To the West Coast and Back in 36 hours

This week has started out a bit chaotic as expected. Starting off with Monday and a 3 hour flight delay to San Francisco from Nashville was not my idea of a great beginning. However, the trip out west and back in less than 24 hours was pretty painless overall. Staying in the Westin St. Francis was a nice venue for a good night's sleep not to mention the workout facility there on site was nicer than expected. In fact, I managed to workout while enjoying the benefits of a sauna because the air in my room was a nice, comfy 68 degrees but the temperature in the fitness center was more like 75. Therefore, the first 10 minutes of my workout was comfortable...the next 50 minutes seemed to condition me more for the Sahara Desert. Either way...I managed to knock out 1 hour of cardio on Day 1 of my travels. 

As far as the CMSA Lunch Symposium presentation went...I enjoyed the opportunity to share a little piece of what I do on a daily basis at Vandy with a group (150-200) of knowledge hungry case managers from across the country.

Now...let's talk about consumption. Spending hours on airplanes and in airports doesn't allow for great nutrition.

Last night's dinner ended up being a slice of chicken pizza from the local Pizzeria followed by a cup of goodness...aka Pistachio Gelato. I don't ever remember having gelato but I can say...I WANT MORE just like that small cup that I indulged in along the streets of San Francisco. I had intended to have a nice dinner at the highly recommended Mexican restaurant, Calibrio, but the host (aka...ass) refused to offer me a seat in the dining room since I was a party of 1. He said that I would need to watch the bar for an opening since the "larger tables were more for parties of 2 or more." After waiting about 30 minutes for an open barstool, I ended up walking out and down a few doors to the pizzeria. Great customer service there, I must add. 

So this morning's breakfast consisted of a Starbucks latte, an egg and cheese on English muffin, and a banana. Lunch consisted of a quick, on-the-go sandwich and fries. On the first leg of my trip home, I threw in a Snickers bar for comfort food.

A quick side note for you...I chose the front seat of the plane next to a very pleasant fella as we boarded in San Fran. I can't even share his name because I didn't even ask it despite non-stop conversation with him for the 2 1/2 hour flight. He and I realized that we were both from Nashville, and that seemed to be a good conversation starter. We commenced sharing stories of the importance of "making memories". He explained that he had recently lost his mother due to lung disease and his father had passed away a couple of years ago. He said that he realized thru these losses that he needed to make memories while he was healthy enough. He had spent the last 2 years caring for his mother before her demise so he decided to take the last 10 days to travel to San Fran to visit his sister. Our conversation continued to roll into talking about weight loss some how. I think it started with him asking me what time I woke up and what I was doing up so early on "my day off". I explained that nearly all of my days start with the alarm sounding at 3:45am with my determination to start each day by burning a few calories so I could eat more gelato if given another opportunity. As I sat next to him in the front row, we shared 3 seats between the 2 of us. I was seated securely and comfortably in my aisle seat (which is much different than the last flight that I took to San Fran about 18 months ago) as his elbow lacked about 6 inches from touching my armrest. Yes, his size cost him a double airfare.  I was able to share a portion of my weight loss journey with him as we discussed our typical day. As he spoke of finding his niche in life with being a realtor, he mentioned that he was eager to lose weight so that he could live long enough to enjoy 32 better years. I chimed in with how purging the old habits seemed to be the only fighting chance that I had with losing weight and keeping it off. Realizing that I was unhappy with myself and absolutely needing to make a change was only the beginning of the challenge that I had avoided for years. Long story short, my decision to pick the seat beside him was no mistake. Many others had passed him by since I was toward the end of "B" boarding and he had been able to pre-board. I saw opportunity for great conversation with this robust fella blessed with a great smile and great salt/pepper hair (as he had obviously greyed a bit prematurely).

Our conversation slowed after my not-so-great experience with turbulence on the decent into Las Vegas. After I spent a minute (or twenty) in the bathroom in the airport, I decided to visit the Starbucks once I made it to the gate for the next departure. A cold, skinny White Chocolate Mocha Frap sure cooled this 'ole gal off after I had broken three kinds of sweat in my attempts to keep from puking up the fries and ham/swiss sandwich from lunch.

The 2nd leg of my flight was not nearly as fun since the aisle seat on the front row sitting next to my newest acquaintance was already taken as I boarded. I will close by saying that we met up again at the conveyor belt as we were picking up our checked baggage. As we shook hands and prepared to go our separate ways, he introduced himself as "Kelley"...a name of true Irish decent he added. I had worried that I had talked his ear off on the flight and obligated him to talking about getting fit, etc. However, to my surprise, he relieved my worries without even knowing it as he thanked me for the conversation and the inspiration to "get busy with change" soon. As far as "making memories"...I definitely can say that a made a few this trip but the most fond memory will be remembering the opportunity to make a new friend.

This morning...I jumped on the scale just for giggles. I am currently down about 1 pound since last Friday so looks like I haven't lost all control thus far. Fingers crossed for a few more good days :) A little sleep deprived but holding strong. All of that with a side of peanuts and you have Monday and Tuesday in a nutshell.