Learning How To Balance

So this AM I decide to weigh myself.... (first time in a while) and I have to admit...I was SHOCKED!!!!  "Udderly" Shocked!!! And I'm going to post it here: 156.2  Looks like Christmas, a business trip to Las Vegas, drinking "good beer", FREEZING COLD WEATHER and other excuses have caught up to me!!!   So I MUST get back on the wagon... this was a true test that I cannot stray from my exercise schedule and logging my food!!  (With a few exceptions of course)  I can tell that I haven't been working out to my normal level nor have I been watching what I eat.   What's ironic about this is - I watch fitness videos, read articles, etc. all the time "to keep myself motivated"... Ahhhh, I guess I've been putting that "motivation" in my pocket b/c until now... I haven't done much with it.  But we are back to it and ready to see some progress!!   To get started here are a few things to remember: Be kind to yourself  ...

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! 

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...

With the time falling back this coming weekend it's going to get dark earlier and earlier - which in our house brings on the urge to hibernate!  BUT... I keep telling myself that a 30-45 min workout is less than 4% of my day!!  And with all the resources I have there are NO EXCUSES!!   I really struggle with motivation in the winter months... but I've joined some challenges and I WILL stay on track!  I found a great article on Body & Soul with a few tips on how to stay motivated during the winter months:  Set a goal! - keep them simple and small Focus on the benefits - how great you feel! REWARD YOURSELF - when you reach one of the goals you've set - celebrate!   Another article from FITBIE gave readers tips - “I mark my daily Outlook calendar with my workouts as if they were actual appointments. It helps me make sure I plan around them and don’t bail at the last minute.” – Jesse Y., Phoenix, AZ   “This may sound silly, but I k...

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...

"Started over" today b/c I felt off kilter! I got off track w/ my schedule and then everything else got off track. So tonight I did  #TURBOFIRE  - #FIRE45  "new to class" and 72 mins later w/ 603 cals burned - I'm feeling WORKED! 

Boy have I been a blogging slacker!  Ha!!  I haven't been an exercising slacker though!!  WHOOP!  WHOOP!  I will say - with the weather we have been having here - It's been awesome to walk to the lake and trails and a boost for my calorie burn too!  So far I've done my first EVER HIIT WORKOUT!!  I have to admit - I could've given more to my very FIRST "HIIT" workout but I thought it might kill me! "HIIT WORKOUT" - just the name sounds intimidating so I was nervous. But since it didn't kill me - I'm looking forward to doing it again! :): Thursday (8/15) Friday (8/16) Got my CARDIO PARTY on that morning!! Saturday (8/17) Core 20 / Stretch 40 I loved the Core workout - the stretch started out with more yoga than stretch - I just can't get into yoga.  I need to SWEAT to feel the workout - and with yoga I know it works, I know it builds muscle - I'm just not into that right now.  I WANT PUMPED UP WORKOUTS!! ...

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 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...