About a million things...

Do you ever find yourself thinking about something and say to yourself: "I really need to write that down!" I find myself doing that so often. I work best off of lists, I am a talented writer and sometimes writing something is the only way I can really figure out how I feel about it.

I have had the feeling of "needing to write it down" several times this week... So, this blog may skip around a bit.

The first thing that happened this week that made me want to write actually induced a feeling of frustration and anger - feelings for me that rarely happen. I am actually pretty laid back (especially in my personal life) and to get really irritated by something usually indicates I should write it out.

SO, what got me upset? This:

So, I totally understand her face looks funny, so people are making fun of her, but the other thing they are making fun of is her being so fit. As if, having muscles and being in shape is disgusting. I constantly see women posting pictures of obese plus size models saying "oh, this is beautiful... anorexic is not beautiful...." and I always secretly feel like those women are trying to make themselves feel better for being obese, themselves. There are many beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful plus sized models... but they are not healthy. There are many beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful tiny models and many of them aren't healthy either.

Beyonce comes out at half-time and the first thing I said to JT was "wow, she looks amazing! Fit, healthy and beautiful! ANd she just had a baby a year ago" I was proud of Beyonce for being a great role model to women - she is clearly not too small, but she is obviously very healthy too. Then these damn meme's come out where everyone is making fun of her and changing her body out with the Hulk and olympic lifters. Why? I wish I could understand people. I have put on muscle since starting crossfit again, while still holding on to a layer of fat - in fact, i've put on about 10 lbs (of muscle Ill guess) and not lost fat... BUT, I do not look bulky or disgusting and I am SO FREAKING STRONG and FIT and feel so great. Why is that wrong?

I am assuming the reason I have not lost weight is because my eating just isn't good enough. JT and I have been grain free for more than 4 months and I haven't lost an ounce. My boss went gluten free about 1.5 weeks after me and she's down like 25 lbs. Im going to guess we've been eating too many calories to actually lose weight, though. So, we've decided instead of focusing on restricting ourselves and completely cutting out things from our diet, we need to focus on clean eating. (Seriously, how many times have I written this over the last couple years?) haha. I love it though. I love the fact that I am in the position to do whatever it is I want in terms of eating. I still feel very strongly that eating whole, clean foods is important - but for now, we're going to reincorporate gluten and cut down a hair on sugar and fat. I hope that will help us turn the corner. I am going to compete in festivus this year and I know i can do even better than last year.

Last but not least, Ive thought a lot about life this week. My Grandmother died 12 years ago this past Wednesday and it was a time for reflection for me. I thought about life, death and what I am doing to not only make an impact in this world, but also how I am enjoying the life I have. I do absolutely love my life, and I feel so lucky - but Ive decided I need to do more. Im not quite sure what that looks like yet, but I am going to start doing more with my time that I enjoy. I am going to work out even more (because I love it) go on more adventures and most definitely love more.

THanks for listening to the ramblings. :) Glad I wrote it out today! :)

Kickin' the dumps

Happy Sunday.

I have decided that is what today is going to be; happy.

I have caught myself feeling odd for a couple of weeks and can only attribute it to having a lot of crazy changes going on in my life and having a lot of friends who are struggling right now in life. I also feel like it has something to do with me not specifically taking the time to share happiness and optimism with others, be it on facebook or in person. Today, I found a couple of really cool things to share, read some very uplifting posts from a couple of friends and I am feeling great!

Isn't it amazing how our friends and the people we keep around have a profound affect on how we feel? Isn't that why we like some people and hang out with them and determine other people aren't the best mix for us? Facebook is an interesting beast, I find that there are many people I love on my feed every day, but some of those people I don't like very much. I don't like their attitude, their constant spewing of uneducated opinions and it frustrates me! So, today is the day I am going to go through and hide some people - that will be the start. I am also going to continue to do my best to only post positive things. I also think some of my issue is that even though I wasn't feeling like myself, I didn't take the time to focus on it and change it. So, my next goal is to purposely focus on how I feel and make the decision to be positive, happy and to approach every situation with a good attitude.

Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what other people think or say or do. It is more than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
Chuck Swindoll 

 On a different note, I had an amazing day at the gym yesterday. One of the things I LOVE about crossfit is when I am doing a workout and I just FEEL strong. Yesterday was one of those days. We did a team WOD  - 2 rds of 150 KB swings, 75 calorie row, 50 box jump, 75 burpies, 150 squats. That was broken up between 3 people in each group, which was chosen randomly with a "count off." I really got a great team too, all three of us were excited and ready to tackle the work ahead. As we started going we were all really pulling our weight and were in the lead and really gelling. As we got to the end of round 1 though, my teammates started to struggle a bit. The girl in my group was very new to CF and she was getting tired and hurting and the guy in my group was struggling due to a shin injury. That left me to pick up the slack - and I did. It felt so great. They were very encouraging and even though they were having a hard time they were giving 100%, which motivated me even more. Every time I have a workout like that, it makes me really want to get my shit together, because if I would just buckle down and lose my extra weight and get my weak movements down, I could be amazing. If I can do this well with 30 extra lbs. I can only imagine how good I could be without them. 

Speaking of losing weight - we had a pretty good week in terms of eating and working out consistently. We've also finally completely broken our monster addictions! :) Then, yesterday, we received our Beetnik Foods paleo tasting menu we bought from living social a few weeks back, so we're going to do even better this week. 

As we try the food, Ill make sure to write a post about it! :)

Thanks for reading! Here's to a GREAT week and a GREAT attitude.  

 

Feeling my best

One of my goals this year was to write more, so today, when the nagging feeling of needing to share wouldn't go away, I decided to actually do it! :)

Today was a great day. I was actually quite irritated and stressed all day - but I am proud about how I handled myself and how I approached my frustration. Ill spare you the details of the causes for my  frustration, but I will tell you that it is an on-going issue that I've addressed again and again (at work) that hasn't changed and NEVER will, despite my best efforts. That being said, my goal is always to approach situations as positively as I can and let things play out how they will.

The day started to turn around when a colleague of mine from another area of the City shot me a positive and complementary email. It is rare to get emails from people who have nice things to say, so I appreciated it a lot. That is the FIRST thing I wanted to share today. If you THINK something positive about someone - no matter what it might be (you like someone's hair, necklace, outfit, smile, attitude etc...) take the time to tell them. None of us hear good things about ourselves enough. It feels good to be noticed and recognized for our hard work and efforts and all it takes to make someone feel that way is by making the effort to actually say it out-loud.

The rest of my work day went on without a hitch and when I got home, JT and went straight to crossfit. It wasn't a particularly difficult workout today - but it was awesome to see new friends, encourage the new box members and just get moving. That is the SECOND thing I wanted to share. GET MOVING. It feels so good and no matter how much or how little you do, you'll feel great afterward for making the effort.

After crossfit we headed home and I made dinner. It was DELICIOUS. (LINKED HERE) It took a little time and I had never had spaghetti squash before, but it turned out great! We were out of sausage so I used bacon and chicken. :) THIRD point today - take the time to eat HEALTHY. It is so easy to grab a pre-made meal or just eat chips etc... but it feels SO good to put the right type of fuel in your body. The small amount of effort was worth it because it was delicious, healthy and makes packing my lunch for tomorrow that much easier. :)

The best part of the evening came while I was sitting on the couch next to JT and my sweet bulldogges, drinking wine, eating my delicious dinner creation and listening to music. The feeling of complete contentment and joy. It feels good to eat well, workout, be a good person, stay positive and be with the people we love the most. It is not always easy - in fact, many days I just want to sit on my butt and relax... but I never feel as good and as accomplished as I do, when I make an effort to do the things I know I should be doing. 

Here's to another amazing day tomorrow!! :)

Here's to a Happy and Fulfilling New Year!

Wow, what a year 2012 was. It is crazy as you grow older how many huge, life changing things you pack into each year. It really is incredible.

Of course I failed at one of my first goals from last year's January 1 (link to), blog! Blogging more consistently. In fact, I haven't blogged since early April when I started Crossfit! Oh well. :) Ive still had plenty of fun adventures, I just didn't take the time to write them down. Sorry about that! :) It is a goal again this year. I mean, I've been writing this blog for YEARS - so more than 50 times in the year would be a good goal. Also, it was so awesome to go back and read last year's recap of 2011. I am a strong person for sure.

Time to reflect on all of the awesome stuff that happened in 2012!
Here were the goals I set for 2012 and what I accomplished:

Goals 2012

Be more organized (This ONE is on the list for 2013 again... im just not very good at it!)

Learn to crochet (and make an awesome scarf!) (This one is on the list again too!)

Do something active most days (ACCOMPLISHED)

Work out most days (and try new workouts) (ACCOMPLISHED - started Crossfit and zumba)

Start and WIN work weight-loss challenge (and get a free week of PTO) (Finished and organized but didn't win!)

Hit goal weight/body fat % and maintain it (by april 4, 2012) (On the list again!)

Get personal trainer certification (I am now a certified Zumba instructor - not exactly what I meant, but still a huge accomplishment! And I am helping people change their lives!)

Volunteer  to help others (people/animals)  at least once a month (I don't know that I did this every month, but I did A LOT of volunteer work this year. A LOT.)

Meditate (On the list again, although I did do it.)

Reflect more (didn't do this as much as I would have liked.)

Do yoga (Started Yoga in Jan. of last year and did it a couple of times. On the list again.)

Play LOTS of disc golf! (We did play a lot sporadically.)

Support JT in any way possible to help him succeed in finishing the death race (Although JT did not finish, I feel like I did the best I could to support him, before, during and after. It was an amazing experience that I will never ever forget.)
Be the best crew-mate EVER! (I did the best I could, but no one was a better set of crew than James and Amanda!)

Be an even better wife (Definitely accomplished this.)

Be an even better friend (Definitely accomplished this.)

Be an even better person (Definitely accomplished this.)
Be a better daughter (Hope I accomplished this.)
Be a better daughter-in-law (Hope I accomplished this.)

Run a half marathon (Will be on the list again - but the stakes will be higher!)

Complete and be competitive in a Tri (which means GET A BIKE!) (Did not accomplish and decided Im not interested in this right now.)

Go to Ohio to visit my wonderful family (ACCOMPLISHED!!!)

Go on cruise with my girls! (Carolyn, Vicky and Jenn! their families and JT) (This, sadly, did not work out :( )

Explore more of Texas (Didn't do this)

Notice others and be more aware of my surroundings (so many people are rude and oblivious!) (Definitely made an effort to do this.)

Complete Girls’ new year challenge (Did this.)

Smile as much as possible (ACCOMPLISHED got many positive compliments this year about how positive, optimistic and upbeat I am. Definitely the best compliment I have received!)

Make a difference (I really tried hard to make a difference every day in every interaction.)

Start personal training part time (Although it wasn't my exact goal, I am doing this twice a week with Zumba.)

Do a couple of adventure races (Didn't accomplish this.)

Go camping (a lot) (Did this, but want to do even more in 2013!!)

Work on high kick (and continue total domination in house-hold high kick competitions) (haha, I won many high-kick contests this year. Easy when you're competing against the most inflexible person ever. :))

Do lots of fun dancing (and make up new songs and dances) (Did a lot of this! JT made up some awesome dances too!)
Hang out with JTs parents more (Accomplished)

Read more (Semi-accomplished. Read several books, but need to read even more.)
Visit Dottie (JTs grandma) more!(Accomplished)

Train dogs (obedience) give them more baths! (um... failed at this! haha)
Enjoy my BFF more than ever! (Love you Toad!) (ACCOMPLISHED)

Continue to cook and get even better (ACCOMPLISHED)

Blog more consistently (get more exposure) (this one was also a miserable fail :))

Send more cards, letters etc… (Really need to do even more of this!)

See GINA! (Tony and Sara and kids, Andrea and boys) (Didn't get to see any of these people)

Try to stop biting nails (ACCOMPLISHED!)

Go to a concert or two (This is on the list again.)

Be more appreciative and grateful (MOST Successful ACCOMPLISHMENT)

Figure out how to turn the mouse pad on my laptop off so it stops driving me insane! (ACCOMPLISHED!)

ENJOY DOING ALL OF THIS!!!! (DEFINITELY ACCOMPLISHED)

Wow, what a fun year of accomplishments. Some of the highlights not on the list:

-Played "Lily Belle" in the Curious Savage and met some AMAZING people! (Hannah, Jill, JP, Dan, Patsy, Tyler, Hunter, Robin, Marisol, LeeAnna and Jennifer just to name a few... there were so many other amazing people that were part of the play!)

- Received two promotions at work!

- Started Crossfit. I have never felt so strong and accomplished in anything else I've done. Also met too many amazing people to name.

- Traveled to Ohio and Vermont (And drove through BEAUTIFUL New York). There are no words for how awesome and amazing the trip was. Seeing my family was wonderful! I also got to see Jenn, Vicky, Carolyn and Johnny. I met James, Amanda, Seth, Alex (truly AWESOME people) and so many others.) We fell in love with Vermont and tried to hatch a plan to move there! :) Such an awesome experience and time. And I can't say enough about the connection I feel to Johnny and Amanda, the two of them and James are three of the most amazing people I have ever met. <3 br="br">

- Stopped being vegetarian and became Paleo! :)

- Started participating in a local Co-Op (Awesome!)

- Participated and ROCKED Festivus (National Crossfit Competition) I got 11th out of 33 in the novice category and JT got 3 out of about 30 in novice! IT was amazing!

- Before festivus, got my Pullups!

- got One-handed handstand!

- Participated on the City's "Fire Combat Challenge Team" and won a bet against the local newspaper. 

- Started teaching Zumba as part of my job. 

- Had a WONDERFUL Christmas season.

Im sure there are 100 things I am forgetting, but overall it was such a great year. They seem to just keep getting better and better too. 

I really try to set SEVERAL lofty goals each year. I don't accomplish all of them, but it is so wonderful to expect a lot out of myself and my life.

Goals for 2013:

- Travel more
- BLOG MORE!
- Learn to crochet (seriously...)
- Love more than ever (even people I find difficult to love)
- More adventure
- Run a sub-two hour half-marathon
- Do a lot of hiking
- GET MORE ORGANIZED (huge priority... I need to organize so many things)
- Get another tattoo and get my lower back tattoo fixed/covered up
- Make a difference
- Volunteer more
- Give money, time and attention to as many things as I can
- KILL my CrossFit PRs
- Meet my goals for strength, weight/bodyfat (150 or 18% BF)
- Possibly look in to getting my level 1 CF certification
- Continue to get better at cooking
- Share as much knowledge as possible
- Share ONLY postivity
- Camp more!!
- Be active most days
- Work out most days
- mediate
- do yoga
- continue to support JT in his adventure racing, goals and life decisions and be the best wife possible
- Visit my girls more (Carolyn, Jenn and Vicky!!)
- Visit friends more (Rhonda and Cesar, Johnny, Amanda, Scott, Lancer and Kryi, Stack, Nick and Marrissa, Kristy, Ashley and my other Ohio friends, Gina, Terrina, Jennifer and Eric etc...)
- Smile more
- Do better for my pups (bathe them and train them)
- Be a better friend, daughter, daughter in law, wife
- Start a family
- Send more cards, letters, surprise gifts
- See my family as much as possible!
- Help Abbs navigate Junior High and her first semester of High School
- Try new workouts
- Learn more about paleo and stick with it better
- learn more about supplements and begin taking them
- Work on getting finances under control
- Continue to be aware of others and my surroundings

That is all for now - I am hoping to add more as I go along. Thanks for reading! I hope you'll all make some goals for the year! Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just write down everything you ever wanted to do and do your best to work toward that!

xoxoxo

"If you want to be happy, set a goal that
commands your thoughts, liberates your
energy, and inspires your hopes."
- Andrew Carnegie

Crossfit can have my babies

Seriously... Why the hell have I ever been doing anything else to get in shape?

What is crossfit do you ask?



It is amazing. It is the first time I've ever felt like my workouts have practical application in my life. JT started a month ago and has already seen VERY noticeable and favorable results. I started wednesday and although I don't see any results yet, I feel AMAZING (although, exceptionally sore! haha)

To all of you crossfitters out there who have been preaching it for a while - I am a believer and you can say I TOLD YOU so!!
Now, before any of you go out and join a random crossfit gym, I will say that the gym we found was after JT did EXTENSIVE research- He asked a friend (Johnny) who is an expert for a couple of tips and he researched what was important to us and found the perfect fit for us. Crossfit is more than a workout - it is a camaraderie that I can only compare to a VERY tight nit athletic team or the military - so if you pick the wrong gym, you pick the wrong people to be with. IN addition, some people are in it for the money rather than the fitness - crossfit can be expensive - like JT says "It is the perfect balance between having a trainer and going to the gym" so its more expensive than just going to the gym but less expensive than paying for a trainer (in some cases... some gyms charge a LOT!) So, it is important to find a gym that is well rounded and where the owners or leaders are fit and do the workouts and will scale you and work with you.

Besides crossfit the last few weeks have been crazy. I finished my play AND we finished our weight loss competition in my department (that I put together.) After all was said and done, the 24 participants who went start to finish (including myself) lost a total of 176.5 lbs. I would say that is a hell of an accomplishment. Personally, I started and ended at the exact same weight... but, as always, I can only go up from here and I am SO happy I didn't gain! (we only had TWO people who did!) We also kicked off our next challenge called "Freeze the Gain." We weighed in anyone who wanted to participate and the goal is to either maintain your current weight or lose weight in the next three months. We will have ONE weigh in on July 3 and anyone who does one of those things will be put in a drawing for some awesome prizes (rangers tickets, cowboys tickets, amusement park tickets... anything we can get our hands on basically.)

Im also in the midst of switching jobs so things have been insanely busy and crazy at work besides our challenge!  I am SO excited though and finally feel like I am going to be utilized for my talents. (and paid for them! haha)

Life is SO SO great. Are you living yours to its fullest? I sure as heck am! <3 <3 If you're not, now is a great time to start!!!

Thanks for reading - Ill try to do better about writing more! haahaha 

long, successful week.

Short post to end the week and check in. I somehow pulled off work, spending time with JT on his Spring break, hell week at play practice, losing two lbs., working out 5 times, cleaning, catching up with friends and more!!! It is amazing what we can accomplish when we just live!!
So.... see you next week, be successful!!!

Yummm!!!

midnight shopping trip!!! Healthy!!!

As it turns out

The journey to figure all of this crazy stuff out is still in full force. I was a veggie for 7 months, I've been an omnivore for about 2 weeks and now Im going to settle on quasitarian (meaning I still don't really care for meat, but if I want something I'll have it, otherwise Ill choose vegetarian options.) That is what I planned on a couple of weeks ago too - but the last two weeks have really hit that home. I had meat 3 times this week and I only enjoyed 1.5 of the experiences. :) One of the meals was actually ruined by meat. I am happy to eat cheese again (EFF being Vegan... I wish I could do it, but I am not strong enough yet. MELANIE HELP ME! haha)

I found an interesting article and I want to share it for a few of my friends in particular. My friend Carolyn and I  are very similar in our food struggles. We met about 7 years ago on a website for counting calories (myfooddiary.com) and have been fast friends since. She and two other girls from the site (Vicky and Jenn) and I write an email chain daily during the workweek and we even met up to run a half marathon together! They are amazing women, but, like me they all struggle with how to eat properly... what is proper? Well, it depends on YOU and THIS article talks about that. knowing what YOUR body wants. It has taken us years but we are all making strides.

and for a little middle-blog break, enjoy this Michael Franti song! We saw it live at a John Mayer concert and it was AWESOME! :)



On a different note, I began lifting and running again this week. I hit it pretty hard and felt good. My plan was to run every day twice a day and get in about 5-6 miles daily. That is too lofty of a goal just starting back, so this week my goal is 3 miles a day and then next Saturday, JT and I are meeting up with my new friend Patsy for a St. Patty's day 5K. She wants to be my running buddy and that is SOOO perfect! It is SO nice to meet new friends.

Speaking of new friends - my play is going awesome and I  have met some amazing people. :) Best decision ever to do theater! I missed it first of all - and even more, the people who are participating in our play are open-minded and cool. (I hear that is actually NOT the norm for the local theater, but I am thankful that I picked the one play that it is like that!)

Well, I have to clean the house. I will definitely write more later because I have a lot of cool stuff to share - but until next time I am going to go.... - (although I think it should say "sweat like a pig so you don't LOOK like one!" haha).

Will run for wine...

Or... will not run because I drank wine.. whatever.

I did go on an awesome walk with JT just now though and it was as an awesome, productive weekend. Unfortunately I did not get my MRI this weekend  due to complications with the machine and not having the proper blood work (thanks a lot VA.... jeez) but, overall it was a nice couple of days off.

This is going to be a crazy week! 5 days of work and 5 days of play practice. (and Saturday I have a photo shoot for the play!!! so 6 days!) But, its going to be a good week. Going tot try hard to get up and work out. I think JT is going to start back at crossfit toO! He is feeling SO much better!

And, the best news of all? Marley is ALMOST out of heat, we finally got Remley to eat something tonight and he has calmed down so much that we might actually get some sleep tonight! WOOT! haha! <3

headin' out for a run

It is absolutely gorgeous here in Texas <3 So - JT and I are heading out for a little jog. :) It is MUCH needed after last night's decadent dinner at JT's parents' house! It was light, but caloric!

We'll probably head to Rose Redmun for the run! If it isn't dark, Ill try to snap some shots. It is a beautiful run. :) Then, home for a delicious dinner made by Toad.

Here are several motivational posters to leave you with until I can write again later!!! If you don't have pintrest as a tool (for many things - but motivation and fitness is definitely one!) you should GET IT! Send me your email and Ill send you an invite!

 I have vomited far too many times to count during and after a workout.... most recent? Super Spartan!

 I would also add vanilla protein (spirutein or another vegan protein option)

 This couldn't be more true... last burpee? Super Spartan... how many? 150.... it blew. Hence the vomiting!

 I have failed so many times at losing weight and staying fit...which causes doubt and leads to sabotage! It is a constant struggle, but DOABLE!

 GOSH I wish my body look liked this! Working on it!

 So true. Love it, don't do it because you feel like you "have" too. It can be fun if you believe it is and do things you love!

 You can't eat like crap though and expect these results!

 Hope you enjoyed these - they definitely motivate me!! <3

Journey into the center of the earth

Well... it’s not quite the center of the earth - but our journey into veganism has been quite interesting.




Like any other thing in life - when starting veganism you have to "get your feet wet." The first few days were filled with finding things that tasted good, things we hated and just trying to keep up with cooking and making all of the things we had to in order to stay on our 28-day Engine 2 journey. We did find a few great recipes and things we really enjoyed as well as many things we just hated. Most of all we were so enthused and excited about a new challenge. And let me just explain that we were already eating about 80% vegan before we even started this diet. We still had milk or cheese occasionally, and I sometimes had sushi or shrimp... but, very rarely! Oh and we ate Greek yogurt too. So, this didn't seem like it would be that crazy of a transition.



After 3 days of being a vegan, JT started crossfit and although it was exhausting, he had plenty of energy to get through the workout. We also felt great health wise and our bathroom routines increased a lot (sorry if TMI) that applied to day 4 as well. On day 5, however, JT came home a little early from school not feeling well and when I got home I realized he was BURNING up! His temp ended up being 102. Friday I worked all day and when I came home his temp was still 102 and we headed to Urgent care - pneumonia. That made things a little rough. JT thought food tasted awful for several days and my days were filled with taking care of him, cleaning and sanitizing our home. Yuck. The only thing that JT could even consider eating was curry - so I got it, had some (cheated on my vegan diet!!! ahh!!!) and he ended up not even wanting to eat! haha. Oh well.



JT is on the mend, but through all of the craziness and misery, we've come to the realization that veganism is way too restrictive. We both understand the principle behind it. We both also understand that it gives your body the nutrition and fuel it needs to be as healthy as possible - but, we are also both practical and feel like being so restrictive is ridiculous. It was interesting, and I am going to finish out this week as a vegan (I already went shopping dammit!) but JT is done and as of next week I think we're going to stop being completely vegetarian (well... for me pescatarian... but for JT vegetarian) as well. We both still plan to eat a vegetarian/vegan diet 80% of the time, but we don't want to feel so restricted. I think one of the reasons we were able to sustain vegetarianism so long is because it was not quite so restrictive, we made decisions about what we wanted to eat and didn't feel boxed in. Things didn't taste like "replacements." And, we are NOT processed foods people so all of the vegan substitutes were pretty much out! So, we'll avoid processed foods completely still, and we'll eat lots and lots of vegetarian foods, but we're back to being omnivores. :)



I discussed with my friend Carolyn that I think the reason I tend to want to go so extreme with my eating is because I feel in control when I do that. I think that control is something I crave because I struggled so much with binging in my past. I have gained a MUCH healthier relationship with food in the last couple of years (thanks to lots of help and encouragement from JT!) but, it’s still a daily struggle. I used to literally count every single calorie I put in my body but all of those calories were empty, bullshit calories that I would eat so I didn't feel "Cheated." Some examples are: 100 calorie snack packs, goldfish, lean cuisine meals that were low calorie so I could eat more sweets later... etc... It’s always been such a struggle to strike a balance in food and I honestly think going vegetarian and vegan has really helped me find that happy medium of being satisfied, but still able to enjoy food. I mean, who knows? I might eat meat and HATE it and decide I am still actually going to be pescatarian... but anyways - the journey has been an interesting one!



On a different note - I am losing weight still and feel great. My workouts have been ok - but, I got a part in a local play and our rehearsal schedule is intense leading up to our opening, I am going to have to get my lazy ass out of bed to fit in workouts in the mornings!!! :) I can do it though.



Here is to striking a balance and living a very very healthy life. :)



Thanks for reading.

Results

I am seeing them. :)

(I started this post last week and came back to post another... realizing I didn't ever post this one... so here goes!)

Turns out the scale at my house wasn't a fluke and I did, in fact drop 5 lbs. from my last weigh in. I weighed in at 166.4 - which is just over 3 lbs. from where I started. Its not HUGE progress... but it IS PROGRESS. I am very happy and JT confirms that although I have not dropped a ton of weight, getting back into exercising and lifting has made a difference and he can SEE IT! That is probably the best part!

Our scale is still broken, so, I am working to win this next weigh in so I can take the scale our department is giving away as a prize. Our final weigh in isn't until April, but, to keep people motivated along the way, we decided to give prizes to the top three people with the highest weight loss percentages for ever weigh in as well. Its usually different people too which is pretty cool!

Oh, I did the calculations, and so far, the 28 participants have dropped 201.4 lbs.!!!!!!!! I am SO proud to be part of that.

(NEW POST)

Last night (Saturday night) JT and I went shopping (it took four hours because we had to go to 4 different stores to get everything we needed) but, we did succeed. We bought everything we needed to start and be successful with the Engine 2 diet. (click the name for the website!)

I have been talking about our plan to go Vegan for quite some time, but, we finally found a system that walks us step-by-step along the way so we are organized and feel confident in our choices. (It is quite hard to be veggie and vegan... not getting the right nutrients and relying too heavily on just carbs is a worry at times... even if we don't really eat carbs lol.)

We modified a couple of things. We don't dig fake meat so we are going to have something else on those days (such as the Black bean Coco Quinoa recipe etc....) and... unfortunately we're going to have to stop having curry for a while because it has fish  sauce in it - but, its all good, because the recipes with this diet and the food suggestions are awesome.

Today's Food:

Rips Big Bowl
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup grape-nuts
1/4 cup shredded wheat
1/4 cup Uncle Sam Cereal
1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
2 tablespoons raisins
1/2 handful walnuts
1 banana sliced
1 kiwi sliced
1 grapefruit
3/4 cup almond or soymilk

(This is A LOT of food, but, the point is to start your day off with a huge hearty energy-packed meal and then bring down what you're eating as the day goes on)

Lunch Stuffed Pita with Hummus
Lots of veggies
quinoa
hummus

all stuffed in a pita. There actually isn't a recipe for this one, so, we're going to make it like that :)

dinner Spinach Starter Salad & Gnocchi with Red Sauce
Exactly how it sounds :)

Dessert Frozen Cherries and Soy Yogurt

We have never been big soy fans, but, due to needing to add protein to our lives, we've decided to try it for this and give it a chance. :) So, we will be trying the tofu recipes as well as using soymilk and soy yogurt when he calls for it.

We are excited. We both recently had our cholesterol checked so we'll get it checked again after this 28 day diet (life-style change) and give our results.  :)

On a different note, Johnny put an awesome quote on his wall today from one of my all-time favorite songs!

"Some will fall in love with life and drink it from a fountain 

that is pouring like an avalanche coming down a mountain." 

- Gibby Haynes (Lead singer of the Butthole Surfers)

Weigh in today

I am nervous. And not because I haven't been doing what I should, because I HAVE and I will be completely crushed if the numbers don't reflect the hard work Ive been doing. My scale isn't working so Im not sure if losing 5 lbs. last week was a fluke or a scale problem. Im going to go with the loss and just keep my fingers crossed.

Wish me luck! Ill check in later with the results. <3

Oh and lets all start our way feeling this way! (how cute!)

Cool article

I am pretty obsessed about eating a certain way... but, my friend Adam shared a link to a story of people who are even more particular!


Eat your heart out!!

Also, I made a delicious breakfast!



It was my own recipe... so I will call it "Curried egg, rice and black bean burrito"

Basically I made scrambled eggs - whipped them first with a little almond milk to add some air
I warmed up some rice and blackbeans and mised that with panang curry (from my WONDERFUL thai place) and put them in a garlic tortilla!

DELICIOUS!

My goal this week is to get in workouts and yoga every day and to do well in my weigh in. I have been SO dedicated and successful this past week! I am going to keep it going!

Thanks for reading!

Surprises

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about advice. When I wrote, I was talking specifically about fitness advice... but last night I got a reminder that sometimes, you're giving advice and making a difference in someone's life without having to do anything but being true to yourself.

"You inspired me to get out of the navy and realize there's a life outside of broken relationships and constant deployments. My thanks will never be enough. You're my hero."

I received this message last night on facebook. It was from a Sailor who I spent about two weeks with while my ship was out to sea and I was transitioning out of the Navy. It may be one of the most meaningful compliments I have ever received.

Although I feel like the Navy is a great option for many and serves as a great stepping stone in life, I also feel like it is smothering and stifling. You can only go as far as the Navy is willing to let you go. Your life is never quite yours. You may be comfortable financially, but you're never truly stable.

To know that I somehow made enough of an impression to be an example to someone, gives my decision to get out even more merit. Not only have I given myself the gift of living a life without reservation, but I have inspired someone else to do so as well. I really had no idea either. So remember, people are always watching, always listening - LIVE in such a way that you are always doing the type of things others wish they could be doing (and hopefully, they will have the courage to stop wishing and start doing.)

Thank you for reading.

Still working hard!

Just checking in to let everyone know that things are going great over here! I am still working hard and have ramped up the "cooking" and "eating" aspect of my journey. I had done that once before, but I am really doing better cooking our meals and preparing our lunches, rather than us snacking constantly.

Also, the workouts are going great this week. I was a little spotty before, but I am definitely motivated and on it! Last week I was having some serious issues with my back. I hurt it while I was in the Navy and although it does always ache and hurt about 50% of the time, Last week it was hurting 100% of the time... in fact, I had to make an appointment (which I won't have until the 9th of Feb!) Im working out again because it is feeling better, but I am definitely keeping the appt. to make sure all is well in there.

Here is my favorite new recipe!!!  (sans cheese though)  (click the link to see the recipe!)

avocado, tomato, sprouts & pepper jack with chive spread

And here are a couple motivating pictures! <3

I would love to look like the above pic!

And here is a great workout I found! Challenge yourself!

Tomorrow is the big day!!

We start veganism in the A.M. for a while.... I am a bit nervous!!!

Here is to better health!!!!

Marley is ready!! :)

You you you... oughtta know!!!!!

As most of you know JT and I are pretty obsessed with fitness, food and health. We are CONSTANTLY learning, researching etc... We've watched about 10 documentaries, read thousands of articles and research studies, soaked up as much information as possible from experts and friends and many other resources. It is truly amazing how much we've learned and how much we know. Herein lies the problem:

How do you share your knowledge without offending or seeming know-it-ally? How do you guide people in the right direction who truly have no clue what-so-ever? How do you get to the point where you realize what you know, and what is right for you, may not be right for other people? And, if the info is not right for other people, can you still share your information and help them in any way?

It is quite the conundrum. It is really starting to bother me actually. I find it so frustrating when people ask for advice and then don't listen. I think that is the worst. I spend time researching for them and do  my best to guide them and then they still do what they were always doing and asked for help with in the first place. But maybe that isn't actually what is going on... maybe they HEARD me, but are trying to determine what is best for them?

Example: My brother called me a couple of weeks ago and questioned my vegetarianism. He was pretty negative about it actually and I was a bit offended. However, I just told him what I knew - that I felt better than ever, eating vegetarian was cheaper, my blood work showed a marked improvement and in general it just felt right. After we talked for a bit we hung up and thing remained unchanged. But, they actually didn't. A few weeks later my sister in law posted on her blog that Tony WAS listening to me, in fact, he told her that he would try running with her (something that she has been working on getting him to do since she started) if she was willing to try vegetarianism with him. They've been going strong for a week now and are doing great. In fact, he has lost 4 lbs. and they are working to expand their "recipe" horizon.

So, even though it seems like people don't care, or don't agree, sometimes they have to ruminate on the information and make their decisions in time. Other times, they may ruminate and decide your advice or information doesn't work for them. The whole thing, is that all you can do is share what you know and be as supportive and positive as possible and let people decide whats best for them.

What I struggle most with though, is knowing WHEN someone might want to know what I know :) I share it on here, which I think is great because if you want to read you can, iif you don't, you won't. But when I am talking to someone at work and they are making decisions that I think can be made better (like, what type of sweetener is best while trying to change a lifestyle... is it sweet-n-low? HELL NO (unless you want cancer) but maybe agave or stevia would work?) Do I tell them? Or do I let them find out for themselves? Do I say: Well, at least they are changing their other bad habits... who cares if they are using dangerous sweetener? At least they are doing better than they were...? Is that the right attitude? Is it better to let people be or share my knowledge?

Whatever the answer (and please feel free to share your opinion on the subject... I am very interested in knowing) I hope that what I tell you here comes off as genuine and helpful. The last thing I want to do is offend anyone and not be as helpful as I can.

Thank you so much for reading! <3

Yoga makes mama SORE!

VERY sore. Well, now it does. My first two days (with Kathy) I didn't feel sore, I just felt good to be doing yoga - but after a class with Beth and then Beverly filling in for two classes for Kathy ... (if you followed that you rock!) I am SOOOORRRRREEEEEEEEEEEE!

GOSH I love yoga! My hope is that I can look this good doing it at some point.

 

I started this post yesterday and got busy, so here I am again. I had a busy day at the business expo and ended up tweaking my back again :( I don't understand why this keeps happening. I hope as I continue my yoga practice that these little "tweaks" will go away -  because it kind of SUCKS! I took half a vicodin and we went on a walk to try to work it out. I also took a VERY hot bath... hopefully sleep will help it!

So, I think JT and I are going to go vegan for a while. We had decided we'd go raw vegan, but instead I think we've decided on just vegan (eating a large amount of raw fruits and veggies in addition to grains etc... we are basically just going to cut out dairy now and seafood.) We need an extreme reboot sort of thing and that is the best way for us to do that in our opinion. I found THIS website with some yummy sounding recipes too!

The other thing I wanted to share was Fitnessista's Winter Shape Up blog. This is an AWESOME blog in general, but this post is amazing. This woman literally just had a baby like... 10 days ago and she still put together her WSU with recipe and meal ideas and an awesome workout plan. Please check that out if you are in need of some food ideas  or workout ideas. 

Im headed to bed - please send some good vibes my way so I can kick this back tweak. And, even if it doesn't go away right now, hopefully yoga tomorrow evening will help! <3 

Thank you for reading!

Quick Check In

I am heading out for a workout, but wanted to take a few minutes to check in on this long weekend! :)

This week was full of ups and downs. Luckily some of the downs included my weight on the scale! I lost 1.8 lbs this past week! And some of the ups included some amazing workouts. I am in a little bit of a work-out routine rut, as my running has hit a rough spot. (I just can't do it right now - every time my hips, groin and lower body joints just ACHE and ACHE!) But, I did start yoga and LOVE IT.

I don't even know how to describe how yoga makes me feel. Firstly, I guess I feel very challenged because I don't have a lot of balance and have no prior yoga experience. I am a quick learner though and I am very flexible, so I am already improving quite a bit. Saturday's class went so well, in fact that my abs and chest are nice and sore! (lots of planks and chattorongas! (sp) )

My next goal is to find some neat workouts to throw into my routine. I am going to be doing yoga daily along with a strength/cardio workout of some kind. Like I said, I can't run right now, so Ill probably bike for cardio. Do any of you have cool workout routines? Id really appreciate some suggestions! the more the merrier! <3

JT and I are going to switch our diets to VERY high fruit and veggie this week too, which will hopefully start cutting my weight and I am going to try to count calories a bit. I won't do it so over-the-top that ill be putting it into a system of any kind, but I do plan to cut down a bit. Time to up my game. :)

I know this is a check-in post - sorry about that! I will share some great info this week! <3

Thanks for reading! And don't we ALL feel like this: