Motivation Monday: Change your Normal

Is your normal talking about what you want to change instead of actually doing it?  My challenge and motivation for you this week is to actually DO something.  Don't tell anyone you're going to do it or that you did it-they aren't the ones you have to impress.  Instead think about what you want to change and follow through all on your own.  I think that if we can begin to do things for ourselves versus pleasing/impressing others we'll get so much farther.  Only saying what we want to do is like sleeping through life. 

Ready, Fire, Aim

You'll hear more about this book as I make my way through finishing it but so far it's amazing.  It's by Todd Durkin (a really incredible trainer-he trains Drew Brees and LaDanian Tomilson) called The Impact! Body Plan.  It's a book that recently came out and I've been excited to tear into it because I've heard Durkin speak twice before and he's nothing but inspiring and motivating.  Here's my favorite excerpt so far from the book:

But this is very important.  Do not ask me to fix you.  I won't. I can't. Because one thing I know for certain is that action is the key to getting to the next level in your life. And you need to be the one who takes the action.  I can coach you but you need to make the commitment to get better.  He goes on to say that he lives by the mantra ready, fire, aim because so many people aim but never fire.  He gave the examples that we want to start an exercise program but never do, we want to hire a trainer to get you into shape but never do, you want to go back to school but never do, there are so many dreams we dream but never follow through.   (p. 5)

Isn't that so inspirational?!  So, act now.  Stop talking and start doing.  Ready, Fire, Aim!

Race 10...Check!

Boy it feels good to be done with races for the year.  Goal met. Check! 

Last weekend I did part of the Kansas City Half Marathon.  I had my headphones on for the whole run but could still hear people say, "she's pregnant" as I passed them.  Not sure if they were judging as I know some people aren't quite sure to make of my running during pregnancy.  Whatever the case, the run felt GREAT.  It was a beautiful morning and Johnna left me nothing but flatness (elevation that is).  She loves hills so she got them! 

So here I am with my husband, Aaron.  He completed his first half marathon.  I am so proud of him and I think it's proof that men do follow in women's footsteps.  It just took him 4 years to do it!  He finished in the time he wanted but told me afterwards that he might stick with 10K's.  Hey, I get that.  Marathons and Half Marathons take a lot of time and energy to train for.

Here I am with Johnna, my race partner.  We split the half marathon distance so I was "Johnna" for 6.5 miles.  We met on the plaza and ran about a mile together before we made the switch.  Gosh we are such rebels!  I really doing races in a team.  It makes the experience much more fun.  So, I'd secretly highly encourage rouge race running in a team.  But you didn't hear that from me!

Motivation Monday: Training for Health

What are you training for?  How will your daily habits and routines affect your long term health?  We're all training for something but often don't look at our life as a training ground for what's to come.  What if we looked at the small decisions we make throughout the day as how it will affect our life long term?  For example, we could look at daily soda consumption as an example of training for possible brittle bones, tooth decay, brain tumors, diabetes, high blood pressure, poor digestion, and weight gain.  There are so many endeavors we can train for with either positive or negative outcomes in the long run.  Don't live in the moment of what sounds good temporarily.  Live for the long run.  It's not drastic or flashy just small changes over a long period of time.

Other possible trainings:

-Training for career advancement-working long hours, not sleeping enough, putting your career ahead of yourself and making little time for things that will benefit you in the long run.

-Training a child to be a healthy adult-giving your kid healthy food, letting them see your active lifestyle and what you put in your mouth.  Exemplifying what a healthy adult looks like.  Actions speak so much louder than words.

-Training for a healthy pregnancy-making healthy decisions daily, staying active and not using the "I'm eating for two mentality."

-Training for nothing-no focus, just going through the motions of life.

Book 17: Hunger Games

Wow!  What a great book.  Once I dove into this book it only took me 3 days to complete.  I don't want to give too much away with the book but it came highly recommended to me and now I'm going to highly recommend it to you.  If you're looking for a book to take you out of reality for a couple of days this is your book.  I was completely engulfed.  Amazing read!  If you want a smidge of what the book's about, check out wikipedia.

Tidbit Tuesday: What we do Wrong

I hate to be so negative but it's interesting to point out the things we think we are doing right when we're actually not doing much at all for ourselves. I'm writing about it because I think we get frustrated when we don't get anywhere from this process. And really it's not our fault, the media does an amazing job of misinforming so they can increase their profits.


1. Diet Soda
Actually tricks our body into wanting more sweets. Leaves us feeling bloated.
2. Fat-Free Foods
These foods have replaced the fat with sugar
3. Artificial Sweeteners/Processed Sweeteners
Same as diet soda. If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
4. 100 Calorie Packs
Just more processed food. Go eat an apple instead!
5. Anything that says "sugar free"
Artificial Sweeteners
6. Parking far away in the parking lot/Using the stairs
I'm not saying this is a bad idea it's just very easy to overestimate what we actually burn off. Instead, sign up for an exercise class or make it to the gym more often.
7. Training for a marathon
Granted, this is a great accomplishment but there's a lot that goes into completing a marathon. Rarely does weight loss come from it just because 80% of weight loss comes from what we eat versus what we do. Exercise is SO important but it's so easy to get an injury with marathon training. If you plan to do this as a way of getting in shape make sure you do all the research that goes into preparing well.

In contrast, check out 8 secrets of the naturally skinny (I wish they hadn't used the word skinny but instead healthy. Skinny doesn't mean much, there are many skinny people in the world that aren't healthy at all). Go ahead and see the link. It explains each of these 8 concepts in much more detail with research to back it all up.

1. They choose satisfied over stuffed
2. They realize hunger isn't an emergency
3. They don't cure sadness with food
4. They eat more fruit
5. They're creatures of habit
6. They have a self control gene
7. They're movers and shakers
8. They sleep well

Motivation Monday: Comparison Cuts

Run your own race.  The best way to feel crappy about yourself is comparing yourself to someone else.  There will always be someone fitter, smaller, skinnier, richer, faster or prettier.  I find that I feel the worst about myself when I look at what others have accomplished in comparison to what I've done. 

Instead look at what others have done as inspiration.  For instance, I look at what a running friend did during her pregnancy.  She ran up until 36 weeks pregnant.  I look at that as inspiration but know that if my body and the baby in my womb doesn't like that idea, I won't be running that long.  It's just comforting to know someone else who's done it...it can be done.

So, focus on yourself and focus on your journey. 

Book 15 and 16: Active Birth and The Carb Lovers Diet

I can't remember if I've mentioned my goal to have a natural birth this go around.  At any rate, this was a book a friend recommend I read that helped her get through her labor drug-free. Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally by Janet Balaskas was a great read.  It educated me on the different stages of labor and how laying on your back is the absolute worst way to help a baby move through the birth canal.  No wonder my back hurt so bad last time?!  Or that my sacrum felt as though I'd broken it.  And not to mention how long it took Jax to actually move down the birth canal.  He was at a 0 station for quite some time.  Long enough for them (the nurses) to get so impatient that they began C-section paperwork because they were convinced  he would not come through my hips.  Well, I definitely showed them!  But looking back I really believe it would have been a completely different birth experience had I been able to feel my legs and move around.  I guess we'll see this time.  I'm really hoping for a completely different experience.  And, boy do I think I will be getting one!  So the book was a great read and one I'll come back to in the coming months as a reference. 

Book # 16 was The Carb Lovers Diet by Ellen Kuhns and Frances Largeman-Roth, R.D.  As much as the title of the book would have you believe that this is a carb diet, it's not.  It's really a well balanced meal plan book that gives step by step instruction as well as a lot of yummy looking recipes for how to eat a balanced and well rounded diet without having to deprive yourself.  I have to admit, I'm intrigued and will definitely try it out once I'm no longer housing a growing babe. 

I think the author is right on with a handful of pieces of advice:
1. We need 25-25 grams of fiber (found mostly in carbs).  Most people get fewer than 15.
2. At least 10 grams of resistant starch (RS). Most people get fewer than 4.
3. 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies a day. Most get fewer than 3.
4. 3 servings of whole grain. Most don't even get 1.

Some other nuggets of knowledge are that RS increases your metabolism thus burning more fat.  The food item with the highest level of RS is a slightly green banana.  Once the banana becomes all yellow the RS drops dramatically.  She's got a great banana shake recipe to get in that RS:
1 banana
1 1/2 C of 1% low fat milk
2 teaspoons of honey
1/2 C ice
blend!

Another good one is the fat-flushing cocktail:
2 Quarts brewed green iced tea
juice from 1 orange
juice from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lime
Mix together and store in fridge for up to 3 days.  Serve hot or cold.

I could go on and on about this book but really I highly recommend it.  I borrowed the book from a friend and will be returning it but buying my own copy and trying it out in 2011. 

I don't feel this is a fad diet but rather teaching you how to eat right.  It's all about eating good, nutritious foods without cutting out a food group.

And after saying all of that, I'm still not sure I'm cured of my carb phobia! But, go get the book.  It's a good one to try it out yourself!

Race 9...Check!

My mom and I ran the Northwest Walk/Run/Roll 5K.  It was a run through my alma mater and benefited the althletic training department.  My husband spent many hours with the many ripped hamstrings he acquired over his 5 year football career there and I felt it only suitable to support the department.  Plus it's a really pretty run through the campus and a short race-something I could sprinkle between 10K's. 

I am so proud of my mom for doing it with me.  She just got into running recently but has always been very active and we set a good pace together.  Since she's an empty nester she's been doing a really great job of taking care of herself.  Well, she's always been a very healthy person.  She's the first one that ingrained in my head I HAVE to eat breakfast and would always get very annoyed at my "11pm microwave feasts" informing me I don't need to be eating so late at night.  So from the very beginning I got some great metabolism advice and shaping.  It's something I appreciate as an adult more than ever because she set me up for a healthy adulthood instead of letting me get away with poor nutrition habits growing up.  As I could get away with poor nutrition then-just like most active kids can.  While I'm at it another thing she encouraged was eating fruits and veggies.  Sure I could always have better days but for the most part I enjoy eating these types of foods because I grew up eating them.  My mom's roots are that of a farm girl so she was surrounded by lots of good food-items they grew themselves from the ground up.  I'm sure she's a lot of the reason I am doing what I do today.   

And sure, you might notice my mom and I don't look a thing alike.

Tidbit Tuesday: Positive Affirmations

I don't typically do affirmations but I really believe in positive thinking.  Whatever can get your thinking out of the negative I am for.  I read over these and felt so much better after reading them.  Amazing what a couple of positive thoughts can do.


When I believe in myself, so do others

I express my needs and feelings

I am my own unique self - special, creative and wonderful

I am the perfect weight for me

I choose to make positive healthy choices for myself

I choose to exercise regularly

Motivation Monday: Keepin' On

Man, today I really have nothing....except a baby bump!  Life lately has been all about organizing, getting things ready for the baby and just keepin' on.  At 26 weeks hunger has been RAVENOUS.  I'll admit I've kept it together thus far.  I've stuck with my exercise plans (which I don't intend to end) and eaten pretty darn okay (especially if I compare it with the previous pregnancy).  But I'm getting H-U-N-G-R-Y now and the baby is growing and kicking tons and I'm getting bigger.  All things that need to happen but I have this feeling the next 14 weeks are going to be much harder than the last 26.

So my motivation for today is to keep on moving along.  Even if today is harder than yesterday-fight and don't quit!  And no you don't need something sweet to make it all better, maybe what you need is a more structured plan (yes, I'm talking to myself).  Sweets for me have been ridiculous and for some reason I think I'm entitled to them. 

So, where are you at in this point of your journey?  Is today harder than yesterday?  Has the past week been harder than the previous?  Accept that it's hard and move on.  Create a plan and know in your heart, mind and soul that you will have more hard days.  We have to learn how to accept the hard days.  Make a plan now that you will never give up...ever!  Make a promise to yourself that you're in this healthy lifestyle journey for good and don't look back!