catching up is hard to do.

I know I'm behind on my posts, and I'm sorry.  I've not been myself these last 6 weeks and I'm not liking that I've allowed myself to get like this. My eating habits have gotten out of control and I've been stress eating.  I've not been working out and everything has been overwhelming with everything I've been trying to do.  I've been working 7 days a week since the end of August and after only a few short weeks I began to lose my balance.  I was working to hard and my body crashed into a depressive state.  I was spending so much time working and focusing on house hunting that I forgot about everything else. 

I've gained 6 lbs, which doesn't sound like a lot, but visually it's not a picture I like to see, and my shoulders and neck are so tight.  Last week my chiropractor told me this is the worst he's seen me and I have another appointment Thursday.  I did finally restore my gym membership last week, and I've been able to go twice.  It feels so good to run and some stress has been relieved, but I have so much stored in my shoulders and neck it's going to be awhile before I'm fully recovered.  

I'm excited for the weekend as this is going to be my first weekend that I'm not working since the end of August and I'll be spending all of it with friends.  Friday I'm going to a bonfire, Saturday I may be helping a friend paint her room, in the evening I'm going to a friends for Karaoke and Sunday I'll be attending our young adult service, which I've missed the last two months.   

Things are looking up in the house hunt and right now I'm just trying to be patient, but feeling anxious to hear news from my Realtor about a house I want to buy.  It's a numbers game right now and I'm not sure if the numbers will add up in my favor for this place.  The positive is since viewing this place on Friday I've stopped looking for other places, which is a good sign that I'm not looking for a way out like I've done with the previous two that I was close to putting an offer on.  Though my dad did help in my decision of not purchasing them.  It's been helpful and a blessing to have both my parents along with me on the house I have a high interest in and even better that they are not finding reasons to argue with each other.  I really appreciate their opinions and want their blessing in the house I decide to buy and I have that with with current house.

HERE'S A SNEAK PEAK THE DINING AREA   

I know I've got to get back on track with my eats and exercise so I'll be working on a plan tongiht so I don't try to add any more excuses to why I'm out of control and getting fat.

I plan on re-starting the Sexy is Strong Challenge, which I'm excited about.  This is a great challenge and I saw so much progress in the 5 weeks I was going strong.  I also plan on writing down my eats again.  This is a way for me to really see what I'm eating and when.  I'm also going to be good and start slow.  I'm going to be working out just 3 days a week, and only cardio.  My first, this week, I'll be working out at the gym in the evening doing only cardio.  Then next week I'll resume my morning workouts at the gym and hopefully catch up with a few of my workout buddies I haven't seen since June.  I'm also going to not turn on the computer after 9pm, so I'm not up past 10pm and I can get some sleep.  Last night I was proud of myself for shutting out the lights by 10pm and getting 8 hours of sleep.

10/10/11 HOUSE UPDATE
Turns out the taxes on the house (photo shown above) were to high for me to quality to buy it, so it's back to square one on looking.   Plus, the owners aren't willing to go down any further then their current listing price, which is far to high for the amount of work that needs to be done here.

fit smartie

I relished in the thought of pulling the covers over my head and sleeping for another day in hopes that when I woke up the pain would be gone. It's unbearable and every time I walk the sharp pain reminds me that I need to slow down.  I'm not sure what the underlining factor is to my self injuring behavior, but I really  hope I figure it out soon, because I'm not sure how much longer my legs can take it.  

It so hard to tell myself to slow down when I feel like I can fly during my runs; however my legs just can't take all that extra beating and they remind me with every step.   I really need to sit down and work though my goals and create a plan that will help get me to my desired fitness level without continually re-stressing my muscles to the point of overkill.  I need to train right and slow down.  I have all good intentions when I begin my workout, but once I get started I just can't stop and sometimes it's for a silly reason like impressing a cute fitness boy.....like from this current injury.  I had been checking him out Sunday in the weight room and 15 minutes into my 20 minute cardio he made his way up stairs and landed on the elliptical 15 behind me.  I was supposed to only have been doing a 20 minute walk to cool down after my leg routine (machines), but I decided I would run two minute  intervals instead.  Yes, I already knew this was a bad idea, and that I needed to stick to my original plan, but I found myself hitting the time button until I added another 15 minutes.
I could just be a glutton for pain, because I knew I was going to pay for it, but I wanted to come across as something more than I was...yes I got sucked into the desire to impress.  I'm not sure if he was looking my way, but it seemed a few times that he was going to come over and say hi, but half way over he would make a quick u-turn .  It was the kind of reaction of heading out the door and realizing that you forgot your keys and needed to turn around to get them.  I probably wouldn't have thought much about it, but he did this 3 times just while I was on the seated calf machine.  He even, when I was done with my cardio upstairs, took a water break right after I was next to the water fountain prepping my towel to clean my machine.  This could all very much just be in my head, either way it doesn't change the fact that he was a cute fitness guy and I'm a cute fitness girl.  hmmmmmm.

 

I need to find a balance.  I need to be a fit smartie, who works herself just enough to keep the blood flowing, and the body happy during and after a run.  Any tips on what to do?  

I've been spending a lot of time between fitclick and bodybuilding.com reading and checking out some new exercises to incorporate into my routine and I came across their 12 week body transformation plan for women-fat lose by  Jamie Eason so starting next week I'll be posting printable workout cards for this routine and logging in my training on my bodyspace page.  I think this will be a good start and help increase my exercises library and really start to see some definition, especially if I can stick with tthe meal plan that long.   It seems pretty easy, but kind of bland, but I need to make some sacrifices if I want to see change in my physique.  I also want to start adding more supplements to my diet, like L-Caritine and Omega 3 Fatty acids,  since I currently only take Iron and a Vegetarian Multivitamin.

12 week body transformation plan for women-fat lose

my birthday is just around the corner

THE CHIROPRACTOR

I was hoping Monday when I went back to my Chiropractor that he would give me a little more freedom in my workout, but that wasn't the case.  My leg pain has been about a 1 or 2 this week, and it's been hard to remember to ice and I have to keep reminding myself to not increase my workout intensity so my muscle can completely heal.  The pros of the visit is to keep my body aligned and in proper form to prevent future injuries so I can keep running and.It was great to head back and get readjusted again and a back massage, which I really needed.    I also had the benefit of having a shoulder massage to help alleviate some of the stress that's been holding up in my shoulders.  I have another appointment scheduled for Monday (11th) for another checkup and adjustment.

MANTRA
I've been trying to work on my board this week so I can really focus on the power of the word.  I need to really believe that I can achieve my goals and unless I say them out loud and really visualize myself being fit.

Monday night  I was reading an article and the author stated "No matter how much you workout, if you don't make smarter food choices, you will not see that layer of padding around your waist or thighs go away."  I really need to focus on eating smarter.  I just seem to always cave and I really need a way out so I can see the body definition I've been working so hard for every morning at the gym.

Here are a few smarter choices I'm going to work on:
1) Eat only one piece of bread instead of two at any given meal.
2) choose egg whites over whole eggs.
3) Stick to only my morning coffee before my workout unless I'm really hungry and I will have a banana and PB so my body can focus on burning stored fat and not my breakfast during my workout.

MENU
food menu for next week
Pre-Workout Snack: PB + Banana and my morning cup of Joe
Post-Workout Snack: Protein Shake
Breakfast: Chia & Fruit Bowl Smoothie
Snack:  Granola + Yogurt + Kiwi + Cinnamon
Lunch: Flaxseed Donuts w/ Lemon Water
Dinner: Turkey Burger w/ Red Onion + Tomato Slice + Broccoli Sprouts + Honey Mustard (tsp) on Ezekiel Sesame Seed Burger Bun and Cantaloupe (cup)


NEW 4-WEEK ROUTINE
I've been doing a little research trying to find exercise cards, but I can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for and debating on making my own to share as printable.  I want an easy way to create routines each month and change things up without having to use the internet.  I have a few ideas and one template I'm using as inspiration

ONE WEEK AND COUNTING
I can't believe that next weekend I'll be turning the big 3-0.  I've been really excited for this weekend , but the last few days my excitement has lowered mainly because I have a lot still to do before my trip to DC to celebrate and I'm just not ready yet.  I have nothing really major planned, but I am going dancing all weekend and hanging with some of my awesome dance friends.   It's going to be a great weekend, but I wish it were another month away so 1) my leg was closer to recovery and 2) I had a little more of a financial cushion.  It's not going to be an expensive weekend, but after forking out as much as I did for my car I know I'm pushing it for the weekend, but I just have to go, it's my 30th.  I never celebrated my 21st or 25th and I was never as excited for either of those birthday's as I am for this one.  I love the fact that I'm turning 30, it's a new leaf that's turning over in my life and I can't wait to see my new adventures.

MOM'S IN TOWN

Saturday my mom came into town and we headed up to my brothers new place to visit with him and his girlfriend.  The day didn't turn out anything like the plan, which caused a little strife on my end.    My mom drove almost two hours to see my brother and then I had to drive another half hour to see him.  The plan to my understanding was my brother and his girlfriend were going to meet us half way and have lunch with us.  With this plan I decided not to eat breakfast and only brought a protein shake for a quick post -workout snack so not to spoil my appetite.  We ended up driving to them and  only spent an hour with them since they already ate and his girlfriend was taking a nap before heading out to work, so it was another two hours  after my workout before we were able to finally eat and it was torture. 

CONQUERED THE DONUTS
Thursday was a victory day over two boxes of sweet and sugary donuts.  This meeting we have monthly brings donuts to share and this is the first time I have been able to resist them.  While everyone else was eating their donuts I was enjoying a bowl of pumpkin oat meal with raisins, strawberries and pecans.. This is a very proud moment for me.  I even said no to one of the guys who offered to split one with me.

Image source: http://blog.rosemontapthomes.com/around-town/469/

no running and ice it..................ahhhh!

March 28-April 2, 2011

THE CHIROPRACTOR

I've been having some pain in my right leg since the week of the 14th and I'm not liking that it hasn't gone away as it's interfering with my running so I did the best thing I could and called my Chiropractor.  Luckily, he was able to see me the following day.  He wasn't happy with me and told me that's why we discussed preventive methods, however, my schedule got super busy (working 3 jobs) and I didn't reschedule followups.   Also, I was saving to buy my cat. converter for my car, which is being take care of this weekend!!!

Now that I've hurt myself I really have no choice, but to come in and willingly admit to my wrong in not coming in.  I came in and faced the consequences of being told no running or leg strength training for the next few weeks.  The muscle I over-strained is going to take about 4-6 weeks to heal since it's an everyday muscle and doesn't allow for much recovery time.  It's really hard not being able to run, but the better I do at following the rules the sooner I will be able to get back to running.  He also gave me other instructions and further restrictions like: no sauna, no treadmill with an incline, no stretching past my normal body movement since he knows I'm not going to stay away from the gym.  

I just don't like how I feel when I'm not working out, and I can't go that long without working out.  Working out keeps me focused and centered on my goals.  So far I'm being good and even logging in when I've iced my leg this week.  Luckily, I have a job where I can do that so once my ice pack froze around 9:30am Wednesday morning I started; 20 minutes on ice and 40 minutes off.  My boss, who is a nurse, informed me that I could take Ibuprofen to help with the swelling.  I followed this up until Friday.  I wasn't so good Saturday and Sunday icing or even taking ibuprofen. 

FRIDAY

By Friday  my leg was feeling better and hopefully by Monday when I see my chiropractor again he will give me a little more freedom.  I just want to get back to running.  Running makes me feel like no other sport or activity has.  I feel like I can fly and more confident with every mile I add to my runs, creating in me a new hope that I can conquer my fears and build upon my dreams.  

IT'S THE WEEKEND!

Saturday and Sunday I stayed inside mostly.  Saturday my car spent most of the day in the shop getting ready for my inspection.  Luckily, I've been saving so I wasn't worried about the items that needed to be repaired.   It was pretty costly, just over a grand for the repairs, but I was anticipating at least that since I knew my catalytic converter was due to be replaced.  The issue with the other repairs was that they could go another 6 months if my inspection wasn't due this month.  So I went ahead and had him replace my left axle and brake pad so I could pass inspection.  I've been very blessed to find such a wonderful mechanic.  The shop was recommended by a friend my dad knows and I can see why,.  They have been very good to me during this time and haven't added any additional stress.  It's a total God thing, I know it , because He knew they would take care of me.  I will definitely go back without hesitation for any future repairs or maintenance.  

BARSTOOLS

I was excited today to pick up the barstools my dad and I bought for my grandparents.  My dad and I headed out around noon and when we got back he wanted to assemble them tefore my grandparents came home from their errands.  It was almost a surprise until my grandpa decided to head out to the shed just before my dad was finished.  This is something I wanted to do for Christmas, but financially my dad and I weren't able to do it them, so it's a little late but well worth it.  It was a shock to my grandparents when I told them I wanted to do this for them and they keep telling me "you don't need to do this." but I really wanted to.  They spend a lot of time at the kitchen bar and the ones they have keep breaking.  I'm glad to see how well the new barstools work in the space.  They are smaller and are better suited with the decor.  I really loved seeing the expression of their faces when they saw them at the bar; priceless.  My grandparents loved them and were thrilled to no end to have them.  My grandpa even gave me a hug and said 'your my little angel.' 

THE GYM

Sometime around 3pm my dad dropped me off at the gym.  I decided to repeat my shoulders and biceps routine, since I'm not allowed to work my legs.  I just didn't want the day to pass and not get a workout in.  I don't like how I feel when I don't workout and I didn't feel like doing anything at home.  it worked out great, because while I was there I ran into one of the female trainers.  I chatted with her and another trainer about the hyperextensions and if I was performing them correctly.  I didn't know she had left the company and turns out my Sunday Crush also left.  I was glad to find out for sure, but I had a feeling they were no longer working there.  I"m also glad to hear that things are going well and she doesn't have to work as many hours.  

On my way out I saw Brian, who I hadn't seen in almost two months at least.  He ended up switching his work schedule and decided to come in later in the day.  It seems to be working better for him.  I'm glad, but bummed that I wont be seeing him in the morning as I always enjoy our chats.  I wanted to talk with him more, but my dad had been waiting a while in the parking log for me and we did need to go and pick up my car from the shop.

SUNDAY

I had a lazy, but a slow-good productive day on Sunday and ended up organizing my recipes and workout files.  I had papers stacked in several piles with recipes, fitness articles, and some archives files that I've needed to take care of. and it felt good to put them away.  I still have a pile or two left, but most of it is done, which will make it easier to file future papers once I print out the labels.