scary reality

I had my very first encounter with a caliper today.  A cali-what?!
No, it didn't hurt.  Well, not physically anyway. 
Emotionally? 
Yeah, like hitting a wall, going 60 mph. 
I know I'm overweight.  I know my BMI is high. 
My excuses have been carrying me along. 
My motivation lacking.  My willpower in the toilet.

No more.  (shhhh, I know I've said that before)

Nothing like a stranger pinching your skin,
in a few embarassing places,
and then writing down a number that falls into the
 "fat/obsese" category of the graph.
So.  Plan on seeing me more accountable soon.  Like, real soon.

There's a Tri-Healthalon at work between now and end of April.

Prizes and all that.  Working out regularly, blood pressure 3x week.
Not motivating in itself, but seeing a LOWER body comp percentage by then?  heck yeah!

Bring on the new me in 2013!

Now, someone tell my sweet tooth, will you?

back on track

It's been a crazy couple of months.  My running was kicked to the curb for two many reasons.  My knees began complaining loudly.  I mean, snap cRaCkLe pop loud.  I am hoping to see a PT at work and see about getting my left knee to feel better.  Second excuse, I mean reason...  got myself stepped on by a horse and then tossed to the ground back in August.  My foot is still sore, but thankfully no broken bones.  Thirdly, Mister Sunshine isn't coming up until far too late in the morning to continue running outside safely.  On to Plan D...  diet.

Sometime last week I saw a message on my FB wall from Jorge about his new Slim, Happy Belly diet for women over 40.  As much as I tell myself I'm not middle-age, I guess reality is finally sinking in with another birthday around the corner.  After reading his short pdf about the plan, I decided it sounded easy enough to follow.  It's all about resetting your baseline insulin level on a regular basis and creating 2-No Sugar days each week, slowly introducing carbs, repeat.  Best part? Wine and chocolate are allowed daily {see recipe for chocolate cake}.  I am happy to report, Day 3, I am feeling better and down 2 pounds.  I know that losing 9 pounds a week is not going to happen for me, but the continued desire to cut the white stuff was enough to keep me honest so far.

On the exercise front, I started a new job at the beginning of September, in a building where I am walking everywhere to get anywhere!  I am also adding Saturday morning yoga at the Hindu temple back into the schedule and might even break out those Jillian DVD's I got from a friend next week.

My birthday present to myself this month...  health and a renewed interest in reaching my weight goal!

matter over mind

Surely the mind doth protest too much! Third day in a row. My body aches and those nerve endings were trying to convince the mind not to go out this morning - but miraculously, the feet flung themselves out of bed, and the body somehow followed.

Could I actually log some time without walking today? Ok, go!

And lo and behold, the mind is now happy that the body won! What a great way to start the weekend!

Beautiful morning!

Yes, in case anyone out there is keeping me honest, I got up and jogged again today. I was greeted by a gorgeous full moonrise. Or is that moon set? Either way, it was a wonderful companion and validated again why I love mornings!

Off to work with my smoothie I go! May it be a beautiful start in your world today too!!

i am not a runner

...let's just start there.  The only time I ever ran in my life was for boot camp and qualifying year after year for the 2 mile fitness run.  It seemed like forever, running from one end of Camp Ripley to another.  Oh, sure, I may have run in elementary school for gym class or fitness tests, but I never had any grandiose ideas of joining the track team.  Let's face it, sometimes you're either a runner, or you're not.

This morning, however, I attempted to trick my mind into following my body.  As I dozed off to sleep last night, I remembered that I was going to attempt something new on August 1.  After all, my other friends who do not consider themselves runners...  somehow changed their thinking.  I am determined to do the same {as long as my knees hold out} and started today!  I reset my clock to go off 45 minutes earlier.

{insert calming ocean sounds of the alarm clock here}

And so I will share with you my first official morning of running:

Stretch.  Yawn.  Still in bed.  What day is it?  Oh, right.  August 1.  The sun wasn't even up at 5 am, cripes, how was I supposed to find the motivation to walk outside the front door and then proceed to jog (let's call it what it is - it's not running - yet).

Find clothes suitable for being outdoors.  Reflective?  Cool?  Warm?  Dress appropriately, let dog out and back in.  No, Chloe, you're not going for a walk this early - sorry.  This one's for me!

And off I go...  mini-goals in mind, do not wimp out, Julie, and walk the route.  Run jog to the corner.  Ok, that wasn't hard.  Hey, look at the bunny on the corner? Someone else is up this early!  Earbud in one ear (for safety, ya know), listening to Cities97.  I can do this.  Planning in my mind to do the "dog walk" and see if I can beat the 17 minute mile pace.  No one else is out this early...  oh wait...  up ahead, I see someone walking along the side of the road.  It's now about 5:30 am.  She's walking at a brisk pace.  Wow, it's the lady I see walking the road by herself on a regular basis.  She's at least in her late 70's, early 80's.  No lie.  She comes from somewhere north of 42nd and goes down to Medicine Lake Road and back.  She has a reflective vest on (thankful for her safety and smart head).  She knows the benefits of good health and exercise.  See, Julie...  she can do this, you can too!  Stop making excuses.

Jog again.  This time, to the end of the path, before the bridge.

Walk the bridge.  See two more people walking the path with dogs.  Still no sunrise.

Jog to the next milestone.  Walk a bit more.  Out of breath am I.  Phew!  This is work.

Feeling good inside by the time I round the corner back to my house.  My MapMyRun app chimes through my earbud with my 1 mile time... 12:54.  I did it.  5 minutes shorter than the dog walk.  Only a driveway away from mine.  Ok, this isn't so bad.  I discovered that I lost my headband somewhere along the run.  Making mental note to find something a bit stickier for the hair so I can do this again.  What?!  I am doing this again?  Oh, right.  If my non-running friends can do this...  and see results...  so can I.  Day 1, done.  Next goal, get up again tomorrow and do it all over.

54 days until my 45th birthday...  I will make this a habit that sticks!

What's for lunch?

I've packed healthy again today! It's really helped me to move away from restaurants at my new place of employment. I guess having no one to lunch with 99% of the time has also helped. While that still bums me out, my pocketbook and waistline are benefitting from the change!

hydration or hungry?

This is me, truly, especially midday when I know that what I really need is to get up and walk around, take a break from sitting at the computer, and grab more water.  Sometimes it's not even that I am bored, but just reminding myself that I know a little stretch and hydration really is next best thing... and that when I hear the vending machines calling me softly screaming at me from down the hall, it's best to lock up my wallet and wait for dinner. 

If I don't plan ahead an bring a healthy midday snack, I can succomb to all kinds of crazy eating.  And then by dinner, I feel horrible, not hungry for the good stuff and already swearing to "do better" tomorrow.

I tell my sons this every single day:  It's all about choices.  Isn't it amazing that we can apply that to so many things in our lives?