I got this!

Feeling so good on this first day of Spring! Despite the frigid weather outside, I am staying motivated. I cannot wait to start biking to work again. Today was 8 miles on the indoor bike. Perhaps a short month away, the weather will cooperate and my 3 mile trek to/from work will begin again!

happiness

today

I biked
45 minutes

because
taking care of myself
is a priority
and necessary

as much as I dislike this cold weather
and would rather be outdoors
I am making this habit stick so that, come April,
and six months into my rededication,
I will see bigger results
than I've seen in over 8 years!

i love me.

 

hooked on wheatgrass

The adventures of wheatgrass have begun at our house! In JP's quest to get us on the right track, all but one @3513 have tried it (and I'm not naming names) as of this morning.

What exactly IS wheatgrass, you ask?

Wheatgrass is young wheat which is sprouted and grown for about 7-10 days. The deep green cereal grass is harvested (cut) and juiced in specially designed wheatgrass juicers. Thousands of health-conscious people drink wheatgrass juice every day.

Benefits  include increased energy, improved digestion, rids the body of toxins, improved fertility (don't need that benefit), and on and on...  but rather than retype everything that it can do for you, just check out some of the facts listed here and the testaments of others on their blog. This is our first harvest of three trays that grew from wheatberries over the last two weeks.  So far, so good.  Tastes sweet and smells like freshly cut grass (hmmmm, cannot say that's my favorite).
Unless we start turning green (you know, like eating too many carrots can make you turn orange), I think this will become part of our routine going forward.  Many hands to turn the crank, water the wheatgrass, and take a shot! 

great american fitness adventure

Have you heard about GAFA?

The Great American Fitness Adventure is a program that inspires you to get moving! "Participants choose any activities they like… whether they go for a walk around town or head to a park for vigorous hiking, cycle around the block or try mountain biking, use the gym or learn rock climbing. For each day they log 30 minutes of exercise, they earn a virtual park entrance pass and move along the Great American Fitness Adventure trail, learning about each national treasure."   This is my second year participating in the adventure and while I log my exercise in another location, I'm using this tool to learn more about our nation's parks and activities.  For instance, by logging my exercise time today, I've virtually visited Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, in New Mexico. Home to sandhill cranes and snow geese (my favorite), I didn't know that this was one of the largest winter refuges.  Maybe someday I will be able to visit in person!

This is a great program for inspiration and knowledge.  There's also a team spirit element built into it to help us gather steam and competition for prizes at the end.  There are 116 teams at my company and my team is bouncing around at around 95th place.  We probably won't win anything for this competition, other than improved health and energy to try again next year!

What are you doing to stay inspired in your daily quest for exercise?  

sweatin' in the sauna

It's been a long time since I've been in the sauna.
Oh, how I missed it!

With the projected snow storm for the next 48 hours,
you just might find me here daily.
I'm getting tired of winter.

happy march {anniversary to me}

Restating my san culpa:

I will

work out

every

single

day

this month

of March!

 

Minimum of 15 minutes.

 

I will

lose the last

6 pounds

hanging on

from babies

and meds

this month

of March!

 

I will

make healthy

food choices

every

single

day

this month

of March!

 

today's lunch

 

I will

stop worrying

about someone else's

choices

beginning

today.

 

Because this

(below)

struck

a chord with me

this morning

when I read it.

 

And

because

their happiness,

or yearning,

or choices,

are not

about me.

 

 

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Yesterday this quote from Elizabeth Gilbert caught my attention: "But never use another person's body or emotions as a scrathing post for your own unfufilled yearnings." It reminded me of my affection for a particular aspect of Immanuel Kant's ethics- that we never treat ourselves or another as mere means to some sought after end.

And I wonder. . . is this not what creates dissonance & discord in our relationships (or at least robs them of their joy & depth)- when we treat ourselves as a "mere means" to the end of being seen & loved (& so shape our behaviour to our best guess of that the other wants- often unconsciously & inaccurately) - when we slide into failing to see the other as both another myself AND wholly other (& so a mystery to us on many levels, someone with their own experience & journey, different from my own.)

And when we lose that sense of the other as an end in themselves- particularly if we share the daily tasks- it's a short trip to beginning to see & treat the other as a mere (efficient or inefficient) means to the ends of keeping house, home, family, life and limb together. Of course, we help each other, are interdependent. If you give me a ride you are the means of my transportation. But Kant's warning is to take care not to treat ourselves or another as a "mere means"- not to lose sight of how each individual is an end within him/herself, unfolding, journeying, struggling, creating. . . .As Gilbert's quote implies, we need to tend our own unfulfilled yearnings.

I started this fitness blog
a year ago today!

I had just accepted a new job.
Changes were ahead of me.
Unforseen announcements hit me midsummer,
as evidenced in the weight going back up
(because I'm an emotional eater).
But I'm back on track.

I've come a long way, baby.
And there's no turning back!