Tuesday Treat Day #2

This week's Treat:

Treats don't always have to cost money -- This week's treat is one that is totally free and easily accessible -- a LIBRARY BOOK!  Not an e-book, not a magazine, not a blog post, not a newspaper article -- a real, actual, low-tech book!  

Backstory:

 My husband and I want to read more, instead of vegging out in front of the TV and binge watching Neftlix all the time.  It's an approach we're taking to our life -- out with the junk, in with the good stuff.  This means less junk food and more quality food, less junk time and more quality time, and less junk entertainment and more quality entertainment.  This means reading more quality books and reading less junk (like endlessly scrolling through social media).

With "reading more" as our goal, the first step is to find the time to read!  With holiday break coming up, I figured it was the perfect time to carry around a book to read!

My pick:

This book, Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, is my first choice.  I did a tiny bit of researched to find authors related to my recent favorite - Malcolm Gladwell.  I have his works, David and Goliath, Outliers, and Tipping Point on audiobook on my Ipod that I listen to during long runs.  Supposedly, Daniel Kahneman -- a Nobel Prize winner in Economics.

 

Here's the "back of the book" which the library by me pastes inside the front cover.    

Other Treats for today:

Maybe Starbucks, running indoors instead of the rain, and a nap??

Definite treat-- nails!!

  

What's your treat this week?  

Who's your favorite author?  

What are you reading now?

Marathon Update Monday

Marathon Update:

Life is definitely full of twists and turns -- my plan for my very first Marathon has changed, again.

The date has moved from March 3rd to April 3rd -- adding another 4 weeks to my training cycle.  This is both a good and a bad thing.  Good because more training means more prepared.  Bad because it's even further away :(

Why?

I had to move my marathon date due to scheduling conflicts beyond my control.  Darn you adult-ing!! Full of responsibilities and stuff... BOO!

Turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones

I'm going to use my additional 4 weeks to do a "prep" cycle -- where I'll do lower mileage and focus on quality miles versus quantity.  I'm also going to hope that these extra weeks will help when it comes to "adjusting for weather".

Have you ever had to adjust your race dates?  

How did this effect your motivation?  

What stumbling blocks have you had to turn to stepping stones?

Slump-Ville

Confession:

I've been struggling with motivation lately.  Call it a Slump (or "Living in Slump-ville")  Call it burn out.  Call it laziness.  It's mix of both and more -- but those are just excuses.  This struggle with running motivation -- has lead to several morning when I get up, lace up, but don't make it out the door.  Frustrated with this, I decided to write this post and confess my sins -- I've been missing runs!  

Not only that, I've been skipping stretch/pre-hab days, eating poorly, and being all around lame!!

Domino Effect?

I read an article recently by NerdFitness - a great resource and blog that I've followed for a while now.  The article was about "gateway change" -- basically one little change that ends up leading to several more changes.  Or one decision that ends up being the catalyst for big change along the way.  Like the domino effect -- one small changes causes a ripple of changes that adds up to something big.

This article perfectly summarized how my life has been lately -- only in a negative sense.  

One small decision, to skip a run, made first thing in the morning leads to more and more "bad" decisions.  When I say "bad", I'm not trying to villanize certain choices or to say in a dogmatic way that running is somehow "right" and sleeping in is somehow "wrong" because by-golly they are both amazing things!!! Sleep ROCKS and we need it as a part of good health.  Running ROCKS and is also a part of good health.  

What I mean is, being slack about running leads to me being slack about nutrition and productivity, etc... Overall, this means I'm actively working against my goals instead of towards them.

What goals?

My main goal:  be healthy and happy

Smaller goals that'll move me in the direction of main goal:

• Run a full marathon 
• Reach my goal weight/size 
• Find a balance in my eating 
• Feel Grateful everyday
• Be mindful and present

Why these goals?

Just typing out my goals led me to reflect back on why I decided to move in this direction in the first place... The year I got married.  It was 2011 and was living a mostly sedentary life.  Binge eating was my norm.  Whatever I felt like, I ate -- and would eat often mindlessly.  The friends I surrounded myself with lived this same way -- so our gatherings were usually food and TV based.  Far too much food.  Far too little movement.

I wasn't one of those brides that starved themselves to look a certain way -- in fact the day I bought my wedding dress (which fit perfectly, was one sale, and I tried on and left with the same day) I enjoyed IHOP for supper.  Mmmm...  I was happy with my husband and my little life.  

So what triggered a change? 

One photo -- not one of my wedding photos... but a photo from a wedding I went to 6 months later.  In my head, I looked great!  I had a fabulous dress, fantastic shoes, spot on makeup, and a new hair-do!  But whenever I see the photos from that day, all I can look at is how BIG my stomach was!!  I look HUGE!  

Now, I realize that all pictures from that time were pretty much showing me the same thing -- I just wasn't looking.   I was huge.  As the waves of realization hit me, I knew instantly enough was enough.  I did my research and knew that in the past, fat diets and things like meal replacement shakes didn't work.  Instead, I opted to do Weight Watchers and had great success.  In a little less than a year, I had lost over 50 pounds (going from 225 to 172).  I was beyond happy and well on my way to my goal weight of 150.  

Then, in 2013, my husband was hospitalized for his heart.  My entire life changed.  I realized that I had started down this road of weight loss and left him behind.  I felt responsible... maybe if I had included him in my weight loss plans then he wouldn't be in this situation?  My husband is 100+ pounds overweight, but it never mattered to me... until now.  His health matters to me because his life matters to me.  

Since the incident in 2013, my weight has crept up and up and up.  My dogmatic approach to fitness and weight loss hasn't been nearly what it was.  I've tried switching it up (with 21 day fix and weight watchers online/meetings, clean eating,... etc...) but I'm still in this rut -- I'm living in Slump-ville.

Looking around and assessing my situation -- I realize that my life is very similar to what it was in 2011 -- I'm mostly sedentary (when I'm skipping runs), I eat whatever I want whenever I feel like it (see intuitive eating minus the mindfulness!), and am unhappy with the way I look in photos.  One small decision led to another which led to another and now I feel like I'm back at the beginning.  

Starting over?

I'm not really starting over though -- I have to remember, when I'm lacking motivation, that I don't have to start at the beginning -- I just have to start SOMETHING!  I mean, at the beginning:

• I couldn't walk for 30 seconds without feeling like I was dying -- now I can run a half marathon without stopping
• I didn't take stock of how my body felt after meals -- now I can connect with my body and feel the fullness
• I wasn't knowledgeable about running or fitness -- now I can design a running training plan and incorporate stretching, yoga, pre-hab, and foam rolling to keep my legs happy

I've come a long way -- and even though the scale has crept back up -- (I'm currently around 190-195) -- It's only temporary and I WILL reach my goal weight.

I just have to make one small imperfect decision -- towards one of my goals -- and go from there. 

Is anyone else out there in slump-ville with me?  

What do you do to get out of these slumps?  

How do you stay motivated and on track?

Just for Fun Friday #1

EatYourKimchi

I was exploring various aspects of Youtube the other day and stumbled across this hilarious Canadian couple -- Simon and Martina -- who moved to Korea and have lived there for nearly a decade.  Their Youtube Channel hosts a collection of videos that capture life and eating in Korea - -amongst other things.

Their dog -- Spudgy -- looks just like my dog Henry!!!  Isn't his little cartoon character cute?

After watching far too many of their food videos, I was seriously craving some great Kimchi Jjigae and dumplings and rice and all of the food!!  Hubby sympathized with me and planned a trip to our local (45 + min away) Korean hot spot.  The plan was to have lunch, go shopping, and get full!  Gotta love the hubby!

For this Just for Fun Friday -- I challenge you to either:

(1) Try some Korean foods if you live near a Korean restaurant -- If you don't do spicy, order Bulgogi (Marinated beef) -- You'll thank me later.  OR

(2) Check out some of the "food porn" on the EatYourKimchi Youtube channel -- then find a Korean restaurant or store near you!

What will you do Just for Fun today?  

Do you follow any Youtube channels?  If so, please share!  I'm late on the Youtube game and am in need of some recommendations!

Thirsty Thursday #1

This is the first Thirsty Thursday of my new Marathon Training cycle!  Today I will be focusing on hydration -- drinking as much water as I need to make my body feel great and perform well.  

This week, I've worked on not only drinking more water -- but also drinking less of the bad stuff.  I've avoided pop, as I am so addicted to Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper!  Having one or one sip is just out of the question, so instead I've just decided to transition to unsweetened teas and coffees.  I've also been avoiding Splenda -- my other addiction -- and all artificial sweeteners for a myriad of reasons.  (Stay tuned for a "what to eat Wednesday" on Splenda...)

I heard somewhere that drinking water should be the first thing you reach for in the morning -- even before coffee!! -- and the last thing you reach for before you go to bed.  I'm not sure if I've noticed any changes throughout the day after drinking first thing in the morning -- but I do notice that waking up in the morning without snoozing is no problem if you drink a bunch before bed.  In fact, I've found myself beating my alarm due the past few mornings... when nature calls, there's no snooze button!

Do you have any tips for drinking more water?  

How much water do you drink per day?  

Do you see any changes since you've incorporated more water into your routine?

What to eat Wednesday #1

In the spirit of weekly posts, I've decided to start a new tradition -- What to Eat (or in some cases, What I ate) Wednesday.

Nutrition is such a huge part of my training and it's arguably one of the weakest points.  To combat this, i want to dedicate a day a week (if not more) of my training cycle to focusing on food and nutrition.  I'll be doing research and adding things to my diet or routine, then I'll see if it makes a difference at the end.

Recently, I had a doctor's appointment where I discussed nutrition with my G.P.  After answering a bunch of questions about what I normally eat, what I drink, how often I eat out, etc... I was given a short list of small tweaks to start thinking about to take my nutrition (and health) to the next level.

The first item on my list was vitamins -- in the form of daily vitamin supplements.  Below you see my very old pill sorter thingy that I got ages ago at my local pharmacy.  In the past, I've had difficulty taking vitamins -- they would make me burp yucky burps, or feel nauseous, etc... So I've experimented with several brands and found that Gummy once a day type work best, but in a pinch these large red once per days work with food.

Besides a once a day multivitamin, there are two little supplements that I've added -- Folic Acid and Biotin -- for my skin, hair, nails, and to ensure that if I ever decided to have kids, I wouldn't be deficient in Folic Acid.  It's always a good idea to plan ahead.  My doctor says that any woman of child bearing age should make this a habit.

When this picture was taken, I still had to take my daily dose.  I've been experimenting with time of day -- first thing with breakfast, with lunch, or with dinner -- Today I'm testing to see if evening with dinner works ok.  So far I know that morning with breakfast only works when my breakfast is pretty substantial (more than toast and fruit).

What's your nutritional focus this week?  

What are you eating regularly?  

Are you introducing any new habits?

Tuesday Treat Day #1

This Tuesday treat day is the start of something official -- I'm going to have a treat day every Tuesday of my marathon training cycle -- to keep my spirits up and to reward my hard work.  Some of these treats will be free (self care, nap, meditate, relax, etc...) and some of these treats will cost a small amount of money but nothing too wild.

The last few Tuesday Treat Days went along almost unnoticed -- I have been alternating self care (skin brushing, meditations, naps) and going to the nail salon and getting Gel Manicures.  If you're prone to breaking your nails or chipping nail polish, gel is for you!

It literally will last 2 weeks or more and I am HARD on my nails...  I make my nails suffer through all of the following and more...

• I do dishes by hand (no dishwasher :(... )
• I am constantly digging through boxes, bins, drawers, etc... at work
• I type NON-STOP
• I scratch my dog -- he loves it
• I pull weeds in the garden
• I fight with the copier and printers at my work daily
• I cook!  (Love trying new recipes from scratch! -- Leave me some in the comments/replies if you have a great one to try!)
• I lift/workout -- dumbbells, barbells, kettle-bells, burpees, pushups, ... this polish will last!

Last Tuesday, I went in for my manicure and decided on a beige-grey color that I'm loving!  It's so perfect for the gloomy rainy fall weather we've been having!

This Tuesday, I decided on a Starbucks Flat White -- which is a must try if you've never had it.  It's super rich, frothy, foamy, strong espresso drink that feels so decadent.

Tall Flat White with 2% 140 Calories

Tall Pumpkin Spice Latte with 2% w/Whip - 300 Calories w/o Whip - 240 Calories

The top layer of milky foam is so light and micro-foamy that it feels like whipped cream.  I got a tall with 2% milk which only set me back about 140 calories -- which is just right for a treat.  Compared to my old Fall favorite, a tall pumpkin spice latte with 2% milk, which has over twice the calories of the Flat White -- 300.  Even if you skip the whipped cream (which is arguably the best part) it'll still clock in at 240 calories.

So for this treat Tuesday, I saved 100 calories and still felt like I was treating myself... yum!

What will you do to treat yourself?  

How often do you remember to re-center and re-focus during your training?  

Do bigger rewards work for you or smaller more regular ones?