Sunday, December 4, 2016

The Truth About Running: For Me

I've only been halfheartedly committed to the sport of running for this last year. My daughter has completed two 5K races by my side in this last year. As we geared up signed up the day OF our third, my 9 yr old son decided he wanted to join us. He'd never completed more than 2 miles but he was migraine free for once and really wanted to go with us. 

 As we alternated between walking and running and I coached and encouraged Dalton along, I realized how easy the exertion felt. I felt like the last year of little to no running was truly a waste of time and of using my gift, talent, abilities for the Lord. 

The truth is, running is actually starting to feel easy, even after so long off. I never thought it would feel "easy"! It is something I enjoy and even like a LOT. Why am I wasting that? It is time to start using this for something else... 

I'm smelling the scent of another Half Marathon in the future. I'm not sure when or how but the tingle of excitement is there and I'm ready to run....really run and Run for God, this time! 

**more to come regarding Run for God 

Friday, October 14, 2016

Quick Links

Shhhhh! Wait, just a quick second. 
Do you hear the rain gently pattering on the roof? 
Or the crunch of leaves on the soft, still green grass? 
Autumn has arrived with all its splendor and brilliance!

If you truly know me, then you *know* this is my absolute favorite time of year! 

Here are a few articles that I wanted to share with you on this beautiful evening. 

{Pumpkin Pie Smoothie} I'm dying to try
{Yummy cookies} that can't wait give a whirl
15 great snack ideas that are healthy
{9 new ideas} to deal with emotional eating 
7 snackies that look scrumptious 
And, one great {video about} emotional eating 



 

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

90 Day Keto Challenge

Eating low carb and cycling it with high carb helped me to lose 50lbs last year. However, no matter how I tried I could not break my plateau. Add in the incredible amount of stress we've been in the midst of these last 9 months and its no wonder I haven't been able to lose more weight. 

I am recommitting to my weight loss with the understanding that my circumstances are not going to be changing anytime soon. It seems like I was just holding my breath and waiting for things to settle down with our Sunshine, however, that isn't happening. So, I press on now.

I am nixing the bad habits (even "healthy" carbs were detrimental to my waistline) and focusing on what works for my body. 

Its not too late to join the 90 Day Keto Challenge!

http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/
http://90daylowcarbchallenge.com/

How about joining me? 

My goals for my macros are 
70% healthy fats
5% carbs
20% protein

So far I've managed to hit my goals!
  
 

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Dropping This One Thing From My Diet Had A Surprising Side Affect

Jessica, my best friend since nearly elementary school and sister in Christ, has been gluten free since way before it was ever "popular". She has sung of the benefits of going gluten free for years....and I half-heartedly gave it a go a time or ten...However, I recently went completely gluten free when I regressed into a really bad PMR flare-up.

PMR, is called Polymyalgia Rheumatica and it is an autoimmune form of arthritis that mostly attacks the hips, shoulders, and neck. The only course of action is steroids. Normally, its a low dose for a long time. However, with all the recent stress of a child having surgery and another child coming home from the mental health facility, my body was not accepting the low dose. We had to up it to a very large dose for several weeks. PMR always attacks my hips and the pain is unbearable and no amount of pain meds will touch it. The treatment is only steroids because I avoid the strong pain meds.

I decided to cut out gluten, at that time that we had to up the steroids a level than I've ever had to have, to take away one more inflammatory trigger. It still took me weeks to be pain free. It had one surprising result that I truly did not expect. 

A very happy gut.

Like....little to no gas or bloating type of happy gut!

I had no idea how messed up my gut was until I went gluten free....Now, I'm not saying I have Celiac or have a wheat allergy...I'm still contemplating if its even worth it to be tested but my gut has never EVER been happier! 

So...low carb and gluten free...not vegetarian at the moment...for variety I had to add poultry back in. I'm liking this right now!

I know I made you proud, Jessica! But seriously folks...look at your diet...is something you are eating making you miserable?   

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

This One Compliment Changed How I Saw My Body

We all have those areas on our body that we're a bit frustrated with. 
For some its their hips, lips, bum, or coconuts. 
For others its their middle. Their thighs. Their eyes. 
 
I use to hate my hair...I use to despise it. Its baby fine thin, no body, and its plain brown. I use to color it, curl it, cut it, anything I could to make it something it wasn't meant to be. One pregnancy resulted in fabulous hair and the next two caused hair tragedy. My hair literally stopped growing. (Bonus points: I didn't have to shave for 9 months.) Overall, the last two pregnancies caused my hair to get so thin I was really nervous it wouldn't grow back. 
 
Once it did grow back I contemplated the color and curl thing again.....but the very next morning after thinking about curling it, when my hair had dried, it was curly. And the next day. And the next day. Its a super fine curl and only on the bottom 1/3 but its beautiful. There are threads of shiny silver in there and I love silver. Even at 36, I'm ready for it to be silver.  
 
My most recent nemesis:
 My calves. 
Don't laugh....I'm serious. 
I have the calves of a grown man! A grown man who must workout on machines everyday to have these fleshy fiends....
 
Is it practical to be concerned about this body part? No...but its one area I am self-conscience about...until this one compliment changed how I saw a flaw. 
 
A sister at the Refresh Summit looked at my calves and said, "Nice calves! I'd love to have calves like that."  
 
My mind raced to name all the negatives and all the reasons I hated that particular body part. But, my brain quieted and I looked at those calves with pride for the first time in my life.

I went from seeing them as a flaw to seeing these mounds of flesh as an asset. Less than a week later they pushed me through my first half marathon. 

Yes, there is a downside to having fleshy calves...I'm limited in certain dress/skirt styles and I, often, have extremely tight muscles that need constant rubbing. I have to baby these things! More flesh= more opportunity for strains and pulls.
 
But in the end, I left the Refresh Summit with a new outlook of myself and my body.
 
The moral of the story is not how to quit shaving for 9 months (although that was a nice bonus considering how hard it is to bend over when pregnant). The true moral of the story is to compliment folks liberally, with heart and intent. It just might change how they see themselves and what they believe are flaws!
 

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Winter Goals

My winter goals:
 
Running: 
Restart running 3-4x a week maxing out at 6 miles for long runs.
Incorporate speed work. 
Move from the Jeff Galloway run/walk method to running without walk intervals.

Strength: 
Incorporate strength training to become an overall stronger runner.
Focus on core work and hips/glutes..

Winter Fun:
Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice skating and walking to the best sledding hills.  

Nutrition:
Tweak the nutrition plan (coming soon).
Track bodyfat percentage and inches as opposed to the scale.


   What are your plans or goals? 
What has worked for you in the past?