Workout Wednesday

Do you have time to spare for a bit of exercise today? What are your plans? Can you exercise for even 10 minutes? Something is better than nothing, right?

Here's what I did today. I wish I looked as graceful as her. I did P90X's Plyometrics. If you're familiar with it, you'll understand why I posted the next picture. If you're not, it's also called jump training.
I usually need to have one of these near by. This workout is intense. Probably one of the most intense workouts I've done. I always feel like I'm going to loose my pre workout food. Still worth it thou.

What are your plans for Easter? I've been trying to figure out what to fill my kids basket with that doesn't involve an excess amount of candy. With three Easter Egg Hunts in two days, They get enough of that without me contributing. I saw this idea and fell in love with it. Brooke has been asking to plant flowers in a pot and watch it grow. So, that's their Easter gift: flower pot, seeds, dirt, and of course The Frog and The Princess Movie to go along with it. Now I won't be tempted to finish off their candy in less than a week.

One Poor Choice But Gotta Keep Going

So I made a poor decision. After yesterdays buffet eating, I was feeling a little down on myself. Whenever I get down on myself, I have a really bad nights sleep. I knew we had a lot planned for the day, so I decided to just sleep in and do my workout when the kids went to bed. Bad idea. The day seemed long, and I was exhausted when I put the kids to bed. I had my workout clothes on, but I had the 1001 excuses going on in my head. #1 excuse: I new I wouldn't get to sleep til at least midnight by the time I finished my workout and settled down for the night. Than I planned on getting up at 5:45 tomorrow morning to do weight lifting in the morning and running at night with my mom. Good enough excuse? Oh, I don't know, it's just an excuse. For future reference for myself, I better just go with the plan and wake up and get the exercise done.

Conquer Sunday Anxiety

I know it's going to hit, every Sunday. I call it "The Sunday Anxiety". No matter how hard I try, I always feel like I'm eating buffet style. It always creates anxiety, which makes me want to eat more. How do I conquer "The Sunday Anxiety"? What do you do when you feel overwhelmed with food choices? What do you do to not make you think you've blown it and throw in the towel for the rest of the day?

My new favorite quote

Last weekend Darin (my husband) and I attempted some alone time at his family's cabin. His grandma has put her favorite quotes all around the cabin. Here is one that really stood out in my mind:

"Quality of life depends largely on Quality of thought." -Author Unknown

The past week I have contemplated how much my thinking has played a part in my happiness. My father used to tell me all time when I was a girl that being "rich" or "poor" was all in the person's mind. When I was younger I used to think, "well, that is easy to say when you do not have any money!" However, it seems the older I get, the more I realize how true this is. As I told this to a co-worker she told me this really cute story that her mom would tell her when she was younger. My co-worker also comes from a large family who was also not so "well-to-do" and her mom would always tell her this story:

"Once upon a time there lived a poor little girl who lived in a big city. Every night at sunset she would look up to the houses on the mountains in amazement with their "golden windows". She desired more than anythhing to live in a house with "golden windows". One day, the girl got very angry and ran away from home. She decided to walk outside the city and travel the long distance to the homes with the "golden windows". It took her all day, but she eventually she got to the top of the mountain. When she got there, the little girl was suprised to see that the houses did not have golden windows at all! She turned around to see the sun setting and to her suprise she saw that her house had golden windows!"

Easter Egg Hunt Idea

About a year or so ago, my mother was diagnosed with MS. Since then, she has limited her intake of animal products and sugar. With one of her favorite holidays around the corner (Easter), my mom wanted to do something that was not based too much around candy. One of her friends gave her a suggestion that my mom calls, "Grandma's Store." Here how it goes:

Instead of filling Easter Eggs with Candy, you fill them with pretend money or numbers written on a piece of paper. The children then go out and find the eggs. When they get back they have to count all of their money up and see how much they have. They then go to "Grandma's Store" and see what they can buy with their money. Most all of the items are purchased at the Dollar Store or in discount stores. Each item has a different dollar value, so if they do not have enough money, they have to go out and find more eggs. My nieces and nephews have loved doing this in the past. Just a tip for anyone wanting a more "healthy" Easter without sacrificing the fun!

The Routine

EXCUSES! EXCUSES! I have 1,001 excuses why I shouldn't exercise.

#1 Excuse: Time

I don't have time to exercise.

I have three little kids that are go go go all day long.

I could do it during Tyler's nap time, but I really don't want to exercise in the middle of the day, get smelly, have to re shower. Carson needs attention during Tyler's nap time because Brooke is away at school. That's a good excuse, right?

Is there any solutions?

Did you read Trainer Momma's post back in October about how much you should exercise:

http://trainermomma.blogspot.com/2009/10/just-gimme-schedule.html

Are you kidding me? Six days a week? I don't even walk up my stairs six days a week! This seemed a little far fetched, and completely not doable. Especially since I could come up with 1,001 excuses not to let it be doable. YIKES!

So I started making it a goal. Eventually I would make it to six days a week. Here is the solution for me: GET UP EARLY! I'm not saying this is for everyone. You might read this and think "no way am I waking up before the sun rises". But, it's the only time. If I don't do it then, 1,001 excuses start to develop.

The alarm rings at 5:45 AM. That gives me exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes to get ready and begin my exercise. The kids wake up like clockwork, everyday, at 7:00.

I don't have a very good attitude when my alarm goes off. I would rather sleep an extra hour, but what's an extra hour, right? The debate starts in my head: get your butt out of bed/no I want to sleep more. As I finally get moving, the only thing I can think about is, "wasn't I hear just yesterday. Haven't I already done my duty of exercising?"
I grumpily (is that even a word? It is at 5:45 AM!) eat my banana

Make sure and start drinking my 32 oz of water.

and pop in my P90X video. I don't like Tony at 5:45, well at least until I'm warmed up, and then the fun begins.

After it's all over, I have energy!

I always have a good workout with P90X.

And most important, I'm ready to conquer my day!

Exercising in the morning is like a 24 hour energy pill.

Even though I don't like getting up in the morning, I feel more energized than if I got that extra hour of sleep.

I am constantly reminding myself: there is no excuse good enough to not get out of bed.

Even if the night has been rough, there is no excuse.

In the end, I feel like a whole new person.

A person I like.

A person I want to be around.


And thanks to P90X, I can finally run again. It's been a long time. I tried for months to ease myself back into running, gradually increasing my running time. But, it was frustrating. I felt like I was getting nowhere. 4 weeks after doing P90X, I could run again, with my mom, which is the most important part.

Exercising in the morning, helps me avoid this lovely temptation. I know that if I binge on junk, my workouts are going to knock me on my back in the morning. I know I'm still a newbie. 8 weeks and counting, but I try not to count, because this is not a temporary fix. This is a lifestyle change.

I've put up a list of my current favorite inspirational quotes right below. These inspiring quotes soothe and motivate me. I hope they will give you hope when you're feeling a little down, remind you of the important stuff in life, and encourage you to reach for your dreams.

Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It's too high!
Come to the edge!
And they came,
and he pushed,
and they flew.
-- Christopher Logue

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
-- Marianne Williamson

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gifted ability, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace from that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing that we can do is play on the one string that we have and this string is, Attitude. I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it. And so it is with you....We are in charge of our Attitudes.
-- Charles Swindoll

Until one is committed
There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
Always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation),
There is one elementary truth,
The ignorance of which kills countless ideas
And splendid plans: That the moment one definitely commits oneself,
Then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one
That would never otherwise have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision
Raising in one's favor all manner
Of unforeseen incidents and meetings
And material assistance,
Which no man could have dreamt
Would have come his way.
I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."
-- W.H. Murray, from The Scottish Himalayan Expedition

You were born an original. Don't die a copy.
-- John Mason

This should be an inspiring journey together-fun to have support as we all navigate through our own pitfalls and enjoy our personal triumphs! I'll introduce myself later, but I just posted this on my blog, and thought it was sound advice for a more balanced, happy life so here it is!

Found this post in my inbox this morning and it spoke to me...

The Beauty of Living...Slowly

There is real beauty to taking life slowly. Sure, I’m a productive nut — I love checklists, getting lots of things done, and ending my day feeling like my energy was spent on something worthwhile. I don’t admire laziness. And it’s a lot of physical and emotional work to run a family and household, so very rarely do I enjoy the luxury of an afternoon with my feet propped up.

But there is a sweetness missed when we spend more time running errands than we do chatting with our neighbors, enjoying an impromptu lunch date with a friend, or watching our kids play at a park with newly-made “best friends.”

Here are a few ways we can all slow down today.

1. Instead of three Most Important Things on our list today, make it just one. Or none, even.

2. Forget the dishes in the sink, and say yes to our kids’ insistent request to play with them.

3. Call up a friend, and see if she’s up for bringing herself and her kids over to hang out for the afternoon.

4. Drag a chair out onto your front porch, watch your kids play in the yard, and see if you can strike up a conversation with a neighbor. Who knows, you may make a new friend.

5. Do something easy for dinner tonight — sandwiches or salad will work just fine. If it’s nice outside, make dinner a picnic.

Photo by Daniel Lobo

6. Call an old friend, just to say hi.

7. Turn up the music and dance in your living room with your children. My kids love this, and it takes 15 minutes.

8. Get out the crafts and work on a project that’s been on your list forever.

9. Go on a leisurely walk. Have no agenda.

10. Have an afternoon movie special with your kids after their naps or quiet times. Popcorn is optional but definitely a fun bonus.

11. Treat your kids to an unscheduled drive to a favorite local spot, such as a park, a museum, or a friend’s house.
Photo by Guilio Bernardi

12. Read a novel.

13. Do what you’d normally do with your kids — read books, sculpt play-doh, help with homework — but do it outside on a blanket.

Don’t stress too much about getting a lot done everyday. It’s something I have to remind myself near daily, but I’ve truly seen the value of a slow lifestyle from the different non-Western cultures where I’ve lived.

We sure like to be productive. But that’s not the only important thing in life.

I know most of you know me, but I thought I'd give a little background of myself so you can understand where I'm at. I've always been an emotional eater, but I didn't get out of control until I had my first daughter in 2004. Since then it seems to be a big roller coaster. With each kid the emotions become more intense and the eating comes with it. It's a quick and easy fix to get rid of the emotions I'm feeling. But, I know it is not the answer. It only causes more problems. In 2007, I went on a crash diet. I lost 55 pounds fast, like three months. It was exciting, but as soon as I came off the diet, I panicked. I was on such a strict diet that when I was done loosing the weight I had no idea how to eat properly. So I went right back to my old eating habits. I ended up gaining all 55 pounds back as well as 30 more pounds to top it off. OUCH!! I keep waiting for the emotional eating desire to go away so loosing weight might be a little easier. I've come to realize it's not going to go away. I need to figure out how to deal with it. So here I am, learning to cope with it, and trying to teach myself not to eat for comfort. I'm about half way done with my weight lose goal, 40 more pounds to go. A few things have changed this time around. I wake up early, and I exercise, no matter what the night has been like. I've been going strong for 8 weeks now, so I feel like I've got the routine down. I have created my own diet. I make my own food, I watch my own portion sizes, and I eat exactly how I want to eat for the rest of my life. Every calorie counts for me. I have a food journal and I count every calorie. Seems like a lot of work? It helps me to know I'm not over doing it. I've been such an emotional eater for so long, I have no idea how to eat properly. I'm learning. I'll go into more detail about what I'm doing later on. I am so excited to hear about what you are doing and what is working or isn't working. I'm new at this so I'm excited to learn new things.

Hello

I thought I would introduce myself. I'm not overweight, but I will be soon if I don't change my poor eating habits! I'm really bad at motivating myself and staying focused. Sometimes I forget that I even want to be healthy. I tell myself that I really don't need to worry about it but when it comes down to it, when I eat healthy and exercise, I feel really good about myself. If I eat junk, I get depressed. I just really want to remember why I am doing this. I thought if I wrote it down maybe I wouldn't forget so quickly.

Now the upside. I have already started. I have consistently been lifting and running at least twice a week for a few months now. I have quit Dr. Pepper and have almost given up carbonation all together only because I have really noticed how crappy it makes me feel. I can't run as long and I become really mad at everything when I have too much soda. Besides that, I have done really poorly at watching what I eat. I thought I could do it without keeping track of what I've been doing but I have been failing for a few months now. So I bought a journal today and will try to track what I eat. I wont do calories for now but we will see if this even helps.

Now, I have to confess what I did last night. I was mad a my husband so I made cookies to punish him. I ate at least ten. Argggh, I'm so dumb!!

What Not To Do. . .

I was kidding when I said the only thing I could contribute was what NOT to do to stay healthy! I do have a few healthy habits I'm working on.

But here's what not to do: Allow yourself to sleep in late instead of getting your workout done and over with first thing in the morning--it keeps getting put off all day until you are too exhausted once the kids are finally in bed after a hectic day and you feel guilty about the dishes that didn't get done and the toys all over the floor because you were running kids all over town since the second they got home from school! Phew, breathe!

Do not: finish off your child's half eaten Airhead candy (blue, even, yuck!) that she was saving for later, just because it's sitting there on the counter and you feel the need for something sweet.

Do not: even think about looking at Facebook (if you are addicted to it like I am) until after accomplishing your workout and a couple chores. FB will suck you in and consume your whole morning if you let it (hence the workout getting put off until there was no time for it). Same goes for watching the new episode of Lost (or whatever show you love) online since you missed it last night. I guess I could have watched it while exercising, but that requires my head turned to one side while on my eliptical machine, and then my neck hurts. I should move the computer moniter!

This has been my day today. Not proud of it. I think I'll go to bed before 11:00 so I can have the energy to try again tomorrow.

Why The Title

Have you ever been here? Some of you might recognize it. I actually thought about you, Suzanne, when I found it. It's Havasoupi! An absolutely amazing place to visit. I'm planning on going back there someday, when the kids are older, and can do the ten mile hike down. I better stay in shape until then. So, why the title. I was reading this article in Runner's World that struck me. It says, "every positive change, big or small, begins with little steps. Whether hitting the road a few minutes earlier, pushing yourself over one more hill, or fine tuning an attitude, you've taken a small but important step. The more you take the farther you go. It really is that simple. So keep doing what sustains you. Take as many small steps as you can. One day, you may notice you've made quite a big leap."


So here's the blog. Feel free to post on it as much as you want. I am really excited about it if you actually share your thoughts. Anything you can think of: new healthy recipes, new fun workouts, the anxiety eating you wished you'd overcome, what not to do (that's for you Marisa!), fun activities you are doing with the kids, pretty much anything you want to share that will help us become more healthy with our mind and body. I know we are not perfect, but we can pick up where we left off and keep going. If you can think of anyone else who might be interested in participating let me know. Or, you can be a spectator, and that's fine too.