It's the night before the end of the quarter and I'm totally relaxed. It's the weirdest feeling ever.
Normally, teachers are frantically entering grades, writing comments, and all sorts of other end of quarter projects. But I'm pretty chill. And this is a first. No, I didn't forget something (or some things). I spread out my projects and started them earlier, giving myself earlier deadlines.
I did this because I knew what I wanted tonight to be like. I did not want the usual late night at school, either having a late dinner once I finally got home at 9 pm, ordering pizza delivers to school and eating most or all of it because I'm stressed, or skipping dinner altogether. I wanted a night with dinner at home before going to dance lessons. I wanted a night with a normal meal time. I wanted a night where I can get well rested for the big event after a full day of teaching tomorrow.
I wanted a low stress day. So I planned for it.
Best. Plan. Ever.
Planning to stagger my deadlines and get things done early allowed me to take care of my life outside of work. Because I didn't have to stay late to finish all those things, I got to eat a healthy, homemade dinner within the time frame my body needs to eat each day.
And because I ate a healthy homemade dinner within my eating window, I will sleep well tonight.
And because I got home to eat in my time frame, I was able to go to my dance lesson.
And because my school work is done, my dinner eaten in my eating window, and my dance lesson attended, I will sleep well tonight, well rested and ready for a very full day to wrap up the third quarter.
All thanks to good planning.
If I can do this with my school work and eating habits, I should do this with my finances....
A few weeks ago I joined "diet bet" and bet on myself, that I could lose 4% in 4 weeks. The first week I gained 4 pounds . The second week I lost 2 pounds. I need to lose about 9 pounds to win my bet, otherwise I forfeit my buy in and someone else gets my money.
I intend to try as hard as I can to win. It won't be easy, but I'm gonna give it my best effort. I contacted my trainer friend in Salt Lake City to ask for his help. He said I need to do exactly what he says and eat a specific number of calories a day with the macro balance that we decided works best for me. If I don't do that, he can't help me.
I'm not gonna lie. It's intimidating. I know it's gonna be hard. Really hard. But even if I don't hit the diet bet scale number, I'll have a victory because I tried. And because I started making myself, my health, a priority again.
This week, I intend to:
- eat exactly as planned, key word PLANNED. I made the plan yesterday and I'm sticking to it for two weeks.
- exercise as planned: 2 weight workouts, 2 HIIT workouts on the elliptical, yoga every day before work, and long low intensity elliptical sessions on the non weight/non HIIT days.
- stick to my 8:30 wind down time on school nights (which I'm already breaking tonight. I'm gonna do better tomorrow!)
- drink 60-80 ounces of water a day
- finish strong on the last week of my Bible study
This week, I'm primarily focusing on caring for my physical healthy. Phew! It's gonna be a fight, but I've got it in me!
I've decided to set intentions each week that will help me have freedom, life, and abundance.
This week, I intend:
* to not do any "work" work on Sunday, but instead to read or knit or color.
* to go for at least a 20 minutes walk every day after work to clear my head, get fresh air, and get my daily steps.
* to begin each work day with yoga.
* to pack my lunch each day and eat dinner at home.
* to spend no more than one hour each night on work brought home.
* to go to the fitness center twice.
* to write in my journal at least three times.
* to meditate at least twice.
* to input spending on my budget tracker twice this week.
I read a Facebook friend's post about how she made a plan, focused on her goals, and in 2 weeks took off 5 pounds.
I need a plan.
I've put on 7 pounds since I started seeing my boyfriend a month ago. I'm still a healthy weight. He still thinks I am beautiful. But I don't feel comfortable in my own skin. I don't like the way my gut has been feeling or acting the last several weeks (gas, bloating, bowl problems - yuck). So I need a plan. A plan that says to my body that I love me and will care for myself with loving, not harsh, limits.
For the next two weeks I will: Step One: Say good night to my dear boyfriend and start getting ready for bed by 9 pm on school nights. Good sleep (and enough sleep) affects not only my mood buy also my gut. *Except for Thursday night volleyball, but that will still have a reasonable bed-time, because activity and social time are important, too. Step Two: Not drink caffeine or soft drinks (caffeine-free or otherwise). They just aren't good for me. Step Three: Not consume processed sugars. Sugar creates gas. Gas creates discomfort in my body. Enough said. Step Four: Only eat what is planned, therefore I must meal plan! Weekends will be spent planning meals, shopping, and preparing food. Step Five: Make physical activity a priority again during the week by going to the gym once or twice on the weekend, and two times during the week.
Now, I need to create a physical recording system (not just electronic) because I like physically seeing this in front of me. Time to make an incentive chart for myself! What kind of cute stickers should I give myself....?
Two years ago I began this journey to better health, not knowing that I would have a blog with followers and be inspiring others. I began this journey so that they way I felt on the inside would be reflected on the outside. I began this journey to get back the person I wanted to be but had lost. I began this journey because I knew I needed to change so that I wouldn't end up with the health problems of other, older members of my family; I wanted to choose a different path.
So one night while I was dog-sitting, after getting back from a walk with Rudy and Casey, I was thinking about how easy it was to fit a little walk into my day. And I wondered why I didn't do that more often since it was so simple. Like a snowball rolling down the hill collects moment and mass, my idea transformed as I grabbed a piece of scratch paper and started a timeline.
I knew I needed to lose close to 100 pounds. I thought about 5 pounds a month sounded like a reasonable weight loss goal, so I believed I could reach my goal by the same time the next year. I drew out a timeline and marked out my end goal, and all the months between now and then. I started adding in my weight loss goals along the timeline.
But I knew I would need to do more than just want to lose the weight, I needed a plan for how to get there. And I also needed to improve some other areas of my life- flexibility and strength (because muscle helps burn fat and toning and firming will help my shape. Little by little I thought about small changes I could make to the way I ate and my physical activity each day. I had done Weight Watchers off and on since high school, taken sports medicine classes, and worked with a personal trainer in the past, so a lot of the basics I already knew - I just had to apply them.
December 2014
And so my journey began. Eating better breakfasts in January. Adding more fresh fruits and vegetables in the spring and summer. Trying new soup and stew recipes in the winter. Stretching. Yoga videos for some stretching. Wall push-ups. Then increasing the angle of the wall push-ups. Then moving to floor push-ups on my knees. Walking longer. Walking faster. Walking hillier routes. Every month I tweaked everything a little.
And the weight started to come off. I started to feel more vibrant and alive. I started to feel more my age, younger even. My shape was changing and I felt great.
When I moved to Salt Lake City a year and a half ago, the apartment complex had a fitness center I could start using. Before everything had been walking outside and body weight or 2# dumbbells. Now I could increase the weights because the fitness center had variety, and I could walk on the treadmill or use the elliptical machine. And my shape kept changing and my fitness continued to improve. I met my weight loss goal, but more importantly, I improved my quality of life because I could now do again the things I loved- chase my niece and nephew around the yard playing football at Thanksgiving, wear age-appropriate clothes that flattered my figure, and come out of my shell and get involved in my community again.
Merry Christmas and Happy 2nd Anniversary! December 2015
This past summer, I joined a "real" gym so I could attend classes like yoga and kickboxing. And, because I had become a runner, run on a treadmill in the summer heat and winter cold. I don't like to run in extreme temperatures - yuck! I completed my first ever 5k race in July, and then two more later this summer. Setting my sights a little loftier, I completed 10k training, but haven't done a race yet (the running outside in extreme temperatures thing), and am now moving on to half-marathon training with the help of a personal trainer.
On vacation at my grandparent's house in Denver, it's too cold to run outside, so I'm back to my roots - walking outside. And a yoga video (per my trainer's instructions!). I feel vibrant, healthy, beautiful, and comfortable in my own skin. My body isn't perfect, but my body is pretty amazing. It's come so far on this journey and all the awful things I'd put it through in the past. I'm now taking better care of it and thanking it for carrying me this far. I need it for the next 60-70 years! Happy 2nd anniversary to me, the Urban Hiker Girl!
I have been way too busy lately. It has been one thing after another almost every night since early July. Many of the things happening late at night and then me getting up earlyish in the morning. Even earlier now that school has started.
And now life seems to be catching up with me and I am feeling overwhelmed. There are so many things in my own little private world that I have neglected and my busyness. There are relationships I have neglected. But most importantly I have neglected to listen to my body and take care of myself.
And as I get dressed this morning I feel tears welling up in my eyes because I'm sad at the way I've treated myself, the way I have treated some of my friendships, and the way I have treated things in my life. Some of these things I wish I could go back and undo but I know that I cant.
Life just needs to slow down. Starting today. What I can do to take care of myself is to spend the evening doing things for me. Things like going to the gym, eating a healthy dinner, grading papers so they aren't looming in my mind as something I need to do. I also need to knit; I have so many baby blanket that I want to make for people having babies. I need to clean and do laundry. I need to take care of myself and my space.
I need a plan. And then I need supporters. I need prayer warriors who will be on my side I need friends who will be there to listen, to offer a shoulder to cry on if needed, to celebrate with me when needed, and sometimes to just sit quietly with me.
All these things have thrown my body out of whack. I've been staying up late so I've been eating late in the evening which has been causing me some tummy troubles. I've not been getting enough sleep which is causing my body to feel tired. The tiredness and the things I've been busy doing have been putting a lot of stress on my body and my body just isn't functioning at its best. I feel stress in my body semicolon my knees hurt, my back hurts, I've been getting headaches, and I've got knots in my shoulders.
I need to slow down and take better care of my body again. If I don't slow down and listen to my body I know I could end up where I was a couple of years ago and I never want to go back to that. But my weight has been bouncing up and down mostly up for the last several weeks and I don't like that. I know what I need to do to take care of my body but I've been too busy to listen to it.
I need to slow down. I've lost some of myself in my busyness and I miss me. I need to get back to taking care of myself and doing things that are good for me and that I'm truly passionate about. I need to spend more time with true friends who are uplifting and encouraging and godly.
In December of 2013 I sat down and wrote a year-long plan changed my life forever. I think it's time for September 2015 to be the time to write the plan that will change my life again.
I was chatting with a friend yesterday who said they were hoping to get their body back; the body they had when they were 19 years old (10 years ago). What I told them is some of the things I learned to tell myself along my journey. I hope that you find these words helpful and encouraging.
1. What's your goal and is your goal realistic?
Can you really get back the body you had 10 years ago (or however long ago)? For me, the goal wasn't a size but a feeling. Actually, several feelings. Feelings of confidence, comfort (in my own skin), sexiness. I wanted to be able to run and play with my niece and nephew and students. Those goals I reached a long time before I reached a weight/size goal. Don't expect a quick fix plan (like shakes, wraps, or diet pills, etc.) to be sustainable. Find what works for your life- your REAL life.
2. How are you going to get there?
I had to stop HOPING that things would change, so I sat down and made a year-long plan. I mapped out where I wanted to be a year later, then broke down into smaller increments quarterly, then monthly of where I wanted to be. Then I made a plan for small changes to make each month to my activity level and eating. Making small changes over time has made it reasonable and helped me stick with it.
3. Don't expect perfection, just improvement.
You aren't perfect, allow yourself forgiveness for mistakes in the past and the future. I had to tell myself this all the time. There will be plateaus. It's a good time to take stock of what's worked and where you are. Give your body a break if you've been working really hard. The body needs time to recover.
4. Don't forget to celebrate the small milestones along the way.
Every time I could tighten my belt another notch or had to buy new pants, I celebrated. I wasn't at my goal, but I was not where I had been. Now I can't even wear that belt, it's too big and there's not enough notches.
5. Don't forget your body needs rest to recover.
This kind of goes along with #3 about plateaus being a time to recover. Lifting weights and building muscle begins by tearing the muscle. It's the rebuilding of the muscle that causes it to grow. In order to rebuild and grow the muscle needs rest. Alternate body parts on weight lifting days and give yourself one or two days completely off each week. (*NOTE: I'm not an expert, but this is part of every expert's advice that I've ever heard or read. Always talk to your doctor or medical professional for what will be right for you.)
6. Mix it up.
Don't keep doing the same workout (cardio, weights) every day. Mix up your workouts just like you'll mix up your food. Don't eat the same meals every day for weeks, months on end. I mix up my weight training every month with a new routine. I added time to my cardio (walking) over several months. When I reached the 1 hour mark, I tried to increase my speed so I could go a greater distance in the same amount of time. Now I'm working on training for running a 5k with the "Couch to 5k" app.
You get what you pay for, but that's my two cents for those hoping to make a change. Don't just HOPE that it will happen- MAKE it happen.
For the Fourth of July weekend I was asked to dog-sit some of my favorite pets- the dogs that started it all, Casey and Rudy. It was back in December of 2013 that I walked those boys every day for a mile or so and I thought to myself "I feel good doing all this walking," AND "I want to eat better, fuel my body with better food, because walking makes me feel better." So, one night after getting back from our daily constitutional, I sat down and started working on my plan. And so it began....
The family had lost to cancer the cat they had and so on July 1, I went to meet the new cat, Diego. Casey eagerly greeted me at the door, but Rudy was not in sight, "Perhaps he's in the backyard," I thought to myself. Sadly, I discovered on inquiry, that Rudy's cancer had come back, and that combined with his incontinence that came with old age, caused them to choose to put him down in early June.
Snuggling with Diego and Casey.
I felt a moment of sadness for the loss. Rudy was a big old Husky whose tail was always wagging and he always looked like he was smiling. But, he was always having accidents and never seemed to be able to settle down comfortably. Poor old Rudy; I'll miss him.
But, Casey was still there and very, very happy to see me. And Diego was just a cute little fur ball, full of the energy of a 2 year old kitten. And for four days I got to walk with at least one of the dogs that helped get me started on this journey. I'm gonna miss "my" animals. (Anyone in Sandy, UT need a dog-sitter?)
