Y2 D31

Training Week 9

I'm not sure that I can call these training weeks anymore, at least not for a little while. I've backed my exercise WAY down so that I can focus in on eating from the lower end of the glycemic index for a little while. It's been good to exercise again, and I'm adjusting to the slower pace. To compensate I'm adding variety with yoga and strength training as well as my elliptical work.

Yoga has been interesting! I've learned just how much I can't make my body do yet, but I'm really excited to expand my capabilities. I'm working with the basic videos from youtube and though some of them really don't feel like a workout at all, I'm enjoying the new activity. It's a big learning curve for me, and something I really want to integrate into the rest of my life. I can see myself doing morning yoga with my munchkins someday!

Week 10 promises to be a challenge for me - in a good way! As I mentioned, I've decided to start tomorrow with a lower glycemic eating plan to encourage weight loss. This is how I initially shed so much weight this year, but in July and August I got away from it as I started training more intensely. The first time I had a wide variety of meal replacements that I was using to help my progress - I call this the 'easy way' when I'm talking to people who ask for my help as a health coach. It really is much easier! But this time financial priorities have shifted a little bit and I didn't put my order for this month's meal replacements in at the right time, so I'll be without for a few weeks and I'll be doing this the 'hard way.' That is, I'll be specifically planning to cook my meals, with careful eyes on the glycemic index and macro-nutrient profiles of my food.

Thinking about this, I decided to take it on as an actual challenge and see just how creative I can get with this! If I learn anything worth sharing - tips and tricks to make it all more simple, for example - I'll be sharing it with you all. This is going to be a great adventure!

I'll personally be using two very important tools to help me. The first is my nutritional supplements. Macro-nutrient groups are important, but they're just a piece of the nutrition puzzle. I have a complete supplementation system that provides all of the nutritional daily minimums so that everything else is just extra awesome.

The second tool I'll be using - and I'm so very excited about this one! - is a cookbook. Not just any cookbook, mind you. This is the 100 Days of Real Food Cookbook by Lisa Leake. I admire Lisa a lot and I've been following her blog for some time. She and her family are committed to a life of eating almost exclusively what she calls "real food." That is, foods that aren't processed. I've watched the evolution of this lifestyle for her family through her blog, and I'm not only very proud of her but also very grateful to her for all of her efforts and her willingness to share with the general public. Even though we've never met, I feel like we're good friends. Lisa is someone who I see as being on my team in my health journey and I'm so glad to have her advice and experience on my side!

Of course, I have to wait for my copy to ship to me, so I'll be going for a week or two on just what I've learned about health so far. All in all, I think week 10 is going to be a lot of fun!

Y2 D24

Training week 8

As predicted, week 8 was a whole lot of resting to recover from my injuries. It's infuriating to be laid up like this, after working so hard toward consistency and making exercise such a regular part of life. I've been feeling frustrated all week, like I'm going to jump out of my skin if I don't get back to exercising soon. Fortunately, I seem to be mostly healed now! In week 9 I'll be picking my exercise habit up again, with 30 minutes minimum on the elliptical every day.

Being injured and forced to rest has given me some thinking time, though. I've been able to re-organize more and more of my home, moving a piece at a time into the right place and brainstorming what furniture or storage pieces I should buy to maximize the space that I have. I'm really excited about getting all of this organized and optimized!

To avoid injury, I'm also going to return to the 5 & 1 program from Medifast - which is also how I lost the initial 80 pounds. I'll be staying strictly on this program for two months, limiting my exercise so I don't make the whole thing harder for myself,  and then I'll transition back to a diet that will better serve a training schedule. I'll be training through the holidays, and hopefully I won't need to return to strictly following 5&1 again. I think my injury was largely a result of my body not being ready to handle the distance over time while carrying my weight. If everything goes according to plan, I'll drop another 20-40 pounds in the next two months, and then my training will be much less stressful on my body!

Overall, I'm not happy about having to rest for a week to recover from my overuse injuries. But I do see how it's been good for me, and given me opportunity to reflect, re-calibrate, and prepare to re-launch!

Y2 D18

Training Week 7

It feels like I've been at this longer than 7 weeks. In week 7 I injured myself twice. I now have the training trifecta (blood, sweat, and tears). This is all said in good humor. My first injury was a flesh wound on my shin and knee with some severe bruising, so it didn't really get in the way of my training at all. The second one I did yesterday on my 13-mile walk. For as much as I love exercise, my body still "hits the wall" at ten miles. Twelve was okay last week. It was pushing myself just a little bit farther than my body wanted to go and I was fine after a single day of soreness.

13 is a different story. There are a lot of factors that went into it. For example: I went out later in the day instead of at dawn, and so the intensity of the sun sapped my energy pretty fast. Because of the time of the day I was also dealing with constantly having to alter my course for the other pedestrians, bikes, and roller-blades. Another huge factor was that I walked alone yesterday, which made it way harder for me to get out of my own head when I started feeling the pain that signals an approaching "wall." I work hard to stay positive in everything I do and especially my training, but walking a distance like that alone just plain sucks.

With these factors combined I felt the proverbial wall approaching at mile six and by mile 10 I'd smacked into it pretty hard. Long story short: 13 miles in the middle of the day and without a walking partner is more than I can handle right now, and I've injured myself. I don't know the extent of it, but I'm going to take a few extra days of rest in hopes that it will fix itself if I just stay off my feet.

It's a sad ending to an otherwise great week. I've been elliptical training at home this week and I keep beating my previous record. It's a lot of fun! Getting to watch the RPM, distance, and time meters while I'm working out enables me to switch things up so I can focus on different parts of my training like cardiovascular strength or speed endurance. It gives me focus to watch those numbers, and engages my natural competitiveness. I've really enjoyed it!

Week 8 is mostly going to be recovery. In a few days I'll get some yoga in to relax and re-strengthen my injured joints, and I'll probably try some low intensity elliptical work. For the first time in a long time, my pain level is actually going to hold me back. But I'm still optimistic about week 8 being an excellent week for my training, in different ways.

Y2, D12: Organization

I think I have a knack for organization. At least, I have a knack for taking a complete disaster area of a home and making it look organized. Containers, labels, you name it! I'm great at staying up 48 hours straight to "get organized." I'm not so great at the other half of organization, which is systems and habits that lend to continued organization. My husband and I have been together for four years and I just this month bought him something to put his keys into every night because I was tired of them ending up in the washer.

At the moment, I'm on an organization spree. I'm throwing out old papers and projects that are just taking up space, I'm sorting through old clothes and shoes and knick-knacks; I'm basically tearing the house apart, throwing away a bunch of stuff, and then putting it back together in a way that seems like it will lend to future organization.

Of course, I'm doing this all before reading the books I picked out on organization, because they haven't arrived in the mail yet and once a project like this gets stuck in my head it's stuck there for good. So I'm doing all of this, fully knowing that in a few weeks I'll have to do it all again. Some people would say that's a little crazy and I...probably would agree with them. That's not the point. The point is that even though I'm still tearing things up like a Tasmanian devil, the little bit of organization I've been able to create has made a huge difference for my life! I'm remembering more appointments (because they're all written down and I actually look at my calendar every day). I'm arriving on time most of the time. I generally have clothes clean and ironed  when it's time to put them on to go - you can ask my husband, that one's been a long time coming. There's all these different areas where I'm doing better and better because I am *finally* getting organized!

If you'll remember, that's one of my goals this year. Organization has been a huge stumbling block for me and I've probably lost a lot of opportunities because of it. I'm really excited to be seeing this improvement, even if I will have to re-create the whole system once I've actually read the books.

Y2, Day 11

Training Week 6

Closing out week six it's getting harder to notice positive change in myself. I've started looking for the right yoga videos on youtube (some of them play too much into the 'yoga is an Indian culture' thing for my taste) and I've kept up on my training habit besides that, but everything seems 'business as usual' right now with only one exception. I'm hitting a point I've coached a lot of people through: Muscle-related weight gain. I'm finding that I, just like everyone else, have a hard time emotionally with muscle related weight gain. Besides that, I've been reverting to some old carb-heavy eating habits. It just got way too easy to go for the same huge portion of a high-carb meal every day! This means that not all of the weight I've gained has been muscle related, which makes the whole thing a lot more frustrating for me.

With that in mind, week 7 is all about focus and polish. I've printed up a reminder of my next weight goal along with a chart where I can put one of those foil star stickers on each pound shed, and some reminders of the habits I need to have every day in relation to my food intake. I keep having to remind myself that this isn't a massive failure. It's just a point where I have to say "whoops" and get back on track. Fortunately my awesome husband has been doing a stellar job of helping me keep my head on straight in this area. He reminds me that I *have* actually gained muscle and that I *am* actually looking slimmer and more fit than I used to.

That guy's a gem. He's my biggest supporter, sometimes my only supporter, and I don't think I could have made this much progress without him.

Speaking of which: I'd like to give mad props to Jared for walking 12 miles with me on Saturday so I wouldn't be alone for my distance and endurance training! My walking partner is getting married and moving away, so her schedule's all tied up now and I've been going it alone for a few days. But I really hate training alone. It sucks. I asked Jared to help me out and he gladly stepped in for the 12 mile challenge.

Not only has he helped me by walking with me on Saturday, but his recovery process has shed some light on my own progress. I've been incrementally increasing the distance I walk daily and weekly for almost two months now. Jared's also been working out daily for two months, but he isn't training for a marathon and so he hasn't been focusing on his distance or endurance over time. His workouts are generally 30 minutes on the elliptical in the morning, and his focus is way more on going as fast as possible for that 30 minutes.

When it came to walking 12 miles, he started out strong (and a little bit frustrated that I kept telling him to slow down). He walked the whole distance with the expected amount of slowing down on the second half and especially toward the end. We both spent Saturday gingerly limping around and wincing whenever we would try to stand up or sit down. Then the difference my progress has made for me started to show. I made sure to get us both walking around despite the pain on Saturday so we wouldn't stiffen up too much, and that was all my body needed. I was really stiff and sore when I first woke up on Sunday, but by the time I'd finished making breakfast my body had gotten with the program and I was fine. Today I feel great and I'm headed out for another walk on my regular training schedule. Jared, on the other hand, continued to suffer through the day yesterday. He handled it like a pro, but his body was still objecting to being put through the 12 mile walk.

What I've realized from watching him is that my body is bouncing back way faster than it used to, and I'm

learning a lot about how to help it along. The first five mile distance and endurance walk had me limping around for days afterward, but Saturday's 12 mile only took a little over a day to recover from! These are the 'non-scale victories' and they're harder to see, but they're so important to notice.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you should put your husband in pain so you can take pride in how much better than him you're doing! But I am encouraging you - and especially myself - to make sure we're noticing those victories that aren't proven in the number on the scale or the size on our pants. Those victories that are wrapped in progress, that you may not even notice if you're not looking for them, are so important to keeping up your desire to stay on track with your goals.

Here's to week 7 and even more progress!

Year 2, Day 3

Training Week 5

Today my training partner and I walked 10 miles. 10 miles! I was tempted to brush it off. After all, it's not my goal. I've been working up to this. It's not a big deal, right? Except that it is a big deal, because it's ten miles! My body made sure I knew that. I've been "walking it off" all day (curse my husband's childhood soccer games). My husband thinks it's pretty funny to watch me limping down the stairs because the last hour on my butt with the ice pack has left my muscles stiff. That limp has forced me to realize three very big things:

1) Ten miles is a big deal!
2) Ten miles is a bit hard on my body.

And best of all:
3) Two months ago I couldn't have completed ten miles without puking, and I couldn't have walked around the house the next day. Today I did! That's an even bigger deal!

Despite the pain that I'm in from pushing my limits today, I'm feeling amazing. It's like I'm a whole new person! Two months ago I couldn't have completed ten miles in one sitting. In January I couldn't have completed the five that I do every day. I hadn't really put a lot of thought into that. I hadn't really thought about the fact that just seven months ago I was...a whole different person. I wasn't capable of doing the same things I'm doing every day now. I certainly wasn't capable of pushing myself to the extents that I can now!

Sure, I hurt right now. At quite a few points today I've hurt...a lot. It's a little insane. But I relish this hurt. It means that I pushed my boundaries. It means that I went farther today than I have before, that I'll be able to go even farther next week. It means that soon I'll be even stronger, and even better. It means that today I was more capable than I was six months ago, two months ago, or even a few weeks ago.

I can't really describe to you how important this is to me. Instead, let me ask you this:

Just how much could your life change in the next few weeks if you got started today?

Year Two, Day One: Goals

I thought that July 22nd would be my day one. But on my birthday I sat down to write this post and realized that I had no clue what my goals were. That wasn't entirely accurate. I had a vague idea. What I didn't have was anything solid and communicable. I decided to take a few weeks to think about this, and now that it's August 1st I think I've probably had enough time to think. So here we go, my goals for the next 365 days:

1. Finish the editing process on my first book and get that published, then work on marketing it. This is...so huge. I've just finished writing the darn thing, it's the first book I've ever completed in my entire life, and I'm over the moon about this new adventure.
   
2. Write my second book and get the editing process started on that one. I've only just started the edits on my first book and I already have the second one itching in my brain. This is thrilling, really, because for the past six years I've suffered pretty massive writer's block. Now I've not only finished one book but the second one just can't wait to be written! What's the secret? Just sit down and write. Seriously. Just...do it.
   
3. Continue in my habit of walking daily (with a rest day every 4th day), lead that habit into a jogging habit, and eventually a running habit. Ultimately, I would love to be running five to ten miles every day by this time next year. I never thought I'd be an exercise person. It used to be so unpleasant! I used to have to drag myself out of bed and onto the elliptical, labor through the bare minimum workout, and force myself not to crash back into bed immediately after.
   
   Now? I love exercise! So much! I'm one of *those* people. I love the way I feel after a good run and I love knowing that I'm being good to my body. I love the soreness when I push myself a little too far because that's coming later and later in the walk recently. I get so excited about something stupid like new gel insoles, because it means walking is going to be even more comfortable! I'm looking forward with great anticipation to making running a regular part of my life.
   
4. Learn yoga! I'll probably start with pregnancy yoga, just because. People keep telling me I should yoga, and I keep finding dumb reasons not to. But I found dumb reasons not to walk, too. Now I can't imagine wanting to go back to a life without my morning walks! I think yoga will probably be the same thing. So, I'm going to start with pregnancy yoga and learn what I can, then move on to other muscle-toning yoga to get that lean muscle mass I covet in other women.
   
5. Run the Seattle Rock N Roll half marathon! This is what started the whole exercise thing for me. I don't know if I'll like marathons, but I'll like the people I'll be running with and I'll really like being able to say "I ran a half marathon" - Although now that I say it, I'm thinking I probably won't be satisfied until I've done a full marathon. Just a thought.
   
6. Have a baby (or two). Yes, it is my goal to start our family this year. I cannot even describe how amazingly stoked I am for this one. I've wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember, and it feels like I've been waiting FOREVER to start having kids. Sometime this year, we're going to start! (I invite you to party dance in preparation.)
   
7. GET ORGANIZED! If this was a priority goal list, this one would be way at the top. Seriously, I am *so* disorganized. I've got a few tricks I employ to keep things running around here, but getting some actual organization going is a good idea. Franklin Covey here I go!
   
8. Reclaim my yard. This may seem like a weird one. There has been so much weed killer dumped on my yard, it's absurd. The whole yard, with the exception of some very resilient weeds, is dead. I want my yard back. This year, I want to reclaim my yard, starting with ripping the whole thing up so we can start again. This is going to be a big project, and I know next to nothing about gardening, so there will probably be a lot of fodder in here for another book. But I will learn!
   
9. Get down to a size 4. This one's scary for me to write. Can I get down to a 4 in a year? Probably. But I've never been a 4 before. At least, not with an adult body! I don't know what I'll look like in a 4. Part of me isn't sure I can get to a 4.
   
   Honestly, I just want to be lean. Super lean. Skinny lean, but healthy lean. The size doesn't matter as much if the general image I'm going for shows up. But for now, let's quantify it, and say size 4.
   
10. Read 40 books. I've seriously dropped off in my reading. Last year was supposed to be about this, but my weight became too much of a problem and it had to be focused on. This year, I want to read 40 books that will teach me something new and important. 

I plan to update regularly with how this is going, basically any time I make progress. It's going to be fun!