Palm Desert Adventure Part 1: My First Hike!

I had to take a first hike selfie.

I am back in California once again; this is the third year in a row that I have ventured out of the snow and into the sun (it is my fifth trip to California in the last four years). I absolutely love every minute I spend in California, I dream of living here some day. This year’s trip has brought us to a new place on our California adventure map, Palm Desert. 

The little computer inside my Fitbit has been on fire this past week as we tour the area. We actually only arrived last Monday, but it has been nearly a week now. We leave on Thursday and I am already feeling the hunger pains to come back to California again. Next year we have promised ourselves we will finally get to LA, this trip has been all about desert life!

Now there will be a ton to talk about in the blog over the coming days about our stay at our new Cali-home in The Lakes Country Club, but today is all about this fit chick’s first hike!

Yes, today I went on my first hike. I have NEVER been much of an outdoorsy girl so it will come as a huge shock to many who know me that I did not hate hiking. To be clear, I am not in love with hiking. Far from it actually, I had a near meltdown in the 89-degree heat after hour number two today, but it eventually passed when we finally arrived at our halfway destination.

Let’s go back a few steps before we get into my near tear emotional moment. This trip has not exactly been what I expected it to be, I am a routine gal who works two jobs and hauls her ass to the gym at least 5 days a week. I am not great at taking time outs. I usually pump out more blogs while I am on vacation then when I am at home and I usually have a major side project to complete while I am off the clock. This year I have been approached and started a side project but have been off the blog train until now. 

To me, hiking is self-torture. It is walking to walk on land that is unwalkable (or not walkable with ease). Unless there is a truly unique view or purpose I am not down to clown around hiking. Hiking was not my thing before today; it is still not my thing. I did have fun tracking our walk with my new Fitbit Surge (I am very happy I bought it before this trip).

Today’s hike (my first hike ever) took us to Agua Caliente Indian Reserve where we actually did two hikes. The first was very easy (and enjoyable) it took us 30 minutes in the sun to trek around Andreas Canyon. I really did not mind this part of the hike, I even felt like I could get on-board with hiking while doing this walk. Then I saw a family with small children all wearing dresses managing battling the rocks with a stroller and figured out that things were way too easy to get let off the hook with a quick hike.

No, we could not hike where strollers could kind of roll; we needed more of a challenge and for the $9 a person charge to get into the Reserve Hiking Trails I think we all felt we had not gotten our monies worth with a 30 minute stroll. Both of the hikes were surrounded by beautiful desert scenery, but $9 a person is pretty crazy! We were in for a bit more of a challenge on the second part of our hike.

We then went off in search of the Seven Sisters Waterfall and Murray Canyon. After about an hour and two miles we reached the waterfall. Here is where the near meltdown occurred. I was under the impression that we were on a two-mile hike, only doing double what we had already done. I was not really tired; I was kind of just looking forward to being out of the scorching winter heat (yes, it is pretty hot here right now for Canadians) and getting some lunch. We started the day rather late at 10:40am and were now at the afternoon sun’s mercy. When I was informed that we were not at the end of our journey and that we had to go all the way back the way we came I was a little heartbroken. It all worked out though, we shaved over ten minutes off our return trip because we all were so hungry and hot.

I am kind of a baby when it comes to heat; I have had heat stroke far too many times to forget how horrible it feels to get too much sun. I usually get it once a year and I try to ensure I do not lose a day of vacation day for it because I swear it feels twice as bad.  For me the sickness is horrible, my mentality is unbearable and I need to sleep for at least half a day to feel better. I swear it feels the same way the Wicked Witch of the West feels when she is exposed to water….

Anyways, it was a great challenge and an interesting way to spend a day. I would do both hikes again, but maybe earlier in the day and not both at the same time. I would also bring snacks; I’m generally a pretty happy camper when there are snacks to be had. For more on the Murray Canyon and Seven Sisters Waterfall (from a respected hiker) click here.

I have given my Fitbit a break for the rest of the day; I am currently at 15,488 steps for the day and took 11,003 steps on the hikes. Here is my hike break down:

Steps: 11,003

Distance: 8km

Calories Burned: 890

As much as I love my Fitbit I know that is an estimate and not 100% accurate. But, compared to a full day on my feet waitressing that is not too shabby! If you would like to connect as Fitbit motivational buddies click here. 

Now I have a question for you, we have explored three fitness options so far on this trip I want to know which you would pick.

A)   $9 a day hiking

B)   $10 a day access to a senior’s country club workout room

C)   $15 a day access to a busy full service fitness club

There is lots more to come from our California Adventure 2015!

Another shot from our beautiful hike this morning/afternoon! #outdoors #palmsprings #aguacaliente #California

A photo posted by Kate Bruce (@kategbruce) on Mar 8, 2015 at 6:24pm PDT

Another shot from our beautiful hike this morning/afternoon! #outdoors #palmsprings #aguacaliente #California

A photo posted by Kate Bruce (@kategbruce) on Mar 8, 2015 at 6:24pm PDT

Fitness Trackers: Fitbit Surge vs. Jawbone Up3

Well I have whined here before about being desk-ridden all day and having no way to accurately track how active I am and how effective my workouts are, today my complaint is about all the websites advertising their latest fitness trackers that have not been released yet.

This rant has been a long time coming, I have been looking for the ideal fitness tracker for quite some time now and I have refused to buy one without a continuous heart-rate monitor. I am now keen on idea of having multi-sport functionality as well. I have been unable to find one that I like the look of that has all the specs I want until now. Now, I am torn between two. The holding top-spot in my brain is the Jawbone Up3 and competing for that precious real estate is the Fitbit Surge. 

Yesterday I had my credit card out, ready to make the big purchase to no avail. Literally, there were none available online.

Now I want your feedback, which would you pick? Is there a fitness monitor that I am missing that has a sleek, functional look with all the advanced features on the market right now?

Honestly, I am pretty hung up on the Jawbone Up3 but it is missing the display function that the Fitbit Surge has (making it a little less useful). Also, after downloading and playing with the apps for both trackers I am more impressed with the Fitbit app. 

Do you have a fitness monitor? What is your preference and why?

Help a sista out! J

For more on the Fitbit Surge click here. For more one the Jawbone Up3 click here.

Welcome To 2015! Happy New Year!

I do not consider myself one of those people who are obsessed with fitness. I work two jobs and on the days where I only end up at one of my two work places I hit the gym; normally about 5 times a week. I take pretty good care of myself and watch my diet without really ever feeling like I am missing out on anything.

At one point I was very unhealthy and overweight, it started in my 4^th year of university and ended in halfway through my 1^st year of trade school. That year of binge eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted with little to no exercise was worth the lesson it taught me about life. Unfortunately no one really told me I was getting fat. I was 200 lbs and felt super hot. Usually because it was because I was winded from walking up stairs or moderate movement in general, but I never felt ugly.

I went into radio school bigger than I had ever been in my life. I started to realize what was going on with my body when I looked at my photos from my first trip to Disneyland in California and finally when visited Value Village and stepped on a scale for the first time in over a year. Late night snacks, quick drive-thru trips and 7/11 sugar rushes were adding up... fast.  

After deciding that enough was enough I started with the smallest step possible. Something manageable that I could do everyday, every morning I woke up with enough time to drink a protein shake before heading off to class. This was strategic, protein early in the morning helps you feel fuller later in the day and it was easy to do. Waking up early in the morning really was not my jam. Doing something quick and easy to start the day in the right day was key. I had been starving myself for the first half of the day and then fueling myself with something quick and easy for lunch at school. Unfortunately quick, easy and cheap is not a good combination in a school cafeteria.

My protein shake breakfast started during the winter months of 2012 and it is hard to believe it has been almost 3 years! To this day I have a shake for breakfast on mornings that I have to rush out to work and I still hate waking up before the sun.

That one easy step helped me drop weight quickly. The first pounds seem to be the easiest for me. I cleared out my stock of high carb food and scheduled my first cheat day. I have been doing this ever since.

The weight that I lost just by keeping an eye on my diet did more for me than I ever imagined. I had energy again. I had been napping every day since I was in high school and struggled to stay awake every day; that ended after about a week of smarter eating. I liked to look at myself again. Even though it never bothered me seeing photos of myself when I was overweight once I realized what was going on it tainted the moments a little bit.

It took a little over a year for me to feel comfortable enough to go back to the gym. I had been regularly going in the fall of 2010 but as I learned about health and my body I realized that my intense cardio workout were part of my problem staying committed to the gym. I knew as I was dropping weight from a healthier diet that I was going to have to change the way I exercised my muscles.

The first time I visited a gym after dedicating myself to eating properly was in the spring of 2013. I learned how to properly schedule my workouts and a variety of new diverse things to do at the gym. It was very intimidating. I was back in the gym that I had stopped going to when I started to gain weight but using a completely different floor with new machines. I did things wrong and it scared the shit out of me to be told that maybe I should tweak things to do them a more effective way but I kept at it.

My mother owns a tanning salon in a gym so growing up I spent a lot of time in a gym. I started lifting weights when I was in 8^th Grade in the weeks between seasons when I was not playing sports. As I got older my workouts changed into being straight-up cardio sessions. Why? It was easy, mindless (for me) and there was little chance that someone would approach me to correct my movements. I hated it which made me think it must be what I needed to do to lose weight and have a kick-ass body. Cardio was all my friends wanted to do when they went to the gym and there were rarely women downstairs on the weight lifting floor.

It was a big change to program workouts, track progress and lift heavy things. I still do cardio; I just do it differently and in conjunction with lifts.

Changing my thought process regarding working out has been the most challenging part of my weight loss story. I do get bored with my workouts some times and my schedule has changed multiple times since I started working out. These things have taught me another valuable lesson about being healthy and fit; willpower is a muscle you have to train just like any other part of your body.

In 2013 I made it about 15 weeks straight hitting the gym. I moved across the country during this period, finished post-secondary education and internships. When I was offered a job in British Columbia it brought me into the 9-5 fold and I was thrown from my fit routine. It took me about 9 months to get back into a gym after the move.

That was 40 weeks ago today. Yes, I keep track. That is one of the key things for me. I am a nerd who carries around a notebook at the gym so I can proudly tell you exactly what I did the last time I was there and how many times I have visited the gym since I started going back. It has been 40 weeks and 165 gym sessions and I feel great. I feel better than ever actually. I would be going to the gym today if it was open, I could write a massive rant about why the gym should be open on New Years Day but I decided to start 2015 on a positive note.

Back to willpower, it is a “muscle” that always can use an extra set. Even on the days I do not feel like going to the gym (which is pretty much every weekday after working at my desk job) I go. I put an hour on the clock and go hard. I let myself do some mindless cardio and rock out to my music. I prove to myself that my mind is as strong as the body I have spent so much time to build.

Now, to be clear I do not have the perfect body. Not even close. Especially coming out of the holiday season. That is not why I go to the gym. I go to release the energy that I now have from eating and sleeping well, I go to get out of the house and see people, I go because I like to binge watch television shows and I go because I LOVE to eat. And sometimes when I make the turn to go home instead of to the gym I think about seeing myself on the TV monitor while I was taking Radio and Television Arts and seeing my bloated face’s headshot. I think about how crappy it felt to not want to watch myself on TV, something I has wanted all of life. That for me is the kicker, the thing that gets my ass into the gym and helps my willpower kick in when it needs to at the grocery store.

We all have motivations and things that drive us to be the person we want to be. I like to think I had a kick ass 2014, I hope you did too! As great as the past year was, lets make 2015 even better!

This year I am not setting New Years Resolutions. Not one. There are things I would like to keep up on, but I will not be beating myself up to get them done. I would like to continue to learn; so I have gifted myself Lynda.com access. I would like to continue to be fit and healthy, so Santa has brought me 40lbs of protein powder and 4 boxes of Quest bars to go with my year gym membership. I have also gifted myself a new gym outfit from Fabletics. Nothing feels as good as slipping into new workout gear after a day in heels and business attire!

The most challenging thing I would like to do in 2015 is to continue to create. Working two jobs I find I have no time to write a blog or something witty for radio and that is the big thing I would like to exercise my willpower on this year.

So I’m going to sum up how I would like to see 2015 in my mission statement right here:

“2015 a year of learning, exercising and creating”

What would you like to happen in 2015?

All the best and Happy New Year!

Kate

PS

A BIG THANKS to CanadianProtein.com for all of the awesome deals on my Christmas gifts. Yes, I know where Santa shops. It is my favourite place to order pre-workout, protein powder and protein bars. Click here to check out CanadianProtein.com.

One more shutout, this one goes to Fabletics. I am obsessed! I used to be all about Lululemon and saving up to treat myself to a new piece of workout clothing. Now I shop at Fabletics.ca and get an entire outfit for the price on one of the Lulu shirts I bought at a Lulu Outlet! Check out Fabletics here.

PS. This is my new outfit! I love it! At 50% it was $56.00 with shipping and taxes. 

"Savage"