Oct 25, 2012

Getting Back On Track

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I need to get my butt MOVING. Like Now. I need to get my hand and mouth to start coordinating the best foods to feed me. Like Now. I just need to get back on track!

It’s really hard though right? I can not imagine that I am the only person in the world that has struggled with feeling really great and healthy and then suddenly just fall off the wagon and have trouble catching back up to the pumpkin wagon that is constantly dropping pumpkins (or pumpkin treats) at me.

I have just been feeling a little rough. My attitude has been slightly off, my pants are just a little tighter, and I am just not feeling 100% like myself and it is VERY easy to pin-point… I’ve simply fallen off my healthy wagon a little bit. After the wedding came the honeymoon and after the honeymoon came enormous amounts of career work and school work and off went my normal healthy routine. I am still going to CrossFit class 2x a week so that is majorly helping but it’s really my diet and my running that has been off. Plus, I’m feeling not so great about myself when I look in the mirror. Not A LOT has changed in just a month but there are certainly a few things around that weren’t there before and I just don’t like the look of them.

So how do I get back on track..

1. I remember my commitments- I cannot lose sight of the fact that in just a few short weeks my butt is signed up to do a 15K which is about 9 miles so it is absolutely critical that I train for this. Lack of training=injuries and injuries=misery and I just won’t let this happen. I’m finally in a place in my running where I could probably just pick up and do a 9 mile run and not feel terrible afterward but my body would be much less sore and feel much better if I would just get out there and train. Run date: November 18th. Here are my goal plans for the next 3 weeks

    • Next week: Run 3 days during the week at least 3 mile every day with a 4 miler in there
    • 2nd week: Run 3 days during the week at least 3 miles every day with a 5 miler
    • 3rd week: Run 3 days during the week at least 3 miles every win with a 7 miler in there

As you can see I try to be very realistic about my runs. I know that I am limited on time and therefore I cannot really commit more than a 3 miler each and every time I run. BUT I can commit it at least once a week. So be is a weekend or a weekday where I can spend an hour or more on a run I’ll get it done. There I said it, I wrote it, and now I just gotta do it.

This will be me..

marathon-girl-runner2

2. I grocery shop right- I KNOW that I love sweets. Heck, I’m 26 years old I should have a general idea of what my taste preferences are. Sour Patch Kids… Twizzlers… Taffy… delicious. So if I have it in the house- it calls to me. Literally it does. So how do I combat this? Simple. Don’t have it in the house.  Honestly, for me at least, nutrition is the #1 thing that holds me back from being what I want to be… yet it isn’t the food itself tying me down to a chair and jumping in my mouth (although gosh some days it feels like it) it’s me. It’s my head telling me that it is “ok- it’s just one cookie” and then my belly that says “I NEED 10 MORE COOKIES” *please read that in a Cookie Monster voice for the full effect” these are all my decisions and I can’t blame anyone else. At some point you just have to realize that it may just be YOU holding YOU back from being the best YOU can be. 

I really wish I could just blame those cookies, but sadly I can’t.

This needs to be me

Ingredients_Healthy_Food

3. Tell my friends- and maybe even make them work out with you. I find I am far more consistent and motivated when I have a friend sharing in my passion. I’ll probably recruit Tim to start doing some running with me even though it’s not his favorite thing to do and I’ll probably start bothering Ashley, Robyn, and Erin with some exercise text updates! It’s nice when you are so self-motivated that you don’t have to use outside resourced but I think there is something strong about being able to say “I can’t do it along but with your help I can”

and here is what I think about my friends

friends-make-fitness-more-fun-tee

 

I found a pretty good quote on the Livestrong website I thought I would share… a little advice about getting back on track.

“Train your weakness and race your strength, advises Brazier. Create a mental checklist and use it to identify athletic weaknesses as you work out. Develop them when you are training for an event, such as a marathon race, but turn off the self-criticism when performing, as it only hurts you at that point.”

I also read this little tid-bit on the same site… may be worth trying if you are really struggling..

“Write a commitment to exercise for 10 days in a row. Sara Haley, California independent fitness coach, says it takes 10 days to break a habit, so tell yourself that you just have to do this for 10 days. When the 10-day period ends, you’ll feel so great that you won’t want to stop. Even if you only succeed on seven of the 10 days, you will be better off than if you had done nothing at all. Eventually you will be back on track.”

And because I’m a sucker for Pinterest and for fitness inspiring fitness pictures/quotes here’s a little something to help you get back on track if you’ve fallen off a little like I have…

241505598737251462_VZIQJRRY_c

So true =)

Filed Under: Primary Menu · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Jan 26, 2012

Thoughtful Thursday

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Welcome to the first edition of Thoughtful Thursday! I figure once a week is probably a good time for me to reflect on some random things and to filter through some of those thoughts that float around in my head… a scary place I’m sure!

So my thoughts today are centered on how at 25 years old I feel like Tim and I (as a unit) are getting to that point in our lives where we really start to think about the things and people that matter most. Additionally, in case I haven’t mentioned this, I am in Confirmation class at the church Tim and I will be getting married at. Casey is also in these classes with me so it’s pretty great. These classes have, as you probably imagine, challenged me to star to prioritize my life and make sure that my life is filled with the right people who care about me and that I truly care about. So although these are things that I should probably think about all of the time and I think to some extent I do but these confirmation classes have certainly started to put things into a different light for me. I have just really been enjoying that.

So the last week or so have been interesting. Schedules have been insane, relationships have been tested, and it is has become so clear to me that friendships and relationships are truly about quality and not quantity. I know in college it is a great idea to have 100 friends… 100 people to drink with… 100 people to eat pizza with… 100 people to do group projects with… but usually most of those 100 people didn’t really know what you liked, your hobbies, your family, and just you. I have been really lucky to have a few key people in my life that have shown me what true quality relationships are all about. It is those people that are there for you NO MATTER what… they aren’t afraid to struggle when things get tough; they speak their mind but respect the opinions of others. They are really impressive people that I love. What has been really nice is that Tim and I have been able to find quality relationships with people as a unit. So we have friends who are so wonderful to us and that we enjoy spending our time with.

I have also really been thinking about the value of accepting others and being a non-judgmental person. That is far easier said than done, I won’t deny that for one second, but it certainly is a good quality to hope to have. Tim and I have both realized that every relationship we have is different and that those relationships we have are different for the people that are our friends. People just live their life in different ways, lifestyles are different, expectations are different, planning happens differently, communication happens differently, and I I have just really been thinking about how important it is to understand that just because someone’s lifestyle is different from mine doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong… it’s just different. The friends we have right now just get that ya know. We all have different marriages/relationships, we handle conflict differently, we love differently, but we accept each other for who we are. We don’t assume that just because the relationship is different than someone has got to be unhappy or disappointed. It’s important to accept and understand without assuming you know more about someone else’s relationship than they do about their own! Just another life lesson I guess!

Overall, I guess my random thought for Thursday is simple… I’m a lucky girl and that I LOVE my friends! 

Filed Under: Things that don't fit anywhere else · Tagged: , ,
Jan 3, 2012

Food Updates

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I owe you some serious food updates! It would be unreasonable to assume that I haven’t been taking full advantage of the holiday season and enjoying lots of tasty treats! It seems that the holidays also create a good excuse to try new restaurants and to hang out with friends =) so yea we have been doing a lot of that.

But when I’m not out with friends trying new places and eating delicious food, I try to keep myself grounded at home and really try hard to eat good for your food and lots of protein. I have been running a lot so I have been trying to get some fairly large breakfasts in with lots of goodness on the plate! I love the combo of eggs (2 please!) and the Jennie O’s turkey sausage patties! Those are DELICIOUS and I will be purchasing those again for sure! I HIGHLY recommend you try these if you like turkey sausage.

But putting aside the good for you food we have been eating some not so good for you food too but it has been fun! Good thing I have been running and working my butt off in the gym so I don’t feel too bad eating this food. There is something to be said for having a balance in your life- you should be able to enjoy going on to dinner with friends and not worry about the calorie intake all of the time. I think as long as you have a balance and you take good care of your body that you shouldn’t worry about those times you want to go out and indulge a little. Our treat the other night was a new restaurant at Summit Mall in Akron, OH called The Rail. It was our first time there and we enjoyed the night with Kara, Dana, Tiffany, and Brett and it was DELICIOUS. Tim and I are both huge fans of burgers and this place has all times of good burgers so it was a hard menu to sort through!

We also got a great deal on drinks! They were selling a winter seasonal beer for $1 a glass since they were trying to get rid of it! They must have really liked our table because they even brought over 2 free glasses toward the end of the dinner! We will be back for the food and the drinks! Plus, I thought the service was GREAT and my burger that was topped with an avocado spread was hard to put down.

oh yes and a spicy mayo sauce!

Kara made her own burger and it had some very thick cut and delicious looking bacon!

and yes I am well aware that I have a beautiful best friend!

It is so nice to try new places with good friends… especially when the food is so delicious. What I really liked about The Rail was that they had veggie burgers and turkey burgers along side the regular burgers on the menu so anyone could eat a burger there! They also had sandwiches like BLT and Chicken Sandwiches which is always a nice way to mix things up if you are not feeling a burger. Oh and I should mention they also have drink specials every night including a Long Island special and Friday and Saturday nights… I have a feeling Tim will be suggesting this shortly!

One side of the table

The other side of the table

We also had the chance to have little Christmas/New Years lunch celebration with Paul and Amanda and House of Hunan in downtown Akron. We planned on going to 3 Point Restaurant where Tim and I have been before and LOVED but as it turns out A LOT of places were closed on Monday to celebrate New Years Day… understandable I guess… I didn’t have to work either! Tim is sick and this was the first day of him feeling awful so we didn’t get to celebrate much after dinner but I still managed to have some SUSHI for lunch =)

 It was a HUGE roll and tasted delicious! It was a spicy tuna with crunchy on the outside and some spicy sauce on top as well =) As you know I am a huge fan of SOY SAUCE so that is always one of my favorite parts =) Sadly, that is 100% true.

So yes, sometimes I still cook! Tim’s mom’s birthday was the other night and she does a GREAT job on our birthdays always cooking our favorite meal. She even has a “you’re special” plate that the birthday kid gets to eat on and I didn’t have that plate but I still made her some dinner. You may know that I am a HUGE fan of Robin’s stuffed shells and I ALWAYS ask her to make them so one year she gave me a great new pan for shells and the recipe.. and well I hadn’t really taken advantage of that yet so I finally did! Tim and I made stuffed shells and the puff and paired it with a salad and garlic bread. Gary and Robin came over for dinner and we celebrated!

The stuffed shells mixture

Looks pretty impressive right? Maybe I am a good cook

My delicious plate

Oh and no birthday is complete without an ice cream cake! This we bought from the grocery store and this is what I LOVED about it… you know from Dairy Queen the ice cream cakes have that layer of like chocolate crunchy layer and I love that layer but this cake was the best of both worlds… they actually combined the chocolate part of the ice cream cake with the crunchy goodness mixed in. So it wasn’t like you had to just eat the one layer- you could eat the entire cake ha… now that I think about it- is that a good thing for or a bad thing?!

Robin blowing our her one tea light candle (yea I was out of birthday ones)

Filed Under: Good Eats and Treats · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Jan 2, 2012

New Years Celebrations

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Tim and I were fortunate enough to have a few celebrations around and on New Years Eve this year!

First up, Ericka and Tim’s Ohio wedding reception get together! Our friend from college, Ericka, met an amazing man and got married to him in Florida in November and we were not able to make it to the actual wedding itself so her parents were kind enough to throw a little get-together at their house in Piketon, OH. The party was actually for us even though somehow I made it sound like it was, but we were thrilled to go visit with Ericka and meet Tim!

Tim and I drove to Rose and Adam’s house first and then the 4 of us, despite the traffic and accident on the side of the road on the way there, we made it to the party and had a great party! Tim is such an amazing guy and we all agreed that he totally compliments Ericka’s amazing personality- nothing is better than seeing one of our good friends find a really good man! We snacked on a lot of great treats including dips and cookies and Ericka’s dad attempted to cure my allergies with orange juice and vodka and although it the cure didn’t last long it sure tasted good! We even managed to snap a few photos to capture our great night reuniting with each other!

I see a Christmas card looking like this next year!

Rose and Adam striking a pose by the well-decorated tree!

The "bros"

Ericka and her best friend Melissa

We spent most of our time at the food table

Rose and Adam were kind enough to let us stay with them that night and then in the morning Tim headed out to the Bod Pod at the hospital Rose works at to get his body fat tested. In case any of you are interested I found some information on the Bod Pod here, it is supposed to be a very accurate way to test your body fat. I am getting mine done this weekend while my mom and I are in Columbus for my Christmas present but Tim went first…. I was glad I had my camera in my purse for this moment!

Pretty awesome picture right?!

And since Tim let me take his picture we all went out for a serious breakfast! Tim had this peanut butter and banana french toast! This thing was DELICIOUS!

so impressive

On the actual New Years Eve we had an awesome night at Kara and Dana’s ringing in the new year with great food and even more fun! Kara and Dana hosted a pajama party which as you can tell by the picture below… Dana had the best PJ’s of the entire party. We didn’t vote on best PJs but I don’t think anyone can argue with cookie monster footie pajamas can they?

 Kara and I went for the more classic matching pajama set look rather than the old school type Dana went for haha!  We ended the night playing a very intense game of Catch Phrase which of course got pretty heated as it always does haha! Boys came out on top winning 2 out of 3 games but the girls didn’t go down without a fight!

~I foresee good things happening for 2012~

Filed Under: My family is the best, Random Crap · Tagged: , , ,
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