Day 8. Happy Birthday.

It's my birthday. YAY!

I'm trying to watch my diet today since I'm not working out but we'll see how that goes. 

Reservations for italian dinner probably won't help that any. I'm going to enjoy my day and focus on the people I'm around and not the food. I'm super excited to hangout with the best friends ever and enjoy an adventure on friday. 

Happy new year everyone. I hope you are safe and you a blessed in the new year. I think we are all excited it's no longer 2009. 

2010 here we come. 

Day 8.

Are you still on track? I know after awhile it seems to get mundane so we need a change. 

So friday plans have changed to showshoeing, which I'm really excited about because I know I'm able. As for skiing I'm just little more shaky about it. 

But really what is behind the mask? I know we all have a story and as soon as we stop comparing our stories I think that we can each begin to mend our brokenness together. Whether it was a divorce, a spouse or some trauma in your life that has thrown you for a loop, it does get better, if you try. It takes time. 

A person this fall said to me, "you are right where you need to be." and I think sometimes we all need to hear this because we want so badly to be done with school or over the holidays or we just want it to be next week. We should all be present and do the things now that will get us to where we want to be, but still enjoy the moment. 

Be present. Be yourself. 

Day 7.

And on the 7th day God rested. 

I didn't I went snowboarding at A-basin. It was totally fun and totally a hard workout. We went all day and I have a feeling when I crawl into bed my quads are going to start screaming at me. I'm hoping I can do spin and bodyflow tomorrow since Thursday will be without workout. And I don't want to hear any whys. It's because it's my birthday and it's already booked with events all day long, but the good news is that I will be trying to ski on Friday. With help from friends and God, of course. 

I was thinking to today that we should all begin to try new sports, like I started spin and I love it. I'm going to try skiing. I think by trying new things we can keep active and keep our bodies guessing what we will do next. I wanted to try snowshoeing/cross country skiing too, so if any of you are interested, we should totally do it. 

Stay focused. You are worth it. 

Day 6.

Today my food intake has been much better, thank you for asking. 

I had a protein shake for breakfast 200 cal. 

banana before my spin class

and leftover chicken yumminess from last night and some salad. 

I did quick spin which was only 45 minutes, but holy cow, it kicked my butt. My quads are killing me and I'm going snowboarding tomorrow, we'll see how that goes. 

I get a high from spin class, I absolutely love it. I would love to know what gives you that energy. 

Right after class I was driving home and beautiful day by U2 came on the radio. I blasted it. I love those moments. I wish we could create more of them to enjoy. 

Alright I gotta go shower, I'm so sweaty and gross. Be active. Be strong. Be alive. Feel alive. 

Day 5.

I have to confess first. I just devoured some homemade peach cobbler. shame on me. 

I did go to the gym today and had a light lunch of brown rice with veggies and a little teriyaki sauce and sriracha, yum. Breakfast was a tortilla with one scrambled egg and left over potatoes and some cheese. and dinner was whole wheat penne with sauted chicken, EVOO, spinach, tomatoes and lots of garlic. It was delicious. and a banana in the afternoon after my workout. 

I am a fan of Jillian on FB, I wish we were bff's. She suggested today that we all think about why we want to get in shape, be healthy.  I honestly want to be in shape for my family. I think in some way I lead this lifestyle to be an example to those around me and if I ever needed to be physically fit I would like to be able to. If I was ever in an accident I would like to know that I could survive because of my physical well being. I also try to be healthy because I know that obese people make less money, are less productive (more sick days) and that it costs more to be obese. I want to avoid heart disease and diabetes as much as I can. As I spend time with patients who have heart disease and diabetes, I  always just want to shake them and ask why don't you care about yourself the way I do. So mostly I want to lead an example of change. I am blown away by the obesity rates and obesity related diseases here in America. It is time that we educate our children and adults for that matter so our society can be a productive and successful as possible. 

I trying to stick with this whole blogging thing, but I really wish I had more followers. I think that by doing this I am able to evaluate my success and failures with an honest heart. I think too many times we just ignore our activity levels and diet because we are wrapped up in life. I understand that, I'm not saying we shouldn't live, but we should live consciously. We only have one body and we should treat it the best we can. 

Good luck this week. Try to watch the alcohol intake. It's high in calories and leaves you dehydrated which leads to the hangover. no fun. enjoy your company. 

Day 4.

So a a few days ago I created a new workout mix. Hopefully it can continue to encourage me to workout and stay focused during my workouts. If you want a copy, let me know. 

I have discovered in myself that I hate the treadmill. I hate the steady pace and honestly it makes my knees hurt. I'm hoping for better weather so I can run outside, but until then I will continue with the other classes I have mentioned. 

As hard as this may be, I am trying to drink caffeinated tea in the afternoon instead of a diet coke. I've heard that artificial sweeteners can lead to sweet cravings. So I'm gonna try it and see how it goes. I'm usually pretty good when going to starbucks, I enjoy a skinny latte and I always get a tall. I'm interested in other swaps we  can all make to decrease the calories without decreasing the taste. 

Hope Christmas was wonderful. 

Day 3.

Merry Christmas. I did not workout today or yesterday, but the beginning of the week was fantastic. I did 2 spin classes, 2 bodyflow classes and one yoga class. It was very good. I'm beginning to understand the runners high that people talk about. I feel so good after spin class although I can hardly walk because I push myself so hard in class. I wasn't sure I would like spin class. You know. I thought I was for those who were super hard core and triathletes and such. It turns out, it's really fun. The room at my gym is dark and everyone is so focused they don't really care if you mess or don't follow the instructor. BTW I love all of the instructors at the gym I go to. Every class is new and challenging. I hope that I can keep it up after school starts up again. I think I am going to do spin/bodyflow on monday, yoga tues, spin/bodyflow wed, nada thurs (class from 7-7), and bodyflow on friday. bodyflow is a mix of tai chi, yoga and pilates that is choreographed to music. There is a mix of balance, strength, hip openers. I LOVE it. I have a feeling school is going to be emotionally challenging this semester so I'm trying to create a schedule that involves the right balance of yoga and cardio to achieve the right balance. Isn't that what we all want? Watching Dr. Oz, oh yes, he suggested that we all do a forward fold everyday. It takes two seconds and I think that by doing this small step we can all become for flexible and it will force us to take a minute to breath deeply and relax. See you tomorrow.

Day 2.

I'm trying to do this right. Try to keep things interesting, but well it's Christmas eve and I just want to wish everyone a healthy and ultimately happy new year. We all strive for perfection and I'm learning through an incredible journey through 2009 that perfection is unrealistic. I started nursing school last January as you know and I was determined to not gain the weight that I've seen so many gain during nursing school. So far I have been successful, but I can see the pitfalls and contradictions all over the place. For example what kind of professor says be sure to stay active and eat healthy and brings candy to the final. come on now. And many of us wanting to stay in shape but then we hangout and drink and eat so many unhealthy things, delicious, but unhealthy. I've really come to understand myself better over this last year. I have realized that I expect so much from myself and from those around me. Nursing school is hard, parenting is tough and life is not easy, but we can all take a moment each day and smile. It's Christmas time. We should all smile as much as we can. I struggle with this as I learn more and more about people and the choices they make and the choices I make. I'm learning to be content and present where I am. This is so difficult because of where I've come from. I want so badly to be done with school and be a successful nurse, who makes a difference, but I've realized that if we all just invest a bit of time and effort into the lives of others we can be fulfilled. This world is full of darkness, but I say "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine" and when I'm in darkness I hope you will shine your light on me. Merry Christmas!

Day 1.

Welcome all. I have decided to create this blog after realizing why we all fall into temptation and how we, together, can build a support system using the internet. We all have goals in mind and I think to begin we should all share our goals, so when we are discouraged we are able to remind each other why we are here. My goal is to run/jog the bolderboulder(10k) on memorial day. I'm not a huge fan of running/jogging but I think it is a way I can push myself physically and mentally. I am currently at the gym 2-3 times/week doing spin, yoga and other aerobics classes. My diet varies. I'm pretty balanced but every so often I eat way too much and I'm trying to work on better choices when I'm stressed out. Sometimes I'm stressed and I don't even realize it. I'm so caught up in the moment that when it does pass I feel super guilty about the things I've eaten. Let's go. Let us respect our bodies, minds and spirits. We all care for someone besides ourselves daily, and why not be in the best shape we can be. For our loved ones but most of all for ourselves. I think we can all share in both good and bad moments. I know it's the holiday season but at some point I'd like us all to report a food journal, just one day everything you put in your mouth and begin discussing that. I think by doing this we can begin to be accountable for our actions. Some say that it's expensive, some say they don't have time. Let's cut through the excuses and do this, together. We all have different ways to the same goal, let's all pool our ideas together so we can save each other. No one ever told us that life was going to be easy, but you are not alone. See you on the skinny side.