Good Eats & Challenge/Training Updates

Sunday again?  My, how fast a week goes!  Last week I posted that I was embarking on my Eat for Fuel Challenge.  So, to update as it has been a full week, I have been working very hard and am making better choices but I haven't been hitting 100%.  I ate much better this week.  I have been choosing veggies and fruit over chips but I have been over in calories every day of the past week except yesterday.  I did lose a pound last week though so I'm not worried about being over in calories.  I have been so hungry and I am trying to listen to my body over trying to hit a number goal.  It obviously worked last week, so I think I am on the right track!  The Challenge continues!

As far as my half training, I have been backing off training a bit the last 2-3 weeks.  I needed a mental and physical break in the beginning and then work got in the way.  This past week, I was scheduled for a 10-mile walk and it ended up snowing 5-6" the night before so the sidewalks were too icy.  Never-the-less, I plan to get my 10 miles in today!  I will say that breaking the double digit barrier is a little daunting.  Here's hoping everything goes well!  I am fueling up with baked oatmeal this morning (recipe below).

As mentioned before, my camera is officially dead, so no photos of the good eats below.  I actually attempted to take pictures with my ol' trusty point and shoot but, well, they were not good.  My bday is in less than a month and since this is a big one and I never buy myself anything (never go out to eat or the movies, no extras...) I am planning to give myself a pretty good gift this year.  I need a new camera.  However, I want a Garmin watch for training and a Fitbit.  Decisions, decisions!  Suggestions on a new camera are welcome!  Also, if you have a Garmin watch of any sort or a Fitbit, I'd love to hear about these products!  I know I can't swing all three so a decision must be made soon!

Now for the good eats.  Every now and then I want oatmeal.  Before Celiac, I ate oatmeal almost every morning (the microwave/instant kind).  While gluten-free instant varieties are available, they are way out of my regular price range.  I typically do not have the time on a work morning to make stove-top oatmeal so baked oatmeal is a perfect compromise.  I make it on the weekend and have it all week!

I have also been experimenting with an alternative to a potato pancake.  My parents make the best potato pancakes but I tend to not want all the carbs and calories associated with potatoes.  Plus, I hate how long potatoes take to shred and cook.  Too much work.  I have been working with spaghetti squash as a substitute for potatoes and I guess the third time is a charm since my spaghetti squash pancakes last night tasted just like my parent's potato pancakes - oniony and crispy.  Delicious!

Baked Oatmeal
Based off of this recipe
Makes 4 servings or 6 small side dish servings

1 cup gluten-free steel cut oats (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup milk (any variety will work - almond, soy, cow's)
1 cup water
40 g gluten free pancake mix (or one serving, I use Bob's Red Mill again)
Cinnamon to taste
Fresh fruit of your choice (I prefer blueberries or a chopped apple)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and pour into a 1/2 casserole dish (I like my glass pyrex for this).  Bake at 350F for 45 minutes, or until the oatmeal is soft.  The top may be wet but that is okay.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.  Top with brown sugar or agave syrup.

Spaghetti Squash Pancakes

Makes 2 servings

1/2 of cooked and shredded spaghetti squash*

15 g flour (I used garbanzo bean flour)

1/3 of a medium onion, grated

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat a skillet on medium high on the stove top.  Mix all ingredients together and shape into pancakes.  Spray the skillet with a small amount of olive oil.  Cook the pancakes until golden brown on both sides.  Eat up!  I like these with ketchup but I know my mom will be shaking her head and saying that butter + salt is best!

*There is a variety of ways to cook spaghetti squash however I find the microwave to be most efficient.  Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Wrap the cut-side of the squash in a wet paper towel and place cut-side down on a microwavable plate.  Microwave for 15 minutes (or until the entire squash is soft).  Allow to cool to be able to handle and then use a fork to pull out the shreds of the squash.  You can also bake the squash in the oven (without the paper towel).

Eat for Fuel Challenge

Ah, Sunday.  I love you!  I have been going, going, going nonstop for a couple weeks and plan to take much of the day off.  I had a very hard time getting out of bed this morning and am having a hard time getting myself motivated to do much of anything lately.  I took a bit of a mental and physical break from my HM training this week as I was feeling like I was coming down with something and was just overall exhausted.

I was paging through my food journal this morning and realized that, while I my weight has been heading in the right direction (down!), I have not been hitting my calorie goals as often as I like and the foods I have been eating are not optimal.  I think this is why I have been so sluggish lately (on top of having just too much to do and too little time to sleep!).  The way I have been eating is just not going to cut it for the long term.  I haven't been too far off, but I can feel myself slipping here and there and I need to refocus myself before I let go of all control.

Since my 30th bday is officially one month (31 days) away, and my main goal is to go into my 30's as healthy as possible, I've decided to challenge myself to focus on eating foods that will healthfully fuel my body for both my everyday life and my HM training.  So, here's the plan:

31-Day Eat for Fuel Challenge

The plan is to spend the next 31 days eating 90% from the list below and in combinations that will properly fuel my body (fats + proteins + carbs + fruits/veggies).  10% of my daily calories and food intake can come from foods off the list (like coffee!).  I hope to meet my calorie goals (not over or under) 6 out of 7 days a week.  I will also be planning all of my food the night before with some flexibility built in for those times when cravings hit.

Fuel Foods:

All fruits

All veggies

Beans

Eggs

Peanut Butter (no sugar added)

Fish

Chicken or Turkey

Lentils

Quinoa
Nuts/Seeds

Oatmeal/Oats

Brown Rice

Chia and Flax

Olive Oil

Vinegar

Salsa

Spices

Yogurt

Milk

Agave

Tea

(note - I'm probably forgetting some foods and may add to this list)

Anyone up for doing this challenge with me?  I think this will be a great way to enter my 30's and am excited to be back on track.  Challenges always motivate me!

Fresh Start

Fall is in the air, as evidenced by where my cat has been hanging out for the past few days:

There are a lot of great things about my job as a college lecturer, but I would say my absolute favorite thing is that I get a fresh start every few months.  Have a bad semester?  No problem, there's a new one coming!  Never fails.

The fall semester is just beginning this week and I am hoping to kick a few problems that I've had in the past.  I also had a bit of a health scare (well, it was scary to me!) this past week.  Everything is going to be okay but I have to keep a close eye on my health.  So, I have a number of goals for this fall semester.  It's always best to write this stuff down as it feels more official and it adds motivation when other people know about it.  Here we go!

1.  Make more GOOD food!  I've gotten into the habit of cooking very healthy food and processed foods are really losing their appeal for me.  This is a good thing, but it also means spending a lot more time shopping and cooking.  A few recent concoctions:

Touch crooked - sorry!   Combo of carrot juice and dad's apple cider.



Quinoa, tomatoes, white beans, and steamed kale.


Currently, since I JUST went shopping, my fridge looks like this:

In my defense of the crazy bottom shelf, I cannot put anything in the back 6-8" of my fridge or it will freeze and I will have wasted money on spinach and whatever else is back there!

My fridge is packed!  This means I had better get cooking!  I also am starting an autumn CSA this fall and the roster of veggies I will be getting for the week looks great!  I need to keep up with this.  Since Wisconsin will soon be entering what I call Root Veggie Season, I am taking advantage of getting varied produce at decent prices while I still can!  I am also becoming a huge fan of green smoothies.  Check out recipes here:  http://greenmonstermovement.com/.  I know they look gross, but you cannot taste the spinach or kale and they are so healthy and delicious!

2.  Keep up with my workouts.  I joined the gym at work a couple of weeks ago and have scheduled my workouts into my day, which means walking home at the end of the day, taking a quick nap, having a quick snack, and walking back to the gym.  I plan to workout at the gym at least 4 work week days a week and at least one weekend day for a total of 5-6 days a week.  This will depend, of course, on what else is going on in my life but seems fairly doable.  My workout shoes and weights at my house need to see the light of day more often than they have recently!

I also plan to keep a set of workout clothes in my office so that if works runs late, I can just go hit the gym instead of using the excuse that I can't go because I don't have my workout stuff.  I already keep a set of shoes and my pass there since I hate carrying them to and from campus.



3.  Read more often!  It is not unheard of for me to start a book at the beginning of the fall semester and not finish until May because I am so busy and too tired at night to read longer than 5 minutes.  I have this stack of books that I am going to get through before June!

4.  Computer is off by 7:30pm, TV is off by 9pm.  And, I say this, but it's 9:45pm and I'm blogging with the TV on for noise.  I will be working on this though!  I need to get away from these activities a little bit.  I, for some reason, feel the need to check my work e-mail before going to bed.  While this is somewhat a casualty of the job and I know my students appreciate it, I need to respect my personal time a bit more.  This leads to #5.

5.  Work during work time and play during play time.  I seriously have a problem setting work boundaries and, as a result, have worked 7 days a week every semester for the past 2 years.  Now that I'm entering my third year of this job, I am much, much more comfortable with what I teach, how my schedule runs, what I need to do for prep, and how often I need to contact my students.  No more work e-mail on Sundays!  No working Saturdays or Sundays unless it's midterms/finals, extreme circumstances, or working with the Circle K club on campus (my new service activity for the year!).

6.  Make more time for hobbies!  Since cool/cold/frigid/tundra-like weather is coming, I need to pick up my crocheting again.  I started this afghan a long time ago with my grandmother and is the first serious crocheting item that I have stuck with worked on occasionally for the last 10 years. 

6.  Get ready for work the night before!  This means packing workout clothes if I am not coming home after work, pack my lunch and 2 snacks in my new giant thermal bag (below), ironing my clothes if I'm not going to be outside romping with my students, and packing up my work bag.  I hate doing this stuff but it's necessary to do it the night before because it takes up so much time in the morning.

7.  Finally (but probably not finally because I'm sure I'll find more stuff that I can improve on), reduce caffeine intake asap!  I love coffee.  Love, love, love.  I also love tea.  A great deal of my precious counter space looks like this on a good day (and much more messy/cluttered on a bad day):

This does not account for the shelves in my pantry that are filled with coffee and tea.  I have a problem!  I've managed to wean myself down to one cup of coffee a day.  I plan to start replacing coffee with tea at least three days a week.  I'll work my way down from there.  I don't know that I'll ever be able to enter my classroom to teach without coffee in my system but I can try!

So, there you have it!  The 7 things that I need to work on this year!  It's going to be a battle but I think anything I can do to make a healthier choice is worthwhile. 

"Week End" Updates

So this week end update is coming a little late.  My goal for last week was to take Sunday off, then walk 30 miles between Monday and Saturday and lift weights 4 times.  Unfortunately, I had been battling a pretty big blister from the week before which resulted in me not able to put a shoe on on Thursday.  Fun, fun!  Nevertheless, I more than made up for it by adding in different activities and also working out yesterday (Sunday).  It might be easiest to list, so here we go:


Sunday - Rest
Monday - Walked 5 miles
Tuesday - Walked 6 miles + lifted weights for 30 minutes
Wednesday - Walked 6 miles
Thursday - Swam laps for ~hour + 30 minutes weights
Friday - Walked 5 miles
Saturday - Walked 6 miles
Sunday - Walked 2 miles + 7.75 mile bike ride

I did get my 30 miles in six days in, but only 2 days of weight lifting.  I'm ready for a day off though!  I'm going to take a rest day today because I'm tired and a little sore. 

What I'm really proud of this week is that when my foot was too sore to put a shoe on to get my miles in, I found another activity that I could do instead of just saying, "forget it."  That's a new experience for me!  And a good one.  There are always other options when you get thrown off track a little bit.  This is something I really need to internalize and remind myself of when things go a little wrong.  My journey to healthy needs to include new life-long habits and this is one thing that I need to make a habit in my life.

This next week will be a little crazy.  I'm moving (again) Thursday-Saturday so I'm not 100% sure how much working out I will get in during those three days.  However, I am just moving from one building to another, so the moving will be entirely lifting and leg work (no trucks!) so that should count for something!  Because of the oddness of this week, my challenge for this week is food-related.  I was a little off on my eating these last couple of weeks, which has resulted in a stall in my weight loss.  This week (starting yesterday), I plan to stick to around 1,500 calories every day.  I will also be focusing on eating mostly fruits, veggies, and lean chicken/fish/turkey. 

What's funny is that I always hear about everyone being on a diet.  For me, this isn't a diet, this is a lifestyle.  If I want to be healthy for life, I need to eat in a way that I can continue for the rest of my life, so my list of "mostly" foods is just that.  Mostly.  I really don't deprive myself of anything, except trigger foods (chocolate, chips, etc.).  I still have those things occasionally, but they are not part of my everyday life.

Unlimited

First things first.  On my post on Saturday, I challenged myself to 30 miles of some combo of running, walking, and hiking over six days (Mon-Sat) + 4 days of lifting weights.  Things are going well thus far!  I took Sunday as a rest day as per the plan, but I find that rest days just make me feel like crap - tired and lazy, both on the rest day and the next day.  I may try to do a little something, like a slow walk, on rest days. 

Never-the-less, I walked 5 miles on the treadmill yesterday and 6 miles (3 outside, 3 on the treadmill) + 30 minutes weights today.  So, I've got 11 miles in in 2 days!  I figure there will be a day later in the week where I will want to walk less, so I went a little longer today.  Tomorrow I have a mid-morning appointment so I will likely break up my workout a little bit, which actually makes it easier.  I haven't run this week as my knee has been acting up again.  I enjoy running but when my knee hurts, I can't help but think that I will just cause more damage if I do a high impact activity.

My second topic of the day is Jillian Michael's book, Unlimited.  I passed this book by about six or seven times and finally broke down and bought it on Monday.  I'm only about 1/3 of the way through it but I am really enjoying it.  This book isn't exactly about how to succeed in physical health, but the advise provided in this book can be applied to your career, mental health, relationships, physical health, really any part of your life that you are having a problem with.  I will provide a more complete review of this book, but for now, I'd like to share my favorite quote from the book.

"...it's my dream, so back off and start working on your own."

Why do I like this quote so much?  Because sometimes I feel like I am surrounded by so much negativity.  I hear over and over again people talk about what other people are working towards and how much they don't support it.  Here's the thing - if that person is working towards something that will make them happy and doing it in a non-destructive manner, why should anyone else care or try to make them feel bad about it?  I think we all need to support those in our lives and focus on working towards our own goals and dreams.  I end this post with another quote from Unlimited:

"Think of it like throwing a boomerang (if anyone actually knows how to do that): whatever you think and feel comes back to you.  And thus the word is karma."

30 miles!

Since I was off work this week and the weather was beautiful, I revolved my days around working out outside.  I worked out for the past 7 days straight!  I lifted weights four times and also ran, walked, and hiked 30 miles this week!  Mid-week, my legs were fairly sore since I hadn't run in a few weeks but I'm feeling so much better and look forward to my daily workouts.  I think I might take tomorrow off as I should give myself a rest day at some point.  I don't feel as though I need to rest but I've experienced workout burnout before and would like to avoid it as I am hitting a good stride right now.

I'm challenging myself to 30 miles in 6 days (Monday-Saturday) this week.  Unfortunately, it looks like the weather is going to be hot and humid here for the next week so it looks like I'll be hanging out on the hamster wheel (treadmill) if I can't get myself up and on the road early in the morning.  I am also planning another four days of lifting.

Yesterday, I took my annual trip to Door County with my mom.  We did a little shopping and completed an easy 7-mile hike in Newport State Park.  I will add a few photos at the end of this post from our hike.  It's so nice to get out in nature and get a good workout at the same time!   I was also excited to realize that my stamina has increased dramatically in the past few months.  Last summer, I did quite a few long hikes (9-12 miles) in the mountains but was just so dead by the end.  Granted, yesterday's hike was no mountain hike by a long shot, but I was really good to go afterwards.  I think I may have even uttered the words, "I could do that again easily!"

As always, we hit Door County Coffee & Tea first (my favorite!) and I picked up pumpkin coffee for this fall and a milk frother that I love!  For those gluten-freers out there, you'll be happy to know that there are quite a few restaurants in Door County that offer gluten free menus and options.  We ate lunch at Wild Tomato Pizza, which had wood fired (yum!) pizzas and gluten-free crusts.  We ate supper at The Cookery.  Coincidentally, we ate both lunch and supper in Fish Creek, but we were pretty hungry after our hike that we were just looking for a place that we knew we would like.  The Cookery had a pretty bad fire since the last time we were there and went from a country cafe to a funky restaurant but is still fantastic! 

Trumpeter Swans in Lake Michigan.  They may not look like it in the photo, but these things are huge!



Anyone notice the large amount of bumble bees this year?



Shell beach!  Literally, this entire beach was covered in a very thick (1 ft minimum) layer of shells!  So cool!



Door County is so beautiful!

Flowers near Lake Michigan.

Finding Strategies to Stay Healthy

When life gets a little (or a lot) crazy, I find it so easy to just let my focus on my health slip away.  I am attempting to change this habit this summer.  This past Monday, I began teaching a class that involves long days, nights, and weekends working and prepping (good thing I love topics I am teaching!).  This class only lasts 4 weeks and my students this semester are awesome but I'm only five days in and already very tired.

I had written last week that I was going to work out 6 days a week during this class.  All I can say is...HA!  Yeah right!  I ran on Sunday morning and worked out at 5am on Monday and have not had any opportunity to anything since then (I will get to it yet today!).  This isn't a motivation problem, this is a lack of time in the day problem!  I actually want to work out! 

The good thing is that teaching and running labs allows me to move around.  A lot!  Out of curiosity, I wore my pedometer Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (the day it died!).  All three days, I was well over 15,000 steps (7.5-8 miles)!  It's recommended to try to make it to 10,000/day.  So, not too shabby.  I also like to do about 15-25 minutes of pushups, crunches, squats, lunges, and free weights before I get ready for bed.  This helps me at least feel strong at the end of the day.

So, okay, still working on getting workouts in.  I am still going to aim for 5am on days I teach.  I think when my body gets more used to the schedule, it will get easier to get up. 

Food wise, I did fairly well this week.  Breakfast is always egg whites and fruit or gluten-free oatmeal with fruit (and lots of coffee!).  I prepare healthy lunches on the weekends so it's one less thing I have to do in the morning since I run late no matter what time I get up.  Okay, good.

Supper is where it all usually falls apart!  I prepare all this stuff for lunch and breakfast on the weekends but seem to forget about supper or think that I will actually have time to cook at night.  Again...HA!  Sometimes I'll make a healthy version of a taco salad, or turkey burgers, but more often then not, I'll eat rice pasta with a raw tomato sauce.  It's delicious, feeds my carb craving at the end of a long day, and can be made in 15 minutes.  So, I'm adding the recipe below for everyone else who is looking for a quick summer meal.  I usually only make one serving because I'm not a leftover person, so if you are cooking for more than just yourself, just multiply each ingredient by the number of people you are serving to make enough for everyone.

If you have any strategies for staying healthy when life gets crazy, leave a comment - I could always use suggestions!

Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 serving brown rice pasta (2 oz dry; I like Tinkyada brand and usually use the shell shape but you can switch out and use whole wheat and any shape you like)
2 large roma tomatoes, cut a into 1/4 inch dice
1/4 tsp. garlic powder -or- 1 clove fresh garlic finely chopped
1 tsp. dried basil -or- 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil
1 tsp good quality olive oil (I use the Oilerie's Garlic Olive Oil, but regular works well too).

Cook the pasta and drain.  If using rice pasta, it's helpful to rinse quickly in hot water after the pasta is finished cooking.  While the pasta is cooking, combine the tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.  Combine the tomato mixture with the pasta and enjoy!

Add ins if you have extra time or want more protein:  sliced chicken, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, turkey sausage, bell pepper, parm cheese

Note:  the tomato sauce is really great on good-quality toasted bread for bruschetta. Combine all the ingredients for the tomato mixture and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Happy Summer Suppers!

What is it about hot, sticky summer days that makes me not want to cook anything?  I am currently only stocking my kitchen with fresh produce, organic yogurt, fish, turkey, and chicken so most anything that I was going to eat for supper needed to be cooked tonight!  The oven was off limits because of the heat and so was my usual hot weather go-to: raw tomato sauce and brown rice pasta.  I am down to one last heirloom tomato and I didn't work out today (sorely needed rest day!) so I wanted to stick with protein and veggies only. 

I ended up making turkey burgers and garlic kale.  Yum!  I was able to make it in 20 minutes, it didn't heat up my entire apartment, and it was so healthy!  Here's a (low quality - sorry) photo and the recipe in case you'd like to try it out for yourself! 

Note that the recipes that I post will always be gluten free as I cannot eat gluten (topic for another day!), so you won't see buns in my recipes for items like turkey burgers.  I have yet to find a really decent gluten free bun that is worth the calories and lack of nutrition without actually having to make them myself and  I cannot bake to save my life.  So, no buns it is!



Turkey Burgers

Makes 1 serving

Mix 1/4 lb 98% fat free ground turkey with 1 Tbsp McCormick Grill Mates 25% Less Sodium Montreal Steak Seasoning until combined.  Form two burgers out of the mixture.  In a small skillet, sprayed lightly with olive oil, cook the burgers on medium-high for about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the other, or until cooked completely through.  Top with condiments of your choice.

(Yeah, it's that easy!  And so good!)

Garlic Kale

Makes 1 large serving

Ingredients:

1/3 c. sliced baby portobello mushrooms

1/2 small onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 c. chicken -or- vegetable stock

2 large stems -or- 4 small stems curly-leaf kale, large stems removed and chopped into 1.5" pieces

Add the olive oil to a large skillet and add the onion, mushrooms, and garlic to the pan.  Allow the vegetables to sweat over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until just starting to soften.  Add the kale and stock to the skillet and stir the ingredients together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook on medium until the vegetables are cooked through, the kale is dark green, and most of the liquid is cooked out, about 8-10 minutes.  Do not overcook the kale, it should still have some integrity left to it.  Enjoy!

Challenge Update

I was doing so well running!  Then, my knees starting complaining.  And so did one of my hips.  I'm getting old.  This all sucks.  Majorly.  Even though I haven't been running lately, I have been averaging working out 6 days a week for the past month, though last week I only made it to 5 because of the move.  Either way, my health is good, my weight is heading in the right direction, and I am still working out.  Hopefully when the weather cools a bit I can try running again.  I do miss it!

Until I can get back to running, I am revising my challenge to be "work out six days a week".  Yes, I have been doing this already but I also haven't been teaching these past few weeks.  I start a new class next Monday and it will be tough to keep up this schedule but I am going to challenge myself to do so!  Does anyone want to volunteer to call me every morning at 5am so I get up to workout?  No?  :)

Motivations

Do you ever have one of those days in which you really can't get yourself to do anything, much less workout? I have those days...all the time!  The key for me is to keep some motivators in my back pocket.  Here are a few tips that I have found exceptionally helpful:

1.  If there is a particular time of day that you are more likely to workout, try to schedule time to workout then.  For me, this is anywhere between 9:30am to 1:30pm.  After that, I'm useless.  Unfortunately for me, I am usually teaching or have other obligations during that time.  Thus, I move on to the rest of my motivational list.

2.  Find a buddy.  When I'm at my parent's house, I walk with my parent's dog and my mom.  Today, I had a running buddy.  Working out when you really don't want to isn't as bad when you can focus on your buddy instead of how hard you are breathing.

3.  Do something you love.  Don't workout just because it's good for you.  For me, I hate, hate, hate being a mouse on a wheel (which is what treadmills feel like to me).  I think it's boring and I hate that I'm not going anywhere.  In the long run, you are more likely to stick with something you like and thus be healthier than if you did two weeks in the gym, got sick of it, and gave up.

4.  Find someone or something that is inspirational to you.  It could be those pants you are hoping to wear or someone who has accomplished what you are working for.  I like Ali Vincent a lot (first female winner of the Biggest Loser).  She doesn't play games, she works hard, and I see a lot of myself in her.  If you haven't yet, read Believe It, Be It, written by Vincent.  I think I've read that book three or four times.  It helps to know that I'm not the only one who thinks this stuff is hard sometimes.



5.  When everything above fails, you have come down to the final two options.  If you know your body needs a workout and just don't feel like it, give yourself a 10 minute workout.  This tip comes from the book The Go-Girl Guide: Surviving Your 20s with Savvy, Soul, and Style by Julia Borland.  My sister gave me this book when I turned 20 and, sadly, it looks like I will need to hand it off in 10 months.

The theory is that if you workout for 10 minutes, you will likely feel better and you'll finish out the workout.  The truth is, this works!  I love Jillian Michaels' workouts.  My current obsession is Jillian's Ripped in 30.  It's literally a total body workout in 34 minutes (and it's a great workout!).  After 10 minutes in front of Jillian, I always finish.

The second of the final options is to take a rest day.  A cop out?  Maybe.  It can also be exactly what you need.  If I have worked out 4 days or more in a row, especially if they are intense workouts, sometimes I just need a day off to let my muscles rest and rebuild.  I can pick up where I left off the next day.

What are your motivations?

Challenge Update

I really did not want to go for a run today!  My muscles were tired and sore.  Luckily, I had planned to run with a good friend and did not want to cancel on her.  We did not run all that far (just under 1.5 miles) and we walked the rest of the way but it was a good workout none-the-less and it was way better for me than sitting on the couch.

Welcome!

After several friends suggested I start a blog on my journey to be healthy by 30, I am finally succumbing to the pressure.  :)  Please join me on this journey while I work to eat healthfully and exercise consistently to meet my goal and focus on being healthy for life. 

This all came about a year ago when:
A)  A bridesmaids dress I had ordered came in and wasn't even close to zipping.
B)  I could no longer keep up with my students when I was hiking on a class field trip.

This is not the person that I wanted to be and I felt sluggish and tired all the time.  I felt my confidence waning on a daily basis, something that is not okay in my job.  I need to be able to stand in front of a classroom and be a confident, excited, and outgoing person on a daily basis.  I promised myself that I would enter my 30's healthier than I entered my 20's.  In the past year, I have lost 43 pounds and gained so much knowledge about myself and what does and does not work for my body.  Oh, I not only ended up fitting into the dress by the wedding, I had to have it taken in (and even then, the dress wouldn't stay up!).

Current Challenge:
If you know me, you know that I like to challenge myself and to see where my limits lie.  This is my current focus.  I just finished with another semester and have nearly a month before starting to teach my summer class.  In this time, I need to prep of course, and I will be moving.  But, more than that, I am focusing on pushing myself physically. 

Pushing myself right now means running.  Running was always something that I hated and I never even finished the mile in school when I was a kid.  So why did I choose this as my challenge?  Because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.  I've been working on this for about a month and...yesterday, I ran 2.75 miles!  My next run is planned for tomorrow and I'll let you know how it goes!