90 Day Challenge : Obesity

Whenever I tend to eat too much and slack on my calorie counting I occasionally fall into the destructive thought pattern that I'm not losing weight because my body is somehow different. I don't disagree that there are genetic variances that make it easier and oppositely harder for some to manage weight, but the ugly truth of the matter is, we can ALL choose to lose weight.

I'm going to refer you to another blog on this topic. It is BOLD… but I think it is true. A good reminder for me in days that I feel self pity creep in.

http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/01/31/inspiring-message-of-the-day-obesity-is-not-a-disease-and-you-do-have-free-will/

90 Day Challenge : Something New

Today is one day over 4 weeks of the 90 Day challenge. Keep track of how far you've come.

I finally completed the last treadmill workout I posted for Saturday. I have thrown some cross training in with the treadmill workouts because those are HARD!! 10 treadmill interval workouts in 10 days is quite a challenge… I'm shooting for 10 Treadmill interval workouts in the next couple weeks :). I completed one I posted for Saturday this morning and it was brutal, but I felt awesome after. It reinforced to me how easily we get into our workout patterns and don't realize how badly we need diversity. I can run long distance pretty easy, but speed walking at an incline can knock me out. Try some of these interval workouts… even if you have to modify them to make them more manageable.

Speaking of pushing myself and trying new things, I'm going to sign up for a FULL marathon this year. I want to do at least one in my life… why not at 27? Seems like as good a time as any. I'm shooting for September. Today think of one thing you can commit yourself to that pushes yourself physically. I think it is safe to say the thought of running a marathon terrifies me, but getting outside of your comfort zone is what this is all about. Sign up for a 5K, a 10K, a half marathon. Maybe it's a long hike you've been wanting to do, or a long swim. Whatever it is, sign up, tell people about it, pay money, find a way to commit.

I'm not 100% sure this will happen tomorrow, but this is the next Treadmill workout I have in mind.

90 Day Challenge : Set Backs and New Goals

So I have to share something really frustrating that I'm SURE we all deal with from time to time, and that is : not seeing the results we think we should be seeing. I have been putting in work and sticking fairly close to my calorie goals and my weight has INCREASED! Nothing is more defeating than feeling like you're going backwards. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has felt like this.

At this pivotal moment in your weight-loss journey is it CRITICAL you not lose momentum. Try shaking it up. Recommit to your goals. Revamp your workouts. Keep fighting!

After the discouragement of sliding backwards I'm going to do a quick 10 day treadmill challenge where I do a different treadmill workout each day for 10 days (except Sunday).

Yesterday I did the workout I've posted about in a previous post.

Today's treadmill workout was super challenging, and I had to take lots of breaks, but I finished it without dying. Here it is:

Walk at 4.0 at 7.5 incline for 4 minutes
Jog at 6.5 at 0 incline for 5 minutes
(repeat walk and jog twice)
Jog at 6.5 at 3.0 incline for 3 minutes
Run at 7.0 at a 0 incline for 3 minutes
Sprint at 8.0 at 0 incline for 1 minute
Jog at 6.0 at 0 incline for 1 minute
Sprint at 8.0 at 0 incline for 1 minute
Run at 7.0 at 0 incline for 1 minute
Jog at 6.5 at 0 incline for 3 minutes
Cool down walk for 5 minutes.

Yikes… for some reason this kicked my trash this morning. Good luck with this one!

Since I'm terrible at posting on Saturdays I'm going to do this workout tomorrow:

You've got this! Shake it up if you need to and keep on working!!

90 Day Challenge: Running #1

Two days ago was 3 weeks in! Congrats! Track your progress, and keep on going!

I want to dedicate a portion of my posts to running. I love running. There are so many reasons why this is the case, but I read a quote today that accurately summarized why I love to run:

"I don't run because I love the feeling of running. I run because it makes me love the feeling of living."

This is essentially why I love to run. I love the solitude. I love good music to take my mind off my aching legs. I love the clarity of thought. I love the scenery of running in the mountains. I don't love running per say, but I love feeling alive.

If you have not caught the running bug, I don't blame you. Running is essentially terrible. Especially when you are not conditioned to run, running even a mile is excruciating. Try to push through it and run until it doesn't hurt anymore.

Running is also very habit forming. Running once in awhile will always be frustrating because it will never get easier and you don't get immediate results. If you run everyday it will become an addiction.

I've found it's helpful to sign up for a race to keep me motivated. I would recommend signing up for a 5k. That first 3 miles will help you stay consistent and build up your stamina so you can eventually do longer races. I ran my first half marathon over a year ago thinking it would be my only race, and now I've got two more under my belt, looking forward to more.

Keep trying. Learning to run isn't easy. I started at a slow mile and worked my way up one minute at a time. You can do it!

If you lack motivation just start opening up all of your neighbors gates and letting their vicious dogs loose… good luck.

90 Day Challenge : Eat in Color

I love pretty things. I'm an artist, but you don't have to be an artist to appreciate beauty. This adoration of beautiful things continues even to the foods I eat.

I'm not the only person to admire food. Entire careers are based on showcasing food to make it appear beautiful. For centuries artists have scrutinized arrangements of fruit to compose still-life masterpieces such as this piece by Paul Cézanne:

(please note that none of the foods depicted in this painting are foods I'm condoning in this post… slightly ironic)

Food is beautiful. Functionally most plants need animals to eat their food and spread their seeds so their fruit must be attractive enough to catch an animals eye. Attractive food is what I'm writing about today.

First let me point out that I have no credible sources to back up what I'm saying. I have read this in multiple places after looking at tons of "super food" lists I've come to this conclusion:

Pretty plant food that is a solid color all the way through to the core has added nutritional benefits.

For example: sweet potatoes vs. white potatoes. Although both a rich color on the outside, sweet potatoes are orange all the way to the core and have (from my research) quite a few more nutrients than white potatoes. The same is true of fruit. Fruit with a white core such as apples or pears do not have the nutritional richness of berries. This is not to say that apples or white potatoes are bad. I'm simply proposing that getting the most bang for your buck calorie vs. calorie, it would be wise to choose a plant food that is densely colorful to the core to reap the most nutritional benefits!

(Without the specification of "plant food", cheeze-its become my favorite colorful food and that isn't really what I'm going for.)

Moral of the story. Eat attractive food. Eat your veggies, better yet, eat a veggie that is every color of the rainbow both inside and out.

90 Day Challenge : Guest Blogger

Britany, army wife, mother of two, diaper changing extraordinaire, and one of my best friends shared her insight with me on how she dropped her weight post-baby :

I've found that the secret to losing weight, is to have a toddler and a baby who both need your constant attention at all times. When you're being pulled in two different directions all the time, you forget to eat, and that seems to be a really great weight loss technique.

But, not really though. Please don't forget to eat things. Maybe go eat something right now while you're reading this.

Seriously though, what has been working for me, is being accountable for everything I eat and everything I do. I use the myfitnesspal app on my phone to track all the calories I eat and all the calories I expend during the day. I have a set calorie goal for each day, and once I hit that number, I'm done eating for the day. And if I go over that number, I either try and work those calories off doing something akin to exercise, or I try harder the next day not to go over. Since my son was born in March, I've lost about 20-25lbs, depending on the week and how much chocolate I've had, and I'm actually pretty proud of that.

Now, you might be thinking that most of that was natural baby weight loss. You know, after the baby pops out you just sort of deflate like a balloon and magically weigh 10lbs less than you did. NOT TRUE people. Not true. Well, maybe it's true for some lucky people and celebrities, but NOT ME.

I remember in 2011 when my daughter was born, everyone kept telling me that the weight just falls off after you have a baby because you're nursing and you can eat quite a bit and not gain weight. So, I took that terrible advice to heart and I ate. And then I ate danishes. And more danishes. And a small country. And more danishes. And for some inexplicable reason, I gained 20lbs AFTER she was born. I remember being a little confused because, hello, I was nursing. But, when you do nothing but sit on your butt all day being a human pillow for your baby, while simultaneously eating everything that has the misfortune to be in your path, you tend to gain weight. Who knew.

So, one day that fateful year, I looked in the mirror and hated who I saw, so I decided to make a change. I started counting calories and running in the morning. It took me almost a year, but I eventually got my weight down to a reasonable poundage, not my goal, but reasonable, and then I got pregnant again.

But, this time I vowed things would be different. I was sure of it. I was pregnant, so I did eat a lot, cause hello, I was pregnant, but I was smarter about it this time. A lot less danishes and a lot more strawberries. That sort of thing. I also tried to be smarter after my son was born when I was hit with that familiar, ravenous, nursing hunger that hits you like a wrecking ball (wink), but I still ended that day with a cheeseburger. Can't win them all. But instead of gaining 20lbs after he was born like I did with my daughter, I was slowly, ever so slowly, losing that weight.

Here's how I did it:
I walk as much and as often as possible
Seriously, if you can walk somewhere instead of drive, do it.
I carried that baby of mine in a babybjorn everywhere I went
this on may not apply to everyone
I meticulously kept track of everything I ate and tried to steer clear of danishes and baked goods.
Lots of fruits and vegetables
Less sugars
I set a deadline for myself so that I had to be accountable for the weight loss

There was a military ball in December that I was determined to lose the weight for, so I did. I went to the gym sporadically, and some days I ate more chocolate than I should have, but for the most part I did okay. I took my kids on walks in the afternoons and I ate lots of turkey wraps and salads. I learned how to cook truly delicious dinners using whole grains and lean meats. And I learned a lot about myself and the person I would like to be.

I hit my goal weight just before the ball, but now I've set a new goal weight for myself and a goal to tone and reshape my flimsy body. I'm going to try harder to actually go to the gym and build up some muscle. Should be interesting.

But believe me. If I can do it, you can do it. I am living proof that someone who HATES to exercise and loves cinnamon rolls can change and can lose significant weight. So, don't give up.

90 Day Challenge : Carrots

Ok, two weeks down! Weigh in today to check your progress. I'm down a solid 5 lbs. from when we started which is exactly where I want to be. Hopefully slow and steady will win the race and we will be able to keep it off long term. Don't get discouraged by gradual results, in 2 more weeks we will be down 8-10 lbs. and that is a significant change!

Today I want to talk about something close to my heart… baby carrots. So among other things on my bucket list (like riding in a hot air balloon, and dying on my birthday) I have wanted to go myth busters on baby carrots and see if a person really can turn orange by eating enough carrots. The verdict is still out on that one. I eat so many carrots that I feel my skin always has a slight orange tinge to it, but I have yet to go full-blown umpa-lumpa.

Besides helping me fulfill my bucket list dreams, carrots serve other purposes as well. Carrots fill your body with some great nutrients such as beta-carotene. They are a GREAT filler for those times when you're snacky or just plain hungry and want a low-calorie treat. I also love feeling full and when I'm trying to lose weight that feeling doesn't happen often, so carrots give me the "full" gratification I'm looking for.

Eating carrots alone is boring for me. Because carrots are semi-sweet, I like pairing them with salty snacks. I like to counter my carrots with 100 calories of a salty treat. My favorite carrot couplings are pretzels, nuts, goldfish crackers or cheese. If you load up on the salty snacks you have defeated the purpose of eating carrots in the first place, but 100 calories extra will make your carrots as satisfying as a bag of doritos… (false, but close).

This is my carrot match up for the week… so good! Don't worry that huge bag of carrots will be gone in 2 or 3 days.

What is your health food obsession?