Learning How To Balance

I don't know about you but I am highly effected by the winter months!  It's cold, it's get dark earlier and earlier, the holidays take over your schedule, etc.  I found this article on SparkPeople that had some great ideas for lifting the "ho-hums" of the dark winter months. 15 Natural Mood Lifters - Quick and Easy Ways to Lift Your Spirit Here are a few more natural mood lifters you can try. Eat often and eat light.  When you  eat at regular intervals  throughout the day you will prevent dips in your blood sugar that can negatively affect your mood. Plan your meals and  snacks  to prevent yourself from getting overly hungry, aiming for three to six eating episodes (total meals plus snacks) each day.   Limit refined carbohydrates  such as soda, candy, cookies, and white flour, which are concentrated sources of sugar. These foods may give you an immediate rush of energy, but they will cause you to crash and fatigue soon after...

In an effort to create a habit of blogging - getting ready for the #SparkTheSeason Challenge I thought I would post bout my workouts lately.  Over the weekend I finally bought a exercise step! Sunday I did a step workout that was pretty good... I did a few moves with a little more intensity which felt great! I had my trusty "Supervisor" watching over my every move too!    Then last night I did a Step Workout... LOVE RealFitTV on You Tube - Dana works your butt off!!    I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with my elliptical.... I love how hard it makes me work... but I hate how hard it makes me work! LOL! 

I like the idea of the Spark Challenge... So I;m going to blog about it like my Spark Friend OHANAMAMA! My Goals: Get my 64ozs of water Exercising at least 10 minutes - it maybe stretching but it'll be something Take my InstaSparkPhoto each day  Blog about challenge I can't seem to keep up with my weekly wrap up... I gotta keep up with this!

10 Life Hacks For A Healthier November Sometimes, switching up a daily routine or a common activity is enough keep from stagnating on our fitness and health journey. Here are a few life hacks – aka tricks, shortcuts, or novel methods to increase productivity and efficiency – that you can make to shake up those early winter blahs and have a healthier November. 1. Adopt a stair-only policy.  For example, if there are 8 flights of stairs or less and you’re not lugging something particularly heavy, pretend elevators and escalators don’t exist. 2. Put a little less sugar in your morning coffee . If you’re a 2-packet cup of joe kinda person, wean yourself down by half of a packet for a couple of weeks, and then a full after that. If you have a sweet spot for flavored lattes, ask for 1 or 2 less “pumps” of syrup. They’ll know what you mean. Over time your tastebuds will adapt and you’ll be able to enjoy your morning coffee with less added sugar. 3. Eat your vegg...

How to Survive the Holidays...One Bite at a Time! October through December can be a minefield of challenges for those who struggle with the  eat-repent-repeat cycle . Food is everywhere, from your television to your child’s  trick-or-treat  stash. The constant exposure may eventually lead to cravings, overeating, holiday buffet-hangovers, guilt, and vows to do better tomorrow—or on January 2nd.  The best strategy is to eat what you love  fearlessly . While that may sound counter-intuitive, studies have shown that labeling the foods you love as forbidden can actually increase their power over you. When you think of the foods you love as "bad," you may feel guilty for even wanting them, and deprived because you’re not supposed to eat them. As a result, you may yourself visiting the break room in search of holiday treats.  Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat Banish the special occasion mentality.  You'll be less temp...

I've moved over to SparkPeople for tracking food/exercise and trying out teams and challenges.  I'm ♥ing it so far.... I like My Fitness Pal - I've used it for a long time but I've noticed my attitude has been stale lately... bored... unmotivated... blah!  So I thought I would shake things up and try a different site, different teams, different challenges...  They have great motivation cards... see to the left. So to start they have a stage based SparkDiet... the first stage is "Fast Breaks" - Helps you focus on smaller goals - which are stepping stones for PROGRESS!  The first step in FAST BREAKS is "knowing what you eat" - I feel like this is for the beginner - one who never tracked their food before. I've been doing this for a while (on another site *gasp*) but what an eye opener! There are pros and cons to tracking your food though. When your tracking and eating healthy.... big smiley face. When you mess up, have a bad day, and you ST...

I ♥ Chalene Johnson!  She is so motivating and gets you fired up!!  I love her blog too...Learn steps to help you develop willpower.   How to Have Willpower You know those people that just don’t seem to be tempted by the same things that the rest of us are? They go to a party and don’t even notice that there’s cake on the table, while the rest of us are left drooling, trying to hold ourselves back from devouring the whole thing. Why is it that willpower is so difficult for some of us, and for others, it seems to come naturally? Well, first, let’s define “willpower.” Willpower is having the strength or resolve to carry out your own desires, plans, and goals; it’s the desire to make something happen – to ignore all obstacles, and just get it done. Notice I did NOT mention anything about “ability” in this definition. Willpower has nothing to do with your circumstances; it has nothing to do with having the “right” genes, job, education, living in the right nei...

How many times have you "started over"/"today's a new day and a fresh start"?  I'm so annoyed with the motivational quote " if you're tired of starting over stop giving up " - It's not that I give up... because I do keep going too!  I find the "wagon" and get back on track!  I guess I'm starting to realize this really is a lifestyle change that is going to have speed bumps, rough patches, times where I'm not focused, etc.  The point is I do get back on track - I'm tired of feeling guilty for my weekend indulgence & for losing focus!! I was reading a blog post of a SparkPeople user that was really eye-opening! Everyone has bad days, everyone loses sight of their goals, it's part of life!  Life can and will always get in the way!  It's what you do after the stumble, set back, (whatever you call it) that matters. *******************************************************************************************...

 These seem very simple... while there may be more to the "secret" than  just these...it's a great place to start!! No matter where you are starting from know that: ***************************************** Hobbies & Creations I ♥ the idea of "upcycling" - reusing things to make other things!  Check these ideas out... so cool! To start a garden inside - use juice cartons! Reuse old t-shirts - these are SUPER easy to make!! And who doesn't have old t-shirts stuffed in drawers that you could accessorize with?? Source: Entirely Smitten Add a touch of fun and personality to your organization! Source: Blissful Roots

I found this article that really hit home with my last post so I thought I would do a "Goals - Part #2" just to keep that thought going.... This list is more geared towards weight loss goals but that may not be your goal at all...your goals may not have anything to do with weight but this will get your gears turning for ideas to set goals and (see image below) !! This article was from the blog Delightfully Fit - 50 ways to stay motivated to lose weight . I LOVE IT! It was written by one of my FAVORITE fitness writers, wellness coach and trainer - Jessica Smith.  I'm not going to list all 50 but here are a few that I wanted to touch on: 1) Think wellness not weight loss. Do you only make good food choices when you are trying to lose weight? This could lead to rebound weight gain if you go back to your old habits once you’ve reached your goal. You have to eat every day, so why not eat better every day? 2) Set reasonable goals. Ask yourself...

It's time to put some goals down on paper - I've gotten into a rut of .....blah, logging food..... blah, logging exercise.... forgetting what I ate... so I eat dinner then look back on My Fitness Pal and HOLY MOLY... Well, that day is shot!  So I've started a a written journal too. (I looked up FitBook pages - those are great journals but I didn't want to spend $30 just yet.)  I'm still gonna do my phone app but this will let me journal a little more too.   So how does writing down your goals help? Well they won't help if they aren't realistic!  Take baby steps when first setting goals.  You shouldn't expect to lose 10 lbs. in a month.... so be realistic with what you set out to accomplish.  If you make it too hard on yourself - you won't stick with it.  Think LIFESTYLE CHANGE not - I'll do this until I lose 20 lbs. then I'm done with it. Keep your fitness fun and different.... BUT make a plan, make a schedule, know what you are going...

You will never regret working out... can you say that about not working out?   Weight loss:   3,500 calories = 1 pound That sounds SO overwhelming but that doesn't mean you have to burn 3,500 calories. That means to lose 1 lbs in a week you have to create a deficiency of 3,500 calories. So you could burn some and cut back on some foods. Exercise: Everyone is different so it's hard to put a "overall" rule out there but studies have shown that If you're trying to lose weight, 50 minutes of cardio exercise along with regular strength training might be what it takes to see the results you're hoping for.  If I've learned anything - it's that you can't treat exercise like a convenience - it has to be treated no different than brushing your teeth everyday or like a lunch date with your bestie. Hence #2 below... MAKE A SCHEDULE - what workout on what day... done.  Now you don't have to think about it! Here are a few rules from the Huffi...

I don't know about you but by the time Friday gets here... I'm ready to ditch the logging (of food) and have a few bevies with a big piece of pizza. Then I beat myself up about it and do it again Saturday night. WHY CAN'T I STOP THE INSANITY??!! By Sunday I've come down off my craziness and get back on the "healthier choices" train! While this isn't going to help my "bailing on healthy choice weekend" - one of my goals this week is to prepare my lunches the night BEFORE - so at 8:30pm I'm going to head to the kitchen and get my lunch stuff together. This is going to help me have more time to workout in the AM and get out the door easier! One step at a time - it's a process! I ♥ this post (below) from Pieces in Progress (tumblr) - She has some great recipes, posts, At-Home workouts, motivational posts, etc. I'm constantly reading and looking for ways to jump start my brain for the weekend but I haven't found that switch yet! ...

I did my FIRST TURBO FIRE WORKOUT this AM!! The "New to Class" was a huge help!! LOVE IT ALREADY!  I can tell when I start the actual "class" (instead of the "new to class") I will be POURING SWEAT but I ♥ the program.  High Energy ~ Motivating ~ GETS U FIRED UP!!! I have to admit... when the first "Fire Drill" came up - I got a lil nervous but it ROCKED!!! Then the second one came up and my legs said "oh dear"...but it ROCKED too!  Now I'm not doing them at the "class" level yet... the "sumo burpee" thing is crazy hard - by the 4th one I'm needing a crane to get my butt up off the floor ...BUT I'm sure when I get thru one whole fire drill - keeping up with the class...I'll probably cry from "HOLY CRAP I DID IT!!!!!"  Ha!!  More to come..... - Get Movin' - Get Heatlhy! -

As I find myself a little nervous about starting the Turbo Fire program, I read this: You are stronger than you think!  I know it will be hard, I will sweat like a pig .... but I'm looking forward to the challenge and completing the program.  I've never completed anything like this, I did a few of the P90X DVDs when I was in a church weight loss group about 3 years ago....and I lost 17 lbs!  And let me tell ya.... Those workouts were H*A*R*D!  But as the saying goes... "If it was easy.... Everyone would be doing it"!  It's all about: MIND OVER MATTER IT'S YOUR WILL AND DETERMINATION THAT WILL GET YOU THRU BELIEVING IN YOURSELF IS HALF THE BATTLE PUSH YOURSELF-NO ONE WILL DO IT FOR YOU IT ISN'T SWEAT - IT'S LIQUID AWESOME (I ♥ that one!!) So I will begin this program with all of these inspirational quotes and move forward with one of my all time favorite quotes in mind ...

Got this from Chalene Johnson's blog !  This is so true!!  People ask for advice all the time... How can I get motivated?  What can I do?  Only YOU can do the work, get yourself motivated, and make the decisions it takes to get healthy!!  It's NOT easy... if it were EVERYONE would be doing it!!  You will have ups and downs.... it won't always be butterflies and rainbows.  But you WILL feel good and ~ ENERGIZED ~ !!! My Turbo Fire package is on it's way.  I'M PUMPED!  It's gonna be tough but I feel the need for a challenge.... and I'm SURE TURBO FIRE will do just that.  

Got back from SUMMER MARKET in Las Vegas on  Wed. AM (like 2:00 AM) - UGH!   Had a good time but I ate waaayyyy too much - didn't exercise enough - and considering how dry it was ~ didn't drink enough water either.  The time difference is brutal coming home so here I SIT on Saturday watching the movie "CLUELESS".   I should go out and walk to get my body moving!  I'm learning that LAZINESS perpetuates LAZINESS!!  That's a bad habit to start!!   So my next big "deal" is to determine which to purchase - FOCUS T25 or TURBO FIRE!!!   One minute I lean one way.... then I go the other way!  Walking will help clear my mind and then I will purchase!  Stay tuned...

Got a great workout in this evening!! Did a few things a lil different this evening - I jogged/walked around the lake, did bench step-ups (20 each leg), then did lunges up Windmill hill! That got the heart rate up!!! I love this town's park, lake and walking trails - it's so peaceful and pretty!   I'm still motivated to get into better shape!! There are so many benefits of exercise - other than the "high" you get from the exercise itself -  helps controls weight as odd as it sounds it boosts energy (so weird that by DOING more  you feel better and have MORE energy) helps you sleep reduces stress/anxiety boosts confidence sharpens your focus get more done need I go on..... probably not.   It has so many benefits - why don't we all exercise more?  I know it's hard...if it were easy everyone would be doing it!  The hardest part is getting started - as Nike says "JUST DO IT".  Don't think about - JUST DO IT!  If you think ab...