Reality Check

Having realistic expectations is about looking at what is - not what you'd like to be - and using that information to shape and mold a positive, yet honest expectation for change. - from an article on yahoo.com that was really awesome!

It seems that lately we have all been struggling with accepting where we are at in this present moment. We are so hard on ourselves for the small indulgences and set backs - May I just take a second to say that you girls are all so amazing and I just think you are each so beautiful and special and I admire so much your dedication and motivation to strive towards living healthier and more energy filled lives!! GO GIRLS!!!

I too had a week of "straying" from my original plan!!! Sorry, Cherry, I confess that I had a few M&M's and Hershey Kisses without even realizing that I was eating chocolate!!! YIKES.......Lets see, I had fried chicken for the first time in six years, french fries, and BBQ pork!!! Again, YIKES......Those were my only real "oops" moments, oh yeah, and Tiramisu! YIKES.....haha.....Otherwise I tried to make healthy food choices while on vacation and I faithfully woke up each morning and worked out in the gym at the hotel.

Now it's back to my daily exercising, yoga, and healthy eating. Sometimes I think we just have to relax and give ourselves a break....It's only life.

While I am 10 lbs heavier than I was 7 years ago, SERIOUSLY, it was SEVEN YEARS AGO. The real question is, why compare ourselves to what we were before? Why not be grateful for the life, reality, stresses and growth that have molded us into the women we are today? I mean, why are we always looking back trying to be what we were in highschool or before children, or when we got married!? I mean, shouldn't we just be glad for those extra wrinkles, those extra rolls? I mean, isn't that due to all the hardships and life that we have experienced? Just something to ponder.......For me, when it gets down to it, I'm really happy where I'm at. I feel probably the happiest I've ever been, and I'm okay with those extra 10 lbs. Someday I hope they disapear, but for now I'm going to drink my wine and smile! haha...

Peer pressure at it's best...

So, as it seems in the case of our wonderful blog-sites; peer pressure is actually benefiting us!!! I am so pleased that we have been able to encourage one another to give up "something" in dedication to each others efforts......So, in honor of Cherry and the rest of you, my "no chocolate" plan is still in motion.

Here's where I'm at today: I struggle back and forth between wanting to be something that I'm not, and just being happy with who I am.........At this point in my life I'm finally coming to a place where I can be content in this moment. It's hard because our culture teaches us that we should always be striving towards something else - being thinner, tanner, our hair should look a certian way(if it's straight, we want curly, if it's curly we want straight etc.), our clothes should be a certain brand, our makeup should always be done etc. etc. etc......If we aren't these things then we won't be loved or appreciated.........Definitely not a good mentality to have, but something that is ingrained in us as children and throughout adulthood we are forced to continue to face. I have decided that today I am NOT going to buy into that mentality. Today I'm going to be at peace with where I'm at and not expect more.

I guess some of this has come from my daily yoga practice where I have taken time out to just relax and love myself. Before everything was always so stressful and so focused on getting things "accomplished" and now I take just an hour out of my day to quiet my mind and tell myself positive things that help remind me that God created me EXACTLY the way I am and that He never intended me to be/look any differently than I am right now.

I know that I still tend to judge myself based on past pictures or weights or measurements that I once had, but each day I feel myself growing closer to finding contentment......

Mantra: Today I will love myself for the gift of life that God has given me.

Sweat More, Eat Less = More Power

So, this week has been more of a relaxing week for me. I struggled through some migraines at the beginning of the week which left me weak and just not feeling well. I still did some light running and yoga, but took it kind of easy this week. Today I did a more challenging run and have gotten to the point where I can do the full 15 min. without breaking. My second 15 min. set is a little more tricky, but I'm still working on it. I have been consistently running 2+ miles so that is an improvement for me.

In April is the Tok Trot which is a traditional 10K run here in Tok. I would really love to participate this year even if I can't run the whole thing. This is my goal and I'll keep working towards it. Somehow I am very slow at progressing into a more distance runner, but eventually I will get there!

I'm still weighing in around the same, but that's totally normal for me. I'm pretty much the same weight/size that I've always been my whole life, so I've just accepted that this is where I am! Obviously I'd still love to lose another 10 lbs, but I'm okay with where I'm at and just focusing on challenging myself each week.

Since Cherry gave up chocolate for a few weeks I've decided that I'm going to try to do the same - Maybe I will be more successful knowing that someone else is doing it with me!?

Mantra for the week: Make a choice: You can either settle or sweat(I choose to sweat!)

Question Mark

"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?' "

So, this week was another really refreshing one for me. I've just been so encouraged by the way I feel - just healthier and stronger! I am still holding steady at around about the same weight/measurements (I keep going between 143/144 so not sure if I lost one or two pounds this week. Every day I weigh something different! haha....) While I haven't really lost that much weight, my body is TOTALLY different this month. - It feels like all my fat has been replaced by muscle or something -

Anyway, I just feel so refreshed and healthy and I'm just loving that feeling and it presses me onwards towards continuing to be faithful.

Also, I've noticed that keeping a training log on a calendar is SOOO exciting and encouraging to me. I would suggest that each of you start keeping track too if you don't already. Looking at a full month where you have exercised and done something (if not several things) each day is just so fulfilling to know that you accomplished this!!!! It's like a really awesome report card!!

Thanks, Amber, for your suggestion too about the sweets thing. I am totally digging what you said and it HAS actually helped! I just let myself have that little something that I feel I need and then I'm okay!

My mantra this week is: Challenge yourself without judgment

Moving Past The Edge

It's been interesting coming to the point in my exercise routine where the endorphins are really popping and I'm feeling so motivated and ready to just keep going and going.......It's taken me 11 months to get to this point where it actually feels wonderful to work out! haha.

It seems like this past week has really been the breaking point for me where I've come to my "edge" and found some way to just keep going.

Having said that about my feelings of accomplishment through running/yoga.........I cannot seem to break the whole "sweets" thing. It's as if I have not an ounce of self control! I mean, I only have to have a tiny bite of something, but I have just GOT To have SOMETHING....I'm trying really hard to push those feelings away, but can't seem to give it up........Any advice?

Mantra of the week:

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Buddha

Run, Run, Run

So, today I ran the best ever and it was a real challenge but felt great! Maybe this program really does work after all?

My biggest struggle is still giving up the sweets, but I have improved a lot and can really tell a difference.

The Challenge of Balance

Being faithful to your workout is sometimes a challenge. Challenging yourself without over-achieving is an even harder task.......I'm struggling with this right now. I'm doing a running plan that is supposed to increase your run time, but it seems to increase too rapidly for me and I'm pushing myself too hard. (Like I can do the first two cycles, but by then I reach my edge and just can't keep going!) My desire is to move further and challenge myself, but at the same time remain comfortable enough to enjoy my exercise. So, this week I'm struggling to find that balance.


"You can have anything you want, if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, if you hold that desire with singleness of purpose."

Yoga vs. Pilates

Okay, so after trying to answer your questions on the difference between Yoga and Pilates I feel that I really didn't clearly say what I was trying to say.....So, I looked on the internet at various articles talking about this very debate - Yoga vs. Pilates

Here are the highlights taken from various web sources.

• Yoga is based on the Eastern idea of moving energy through your body. The more freely the energy flows, the healthier and more energetic you feel. Physical tension hinders the flow; over time, areas of tension in your body can become tight and rigid, even painful. The goal of yoga is to keep the body supple through movement and stretching. But there's another dimension. Yoga is a holistic spiritual discipline with its roots in Eastern forms of meditation. The physical postures, although they condition the body, are really aimed at the mind. They symbolize the goal of living your life in a state of balance and composure. When I spend an hour in a yoga class, I melt into a kind of meditative state and emerge wonderfully relaxed and refreshed.

• Pilates on the other hand is physical conditioning first and foremost. There's also a new form of Pilates, the Pilates mat class, which relies more on callisthenic-style exercises and stretches. This form is physically more similar to a yoga class though the emphasis is still on physical change rather than on spiritual development through postures and breathing.

• Yoga is a lifestyle, rather then simply an exercise.

• Pilates mainly concentrates on cultivating core strength in the body and lengthening the spine. Also, Pilates is a valuable tool for increasing strength, definition and proper posture.

• Pilates instructs one to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth; while in yoga, one is taught to inhale and exhale through the nose only.

Basically both are fabulous exercise techniques, but totally different with a lot of the same results. =) I think the major difference is that Pilates is more about what you get out of it physically where as Yoga is more of the mental result firstly and THEN the physical result comes.

Anyway, I got curious since I didn't quite understand the difference myself so I did a little research. Either way, they are both wonderful options for someone looking to de-stress and tone the muscles. I still never found an answer on how often you can practice pilates. (I have a friend that I can ask though because she is a professional pilates instructor in Florida.)

Don't know if that helps clarify or not, but no mater what you do, it's really about HOW you do, what you do!!! - Accept where you are at right now in the present moment and hang out with it and gain strength by being faithful to where you are at in your life! =)

Namaste

Mantra

This is a beautiful mantra to remind us of who we are and the body that God has given us - our body is not the same as the person next to us, but created for US and for the purpose that God intended.

"Your body has been with you all your life, and will be with you all your life. It has seen you through love and loss, pleasure and pain, challenge and growth. Your body deserves to be appreciated for every experience it has given you, and every way it has supported you."

Appreciation

I just wanted to share this motivational thought. It was part of a "focus" for a yoga session. The focus being on acceptance of your own personal body and appreciation for what it does for you and for it's uniqueness. I just found it very encouraging and beautiful, so thought I would share it with you all.


" This is an invitation to love and accept your body, knowing that radiant good health and beauty will transcend your body type. When this inner beauty shines through, it can surpass that of people with a supposedly ideal body shape, but who have not accessed their own inner shine, their glow of health. It is also an invitation to honor diversity, to celebrate your uniqueness and that of others. So why not permit yourself to live in the glow of your health and well-being? "

Love and appreciate yourself for who you are right now, in the present moment........

Very Exciting

So, I got a massage yesterday and my therapist says, "wow, your arms are really toned up!" Then she said that my legs were really toning up too and that she could tell a difference all over!!! She said that the yoga must really be working well for me because my back felt unbelievable to her!! She said that the tension was NOTHING like it usually is and that she could seriously not believe the difference in the way my energy flowed! haha.......(I have really bad tension spots in my back and neck from injuries etc....) I was very excited by this because that is what I had been feeling myself, but having someone totally on the outside saying the same things was huge for me! She said she was actually motivated to start doing yoga herself just because of the difference she felt in my back! =)

I share this simply because it's the first real "difference" that I've had anyone notice and it also goes to support the flow of energy from yoga and the difference it can make in the way you feel! I love it!!!

Oh, and I'm changing my 2009 Challenge to this: Only treating myself to one sweet per week! (The Chocolate thing was great and everything, but since I've been limiting my chocolate it just means that I've been substituting anything and everything resembling a sweet or dessert! haha....Somethings gotta give and I think I need to take the challenge one step further!)

I need a new job!!!

Darn these work folks bringing in goodies even after the new year!!! It makes me crazy becuase I just don't have enough self control to say "NO!!!!".........I had good intentions this morning, but it's only 11:00 and I've already fallen.........Such is life

New Year - New Progress!?

Well, Happy New Year to all.......I haven't updated this blog very often mostly due to the fact that I have no real wieght-loss progress to tell about.

I have to say, however, that I am very happy with where I'm at right now because I have been so faithful to my exercising routine and have not given up yet!!! I started working out regularly back in February and have been faithful ever since.

As a result, this year I have lot 10 lbs. Not much, but something. The progress has been painfully slow and I haven't lost anything over the past two months, but I did lose another 1/2 inch around my thigh's and arms, so that was progress in my eyes.

I have now added an hour of yoga to my routine daily. This new addition has been so amazing and by being faithful to my yoga practice I have felt SOOO wonderful. My back and neck have not been bothering me as much and I just can't say how much I love doing yoga. As a result of doing so much yoga my abs and arms are toning up a lot.

I still run two days on, one day off and I have been doing that faithfully now for about two months. (before I was running every other day) Still, the progress with running is VERY slow. I am still only doing between 1-2 miles and it's still a horribly exhausting effort, but at the same time I'm starting to feel better about it and I know that soon it will really start to pay off.......

As I said, I'm happy with where I'm at right now. I'm sure I could lose weight if I did some fancy diet or something, but I want to do it slow and by changing my lifestyle so that it will actually STAY off.

Changes for this year - LESS CHOCOLATE!!!! I am going to try to cut back to treating myself once a week........(That should be a huge challenge for me...)


I am still drinking around 64 oz of water a day and have totally given up all soda so that's awesome. I also drink a LOT of green tea and black tea, and so far I've been very healthy this winter season. I have cut down to one (maybe 2) cups of coffee a day so that is also a huge step for me......YES, I do drink a lot!

So, I guess that's my update! My goal is still another 10 lbs away, but I figure if I keep being faithful somethings gotta give....=) Happy New Year to you all and good luck with your own personal goals and desires for a healthier lifestyle!!!