peeling them!)

140 calories

With a total of 250 calories, this gives me some good whole grain carbs and ample protein to get my day going.