Monday, December 26, 2011

Sugar Addict

Hi, my name is Teniah, and I am addicted to sugar.

In all seriousness, I believe that sugar is actually highly addictive due to the pleasure pathways in the brain that it triggers, and should be treated as such. About a year ago I started doing a little baking here and there and re-introducing sugar into my life. Gradually it went from the occasional indulgence of chocolate during exams to eating chocolate every time I would get stressed (which is a lot of chocolate! haha). We never used to keep goodies in the house before...

While I would say I still only eat sweets occasionally and hardly ever buy ice cream or goodies for the house, over the past few months that has been changing. (No help from all my Christmas baking!) I began baking when we moved out to Masterton and I actually had time to bake. I have really enjoyed making goodies to have in the evenings and fresh bread and other indulgences. The trouble is, that instead of it being an occasional thing, it has become a regular nighttime habit now - a cuppa tea and rhubarb bread or a cookie...and so the pattern starts.

This is definitely not the path I want to take. I do not want to be addicted to sugar and crave sweets and foods that make me feel lousy and irritable. I do not want to develop diabetes (which runs in my family) or put on excess weight. On top of that, all of my running training is a bit pointless if I am fueling my body with all the wrong things. - Which I have noticed that some days I just don't have the energy I need for a long run...likely due to the sugar eaten that day.

So, I have made a decision to fight my addiction and give up sugar cold-turkey. (Obviously not forever) I believe that you can have a treat every now and then, but for the next month I am giving up sugar to re-set my system and head into the new year feeling good. I want to detox my body and just be really healthy again. I would say that this is a New Year's Resolution, but in reality, it's more that I am just ready to make a commitment to overhauling my current intake of sugar and changing how I view the food that fuel's my body.


Mantra: "Change starts right where you are at today." ~ Namaste

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Making Choices

It can often be said when people are faced with difficult choices to make in their lives that you should "follow your heart" and that your heart will lead you down the path that is right for you...

Is that true? Does the heart always lead you to happiness?


I would step out on a limb and say that "no", the heart does not always lead you to happiness right away...When you follow your heart and trust that it is leading you down the right path, you may find in actual fact, that it has lead you to sorrow and pain. I believe eventually that pain turns to joy and in the end your heart will truly have lead you to happiness (it's just a long time coming in some situations).

Life can be so confusing like that...Needing to make a choice around where your future will take you, or who you will enter a relationship with, or when the right time is for those relationships...It's hard to say if the choices that you make will lead to pain or joy. Isn't that life, though?

I guess what I am most thinking about today is the truth in that statement to "follow your heart"...Does the heart lead you down the right path, or can the heart deceive you? And in the end, will you come out at the same place?

In my own life, my heart has always lead me straight. It may have required that I go through pain along the way, but it ended in happiness. I believe that I can trust my heart, I just need to have the courage to do it.

Mantra: "Follow your heart wherever it leads you, for even if the path brings pain, that pain will reveal joy in the end." ~ Namaste

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Enjoying Life in the Country

One of the best parts about living in the country is that on a beautiful evening you can go across the road and walk up the hill and look out over the Wairarapa region...
It's just lovely here. Lots of rolling hills, lots of green land and happy sheep and cows grazing...
If you look closely on the right you can see the property where we are renting at the moment...
With all this lovely area, however, comes a new disappointing twist - Allergies! - I am suffering terribly at the moment with all the thistle and stuff floating around in the air. It's a real shame because it definitely takes away from the beauty of the moment. I am trying various remedies, but so far, pretty much unsuccessful. This has definitely put a damper on my motivation to run/train at the moment. I am still doing it, but it's a hard sacrifice as it usually leaves me sneezing the rest of the afternoon. Shame...I am soon hoping to fine a good treatment option.

On the up-side of things, as soon as we leave the area it seems to clear up quite quickly, so tramping is a great relief. I have really been enjoying all of our weekend tramps. I will have heaps of time for my training as it gets closer to the race, so I'm not too worried about that, but hope to just keep a moderate running routine so I can get stronger and stronger during the summer.

Overall I have had an amazing summer so far which has proven to rejuvenate me and I am already feeling more prepared to cope with the challenges of next year. Just trying to really set up some good routines now while I have the time. Remembering that it takes about 40 days to really establish a true habit.

Mantra: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life - let today be the day you make positive change." ~ Namaste