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!

 

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?

Healthy Holidays: PT 4

{Parts 1, 2, & 3}

Merry Motivation:

Incentives work well for not only preschool classrooms but for the bigger kids at heart, as well. An old fashioned reward system can keep you moving, keep you eating well, and keep you focused on your plan.  One key factor to staying motivated is consistency because if you slack off on whatever system you set up then your motivation will slow to a crawl. If we intensely focus on our worries we cannot keep our focus on our goals.

Twelve Non-Food Rewards to Keep You Motivated:

• Clothing/ Shoe shopping
• Manicure/Pedicure 
•  Massage (Yes, please!)
• Book
• Healthy cooking class
• Girl’s night out! (Always motivating!)
• Music
• Kitchen gadget
• Workout gadget (bic bands, sports bra, socks,)
• Facial
• New fragrance or candles
• Magazine subscription
• **Bonus** Tip jar

 **Bonus** The tip jar concept is easy to start. You simply place a monetary value on a workout and pay yourself each time you do said workout. You can add water consumption, healthy eating choices, and weight you have lost to the scheme and you will have a healthy little bonus to spend on yourself in a short period of time!

How do you reward yourself for hitting your goals?

Healthy Holidays: Part 3

{Parts 1 and 2}

Active Elf vs. Procrastinating Prancer:

If do not have an established fitness routine the best approach is to start slowly by simply moving your body by including holiday traditions that require active movement. Bundle up warmly and take a walking tour to enjoy Christmas lights or go caroling with a group of friends or family. Take the time deep clean your house before the festivities begin and make it an intense cleaning by working up a sweat. Throw on your fave Christmas music and have a dance party. Shovel the driveway and sidewalk to get your body warmed up in a hurry.

  

Consider more intense activities like ice skating, sledding, skiing or snowshoeing as your body becomes more accustomed to the new routine. Sign up for a fun run 5K and make it a new tradition for the family. 

Active Elves!

While joining a gym can be intimidating it, also, might hold the one activity that really clicks with you and keeps you moving. Most gyms offer classes of all sorts to fit every fitness level and taste. Commit to trying one new class a week in the beginning to find what makes you sweat the most and what you enjoy the best. If the gym is not an option for you then check the newspaper because many churches hold fitness classes that can be enjoyed with less intimidation than a gym might have.

Are you an active elf or a procrastinating prancer?

Procrastinating Prancer!

Healthy Holidays: Part 2

Part 1 can be found {here}

Best Laid Plans:

For those that do not want to wait for January to begin establishing new habits and want to get a jump on changes, having a plan in place is even more important or failure will almost be a certainty.

• It is important to plan a menu and then prep the steps for each meal. Washing and cutting the vegetables ahead of time can make it easier and more likely for them to be eaten. 
• Planning every meal of each day right down to the snacks you will eat will eliminate mindless snacking and make poor choices less likely. 

• Prepare your meals in advance and have them ready to go in the refrigerator and keep healthy snack options available on the fly so you can munch and shop at the same time.

 Do you plan your meals?

Healthy Holidays: Pt 1

Does wishing yourself a Happy Holiday consist of noshing on nuts, ingesting eggnog, and consuming candy? When the Holidays roll around we usually give ourselves a vacation from healthy choices and chalk it up to tradition. Study after Study has shown the negative results of this mindset.

What about doing it differently? Why wait for the New Year to make small changes or even big changes? Those that choose lasting change don’t wait for the following Monday or the next month, they change now because they can!

Even Steven:

Often the best plan going into the Holiday season is not to drop a bunch of pounds but to be even steven by not losing or gaining weight. This is a solid approach that works best if you have healthy habits already established, such as a regular fitness and meal prep routine. Also, having a plan in place prior to celebrating will take the guess work out so you can concentrate on enjoying the best of what this season is all about.

• Never skip a meal, such as breakfast, and consider eating before you go to the party.
• Plan on having dessert as deprivation can lead to overeating, however, be strategic in your dessert choices by only eating your absolute fave sugary treats and limiting simple carbs throughout the day.  
• When you’re done eating chew a piece of gum or pop a mint to signal to yourself that you are now done eating for the night.

 What healthy holiday choices have helped you the most?

Originally posted {here} 

Race Report: Run Michigan Cheap Saranac

When I ran my first 10k in August it felt great to accomplish what had been an impossible task for me, up to that point. I decided to find a Half Marathon plan and shoot for a Half in November...which means the end of long distance running here in Michigan so my choices were limited. I ran across a race series called Run Michigan Cheap and thought it looked like a great affordable close to home option. 

Pros

Affordable: the Half was $25 early on and still only $30 or $35 for late signups. 

Location: close to home for the win!

Pictures: Lots of pics loaded quickly onto their Facebook page.

Medal: A race medal for the 5K, 10k and the Half.

Time limit: No time limit!

Water stations: Plenty of water stations

Cons 

Only one porta-potty

Cheap cotton tee 

No food offered at the end and if you weren't prepared for that after running a Half Marathon that could be dangerous. While I fueled well I saw NO ONE else with fuel so I know they were drained at the end. Bagels and banana's shouldn't add too much to the cost of the race, charge me an extra dollar or two. 

Overall, I really think the race series has a place and I hope they continue to offer races well into the future. I think that they dropped the ball by not offering quality food at the end. I came prepared with a protein bar but what if I hadn't....I was completely drained at the end and needed to eat something right away. Also, sort-of a picky thing but the cotton tees have been dropped for tech tees for a very good reason....you do not want to be racing in a cotton shirt...tech all the way baby.

For those who care about times....I averaged 12-something a mile and finished in 2:41. Not a bad place to start...I can improve upon that!

Where was your first Half Marathon?