tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70786056135132534992024-03-13T09:09:47.401-05:00My Run at HealthA(nother) year of the Precision Nutrition Coaching programLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-20027402898226573172015-03-22T18:15:00.002-05:002015-03-22T18:15:42.784-05:00Relocation!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've got a new home ... come and find me at <a href="http://www.letgoandlive.me/">http://www.letgoandlive.me</a>!</span><br />
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-72250508992136578742015-03-15T18:18:00.000-05:002015-03-15T18:28:13.776-05:00Just my 'magination<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /><br />What if the only thing limiting our future was our ability to imagine it?<br /><br />In a TED talk, Daniel Goldstein quotes philosopher Derek Parfit: "<i>We might neglect our future selves because of some failure of belief or imagination." </i>Think about that: we might be mistreating the yet-to-be version of ourselves merely because we suck at being able to imagine ourselves there in that future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Goldstein, a behavioral economist, used the quote to illustrate why people often don't save enough money for retirement -- they can't fathom themselves becoming old and so putting a dollar away today to support themselves when they're old seems ludicrous -- but can't this be applied to any decision that puts us on a path either to the person we want to be or some other alternate universe that we're not as thrilled about?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />When I'm trying to use willpower to put the cookie down, I often say to myself something along the lines of "Don't let short term pleasures override long term goals". The problem is, of course, that the short term pleasure, is, well, here. Right now. And usually quite yummy. And the long term goal? Well, it's oh so far away. My imagination is quite challenged to see how not eating the cookie today will cause me to be svelte and sexy in a year.<br /><br />And that lean and fit future me? I have faith that I'll get there, but instead of being a wholehearted, can totally see it in my mind's eye kind of belief, it's more of the "sure it'll happen but I have no idea how" kind of belief (that allows me to eat the cookie because there doesn't seem to be a straight line between it and my future).<br /><br /><b>So, what if it really is just a matter of imagination?</b><br /><br />What if I spent time envisioning the future me? I mean, really picturing myself, drawing up a complete story of what I'll feel like, what I'll be doing, how I'll look. Down to such details as what my daily eating habits are and how many times a week I'll be outside running and even what cute shoes I'll have treated myself to. Will this help? Will spending, say, 10 minutes a day playing this movie in my mind make a difference?<br /><br />To be honest, it feels a bit woo-woo to me. <b>A little hokey, even.</b><br /><br />But then, can you think of something you wanted so bad you could almost taste it? Something that you would have sacrificed anything to get? I certainly do -- 4 years ago, I decided that I wanted to place in the top 3 in my age group in the local duathlon. I knew I needed to do some hard run and bike training, and I also had to drop a little weight. But my desire to get there was visceral; I could feel it in my bones. And you know what? I worked my butt off (almost literally) to get there. I ate well. I trained hard. I didn't let many short term pleasures get in the way of my goal. There were days when I wanted nothing more than to go back to bed rather than getting up and working out, but I dragged myself out of bed anyway. I couldn't let down my future self. And damn if that didn't feel awesome.<br /><br /><b>That's the feeling to bottle.</b><br /><br />At the time, I didn't really think of it in terms of working today for my future self, but that's exactly what it was. I could totally see myself on the course and picture what I would look like, how I would feel and exactly how I was going to race on that day. I knew what I had to do those days in February and March to feed the person I was going to be on that day in late June. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So today starts my experiment in envisioning my future self: I'm going to spend time meditating on becoming the me I want to be. I'm going to paint a vivid picture in my head of what I'm going to look like, the things I'm going to be doing and even the day-to-day routine that I'm going to follow. For this to work, that vision will have to be as real as something I can touch and hold, turning it around in my hands and seeing it from all sides. So real that my whole being will vibrate in harmony with it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Can this work? I guess I'll just have to wait and ask my future self.</span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-70151000855408961502015-02-28T15:51:00.000-06:002015-02-28T15:51:51.980-06:00Anatomy of a 5-mile run<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /><br /><b>.02 miles:</b> Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not exactly what I'm thinking at any mileage...</td></tr>
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<br /><br /><b>.05 miles:</b> Must. Walk.<br /><br /><b>.15 miles:</b> Okay, back at it... easy, easy...<br /><br /><b>.76 miles:</b> This might not be so bad.<br /><br /><b>.83 miles:</b> "Not so bad" ... What was I thinking?!<br /><br /><b>1.00 miles:</b> Walk break! Woot!<br /><br /><b>1.32 miles:</b> What percentage of done am I? Let's see, 2.5 miles would be halfway, so 1.25 would be a quarter of the way through, so 1.32 ... hmmm... okay, 1.33... 1.34... well, let's just swag it at about 30% done. Almost done!</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>1.37 miles:</b> Okay, no. 30% isn't even close to almost done.<br /><br /><b>2.00 miles:</b> Walk break. Thank god.<br /><br /><b>2.10 miles:</b> Get going, get going, get going... <br /><br /><b>2.11 miles:</b> Okay, for reals now. Get going.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>2.12 miles:</b> FOR REALS, body. MOVE.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /><b>2.50 miles:</b> HALFWAY! Now I'm *really* almost done.<br /><br /><b>2.64 miles:</b> Dang. This wasn't over as soon as I thought it would be...<br /><br /><b>3.00 miles: </b> Walk break, water break, change from podcast to music break, pep talk break, mop off sweat break, aren't I done yet self-talk break and then I'm all out of time as the treadmill clicks to 3.10 miles.<br /><br /><b>3.10 miles: </b> Run! Run! Run! Maybe if I sound excited, my body will feel that way too?<br /><br /><b>3.82 miles:</b> What the hell was I thinking, getting on the treadmill and loading up this workout? Huh? Stupid, stupid, stupid. Remind me never to do this again.<br /><br /><b>4.00 miles:</b> Four miles would be just as good as five, right? This is a nice, round number, perfectly respectable and more than most people in the world are running right now. It would be a good time to quit, wouldn't it?<br /><br /><b>4.01 miles:</b> Damn. Thought too long, now I've got to keep going to five miles.<br /><br /><b>4.10 miles:</b> Okay feet, don't fail me now. Time for the last bit of running. You can do it, you can do anything for 10 minutes, right? No troubles, no worries, just one foot in front of the other...<br /><br /><b>4.36 miles:</b> Isn't it at 5 miles yet?<br /><br /><b>4.39 miles:</b> Not yet?<br /><br /><b>4.42 miles:</b> Still not. Sigh.<br /><br /><b>4.50 miles:</b> Halfway through the last mile. The math was too easy, I should do this again at 4.57 miles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>4.57 miles: </b> <incapable of math><br /><br /><b>4.62 miles:</b> Sweat in my eyes! Oh my god, the pain!! I'm blinded!<br /><br /><b>4.71 miles:</b> The faster I run, the faster I'm done...<br /><br /><b>4.77 miles:</b> Okay, slow down, can't go that fast...<br /><br /><b>4.87 miles:</b> Closer, closer, closer...<br /><br /><b>4.92 miles:</b> Done yet?<br /><br /><b>4.93 miles:</b> Is the treadmill broken? I should be done by now.<br /><br /><b>4.94 miles:</b> What the hell...<br /><br /><b>4.95 miles:</b> It's gotta be broken...<br /><br /><b>4.96 miles: </b> Less than 30 seconds. Don't wimp out now!<br /><br /><b>4.97 miles:</b> *%&$*#(@<br /><br /><b>4.98 miles: </b> Must. Not. Trip.<br /><br /><b>4.99 miles:</b> Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.<br /><br /><b>5.00 miles:</b> I did it. Made it. Accomplished my goal. Sure, I'm a sweat-soaked mess but at least I can lay claim to a job well done. Or, at least, a job done. No trips or spills or falls. No tears, no blood, no major injuries. I can only hope my next run is as totally awesome as this one. Can't wait!</span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-63407833960731133982015-02-14T15:14:00.000-06:002015-02-14T15:14:31.733-06:00What I'm listening to (#1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />To say that I love podcasts is a monumental understatement. I not only love them, but I revel in them, eagerly looking forward to time driving in my car and even staying on the treadmill longer than my prescribed workout time to finish out a particularly mesmerizing episode. I know! It's like magic, right?<br /><br />And since I'm completely infatuated, I thought I'd share a few of the podcasts that I'm lovin' on right now:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/129472378/pop-culture-happy-hour/" target="_blank">Pop Culture Happy Hour</a> This is a fairly new find for me and I've totally fallen in love with it. It's snarky, witty and insightful conversations on all things pop culture, from movies to music to TV shows. And not recaps, but opinions, discussion of themes and explanations of subtleties that, frankly, I'd never even recognize if it weren't for them. This podcast makes me feel hip and with it, which is no easy feat when you're talking about a 44 year old who mostly watches sports on TV and listens to news on the radio. They always end the podcast with a segment called "What's making us happy" and my own resounding answer to that is the whole PCHH team. THEY make me happy.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/127413729/podcast/" target="_blank">Planet Money</a> This podcast is all about making boring economic and financial stuff incredibly fascinating. The team does a great job at taking current and historical events and weaving a story around them so the events and forces behind them are not only understandable, but relatable. They manage to take these complex, overarching economic theories and find people who are actually living them and tell their stories. Just recently I learned all about the Gold Standard and I really enjoyed it -- seems impossible, yet, it's totally true.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510184/intelligence-squared-u-s-debates" target="_blank">Intelligence Squared</a> An Oxford-style debate, this podcast makes me feel all smart and brainy just by listening to it. Hell, I feel smart just having it in my playlist. Two teams, one for the motion and one against with three segments: opening statements, questions, and then closing statements. It's recorded in front of a live audience and before the debate, the audience votes pro/con/undecided. After the debate the audience is polled again, and the side that has the biggest percentage gain wins. The panels they have are smart, informed experts, passionate about the side they are trying to prove. One of the last topics I listened to was "Amazon: the readers friend" and they went back and forth as to whether Amazon was a evil behemoth or not -- really, very informative. </span><div>
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<a href="http://www.wbur.org/series/dear-sugar" target="_blank">Dear Sugar</a> Anyone who used to read Cheryl Strayed as <a href="http://therumpus.net/sections/dear-sugar/" target="_blank">Dear Sugar on TheRumpus.net</a> will be thrilled to know that she's back, but in a podcast rather than written form. If you have never read Strayed as Dear Sugar, do yourself a favor and bury yourself in her archives online -- you won't be disappointed. Strayed brings such warmth, vulnerability and empathy to her advice that it seems to touch your very soul. She makes me feel all the feelings, if you know what I mean. The podcast -- she's also joined by Steve Almond, the Dear Sugar who preceded her -- has a different sort of feel to it than her writing, but she still has the ability to cut through all the crap to get to the heart of the issue.<br /><br />So, what's everyone else listening to these days</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-22304187959767188682015-02-08T09:49:00.000-06:002015-02-08T09:49:34.271-06:00Water on the brain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm in my basement, an overwhelming musty smell making me crinkle my nose. Arms and head hanging, I inspect the puddles of water that are slowly creeping from one wall out across the floor. As you would expect, water in a basement -- except, perhaps, for those rich enough to have a pool or hot tub down there -- is not a good thing. In fact, it kind of ruins my day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I march myself back upstairs and gather up an armload of old towels (the upside to having two dogs? There is no shortage of towels around the house...) and head back down to sop up the water that's already there and put up a barrier against the water that continues to drip in. See, a week ago we had the 5th biggest snowfall in Chicago history. And today? The temperature is nearing 40 degrees and the ice dams in my poor gutters are drip drip dripping down the house and magically seeping through to my basement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After reining in the puddles, I go back outside and look at all the ice that's formed in my gutters, on my roof, attached to my downspout and even simply frozen directly to the side of the brick wall. This is certainly not what I wanted to be dealing with this weekend. Curses! I wanted to enjoy the unseasonably warm temperatures rather than shaking my fist at their consequences.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's still so hard to figure, though -- we also get torrential rain storms during the summer and does the rain get into the basement? Nope -- dry as a bone. This water is just dribbling down the wall, looking a whole lot like the coming of Spring (it isn't, by the way, just wishful thinking on my part) but it's persistence does what the torrential rain storm cannot: seep through my foundation and end up pooling around my workout equipment (hey! <a href="http://runathealth.blogspot.com/2015/01/25-perfectly-acceptable-reasons-not-to.html">reason #26 not to workout</a>!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, yea, this kind of sucks, but maybe I should look on the bright side, right? What's the moral of this story? That slow, steady movement can really go a long way in breaking through barriers, even brick walls. Where raging strength fails, persistence can succeed. There's a life lesson for you. And now? The only ice I'm going to deal with are the three cubes clinking around in my glass, helping to end the day better than it started.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-91682036222751470802015-01-31T16:01:00.000-06:002015-01-31T16:01:37.453-06:0025 Perfectly Acceptable Reasons Not To Workout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I coughed so I must be getting sick and should rest.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s too cold out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s too warm out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The dogs will give me a guilt trip for not playing with them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don’t have any clean workout clothes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I just did laundry and I don’t want to dirty anything right away.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did I hear donuts calling my name?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don’ wanna (said in my best, whiny, toddler voice)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My horoscope said that it might be dangerous to lift anything heavy today.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But there’s a marathon of Law and Order on TV! I'm sure that’ll never happen again!</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My blog isn’t going to write itself.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’ve just gained the trust of my bed and hate to endanger that trust by leaving.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The sun will make me squint too much and give me wrinkles.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Right after I clear the next few levels of Candy Crush….</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s such a good hair day that I hate to ruin it by sweating.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It just seems like so much…. work.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There’s no one else home and I’m afraid that I might accidentally get pinned down by a barbell.</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My chakras would revolt.</span></span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm trying to conserve energy in the event of a zombie attack.</span></span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've got a very important appointment with my couch that I must keep.</span></span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Girl Scout cookies are in season again and I'd hate to be rude and not answer the door when they come calling.</span></span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've fallen and I can't get up!</span></span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I need to immediately start working on my new year's resolution to get more sleep.</span></span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm testing out the theory that a watched pot never boils.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, for every 25 reasons for not working out, there's always one good one in support of getting your sweat on: that feeling of accomplishment and badass-ness you get from taking on the world and coming out victorious. And that trumps those 25 excuses any day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What's your favorite perfectly acceptable reason for not working out?</span></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-14694976373763287132015-01-25T14:51:00.000-06:002015-01-25T14:51:47.663-06:00Lessons from a Past Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u7AjKElzCWs/VMVWOrDtWBI/AAAAAAAAIn8/8-UOfipZImc/s1600/6305660169_8a558283d0_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u7AjKElzCWs/VMVWOrDtWBI/AAAAAAAAIn8/8-UOfipZImc/s320/6305660169_8a558283d0_b.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />The merciless sun was beating down and sweat was pouring down my face. My feet were blocks of cement strapped to the stumps of my legs, and I wanted nothing more than to lay down on my back, smack dab in the middle of Michigan Avenue, hoping that I wouldn’t get run over. Instead, I just kept muttering an insipid Nike slogan to myself, “Don’t suck. Just do it.”.<br /><br />Of course, I assume that I wasn’t the only person out there feeling that way: after all, it was mile 23 of the Chicago Marathon. It was perfect spectating weather -- mid 70’s and sunny -- which meant that it was not exactly great marathon weather (the sunburn I’d have at day’s end would attest to that fact).<br /><br />But, let me start at the beginning. It was October 2011 and this was my fourth marathon, my third Chicago Marathon. After each marathon, I always swore that this would be the last. Really, the last one! Honest! But then, as the agony of the last marathon faded, it would be replaced by the angst of the unsettled score I had with the distance: the completion of a sub-4 hour marathon. And that's how I got to be in the middle of Michigan Avenue, ready to pass out, looking as if I were on a death march.<br /><br />Spoiler alert: I didn't go sub-4 hour. My finish time was 4:09:40, just a little bit over what I had wanted, but it didn't matter -- I was ecstatic. And the whole experience taught me lessons that I'd do well to keep in mind:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Training matters</b><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every day, there was something I had to do and I had to want it more than I wanted that cookie or to sleep in. And going against everything I thought I knew to be true about myself, I trained, trained hard and kept at it with a consistency that I didn't think I had in me. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No matter what anyone says, the hard goals in life require dogged preparation. </span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If it were easy, everyone would do it</b><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sure, there were 45,000 other runners around me, but still over 2.6 million people just in the city of Chicago that weren't doing it because they didn't</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> think they could. Hard goals separate you from the crowd.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>When the going gets tough, the tough just keep plodding along</b><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There were parts of the marathon that just flew by, like the early miles when my biggest worry was whether I was running too fast or if I should have Gatorade at this water stop or the next. And then there were the other 24 miles where just about every cell in my body wanted to quit, but even still there were those few rebel cells in my body that whispered, “Just a few more steps…” over and over. Just move forward -- that’s all that counts.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The finish line is the shizz</b><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I made the left turn onto Columbus Avenue and saw the finish line banner up ahead, waving in the breeze. I saw the time clock, sadly past 4 hours, but not yet hitting 4:10. I unearthed 45 seconds of what felt like sprinting (in reality, um, yea, not so much) and crossed the finish line, arms raised in triumph, hearing the announcer say my name. And with that, I fell to my knees, simultaneously laughing and sobbing, and was just so damn relieved that it was over (side note: there’s no better way to attract cute EMTs than to fall over after running a marathon).</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>There’s no better feeling than being proud of yourself and your effort</b><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After assuring the EMTs that I really was okay, I could feel the sense of accomplishment and fierce pride spread through me. I did it. I really, truly did it. Perhaps I hadn't hit my 4 hour goal, but I had trained as hard as I knew how and I didn't quit out on the course, not once. I knew that I had pushed as hard as was possible and that feeling, well, there’s just nothing like it.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />And that’s really the main takeaway from all this: I can do whatever I want and anything is possible. All it takes is commitment and consistency and the deep down desire to get it. I've done it before, I can do it again. Any goal is just a marathon in disguise.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CD3TwibW5h0/VMVWOgA7RlI/AAAAAAAAIoA/n6N_vDtDhu4/s1600/6673519565_6616ffbeb4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CD3TwibW5h0/VMVWOgA7RlI/AAAAAAAAIoA/n6N_vDtDhu4/s400/6673519565_6616ffbeb4_b.jpg" height="251" width="640" /></a></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-82988195986030227182015-01-01T11:23:00.000-06:002015-01-01T11:23:36.875-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt;" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;">2014 has come and gone in a flash -- isn't that always the way? Like Gretchen Rubin says, "The days are long but the years are short". So true.</span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt;" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;">2014 was a good year. Sure, there are definitely some goals that I didn't hit, but overall it's been a fun year. I feel like I'm settling more into being true to myself and overall I'm FAR less concerned about what people think of who that person is. I've taken a few awesome trips, discovered the joy of learning how to balance on a slackline and even started teaching myself a few things about web design -- a few of the many things accomplished during 2014 and only a fraction of things for which I am grateful.</span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt;" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;">And what's on the docket for 2015? You'll notice that anything weight/fitness related is conspicuously absent from the list -- it's easy enough to say that I want to lose weight and get into shape, but I'm still not positive what form that will take, so I've decided to just leave my options open. But, that's not going to stop me from making my annual list. I mean, what would January 1st be without <span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="line-height: 1.428571em;">resolutions?</span></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="line-height: 1.428571em; text-decoration: underline;"><strong style="line-height: 1.428571em;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt;" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;">2015: The Year of Growth</span></strong></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.428571em;">Meditate every day</strong> I know. I know! I’m a little afraid to commit this idea to (virtual) paper, but it’s now been 17 days that I’ve done it (going through the program at headspace.com) and I’m strangely enjoying it. I still don’t know exactly what benefit I’m getting out of the practice, but somewhere deep inside, I feel like this might be key to something important. If nothing else, it gives me a block of time to be mindful and relaxed and grateful.</span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.428571em;">Read 50 books</strong> Upping my last year’s goal by 150% and would like to split it about evenly between fiction and non-fiction. Along with this -- recording each book read on Goodreads. I really love to be able to see exactly what books I’ve read and what I thought of them.</span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.428571em;">Go through all classes on codecademy.com</strong> I just never make enough time for this but I really do want to learn these skills. This is one of those hobbies that once I start doing it, time just flies. There’s something about creating and coding that gives me a confidence and pleasure that I don’t get in many other places.</span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.428571em;">Keep journaling daily -- and read through the corresponding entry from a year ago</strong> This is a continuation from last year; definitely something worth doing.</span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.428571em;">Teach old dogs new tricks </strong>Gotta keep the dogs stimulated and mentally sharp, Clarke especially. Belle gets a fair amount of physical exercise (we play fetch where I stand on the main floor of the house and throw the ball up to the 2nd floor loft), but Clarke is a lazy butt (and also seems to spend a lot of time all gimped up) and so learning new tricks is a great way to tire him out and keep him learning new stuff.</span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.428571em;">Digitize my life as much as possible</strong> Bills, photos, any type of paperwork -- it's all about getting organized and removing clutter. And can't forget to also implement a backup scheme!</span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.428571em;">Complete the 30 Days of Writing online </strong>Sarah Peck is starting a <a data-mce-href="http://onemonth.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0906b75c0e799fc3ea1dbf935&id=97c4817be7&e=3108efc382" data-mce-style="color: #0000ee;" href="http://onemonth.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0906b75c0e799fc3ea1dbf935&id=97c4817be7&e=3108efc382" style="border: 0px; color: #0000ee; line-height: 1.428571em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black; line-height: 1.428571em;">One Month of Writing Prompts</span></a> -- 750 words a day for a month -- and I’m all signed up. It’s free and I’m hoping that it gets me back into the habit of writing every day. I avoid writing sometimes just because it’s hard … but I know (full well) that the more often I do it, the easier it becomes. Funny how so many things in life are like this.</span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.428571em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.428571em;">Focus on self-care -- whole foods, good sleep, good sweat and practicing gratitude on a daily basis </strong>I need to give more importance to my physical and emotional well-being. If I can’t keep my eyes open, if I’m not getting fresh food and I’m not paying attention to the moments that happen every day to be thankful for, then I’m not being kind to the most important person in my life.</span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-91528278223897583342014-12-06T17:29:00.000-06:002014-12-06T17:29:31.608-06:00On. Off. Black. White. Binge. Restrict.<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Still here. I've started at least half a dozen posts and just haven't finished them, my creative writing spark nowhere to be found. And I spent the last day or so writing something absolutely profound, and after installing some updates and rebooting, POOF! it's gone. I thought I had saved... apparently not. The Blogging gods are angry tonight.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.beutifulmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/the-endless-binge-restrict-cycle-infographic-by-body-love-wellness-light-background.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.beutifulmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/the-endless-binge-restrict-cycle-infographic-by-body-love-wellness-light-background.jpg" height="304" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway - let's talk about binge and restrict cycles, okay? This has been at the forefront of my brain for awhile now, mostly because I'm definitely in the binge part of the cycle and instead of just looking to get back to restricting, I want to figure out a way to break the cycle completely. Move the behaviors to the middle, avoiding the extremes of either the binge or restrict, because while I love roller coasters, I'm not so fond of my nutrition taking the same kind of ride.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">An interesting side note: my binge/restrict is not only about my eating, it's also my spending habits. More interestingly, spending almost always ebbs and flows along with my eating; it's rare when I'm being nutritionally sound but spending money on all the things on my I WANT IT NOW list. So it's been like an early Christmas around here -- food, treats and gifts galore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Back to food. There's a theory out there simply called Eat The Food (ETF) that posits that a lot of disordered eating starts after undergoing dieting of some sort -- that by cutting out some foods completely from your diet you set yourself up for a binge at some later point. The way to break this cycle is to go through a period where you eat anything you want, whenever you want. They advocate listening to your body and only eating when hungry and only eating until satisfaction (not overeating), but that if you want, say, Pop-Tarts for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, that's what you should eat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The end game is changing the way you think about food -- you take the stigma and draw away from eating once-forbidden foods. Foods are no longer classified as "good" or "bad" -- it's all just calories, no judgment involved. Perhaps veggies and lean meat provide more energy, but that doesn't mean you can't be fueled by chocolate. Eventually you learn what makes you feel good and perform your best and because nothing is off the table (see what I did there?), there's no reason to binge anymore. You can have anything you want to eat at anytime -- no need to eat like it's the last time you'll ever see that particular food again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'll say this much: after a few months of "being good" and eating clean (see how the restrict cycle gets a "good" judgment attached to it?), I'm on the other side of that spectrum right now, eating all sorts of crap (another judgment) without any sort of restraint. And I'll be honest -- I feel like I'm about done with this binge, but I need to figure out some way to not go into a full-on restrict phase because a binge will likely follow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And I'm not entirely sure how to do this. In the past it's always been that if I eat one I'll eat 20 -- it's not enough until it's gone. I've talked about this before, but I really need to figure out the middle ground -- that's got to be the key to a normal relationship with food. I want to be able to have all the tasty stuff I love in the house without being worried about it disappearing shortly after being shelved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It all comes back to my old friend: mindfulness. If I can manage to just listen to my body, distinguish real hunger pangs from the desire to eat for some other reason, I can break the cycle. So simple. Not so easy. My body knows what it needs to thrive, it's just a matter of paying attention and feeding it when hungry and stopping when it's satisfied. Mindfulness. Yup.</span><br />
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-88124708070263512142014-10-20T19:40:00.001-05:002014-10-21T08:56:27.560-05:00Fallin'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://whygo-amr.s3.amazonaws.com/www.chicagologue.com/files/2010/10/fall1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://whygo-amr.s3.amazonaws.com/www.chicagologue.com/files/2010/10/fall1.jpg" height="320" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been sucked in by Autumn. It's true. The season is an absolute vortex, you know it too, don't you (luckily not of the polar variety that we had last winter...)?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On one hand, I love fall; the colors, the crisp air, the rustling of leaves (that I no longer have to rake!) and all things pumpkin-flavored make it one of my favorite season. But I have to admit -- there's a looming melancholy that accompanies it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Like a lot of folks, I don't deal all that well with the decreasing amount of sunlight (especially these past few weeks, where rain and cloudy skies have been the norm) and find myself losing motivation. And more than that -- while I hesitate to call it <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/basics/definition/con-20021047" target="_blank">Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)</a>, it definitely messes with my mood. It isn't too too well known, but depression is present in my family tree and it has hit me as well. I've dealt with it -- therapy and meds -- and am doing really well, but this time of year always makes me rethink my state of mind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Part of it is simply a strong desire to take stock of where I'm at and where I need to go. A slowing down of activity and, in some ways, the moment for a fresh start as well. It's like it's time to simplify my life and slip into hibernation mode with a clean slate. Does that make any sense? I'm not even sure it makes sense to me, either. I want to grab hold of the last of the nice weather and make the most of our time together, but then I want to be ready for all the comforts of winter: good books to read, sleepy dogs to snuggle with and hot drinks to sip and warm my hands with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I will say that I'm managing better than usual. More than anything, I've got a mindfulness about myself that's been invaluable. I don't have all the answers, but I'm absolutely certain of some facts: sweat removes more than salt from my body. Nutritious, healthy food nurtures my soul. Music, books and downtime heal and soothe my spirit. And as much as hibernation is oh so necessary for my mental health, I also need to nourish my social side so it survives intact until Spring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so, I keep on keepin' on. It's more of a challenge, but I'm doing it and will continue to fight the good fight (cliché much?). Practicing simplicity in as many parts of my life as possible: sleep, wake up, breathe, be grateful for the breathing, be productive, train hard, eat whole foods, relax and rest. It's that easy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-45250717037565567902014-10-02T18:18:00.001-05:002014-10-02T18:18:34.164-05:00Down the stretch<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's the last quarter of 2014 -- hard to believe, isn't it? October always seems to spring up on me like it was waiting around a corner to pounce when I wasn't looking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, remember all those months back? At the beginning of the year? You know, when the Midwest was in the middle of The Never-Ending Winter? I made a bunch of resolutions and I think it might be time to check in on them -- see what work I need to fit in during the last 3 months of the year so I feel all successful and everything. So, here goes nothing:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A three-quarters-of-the-way-there review of my 2014 goals ... </span><br />
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<ul><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
<li><b>Focus on the last 6 months of Lean Eating.</b> Well, round two of Lean Eating is going reasonably well, though I need to buckle down and really follow the habits. Just like last time, once the habits became food-related (5 servings of vegetables, lean protein with every meal, etc) I kind of fall off the wagon because it's inconvenient to eat that way. Of course, the point of this program is to not only make good food convenient, but do it in such a way that it's somehow even more convenient than shoving a Poptart down my throat.</li>
<li><b>Start posting on my blog daily again.</b> Um, yea. This hasn't happened (obviously!), but at least I'm posting here sporadically. Right?</li>
<li><b>Attend at least two Lean Eating Google Hangouts a month.</b> I'm participating more than last time, but I've also tapered off a bit and need to throw myself back into the game.</li>
<li><b>Schedule at least one call with Coach <strike>Veronica</strike> Jen. </b>I've been emailing Coach Jen about every other week or so. I probably need to up that to once a week, though, and really start asking for help.</li>
<li><b>Read 20 books.</b> Done! 56 books read so far this year! And, I'm proud to say that I've also been reading a fair amount of non-fiction, too, which has been a good thing. I think I feel smarter. Do I sound smarter?</li>
<li><b>Do more dog training.</b> This is ongoing and the dogs, after a rough patch, are doing well again. Next in line is training Belle that Clarke is allowed anywhere in the house, even if she considers it "her spot". Because, really, all the spots are MINE, right? I'm in charge, right? Until she starts working and bringing in money, she doesn't own anything (someone just needs to convince her of this fact...).</li>
<li><b>Journal, follow progress of goals and write just a little about each day.</b> Still at this, though not on a daily basis.</li>
<li><b>5k steps on weekdays, 10k steps on weekend. </b>Over the summer I started walking a whole lot as a precursor to starting running again and that's really improved my step count. Most weeks I'll hit the 55k mark, which makes me happy.</li>
<li><b>TV can go on no earlier than 6pm on weekdays.</b> I don't really pay attention to this much anymore, but I'm doing better at not watching as much TV on the whole, though. Without full-blown cable service anymore, I don't have many mindless go-to shows/sports to put on.</li>
<li><b>Do a month of not falling asleep to the TV as an experiment.</b> Yea, I tried this a few times and while it isn't awful to not have the TV on, I find that I seem to fall asleep faster when compared to listening to music or having nothing on.</li>
<li><b>More music!</b> Need to get back to this, but am finding it more difficult to find the time. In the car I'm usually listening to a book and when I run I've been listening to podcasts. I do blast the music when I'm strength training, though, and I've also been putting the headphones in at work sometimes as well. All's not lost!</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-maDyMcwekNE/VC3cuhmE_JI/AAAAAAAAH2Q/yHSN0517eTs/s1600/IMG_20130913_210216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-maDyMcwekNE/VC3cuhmE_JI/AAAAAAAAH2Q/yHSN0517eTs/s1600/IMG_20130913_210216.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Belle's many spots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, not too bad, actually. And for the rest of the year? More of the same, really. Keep on keepin' on.</div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-13701748219387264582014-09-14T18:59:00.000-05:002014-09-14T18:59:03.508-05:00This is starting to get ridiculous<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm beginning to have trouble keeping track of all my games and competitions and challenges...</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">GymPact which requires five 30-minute workouts a week</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">DietBet which requires that I lose 4% of my body weight by this coming Friday (spoiler alert: I think I'm about there!)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">PN Coaching (of course)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And now... another Whole Life Challenge</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whew.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Whole Life Challenge started this weekend and runs for 8 weeks, requiring me to not eat things I enjoy, like PopTarts and Diet Pepsi (which, let's face it, are like manna from heaven). Also - workouts, drinking water, stretching, and a new lifestyle habit every week (this week is no TV/computer/etc while eating). </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not bad timing for it, I suppose -- while things have been going well around these parts, I suppose a good nutritional kick in the butt won't hurt (too much).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been thinking about all these social media type challenges and interactions I've been signing up for -- it's comfortable for me because I don't have to actually, you know, meet and talk to people in person. I'm finding that the older I get, the less I like leaving the house. Don't worry -- I haven't yet gotten to the stage where I sit on my porch and yell at the kids to get off my lawn (give me another year or two... oh, and a lawn for kids to have to keep off of, I suppose).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But when I do leave the house? After a short while I'm ready to go back home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyone else like this? I find that even small groups of friends can wear me out; don't get me wrong -- I love my friends and love hanging out with them, but after a few hours, I just need to leave and not have to talk to anyone at all. It's better one-on-one, also better if there's activity that doesn't require conversation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm an introvert of the highest order, for sure. Once I read the true definition of an introvert, I knew I had found a home. I read <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/20/introverts-signs-am-i-introverted_n_3721431.html" target="_blank">this article</a> and found myself emphatically shaking my head in affirmation: YES. Someone gets it (let's not mock that it's Huffington Post that gets me). Being social drains my energy; being alone recharges me.</span></div>
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<a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1306908/thumbs/o-LOST-IN-THOUGHT-570.jpg?5" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1306908/thumbs/o-LOST-IN-THOUGHT-570.jpg?5" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For a long time, this really bothered me. Why was I the only one wanting to go home when all my friends were ready to continue the party? It seemed to me that I was fundamentally broken somehow. But whether it's the recent media coverage of introverts, or hard-earned wisdom or just being too old to give a shit anymore, I now recognize that this is simply the way I am. Just because I want to stay home all weekend and read and exercise and snuggle with my dogs doesn't mean I'm no fun. It just means that I find different things fun. And that's okay (no one but me has to like it). And now that I know how to take care of myself, it's much easier planning outings. I don't want to be a hermit (well, not most days, at least), just want my social events in small doses is all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway. That was quite a tangent, eh? So - let's run some numbers, just for kicks. Since the beginning of PN (this time around), I'm down 5 pounds and about 4 inches. I've missed only one workout and have fit in more than I was supposed to on a few of the weeks. I'm in a good groove and I'm just trying to not do anything that might upset the ol' apple cart. As easily as this groove has come is as easily as it will go. That sounds like a great title for a song, doesn't it? You can have it. You're welcome.</span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-41545128238701985662014-09-07T18:48:00.000-05:002014-09-07T18:49:09.082-05:00Blister in the sun<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-THH5h8P57vw/VAzrCdtzDPI/AAAAAAAAHwI/ybJjqd0iALc/s1600/2014-09-07%2B17.56.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-THH5h8P57vw/VAzrCdtzDPI/AAAAAAAAHwI/ybJjqd0iALc/s1600/2014-09-07%2B17.56.52.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Clearly, someone smarter than me should have slapped<br />some sunscreen on my face yesterday...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hey there, internet! It's been the most gorgeous weekend here and I'm dreading having to get back to work tomorrow -- I'm guessing I'm not alone in feeling this way. I spent last week working from home because I was on call for jury duty. Ended up having to report for just one day of service and didn't even get called into a trial room -- I sat in a comfy chair for about 6 hours, reading a book. Not the worst way to earn $10.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Things are still moving along here. I'm down a few pounds and a few inches and still hearing that "I can do this!!" voice in my head (at least I hope the voice is in my head...).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On another topic, I talked with my coach about having signed up for the 10 mile run and she suggested that I run 3 times a week for the next few weeks -- my two interval workouts will be runs and then my Active Recovery day will also be a run. Outside of that, I'll keep to the PN prescribed strength training workouts and see how this goes. I want to ease into a schedule of regular running a bit because I'm old and brittle and break easily -- at least that's what my horoscope said yesterday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My PN coach has been really awesome this time around -- she's very involved and all over the PN forums and our Facebook group. Like I told her, she's our do-gooder, rah-rah stalker coach. I feel like she's busting her butt to make sure that we're all doing as much as we can to stay focused and motivated and get the most out of this year. She's definitely a keeper!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since I'm not feeling very write-y and humor-y tonight, I'll keep this brief. Mostly I wanted to post the ridiculous picture of my sunburn, anyway, so, mission accomplished.</span><br />
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-7164457049101713642014-09-01T15:09:00.000-05:002014-09-01T15:09:38.671-05:00Quick check-in<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You guys, I've really been wanting to post here. Honest. I've got a million thoughts (or at least two or three, let's not get carried away) bouncing around in my head that I want to share and get feedback on, but I've been spending most of my free time, well, doing things other than writing blog posts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First, a quick update on PN Coaching: it's going well. I'm down a couple of pounds and a couple of inches. Nothing dramatic, but progress. More than that, though, is that I'm feeling in the groove and motivated and, like, "I've got this. Totally." My food choices still are suspect from time to time, but I'm working out more and with more intensity (which my dogs love because I'm the ultimate salt lick once I'm done since I sweat so damn much (everything's for them, you know)).</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D4tWNPUfWvA/VATPxgWPiVI/AAAAAAAAHvo/eEG9piOtGh8/s1600/high%2Bfive.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D4tWNPUfWvA/VATPxgWPiVI/AAAAAAAAHvo/eEG9piOtGh8/s1600/high%2Bfive.PNG" height="273" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This has nothing to do with this post, it<br />just makes me laugh. That's all.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another thing that I'm doing, just to see how it works, is DietBet. Essentially, you put up a bet -- you can join games that are anywhere from $20 to hundreds of dollars -- and all you have to do (imagine ironic air quotes around "all") is lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks. One teeny tiny percent a week. That's it! If you do that, you win (now imagine happy slot machine noises)! Of the game you joined, the people who reach the 4% goal all share in the pot. If everyone in the group were to reach their goal, you'd at least be assured of winning back your original bet, so you'd never lose money as long as you lose weight. I'm 1.5 weeks into it and am down about 2.5%, so I'm ahead of schedule for the moment. Keep your fingers crossed for me! If I win, it's free ice cream for all the internet! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(not really)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If figured I'd try the DietBet thing because GymPact has been working really well for me (remember? I told you about this... don't you ever listen to me?). I promise to do five 30-minute workouts a week (that are logged so they're legit). I if I miss a workout, I pay them $5 for each one missed. And at the end of the week, all the people who put into the pot for missing workouts fund the wonderful people (like me) who are good little workout kids and do what they said they would. The winnings aren't exactly going to pay my mortgage (as in, I haven't had a week where I've come away with more than $2.00), but the incentive of losing money certainly hooks into my cheap, bohemian roots to keep me going.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the Things I Sign Up To Do And Then Don't Do front, I'm signed up for the 10-mile run at Navy Pier in November. I'm determined to make this be a Thing I Sign Up To Do And Then Surprise Everyone And Actually Do It ... I miss running and being in the kind of shape that makes running therapeutic and not so hurty and painful. And the only way that'll happen is if I keep run training. So - away we go! I've got about 8 weeks to get my long runs up to snuff. Easy peasy. Right?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-76110521187813628622014-08-10T16:08:00.000-05:002014-08-10T16:08:25.218-05:00Back!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just a short note so y'all don't think that I've forgotten about you... I'm back from vacation and still trying to adjust to the re-entry shock. Work tomorrow is not going to help, just sayin'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The trip was fabulous. The Canadian Rockies are absolutely stunning and the trip guides seemed to know all the best spots in which to take us. Every day I thought, "Well, there can't possibly be anything more beautiful than THIS spot..." and of course, the next day came around and I was proven wrong, time and again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The new habit we started this past week was eating slowly -- an oldie but goody. Over vacation, eating slowly wasn't too much of a problem because I was either chatting with someone, or gaping at the beautiful scenery too much to remember to eat. But now, it'll be more difficult as the rush rush rush pace picks up again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">More later on the vacation as well as how PN is going. In the meantime, a few photos to give you a taste of what I enjoyed for a week:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aJoVSxElU-Y/U-feGUW1FEI/AAAAAAAAHmA/5pj6PfvmCy4/s1600/P1000133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aJoVSxElU-Y/U-feGUW1FEI/AAAAAAAAHmA/5pj6PfvmCy4/s1600/P1000133.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">View from the campground</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hXQhwbtofAs/U-feQjr_MAI/AAAAAAAAHmI/T1wjTsaO7K8/s1600/P1000180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hXQhwbtofAs/U-feQjr_MAI/AAAAAAAAHmI/T1wjTsaO7K8/s1600/P1000180.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lake Annette</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v53B8kN_EGo/U-feRCLmPVI/AAAAAAAAHmM/wX_vrvUAMmk/s1600/P1000201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v53B8kN_EGo/U-feRCLmPVI/AAAAAAAAHmM/wX_vrvUAMmk/s1600/P1000201.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-62459829028941110622014-08-02T06:00:00.000-05:002014-08-02T06:00:04.514-05:00A little better<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This poem showed up last year, and I love it as much now as I did then. Like I said the other day, it's all about doing things just a little better today than I did yesterday, all about the progress and forward motion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #2193b6; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 16px 0px 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters</span></h4>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 22px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #fce5cd; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Portia Nelson</em></div>
<h6 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; margin: 0px 0px 4px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">
Chapter 1</span></h6>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 22px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I walk down the street.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I fall in.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I am lost. I am helpless.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">It isn’t my fault.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">It takes forever to find a way out.</span></div>
<h6 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; margin: 0px 0px 4px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">
Chapter 2</span></h6>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 22px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I walk down the street.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I pretend that I don’t see it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I fall in again.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I can’t believe I am in this same place.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">But it isn’t my fault.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">It still takes a long time to get out.</span></div>
<h6 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; margin: 0px 0px 4px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">
Chapter 3</span></h6>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 22px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I walk down the same street.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I see it is there.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I still fall in. It’s a habit. But my eyes are open.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I know where I am.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">It is my fault.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I get out immediately.</span></div>
<h6 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; margin: 0px 0px 4px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">
Chapter 4</span></h6>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 22px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I walk down the same street.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I walk around it.</span></div>
<h6 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; margin: 0px 0px 4px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">
Chapter 5</span></h6>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 22px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I walk down another street.</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-30715085679763893942014-07-31T20:06:00.000-05:002014-07-31T20:06:12.382-05:00August? Already?<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but it seems that the summer is two-thirds of the way over already. June took awhile to come and go, but July, well, WHOOSH! is the best way to describe it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">PN coaching has been going well so far. We're just starting to get into the swing of things, starting to meet other teammates and figuring out how to maneuver the website. We haven't even done our initial measurements and photos yet -- that's this weekend. It seems kind of weird to wait two weeks to do this, but I think that perhaps it's not a bad idea -- it reinforces the idea that this program isn't about numbers (though that's one of the ways we track progress), but rather putting together a sustainable lifestyle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course, I'll be doing my first weigh-in and measurements and then heading out on vacation for a week. Yay! Luckily I'm headed to the Canadian Rockies and with any luck, the hiking and other activity will counteract all the good food. It could happen, that's all I'm sayin'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Can't wait for this vacation ... despite living in the desperately-flat city of Chicago, I'm a mountain girl at heart. Really, there isn't anything I like better than to head out to the woods and hike up until I have a view of what feels like the entire country. Of course, since I'm not in the best of shape, my heart just might beat out of my chest while attempting this -- and it's not like there's any oxygen at those altitudes ("... there's just no air here..."). Sounds like a great combination, no? I might have to befriend a bear or moose to carry me back down the mountain to my tent. The animals out there are like the ones in The Jungle Book, right?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Back to PN, there have been some really good foundational lessons these past two weeks. Some new, some reruns from last year, but the program just kind of feels better this year. Maybe it's the changes they've made, maybe it's that I'm in a different headspace. Or perhaps I'm officially PN-brainwashed. Who knows?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Za_NVYz55ao/U9rlhDEfH6I/AAAAAAAAHc8/xVIgWWCQI1I/s1600/2014-07-31+18.25.43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Za_NVYz55ao/U9rlhDEfH6I/AAAAAAAAHc8/xVIgWWCQI1I/s1600/2014-07-31+18.25.43.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Remember my workout stickers? Still loving<br />the whole shindig. And look at that consistency!<br />(and yes, Julie, I worked out on your anniversary<br />but was nice enough not to sticker you guys)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are two concepts that have shown up in the lessons more than once: the idea of progress over perfection, and that consistency is the key to everything. And to that, I say: <b>YES</b>. As always, be a little better today than yesterday. And then keep doing that today, tomorrow, the next day and so on. It's all so simple. Not easy, mind you, but simple. I think I like to complicate this stuff, but it really does come down to being mindful and making better decisions than I used to, little by little.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been thinking a lot about the things that I really need to work on this year, the things that I didn't manage to get a handle on last year, and there are definitely one or two items on that list. More on that later, promise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And on that note, it's time to go pack but still try to hide from the dogs that I'm going to be leaving them. Of course, they like my roommate better anyway, so it's possible that they won't even notice that I'm gone. Damn dogs. They're lucky they're cute.</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-20685233419547374362014-07-24T19:37:00.001-05:002014-07-24T19:37:30.730-05:00Over the brink<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's started -- the new year of Lean Eating. Well, not exactly ... they re-branded slightly and instead of it being called "Lean Eating" it's "Precision Nutrition Coaching". Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe. I kind of dig the name change. I like saying that I'm in a coaching program than just "Lean Eating" which sounds a little dorky. Not that dorky isn't in my wheelhouse.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Going into this I was worried that it was going to be a repeat of last year, but so far there have been a number of noticeable changes, all for the better as far as I'm concerned. My coach Jen has already been in touch with me a few times via email, which has been awesome and a switch from last year. And I'm determined not to feel like I'm "bothering her" since, you know, it isn't actually true and even if it were, it's her job to be bothered by the likes of me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first habit is different than last year -- instead of doing supplements and such, it's an even easier habit designed to prep us for the year ahead. Every day I need to decide on a 5-minute action that will help me move towards my goals, or get something done that's been on my list, etc. I've done things like get podcasts on my phone for my walks, going through the refrigerator and cleaning out food and starting up some shoulder stretches for my perpetually tight shoulders. As always, baby steps. Just do a little better than I did yesterday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aliZLiwPuZY/U9GlsvzGDBI/AAAAAAAAHWg/eM-_7FQl74k/s1600/compliance+4.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aliZLiwPuZY/U9GlsvzGDBI/AAAAAAAAHWg/eM-_7FQl74k/s1600/compliance+4.PNG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Remember the green check marks?<br />Those haven't changed, thank God.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh - and a big change: no more skinfold testing! The consensus was that using calipers -- even by professionals -- was sketchy and not necessarily accurate. So now it's just scale weight and body girth measurements and photos. I'm considering still doing the skinfold measurements every 3 months just for kicks and grins (since my in-house roommate/trainer does it for me), but we'll see. It's not a fun process; something about another person squeezing your body fat is a little off-putting, ya know?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And on that note, time for bed!</span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-6649495060315866022014-07-20T13:45:00.002-05:002014-07-20T13:45:36.387-05:00On the brink<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B6MKmieRy2c/U8wNKhkdxXI/AAAAAAAAHTQ/ja2Wro1QXzg/s1600/what+you+do.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B6MKmieRy2c/U8wNKhkdxXI/AAAAAAAAHTQ/ja2Wro1QXzg/s1600/what+you+do.PNG" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tomorrow starts my second round of Lean Eating. I wasn't going to be that girl, the one who didn't get any results and had to do another year, but here I am.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But I'm not feeling like a failure, no. I'm feeling excited and ready to go -- I recognize all the work that I put in last year and am now ready to really put the program to its best use for me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've said this before, but I'm finally staring to put words into action: I don't care what size I am. Truly. Whether I'm a size 6 or a size 16, as long as I can go out and do anything I want at any time and not be limited by a lack of fitness, I will have been successful. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, if I want to bike better, I need to go out and hit the trails. If I want to run better, then I need to hit the pavement. Lift heavy stuff? Then I need to hit the gym.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here's to a year of kicking ass!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-4550508876598125292014-07-17T19:26:00.000-05:002014-07-17T19:26:05.055-05:00Resolutions: revisited and revised<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Way, way back in the days when this blog didn't gather quite as much dust, I made some <a href="http://runathealth.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-year-resolution-time.html" target="_blank">resolutions for 2014</a>. Remember? Even knowing the glaringly awful statistics about how many people actually keep their resolutions doesn't stop me from doing it every year. I figure that even if I don't follow it, at least it's a roadmap to refer to as the months roll on by.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And - I actually haven't done too badly: </span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Lean Eating stuff?</b> Could have been better, but I made a bunch of progress. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Reading? </b> I've read almost twice as many books in about half the time. Whew! It's been awesome and I hadn't realized how much I missed it. And a PSA -- support your local public library! The services they offer are beyond compare.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Dog Training? </b>Well, we'll say that perhaps my dogs still rule the roost, but they let me delude myself into thinking I'm in charge more than they used to.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>More steps? </b> I'm moving so much more than I used to! I think starting up using <a href="http://www.pactapp.com/" target="_blank">Gym Pact</a> has really pushed me in the right direction.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Journaling? </b> Man, I was so good for awhile but that's slipped off. On the other hand, I've started digital photo journaling, which has put me on a search for the best app out there to do it (I love Project365 on the iOS side, but need the Android equivalent ... any suggestions?).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>More music and less TV? </b> I cut the cord on full-blown cable right after March Madness and I can't say that I've missed it too much. My brother -- saint that he is -- has given me a log in to his service so that I can catch the occasional sporting event that I no longer can see on my TV. And with the music, I'm crushin' pretty hard on <a href="http://www.songza.com/" target="_blank">Songza </a>these days ... love the curated lists and the huge variety of music. You should check it out.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, what goals am I'm going to tweak for the rest of the year?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not too much, actually. Keep the Lean Eating goals -- put in the work, attend the video chats, keep in close touch with my coach. I need support and I need to ask for it.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Keep enjoying the outdoors. After this past winter, I've been trying to get outside as often as possible for walks both with and without the dogs. Especially on days when I strength train, I try to get out for a long walk in the evening and I'm really loving the time it gives me to catch up on some of the podcasts that I love listening to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Keep on with the less TV. I've got a list of shows that I actually enjoy watching (American Ninja Warrior, anyone?? I'm addicted! And did you see <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/07/16/kacy_catanzaro_kills_it_the_former_gymnast_is_the_first_woman_to_complete.html" target="_blank">Kacy Catanzaro</a> kill it out there the other night?? Talk about inspirational!) but beyond that and watching the news, I have better things to do other than vegetating on the couch.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sGE2TJkGgrM/U8hoWUUR8rI/AAAAAAAAHQo/gc1WaVWpa7o/s1600/happy.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sGE2TJkGgrM/U8hoWUUR8rI/AAAAAAAAHQo/gc1WaVWpa7o/s1600/happy.PNG" height="320" width="206" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And something new: I want to pick up a new tech skill. I found a free course on how to write Android apps, which looks totally interesting. Or - perhaps something in the way of learning about web design and programming. But - something. I learn a ton of stuff at my job, but I want to learn something fun (and perhaps even marketable).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Encompassing all this was the straightforward goal: <b>be me, be happy</b>. And I have to say, I think I'm hitting this pretty well. I feel like it's been a long time since I've felt this content and excited about what's in my life. It's not dramatic or perhaps even exciting in the traditional sense, but it's what makes me smile. What I'm trying to say: <b>things are good</b>.</span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-67275159918518152482014-07-13T18:33:00.000-05:002014-07-13T18:33:36.953-05:00Guess what?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9sEM4KVNlLY/U8MWega0owI/AAAAAAAAHMQ/_E83aqRHNpc/s1600/pn+coaching.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9sEM4KVNlLY/U8MWega0owI/AAAAAAAAHMQ/_E83aqRHNpc/s1600/pn+coaching.PNG" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Seems I'm a sucker for a good deal ... or something like that. I got an offer to do another year of Lean Eating at a reduced price, and I decided, after noodling the idea around quite a bit, to take them up on the offer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So - another year! It starts next week, and I'm looking forward to it. I'll appreciate having a place to check in daily and be told to measure and take photos on regular intervals. Not that I couldn't do that on my own (of course!), but I do like the whole structure of the program. I feel like knowing the program is my edge this time around; I'm sure of what I have to do to work on different things and get different results.</span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm requesting a coach that will be more drill sergeant than cheerleader. My coach last year was an awesome lady, but this time I want someone who's still nice, but just a little more fierce. From the outset I'm going to make sure that I'm on my coaches' radar and that they know that I'm someone they'll need to keep on top of to keep me accountable. I really liked my coach last year, but I need a new perspective on things.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm going to take advantage of the community and support system from the beginning. Last time I started this and then dropped off pretty quickly and never felt entirely comfortable jumping back in, knowing that people already knew each other (despite being absolutely positive that everyone would have been more than welcoming). That's one of my quirks that I'm determined to work on.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm definitely training more these days and I know that's going to help. Last time I was just starting to work out again and I know I didn't work hard enough.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Asking for help has always been my achilles heel and that's another thing that I'm determined to work on. People aren't going to know what I need if I don't tell them (and yes, this could probably be applied to more than just this whole Lean Eating thing).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It can't hurt, right? It's only money...</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Starting in about a week, it's back into the program. I really didn't think I'd be one of those folks that goes through this particular rodeo more than once, but it was a strangely attractive option once presented. I'm quite mindful, though, of the saying "Do what you've always done, get what you've always got" and that I'll need to makes things significantly different this time to get different results.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hopefully I'm up to the task!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(okay, okay ... really, I signed up just so that I'd have an excuse to blog for another year...)</span><br />
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-12985773883273486402014-07-10T17:30:00.001-05:002014-07-10T17:30:39.216-05:00Lean Eating Wrap-Up<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Has it really been almost a year? Hard to believe, honestly. I had committed to blogging every day, but -- obviously -- that hasn't happened. But still, 158 posts later, I feel like I at least had a voice to put out in the world. And I reckon that I'll keep on frequenting here as long as I'm doing battle with some of the unhealthy, reckless, devil-may-care voices that rule some of my decisions.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ6f6GJL5J8/U78T1NSNDtI/AAAAAAAAHI0/2jVSs5xV0P0/s1600/lunch.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ6f6GJL5J8/U78T1NSNDtI/AAAAAAAAHI0/2jVSs5xV0P0/s1600/lunch.PNG" height="221" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does this mean I got an "F" in Lean Eating?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First, let's run the numbers, shall we? Over the past year, my weight has been as low as 10 pounds below where I started and as high as 3 pounds above where I started. Right now? I'm sitting a few pounds below my starting point. Certainly not where I wanted to be, but I shudder to think what shape I'd be in now if I hadn't been working on myself through this program. In terms of the tape measure, things are better -- I lost about 13" in total. Despite the fact that my weight rebounded back up, I didn't put on the inches in tandem, luckily enough. And the body fat caliper measurements back this up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And let me say this for the record: so many women -- women that I got to know over the course of the year -- totally ROCKED the program and transformed themselves in ways that seem almost unimaginable. I mean, really -- you should <a href="http://www.precisionnutrition.com/finalists-women-july-2014" target="_blank">check out the finalists</a>. The program certainly doesn't lack success stories.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Because I don't know of any other way to corral my rather disorganized opinions about Lean Eating, how about a The Good, The Bad and The Ugly list? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Good</span></h4>
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<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The program is about so much more than what to eat and what workouts to do; it encompasses a lot of mental and emotional work to understand underlying issues.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A year is definitely necessary -- the program used to be only 6 months long and I would have felt very left-in-a-lurch if it had ended in January.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's all about developing a lifestyle. This isn't a restrictive eat-this-not-that diet but rather adjusting your outlook so it supports your goals and priorities and then building a way of life around that.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Gradually adding habits one at a time makes jumping in a whole lot less overwhelming than it would otherwise be.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It offers a lot of flexibility in terms of workouts -- while they have workouts to follow, you're free to substitute with something else that you enjoy more.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They have a ton of resources available if you have questions. Not just your coach or your team, but nutritionists, physiologists and folks with other specialty skills as well.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Bad</span></h4>
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<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It isn't exactly cheap.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's easy to not do the work, make no headway but still look like you're following along.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Once you put your information into the Lean Eating site, it's not altogether easy to get it back out (and once your year is up, you lose access to anything coaching-related, i.e. measurements, photos, written answers to exercises).</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Ugly</span></h4>
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<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I believe that much of your experience depends on your coach and how well your personality matches what she provides. My coach was awesome, but sometimes was too respectful of my space when I could have used someone to nag me (I know - I should just hire my Mom, right?).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you aren't hitting the program at the "right" time -- meaning, mentally and emotionally ready to tackle your relationship with food and training -- it could be an exercise in frustration.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You get out of it what you put into it. And if what you put in is superficial or not challenging your comfort zone, you won't get a whole lot in the way of results out of the program.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And to round it out, here are some of my biggest epiphanies:</span></h4>
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<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hunger is not an emergency! Just because I think I'm hungry doesn't mean I necessarily need food.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Eating slowly really does work.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As does stopping eating once I feel like I'm 80% full.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I also don't eat nearly as much if I don't allow myself to do anything else while eating -- no TV, no reading, no computer, no phone.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Planning meals and workouts is the key to my success. I need structure!</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Would I do this again? Perhaps. I feel like I spent a lot of time this year figuring out what my nutrition demons were and while I still don't have them all banished, at least I've identified the problems and put strategies into place to deal with them. The last year has been spent looking inward; if I were to do this again, I would spend the year looking outward. I would take full advantage of the community -- something I didn't do -- and participate fully, engaging with both my coach and with other members.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Would I recommend this program to someone else? Probably, but with disclaimers. If all you are looking for is a diet and workouts to follow, then it's not worth the money. On the other hand, if your relationship with food or healthy living needs to be evaluated and put under a spotlight, this is a great program. Coaches are really good at working through all sorts of issues and helping you figure out the "why"'s of eating and training habits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so with that, dear readers, I wrap up my Lean Eating year. It's certainly been a learning experience for me, chock full of all sorts of good revelations about myself. Hope you've enjoyed coming along for the ride!</span><br />
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-53959088133784656532014-06-29T18:40:00.000-05:002014-07-04T20:12:32.497-05:00Surprised?<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is like a Weeks 41,42,43,44,45... review, isn't it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So sorry, no excuse other than not feeling like sitting at my computer much these days. And now I'm left with a lot of ground to cover -- because you wouldn't want to miss out on all the details, now, would you?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--QzR_ItSx2o/U68jmW4Q_CI/AAAAAAAAG70/qLDx5U9Tzv8/s1600/IMG_20140608_151818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--QzR_ItSx2o/U68jmW4Q_CI/AAAAAAAAG70/qLDx5U9Tzv8/s1600/IMG_20140608_151818.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perhaps I should to be surprised by this, but I'm not -- measurements, while seesawing over the past weeks, have essentially settled back to where I was however many weeks it's been since I last blogged. The upside is that I'm not any worse off, but the downside... well, that's apparent, isn't it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've started and finished the Whole Life Challenge, which included a whole bunch of restricting myself from eating food that I wanted to stuff down my gullet. Of course, it also included pushing me into eating healthy stuff instead, working out regularly and doing good-for-me things like stretching and taking a supplement. I found that while I can cut down on all my sugar, I haven't been convinced that there's a good reason to do so (within reason, of course). And I like eating grains. And some raw vegetables are my mortal enemy. In summary: sugar = good and vegetables = bad. Math doesn't lie, right?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While measurements may not have moved much, the baseline workouts that I did for the WLC showed that I gained fitness, if nothing else. My initial baseline mile run 8 weeks ago came in at a 9:20m/m pace, but this morning I was a veritable speed demon out there with a pace of 8:34m/m. I was hoping for a full minute of improvement, but I'll take this. And with everything I've been doing, frankly, fitness is the most important measure to me. If I can do everything I want to do while 30 pounds overweight, then I'll still be quite happy.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lean Eating is still going on, but winding up. The finalists for the $25,000 have been picked (spoiler: I'm not one of them) and we've got just a few weeks left before being sprung free from the monthly payments, weekly emails and daily lessons. I'll definitely have some final thoughts to share on what my opinion was of the entire program.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The WLC nutritional component kind of fell apart for me the last few weeks of the challenge. Through the first 5 weeks I rarely lost a point, but during the last 3, I was lucky to get 3 of 5, especially since I started back up my love affair with Diet Pepsi (oh, how I missed it!).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My mountain biking weekend has come and gone and I had a BLAST. And was unceremoniously reminded that all this sort of stuff is much more fun when I'm in good enough shape to really enjoy it. That said, I loved all the biking (and didn't break any bones!) and the hanging out with the other ladies in our gorgeous cabin was totes awesome.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And next up on the list is my week-long Canadian Rockies hiking trip. Can't wait! Of course, I've got a lot of work to do in the next 5 weeks to do as much as possible to prepare myself for it. I don't want to be the doofus holding the rest of the group back, that's for sure.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, that's the quick overview of what I've been up to. Definitely more later since I'm planning on writing a wrap-up of both the Whole Life Challenge and Lean Eating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-68278091561857649932014-04-27T11:35:00.000-05:002014-04-27T11:35:08.751-05:00Sunday Funday: Week 40 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This will be my last week of nutritional freedom; starting this coming Saturday is the beginning of the <a href="http://www.wholelifechallenge.com/" target="_blank">Whole Life Challenge</a>. No sugar, no processed food, no grains, no dairy -- none of my go-to emotional eating foods. What's a girl supposed to do?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Seriously, though, I'm looking forward to this challenge. While it doesn't exactly follow the Lean Eating tenets -- meaning, some food is completely off-limits, which isn't the focus in LE -- it is everything I'm supposed to be eating. And since I've been indulging way too much in sugary treats, keeping them completely off the menu will be good for me. I've said it before, I do much better with abstinence than moderation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And some of my most favorite people are doing it with me! Honestly, that's probably the best part, the part I'm most excited about. I absolutely LOVE group activities like this! For as much of an introvert that I am, I like shared experiences and encouragement. Add in a bit of game play -- there are points to earn every day for nutrition, exercise, etc -- and that's the perfect vehicle to deliver me back to good health.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyone interested in joining? Let me know and I'll tell you what team to join! The more the merrier ... or, as I like to say, misery loves company. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Onto what you're all here for ... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Measurements</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everything is up. Some might call this "strategy" since it'll make my WLC starting stats artificially higher, so I'll go with that. Seriously, though, I need to stop eating so much crap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Workouts</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kind of hit or miss this week for no real good reason. That said, I did get out and run a few times, which is a nice switch. Next week I have a 5 mile race (wait, let me put air quotes around that ... "race"... in my current state of fitness, there will be nothing fast about this), so that'll kick start my season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Habits</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This week's new habit was to fashion a personal mission statement. This was an interesting exercise, and I spent a lot of time thinking about it. At it's essence, this isn't difficult: I want to live my life in such a way that I can go do anything and everything without having to worry about fitness limiting me. I love being active and right now I'm too out of shape to really enjoy it. So, I used that as a starting point and finally ended up with a few paragraphs that define how I want to live my life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Habit Log</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic<br />Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly<br />Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full<br />Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal<br />Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day<br />Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices<br />Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals<br />Weeks 15-16: Log all food<br />Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual<br />Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages<br />Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies<br />Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods<br />Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)<br />Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better<br />Weeks 28-29: Lean protein and vegetables with every meal<br />Weeks 30-31: Stop eating at 80% full (an encore presentation)<br />Weeks 32-33: Modify carb intake<br />Weeks 34-35: Do a 5-minute body/mind scan every day<br />Weeks 36-37: Fitness media fast<br />Weeks 38-39: 20 minutes of de-stressing every day</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Week 40: Write a personal fitness mission statement</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078605613513253499.post-63727561210205193232014-04-20T11:19:00.000-05:002014-04-20T11:19:16.844-05:00Sunday Funday: Week 39 Review<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ah, yes. Another long absence on my part. Sorry about that. Last weekend turned into a work cluster, with a 20-hour day in the middle of it, and it took me almost a full week to recover from it (okay, not really, but it felt like it).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While nutrition-wise it wasn't the worst week, it took me the majority of the time to get my butt back to working out. And with the all-nighter on Saturday, I missed -- BY ONE WORKOUT -- completing my 4-week challenge to get my dual monitors. *sigh* Back to the beginning...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway - Happy Easter, everyone. This will be short since I have to wrangle up the dogs and get over to the Easter celebration at my parents' house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Measurements</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All slightly higher. Disappointing, to say the least. This needs to change.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Workouts</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Better towards the end of the week, capping off with a 4-mile run-type thing this morning. Next week, totally back on track, promise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Habits</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The new habit is 20 minutes of de-stressing per day. While meditation is what they're going for, any time spent without distraction counts. Basically, just sitting and not having TV, music, books, computer, people, etc around to pull your focus away from just being. I've been trying to make a conscious effort to do this, and I like it. Nothing life-altering, but there is a sense of calm to achieve when you stop everything.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Intermittent Fasting</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Only did this on 2 days, though I was better about not eating at night after dinner. When it doesn't happen for me, it's almost always that I don't wait long enough to have breakfast.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Habit Log</u></b><br />Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic<br />Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly<br />Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full<br />Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal<br />Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day<br />Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices<br />Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals<br />Weeks 15-16: Log all food<br />Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual<br />Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages<br />Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies<br />Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods<br />Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)<br />Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better<br />Weeks 28-29: Lean protein and vegetables with every meal<br />Weeks 30-31: Stop eating at 80% full (an encore presentation)<br />Weeks 32-33: Modify carb intake<br />Weeks 34-35: Do a 5-minute body/mind scan every day<br />Weeks 36-37: Fitness media fast</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Weeks 38-39: 20 minutes of de-stressing every day</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08534142547672997817noreply@blogger.com0