Staying healthy on vacay Part 1

Well I am back from my trip to Panama, Trinidad & Tobago! I had an amazing time! I must say I am so grateful for parents who love to travel and taught my sister and I to love it too! It is amazing to see the world and I am blessed to be able to do it! All in all it was a great trip! I lost 6 pounds, 3 of which I have regained in less than a week but oh well! I came back Sunday at 12 midnight but still went to my workout session with my personal trainer on Monday!

Me at the Panama Canal@ lunch!

My sister Jessica & me at Jourvet in Trinidad the kick of to Carnival! Full of mud, paint & beer! Oh and dancing & palancing down the roaddddd!

The beer in question! Carib is Trinidadian beer taste like a Corona

WARNING....FOODPORN BELOW!

If its one thing Island people can do it is cook! And really South American and Caribbean food is healthy mostly meats, veggies, and good carbs!

The spread from Jemma's Tree house in Tobago. Lightly fried King fish, Curry fish, veggies, mac pie (ok that's a lot of butter & cheese but in moderation its all good!)


This is a Trini staple called Doubles it has chickpeas and a great sauce and it on a pita bread type thing that is soft and a little sweet! Yummm ok the can is carbonated apple juice... I tried it but....YUCK!

This is chicken roti its almost like a curry type sauce and the same soft bread like thingie

This is chicken soup Panama style. It was deeeee-lish! It had a huge piece of seasoned chicken, celery, cilantro, and other herbs and spices oh my gosh! I was talking about it lovingly on the elevator at work and someone on our floor overheard me and jumped in and said where you in Panama because that's how we cook our soup! I told her yes and i need the recipe!! lol Score!

Candies from Trinidad

Breakfast in Panama eggs, fried green plantain, local cheese, and chicken tamale
Ok moving on!!!

Traveling is not a leisurely activity. Well I guess it can be but when you think about it catching planes, hauling bags, going up and down steps, etc. and that's just getting to the airport you can burn some serious calories! But I stayed at the Panama City Marriott and they had a great gym! I worked out before heading to the Panama canal and it was great!

I've done that for years now even when I have AKA conventions I stay in a hotel with a gym so there is no excuse! Although kudos to my sorority we have an aerobic class most morning before the conference starts so there are options while on travel.

I had an extra boost because of all the snow we had see below! I shoveled myself out twice in 3 days over 30 plus inches madness! Well it had me in tip top shape I guess!

Snowtorious 2K10 couldn't hold me back!

On Vaycay

Well I am on the road...again! I finally planned a visit to my sister who is at school in Trinidad and I always said when I went I would do a two for trip since Trinidad was so close to South America. So I went to Panama! It was a layover so I just asked if it could be a day layover instead of just a few hours and the airline said sure! It turns out it is going to be a layover going and coming which is fine by me since there is so much to do and see in Panama! I went to see the Panama Canal and I had an awesome time! On the way home I will visit the Old Panama City!

Working out...I always stay at the Marriott Hotels when I can because they have a standard that I like including a state of the art gym in all of their hotels! In an effort to lose some weight while I am away I made sure I worked out. I did 45 minutes on the elliptical machine the day I was going to fly out to Trinidad. It is so easy to make excuses and fall out of a routine but I made up my mind to workout in the gym. I am glad I did it! I also enjoyed a lot of walking! We'll see what the scales say when I get back but having a great time! Before the trip Maryland/DC area got hit twice with horrible snow storms but I did use my treadmill and I felt the difference when I had to shovel lol I really didn't get sore or that tired considering all of the snow I had to move to get outta town! So all good things!

I am in Carnival central and I should be taking nap considering we went out partying from 11pm to 9am this morning..Yes you read that right! The event is called Insomnia..Ha! Real cute right? Well we have another event tonight but my body is a machine it doesn't matter what time I go to sleep at 7am its time to get on with life so while everyone else crashed for a few good hours I killed time on line because I couldn't sleep a wink lol well we'll see how it goes tonight! Looking forward to it that's for sure!

Food wise I am doing well. I tried shark last night...yes I said Shark! As the locals say shark is just another fish lol it was ok taste like chicken to me! I am planning to get some authentic Panamanian food and Trini food and the funny thing is its not unhealthy but I will watch my portions! And I will post pictures :-)

Snow-torious 2010

Snow + Notorious = Snowtorious!

Well its been called a lot of things but the snow storm to end all snow storms has hit the DMV (DC/Maryland/Va area) WHAT A DAMN MESS!!! I have been in the house since Thursday evening! I finally made it out this morning after shoveling yesterday for like 1.5 hours and the darn car would not budge! I went out again this morning around 8am did a little more digging and finally Justice (my car) was free! I was free! I went to the store and got some crap...yeah crap... cookies, ice cream, chips, and even soda! I don't even drink soda anymore lol I did get some soup, fish, and juice.

I actually lost like 3 pounds putting me at an all time low so yes I buy junk to celebrate no logic to it but on the up side I am not feigning for any of it like that anyway lol but I will be logging in on Weight Watchers to stay on point!

I did get some nice text messages from my Personal Trainer Charles telling me to "Do 5 miles" on Saturday, "Watch the snacking," & "Remember the weigh in comes after the storm" (lol) my all time favorite.

I did do 1 hour on the treadmill Saturday, 1.5 hours of shoveling on Monday, 1 hour shoveling today! Good news I am not sore! I should be using the treadmill tomorrow! Will be!

I will be home tomorrow I am sure. But I am praying to go to work on Thursday to wrap up somethings before my trip to Panama and Trinidad & Tobago! I am sooo excited to get outta here and sit in the sun!

Tomorrow is another day! Hope you are all well & not snacking too much! Try and get some form of exercise in!

Did you do some shoveling? How many calories did you burn? Click here & See!

My Return

Well I went back to my old gym Lynne Bricks last night. My fave spinning teacher has a great class on Weds. at 5:30pm and I would often break my neck to get there when I worked closer to home. After I changed jobs that became really hard to catch but I figured it was time to go back and get my spin on seeing as how my triathlon is coming up!

*****Speaking of which here is my fundraising website! Please make a donation its for a good cause! I am only asking for $10! Thanks for your support!!!! http://pages.teamintraining.org/md/irongcol10/cloweo

Anyway back to spinning class! For those that don't know what a spin class is, its basically indoor biking to (hopefully) good music! Its a great calorie burner and with the right music and energy its a great way to spend 60 minutes of your life in the same place lol but its funny the energy in the class makes all the difference! You can really get competitive in there! Hence my lil cartoon hee hee!

Anyway I am not in as much pain as I thought I would be considering I have not taken a spin class in eeekkk maybe over a year now?! At one point in time I would spin 2 days a week every week. Spinning and lifting weights are two very good secret weapons. The biking trims your lower body down quickly! Same thing with weights because the muscle you build takes up less space and helps to burn fat even when you are at rest. I know people who weight less than I do but I can wear a smaller dress size than they do because of how much exercise I am doing! Win/Win! Here's an article on the Pros & Cons of Spinning & one on the Benefits of Lifting Weights for Women

Both have been very helpful to me so if you've never tried them! Try it this week!! So far I only made it to the gym for my trainer on Monday and then for Spinning last night. Tonight I have a Bar Association meeting and dinner plans and we are back to Friday! They are calling for all kinds of snow like 24 inches was the last thing I heard so we will see about my workout Saturday but my treadmill is my back up. I need to hit up Weight Watchers this week to see if I am down I think my home scale has a pound and I'll take it. I am journaling on line again but I am so a paper and pen girl! Anyway happy hunting!

C~