Just Do It!

Have you ever tried Yoga? I have always been intrigued with it. It just looked so calming...the way they went from pose to pose...it just flowed so smoothly. I started doing a little Yoga many years ago. Then I quit which is what I usually do. Then I bought two more Yoga DVDs, did one of them for a little while and then quit again.

I am happy to say that I have been doing Yoga regularly for two full months now and I feel awesome. I know it is the perfect workout for me. That and walking on the treadmill. I know some people hate treadmill walking, but I love it!

My sister loves her recumbent bike. She rides about five miles a day on it.

I know people that love going to the gym.

There are some women in my office that are doing Weight Watchers right now. They were talking about how much weight they have lost yesterday and they were so excited. I was so happy for them.

I think it's important when we decide to take charge of our health, that we find the program that works the best for us. If we find something we really enjoy doing, I think we are more apt to stick with it.

What kind of program do you like best? Healthy eating? Exercise? What type of exercise do you like?

The Breakup

A tear was hanging there in the corner of my eye and then slowly it tricked down my right cheek. I looked longingly at the building as I drove by on my way to work yesterday. I even thought I smelled a familiar aroma....but alas....I didn't. It was just my imagination playing tricks on me.

As I walked in to the office, I clutched the small Starbucks Chai Latte in my hand. I put down my tote bags and started to remove my food for the day....Total cereal, blueberries, strawberries, soy milk, leftover quinoa pasta with zucchini and spinach pasta sauce, raisins, celery and peanut butter. I placed the cold things in the fridge, left the rest in the bag and sat down at my desk. As I took a sip of my chai latte.....I smiled.

YOU DID IT KATHY!!! YOU REALLY DID IT!!!! It's Friday and you did NOT stop at Dunkin' Donuts, and you are NOT eating a fattening, salty, cholesterol filled egg and cheese croissant that is going to turn the pH of your blood upside down and make your body steal calcium from your precious little bones!!! Chee Hoo!!!!

Friends even though I feel like I broke up with the love of my life...if I can say NO to that egg and cheese croissant, I can say NO to most anything...and today that included cookies, candy and cake that filled our lunch table. I didn't have a single bite.

On the serious side...this change in diet is not easy. I feel hungry a lot. Before if I was hungry, I knew that I could reach in my tote bag for some chips or crackers. They would fill me up. They would make me happy.

Now when I am hungry and I reach in my bag, I find things like dried apricots. If I go to the fridge, I find things like carrots. Those things do NOT fill me up, nor do they make me happy.

After eating like I did my entire life, I think it just becomes a habit. I think you learn to love the taste of certain foods as well as that feeling of being just perfectly full. It has to be an emotional thing.

Now I am in the process of "unlearning" those habits and creating new ones. I have discovered that I can live without the sweets except for my chai and that's okay for now. What I am really missing are the salty, filling snacks. I love things like cheese, crackers, pita chips and corn chips. It's funny because I don't like my food salty. I even buy salt free soup and put in a little dash of my own salt....but salty snacks were my "thing".

Salt is bad, bad, bad for our bones, so I am trying to avoid it. That isn't to say I will never have another salty snack, because I will...just not every day like I was.

I really did an awesome job this week, but it was tough. So much thought has to go into what I'm buying and eating right now that I find it more like work. I am keeping up with my pilates and my yoga and my new treadmill is a dream come true. I am on that thing for 30 minutes every morning before work and I actually like it! I find it challenging and I love a challenge.

I hope that all of you are getting up and doing some walking or some kind of exercise. Making some small changes now might keep you from having to make major changes later.....besides your bones will love you for it!

Make it an awesome day for yourself!

Chee Hoo!

It's FRIDAY! It's my no work out day. It's my no walk day. It's my eat whatever I want day. It's jeans day at work. It's Starbucks day. It's Dunkin' Donuts day. It's even PAYDAY!!! I actually couldn't wait to get up this morning!! Chee Hoo!

I cannot believe I have been working out and walking and eating healthy for three weeks. That has to be a record for me. Yes, there are some mornings when the last thing I want to do at 5:30 a.m. is yoga or pilates...but I'm doing it.

There are plenty of days when I get home from work and the last thing I want to do is change my clothes, bundle up and head out into the frigid air to walk....but I'm doing it!

Many evenings I have no interest in preparing a healthy balanced dinner for myself....but I'm doing it.

I am not to the point where these things are a positive habit for me yet. In fact, I still find it all a big pain in the butt....but I'm doing it.

My neck and upper back issue has caused me to rethink my workout. If I didn't, I might have quit. Instead I took out the arm and shoulder dumb bell workout until my neck and upper back are more tolerant of the yoga and pilates. Once they are, I will add the arm work back in. I did add some leg work on the days I do pilates too.

I am really looking forward to spring when I can be working out with the doors and windows open, and I can pile on the sunscreen, throw on my hat and walk until I want to come in rather than having to come in because my eyes are tearing, my nose is running and my face and everything running down it is frozen solid!

If you made some changes....healthy eating, working out or other changes for the New Year...how are you doing? Need a Chee Hoo or some encouragement? I'm here for you. :)

Mish Mosh

I made a trip to the chiro yesterday and did not work out. :( It's the first day I've missed. Maggie and Wrigley road with us. Sparky doesn't like the car.

I have a real messed up spine and one of my shoulder blades sticks out more than the other. When I do arm and shoulder exercises it starts to get very uncomfortable as it did on Friday. On top of that, I took one of those quick little "oops" slips on some ice Friday. I didn't fall, but it was just enough to cause my muscles to all tighten up on me. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up where I left off some time today. I am tweaking the yoga and pilates exercise plan to include some leg exercises. I am really enjoying the workouts right now.

My healthy eating is going pretty well also. I'm just watching what I eat and trying to make better choices where my snacks are concerned. I'm also making sure that one dinner a week is a nice big salad like this one I had last week so I'm getting some greens. Yes, that whole thing was for me and I ate every last bit of it!

I have my shopping list and coupons ready and we are about to head to the store. Hopefully we will come back with a few dollars left so we can get our favorite Friday night carry out!

I snapped this shot of our icicles right before Irv went out to knock them all down. If you leave them they can actually cause your roof to leak. I think they are so pretty though.

One last thing.....do you have cable TV or dish? We pay a ton for our basic cable and are considering taking one of the special offers for Dish Network to save some money. We have always had cable. Your thoughts?

Stupendous Saturday!

I started out the day Saturday with another trip over to the blood center. I couldn't donate last week because my iron level was too low. That's the second time that's happened. Well, it was lower this week! Trying to find more iron rich foods to consume!

Next, we headed over to the bank to take out the cash we needed for our new envelope budget system. I am excited and ready to go. We did have a couple of little glitches though. Irv mentioned that we needed salt for the softener......he wanted to rent a movie for tonight....and he needed to get our Lotto tickets. Hmmmmm...I hadn't figured those things in. I made more envelopes and next time we will take out money for entertainment and salt and Lotto. Irv said we could give up on the Lotto, but we have been playing the same stupid numbers since it started and wouldn't that just suck that the first time we don't buy them....our numbers are picked? I know it wouldn't happen, but just in case....I'm still buying!

I managed to list my first Itsy Bitsy Tote Bag in my shop, FourDogDay. The tote is perfect if you don't like to drag a huge bag with you when you go shopping. If you don't read Lanyard Lady's blog...check out this post of hers. Lanyard has a bad shoulder because of what she was carrying in her purse. Too funny....not the bad shoulder, but the stuff that was in her purse!

This blue bird fabric was left over when I made Angela of Pickles on Pizza a vendor apron. It's so darn cute I decided to make a little desk clock out of it. I just love it!

Then I went all out and made two other big clocks. One of these will get listed today and one tomorrow. The first one is leaves on a light gray background. Very outdoorsy.

The second one is my absolute favorites! It's birds in black and white with a little tan thrown in. I think I am going to have to make myself one of these to hang somewhere in my house. It's so ME!

After that it was time to see if I could find some coupons for grocery shopping today. We will be heading out soon and I was hoping to save a little money using coupons. I didn't find too many, but I did get a couple of good ones. We eat very specific foods and brands and are not very flexible, so coupons might be a difficult thing for us.

I have my Week #1 Food Envelope and I put my coupons right in it. I will let you know how we do and if we are able to stay well under the $150 limit so we can get carry out next weekend. Wish us luck!

After that, I still had to hit the floor and do my Pilates. I opted not to walk because the wind chill made it painful to even be outside.

Then I collapsed! Not really. It was an awesome day. Hope you have a good one today. Don't forget to do something nice for yourself today.

Count 'em Up Kathy

As I packed up my bag yesterday morning with my lunch and snacks , I started to wonder how many calories I was loading into that bag for the day. I really already knew the answer and it was TOO MUCH!

Even though I tend to eat fairly healthy, I also tend to eat way too much. Add that to the fact that yesterday was the first day in ages that I walked the dog, and add to that the fact that I am stopping at Starbucks every day again.....it's no wonder that the pants I put on that morning were a bit on the t-i-g-h-t side.

There is such a simple solution to this issue, I don't know why I don't do it. On Sundays I use to pack up daily snacks in the proper serving size for the week. That way when I packed up my lunch I could just grab what I need. I would make a couple of small salads and put them in containers ready to grab.

Another easy thing to do is when I put leftovers away that I know will end up being a lunch for me during the week, I really should divide them and put them in a couple of small containers instead of one big container. Like yesterday, the one container held WAY MORE than one serving of pasta and low fat Alfredo...making it an unhealthy, fattening lunch.

I also like Greek yogurt for a snack....that would be an awesome snack, but I also like to add some fruit and granola to it making it not so low cal. I am thinking about making that my breakfast a couple of days a week instead of a snack.

I wouldn't even mind the Starbucks every day if I could get the rest of my eating under control. Even healthy low calorie snacks becomes unhealthy when you eat more than the proper serving size or when you consume 3-4 snacks a day rather than two.

So, today I will do better. I packed my lunch and snacks last night, and paid close attention to the serving size. I am only taking two snacks with me...one for the morning and one for the afternoon. I will walk the dog when I get home from work before I even turn on the computer, because once I turn that computer on....neither the dog nor myself will get the exercise we both so desperately need.

I am going to try to get up when the alarm goes off and get back to my yoga and pilates in the morning. I can't believe how limber I feel when I am doing those things regularly. I stand straighter and just walk taller. It's pretty awesome and I need it.

Truly, no matter how many times you have tried to exercise and eat healthy and fallen off the wagon....it's okay. When you can, just get back on and try again. Even eating healthy for a while now and then is better than never eating healthy at all. Same goes for working out and walking.

Well, now that I have myself so totally psyched....I think I will go grab a snack...all that talk about food has made me hungry! Just kidding!

But I Don't Want To!

I don't sleep as well as I did even six months ago. For me it has everything to do with what I am eating and my emotional state. Some nights my brain refuses to shut off and I can't fall asleep. Then I wake up in the middle of the night and my brain picks up right where it left off when I did finally fall asleep. I ask the voices to stop...but they don't listen. Chatter, chatter, chatter!

This morning I woke up right before the alarm went off like I usually do, and I lay there for a moment thinking....."Did I wake up during the night?" Hmmmm...don't think so. I didn't even remember falling asleep! Wow! That's awesome!

I was so happy and felt so content and peaceful that I didn't want to get up...getting up meant twenty minutes of pilates, a one mile walk/jog with the dog, making some kind of healthy lunch, a shower and heading to work.

I lay there for what seemed to be a minute, but was actually about ten. "Oh, I wish I was off today."

I dragged myself to my workshop, turned on the computer and started checking e-mails and my etsy shops...still not entirely awake, but knowing full well that if I didn't get going I would never get in my pilates or my walk.

Ah, was that it? Was my alter ego trying to sabotage my "Healthy Eating and Workout Plan" during week three? Week three is when I usually fizzle out.....

By now I was twenty minutes behind schedule. Refusing to fall prey to my lazy, junk food eating alter ego, I quickly threw on my work out clothes, grabbed my mat and headed to the living room. I did my pilates under the watchful and very annoying eye of the dog.....who obviously knew we were twenty minutes late for her walk.

Threw on a little jacket, my hat, grabbed two little doggie treats for the walk, a bag for poop (just in case), my keys, my phone and out the door we went. "Maybe we better only do 1/2 mile because it's so late!" I thought.

Walk, jog, walk, jog....1/2 mile done. Look at the time on my phone.....it's late. Crap! No excuses...let's go! Jog, walk, jog, walk.....one mile done!

Make my lunch...
Hit the shower...
Make up on...
Hair done....
Clothes on....

"Be good girls!" and out the door and off to work!

I didn't want to get up this morning...but I did.
I didn't want to exercise this morning...but I did.
I didn't want to walk a mile this morning...but I did.
I didn't want to go to work this morning...but I did.

All I can say is CHEE HOO! I am so proud of me....

I did want an extra Starbucks Chai Latte this morning...and I did...and it was oh so good!!

It's Happened....Already

Well, I knew it would happen at some point, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. Unfortunately, it has. You see, I am already sick of my little "Trying To Get In Shape" plan. Yep, I am. I was really hoping I could be excited and entusiastic about it until my daughter's wedding in March, but oh no, not me. I hate having to do something every day. I hate the time it takes to do it. Sure, I know how important it is for everyone to exercise. I get all of that.....I just don't feel like doing it any more.

With that said....I will keep doing it. I made myself a promise and I plan to stick to it. It is really hard though. It was easier when the weather was nice. I would head out at 5:45 a.m. and walk the dog once around the neighborhood..briskly. Then after work I would alternate yoga and pilates. I do enjoy them both, and I can really feel myself getting stronger and more flexible. I just don't like having to sacrifice precious time right now to do it, and it's darn cold out there at 5:45 a.m.

Do you work out? If you do, what keeps you going? I have done this so many times. I get really excited and do really well for a short time and then I miss one day, and then another and then that's it. I'm done..until the next time I try again.

On Saturday I am headed into the city (Chicago) to spend the day with my daughter, looking for my dress for the wedding. I was trying to lose some of my belly before this outing. Even after all of the walking and working out....it doesn't look any smaller to me. I even weighed myself last week and I haven't lost a single pound. I think that was what started this downward spiral. I thought I would have lost a pound or two. I am not overweight, but I am out of shape. I want to get in better shape, but just can't seem to find the one thing I need to get me to stick with it.

Well, tomorrow is another day. No matter how cold it is in the morning, I really need to walk. If I don't, it is hard to make the time to walk and workout when I get home knowing I have my etsy business to take care of.

So, if you have any really great ideas as to how on earth I can stay motivated until spring with this wonderful plan of mine....let me know. I'm going to need all the help I can get!

Actually, I feel a bit better just having written about this little problem I am having, but I am still open to suggestions. :)