Thoughts on Wednesday

I know that I have been putting a lot of information on here (the daily schedules as well as the hike pictures), but I want to include a bit more – maybe a bit of what my experience has been like here – and maybe a bit of the emotional side of being here.

First of all, so far the experience has been great! I am just at the right fitness level for a program like this. Strong enough that I can really enjoy it and not be totally miserable from the workouts, but also at a point where I have a good amount of room for improvement.

I've spent parts of each day tired – but the funny thing is that the kind of tired changes within a day – from tired muscles to exhausted tired to just plain sleepy tired. Most of all, I've felt slightly sore and sleepy tired. But in some ironic way, I also feel energetic. For example, right now it's about 9:20, I don't have anything I need to do, but I'm not quite ready to go to bed – and I have to get up at 5:45 for a 2.5 hour hike!

I've also felt a tiny bit “brain dead” - maybe that's not quite the right word – but it hasn't been a terribly emotional week for me. Maybe it's just that I'm on autopilot going from class to class and getting ready (bandaids on for hikes, sunscreen and bathing suit on for pool class, clean clothes on when you're finished working out, etc.) for classes.

The people I've met here cover a pretty wide spectrum. In age they range from early 20s to 60s, and most range from slightly overweight to obese. Most actually do have a moderate amount of weight to lose. What I've found most interesting is how long some people are staying. There is a girl who just finished college and is staying here 6 weeks before starting a job she already has. There's another who is here for 8 weeks, who is coming out of a depression and giving herself this time to really change some things in here life. I'm amazed at the everyday, normal folks who are here for 2 or 3 or 4 weeks – who just took vacation from their jobs and made it happen. Interesting, eh?

In case you're wondering about the food, I think the food here is really good. It's light and healthy and seems like enough, but definitely not too much. I definitely have felt hungry, but not in a way that makes me frustrated. Usually when I get hungry it's either time for a class or a meal or bed. We eat 1200 calories a day (300 at breakfast, 400 at lunch, and 500 at dinner). Included in the 1200 is a piece of fruit to take on our hikes. We also get dessert with dinner, and they have been really good. All of the food is dairy-free, and white sugar and white flour-free. They use fructose and agave nectar to sweeten some of the desserts and all breads and desserts use whole wheat flour. And they use lots of tofu! The meals are served pre-portioned and they are very strict about the portion sizes. There was a girl sitting by me tonight who is celebrating her 40th birthday today. We had chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert (2) and they were VERY good, and she asked for one more (since it was her birthday). Cody, our 18 or so year old server said that unfortunately he couldn't give her another one. I joked that he might lose his job if he did (in all actuality I knew they were probably very serious about this), and he said that yes, that was true...he could probably actually lose his job for doing that. Crazy – but I see the logic.

This post has been a bit scattered, but I hope you enjoyed reading it. Off to bed and I'll write more tomorrow...