Aruba Photo Diary

Hey Hey Hey! It's been awhile. I cannot believe Aruba has come and gone and summer is coming to an end. It was a fabulous 12 days at my home away from home and extremely hard to leave. See for yourself...

2:15 am is an early call, but it's Aruba.. Anytime is a good time to go

The good thing about a 7am flight is that we arrived at the Hyatt just in time for lunch! I always get the Cobb Salad the first day...

Beautiful views on our first day...

My towel line days got me up and at the gym early! It wasn't so bad, it was a good group and there is something so peaceful about having bar time, and enjoying my surroundings! Here is a shot of the line... 

 

Twice someone interrupted me while I was eating my bar.. It could have gotten very ugly. 

Of course some gym shots..

Nothing like Starbucks in my favorite 

spot !

Big girl bar time!

Paddle boarding was fun and burned some extra calories...

The snorkeling trip was a blast too! Snorkeling, waterslide, rope swinging..

Aruba would not be complete without a night at Señor Frogs! Thanks to my cousin Mimi for the treat! 

My friend Jose joined us too!

I finally made it to the Divi Divi trees where Aruba tourism does a lot of their advertisement. Mimi was a great photographer. 

These views! Can't get enough! 

I took some really nice walks. So tranquil.. Check out my "selfie" lol

I tried this appetizer for the first time. The Keshi Yena. It's an Aruban dish my brother gets all of the time.. Pretty good! 

Family pic...

The Aruban people are so friendly...

Richard Elliott, the assistant GM of the Hyatt is always so welcoming! 

;) 

I am already looking forward to the next visit! Miss my Aruba family!! 

Until next time...

Checking in from ONe Happy Island

Bon dia! So far Aruba is greaaattt. I figured I would make a quick post to share some pictures and see how I am doing with my "Aruba Goals." 

I am proud to say that I have been doing really well as far as enjoying with self control. Breakfast has been tamed and I have always left satisfied and not stuffed. I have been switching up my lunches and trying new things! 

Dinners have been good for the most part. I am saving my splurges and desserts for my favorite restaurants. I have been pacing myself throughout the time and I am feeling great. 

My blood sugars have actually been really good! I am not spiking after breakfast and starting to learn what works. No big swings either! The biggest "issue" was this... 

After pool volleyball. It always seems that swimming will do that. I guess since you don't realize how hard your body actually works in the pool because you don't sweat. Since my numbers have been pretty good I guess I should just stay here. :) 

Yesterday I tried paddle boarding! Great workout. 

The weather has been beautiful and my tan is well under way. It's so nice to be back at my second home! 

I could get used to this view! 

Aruba Goals

In 48 hours I will be sitting under the sun on Palm Beach, Aruba. I AM SO EXCITED!!! I look forward to Aruba all year so it is crazy to think that it is here again. With that said I have a few goals for this vacation and by writing about them hopefully I will stick to them.

1. Enjoy myself with some self control. For the most part I am a healthy eater, but as we all know I do like to eat. With all of the great food and tropical drinks I want to be able to get my fix, but I don't want to go crazy either and then feel guilty for going overboard. It is difficult when each day begins with the best buffet breakfast in the world! What I need to do is remind myself that it is not going to be the last time that will I see all of these great things. With that said here are some things I am going to do so I do not go overboard:

• Make ONE and only ONE trip to the buffet for breakfast and make wise choices. I don't need bacon and sausage everyday I am there. I will take advantage and enjoy the healthier choices available.
• Switch up lunch. I usually stick to salads, but this year I am going to rotate. Salads, fruit smoothies and frozen yogurt. There is a juice bar at the hotel and it is actually healthy! Not like jamba juice or tropical smoothie or anything. They are normal sizes and very filling. The drinks all have the cutest names. My favorites include the Berry Blast, Bernardo's Blend and Nube's Nirvana. By having a small frozen yogurt I will probably wind up consuming less calories than the huge salads. This will allow me to get all different goodies in and not feel deprived.
• Obviously Bar Time will remain in tact. So happy the Hyatt serves Starbucks. :)
• Dinner I will work harder on eating slower and really enjoying my time in Aruba, the ambiance and the company. I have come a long way with saying no to dessert all of the time so I don't think that will be an issue. I am definitely going to treat myself, but like I said, with self control.
• Fortunately for me I am not a big drinker so this isn't an issue for me. It is nice to have a glass of wine with dinner and the Caribbean wouldn't be the same without pina coladas, banana daiquiris and of course aruba aribas. These will all definitely be worked into my vacation!

2. Not stress over blood sugars. Unfortunately there are no vacations from T1D. As much as I would like to take my "2 weeks" vacation, I know that is just not possible. I will obviously stay on top of it and be diligent like always, but I am not going to stress. I have everything I need to battle and after the first few days I will adjust to how the new environment and food will affect me.

3. Not go to the gym everyday. I have been asked so many times... "Why do you workout on vacation?!" The answer is because I enjoy to. Vacations are meant for things you enjoy...so there is your answer. However I am not going to force myself into a regimented schedule. If I want to skip a day inside the gym, I will! Instead I will go for a walk on the beach. To make my gym time the most effective I have saved a bunch of my circuit workouts that I will use. Tabata will be my best friend over these 12 days! My nutritionist, Barbie gave me some great advice. She said if you are feeling like you are eating a little more, then move a little more. Taking the steps, walking the beaches and walking around after dinner are all ways to do this.

4. RELAX!!!  I know I just made a list of goals and it may sound contradicting to "relax" and reach goals, but it will help me to appreciate what is really important about this vacation!! I am soooo excited!

I am very proud that I am basically all packed. I usually am guilty with waiting until the night before, but it is just too early of a wakeup call on Friday (not complaining lol) to be rushing around the night before.

My gym clothes and bars were packed first. Priorities.

Now I need to decide on a color for my nails. I love all of the Essie colors... I just need to decide on a pedicure color because I am getting a shellac French Manicure so it lasts! I usually always do a bright pink toe, but I cant decide!! I got these two new colors yesterday. "Play Date" and "Bikini So Teeny."

I really like the blue and the name is just so fitting for Aruba, but I don't know if it bright enough! My other option is "Bottle Service" which is a bright pink.

Decisions Decisions... any ideas? 

Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

Happy Friday! One week until ....

 

So I thought it would be appropriate to do a workout related post.

 

Since Sunday's BBQ I have really been stepping it up and trying to add in some different techniques to maximize my workouts. For my birthday I received a Polar heart rate monitor watch. It has been helpful to wear to see how different exercises play with my heart rate. It is cool to see it jump when I push myself just a little bit harder.

 

Sunday started by running 4 miles then a crazy leg workout that had me SOAKED. On Monday and Wednesday of this week I went to my usual spin classes. Afterward I did an extra 20 minutes on the treadmill and abs. Also both days I did a minute of bosu ball burpees. INSANE!! I love burpees and hate them at the same time. I read that they boost your metabolism the remainder of the day so in the end they are worth it. I love this meme that my friend Ashley shared with me last summer.

 

 

:)

 

Thursday was my double class day. Angela teaches great classes! The first is a step/kickboxing/weight class.  I was loving the 70's themed music.

 

The second is a standard weight training class. I love that one because it gives me ideas on how to weight train on my own. Many people (women especially) "fear" weight training because they think they will get bulky/manly looking, but that is not true! It is so important and actually burns more calories the rest of the day than running for 30 mins straight.

 

By 12pm on Thursdays after 2 solid hours I am ready for a nap!

 

Today was spent doing treadmill intervals, abs and yoga. Also before heading to yoga I tried a new machine. The stair master...

 

It was nice to switch it up and I also got a whole other view of the gym from being up so high.

 

I look forward to really pushing it this next week. Another tip that has been motivating me is the idea of visualization. For me it has been walking the beaches of Aruba. During runs I imagine myself crossing the finish line of a race. My favorite expression is being "uncomfortably comfortable." In other words, giving myself that extra push. Getting out of my comfort zone, but not killing myself at the gym. I know I cant run 10 miles straight at this point and trying to do that straight right now would be dumb and unsafe. Instead I will tell myself to pick up the pace for the next 5 minutes, go for 3 extra reps, etc. Realistic pushes that get me out of my comfort zone.

 

I hope this motivated you to get to the gym! :) 

A snap of my healthy dinner from last night. Salmon, sweet potato and carrots. 

 

 

Sleepless in Commack...

If only I knew that the outcome in Commack would turn out as good as the one in the movie. Its been a slightly rough week for me in a few areas. First off, I think I have woken up in the middle of the night due to a low blood sugar at least 3x this week. Having a low blood sugar isn't fun to begin with, but its even more frustrating during the middle of the night. It takes about a good 30 minutes to fully recover and go back to sleep safely and I hate having to eat in the middle of the night. The worst part is that for 2 of these incidences there was no explanation. I went to sleep at a safe number then all of a sudden BAM I am awake shaking and disoriented. However last night after my stupid decision to take 2 units for a correction before bed, I guess I should have expected it. Sometimes I act too quickly then get that "oh sh*t" feeling. Sure enough my 2 am wakeup call confirmed that feeling. I knew I should have gone with 1 unit instead of 2.

For the unexpected lows, I may need to adjust my insulin at night, but I'll have to wait and see what happens this weekend. It has definitely affected my workouts as I have felt a bit more fatigued.

Another issue that has been on my mind is the idea of always wanting what you can't have. Or anytime there is something in your life that you become excited over, it never turns out the way you hope/imagined. Or feeling like you would be willing to do anything for someone, but not having the feeling be mutual. I guess it is just a part of life, but it just seems to be like a reoccurring theme (for me at least). I always try to believe that things happen for a reason, but sometimes a little explanation would be nice.

On the bright side, in exactly 3 weeks I will arriving at my favorite place in the world. Can you guess? Yes, ARUBA! So for these next 3 weeks my goal is to do things to better myself. Focus on the positive, appreciate honest people, appreciate the things I enjoy... the gym, spin class, Starbucks, etc... and believe that one day all of the pieces will be together.