Author: Sassyfitnesschick

8 years ago I began what I now refer to as my "journey into lifestyle fitness". After a yearly check in with my Dr he said I looked "really good on paper, but I might consider losing a few pounds" I wasn't offended... I knew I needed to but it seemed like to much work at the time. In that year we had adopted 2 girls out of foster care, plus caring for my 3 sons & husband sort of left me on the back burner taking care of "me". I told him I "used to" walk & he encouraged me to at least get back to that. I left his office that day, started, & never quit. As time moved on my walks increased in length & speed. I started mingling some jogging into it...then after more time some short sprints. One day I realized I was doing more running than anything else. I learned to run longer and farther. I constantly challenged myself to do more. I realized I had turned into a runner & was loving it. I have since run 6 half marathons, 2 full marathons, and my first 50K scheduled for March 1,2015. Not bad for a girl who just started off walking not quite 2 miles! My body was now beginning to show the results of my work as weight & inches dropped off. I began to add in boxing & weights on days I wasn't running. Over time as the fat left, my new muscles were waiting underneath =) Obviously, I also made some food changes. Nothing drastic..just started eating less and trying to eat better.. I hated diets and how they made me feel....deprived & left out of all the fun...so adjusting & eating less of what I liked and moving more.. I found myself getting in decent physical shape. It began my thinking of lifestyle and not "dieting". As I got stronger,healthier & more fit it was an easier process to "let go" of some of the foods I had enjoyed. I had more energy, strength and confidence in what I could do. It was empowering. It made me realize that I probably wasn't the only one who wanted to lose weight, be healthy & strong but not always be on some sort of "diet". Maybe my journey & what I had learned & been doing might possibly help others to success in their lives... I consider myself to be rather normal and ordinary ( meaning I haven't always been into fitness and healthy eating) it has been a steady, daily, learned process with good days and bad days and my hope is that you too, will see the greatness in you, and that you have the ability and power to change and do anything you put your mind to. If you want change, you can make it happen. It's just one day at a time, making smart moves and better choices, and before you know it, things are happening. Get started on your journey, really, what do you have to lose ? And yet, so much to gain =)

50Something

So in earth shattering world news, I turned 51 on Saturday. You know what that means ? I survived a year of being 50 and am now officially “50something” 😉

I can tell you…. being 50 was pretty darn ok so I’m kinda geared towards 51 being rockin’ too.

Last year saw me hitting some of the biggest goals and challenges of my life.

Athletically, I ran my second marathon knocking 33 minutes off my previous years time. I attribute that to harder training and getting my nutrition even tighter.

I moved from that, into training for a 50K (31.7 miles) in March, doing that a little over 6 hours. I also did two half marathons in March.

By that time I had reached a point of being in the best physical condition of my life… at 50.

I had also increased time on my bike for cross training as well as challenging myself more with weights to build more muscle and make me an overall stronger runner.

Getting older ( I’ve learned) also means just getting down right comfy in your own skin and embracing who you are. I’ve allowed myself to pursue and do what I want to and not be hampered by the rules of others or the secret unwritten code of society that seeks to put women to sleep after they reach a certain age.

Shhh… and ladies… it’s ok to keep your edge… really 😉

And the other thing I’ve learned (really in the past couple years) if you wanna do something…do it. What are you waiting for ? It’s your life…live it…do those things you think about… do something that’s been hanging out in your mind… dare to be different.

And in saying that…. I just got my second tattoo on Thursday and I’m totally in love with it. I’ve had the idea cooking for awhile in my head. When I contacted my artist and told him what I wanted I sat back to eagerly await what his rendition would look like. So when he contacted me for a Thursday appt and shot me the design to approve, it seemed like a perfect birthday present for me (there’s a good way to kick off birthday weekend )

I’ve had a few people tell me that it fits me perfectly…like it belongs there….and it does. …

My explanation? It’s like an inner piece of me revealed. It’s been a part of me for awhile… now it’s just visible.

I’ll share with you what’s behind it…. life… has been teaching me.

In the past year or so I’ve learned it takes a lot of courage to live… not just exist…but to live. To stand when you don’t think you can stand… to see beauty in life when the storms are crashing in. To have courage when you feel like hiding or running away.

The rose represents the beauty and fragility of life. The sword piercing the rose is a reminder that although life is beautiful, it’s often harsh and not always a bed of roses.
The sword is a powerful weapon, one that is taken up to stand and fight, to stand against the trials and difficulties that come. The sword represents a warrior spirit, courage, and a never say die attitude towards life. It represents the strength to endure. Spiritually it’s a reminder of the One who’s strength, courage and power rest in me.

Together, it all tells such a beautiful story.

You see, even though I had some amazing personal triumphs in my 50th year, I had some painful losses and life things that brought grief and struggle. Life takes courage to live.

I lost my mom in April and had to face my first birthday without her… a milestone birthday she should’ve been here to share with me. This year… as loved and surrounded as I have been by family and friends I’m aware of her presence not with me. Losing her meant taking over with my dad who has Alzheimers and maintaining his home and trying to make the best choices for him. His condition has rapidly declined with mom’s passing.

My husband parted ways from his company after 23 years to take a new job that involved traveling and being gone from home all week, and sometimes two weeks at a time. I learned to step up even more handling and dealing with everything on the home front and then.. there’s just all the life stuff in general.

And of course, let’s not forget, our most recent adventure with his thyroid cancer.

I don’t tell you these things to whine. Or to feel sorry for me.

I won’t negate my feelings though… it has been hard at various times… sometimes… crushing.

that’s when I started thinking about how life demands so much courage for us to keep living and finding beauty and laughter and joy in the dark places.

Courage demands I take a stand and fight back to live and appreciate life, even in the hard times.

So it was with an overflowing heart and fresh awareness through out my birthday weekend at how blessed I am.

To have an evening celebrating with all my kids, niece and nephew and their kids and other family… was wonderful. On the day of my birthday, just time being home and later dinner out with hubby for some one on one time was nice. I wrapped up the weekend on Sunday by picking up my gift I had asked for….. a new little road bike. Nothing fancy at all, but I’ve almost worn the wheels off the mountain bike I got a couple years ago. ( I’m slowly creeping along to becoming a cyclist… eek… THAT is a pricey hobby) but you know what? My body doesn’t know if it’s on a pricey bike or not… it’s just out there working hard 😉

So yeah, I’m grateful. Another year. New challenges and goals to tackle. New opportunities for growth.

Who wouldn’t be excited?

Let’s Talk About Running

Running.

Have I ever mentioned I love running ?

I shared in a post here on my blog a week or so back that I was sidelined from running with an injury. If you’re on my Facebook page you might have seen my current update.

For those of you in blog world I’m gonna let you know where I’m at and what my current status is…. and if you run I know you’ll totally understand 😛

I had seen a podiatrist but wasn’t really happy with the visit on a lot of levels. He told me I had Achilles Tendonitis, terrified me with the outcome if I ran and didn’t heal properly, recommended I buy his pricey shoe inserts, and to take some Advil. He didn’t want a follow up with me.. that is… unless I wanted to be fitted for his inserts.

ok…..

I wanted a game plan. I wanted someone to understand my running goals and help me get healed and back on track again. Someone who understood me not only as a patient, but as an athlete too.

If there’s one thing that hit home to me in the last year as I trained really intensely is this…

I am an athlete.

20150706_180906-1 — How cool is this shirt ??

When someone first referred to me like that my first thought was … “Me?”

I’ve since realized, it’s not just a title for the elite, it’s anyone who pours themselves with passion into a sport they love. It really is a lifestyle, I believe, a way of living, a mentality towards what you do.

So of all things, there was a sports med doctor two doors down from the podiatrist. I went home and set up an appt with him for a second opinion and hopefully, a game plan.

I saw him last week and I’ll say this. I’m excited.

One of the first things he asked me was what my running goals were for the rest of the year? And what other sports did I do ? ( I’m enjoying cycling more and more) I told him I had been cycling as cross training and also had a duathlon on my goal list.

Since he’s a triathlete I knew he’d totally get it.

Can I say it’s awesome having a doctor who understands your medical needs but also understands your athletic goals?

I felt almost giddy.

He assessed me, poked around on my legs and feet and then sent me down the hall for x-rays to rule out any stress fractures.

All was clear on that… however it did reveal I had insertional Achilles tendonitis… in both feet.

Ok at least now, I knew exactly what we were dealing with.

He laid out a med plan as well as other things like icing my heels ( hello bagged peas!) rolling ( I bought a rolling pin to specifically roll out my calves and tendons) no running of course, but I can continue cycling and strength training. Thank goodness, cycling at least gives me the fast, forward motion that I’m not getting from running right now.

He did caution and remind me that this injury didn’t happen overnight and it would take time to heal.

I’m ok with that… I can be patient with the goal of getting out on the road again. He reminded me I might need to reset my goals…maybe run a half marathon in December instead of a full… to be open to adjusting my training and goals.

I understand about resetting goals. If that’s what I have to do, that’s what I have to do.

I miss running. I miss how it clears my head and helps me sort out … life. Running has been probably the single most important thing in my life that has challenged me to go beyond anything I thought I was capable of doing.

Running… makes me feel strong, powerful, alive, invincible, empowered….confident.

And yeah, I get amused when someone teases me about running somewhere to get something, and know that I could do it 😉

Life’s journey is full of up’s and down’s.

I’m trying to be patient, learn, wait and look forward to the final result…. the day I lace up and hit the road again… which won’t come soon enough.

Tell me… are you working through any struggles right now? Is there anything in your life that’s teaching you to be patient, wait, and learn ?

Some Truths About Diabetes

So I’ve been seeing a lot in the news lately on diabetes and the (sometimes) confusion over what Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes is. Since I’m about promoting health, wellness, and being fit I think it’s really important for people to understand and be educated on the types, how they develop and more importantly, are you at risk ?

Understanding it can be crucial to your overall health or someone you love.

Type 1 (formerly called juvenile onset) accounts for 5-10 people out of 100 who have diabetes. Symptoms usually start in childhood or young adulthood. Medical care is often sought when individuals become seriously ill from sudden symptoms of high blood sugar. Episodes of low blood sugar are often common.

It cannot be prevented.

Type 2 (formerly called adult onset or non-insulin dependent diabetes) can develop at any age. It commonly becomes apparent in adulthood although there is a rise in children. Type 2 accounts for the vast majority of diabetes. 90-95 out of 100 people will have it. The person may not have symptoms before diagnosis. There are no episodes of low blood sugar unless the person is taking insulin or diabetes medicine.

It can be prevented or delayed with a healthy lifestyle, including maintaining a healthy weight, eating sensibly and regular exercise.

Both types of diabetes greatly increase a persons risk for a range of serious complications. Although managing and monitoring the disease can prevent complications it still remains the leading cause of blindness and kidney failure. It also is a critical risk factor for heart disease, stroke and amputations.

The biggest difference in the two ? One is not preventable.

The other? the individual has much control over as it is lifestyle driven… meaning the choices you make can determine whether or not you will develop it.

Being overweight, not exercising, & eating poorly all contribute to the development of Type 2.

Ok… I am rather passionate about this particular disease… that people know and understand the serious import of it. My mother nearly died in 2001 with undiagnosed diabetes and had a blood sugar level of 960 when admitted at hospital. Yes, you read that correctly. It’s a miracle she survived. However, great damage had already been done from years of neglect to her body.

Kidney disease, eye problems, wounds not healing, and ultimately, amputations of parts of her foot before she passed away last year were all things she dealt with. She had also undergone two kidney transplants that had not worked out and was on dialysis for the last few years of her life.

It is a silent, horrible and destructive disease. Living in denial does not stop the damage that occurs. Just because you might feel “ok” doesn’t mean that the disease isn’t damaging your organs and body in critical ways.

If you have diabetes it is so very important to check and manage your blood sugar levels.

I was recently talking to someone who acknowledged that they had pre-diabetes and then laughingly said… “Oh, but I don’t really do what I’m supposed to or what my doctor says”

It took everything in me …. everything…. to not reach out… grab her by the shoulders… and shake her…. and grit out… “Do you know what you’re saying? Do you know what you’re doing to your body? Why aren’t you taking care of yourself ???”

No… I simply smiled and told her she really needed to take care of herself… but silently struggled with wondering why someone would be so flippant with such a destructive disease.

Why? because like so many others she didn’t “see” anything going on and assumed it couldn’t be so bad.

Keep in mind there are a variety of risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes

Over weight or obese
Immediate family members with diabetes
African-American, Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian-American, Hispanic/Latino, or Pacific Islander
High blood pressure 140/90 or above
HDL (good cholesterol) level below 35 mg/dl or a triglyceride level above 250 mg/dl
Cardiovascular disease

Keep in mind that those stats…. 4 of those 6 risk factors are heavily influenced by lifestyle. Meaning you have a large level of control over not getting this disease if you take steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

We must be proactive in our own healthcare. To stay on a path of health and (hopefully) avoid this disease consider taking these steps.

Consult doctor and understand where your blood sugar level is. Know what your numbers are! Understand what normal is and see where yours line up.
If required get a home testing kit to check your blood sugar through the day.
If you are overweight, get started to drop a few pounds. A 10-15 lb loss can greatly change your numbers.
Get regular and frequent exercise 5 days a week.
Stop eating fast foods, sugars, processed or refined foods and stick to healthy nutritionally dense foods This will also help your cholesterol levels.

Taking small steps and using preventive care will go a long way to keeping you healthy for you and your family =)

That Stupid Cancer

Hello blog world. Yes, I’m still here…and alive….but boy has life been going down hard and fast in my world the past few weeks.

I’ve missed all of you, my 1.5 readers. I’ve thought about what to write and how to write it. The words piled up in my head among other thoughts waiting to be put into organized, readable context.

And somehow…. weirdly… I’ve struggled with sitting down and getting it done.

This is a post on life.

I promise to resume my health/athletic(y) blogs soon. But even as we do things to maintain a healthy body and mind, there is this big thing going on around us called life…

And you know what? There are times life is just freaking…. hard…brutal, take no prisoners, hard.

So where I’ve been the last couple weeks in life…..

to start with, my son unexpectedly lost a close friend in a tragic car accident. This friend was also to have been one of his groomsmen in his September wedding. He has lost many friends in the past few years of his young life. Once again my heart ached for him, his friends, and the young mans family at his swift removal from this world. As I sat at his memorial service and saw his beautiful face, my heart was pierced at how wrong it felt that this 22 year old young man was gone.

No words… simply no words… could make this right…or take away the pain from his family. Nor could I as a mother, absorb it for my son.

During this time, my husband had gone in for his yearly check up. He mentioned to the doctor he had a lump on the side of his neck and thought it was a swollen lymph node. Doctor sent him for a sonogram that day. A few days later they called wanting him to have a CT done (this was on a Friday) Monday we saw the doctor who told us the report indicated possible malignancy, but without a needle biopsy they can’t officially confirm. Somehow, they got us in that afternoon. He returned to Houston afterwards where he had been working. We could only wait now for the biopsy results which they have promised to have for us by Wed. ( amazing and fast indeed, right?)

Both of us were positive and upbeat knowing we had to take these steps to rule out the dreaded “C” word.

Cancer.

I mean, it wouldn’t be, right? Why would it?

Wed afternoon I got the call from him. Results were in.

Tests confirmed he had thyroid cancer.

How does one respond? How does one act? I felt semi-numb and felt myself immediately kick into the zone I go to when difficult things come. Stay focused. Keep on task. Think about what I can do or what needs to be done.

Cry or freak out later if need be. That serves me no purpose when I need my head about me.

Meanwhile, hubby had immediately ended his contract where he was working, closed out of his apartment and was headed home. I felt helpless not being able to be there and help him after getting that news or knowing he’d have hours to drive home thinking about it.

Things were already unfolding though as we had an appt. the next day with the surgeon to discuss everything and surgery was set for Friday.

When I say things moved with lightening speed and were all beautifully orchestrated is putting it mildly. We know and personally believe God’s hands were all over this. No one gets the diagnosis and then two days later is having surgery to remove it. I can’t tell you how unheard of this is.

Thyroid cancer as we’ve been told is highly curable and treatable. But whoa… still… you have…. cancer.

The surgery went well, doctor felt he got all cancerous tissue and removed thyroid as well as the tumor. A short hospital stay and we had him home. The next step now is a one time radiation treatment that will literally kill any thyroid cells left in his body, but only those cells. How cool is that ?

Of course, we’ve made all kinds of jokes teasing him about being radioactive and glowing. Or with his neck wound if it had been Halloween he would’ve made an awesome Frankenstein 😉

You must… need to…..find humor… and moments to laugh… when you are feeling scared, anxious or worried. Laughter relieves and relaxes tense moments.

We met with surgeon on Thursday to remove sutures and discuss the next step. Right now, that’s what it’s about, the next step to crush this thing, get him better, but most of all, to keep living life.

That’s been my goal as we’ve moved through this. To not let it define our lives or be the “thing” that has center stage.

Beautiful, glorious life is still going on.

Things to be celebrated. Moments to be shared. Laughter to partake in. Tears to cry. Family to be loved on. Friends to be appreciated. Feeling your partner nestled next to you during the night. Normal days to be embraced. Sunrises to be seen. A full, bright moon hanging in the dark night sky. The sounds of your kids voices to be treasured. The smell of your grandson. A hot shower. A good meal. The smell of coffee brewing. Waking up and knowing you’ve been blessed… entrusted… with another day.

Another day…. a pure, precious, breathtaking gift so often taken for granted.

Do you ever just wish, you could wrap your arms around it ???

So yes, we are looking forward to many more days. His prognosis is very good. We are doing all things necessary to ensure his complete health and removal of all cancer cells. His attitude has been good and he’s strong and determined…. um….stubborn…. to use his word….well… he was under the influence of drugs after surgery when he said that… does that still count ??

Like, he admitted that to his nurse… I think that counts… don’t you ? 😉

It’s ok… stubbornness can be quite useful in life .. ask me… I might know a lil about that haha

So as we’ve moved through these past 2 weeks of difficulties in losses of loved ones and treasured friends, and dealt with the unexpected, dreaded “cancer”, and contended with other life issues going on I’ll tell you what we have been confident of….

God has been with us. He has been our Strength and Peace and I know He is our Provider. I don’t understand a lot of what happens in this world or life… I’m merely human with a very limited, short perspective in this vast world and universe… but by faith I rest and trust in One who is bigger than I am.

I just want to encourage you, who are reading this right now. Life might be smooth sailing and you have no current issues…. they will come…. or you might have just gotten out of difficulties….Or you could be having a life like I’ve dealt with recently.

Stay strong. Know this will pass. Breathe. Live and deal with only the moment you are in, running to far ahead can only offer fear and worries that might not ever even happen and only steal the joy from your current day. Appreciate random moments. Stop and smell the flowers. Value small things. Wear the fun dress. Get out the “special” dishes… use them for all their worth. Turn up the music and sing loud. Do that thing you want to do.

Most of all…. live…. embrace your life… and don’t let your circumstances define you.

I Don’t Need Your Weight Loss Product To Be Fit

So yesterday presented one of those golden opportunities to spring board an idea for todays post. Just when I worry I might be running out of creative, challenging, inspiring, clever or inventive ideas, life just delivers it into my lap.

How splendid 😉

So I made a stop for some iced coffee at my favorite coffee place and was hanging out on the patio enjoying the breezy warm afternoon when from behind me someone grabbed my chair and acted like they were going to dump me from my comfy perch…

turns out to be one of the guys who is typically in during the morning… one of the “regulars” I’ve gotten to know some. There is a lively group who encourages my running, wants to know what I’m currently doing, provides weather reports for my running days, ask when my next races are and wants to see my medals after I finish one.

I call them my cheerleading section and my fan club… it’s kinda nice 😉

Anyway, we just start chatting about random stuff and he moves into asking me about a particular “health” product and if I’ve heard of it or used it before ?

I tell him no I just try and eat good food, drink water, and stay away from most junk/random food. It’s been working…

Then he says… “well, what do you use for detox?”

I blankly looked at him for a moment and then said… “I have a liver that does it for me”

Haha…. the look on his face…. I’m not sure if he thought I was messing with him… but I mean seriously… it’s not hanging out in your belly for nothing.

When I mentioned I really enjoyed having a lot of veggies and fruits in my daily food intake I got the “yes, but there aren’t any nutrients left in foods anymore” mantra…( oh I’m weary of that one)

Ok… I like this guy. He’s always really nice and everything.. it’s just… he’s delivering the lines that companies have coached people into believing or saying to sell their product. They sell a product, using lines they’ve been given and not always understanding what they are actually delivering.

I told him I’d take my chances with “nutrient deprived veggies from our poor depleted soil” that it seemed to be doing ok for me so far… I mean… as if this “product” was better than eating fresh veggies and fruits ? Really ? a man made product is better than fresh, nutrient dense foods ??

That perplexed me.

He then brought up having energy and getting moving in the morning. I told him I don’t really suffer from lack of energy (usually) and I found eating well, combined with exercise really seemed to be a good combo for abundant energy…. ( oh, and coffee, always coffee 😉

He then mentioned he knew people who had some success with it. I told him my issues with all these “health” products is that people want to believe it will deliver the “miracle” cure they are looking for and bring this item on board while never changing or making improvements in their overall nutrition plan, often continuing in their poor habits… not making or building new ones to replace the negative. The only thing this product might do is make them lighter in their bank account.

A lot lighter based on many items I’ve seen.

Ah… I deal with this frequently. When people know I’m living a healthy lifestyle and that I workout and am fit, they want me to use their product to “improve” or “get better” or to have more of “something”.

Weird kinda thing here…. I got where I am, I look how I look, I do what I do, all on my own, somehow without all these amazing products to get me healthier, more energetic, fit, cleansed, etc.

My labs at doctors are great. My weight is in my perfect zone. My body fat is very low. I have lots of energy. I sleep well and am more fit and athletic than I’ve ever been in my life. All accomplished without some miracle product to get me to this point.

The biggest thing to success in weight loss and getting fit ? Is finding what works for you… the thing that is sustainable and easy enough for you to maintain and work at day in and day out without giving up.

Something that doesn’t have a shelf life of 6-8 weeks before it’s back to the old way of life. And ideally, something that doesn’t do a monthly draw off your bank account either is a good thing.

I would caution anyone…. think before you jump onto the bandwagon of a product making promises to make you healthier, more energetic, or fix your medical problems. (For goodness sake, if you have medical issues, consult your doctor, not your neighbor selling something!)

Nothing will work long term for you like learning to manage your own nutrition and developing an active healthy lifestyle. Changes must be made, new habits must be formed.

Have you ever tried a product hoping it would be your “magic pill” for success? What was the outcome ?

Weight Loss 101

It happens.

You get on the scale and the numbers start spinning like a slot machine in Vegas.

You wait for the final tally to show up. If only it would spit money out at you when it finally stopped.

Ugh… why is there this huge distance between where you are now… and where you want to be ?

And worse… how did you get to this point ?

You feel defeated before you get started.

I remember. I relate. It seemed so very far away to get to where I wanted to be.

That’s what we all struggle with isn’t it ?

I hear from so many of you. You want to get lose weight and get healthy but you aren’t sure where to start…it’s overwhelming! Overwhelming ’cause we just want to get to our destination over night and that won’t happen… we have to get back the same way we got where we are now…. slowly and steadily… just in reverse now.

I’ll throw out a few little tips that helped me… maybe it will be helpful to you too.

First, getting your nutrition under wraps is the most important thing. Know what you eat and how much you are eating.

It’s easy to think you ” don’t eat that much” when in reality, you could be eating more than you realize. Those calories ( liquid and food) add up. Or in a reverse way, maybe you’re restricting your calories to much making it harder to lose. This is also where it’s so crucial to understand the calorie needs your body has each day.

Logging your food and drink for a week or so will give you a visual idea of what your daily intake looks like. You can do it the old fashioned way by writing it down or use several of the current apps that are available to track your food and exercise.

I have used an app called Lose it! and others use one called My Fitness Pal. Both can keep track of your foods and how many calories you are consuming in a day. You won’t need to do this forever but do it long enough to understand your food consumption and see your eating patterns. Make sure you log everything you eat and drink.

Good nutrition is really key to long term weight loss. Exercise is important but if you don’t have a good base with healthy nutrition it won’t matter how much exercise you do for long term benefits.

Also, consider what you buy at the store and bring home. If you have trigger foods, and they aren’t there, you can’t get them if you have a craving. Buy healthy foods, you’ll eat healthy foods and so will your family.

I have a huge weakness for salt and pepper kettle potato chips. I know if they come home, it’s all over. My husband teases me that once in awhile won’t hurt me. Perhaps, that’s true. But do I need them ?

Seriously, once that bag is open…. I’m like an addict.

So yeah, think about what you buy and the impact it will have on you at home. Get serious with what you buy and consider the value of it for you and your family.

Eating well is your first line of defense to losing weight successfully and you will see the best results when you shape up your nutrition. Not only that, but your overall health will benefit too.

Another thing I found helpful was only setting 5 lb. goals for myself at a time. I turned it into a game… I can do anything if I can make it a game or make it playful. So I would just tell myself… “ok, just focus on moving from the “0” to the “5”…. and I moved along in those 5 lb. increments till it really started to add up.

Focusing on 5 lbs. at a time was totally manageable. I could handle that. It takes that huge daunting goal and makes it easier to achieve.

Try it…. It builds your confidence that you can accomplish what you set out to do.

As you bring your nutrition in line, it will be important for you to consider what exercises you can do to support your weight loss goals.

Keep in mind, our bodies need movement for wellness, not just to help with weight loss. Purposeful exercise also helps us mentally, emotionally and spiritually, in addition to physically.

Decide what you can do. What works for you. I will encourage you to look at a variety of activities, first, to prevent boredom. Second, a variety of activities can work all muscle groups overall shaping and building your body to be more defined and strong. I honestly think I’ve stayed with working out because I found things I could be passionate about and because I had different activities it allowed me to mix things up when I wanted to.

If you are self motivated you might find working out at home fits your needs. I love not having to go somewhere to workout… my time is important so to just go for a run, pedal off some miles, or out to my building for strength days is a huge bonus to me.

However, you might need the motivation of being in a gym setting, or having a workout partner ( iron sharpens iron kinda thing 😉 Perhaps a personal trainer might be what gets you on track.

Know your needs and what will help you be most successful to stick with it.

In summary….

Log your food/drink intake for a week or two until you have a good idea of your food patterns (the how, what, and when of your eating )

Make healthy food choices that you keep in your kitchen.

Set 5 lb. goals at a time.

Select a physical activity that you can be passionate about and look forward to doing.

Remember, slow and steady will reap long term lifestyle changes =)

Not Running Sucks.

20150617_224350 — Let me tell you how I really feel….. #nofilters

The shirt says it all.

I recently picked it up ’cause I had really scaled my miles down to almost nothing and was totally … hating it…..

After todays doctor appt. it reflects how I’m going to be feeling for awhile.

At some point it was bound to happen…. work hard… play hard… play harder…. injuries become a possibility. Or a reality. You can get hurt doing stuff you really love that you throw yourself into with abandon.

It sucks ’cause this is my first running injury.

Oh, I got sidelined a few years ago for like… 6 weeks… when I took the motorcycle down learning to ride….. that’s when I learned big bikes and gravel aren’t a good combo. I hurt my knee which knocked me out of running.

I literally cried the first time I was back out for a run. I had been so afraid the time away would make me not want to do it anymore. Nothing, was farther from the truth. I embraced that run back out celebrating my freedom and my restored health.

So I’ve been babying my heel for a month or two. I’ve intentionally brought my miles down hoping and allowing it would give my foot a break to heal.

In the last couple weeks I’ve scraped running and just focused on cycling and other stuff… still… it remains..

Which pushed me to an official appointment.

In a nutshell…. foot doctor confirmed what I knew…. Achilles tendonitis.

No running…at all.

No impact sports at all.

No movements that put strain on the tendons which rules out strength training moves with my lower body like squats, deadlifts etc. Cycling if questionable.

I left thinking… I’m going to go stir crazy…. almost all active movement has been axed.

Please hear me… I get it. Once again, I’m crazy, but not stupid. My health and getting 100% again is my most important goal now so I can get back out on the road.

But…..still…. no… running ??

I actually found a sports med doctor I’ll be seeing in a few weeks. I want someone who understands athletically where I am and how to treat me. And a second opinion is never bad. He does triathlons so I feel like he’ll “get it”.

Meanwhile, I am being a good girl. Ice several times a day, no running around barefoot (this kills me too, I’m a barefoot girl! ) I have discontinued all activities that would possibly strain or further irritate my injuries.

Swimming appears to be the most recommended and supported activity for this kind of injury. How ironic that I am constantly telling people how weak I am with swimming that this will now be my main form of cardio for awhile. Hmmm maybe when I go through this time I’ll come out a stronger and better swimmer.

Is this the silver lining in having my wings clipped ?

I will confess to tears… and frustration… and pain… and wondering how this will impact the goals I had set for myself in the remainder of the year. I have worries of “what if”.

Serious marathon training is set to start in August… at this point I don’t know if I’ll be healthy to do that yet. My marathon in December… will it happen ? The goal of finding a duathlon to train for ?

I just don’t know.

This I do know.

I miss being on the road. I miss the feeling my body gets from running long and hard. I want to plan a long run and be out early and see the sunrise while I’m doing it. I want to be drenched in sweat and feel like a million bucks from challenging myself to do more. I want to tear up hills and feel my body respond to the challenge. I’m jealous when I read running posts or see someone running.

I want to stop and say… “don’t EVER take for granted what you’re doing right now… it’s a pure, sweet gift.. value it”.

Ok… this post… is really letting me process and get this outta my head. I know what I have to do and will do it… I promise to keep you updated and make my whining… minimal…..

You just don’t take a woman who’s been running and active and clip her wings without ~~a lot~~ a few tears and angry stomping of her feet.

I will regroup and look at what I can do, implement, and improvise. I might come out of this a better swimmer, which means, maybe a tri wouldn’t be out of my realm of possibility at some point. I will learn to do more activities that work my body while protecting the hurt parts. I will add more boxing with swimming to get in some good cardio..

Basically, I will develop a new game plan and bounce back while I “recover”.

I’m wired like that….get pushed down… and figure out how to get up and fight again.

But for the love of all things running… I really…. hate… this.

Talk to me…tell me… have you dealt with an injury that sidelined you ? How did you handle it? This is my first serious one so …do you have words of encouragement ? What helped you through it ?

3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge

Emmanuel Muema has nominated me for the 3 days, 3 quotes challenge. Thank you for the award =)

I’ll do my best to deliver the goods.

The rules of the challenge : 1. Thank the person who nominated you. 2. Post a quote a day for 3 days. 3. Each day, nominate 3 new bloggers to take part in the challenge.

My quote :

” You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror.” I can take the next thing that comes along.

~Eleanor Roosevelt

My nominees:

1. Movin’ it with Michelle

2. Peeled Wellness

3. Bubbles and Booyah

Simple Steps To Weight Loss And Fitness

I’m gonna try and keep this short and sweet. No. This isn’t a post about all my amazing short and sweet friends… and I have a lot of them… I mean when you rock 6’0 I have LOTS that fall into that category 😉

I going to post some tips I hope are helpful and easy to follow on a daily basis because a lifestyle change is made by things we do consistently day after day. Building new healthy habits and actions leads to long term success.

Not crazy shenanigans for a few weeks then with a deep sigh it’s back to what’s normal and comfy for us.

Ready?

** Avoid extreme restrictions. This is the fastest way to derail yourself back to “Go”. Take away everything good and fun and tasty and make it life sucking and you won’t be going anywhere fast.

** Do work on making small healthy swaps every day. If chips and a soda are your go to snack maybe work on dropping the soda and going with water, eventually getting rid of the chips too. Your goal should be eating healthy snacks the majority of the time. Add in an extra veggie with your meal and cut pasta/potatoes whatever in half. When you reach for something, take a moment to assess it’s value for you.

** Do use small amounts of time for exercise. I shared in another post how much I worked into a 30 minute block of time one morning. Even if you have 10 minutes… Knock out pushups…. you’ll be sweating like crazy at the end. Look for ways to build movement into your day. Take stairs, go for a short walk, park farther back at store, do squats, push ups or lunges waiting for your shower water to heat, use a push mower to cut grass ( my fav gravy activity) garden or work in your yard, all these things in a day add up and develop an active lifestyle. Note: this doesn’t take place of your purposeful exercise you should be doing.

**Set specific goals. Don’t just say “I want to lose weight”. Target a day to have realistically dropped a certain number of pounds. Hang a fav item of clothing in your way that you might want to get back into to silently challenge you. Select an event you want to train for. Maybe it’s to improve your lab numbers at the doctors office when you go back. Whatever you do, write it down, make it real and then go for it. It doesn’t hurt to share those goals with others for accountability 😉

**Strive to eat well the majority of the time. I shared in another post on eating that you can follow an 80/20 rule. Eat well 80% of the time, allowing a 20% allowance for occasional treats and special occasions. As I’ve gotten more fit and my views on nutrition have changed I find myself in more of a 90/10. I just feel better when I eat well. You will too, trust me =)

** Finally know that change takes time. Change that is, that will last and result in a lifestyle difference. Changes in the scale, changes in your body, changes in how you see yourself all take time. Settle in and work slowly and steadily one day at a time, results will come.

Share with me if you have simple tips and ideas that have helped you be successful =)

I’m An Athlete

So I’ll confess I had a different title for this blog… then I saw this statement on a t-shirt a friend was wearing… and decided it would be my new title.

I told him I needed that shirt… he said he could get me one… I think… that would be wicked cool.

I guess that statement resonated with me ’cause I haven’t always thought of myself as an athlete.

For years I was this middle aged woman out for walks to help knock some weight off. Even as I eased into running and picked up working with weights a little, I was still just a middle aged woman doing some exercise.

And that’s fine… I mean really… I didn’t give it a thought. I just did my thing.

Besides, weren’t athletes professionals who made a lot of money for their sport and were on cereal boxes ?

I cooked along in my own little happy exercise zone until one day, about a year or two back, someone asked me if I had run that morning.

I told him yes, yes I did, just 5 miles.

His response? “You eat 5 miles for breakfast. You run before some people are out of bed. You run more miles at once than most people ever will. You are the only athlete I know !”

That kinda brought me up short. I mean in the last couple years my running has certainly geared up a lot, my cross training has deepened and I’ve tried to add more cycling in. My nutrition has definitely come into line with my athletic endeavors…. my training more dialed in to what I was doing… but it all just felt normal to me.

Like… you know… a middle aged woman starting to get some things… right…..

Yet he referred to me as an athlete.

I'm an athlete — I don’t currently rock a mustache 😉

It was the first time someone had specifically referred to me that way and when I shared that with others their response was… “of course you are!”

I guess I was slow accepting something I thought was only set aside for the elite….. the famous….those….were athletes.

However, in these last couple years, I’ve allowed that description to settle on me… to define me somewhat.

Why? Because I got that I was, that I am.

Perhaps I began to understand that being an athlete in it’s truest sense is a lifestyle, a way of living, covering everything from physical activity, to nutrition, rest, recovery and caring for your body in a very intentional way. You think like one which carries over into actions and attitudes in ALL of your life.

eat and train — When you begin to think like this… you’re moving that way to getting it.

It’s taking on a sport and learning all you can and striving to be the best you can be in it, regardless if you get paid or if you’re ever really known for anything.

After this past year with some amazing new personal goals conquered, I’m ok with wearing that statement on my chest.

As an athlete, I’m learning to deal with my body during peak training, and off season. Running a zillion miles a week keeps me super lean, off season as I’m finding out this year, I’m adding more muscle ( now all those calories can go to muscle building and not just getting burned off as fuel 😉

It is a change I have to be able to roll with. A change that is relatively new to me. I physically can’t train at a high level year round, no one can. I probably need to enjoy it ’cause once I start back to serious training in a few months, my body will once again, go through a changing process.

This is what it is to be an athlete. Hard work…discipline…..change. Repeat.

A lifestyle. A choice to pursue your athletic goals with passion. Learning to embrace every aspect of what you do.

I’ve also found the same dedication, focus, perseverance, strength, sacrifice, mental strength, and commitment needed as an athlete carries over into all aspects of my life and that’s not a bad thing.

So, I’ll just remind you, as you pursue your passion and learn to live, train, and breathe what you do, you too are an athlete.

How do you view your physical activities? Is it a hobby to you? Just some exercise? Or do you consider yourself an athlete?