Saturday Hiking

Day Two of the vacation started with massages. It was preferred to do it at night but scheduling didn't allow it. I asked the masseuse to spend a lot of time on my lower body and she tried her best to get the kinks out of my legs. Apparently my quads and hamstrings were super tight. :( Not good! I really need to be stretching more. I think every day I should be stretching.

We went for a very nice hike along a river. Of course, I hadn't planned for the very nice weather in Bend and was wearing the wrong clothes. We ended up getting turned around and taking the long way back to the car. So an hour long hike turned into 2 1/2 hours.

We were all dead on our feet after that! We limped back to the car and drove to Bend where we had a really nice dinner at La Rosa. It was Mexican food and very tasty. We ate like we hadn't eaten in days!! I had burned 725 calories hiking and we hadn't eaten since breakfast = famished!

Back at the timeshare, Michael and headed to the hot tubs. It felt so nice on my sore, tired, overworked muscles. Then it was time for more games. We played a few games of Apples to Apples and then I crashed and slept like the dead!

Sunday morning, we ate a good breakfast and then did 18 holes on their Putt-Putt course! It took about 2 hours and we had a blast! I didn't count my calories while we played but I'm sure I burned enough. Lunch was Subway on our way out of town.

It was a fantastic weekend. I am still sick. I plan on resting as much as I can this week.

Deschutes Lunch

We had a fantastic time in Bend this weekend! When we arrived Friday, we stopped at the Deschutes Brewery for lunch. It was fantastic. I got a burger and salad (instead of fries!). And of course, an ale.

I went way over my calories on Friday. But I tried not to beat myself up too much because I was on vacation AND we went snowshoeing and burned a ton of calories.

My cold was pretty nasty all weekend. :( I'm worried about the run next weekend. I've been taking Zicam since Thursday and I think it has helped a lot.

Snowshoeing!

One of my favorite winter activities is snowshoeing. I'm fairly new to the sport, and haven't attempted to do it on my own yet. I hope to remedy that in a few weeks when I go on vacation with some friends. We plan on renting some snowshoes and poles from REI for the weekend and exploring Mt. Bachelor.

Some people might be intimidated by the concept, but really, after a 5 minute lesson on how to put the shoes on, you'll be fine. I suggest a guided tour at first, unless you have training in outdoor navigation. When everything is white, it's very easy to get turned around.

Besides the fact that snowshoeing is a lot of fun, it's a GREAT workout! If you don't like running, but walking or hiking is your thing, snowshoeing will be a snap. It's essentially just walking on top of snow.

Some of the benefits include:
*You burn 45% more calories snowshoeing than if you were just walking or hiking.
*Hip flexors and quadriceps can get more of a workout than just walking due to the lifting motion of each step. (Which is great news for runners and bikers!)
*It's a low-impact aerobic exercise.
*It's much easier to learn than skiing! :)

Depending on what part of the country you live in, winters can be pretty brutal. If you're a runner and it's snowing (like in Philly where my brother lives!), you can't go for a run outside. Snowshoeing is a great cross-training activity.

Alcohol

I love me some wine. Wine is probably my favorite adult beverage. Portland is a great city for wine tasting, which is a fun spring/summer activity! In fact, last year for our anniversary we went to Hood River for wine tasting. Mmmm.

I've never been a big beer fan, but I've warmed up to it and find that I like it a lot, too. For my 30th birthday last month, my boyfriend and I went to the Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon. Good beer!

That brings me to my point. Alcohol is yummy. But it converts to sugar in your body. Basically, you're just drinking empty calories that make you fat. It's a bummer, I know. For two years while I was losing my weight, I refrained from drinking alcohol as much as I could. Honestly, I didn't miss it either. If you're watching your calories, eliminating alcohol is a good first step.

Top 5 worst drinks:
1. Margarita in a pint glass (2 oz. tequila, 2 oz. margarita/sour mix, 1 oz. triple sec, lime juice, 1 tsp. sugar) - 550 calories
2. Mudslide (1.5 oz. coffee liqueur, 1.5 oz. Irish cream, 1.5 oz. vodka) - 417 calories
3. Long Island Ice Tea (1 oz. vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and triple sec, 2 oz. sour mix, splash of cola) - 380 calories
4. White Russian (1.5 oz. vodka, 1.5 oz. coffee liqueur, 1.5 oz. cream) - 320 calories
5. Piña Colada (1.5 oz. rum, 1.5 oz. coconut cream, 3 oz. pineapple juice) - 293 calories

Top 5 best drinks:
1. Rum and Diet Coke (1 oz. rum) - 65 calories
Tip: Use diet sodas as mixers, such as gin and diet tonic, diet 7Up and Seagrams 7, diet ginger ale and Jack Daniels, and so on.
2. Vodka and Soda (1 oz. vodka) - 65 calories
3. White Wine Spritzer (4 oz. white wine topped with club soda) - 80 calories

I've been under the weather for the last month or so, so I stopped drinking alcohol. Counting my calories, I realized just how much I've been saving by not drinking! I was shocked. I've been able to eat out, eat things I love, and still come in under my daily allowance for calories! Why? I haven't been drinking my calories! This is not to say I'll never drink again. But it's something everyone should be conscious of if calorie counting.