If You Think You Don’t Have Time to Exercise….You’re RIGHT!

Exercise…..

• relieves stress
• improves mood and lifts depression!
• helps with weight loss (obviously)
• increases confidence and self esteem
• increases lifespan
• decreases risk of many diseases
• strengthens your heart!
• makes you cuter! 😉

SO WHY NOT MAKE IT A PRIORITY!?

The #1 reason people DON’T exercise is because they don’t have the time!

We are all so BUSY!

The world we live in is so fast paced and constantly pulling us in a million different directions.

We are NEVER going to find ourselves with a big chunk of time and think, “Hmmmmm, I have all this time and nothing to do….I guess I will exercise!”  (However, if that actually does happen to you…..you are very lucky!)

Sadly for most of us, it doesn’t work like that.

We have to MAKE the time to exercise.

We have to make it a priority.

It is a sacrifice.

It is not easy.

It is not convenient.

But, it IS worth it!!

********************************

Sooooo, if you are already exercising regularly…..good for you!!!  Keep it up!

If you are not and need some ideas and motivation….here are my 2 cents.

Look at your calendar and schedule it in!

• Get it done on your lunch break.
• Wake up a little earlier and do it FIRST thing!
• Go straight to the gym (or on a run, bike ride, etc.) right after work.  It’s harder to do it if you go home first!
• If you are a stay at home mom, go to the gym and take advantage of the daycare!
• If the only time you can do it is late at night….then do it!
• Split it up into 2 smaller workouts

Set a realistic goal for yourself.

• If you can only exercise 3 days a week….then set it as a goal and make it happen!
  • I find I have more success if I try to exercise every day!  That way I don’t “put it off until tomorrow!”  Just do whatever works for you!
• Reward yourself as you reach small goals (# of pounds lost, # of weeks of consistent exercise, # of miles run, etc.)
  
• Don’t set yourself up to fail.  If you’re not used to exercising….start slow.

Don’t compare yourself to anyone but YOU!

• If you are just getting into running and can’t even run 1/2 mile….who cares!  Just get out there and run the best 1/4 mile you can and work from there!
• If you’re intimidated by the gym (it is an intimidating place!), just remember that most people there are too engrossed with themselves that they probably won’t even notice you (sad, but true)!  Be confident, hold your head high and just remember you are there to exercise!
• If you are unable to exercise (due to injury or other things), just do the best you can!  Find something you’re able to do.  Go for short walks, lift weights or swim!

Find something you can stick with!

• If you hate (insert form of exercise here), then don’t do it!!!  Find something you love at least don’t hate.
• Go on a bike ride, run, walk, hike, etc. with friends, by yourself, with your kids, etc.
• I love to go to classes at the gym because it’s easy to plan it on the schedule and get it done!
• If you can’t afford the gym, find some killer workout videos (the library is a great resource too!)
• Find an exercising buddy!  It really helps!

Well, there are my 2 cents for now.

Oh, and here’s one of my favorite quotes….

“If you always do what you’ve always done….you’ll always get what you’ve always got!”

I don’t know who said it, but I LOVE it!

If you need some more motivation, here ya go….

I love you all!!  xoxo

Make It Happen!

Just thought I’d do a quick post…

I went to my favorite Power Pump class at the gym Saturday morning.  It is such an awesome class!  I work every muscle in my body to the MAX!  It’s insane.  Love it though….time well spent, that’s for sure!

The lady that teaches the class is 5 foot, nothin’ and I’m sure she doesn’t weigh more than 100 pounds.  She is so tiny and buff and is probably pushin’ 50 or so!  She really motivates me!

Anyway, while I was working out, I had some deep thoughts I thought I would share.

Nothing earth shattering, but just some things that made me think.

I realized we have all been given just one life, one body.  What we choose to do with the time we’ve been given is up to us.  I’m not just talkin’ “health”, but for the purposes of this blog, I will just focus on health.

Soooo, we are all just getting older….every day.  The time will pass whether we want it to or not.  So, if we choose to do nothing to improve our health (or worse, do things to diminish it), we will never improve.

So, a month (or year, or however long) from now, do you want to look back and say, “Awesome, I really worked hard and I can definitely feel and see the difference!!  Yay!”  Or, do you just want to be frustrated once again that you can’t seem to get a handle on your health, weight, sleep habits, etc.?

Ask yourself, “Does my life control me???”  or “Am I controlling my life?”  If you need to make changes, make them!!!  If you mess up, that’s okay; in fact, it’s expected!  Just get right back to work!

Make your life what YOU want it to me!

Make it happen.

Sacrifice as necessary.

You will never regret it!

There, those are some of the thoughts I had.

I need to constantly remind myself and recommit myself every day!!

I mess up all the time!

But, I think I’m slowly, but surely making progress.

Here’s a little motivational thingy I found on the web…

Love it, so true.
Hope you all are doing well and living life to the fullest!!
xoxo

Get’cha Head in the Game!

I went to one of my favorite classes at the gym last night.

Kicked my can.

Loved it.

I LOVE exercising and one of the main reasons I love to exercise is it clears my HEAD!

It is so good for my mental psyche!

I’ve heard the effects of exercise on the mind are similar to the effects of anti-depressant drugs.

I’ve definitely found this to be true.

If I’m ever stressed out, worried, anxious, sad, angry….whatever…

Exercise ALWAYS makes me feel better!

Loooove it!

****************************

Well, last night I was feeling really bugged at myself because I have been such a slacka with my eating!!

I was feeling a little bit chubb and I thought, “what the heck am I doing!!???”

I am such a good exercise lady.

I love it and rarely miss a workout!

So, what is the problem with my eating!!???

Why can’t I be as motivated and consistent with my eating!!???

Soooooo, I thought about this for a while and came up with some pretty deep thoughts.

I of course, will share them with you.

It’s kind of tough to put into words, so I hope I can make sense.

******************************

I love eating well and exercising.

It makes me so happy, keeps me motivated and gives me an awesome outlook on life!

It also makes me look better, feel better and sleep better!

What’s not to love???

So, why can’t I just do it ALL THE TIME!???

?????????

I’ve decided I might be a “self sabotager!”

Auuughh!

For whatever reason, it seems like as soon as I start to see results or taste success, I withdraw.

Hello!?

I was reading somewhere that sometimes when we’re trying to lose weight we sabotage ourselves.

It’s not really a conscious thing.

There are many reasons we may do this….

Here are some of the possible reasons:

• Love of comfort foods (and their stress relieving qualities) and fear of giving them up.
• Afraid of the added attention from losing weight.
• Not quite ready to “let go” of the old comfy life.
• Fear of failure; “If we don’t try too hard, we can’t fail.”
• Social pressures of eating well (friends and family may not be supportive and may be a temptation to stray from healthy habits).
• Afraid of gaining the weight back and looking like a failure.

These are just a few I came up with.  I’m sure there are a zillion more!

I think I might do this to myself, but I can’t quite put my finger on why!??

Weird.

I think my main reason is that I associate my favorite, yummy (non-healthy) food with happiness, stress relief, parties, good times, etc.

I think I’m afraid of letting those foods go….so I cling to them!

Really weird.

It’s deep, I know.

I’m going to get to the bottom of it and figure it out though.

I’m not going to let all my hard work and efforts be in vain!!

So, I know I HAVE to GET MY HEAD IN THE GAME and allow myself to be successful!!

I hope someone out there can relate…

Or am I a quack?

I don’t know, but I DO know the whole mental part of weight loss is GIANT and essential to our success!

I AM going to hit it hard in January though!

Yay!

I will put my little eating and exercise plan up here ASAP and then if any of you want to do it too, you can!

Fun!

Oh, I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Christmas!!!

It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow……Eeeeee!!!

I feel like a little kid.

I love Christmas….and I love you all.

I Need Some Motivation!!

Do you need some extra motivation???

Ya, me too.

….especially this time of year!

Geesh.

Let me tell you why I need some extra motivation this week….

EXHIBIT A:

We made candy houses up at my parent’s house on Sunday.  SO MUCH FUN and we do it every year, BUT there is candy everywhere!!

EXHIBIT B:

Okay, KEV brought home the Hershey’s from work (ya, he did!) and I bought a big ‘ol stack of KitKats to give to my kid’s male teachers and scout leaders and things (female teachers got girly stuff).

It is tough for me to have THIS MUCH chocolate in my house!
(I may or may not have snitched some of the aforementioned stack. ;-))

EXHIBIT C:

Yu…umm.  K, my sister’s birthday was yesterday.  She invited our family up for the evening.  She and I went to a Boot Camp class at her gym together (way fun!) and then we went back to her place for pizza, cake and games!

My bro-in-law bought some little chocolate mint cakes from Mrs. Backer’s Pastry Shop (my family’s fav for generations), so of course I had to have some!

Dang.

EXHIBIT D:

I have to send in two dozen store bought cookies to my daughter’s classroom party tomorrow.  Kev and I ran to Harmon’s grocery store to buy them and Harmon’s also happens to sell the best sugar cookies on the planet….so we of course had to get some.

What the heck people!???

It is only Wednesday too!

This is not good!

***********************

I know it’s the holiday season and it’s a tough, crazy time of year!

But, COME ON!

I’ve let myself have a few treats because it IS such a fun time of year, but

when I give myself the green light I have a tough time turning it OFF!

So, my goal for the next two weeks is to just maintain my weight.

So far, so good.

However, I am cookin’ up a dang awesome eating/exercise plan for the New Year.

I’m excited.

I love New Year’s resolutions.

The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is over and a fresh new year is waiting ahead.

It’s very motivational to me.

SO, when I get my little “plan” worked up, I will of course share it with all of you.

And, then you all can do it WITH ME!

FUN!

I am also planning to start running again after the New Year too!

YaY!

I’m going to hit it hard and hope to lose these last and final 10 pounds!

Wa…hoo!

So, enjoy the rest of the year….but not too much!

K?

K.

Grinchy Candy Cane Protein Shake

It is so tough to eat well this time of year!!!

It seems like there are parties, dinners, treats and candy everywhere!

For example, my cute little 8 year old son came home from Scouts the other day with this gem…

Ummm, ya.

He told me I could have some too….so I of course had a nibble or 4 so he wouldn’t feel bad. 😉

*************************

Last night I went to a fun Progressive Dinner thing with the ladies from my church.

I was determined to eat as well as I could…
But, I did NOT!

I was a little bit of a pig.

It was yummy, though.

We also have a couple Christmas parties to go to this weekend.

Freak.

**********************

However, I know eating healthily is a lifestyle and not just a diet.

When I mess up and eat something (or several somethings) that are not particularly good for me…

I don’t give up!

I just make better choices the next time I eat!

So instead of thinking, “Well, I messed up….so I’ll just eat whatever I want and start again fresh on Monday.”

I start THE VERY NEXT TIME I EAT!

Every time we eat, we have a choice.

With that being said, I made the yummiest Protein Shake the other day!

Yuuu….ummmm!

It tastes like a Peppermint Candy Milkshake….but it’s GREEN!

So, I call it my GRINCHY Candy Cane Protein Shake!

Here ya go…

1/2 C. water (or liquid of your choice)
1/2 C. Unsweetened Almond Milk (or liquid of your choice)
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
a couple drops Peppermint Extract
1-2 tsp. crushed sugar free candy canes
1 T. ground flaxseed (optional)
2 big handfuls baby spinach (optional)
Ice (more or less depending on what you like)

I have to laugh...I didn't realize Santa was hiding behind all the ingredients when I took this pic! LOL!

Mix it all up in the blender and enjoy!
Seriously, yum!

Nutritional Information: Calories 193, fat 4.75 g, sodium 302 mg, carbs 12 g, fiber 2.5 g, protein 28.5 g.