Where do I begin? I could list off all of the reasons for my neglect of this initiative....but they would only be excuses. Life sometimes throws us curve balls and it's how we either get set up to catch the curve ball or how we maneuver ourselves out of the way that helps us to survive. The goal here is to not let the ball hit us. Well, I've let the curve ball hit me a couple of times and I have shed a few tears and seen some nasty bruises. But I'm back on the field and fully prepared to catch that ball!!! I've got my eyes closely focused on that damn ball.
I have always loved being healthy....but the past few years I've neglected myself pretty badly. I just can't do that anymore. So, here I am, ready to take this body back!!
First are to come up with my goals:
- Water is my best friend!!
- Daily exercise!! Get my heart rate up!! I need to find some new challenging activities because the old ones just aren't working.
- Supplements (not the quick-fix pills) - Pro-biotics, Vitamin D, Thyroid and Memory Support.
- Renewed eating habits. I'll admit that it's not the eating that I have an issue with, it's the beverages that I include with my meals.....cutting that out almost completely!! Water, water, water!! And a some green tea!
We'll start here and see where it goes.
Meals:
Today, I started out with a Chocolate Advocare Meal Replacement Shake for breakfast and a cup of coffee with cream and sugar. For lunch, I'm going to prepare a shrimp taco salad with a spicy ranch dressing. I make my own ranch dressing so that I can control the amounts of mayo and buttermilk. It's not free of fat but it's much better than the pre-bottle variety. Dinner will include mozzarella, prosciutto, an apple, and one glass of red wine. All of this will be within my allotted WW points. The struggle will be with only having one glass of vino.......demons be gone so that God can keep me strong!! Snacking will include a cheese stick and baby carrots and maybe an orange.
Activity:
Treadmill walking for 45mins
Elliptical walking for 30mins
(both of these were done at 8am this morning)
I am ready for this change to happen.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
W2 - Update - Living without regrets
Along with body re-alignment, healthy eating and exercise, I am determined to get my mind right too. There are so many options out there to help with this initiative and I will try to share my experiences as I go along this part of the journey.
Last week, I was invited by my wonderful sister-in-law to join her in a series of workshops centered around finding your "Heart's Wisdom". With all the stresses of the modern American life, we can tend to lose those things that make us truly happy. When we went through our introductions and it became my turn, I said my name and continued by saying that I was a busy mom of three very active young children, wife to a busy executive, an on-again/off-again HR professional, and ended my intro with the statement, "I pretty much live by the three calendars that I keep". This was me and I was very proud of it. I see the successes of my happy household and I know that my current role is very important. I have no doubts about that.
Many of the amazing women sharing the room with me that day were past this stage in their lives. Many of them were newly retired or new empty-nesters and in a place of true life-transition. Several ladies were moving into a new stage of life without their significant other. Maybe a few of them were trying to "find themselves" again. I was very excited to meet these ladies and thought I would for sure get some advice on surviving the coming teenage years and being one of the oldest kindergarten moms at school next year.
As we went through the first exercise, I realized that I was in new territory here. Oh, I've been to self-help seminars and workshops where you leave with a list of things to do that should improve your day-to-day activities and give you more time for "me-time". But this was different!
We went through several activities which would help us to dig deep into our hearts to remove some ot the static that we live in and really review who we are; what makes us happy; what will really matter in life as we look back on our lives at age 102. There was a lot of self-reflection going on here; maybe even a few tears as well.....
Self-reflection can really be difficult. Accepting the answers that result from that self-reflection can be even more difficult. No one in that room was telling me that I've lost my true-self, but what I was realizing was that the calendar of activities, the pressures of living in this crazy world that moves a thousand miles a minute was swallowing me up.
Oh, I won't be changing my kids' activities, they need them! I won't be denying support to my busy husband who supports us financially and emotionally. Those can not change at this stage in our lives. But then, what will I change.....do I really need to change? This is where the homework comes in.
We left this amazing session a little raw and emotional but so very fulfilled to be going down this journey together. We all will have different answers to how we did our homework....but we will all arrive to the next session with a bit more balance on the scale. Here's what I will be working on over the next six weeks (in the privacy of my home....I promise not to share all the gory details):
Homework: Start a daily journal describing who I am by answering these questions:
- What do I love about this life, what gives me energy?
- What about this life enlivens me?
- What would happen if I did more of those things that give me energy and enliven me?
As we went through the session that day, something my husband said to me years ago kept creeping into my inner-conversation. "You need a hobby." When he originally said those words to me, I replied with an answer like, "I don't have time now for hobbies. You and the kids are my hobby." And I thought it was true, however, he and I both have been in somewhat of a professional transition over the last several months and we've both been doing this type of self-reflection naturally. We are both working on our hobbies and supporting each other as we learn how to do this all over again.
He asked me how the session went. I gave him a synopsis expecting him to react with some silly remarks but he didn't. He seemed to understand completely what it was all about. In the end, we only have this one life.....so let's do what is necessary to make it a good life, living without regrets.
With that, I will end here and start my homework.
Cheers!
Last week, I was invited by my wonderful sister-in-law to join her in a series of workshops centered around finding your "Heart's Wisdom". With all the stresses of the modern American life, we can tend to lose those things that make us truly happy. When we went through our introductions and it became my turn, I said my name and continued by saying that I was a busy mom of three very active young children, wife to a busy executive, an on-again/off-again HR professional, and ended my intro with the statement, "I pretty much live by the three calendars that I keep". This was me and I was very proud of it. I see the successes of my happy household and I know that my current role is very important. I have no doubts about that.
Many of the amazing women sharing the room with me that day were past this stage in their lives. Many of them were newly retired or new empty-nesters and in a place of true life-transition. Several ladies were moving into a new stage of life without their significant other. Maybe a few of them were trying to "find themselves" again. I was very excited to meet these ladies and thought I would for sure get some advice on surviving the coming teenage years and being one of the oldest kindergarten moms at school next year.
As we went through the first exercise, I realized that I was in new territory here. Oh, I've been to self-help seminars and workshops where you leave with a list of things to do that should improve your day-to-day activities and give you more time for "me-time". But this was different!
We went through several activities which would help us to dig deep into our hearts to remove some ot the static that we live in and really review who we are; what makes us happy; what will really matter in life as we look back on our lives at age 102. There was a lot of self-reflection going on here; maybe even a few tears as well.....
Self-reflection can really be difficult. Accepting the answers that result from that self-reflection can be even more difficult. No one in that room was telling me that I've lost my true-self, but what I was realizing was that the calendar of activities, the pressures of living in this crazy world that moves a thousand miles a minute was swallowing me up.
Oh, I won't be changing my kids' activities, they need them! I won't be denying support to my busy husband who supports us financially and emotionally. Those can not change at this stage in our lives. But then, what will I change.....do I really need to change? This is where the homework comes in.
We left this amazing session a little raw and emotional but so very fulfilled to be going down this journey together. We all will have different answers to how we did our homework....but we will all arrive to the next session with a bit more balance on the scale. Here's what I will be working on over the next six weeks (in the privacy of my home....I promise not to share all the gory details):
Homework: Start a daily journal describing who I am by answering these questions:
- What do I love about this life, what gives me energy?
- What about this life enlivens me?
- What would happen if I did more of those things that give me energy and enliven me?
As we went through the session that day, something my husband said to me years ago kept creeping into my inner-conversation. "You need a hobby." When he originally said those words to me, I replied with an answer like, "I don't have time now for hobbies. You and the kids are my hobby." And I thought it was true, however, he and I both have been in somewhat of a professional transition over the last several months and we've both been doing this type of self-reflection naturally. We are both working on our hobbies and supporting each other as we learn how to do this all over again.
He asked me how the session went. I gave him a synopsis expecting him to react with some silly remarks but he didn't. He seemed to understand completely what it was all about. In the end, we only have this one life.....so let's do what is necessary to make it a good life, living without regrets.
With that, I will end here and start my homework.
Cheers!
Thursday, February 4, 2016
W1 - Update - Struggling but Succeeding
I surprised The Boy with his birthday present earlier this week.....our registration in the Cap10K which is on April 10th this year in Austin, TX. We are both so excited, to say the least! A little note that went along with the "In Training" t-shirts, hand warmers, new running shorts and new bluetooth headphones for each of us read, "This is about to get real!" When I told him that his Aunt Gigi was running with us, well, that was just icing on the cake (check out Casa Cosina regarding a delicious cake!)
So, I'm really on week 4 of a 10k training program and finding that it's not that difficult. Most difficult thing.....sticking to it. I really want to extend my time on the trail or to add a few more running days in there. But I'm determined to stick with the program as much as possible so that I don't burn myself out or get injured. I can't let The Boy down again.
Getting back in shape is not just for me but it's for my family as well!! We all need Momma to be happy AND healthy!
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Today is a new day....
Hello again! It certainly feels like I've been working on getting "it" back for years and years and years. I've recently encountered a cross-roads and really need to regroup with my total body wellness. So here goes......
Isn't it typical that when any of us sets out to get "healthy" (whatever that is for each individual) we set such high expectations. We want to lose 50 pounds in three months; we want to run a marathon with an aggressive 8-week training program; we only want to eat whole foods and serve only whole foods to our families. What happens, in my experience, is we go full force for a week or so and then crash. I can't crash again....I just can't. Just take a look at this journal and you'll see that I pooped out after 5 entries a few years ago. So I'm taking baby steps this time.
Back when I was 25, when I met my soon-to-be-husband, I was in the shape of my life. I was a fairly strict vegetarian, ran 20 miles a week in the Austin hills, and drank adult beverages only when I went out dancing with my girlfriends (and we danced a lot back then). Now, 20 years later, I am so far from being a vegetarian, I don't run anymore and glass (or two) of red wine each night is mandatory. Raising a busy and happy family is a full time job and I have little time to truly focus on a lot of those things I used to do. I miss that way of life....
Normally, when I think of the good ol' days and wishing I could get back to that hot bod, I would start to set my goals. Usually the goals I would write down would be so crazy, I was always setting myself up for failure. Goals like:
First goal revolves around exercise. I've got to create a plan that is right for me, one that is enjoyable but also includes some variation so that my old body can get a jump start. I love that feeling when I run and walk for exercise, but that's not enough anymore. I've got to add in those other things like strength training and stretching.
My son loves to run those crazy 5k races and really wants to try a 10k and then a half marathon after that. So, I've got my goal......let's run a 10k in April - the Cap10k in Austin to be exact. I've run this race before and really enjoyed it. My time was 1:17. I'm not a fast runner by any definition but I was so proud to have finished. I know The Boy will love this race and I bought him a registration for his birthday (ssssshhhhh, don't tell him). We won't appreciate it, but part of his present is me training for it. I'm already on week three of a fourteen week program (we still have thirteen weeks left to the big race). I'm pushing it I know but I will get it done.
My biggest challenge with this goal is not the running part, it's the cross-training and strength training part. But I've got my gym membership and just need to push myself to get out of my comfort zone. I can do this!!!
The app that I'm using to help me with my running sessions is called ZenLabs Fitness 10K.
Isn't it typical that when any of us sets out to get "healthy" (whatever that is for each individual) we set such high expectations. We want to lose 50 pounds in three months; we want to run a marathon with an aggressive 8-week training program; we only want to eat whole foods and serve only whole foods to our families. What happens, in my experience, is we go full force for a week or so and then crash. I can't crash again....I just can't. Just take a look at this journal and you'll see that I pooped out after 5 entries a few years ago. So I'm taking baby steps this time.
Back when I was 25, when I met my soon-to-be-husband, I was in the shape of my life. I was a fairly strict vegetarian, ran 20 miles a week in the Austin hills, and drank adult beverages only when I went out dancing with my girlfriends (and we danced a lot back then). Now, 20 years later, I am so far from being a vegetarian, I don't run anymore and glass (or two) of red wine each night is mandatory. Raising a busy and happy family is a full time job and I have little time to truly focus on a lot of those things I used to do. I miss that way of life....
Normally, when I think of the good ol' days and wishing I could get back to that hot bod, I would start to set my goals. Usually the goals I would write down would be so crazy, I was always setting myself up for failure. Goals like:
- No more dairy, wheat, legumes, or meat of any kind
- Run every day
- Reach 15000 steps each day
- Consume only fresh fruit and veggies
- No more alcohol, at all!
First goal revolves around exercise. I've got to create a plan that is right for me, one that is enjoyable but also includes some variation so that my old body can get a jump start. I love that feeling when I run and walk for exercise, but that's not enough anymore. I've got to add in those other things like strength training and stretching.
My son loves to run those crazy 5k races and really wants to try a 10k and then a half marathon after that. So, I've got my goal......let's run a 10k in April - the Cap10k in Austin to be exact. I've run this race before and really enjoyed it. My time was 1:17. I'm not a fast runner by any definition but I was so proud to have finished. I know The Boy will love this race and I bought him a registration for his birthday (ssssshhhhh, don't tell him). We won't appreciate it, but part of his present is me training for it. I'm already on week three of a fourteen week program (we still have thirteen weeks left to the big race). I'm pushing it I know but I will get it done.
My biggest challenge with this goal is not the running part, it's the cross-training and strength training part. But I've got my gym membership and just need to push myself to get out of my comfort zone. I can do this!!!
The app that I'm using to help me with my running sessions is called ZenLabs Fitness 10K.
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