The ditch is getting bigger

I have found myself in a rut.  I know I need to get back into the swing of working out, but rebuilding that momentum is so hard sometimes.  One .... Two ..... Three ...... GO!!

Consider this ...

We all hear the argument that it is expensive to be healthy.  I call shenanigans on that statement.  I feel like the people who say this, use it as a cop out so that they can continue their unhealthy lifestyle.  With that, I'd like to direct you all toward this article:  

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/the-hidden-costs-of-unhealthy-living-1396599.html

and this one

http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/prevention/

It's little changes we can implement over time, you guys.  If you've never really exercised, get out ... walk 30 minutes a day 3 times a week.  drink water, or unsweetened tea instead of soda.  Switch from white to wheat bread.  It is NOT hard to be healthy!!  Granted, if you've not lived a particularly healthy lifestyle up to this point, it's going to take some getting used to.  It is not impossible, though.  Not by any stretch of the imagination. 

consider this post I just read from a friend of mine who is an FNP:

"I had a patient in November who I diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He was very angry hearing this diagnosis. When I discussed healthy food choices, eating smaller portions, & exercise he started screaming at me & telling me he already does those things. I started him on meds, and he missed a couple follow up appointments. Just when I had started to give up on him, he came back last week, lost 11 #s, blood sugars went from 200s to low 100s. He said he's been exercising & eating better. He says he feels better than he has in years. These are the people who make my job rewarding! I've said it before, and I'll say it again...diabetes (type 2) is a disease of lifestyle & choices! What choices are you making?"

Anyone can do it!  You just have to want it.  Now, what would you rather spend your money on?  Costly medical procedures and medications for things you could prevent, or something enjoyable like a family vacation, or a new T.V or SOMEthing that you actually want to own??  Put it in savings, and watch it grow!  

You don't have to be chained to your medications, you know.  You are in total control of your life.  Genetics isn't a crutch for your unhealthy habits, it should be motivation to be that much more diligent in your life choices.


A quote from Wendell Berry to ponder:  "People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health, and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food."


The ball is always in your court.  What are you going to do?

Feel the burn

My wonderful guy got me a heart rate monitor for Christmas.  I love it!  I feel like I have a better idea as to how effective my workouts truly are.    I decided to test it on Insanity, since I'm going through the program right now.  I hadn't done it in a few days - holidays, my guy being in town, my whole routine shifted.  I figured I'd wait.

Tonight was the night - I busted out the Cardio Power and Resistance video, donned my heart rate monitor and got to work.  I took it sort of easy tonight, since I hadn't done it in a few days, and wanted to ease back in.  That being said, even with taking it easy, I still burned 765 calories.  765 DUDES!!  Imagine if I pushed harder!  Psshhhhh.  I mean this program is amazing, I already knew that, but I didn't think I was burning that many calories in the 30-40 minute workouts.  I assumed somewhere closer to 400.  I'm certainly impressed.

Like I'd said before, I feel my strength as well as stamina building with these workouts.  A prime example would be New Year's Eve day.  My guy and I decided to hike into the canyon a little ways.  He had never been to the Grand Canyon, so a hike was definitely in order.  We did a 5 mile round trip hike down the Hermit trail, which is pretty steep most of the way down/up.  I hiked it with no problems.  I was barely getting winded!  No stops necessary for me for the entire 2.5 mile trek back out - though I did stop for my partner, since he's not used to this elevation :) Last year when I hiked this same trail, I had to stop a multitude of times on my way back out.  My increase in strength training - weights, running, Insanity, have all contributed to this boost.  I couldn't be happier.

Now, to keep that momentum going!  I've been rather lax lately, and I really need to change that.

Dig deep, y'all

I just finished my Insanity workout for tonight, and let me just say I absofreakin'lutely love this program.  It doesn't get easier, You just keep pushing harder.  I really do notice that my strength and stamina has increased exponentially.  This is coming from someone who has run a half marathon and lifts weights (and I don't mean the 5-10 lb dumbbells).  This workout KILLS in a great way.  At the start of this routine, I wasn't at all able to come close to making my way through the entire warm up - THE WARM UP, YOU GUYS!  Now,  I can almost completely work through it (increase in intensity and all) without stopping. 

I endorse this program 100% - Beachbody is an amazing company with amazing products.  The workout programs, the Shakeology powder, everything.  I can't imagine NOT using any of these products.  Shakeology makes me feel so good when I make that my morning breakfast.  I mean, I feel it when I DON'T drink it.  That actually surprises the hell out of me, since I've used so many different protein supplement powders.  This one is very very different, and I'm very happy that I discovered it.

I always feel so much better after I work out.  I just have to remember that feeling when I'm especially tired or lacking motivation one day. 

Oh, Beachbody, I love you.  You give me as intense a workout, if not moreso, as I would if I enrolled in a gym.  I will forever continue to dig deep.

It's been a minute

Sorry you guys, I'll try to update on a more regular basis.

still doing Insanity, and I just adore it.  Seriously.  It kicks my ass.  I'm still trying to get in an lift in the mornings, but I've just been too tired to get up in the mornings.  I really need to nut up and get on that.

I also need to get on top of trying to get a challenge group together for the new year.  If any of your are interested, let me know.  Beachbody is an amazing company, so I know you'd have amazing results.  I wouldn't tell you if I didn't think it was true.

I'll have a fuller post next time, I promise, you guys.

well then

I had a little hiccup in my workout routine this week ...

I usually try to work out twice a day if I can, but if not, definitely once a day.  That once being my Insanity videos.  Anyhow, after my workout on Tuesday night, I settled into my normal routine:  cook dinner, talk to my querido online, and watch a little netflix while my body recovers.  As I was getting ready to head off to  bed, I decided to peruse Facebook one last time before I shut my computer down for the night.  I stumbled across something that for all intensive purposes, shook me down to my core.  I didn't really expect to have such a physical response on top of whatever emotion I was feeling at that moment.  What it was is irrelevant at this point, what caught me off guard was how strongly I reacted.

Any hope I had of sleeping was completely and effectively derailed.  So .. instead of going to bed around 10 pm like I'd hoped, I didn't end up falling asleep until after 2 AM ... only to wake up to start my day at 5 am as per usual. 

So that was it.  No weightlifting that morning ... not on less than 3 hours sleep.  I was a zombie the rest of the day.  I kept hoping I'd at least get my energy back to power through Insanity when I got home from work.  Nope.  Not even a little bit.  The moment I sat down, I could feel my body sinking into my chair.  You know that feeling you get when your entire body starts to lightly tingle when you have had little to no sleep?  That's what was happening to me. 

I had my dinner, talked to my querido, and laid down to go to bed at a much more reasonable hour that night. 

I feel better today, but I've learned that I need to be much better about managing myself and how I respond to things.  I can't let myself get so worked up that it affects me physically like that.  It's a hard thing to manage, as I'm sure it has happened to all of us at one point or another in our lives.  What's important is that you pick up and keep going.   You'll stumble, but you have to right yourself and continue on.

Insanity tonight was just cardio recovery.  I left Plyo Cardio Circuit right where it was, and am not going to try to make up for it.  Just keep looking forward.

Because they can't all be uplifting

I'm feeling pretty down on myself today, despite the strides I'm making in the gym these days.  We all get this way, so I think it's important to chronicle this as well as all the great things I'm doing too. 

I just feel unattractive.  I look at other people, and then look at myself and think "what the hell, why am I not there yet?  What's wrong? I am  never going to get there, I should just give up now."  You think I'm joking?  Ask anybody I talk to on a regular basis.  I guess it just comes down to us being our own harshest critics.  That's a good and a bad thing, I guess.  Good in that we know our own limits and how much harder we should be pushing, versus how hard we're pushing now.  Bad in that we may sink far enough down to where we don't see any good whatsoever in what we're doing, and eventually give  up, because what's the point?  I have no plans on giving up everything I've accomplished so far, but I gotta say that I'm in a real funk right now. 


I just feel so ... so ... BLEGH.  I'm squishy, I still can't make it all the way through Insanity without stopping between designated breaks in the intervals, and I still cannot for the life of me do a chin up. 

I'll probably feel a little more positive once i've completed my Insanity workout for the night.  Hopefully, anyway.  I hate feeling so down on myself, especially when I know how much I've accomplished, and am still accomplishing.