Gettin' Serious

I did it. I weighed and measured myself for the first time in...a long time. I wrote everything down and will check progress once a week. My ultimate goals:

1. Lose 13 pounds
2. Lose 1 inch everywhere, 3 inches off lower abdomen, bum and thighs

After taking my numbers, things seemed to get more real and I felt like I had something to work towards. Something to track progress and not lose hope. So, today I stretched, ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then lifted weights at our gym. I came home and ate an apple with peanut butter. I went grocery shopping and got kale and frozen fruits for some smoothies, whole wheat bread and pasta, and some good ol' Chobani yogurt. For the first time, I feel like I got a shot at succeeding.

To really get in gear, I signed up for a race. This helps me get motivated, because I will NOT be able to finish the race unless I actually train beforehand. I signed of the the 5k Color Vibe in Bellevue on May 25th. They throw different colors at you for each kilometer you pass. It's not timed, so it is a good way to start the running season. Anyone want to join me?

More info and sign up here!

Now for some randomness. One of my days at work last week was pretty busy. By the end of the shift, my pedometer was at 12,000 steps. That's more like it! I also have been going on a walk every day to ensure I get all my steps in! It's easy to walk and nice to get outside. I can't wait for warmer weather though.

My parents got a juicer, so after a walk with them I decided to try it out!

Kale, blueberries, apples, pear, strawberries, carrots and a touch of ginger

 Nothing added, just the juice of fruits and veggies. It may look a little funky, but it really tastes good!

I also enjoyed this delicious meal I found off Pinterest. Stuffed red peppers without any meat. SO GOOD! Thought I would sure the yummy goodness...and recipe ;)

Get the recipe here!

Another random note...my BFF at work got me this great water bottle.

My goal is to drink 3 of these a day. Why did I change water bottles? Because this one is a map of Mt. Rainier. It will always remind me it's about hiking and enjoying the scenery, not sprinting. And it has an awesome sipping straw. Thanks Jodi!

I am going to ride this wave of motivation as long as I can. And even when it runs out, I will keep going and push through it. Join me?

Encouraged

Definitely needed that encouragement today. Since my last post, I worked 2 shifts and got sick which led me to call out sick the next two shifts. I think it was a sinus infection, but it totally knocked my energy and motivation for being active. What a bummer when I was so motivated just a few days earlier. I lazed around, took 200 steps and just rummaged around for any food that sounded good. Great. Go me.

This discouragement made me want to just give up. Quit blogging. Sleep all day. I can't seem to make any progress, I can't see any results, I have failed my whole life, did I really think this time would be different?

Thankfully, I am married to the most wonderful husband in the world. We stayed up late last night, sitting and snuggling on the couch while my husband encouraged me, asked me questions, challenged me and gave me some of the best advice ever. What really stuck with me?

1. Think of food as energy to fuel your body. Not treats, not joy, but fuel. It helps your body do what it needs to do, do what you want it to. I think about this every time I open the fridge now. What am I going to do today and how can I help my body do that better? Am I eating this for fuel or pleasure?

2. Set ultimate and intermediary goals...use numbers and be concrete. I touched on this earlier, but I need to be more concrete than "healthy". In the next few days, I am planning on weighing myself (which I haven't done for a year because it vacillated so much and I got discouraged) and I will take my measurements (meh). Then I will base ultimate goals and intermediary goals so I can SEE progress and celebrate the little victories.

3. Have a plan. This is how I asked my husband to help. I get too easily offended for him to tell me to "drop the cookie!" So I asked him to ask me, every day, what my plan is for food and exercise. Then I have to stick to what we discussed and it makes me think and decide ahead of time how I am going to succeed. Examples: My husband asked me "What are you going to do when you wake up?" "How are you going to ensure you get at least 5,000 steps?" "How are you best going to handle eating out with your friend tomorrow?" It was HARD to answer these and I didn't want to commit. But I did. And it was HARD to follow through, but I had agreed with myself and my husband the night before and I had to stick to my word. I made sure to eat a good breakfast, I went on a 1.5 mile walk with Buddy and my mom, and I brought half (1/3) of my dinner home for Matthew to taste.

4. It won't be easy, but worth it. It WON'T be easy...and I secretly think/hoped it would be for me, once I got started. Some days will be easier, but easy does not define success. I was getting discouraged on how LONG it will take me to achieve my goals and see results. But the time will pass whether I am being healthy or not, so might as well let the time add up and be on MY side.

5. "I know you can do it...but I don't know if you will. It's up to you." Hard to hear but encouraging at the same time. I am capable but I need to DO IT. It's up to me. I can do it. And this time, I WILL.

Tomorrow

"Tomorrow I'll start." "Tomorrow, I'll be good." "Tomorrow I'll start working out. "Tomorrow..."

No more tomorrow. I am changing my vocabulary to "Today". 

I am rather surprised at my complete lack of investment and energy when it comes to my health. I am always too tired or uninspired to get on track. I wouldn't typically describe myself as this type of person. I am hard-working, intentional and faithful. So why am I not myself when it comes to being healthy? What makes me cave at the overwhelming mountain instead of conquering it like I have many things in my life? Am I burned out? Is my perfectionism preventing me from making any progress at all because I want perfection or nothing?

I realized something over the past few days. I believe I take challenges on like a sprinter. I was a sprinter on my track team in junior high. I was pretty fast...one of the faster ones on the team. I loved putting all my energy in and running as fast as I could for 14 short seconds. Then I was done. We sprinters would increase our endurance during practice by running long distances. I dreaded it. Hated it. Couldn't do it. Would practically keel over! Just let me put it all on the line for a short time and be done with the misery before my mind realizes what's going on.

I had this attitude in school. I would work really hard for 7 weeks of the quarter and then coast until finals. My grades were usually high enough and I had invested enough that I could coast through while maintaining an A. 

When I clean the house, I dump EVERYTHING out and start by tackling EVERYTHING. About 1 box of papers and a clean toilet later I quit...with EVERYTHING still scattered about the house and floor.

So I have come to the conclusion, that this is how I approach challenges. Sometimes it works great and I receive great rewards for my hard work. But when it comes to being healthy and making changes to LAST A LIFETIME, I have yet to succeed with my well-worn yet futile plan of action.

So TODAY, that all changes. TODAY I woke up and fueled my body for a workout. I ate some raisin bran for breakfast followed by a banana and a cutie. I fueled my body with water and went for a light jog around Bradley Lake Park. 0.8 mile jog followed by 0.8 mile of walk/intermittent jogging. Not much....but something. A start. A beginning.

TODAY I make concrete goals of HOW to be healthy instead of the vague goal of BEING healthy. I can't work with vagueness. I need to have a checklist, or actual goals I can aim for. Otherwise I get overwhelmed. So what are a few of the starting goals I came up with?

1. Drink at least 2 of these bottles a day for a total of 54 oz of water.

2. Walk at least 5,500 steps for the next 7 weeks so I can reach my healthy at work goal. (P.S I take about 8,200 steps at work...more than a typical day, but I think I was secretly hoping for 15,000 or something ridiculous like that.)

3. Try and get a serving of fruits and vegetables in every day.

4. DO some sort of physical activity on my days off.

5. Work up to running a 5k distance without needing to stop. (I ran my first 5k last year, but have gotten out of the routine and need to work back up to that distance again since 1 mile is kicking my toosh.)

Seafair 2012 - My first 5k

6. Eat HALF of a restaurant portion and take the other half home.

Those are some of the goals I came up with and will continue to find in what areas I need to be specific in order to succeed.

And no more throwing a whole day away if I mess up a meal. Every bit counts, I can't have the all or nothing attitude anymore. 

I am no longer going to try to sprint up the mountain, because I will fail. I need to backpack and hike my way up, enjoying the scenery and company who have agreed to come with me. Only then will I be able to stand at the top and see all that has been experienced and accomplished.