Accountability Partner

Keeping a blog has been a great motivational tool for me, but I am beyond excited to have finally found an accountability partner to actually compare notes with! It will be so nice to have interaction with another person instead of talking to myself here!

Flu season is in full swing at our house, hence no update yesterday. I'm contemplating a 30 minute jog tonight. Waiting for the kids to settle down, and hoping to find motivation somewhere in the next 30 minutes. Otherwise, I may just bury myself in bed and hope to feel better tomorrow.

Anyhow...now that I have someone to actively interact with, I intend to use this blog as a real blog rather than just posting fitness updates. Posts won't be as regular, but hopefully more interesting!

Holiday Meals and Exercise

Merry Christmas! My day started entirely too early; but with excited kids and presents under the tree, what can you say? I started my morning off with a cup of coffee with creamer.....my guilty vice. And by guilty, I mean exactly that. Liquid creamer is the one thing I just can't seem to give up, and I do know how awful the stuff is for you. I drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day, and I swear that someday I'm going to give it up. It's a comfort thing for me. Very hard to give up.

I decided to do my running this morning before breakfast. I thought that the cup of coffee an hour before would help with the fasting-energy issues, but it did NOT. I made it 15 minutes and quit because I did not have an ounce of 'run' left in me, and I was starting to feel nauseous. Ah well. Better 15 minutes than nothing.

Okay so food journal. Honestly, I can't believe how much just knowing I was going to make what I ate public, helped me to avoid mindless eating. We were with Duane's family, who happens to have an insane number of fabulous cooks. There was literally a buffet full of food available ALL day long.

Our little family always does something a little special on holiday mornings that we don't usually do otherwise. This morning was oven-baked bacon and cinnamon rolls. I had a cinnamon roll and 2 strips of bacon.

Christmas lunch:

• A heaping serving of salad. I tried to fill a good quarter of my plate with it. It was pre-mixed and had small bits of deer summer sausage(?) and cheese already in it, which I definitely would have done without, but without it I didn't have salad. Had some light dressing of some kind, can't remember what.
• Small serving of corn. I'm sure it had butter on it.
• Small serving of a broccoli-cauliflower mix. It tasted like it had cheese sauce on it.
• 1 roll with butter
• Small slice of ham
• Small serving of ribbon jello
• Water

Dessert:

• 1 slice of pumpkin roll. They were small slices.

I know there were tons of calories in the food I chose but there were no low-fat options available, at all. Everything was so tasty and wonderful but definitely not how we normally eat. I had very small helpings of everything but salad. I wasn't the least bit full when I finished, just satisfied.

Snack (2 snacks, eaten over a 5 hour time period):

• 1 rum ball, dipped in white chocolate (about a tablespoon) 
• 1 cookie dough ball, dipped in dark chocolate (same size)
• Small amount of sausage/cheese dip, tortilla chips
• 1 cup black coffee

Dinner:

• Small dinner roll sandwich: ham, cheese, mayo
• Small serving of ribbon salad
• Water

I am not a calorie counter and generally I go by how hungry I feel rather than worrying about numbers, because I believe that when you eat clean and healthy, your body will let you know when you need more calories. Hunger is the body's request for fuel. I have no doubt that today probably exceeded my daily calorie needs, simply because all of the food was made with a LOT of extra calories. But I did not eat mindlessly, and because I don't have health/sugar/weight issues, I don't feel guilty about anything I ate. I believe that even in healthy diets, it's okay to allow yourself food pleasures from time to time. I'm not a fan of the whole season of holiday gluttony; but certainly don't have a problem with eating a few treats on Christmas.

It's been a good day. I'm very ready to get back to my normal diet tomorrow; but I never felt that sick over-stuffed feeling, in fact never felt anything more than mildly satisfied. I'm excited about beginning a fresh week and attaining new exercise goals!

Daily Update

All day today I intended to run 30 minutes as soon as the kids go to bed. At 8:00 pm, after dealing with a sick child all day plus last minute Christmas Eve details, I'm changing my plans a bit. I've eaten quite well today, in terms of health; but I haven't had nearly enough carbs and I can feel it. Every body is different; and while many health fanatics and experts swear that it is best to do cardio on a completely empty stomach, this simply doesn't work for me.

Now, I do try to make sure that I leave an approximate 2 hour time window between my pre-exercise meals and completing the exercise. In the past I sometimes even got up between 4 and 5 a.m. i order to complete my cardio while fasting. I've always found that I can NEVER perform as well when I do this. Now, scientifically, I very well may be burning more fat under these conditions. But since my focus is on a faster mile, I would rather exercise under the conditions that give me the energy to perform a faster mile.

I got a bit off track there. Technically, tomorrow would be my rest day from exercise. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of using today as my rest day, and exercising tomorrow. Today I've eaten well, in the healthy environment of my own home. Tomorrow will be the Christmas feast with family, and even though I intend to use control and choose wisely, there will still be a LOT of added fats and things that you won't find in our normal diet. I like the idea of an invigorating, calorie-burning run after a large meal.

That will still give me my 6 planned workouts for the week; and the more I think about it, the more I like my impromptu move to Plan B. I definitely know I will feel better if I add a good exercise session to the day tomorrow!

**Also, look for my food intake in tomorrow's post! Making my diet public will keep me in check when all that delicious Mennonite-made food is staring at me and begging to be tasted! :)***

Daily Update

Great upper body workout this morning. An hour and 15 minutes. Improved my bench press from earlier in the week...was able to do more reps, plus added a little weight. Overall, my entire workout was an improvement over the last one (UBWO). I'm good and sore this evening!

Today I observed a 15 year old boy performing squats with at least 110 lbs added to the bar (I was trying not to stare....I think he actually had 140 lbs of weight added but I can't swear that.) Honestly, this kid wasn't any bigger than me. He was short and had a very slight build. It blew me away to watch him. He had fluid movement and perfect form. It was pretty incredible to watch. It reminded me that with proper training and perseverance, the human body can adapt itself to anything. I don't know that I will ever have a desire to squat with that much added weight; but the principle is there. That kid inspired me!

Daily Update

I had some terrific thoughts going through my mind today. Stuff I was going to blog about. But now that I'm sitting down my mind is shutting off....I'm so exhausted! It's the good kind of tired though. The kind that comes from a busy, fun day....and a terrific morning workout!

Today was lower body day. 1.25 hours of quads, glutes, calves, and abs. I've felt it all day. I liked adding squats on the smith machine. I know it's considered an entry level squat, but still, adding extra weight to it made me have to work and I definitely felt it.

I'm tired. So tired. I really can't hold a thought here. Tomorrow I'm planning an upper body workout; normally I would do it on Friday, but the gym will be closed that day so I'm switching days on my upper body and final cardio workouts.

Daily Update

Just finished the most amazing jog I've had since I started running again. Except....I completely spaced on my distance in 30 minutes. I know it was farther than on Sunday; not substantially, but still.....better. My stretches felt incredible tonight. I can feel my flexibility increasing and that makes me happy.

I have a lower body workout scheduled for tomorrow morning. I'm adding smith squats to my routine to help me perfect my squat. We all have areas we struggle in....mine is a perfect squat. I'm really excited about a good LBWO!

Daily Update

I'm hoping that some night soon, I'll get on here to write something more than a daily update. But since that isn't going to happen tonight, I'll get on with the basics. This morning I completed a 1 hour upper body workout. It was one of those workouts that just felt good the entire time. I left the gym already feeling that good, sore feeling that is the result of having worked muscles to the max. I was able to amp things up a bit from last week, doing a few more reps on most muscle groups; and feeling more strength in my chest during bench presses (a biggie for me.)

Improvement excites me. It equals success. It's the result of perseverance. It is what fitness is all about. The most exciting part, to me, is how fast it happens when exercise is done consistently. Within a week of good, solid exercise it is possible to see small changes. Those changes add up over time, resulting in big changes. It's all about keeping on. Not giving up. Working through the initial soreness and never letting go of the goals you've created for yourself. Celebrating the victories.

Don't wait! Your journey can begin TODAY!