encouragement – sassyfitnesschick

Monday Musings

Happy Monday you crazy kids.

I’m heading into a new week like….

new-week-bring-on-the-beast-mode-motivational-gym-quotes

Well, I wanna get back to beast mode, at least in the realm of my athletic shenanigans.

I shared in a post last week, it’s the Small Things, https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/05/16/its-the-small-things/ that I had hurt my hand and it was hindering me from everything but running.

I did get in some runs last week so that felt good. I did try and lift one of my light little weights yesterday (15lbs) and just the weight of it resting in my palm reminded me it might be a little longer till I’m hitting heavy metal again…weights that is…. music is an every day thing 😉

Anyway, it’s healing. Two nights ago I slept without any bandages on it. It’s been a cover of “protection”. I felt so free without it 😛

Today is the first day I haven’t automatically put one on, again, it shields it from those unexpected surprises.

‘Cause like, if you’re gonna hit any part of your body, ever, it will always be the part you may have wounded, right???

So yeah, hitting the week in uh… lurching beast mode… haha

Last week though…

I was a working woman.

Well. Wait. When am I not??

From the time I hit the floor till I pass out at night, I’ve got something going on.

This work though was actually going to a … job.

One where I showed up and worked certain hours and was given some money at the end of the week.

My boss was my son. A real tough cookie haha

He has a small engine repair shop and the lady who handles the front was going to be out and kinda let him know…last minute…

Could I help some? Anything? Please?

Well, me being me and Mom, how could I not get him through the week?

True, some discussion of mechanical parts was over my head but I’m pretty fast on my feet, and I’m good with customers and talking to people. I can talk on the phone and I have no problem dealing with difficult people.

I can take charge and I can see things that need done and do it.

Being strong doesn’t hurt either as I had to use my girl muscles to help him load a generator onto a truck.

Heavy. Those things are stupid heavy.

Grateful I had at least enough muscular strength to help him handle that.

A work horse and secretary all in one.

I may have done my job too well as he’s been broadly hinting he’d love to have me there all the time….

I’ve had part time jobs off and on over the years of being married and having children. I’ve been blessed to be a Mom who could be home and run the roost and all that goes with it. There is always so much to be done! I’ve also worked the direct sales “business” for awhile ( not for me).

I’m having fun with my furniture flipping and sold enough last month to pay for some car work I needed done ( I felt like such a grown up) I’m actually, finally writing a post on that topic ( not car repairs, my furniture flipping 😉 ) it should be launched tomorrow.

Finally. I know. I’ve only promised for weeks.

All that to say… my work week.

I’d be up early, go for a run, clean up, and get a couple things done before I left.

20180518_083015 — They just don’t make a “messy, sweaty” filter. I gotta dial that up myself. haha

When I got home in the evening, I’d do whatever was waiting.

I’ve always given a big nod to women who work outside home and have to come in and pick up the household reins again at the end of the day.

I continue to admire you.

This week reminded me of all that goes on at home when I’m not there or what will still be waiting when I do get there.

On topic of cool things that make me smile

I’m trolling the produce dept loading up on veggies and whatnot when I hear…

“Hey girl!” and see one of the women who works back there hurrying over to me.

She said “do you notice anything different?”

I laughed and told her “Yeah you look really thin!”

It should be mentioned here, I’m not uh, socially awkward, hubby frequently asking me if I could get a stump to talk.

I sassily remind him, it’s a gift 😉

Anyway, over months this woman had asked me questions that I get sometimes.

“What do I do?”, “How or what do I eat?” “What kind of exercise do I do?” etc etc.

I’d chat with her, encourage her, as she talked to me about wanting to lose weight and get on a path to a healthier lifestyle.

I asked her what she’d been doing and she said ” all that stuff you told me to do. I’m eating more green veggies and laid off junk food and alcohol. I’m sticking to lean meat and watching my food intake”

I gave her a high five applauding her efforts as she told me she’d dropped over 30 pounds in the last 3 1/2 months.

She said “Now I just need to know what to do to look like you do” ( as she gestures to my arms kinda flexing haha)

I told her.. “You’ve just gotta get faithful about lifting heavy stuff”

I gave her some suggestions and she got ready to scamper back to work looking back laughing she said “Hey, 61 is the new 50 for me!”

You know… some days… I wonder if what I do matters.

I use my voice fearlessly.

I’m to bold for some, and yet resonate with others. I’m at an age that I don’t care if I’m someone’s cup of tea or not.

Then I get a gift like that, someone who I had casually talked with, encouraged, answered questions and applauded her efforts come to me and share and it’s so freaking satisfying to hear stuff like that.

It reminded me again, I need to just be me. Do what I do. Use my voice, be bold, be who I am.

My voice can impact the world.. I tend to forget that.

You.

You are no different. You have a voice and a personal world to touch and interact with.

Our “vehicles” might look different…. I have a health and fitness blog and a talkative mouth and an occasional… um.. attitude.. ha.. but I use of all that and then some.

You might have coffee with a friend at your kitchen table and that is where you excel and make an impact.

Use your voice in whatever way that looks like.

I’ll stop preaching now….

I finally got around to listing some of my furniture pieces I finished off last week. You may remember my fun bright pink chair?

20180515_183420

it was the first piece to go! Now as a creative person I know this and I do what I want to do, but there’s that “what if I have a pink chair for the rest of my life??” thought too.

This piece was so easy and I had such a clear vision for it and honestly I just let my free spirit out all over it.

I also understood that I might have to wait for another fun, free spirited person to come along and embrace it…. however long it might take.

An hour after I posted it a lady messaged me she wanted it. That it was “perfect” for her daughters desk.

And off it went to it’s new home.

Yet, the clean, “safe” neutral one that I absolutely adore and love and “want to maybe keep” that I thought would go first, is still with me.

20180515_184550 — I think it’s just so feminine and pretty….

Go figure.

I told hubby this business will teach me patience in a myriad of ways. It can be one of my um.. short comings… that patience thing haha

I can’t end this post without talking about food, right?

As mentioned, it was a busy week. Crock pots are always a hero for, well just about any time. This hooked me when it said I could “toss chicken in, whip up sauce, pour over it and leave it.”

6 hours later I steamed broccoli and made some rice and dinner was good to go.

Oh. It was super tasty too.

Oh but wait…

20180520_173104 — Why yes, yes that’s an old weight on top of my crock pot….

So I decided to make beans last night with a ham bone left from a meal this past week. I guess I got a bigger bag of beans than usual, and the ham bone was pretty big too. Anyway, the lid wouldn’t entirely sit flat like it needed to so I kinda improvised. I used one of these old sanded weights that’s probably as old as I am that I had laying around… it neatly smooshed the lid down so the crock pot could do it’s magic.

Ham and beans… I’ve now neatly labeled myself for sure as a southern girl haha

A final thought….

Apples have been on my snack list a lot this week. Crunchy, sweet, good for your teeth and your body, I’d say they are up there on the perfect snack list.

Hmmm maybe a food spotlight on them for an upcoming post?

Ok your turn! Top my week. What have you been up to? Do you have a favorite healthy food you’d like to see me spotlight? Let me know!

Do What You Can’t

You-must-do-the-thing-you-think-you-cant-do

“Do what you can’t”

It was a clip off of a commercial that was on. The tag line jumped out at me.

I let the words breathe over me for a few moments.

“Do what you can’t”

It left no room for considering something as impossible… unattainable… or out of reach .

Like.. just do it.

I considered those words a bit longer. I remembered an acrostic I had seen on “I can’t” years ago.

C- certainly

A- Am

N- Not

T- Trying

I thought of the times in my life those words had crossed my lips. I’ve entertained those less and less as I get older. I’ve done enough crazy things to realize that really, I can. I just need to train my mind to get out of my way and do it.

I thought of the times I’ve heard people say that. Sometimes in regards to things that they want to do or sometimes it’s in regards to what I’ve done ( oh I cant run…can’t lift weights… can’t….)

Listen, I couldn’t either a few years ago. Once my mind got out of the way and I let my body do things it’s naturally made to do, It was crazy how it turned into…

watch me.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. Sometimes the things I’m considering scare me. They scare me ’cause I start thinking those thoughts…can I do this? Am I able?

Those thoughts of self doubt scare me a bit more than the thing I’m considering taking on, if I’m being honest.

Why? Because I let doubts creep in about my abilities… but I’ve learned .. I can really train myself into anything.

How I think. How I approach life. My attitude towards things. How I take on new physical activities .

So as I considered that little phrase it just made me think of the times I’ve taken on the things “I can’t”.

Fear has no place there. Insecurities have no place there. Self doubt has no place there.

You know what happens when you push through and take on the idea that you can do anything?

It’s empowering. It builds confidence .You feel you can take on the world.

What big thing do you want to do ?

Go back to school? Lose weight? Take on a new project? Pursue a new fitness goal?

What do you need to remove from your thinking to accomplish something you think you can’t do?

You are only limited by your mind and the self imposed limits you put on yourself.

Go do what you can’t.

The Power To Inspire

Inspire:

fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

Also, motivate, encourage, influence, move or stir.

There are many people in my life who inspire me, who encourage and motivate me.

My husband. My mom. Friends. Even strangers.

On an athletic level I admire so many athletes. Although I am far from the league they are in, there is a common thread ( I believe) no matter what our level of athleticism.

Determination. Focus. Perseverance. Tenacity. Intensity. Drive. Hunger. Passion. Goal driven. An unwillingness to stay the same but to constantly be improving on where we are.

A spirit that never quits and doesn’t know the meaning of it.

I see individuals who haven’t been willing to stay where they are but push to get better, to work harder, to know they won’t be the same months from now.

I want to be like that.

That inspires me. The “me” who is a kinda ordinary, middle-aged mom, grandmother, sassy wife, and late blooming athlete.

My husband often shoots me down when I used the word “ordinary”… ha… he says I’m anything but ordinary… I’ll take that for the compliment I know it is 😉

When I have people tell me I inspire them, well, that’s up there for me on the list of awesome things. If I can inspire people who know me and know what I’m up to with my physical antics, to get out and do something, I couldn’t ask for anything better. If sharing what I’m doing stirs them, makes them think, “Hey, if she can do that, I can try something”

Yeah, amazing.

But you know who really inspires me?

You.

The one who is still in the process of getting yourself out there. It doesn’t come easy yet and you struggle with making yourself do it, but you do.

The one who is willing to try something new, knows nothing about it, but is game to learn.

The Mom out pushing a stroller.

The older people walking their neighborhoods.

The cyclists flying down the road for miles.

The new runner who is still figuring it out and learning to run more than walk.

The overweight person taking those first steps towards physical freedom.

I’m inspired by those of you who follow my blog, and I see the things you’re out in the world doing and it makes me want to press on. You run, cycle, teach, lead, and inspire in your own worlds. You’re on the road, in the gym, doing boot camps and other crazy things.

Sometimes, as I scroll through my Facebook page, I see posts of my friends who are sharing their activities. I love the posts and pictures. I love seeing them doing something positive and good for themselves.

Seriously, some mornings when I’m still sleepy and the idea of exercise seems…. really tremendous… I’ll see someone’s post and it … inspires me. It reminds me of what I’m working to do, to accomplish. And it motivates me to finish off my coffee, get my gear on, and get moving.

Maybe, just maybe, that inspiring thing goes in both directions.

Don’t ever forget, you have great influence within your own circle that surrounds you. Your passion and what you bring to the table can inspire someone around you, never forget that.

As for me, you’ll find me out on the road, doing something always pushing and working a little harder and wanting a little more and never quite settling for where I’m at.

In the end, if what I do has inspired you, that puts joy in my life knowing I’ve made an impact on others.

Do you ever consider the impact you have on your personal world to inspire others?

Life Is Beautiful

Life is beautiful. It’s really pretty amazing, isn’t it ? For a brief moment in time we’re given this glorious gift by our Creator to live out to our fullest.

New days. New moments. New opportunities.

Life can be glorious and beautiful and also full of struggles, hardships and down right overwhelming moments that leave us on our faces wondering if we will have the strength to stand for another day, and another shot, at this thing called life.

None of us move through this world immune to the difficulties that are a part of it. As much as we have good times and are blessed like crazy the hard stuff goes along with it.

Kinda like a painful ying/yang thing.

I was chatting with my childhood friend not so long ago ( ok, that is one of life’s blessings isn’t it? To still have a wonderful friendship with someone you’ve known since 5th grade??) and we were discussing lots of different things

When she tells me this…..

With you, I know you have all this energy and you’re always bouncing around, but I don’t get that kind of stressed-out, nose-to-the-grindstone kinda thing . Your vibe is so HAPPY, like even though you have a million things going it feels like you’re having a good time at the same time, you know?

Wow. I won’t lie … that meant a lot to me.

It meant a lot that in some ways as I moved through stuff in my life I’m able to still maintain a positive kinda attitude. When I share stuff on my personal Facebook page I try and maintain a positive vibe, even when I’m going through rough stuff. I will share things that are going on in my life that are hard, but I (over all) feel like those taking time to read my stuff have their own issues and don’t need me being down in my posts. It’s a choice I make.

I thanked her and shared with her several things I was currently dealing with… the real hard stuff.

No. My life isn’t perfect. I’m not, nor my family, often not daily circumstances, or situations I can’t control or other things that can come along.

Actually, nothing in life is “perfect” is it ? We do learn to appreciate the good times and blessings we receive, but hopefully, we learn how to stand, learn, and grow in the tough times.

Therefore, even when I’ve been in some of the thickest parts of the most painful experiences of my life, I try and keep in mind, life… beautiful, glorious life…. is still going on. I can take the good with the bad, the pain with the joy and embrace it or I can become hardened and bitter in the process.

My life has been blessed in more ways than I can count. Sometimes I wonder what I’ve done to deserve such blessings. Really, I’ve done nothing. To me, God has blessed me, beyond measure.

In the past few years though, I’ve gone through many sorrows, difficulties, and much pain.

For example:

Child issues… it can be a rocky journey getting them to adulthood. There were many sleepless nights and a lot of tears with my kids.

My brother unexpectedly dying a few years ago. Holding my sobbing mother as we stood over his lifeless body, somewhere inside, I was screaming but it never seemed to make it’s way out. I drew on the strength that has always seemed to live in me as I helped her through those days. Yet as we moved through those days and months, I tried to find the beauty of life, and more importantly the beauty of what he saw in life. It was a surreal process we moved through.

My moms gradual declining health and struggle with various illnesses eventually led to her death last year. The sorrow of losing her and dealing with her affairs has been challenging at times. There are days I’m still wondering… how does one live in this world without a Mom ? And then I remember, I live in the ways she taught me. To be a strong woman and to handle what needs to be dealt with. When I do these things I honor her and her memory lives on.

Taking over care of my dad who has Alzheimers. He has declined a lot since her passing last year. It’s a horrible disease that is awful to watch taking over. When a grown man shows up on your door step wanting to know where he lives and how long he’s lived there, it breaks your heart in fresh new ways, mainly because there’s nothing you can do to change things. He’s I tears. I’m in tears.

Trying to decide what things will be best for him and how to help him leave me sleepless at night because I feel so inadequate.

My husband went through a career change last year after 22 years of the same work. There are many new adventures with that, but those are areas that are private to us, therefore I won’t share much on the topic. Again, something new and challenging in life.

Of course then, this past summer, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer which was an interesting speed bump in our lives. He is doing great and the prognosis is very good but we are still taking the necessary medical steps needed to make sure he is totally cancer free. We are beyond grateful for how everything seamlessly came together for rapid surgery, doctor appointments etc. Grateful that he has been able to return to work and that he is getting stronger.

Then let’s not forget just other things that can show up like an unexpected house guest on any day.

In all of that…in all of LIFE…. I had a choice. I could keep embracing each day as good that held blessings ( even in the midst of hardship, sorrow or difficulties) or I could curl up and become bitter, ask the “why” question and miss out on all the fun, good, lovely and beautiful things that were still happening.

It really is a choice, isn’t it ? Oh, don’t get me wrong. There were days I wondered if I could stand. There were nights I’d creep into the shower, let the water wash over me, and sob in the corner praying for strength to keep moving forward. I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you I hit those struggles like anyone else. I didn’t feel strong…. or courageous then… I felt weak and helpless.

Maybe it’s how we are individually wired? Maybe it’s the faith each one of us may possess?

Perhaps, it’s a stubbornness in me that chooses to see the beauty of life, even as it has the nerve to keep moving forward while I’m in my pain, difficulties and struggles… life keeps moving on…

In my loss. In my grief. In my sleepless nights. In my struggles.

Life is beautiful people.

In the midst of all that makes up life, the good, the bad, the joy, the sorrow, don’t allow moments to be stolen from you that can be embraced.

We might not have a choice over the things that happen in our lives but we definitely have a choice in how we respond and how we embrace life in it.

You my friend… have a choice.

In the words of one of my favorite Sixx A.M. songs called Life is Beautiful……….

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.

Always.

Motivation. You Got This.

Motivation ~ the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.

Motivation. As I interact with people and talk with them about where they are or want to be on their health and fitness journey motivation often seems to be a missing ingredient, so they believe.

Oh, they want to do it. But there is a lack or desire to really get the ball going.

Think of it like the enthusiasm you might have for cleaning the toilets 😉 ok maybe not that bad but you get it. Things we know we need to do are often hard to just jump in and get started on.

We might think things like:

“I need to lose weight”

” I should lose weight for my health”

“I really need to start exercising”

“My clothes are tighter I really need to cut out those extra servings”

” I know I need to eat better. Guess I should belly up to more brussel sprouts”

“My doctor told me I needed to make changes to not have future problems”

Then we go off and do crazy things like this:

“Come Monday, it’s going down. I’m doing it. But before then, I better get rid of all this junk food” ( and you eat it)

“I’m going to the gym and start classes and do some lifting and then I’m gonna run 3 miles!” ( and then you hurt so bad the next day from making your body do activities it hasn’t seen in years you vow exercise will kill you before fatness and you stop)

“I’m not going to eat ( all your fav things) and I’m going on a 1200 calorie diet and I will lose that 20 lbs in a month!” ( you only last two days ’cause all you think of is the foods you told yourself you couldn’t have ’cause they were now “bad” and the to few calories have made you eyeball every moving thing as possible snack fare… eventually sending you into a binge mode… where you determine “next Monday” you’ll start again.)

“I’m going to lose 15 lbs. in 21 days! All those ads I see say it can be done” ( but you get discouraged ’cause the 5 lbs a week isn’t dropping off and you think weight loss really must not be meant for you)

So let’s stop right here.

You DO have the motivation. It’s in your mind and you have a desire… you just need to move to a place of implementing it and putting it to work for you.

The biggest reason ( I think) people have good intentions and don’t get to far is that they set far to lofty goals with a quick turn around time and get disappointed when it doesn’t happen.

Gaining all your weight doesn’t happen in 2-4 weeks.

Getting physically out of shape doesn’t occur overnight.

Transforming your body is a process that can take quite awhile, depending on your goals.

I’ve been on my health/fitness journey for 8 years this month ( go me! haha) and it has taken time to get to where I’m at. My goals (physically and aesthetically ) might look different from yours but my transformation didn’t happen in weeks, months or even a year. I’ve moved forward every single day working at better choices all through my day, getting up if I had a bad day, and moving forward. Most importantly, never giving up.

You do that long enough and stuff happens!

As I lost some weight it became easier to continue being motivated (obviously) but at the start I had to determine I was going to purposefully make better food choices, know what balanced servings were, and get my butt up and moving whether I felt like it or not. Basically, I was restructuring myself by building some new habits.

So you, my dear 1.5 readers, you have motivation but what if you just approached getting started with small, realistic goals and just…eased into it ?

Maybe it could look like this:

I’m just going to start tomorrow… it’s Thursday…but hey why not? I don’t need to wait for Monday. I’m going to just get out and start with a walk..

And you do it. And you feel successful. You begin to look at how you’re eating and adjust your servings… eating a bit less and realizing you’re just as satisfied with less and actually feel better ’cause you aren’t…stuffed….

You head out for another walk… going a bit farther next time… going easy and allowing your body to adjust to new activities..

You start looking at “treats” you allow yourself and determine … do I really need that ? Consider the definition of treat… “an event or item that is out of the ordinary and gives great pleasure” that would mean “treats” weren’t an every day or all the time occurrence.

A few days go by and you are taking those daily steps and weirdly, it’s motivating you to keep on, you’re feeling successful. Ok, that one day didn’t go so hot, but you got up the next morning and kept at it like a boss. You understand that losing weight and getting fit is a process and you’ve determined to settle in for the ride.

You will be successful. Every positive step you take will motivate you to press forward.

Let me give you an illustration from my life. When I decided I was ready to tackle my first marathon and after all my initial excitement of committing to it had settled in this thought literally descended on me….

“Holy crap! 26.2 miles! 26.2 miles! You ARE crazy…how are you going to do that? What are you thinking?”

It was THE last time those thoughts trampled through my head. If I was motivated to train for half marathons and run them, I could do a full. I took my training apart like a puzzle and mentally on my runs I thought of it as my “marathon puzzle” every mile I covered became one more piece into the puzzle. I focused on short goals without becoming overwhelmed with the entire big picture.

It CAN be daunting when you stop and ponder running 26.2 miles… or more so, the training… I personally think the training requires much more motivation and discipline to arrive at the starting line on race day ready to take on those final 26.2 miles.

So much like weight loss, don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed at the big picture. You possess the motivation to do it. You want to take small pieces at a time, much like my training, piece by piece, building up to something bigger. When you approach it in small, realistic pieces you will see….

You are capable of accomplishing great and awesome things… really… you are.

Motivation. Who Motivates Who ?

Somehow when I started my fitness journey a few years ago, I never saw the ripple effect that my journey would cause.

Well, truth be known, when I started I never saw myself as a runner, much less one who would in those next few years run marathons and an ultra marathon.

That mighta freaked me out more than a tiny bit. You just don’t indicate to a middle aged woman carrying extra weight, who isn’t working out, much less doing anything that looks like running that she will eventually be doing races that top 31 miles….yeah… it could’ve evoked the freak out mode… or made me laugh hysterically…..perhaps a combination of both.

Why are we guilty of sometimes not seeing the potential in ourselves of what we can do? I can tell you….where I am now…. and what I’ve learned…. I can flippin’ do anything I choose to.

It starts with believing you can. When the idea first came to my head that I was ready to take on a full marathon (which was after a particularly good half marathon race)

I did get that clutch in my throat…. and that brief thought…. “OMG! 26.2 miles to run?? What am I thinking??”

I was thinking it was time. I was thinking I was ready. Three half marathons under me had prepared me and given me confidence.

I never, ever, let myself entertain thoughts I might not be able to do it. Ever.

Every run, every time a run got longer….even as those numbers began to dip into territories I’d never been before. The more I did… the more empowered I felt…..I learned to simply stare it down…. take it on… and look at the next goal.

Running has shown me that huge goals are meant to be taken on, conquered and new ones set. Knowing you can run long distances honestly gives you this tough tenaciousness that carries over into the rest of your life.

Yet, as I mentioned in my opening line, I never realized as I pushed on to my goals, somehow, I’d motivate a few other people out there to start looking at their lives, their health and fitness.

I started posting my runs and workouts on my Facebook page early on. Not to brag. Not for approval from anyone.. Not for anyone really but myself. Talking out loud, putting down what I had done, or better, what I was going to do was my self motivation AND public accountability… people ask if you did something crazy! And I didn’t want to say I hadn’t done it!

It really came down to another avenue of holding myself accountable.

But then… something weird started happening.

I’d get messages or comments asking about running. People wanting to start and figuring if I could do it so could they… nah….seriously… I was a real person they could talk to. Just recently, again, more messages. I LOVE encouraging people to hit the road =)

I started getting questions on eating and proper nutrition. Fielding questions on crazy diet scams (which I secretly love sharing with people on the reasons WHY they don’t need that stuff…ok maybe it’s not so secret 😉

I led fitness challenges and helped people figure out what exercise and nutrition things worked for them.

I had men and women asking if I’d hold them accountable for what they were setting out to accomplish.

All ages from young adults to older than me adults 😉 it seems like no matter where you are in life, you really never get to a point where you don’t want some encouragement in your endeavors.

Not only that…. I think my straightforward no nonsense approach on things resonates with a lot of people… or maybe it’s my off the wall snarky humor ? 😉

Whatever it is…. somehow my pursuit of health and fitness has gotten people to think and more importantly, move.

I can think of nothing more rewarding than to hear from you all about what you’re doing, what you’re wanting to try out. I love that you share your struggles with me ’cause you know I’ve had my own. And when I hear how you’ve lost weight and you’re eating better and feeling good mentally AND physically? Have I told you how good that makes me feel ???

Come here…. get close to me… I wanna tell you something….

You. Motivate. Me.

You do. I know so many of you will inquire of me and what I’m doing…. you’ll offer words of encouragement (thank you) in a way you have expectations of me and where I do things for myself, I know it motivates you too.

I think this really came home to me one day when I was out on my final long run before my 50K. I wasn’t running for mileage that day, it was a time run of 5 hours.

I found a message posted on my Facebook wall when I got home from a friend that said she’d really been struggling with getting her workout done and she remembered I was out for a 5 hour run and she thought if Cathie can run for 5 hours I can get this done!

Yeah… I love that stuff.

Don’t get me wrong here…I really am a ~~lay on the couch and eat chocolate~~ fairly motivated person.

But you motivate me to want to bring you sound sensible fitness, nutrition and health information. I want to challenge you to live beyond what you think you can do.

I believe good nutrition is KEY to not only overall health but getting your body to where you want it. Because of my interest in that, and my disgust for all the over hyped “diet” and “health” crap out there and your genuine seeking and asking questions, it’s motivating me to want to get a nutrition degree so I can really preach at you…. don’t worry I’ll still bring you the reality on the over hyped stuff 😉

So yeah, thank you for motivating and challenging me, as I challenge you. After all we’re on the same journey together.

That ripple effect… who would’ve thought ?

Setting Realistic Fitness Goals

When I kicked started my little blog a few short weeks ago, it was to hopefully, share, encourage and motivate those who stumbled across me in the vast cyber world of blogville.

It’s a big place out there boys and girls. And wow, ya’ll have been so…. nice……

I wanted to take my voice into the world to do what I’ve been doing in real life and through my Facebook page, motivating and encouraging people to pursue a lifestyle of health and fitness.

As you know, and as I’ve shared in other posts, I’m a runner and love running and will talk a lot about it ( as in, I have a half marathon this weekend, so spoiler alert, you know what’s coming 😉 however, there’s a lot more to me, a person, and much more to our lives we deal with so I will also venture into other topics and ideas to share with you as we move along.

I think when people are setting out to do something as (big) as get on their health and fitness journey, they really need a cheerleader, a mentor, and someone who’s plowed the road in front of them to say “hey, I got through this, you can too!”

It can be hard…. frustrating… overwhelming. As one reader commented to me the other day on my post, they hadn’t “thrown in the towel yet”…..

That means a lot … if you can press on taking one day at a time and just focusing on it…. and not the rest of your life….or that you feel like you’ll be fat/out of shape/ unmotivated whatever… you WILL make progress.

Trust me.

There will be days you’ll look at yourself in the mirror in that self-loathing way (don’t… do … that… or I will…come beat you) and you think there’s no progress going on… but there is…. you must give your body time to adapt and adjust to what you are doing. Remember part of the process is knowing that there’s a lot of changes going on…. not just physically inside and out ……but mentally and emotionally as well….

Our bodies really are this cool science experiment. Work them, feed them good foods, be consistent in that process and in this slow steady way…. stuff happens….

Honestly, I’ve been at this for 7 years now. I’ve kept my weight off, built muscle, gotten stronger, leaner, have more energy and can physically do more than I did half my age ago. I realllllyy l that 😉

Did you notice something ?

7….. years…..

I’ve made forward progress by being consistent and letting changes happen in the way they need to……over time.

Are my fitness goals different now, than when I started this process? You bet they are ( and that, boys and girls will be another post)

The important thing is this. I just lived my life each day…. purposefully and intentionally with forward progress. This is not something you can manhandle out quickly. You’re living your life, settle back and enjoy the journey.

I still have people who will see me and say “when did you get like that??” and my response is “I’ve just been working at it for awhile”.

May I offer some suggestions if you are thinking of starting your journey or maybe you’re on it and need encouragement.

Ready ? Take notes 😉

Be kind to yourself when you start the process. Firm, but kind.

Don’t tolerate excuses from yourself (you can read more on that in my “No Excuses” post)

Set reasonable goals.

Make a vision board of ideas or goals you want to achieve. My closet door is littered with ideas/quotes/goals.

If you’re serious… tell people! My Facebook page has been a place where I post what I will be doing and I know at least one person is going to ask about what I’m doing and if I did it. Not only that, you are also going to motivate someone else… win/win!

Educate yourself in what you are doing… read and learn.

Finally, make it fun! You are doing this as a “lifestyle” enjoy what you’re doing!

With consistent daily progress you will hit your goals.

But no matter what….. don’t you give up and throw in the towel. You will never reach your goals by doing that!

Have you thrown in the towel before? How many times before it “stuck”? What things helped you ? Share =)

Approval Not Needed

So with the big hoopla in the media this week about Kelly Clarkson and her (gasp) weight (is it anyone one else’s business but hers?) it really stirred up a topic that’s been rolling around in my head for awhile to write on and this was just the catalyst to let it out.

No, not her weight. Not yours or mine or the family dogs. Actually, this has nothing to do with that topic.

I was more impressed and high fiving her for her ” I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks, I’m awesome” attitude and comment over that issue.

Approval. She pretty much thumbed her nose at the idea she needed someone else’s approval to be happy and be herself. Kudos to you Kelly.

Approval.

We come into this world almost wired for it. In the beginning it’s our parents/ family, we get in school it becomes our peers, later it becomes our boss, co-workers, friends, still family, sometimes even perfect strangers.

If we’re fortunate as we grow up and mature becoming more comfy in our own skin and who we are, we become less concerned over the need for approval of others.

I mean really, at the end of the day, approval given is based on personal opinions, values, beliefs, how we were raised, and even what our personalities are.

I was recently chatting with a young friend who was expressing to me the idea of doing something and I said… “well, just do it”.

His response was… “yeah, but I just worry about what other people are gonna think”… I laughed and told him I didn’t care anymore….

He responded with… ” yes, but you’ve had more life experience to get to that point” and he’s right. I have lived enough life to get to that point. I’m grateful for that ’cause honestly, it’s total freedom.

My “approval needed” list is tiny, one digit, small now days.

I reminded him that approval can be subjective, or it can be a “control” thing with some people. Withholding approval, not giving it, can often be a silent way of expressing personal displeasure, which is then projected onto the person.
Basically, their way of saying they don’t like what you’re doing or have done or that they wouldn’t do it . As stated above, that would be based on personal feelings, beliefs, values, etc.
I reminded him that it can be those closest to us who might withhold it but if he wanted to grow and move forward, he’d need to live his own life and pursue his own dreams.

It can be a hard step to move into. But it’s also seriously freeing. You have your own life to live….. to be yourself.

You don’t need approval to embrace your life and live it to the fullest being who you are.

So hat’s off again to Ms. Clarkson for reminding the rest of the world to smile and say “I don’t care what you think, I’m awesome”

You…. go be awesome.

No, I’m Not Eating My Emotions

Food. I like that stuff.

Now days, my food choices are vastly different than those pictured above.

I’ll freely admit that I’ve had to get it in it’s proper perspective over the last few years. Growing up food was the “thing” that you celebrated with, gathered on Sundays for, had extra helpings of, and most importantly, you always, always cleaned your plate. It didn’t really matter you weren’t hungry anymore… just ignore your bodies natural signals of being full and clean your plate.

Happy, sad, angry, depressed, bored, restless, frustrated, holidays, bad weather, stressed, whatever……. all opportunities to eat.

My grandmother and mom were great cooks, and it needs to be mentioned, bakers too. I freely admit to being a baked good snob and can often pass on store bought goodies and cake mix cakes and bagged cookies. I mean, no offense, but when you’ve had a made from scratch 3 layer German Chocolate cake, anything else is simply an imposter.

They ruined me.

I mean, not totally, ’cause I’m a pretty good baker myself and can make cakes that grown men offer marriage 😉 and my sons friends immediately sought to raid my cookie jar because ( according to them) I was the “only” mom who baked real cookies haha

So yeah, food, it was a big deal…. used on many levels in a completely improper way. I hadn’t come to the knowledge (yet) that food was to primarily be fuel for my body. Not a sporting event.

As I got older, I realized that my family definitely was a family of “emotional eaters”. My grandmother was very over weight as was my mom. Actually, if I’m being honest with you, they were considered obese. My brother struggled with his weight most of his life. I had steadily gained weight for a few years when I finally got the kick in the butt to make some changes before I might too have to deal with health issues that plagued my mom, grandmother and brother. I had watched my family use food for comfort and a distraction from boredom for years but was fortunate to have my eyes opened to that.

I often referred to it as mindless eating.

It might look like this: constant grazing while cooking, continuing to eat and pick food from bowls after the meal was long over (and large seconds had been had) eating during the clean up process, basically just consuming food without any thought of what was being done…. or an awareness you’re eating when you aren’t even hungry.

I knew I needed to make myself intentionally mindful of this process to avoid the downfall of a lifetime of emotional eating.

It wasn’t easy. I became aware of the weak part of my days/nights where I’d look for food and not be hungry or when I thought about grabbing something ’cause I might feel stressed, angry, or bored.

Over the past few years I’ll say I think I’m pretty on top of it now…. and I’m very conscious when I let myself do it.

I remember one night after a rather stressful day my husband walked into the kitchen… I had a bag of BBQ chips out on the counter (for the record… I LOVE BBQ chips… but I’m pretty sure they have crack in them) and I was standing there just munching them down… I looked at him and said….

“I want you to know that I’m fully aware I’m totally emotionally eating right now”

I was being kinda silly about it but I was serious too. I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t need to eat them.

It’s a huge step to identify things in your life that are a stumbling block to your health and fitness goals. Once you know your triggers you can make those slow steady changes to freedom.

To break free you must first:

Be real with yourself. Stop making excuses for eating what you don’t need.

Call it what it is… emotional, mindless eating. An unnecessary and unhealthy habit.

Remove yourself from temptation. And that means…get outta the kitchen.

When it was evening and I had eaten and wasn’t hungry, I just brushed my teeth. I knew I wouldn’t get anything after going through that process.

Write down times you feel most vulnerable, or things that drive you to eat when you aren’t truly hungry. Doing this for a week or two will show you patterns that you can then use as a defense strategy.

You love your family… but look at ways you may be influenced to participate in doing this just because it’s always “what you’ve known”. You can still be a part of the fam without engaging in this 😉

Finally, be kind to yourself as you move through this. Awareness is the first huge step to success. Press on and use each day to move forward to freedom =)

Challenges, Obstacles, and Being an Overcomer

A 4ish mile run yesterday morning.

And you’re thinking….sooo… what’s new? you went for a run….

Thing is, it was my first run since I raced last Sunday. I haven’t gone that long not running in… I don’t even know when…… I traveled home Monday and my natural inclination (usually) would’ve been already plotting a run for Tuesday.

…

But disturbingly, this thought crossed my mind Monday evening,
“I don’t really care if I run anytime soon….”

It freaked me out. Like, where did that come from ??

True, I was tired.

Friday-Monday each day I had traveled about 4 hours at a time, I ran 13.1 miles Sunday ( literally…. ran them all… other than walking through water stations to get fluid in) and even though I mentally dismissed it as “only running 13 miles” fact is, it’s still a good distance to run.
Let’s not forget the complete and total… frustrating let down… of not getting to run the 50K….or that at race day I had logged (roughly) 990 training miles since August.

I guess it was a breeding ground for my “whatevah if I run again” crazy thinking…

I messaged a running friend who assured me I wasn’t a freak but to just allow myself a little down time. He told me I’d be back on my game again soon. Sometimes you just need someone to remind you that you’ve put yourself out there, given your all, worked hard and ….resting… is an ok thing.

So I did. I mean I wasn’t a total and complete sloth. I did do a few days of strength training in my week, but I never looked at my running shoes. ( I think I heard them crying at night 😉

Therefore, yesterday morning, when I knew I was ready to get out there it was totally with the intent to run easy…. and run wherever I wanted….. and however I wanted…. no agenda.

And you know what? It felt amazing. Those creepy feelings were gone. I was back out where I needed to be. I felt alive.

I’m refocused and moving forward and know what my new goals are.

You know those moments we go through where we feel laid low… are often the times where we… once again… redefine ourselves.

Challenges and obstacles define us. They can either take us down, defeat us, and make us want to quit….OR…. they can push us, shape us, and mold us into overcomers.

We just need to decide how we will respond.

How do challenges or obstacles help you move forward ? How do you deal with them ? Do they strengthen you ?