A Pretty Walk

I have a confession to make. Yep, I haven't been doing the best in the fitness department. Frank was actually make fun of me saying that I sounded so motivated a few weeks ago yet he hasn't seen any action. It's sad but true.

So, I'm not sure if I shared this fully, but basically I'm in the process of going to several doctors to find out why my heart rate sky rockets when I do so much as walk on an incline or jog at a 5.5-6.0 speed on a treadmill. It's honestly been happening to me since I was in 6th grade and I was always told that I had exercise induced asthma. Frank and I began going to new doctors since we moved in the area and this guy was not satisfied with that diagnosis and wanted to find out what exactly was preventing me from running. 

To be honest, it's a relief that someone is finally taking this issue seriously when for years I've felt there was something wrong and nobody seemed to get it.

Well...we're on the third month now of trying to figure this out and until I see a cardiologist I'm not supposed to be straining myself (i.e., no running). Bummer. I think I've sort of taken this news as an excuse. And I did say, No Excuses! So, this week, after Frank totally called me out, I decided that taking walks and getting back into yoga has to happen. And it did.

Frank and I took a nice walk into the main area of Bordentown, past a pretty park, and down the the boat launch area where the trail continues over a bridge beside the railroad tracks. It was probably at least a 2 mile walk and felt great once we got home! We decided to try to do this weekly and possibly bi-weekly in addition to me walking at the gym again. I also did yoga two times this week--yay! It felt great. It's definitely a challenging work-out and I'm feeling it today! It feels good to finally push myself and to know that even if I may not be able to run, I shouldn't let that stop me from doing other types of work-outs.

Question of the Day: What do you do for work-outs? Do you have a favorite place to run or walk?

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Fitness & Salads

So remember my awesome 5-day plan to keep myself active and get back to the gym? It's in progress, but I am already coming up against some bumps along the way. I have been going to the doctor for the past two months to find out if I may have some kind of asthma or breathing problem. For the past few weeks I have been taking an inhaler to see if it helps me to breath while active and I learned on Wednesday when I attempted to run again for the first time in a while...it does not work. At all. But, I am working on figuring out how to work around this frustrating bump along the way.

Pinterest

So, for now Frank and I are just working on eating healthier and this week my goal is to focus on walking at a challenging pace instead of running and to get into a routine with yoga. 

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One of the main ways I've been trying to keep myself full of fresh veggies is to make salads for lunch! I've started to stock up on lots of hummus, banana peppers, feta, olives and other nutrient-rich toppings to make my salads interesting. 

Earlier this week Frank and I made a big salad for one of our dinners. We had left-over grilled chicken from chicken-salad we made for Mother's Day and used it in a Apple Walnut Salad. We filled our salad with mixed greens, chopped red onions, thinly sliced granny smith apples, feta cheese, walnuts, dried cranberries and raspberry vinaigrette. Here's a similar recipe:

Milk Free Mom

 I also found a great place in the town I work at that has the best falafel I've eaten in my life. Serious. It's called Moaz. It's a vegetarian semi-fast food place that has falafel and the best salad bar with gluten-free and vegan options. I've gone a few times and just cannot get over how delicious their falafel and scrumptious their different salad toppings are. Looks messy, but it's so yummy!

My salad has hummus, greens, falafel, avocado, beets, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, barley salad, pico de gallo, olives, and yogurt sauce. It was extremely filling and energizing which was great while I was at work. And, apparently they have locations across the U.S., Spain, France, the Netherlands and the UK! {Find a Moaz near you HERE} 

Anyway, Frank and I are on our way! We are going to try to incorporate more black beans, quinoa, and other meatless forms of protein into our meals for a more well-rounded diet. Stay tuned for pictures and recipes as we learn! 

Tell Me: What do you eat to stay healthy?

Let's talk Fitness

Okay, so remember back in January when I made a bunch of lofty goals for 2013? Well, I'm pretty sure I sort of lost sight of them among the ridiculousness of finishing up my last semester of grad school...which, by the way, I am COMPLETELY DONE with.

The good things about not having grad school anymore are that I have: 

1. No homework, massive amounts of reading, 20+ page papers, and extra STRESS

2. No more interning 23 hours a week for free. 

3. No more stress about getting an A on every assignment and staying up into the wee hours of the night to do so. 

Got it? Okay good. Let's talk about what I plan to fill my extra time with.

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That's right. 

Running.

Yoga.

Pilates.

Weight Training.

No more of the excuses. And actually...at this point I don't have any more excuses. 

The best thing about ending a phase of my life that took 3 years worth of my time and energy to complete means that I have the opportunity right now to shape the way the next phase of my life will look like.

And I want to seriously focus on my fitness. 

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As I've discussed in many past posts, I've had a pretty tough struggle with the motivation to work out. I'm sure many of you can relate? It seems like every time I make up my mind to get into shape I come up against this wall. Maybe my wall isn't so much motivation as it is negative thinking from the start. Thinking, well last time it didn't work, I bet this time it won't either. Or constantly inspecting myself for improvement and giving up if it's not visible quickly. 

I'm also a perfectionist. Surprise!

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The problem is, I have a fear of failing. If I sense that I am not good at something or it's pretty difficult, somehow I tend to give up. Maybe if I just don't do it at all it's better than trying and failing. 

But maybe it's not about being perfect. It's just about doing my best. It's a hard concept for my brain to comprehend.

Pinterest

Perhaps I just need to be a perfectionist about just doing it. If It's hard, it's okay. If I have a bad day, it's okay--there's always tomorrow. But, if I at least put as much energy into my fitness as I did into my graduate education...I think there's a possibility I'd get some good results. I just have to knock down that wall I always seem to encounter.

Pinterest

So, I need to make a choice. 

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And maybe I need to make a conscious decision not only now, but each day. Each day I can choose to run, to lift, to do yoga or pilates or I can choose to stay in bed, sit on the couch, let myself fail and be lazy. 

Pinterest

So here's the plan.

Monday: Abs {p90x, insanity or pilates ab work-outs to switch it up}

Tuesday: 15-20 minute jog/walk

Wednesday: Abs {p90x, insanity or pilates abs}

Thursday: Yoga & 15-20 minute jog/walk

Friday: Abs {p90x, insanity or pilates abs}

Saturday: 30 minute run/walk

Sunday: Rest

and no excuses. 

I wish I liked coffee

So remember back before the wedding how I was so determined to get into shape? Well, I can tell you before the wedding I was in decent shape. Not the best I've been in, but decent enough. Now? Horrible. To be honest, I hadn't worked out one minute since the week before the wedding...until this week.

Let me tell you one thing about my husband. He is a complete morning person. And when I say morning person, I mean that person that wakes up as soon as the sun is up (what does that look like again?) at 6am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. And...completely and totally aggravating to someone like me who is NOT a morning person.

Source: imgfave.com via Elyse on Pinterest

He honestly gets so much done. He gets up and cleans the house, does the bills, makes me breakfast (I wish...that hasn't actually happened yet), and does silly things like...goes running at 7am. 7am.

Source: laurajul.dk via Muge on Pinterest

This has all been incredibly frustrating for someone who NEVER and I repeat, NEVER, wakes up the first time the alarm goes off. I'm that kind of person that morning people hate. The kind that sets the alarm 30 mins before I actually get up so that I trick myself into thinking that I'm sleeping in by pressing the snooze button about a billion times. (like 3x...or 4). It also takes me about 5 whole minutes to slowly get my eyes used to the light most likely resulting in me looking like I have two little slits for eyeballs for the first few minutes. This is my life.

Source: via Leigh on Pinterest

However, even having said all that, this week, something changed. I began waking up exactly at 8am. It's not 7am by any means. But still, 8am is pretty good for someone like me. To make things worse. I woke up at 8am and actually, wait for it...went for a run. A run at 8am. gasp. I know.

Part of this is because the husband has signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon in November and has been hard at work running 5 days a week to get ready for it. He asked me to help motivate him and push him. Being that motivating someone is pretty much impossible to do while snoring and hiding under a pillow...I figured maybe I could try to compromise with 8am even just a few mornings a week. So, this week I began my own little training.

Source: pinerly.com via Brittany on Pinterest

I wanted to see if I could accomplish some of my own goals while helping to motivate him. So, this is what I did today. Found this workout on Pinterest, but adjusted it to more of what I'm capable of doing now. Eventually I hope to make it more challenging as I can do more and more.

Source: therealityofskinny.tumblr.com via Brittany on Pinterest

1 lap around the track jogging
12 push-ups
50 crunches
25 side crunches (each side)

1 lap around the track jogging
10 push-ups
25 crunches
25 side crunches (each side)

1 lap around the track jogging
1 lap around the track jogging straight ways & walking corners
10 push-ups
25 crunches
15 side crunches (each side)

I plan to do this work-out instead of just plain running/walking like I have before since it gives my lungs a little breather in between running and also gives me a chance to get some core exercises in. Also, I hope that if I do it once a week I can eventually turn the running into 1 mile, 1/2 mile, 1/2 mile. We'll shall see...

Source: superskinnyme.com via Brittany on Pinterest

Maybe I should learn to like coffee?...

running is cheaper than therapy

So, the other day, in Pinterest...go figure...I was looking through stuff to inspire me to get into shape. I've been trying for what seems like FOREVER to find the motivation, the energy, and the determination to get into a fitness plan. It seems like I have a great motivation and then it quickly dwindles. I've tried all sorts of things and have been trying for about 2 years now. Nothing. Works.
I orginially started with p90x since Frank had been doing it, got great results, and pushed me to do the same. I hate P90x. I never looked forward to it. I got frustrated with the weight lifting because I felt like I wasn't burning any fat. And I didn't enjoy one minute! So, ofcourse after a few weeks I stopped.

Source: etsy.com via Brittany on Pinterest

After that I joined a gym with the expectation that paying for a membership every month would be motivation to keep going--plus my best friend is a member at the same gym. This worked for about...2 months. Then, I started to get sick of the drive since the gym was a bit further (I thought the distance wouldn't be a problem for motivation since my friend would be there). Then, my friend started to stop going...hence why I stopped going. And subsequently wasted a ton of money for the following...9 months or so...

Source: Uploaded by user via Brittany on Pinterest

After that I got motivated again and tried to combine P90x with running. My sister had been running like a fiend and was getting amazing results! I tried an app on my iphone called "couch to 5k" with hopes to sign up for a race in the fall. So, I began running around my house. It was SO difficult. I have exercise induced asthma which totally throws a wrench into everything, but I was determined, yet again, to overcome it with an inhaler and perseverance. However, the summer was probably not the smartest time of year to begin this. It was hot. I got tired quickly. The pollen and grass was NOT helping the whole asthma situation (as I am allergic to most plants outside. AND I was not keeping up with the P90x for 2 reasons. 1. It was too much to expect myself to all of a sudden do 90 minute workouts each day AND run for 30 minutes. 2. I still hated p90x. ALOT. I actually gained alot of weight doing it and it still did not make me feel any better. (except maybe the ab ripper X)

Source: workout-girl.tumblr.com via Brittany on Pinterest

Then the fall semester happened. I ate horribly. I gained weight. I felt like crap. I told myself the lie that I was too tired and too busy to fit workouts into my schedule. So I did absolutely nothing. All. semester. long. Then, I tried to cancel my gym membership and was told that I actually signed up for an 18 month contract and had the membership until May if I liked it or not. Also, I realized that I was getting married in 6 months if I liked it or not and was not going to like the way I looked in a bathing suit--which would probably ruin my vacation to Punta Cana if I didn't get my tooshy in gear REAL fast.

Source: groworperish.tumblr.com via Brittany on Pinterest

So, all of that to say: I started slow this time. Ditched what I hated, because exercise is supposed to be alittle enjoyable. I'm not going to go back to the workout if it makes me want to pull my hair out and scream. So, I picked 2 days a week to go to the gym with my friend (who fortunately now goes regularly again). When I go, I don't kill myself, I just do as much cardio as I can--usually 40-50 minutes. I've tried to use the treadmill when I can and alternate between running and walking .5 miles at a time. This was challenging at first, but with a friend it really helped pass the time. Now, I've been trying to go 3x a week and I've been using the cardio ab workout from Insanity when I can (Frank owns it). I love that ab work out...and the Insanity workout altogether. But, I've been losing stomach fat and beginning to see results a little bit at a time. Ofcourse this includes cutting out fast food and other gross things that are fried (I try to tell myself they're gross...).

I am by NO means there yet. I am still working on it and still have days when I just want to skip the gym and take a nap. And I honestly don't think that 3 days is enough to get the results I want, but I realized to keep up with a routine I had to start small. I've been going strong for 2 months now! I just got to keep it up.

And today I am writing this, because I had one of the best runs I've had yet. I ran the longest I've ever run straight through without stopping--OUTSIDE! Granted, it's winter and it's crazy warm for February, so I have the best of both worlds (no pollen and warm air). But I also realized that I really enjoy running. I finally got that feeling of refreshment and rejuvenation afterwards that I've heard people talk about but never really understood. It felt amazing! And I want more!

I hope I can keep this up! No, I don't hope. I'm determined. I will keep this up.