Weekends

Weekends are my downfall.  I don't know if it's movie nights, date nights or just the fact that my kids are home so I don't feel I can spare the time to exercise.  Or eat right.  I did NOT eat right this weekend in the least.  I've been keeping close watch and recording everything and both Saturday and Sunday I went over my calorie goal.  Not majorly, just over.  Now on a normal day this is no big deal because I exercise away those extra calories.  But if I just added a bit more fruits and veggies to my weekend intake I'd be ok having skipped my workouts and wouldn't end up going over.

A lot of people dread Mondays, but I LOVE them.  Mind, I don't enjoy having to get up early again.  But I do love that my Mondays are always a new beginning.  A fresh start.  I finally have time to grocery shop, I have time to clean up that mess the kids made ALL over the house and most important I have time to exercise.

Exercise just makes me feel good, physically and emotionally.  I am able to focus on my life and complete that list we all have.  If I don't exercise I get so much less done because I feel like my day has never started, so I tend to laze about the house and before I know it I'm supposed to be making dinner.

Exercise = Productivity=Happiness for me and my family.

Thanksgiving - Food or Family?



The Holidays are upon us in full force.  And after a meal consisting of several plates of this, the question of Healthy Food is there again.

I love Thanksgiving!  I love the food, I love the smells but mostly I love the time with my family.  They are the most important thing to me, and as I now live thousands of miles away in Colombia I realize this more and more.  Family is what the Holidays are about.  The food's good, but Family is Better. 

 

3 Memorable events from my trip home for Thanksgiving:

 

#1:  Going for a run with my brother.  Living in Bogota, Colombia has been tough on my running.  Meaning...I can't do it.  I'm at 8,600 ft above sea level and I get migraines that would knock out an NFL player whenever I run.  So being in Utah, USA at 3,500 was AWESOME!  We ran for 3.5 miles and I loved every minute of it.  For one I got some one on one time with my Bro which is tough with 10 kids between us, and two I realized how much I miss running.  So the slow training starts tomorrow at 8,600 ft.

#2:  Going for a walk with my sister.  My oldest sister is pushing the 350 lb mark on the scale right now.  And she's doing nothing to change that.  If anything she's probably still gaining weight.  We only walked half a mile, but we had some good conversation about goals and challenges.  I'm going home again for Christmas and plan to walk with her everyday.  And this summer I'll be home for a few months, so Water Aerobics here we come.

 

 

 

#3:  My Brother-in-Law made an Oil-Free Fried Turkey.  The best part was he added Creole Seasoning.  Now this Brother-in-Law is currently receiving weekly to monthly advice from his Dr. on how to loose weight.  This is due to the fact that he's over 400 lbs.  So instead of the 2 hr Fried Turkey he made last year, this Oil-Free Fried was awesome.  And super moist and yummy.  I was so happy to see him listening to a bit of his Dr's advice and using his amazing BBQ skills to make us all some delicious Turkey.

So to sum up.  I love the Holidays: the food, the music, the lights, the parties.  But none of these would be worth anything without my family.  And as hard as Health is, keeping my family around for many years to come is super important to me.  And I'll do everything I can to keep them with me for as long as possible. 

Love you Fam!!!

Zumba

I've been teaching Zumba now for almost 3 years.  Over 2 1/2 years in Cochrane, Canada and now a few months in Bogota, Colombia.  Funny that I'm an American Girl but I've never actually taught in the USA.

Zumba, it's great fun.  People that think they're in shape tend to burn out in my classes.  And I'm not even in top form for myself.  But I push through when it's tough and keep a smile on my face, which isn't hard because I love it.

Next week I'll be teaching for my sons Year 5 class.  Loads of fun with kids.  I love starting them into activity when they're young.  If the learn to love it then they'll keep loving it when they grow.

Sleep

For the past few weeks I've been waking up at 4:40 am every stinking morning.  Then Jared gets up at 6:00.  Then I'm up at 6:45.  But because I'm waking up at 4:40, I start thinking about the next few hours and then I can't go back to sleep.  AUGH!!!  It's a horrible cycle.

But I think I found my solution.  Last night I went to be about 10:45 pm.  Not exactly, but I know it was before 11:00.  I slept straight through.

I woke up to Jared's alarm, but was able to go back to sleep.  This morning I felt amazing!  Totally rested.  Ready to conquer the day.  On top of my eating.  Actually wanted to exercise.  Everything!  There is more to healthy living than just eating right and exercising enough.  You have to sleep right too!  When you're rested you make better decisions and you're just naturally a nicer person.

"Early to bed and early to rise.  Makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise."  LDS Primary Childrens Song Book.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:124 "...Retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated."

New Year New Start

Christmas was a killer on my scale this year.  I didn't formally exercise maybe even twice while the kids were on break.  I ate like crazy, and enjoyed every bit of it.  LOVE Christmas food!  It's the only time of year you get it, so I may as well enjoy it.

But man did I pay for my indulgence.  I gained a solid 8 lbs and went through sugar withdrawals like crazy. Headaches to make you cry and that even woke me up in the middle of the night.  But the headaches only lasted about 2 days, then I was good.

I am now back on Myfitnesspal.com and already down 4 lbs.  You deffinately loose weight faster when you eat right.  I'm also back to teaching Zumba Toning twice a week and loving it.

One of my students went to Nepal for December and since we were supposed to move over Christmas I thought I'd never see her again. But we didn't move and she's back with lots of great stories.  :)

I found the Marathon I want to run this year.  It's in Newport, Oregon on May 31st.

That means training starts next week.  I'm really excited.  A lot of people get their PR (personal record) at this Marathon and I am hoping to get 4 hrs.  This is my 3rd Marathon with that goal and I hope I get it this time.  Best thing yet would be get 3 hrs 40 mins, then I'd qualify for Boston 2015!  That would be awesome!

I am currently having trouble sleeping and I have to figure that out.  I thought there were too many blankets on my bed, so we fixed that.  It helped a bit but I'm still really restless at night.  I'll do some reading and let you know.

Love being back on track.  Love exercising again.  Love feeling like I have energy from eating healthy food. No more heaviness after a meal, and that's nice.

Fat

I am not feeling good about myself tonight.  I've had much better days.  I made the mistake of cooking Navajo Tacos for dinner.  My kids asked what I was doing, and I told them I was frying the bread.  Everyone of them got that look on their face of YUCK!  I've never fried anything in our almost 14 years of marriage.  They all liked the dinner alright, but all of us had sick stomachs afterwards.  We will not be frying anything every again.  It is not worth feeling like this.

How do I get out of this eating rut?  I have to figure it out soon because we're heading home in a few weeks, and my family NEVER helps me eat well.  I run and run and Zumba till the cows come home.  But if I can't eat right the exercise isn't going to do me any good.

Whew, what a day!

After getting the kids off to school, I reviewed my newest Zumba songs and headed out the door.

I taught a killer shoulder Zumba Toning Class today.  I didn't mean for it to all be shoulder, but even I was sore at the end.

Directly afterwards I slipped on my trail running shoes and hit the road.  Running 5 miles in 42 mins.  Not too bad.

My calves are tired and so's my back.  It was a good exercise day!

Confessions

Weight loss is not my thing, I don't think it's anybodies thing.  I've got the exercise down pat.  I love to move, I love to use my body.  But I also love to EAT, and what do I love most?  Sweets!!!

Today it was too many slices of French Toast with different types of syrup for Breakfast, Sweetened Condensed Milk and Apples and after that White Chocolate Chip Craisin Cookies.  I always think to myself, "Why shouldn't I have just one?  Why should I deny myself?"  The Problem is, you can't have just one.  And 3-6 cookies later, or pulling out the spoon for the Condensed Milk is just a problem.

So what do I do?  I exercise to keep the weight at bay.  Problem is...it's starting to catch up with me.  My eating's getting out of control.  And not just the sweets.  I find myself taking HUGE portions or 2nds and then 3rds and not feeling guilty about it until I feel overly bloated by the time I leave the table.

The worst of it happened today at the end of my Zumba Toning Class.  I'm the teacher, I'm the leader and yet, the women are complimenting another lady on her physic and asking how SHE does it.  They're supposed to be asking me...the Instructor.

I know I'm not fat.  I know I'm in excellent shape.  But I also know I could be doing much better.  My scale should be moving down.  That or my pants should fit me, and not be feeling tight like they do lately.

I'm in a bit of a slump.  Mid-life Crisis if you want to call it that.  Can't eat enough, can't sit enough, can'ty sleep enough, can't smile enough, never satisfied with anything.  What do you do?  How do you get out of it?

Jared has crazy amounts of self control.  He'll eat an apple for lunch to save calories because he knows he's going out for dinner with work later on.  How do I do that?  How do I save those calories for when it counts, for something that truly satisfies?  Or really, what is it that truly Satisfies?  Maybe that's the question to ask.

Any suggestions?

Zumba

Loving, loving, loving Zumba! I'm looking to get certified this summer so when Sicily starts school in the Fall I can start teaching. I'm actually really nervous about having a group of people follow me. But at the same time I'm really excited. I love to dance. And I love the Zumba music, it all just goes hand in hand.

Friends and Weightloss

I have a friend named Kristin that has been my friend since 4th grade. I know, how crazy is that, I didn't know we could still have friends that long. She posted this on her blog the other day and I thought you all should read it.

http://whereverthere.com/2011/07/28/confessions-of-food-obsessions/

I find it very applicable to how I feel right now. I would like to lose anywhere between 15-20 more lbs and I am at a complete loss of how to get it done.

The kids are back in school and a routine is slowly being put into place. My toddler, Sicily, has preschool twice a week for 2 hours, to which I am dedicating to exercise: Zumba, Running and Weight Training. I am currently training for a Marathon which I will run in Baton Rouge, LA on December 3rd. So I feel that I am heading in the right direction exercise wise, but I am clueless, it feels like, when it comes to healthy eating and loving it.

I do NOT want to diet. I want to BE healthy. I want to EAT healthy always, and be able to stick to that for the rest of my life. Any of us can diet and lose, but how many can stick with it and keep it off.

That's the ultimate goal.