Sunday, July 24, 2011

You're getting sleepy......


Sleep. How much do you get? Hmmm, not sure that I'm consistant at all. I go through my ups and downs. Some nights a good 7-8 and others 5 or so. How important IS sleep anyway?

There are alot of studies that show sleep is very important for weight loss & maintaining your weight. When we don't get enough sleep there is a change in hormones that will actually trigger hunger. A new study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says not enough sleep will also aid in slowing down our metabolism.

Well, I don't want either of those! I have a hard enough time keeping my weight where it is and I definitely can't seem to lose anymore so I'm thinking if sleep is what my body needs than I need to do my best at giving it that.

Do you struggle with getting enough sleep? Are you a night owl??

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Say Hi Sunday



Joining 3 P's In A Pod with "Say Hi Sunday".





HI there!!

Go on over & join. If I can do it -- it MUST be easy!!

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Happy 16th Birthday Son

16 years ago today I gave birth to my first child, a boy.

DH and I are very proud of him. Yes, we experience the usual teen things but all in all we couldn't be more proud. He is showing himself to be a very strong young man with convictions. We have brought him up to know God and we pray that he continue along that path that we know God has for him.

He is a great older brother
<(meeting little sister)
who likes to tease as much as he can. When the chips are down he is there to help pick up. He is very intelligent and doing very well with his schooling. He is dual enrolling at the local college for his Junior year. He has loved baseball since he was 8 & continues along that path.
He has played Varsity with the high school since freshman year. We just love to watch him play. (10yr old Allstar)>
He also taught himself how to play the guitar & leads our youth band at church. He is amazing to me.



making little bro do all the work....








before the baseball banquet



AW - Dad and I love you so much. It is so hard to let go sometimes but we are trying little by little to help you spread your wings. You will always be my little boy and while I may see that little boy when I look at you, I am also in awe of the young man God is growing you into. Thank you for sticking to your convictions & continuing to pursue God.


Tell me about your 1st child. Was it hard for you to let go?

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

What inspires me to keep this blog?

I have some friends that are pretty good at keeping a blog. I love reading them too. Even though I may know what is going on in their lives people tend to keep a blog about certain things. There are some that are sharing their different dietary restrictive lives. I happen to be gluten, dairy, meat free. I prefer to stay away from refined sugars as well. It's nice to read blogs about similar issues & possibly get some ideas & recipes.

I also enjoy exercise. If you had told me 6 years ago that I would and I would have laughed in your face.
It is truly an addiction and unless you try it consistently for 30+ days, I'm not sure you would quite understand it. I love the way I feel when I'm done & how I feel accomplished the whole rest of the day. This is why I decided to keep this blog. I found there are so many out there that just feel like exercising is too much work or boring. I'm sure there are many other excuses but really I can't get past these things. With the variety of workouts that are out there now there is something for everyone. Including people with things like Fibromyalgia. I have friends with this and it just breaks my heart to hear them say how miserable they are feeling. As with all workouts, we need to check with our doctors to make sure we are ready physically for certain workouts but I would be shocked for a doctor to tell their patient that a workout would not be good for them.

Some are affected by the heat more than others. That is when a DVD works great OR find a workout facility where you can possibly be part of a class or two there. If money is an issue the library has some you can try out. Amazon has some great workouts DVD's that are $10.00 or under. For $25.00 (including shipping) I just got 3 great DVD's from Amazon. Now that is a deal!

So, that is why I write this blog. I don't know how many really read it but all I figure is if one person reads it and something I have said resonates with them and possibly makes them get out there and get healthier, well, it's all worth it to me.

Why do you keep a blog? How do you advertise your blog?

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

5 Top Faves

I wanted to share my top 5 favorite blogs right now:

1. The Not So Perfect Housewife I love this for a few reasons. I am also a "not so perfect housewife" and on this blog she talks about her ups & down with every day life. She reviews some really cool books, including cookbooks and since we have very similar dietary restrictions it's great to get some recipes as a bonus. She also happens to be a wonderful Godly woman & friend.

2. 9 Kid Fitness I love fitness & eating well. I love learning new things about this too. Whitney over at 9 Kit Fitness has a positive & very encouraging blog to help others that are also looking to better their lives with fitness & eating well.

3. The Romantic Vineyard I came across this blog and just knew the timing was perfet. If you are married or engaged I'm positive you will walk away with something that will benefit your communication in your marriage. No marriage is perfect but the One who created it is. They know this and are sharing what they have learned with others and from the comments, they are blessing many.

4. Confessions of a Daydream Believer I love going to this blog & seeing what Andrea has to share with us every day. I love her positive outlook on just about everything. I can also say I share a few things in common with her -- we both homeschool our WONDERFUL children & we both pretty much can't survive without our coffee. She is an author that is sharing some of one of her books right now. Check her out!

5. As Far As We Can Go Ah, this one is more personal really. This is my cousin Amy & her husband Brian. They have decided to traverse the world -- on their bikes!! Their trip started Jan 2011 & they recently stopped to rest in Odessa/Ukraine. The pictures are just beautiful and just make me want to really go to some of the places they are visiting. I love hearing the stories they tell about the experiences.

Well, these are my top blogs of the moment. I hope you find time to check them out. Enjoy!!

What are some of YOUR favorite blogs?

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Fell off the wagon...




Well, I have missed a few days of doing my Ultimate Blog Challenge
I'm thinking the best thing for me to do is just pick up where I "fell" off and keep on going.

Things in my world have gotten a little crazy. Like rollercoaster ride crazy. When I got the tendonitis in my foot I figured that was ok, I will work out in other ways. Then the muscle in my back got a little perturbed at that :/ As I lay on my chiropractors table on an ice pack I realized I'm not 20 anymore. No, I didn't really think I was but as you work out you get to feeling awesome & some times may over-do as I did. It's hard not to get discouraged but I keep thinking this is VERY temporary. I'm incredibly blessed to have my health & will see running & weights again very soon.

What do you do when you have an injury? How do you balance your workouts so you don't get hurt?

Would LOVE to hear from you!

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Thinking positive during your run




If you know me or have been following me at all you know I love to run. Well, my blogging friend over at http://www.9kidfitness.com shared about her recent run with her friend Coach Dan. He has a great story and I know my running friends out there would love to read this. He talks about being positive during your run. We all know there are times when we are just hitting a wall.

What do you do to get through a run when you just don't feel like you can go on any more? Would love to hear!!

Thanks for sharing Whitney!

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

In a rut??


Ever find yourself in a rut? Maybe you are trying to get healthy or have been for a while and you have noticed you can't lose anymore weight or you are finding that you just don't see anymore changes happening with your body. It may just be your workouts (OR your food)!! Some times our bodies just get used to the same old thing and eventually that just isn't going to work anymore. We need to shake things up a bit. Some times we are FORCED to shake things up a bit :)

In the past (and present) I have found myself injured and can't do my regular workouts. It's hard to transition to a more lower cardio exercise mode but we (I) have to do what we(I) have to do!

So here is the plan......until this tendonitis in my heel gets better - more Yoga,
stretching & Pilates mixed in with my beloved weight training & some bike riding. Not that leisurely bike ride though. I am quite addicted to that high cardio rush I get so maybe the bike can help during this "down" time of mine. I'm looking forward to the changes I might see by switching things up a bit.

What do you do when you need to change things up a bit? Do you find yourself in a rut some times? Tell me about it!

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

BTW - I just happened to be cruising around on line & found this article about staying motivated with your workouts.

http://weightloss.about.com/od/exercise/a/blexercisevar.htm

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Organic or Not Organic?

Saw this video come across my Facebook page recently. Out of the mouths of babes. This little girl just started out with wanting to grow more potatoes. She found a lot more than she thought. Hope you have the chance to check this out.



Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Wish List.....

Doesn't everyone have a wish list? I started making one years ago and keep it on the side of the fridge so my honey doesn't have to wonder or ask what I would like for those times he gets me things :) Funny thing is, now the things on the list are the very high priced items. Off the top of my head I believe the VitaMix is still up there as opposed to being in my cabinet :)

Here are some other things I would love to have. See a trend here?:

Insanity with Shaun T (dvds)
Brazil Butt Lift (dvds - I know this is silly but I have heard some great things about it)
Chalean Extreme (dvds)
RevAbs

I already have lots of Leslie Sansone, Denise Austin, Billy Blanks, P90X & TurboFire. I love all of them. Mostly I use the last 2 though & I run whenever I can. I have heard if I become a BeachBody coach I would get a discount. Hmmmm, very enticing.

Now maybe I'll email my husband a link to my blog.

What's on your "wish list"?

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Ahhh, Sunday

Sundays should be peaceful. I can say today is. I realized last night that I (somehow) got behind by a day in my blog challenge. Probably because I had time to sit and try to rest my back and that is when I realized it :) Anyway. This morning was really good at church. I sing on the Praise Team every other weekend & just really missed it for some reason. I decided to NOT workout today. Yes, I said it. I need a day of rest and I am taking it. I would atleast do an extended stretch or yoga on a nice peaceful day like today but some times our bodies tell us we need to just rest.

This got me to thinking about priorities. We are trying to teach our children about priorities & how important they are. You put the wrong thing first & other things can fall apart. Being a Christian my choice is to put God first, then my husband & family. I can tell when I get things out of whack for sure.

Just some random thoughts for my #9 post. I will be back later with #10. Then I'll be caught up.

Have any aha moments lately? Make some changes in your life that have really just turned things around for you? I would love to hear about them!!

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Humbled

Well, this morning I pulled a muscle in my upper back AGAIN during a workout. I immediately iced it and I lay on the floor (not able to move, my son had to bring me the ice pack). My chiropractor isn't in until Tuesday. I'm really praying that it isn't like last time but time will tell. I knew I was pushing things a bit far this morning with my workouts but still didn't stop. I got lazy and didn't use my abs when I should have. Lessons learned daily. Thank you Lord.

Be Blessed & Healthy!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Admiration

There are a few people I really admire. Since I'm focusing here on health/fitness it narrows my field a little :)

I truly admire people that have a dream & do what they can to really follow it. They don't let their nerves or negativity get in the way. There is one person in my life that has done this in the last couple years. She followed her desire to learn more about nutrition & took the time out of her already busy schedule to take classes in NYC one weekend per month. The thing is - she lives in Houston, TX! She continued to keep up with her regular job, her step-sons & their busy schedules & of course her loving husband who stood beside her while she followed this dream. Now she has a job that she has been at for many years & it pays the bills right now but her dream is taking being a nutrionist very seriously & wants to eventually only be doing that. She is making sure her priorities are right. She wants to bless others with her knowledge of healthy eating and speaks at womens groups at churches when she is able to.

Something else I admire is that she struggles just like all of us to make sure her family is eating properly. It's hard most times to explain that drinking that bottle of soda (that is meant for 2!) is just not healthy and there are other options. She is GREAT at finding healthy alternatives so her family AND her can eat and be happy & satisfied.

A little less than a year ago she and her family were skiing & she fell and tore her ACL & meniscus (at her knee). She had to have surgery & continues to amaze me at how well she is doing. She is a go-getter & had to depend on others to help her along through her recovery. God is good isn't He? He just guided her and gave her the patience & humility she needed/needs.

She is my accoutability partner with eating & working out. She is my sounding board with all things life related. She is one of my bestest :) friends.


Best of all -- she is my sister.

Love you Jackie!!

Go check out her website.

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

To change the world.....

It's so hard for me to watch how people eat & let their kids eat today. Knowing what we know. Really. Fried foods - we know how bad they are for us right? Sugar. Ok I realize in moderation maybe for some but honestly why?

I hear people telling young adults it's ok for them to eat anything they want because their metabolism is so good. They will just burn it right off. Really? That bothers me very much. The soda with all that sugar & acid that the kids are drinking today is just amazing to me. It breaks my heart to see so many overweight children when there just doesn't have to be.

Fast food restaurants are making it so easy for this to happen too with their .99 cent menus.

What can I do about it? Not really sure. I do know I can start with my house. My kids & husband. It's harder with my oldest. He was the one who got to have food from fast food places. I have to admit though. He does make better choices now then he ever did. He is very athletic & knows he needs a healthy body to do what he likes doing. My middle son has some food allergies and knows when he eats the wrong stuff he suffers for it. My youngest hasn't really had the oppurtunity to eat much bad stuff. I find she can't stomach it when someone gives it to her though. That does make me secretly happy though.

I don't know. I think we can make a difference. I just don't know where to start. So I'll keep doing what I'm doing. Keep running & exercising & inviting people to join me. Keep buying the healthier/organic foods. Maybe some day things will change.

What about you? Is there something in the world you would like to see changed? Something you have taken on to change? I would love to hear about it!!

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Little frustrations.....

I'm so excited to be doing the Ultimate Blog Challenge. One of the things I am to be doing is commenting on others' blogs. I love to do that! I love getting comments & therefore I like to leave comments. Well, for some reason Blogger isn't allowing me to leave comments. Anywhere! Even on my own blog! It seems really silly to me. At first I thought I was the only one but I just found another that is also frustrated with this problem. So, here I go....

For those of you that have commented on my blog recently. Thank you! I so appreciate you coming & reading my blog & leaving such nice words for me.

I also wanted to let you know that I will take the pain in my heel seriously & have it checked out.

Well, as simple as it is, I have completely my Day 5 challenge with the UBC. I have also figured out how to leave a comment withOUT Blogger. It only works with some blogs but I have left my comments & feel better about it :)

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Success & Set-Backs (UBC - Day 4)

The 5K is complete! My end time was 34:30. It was CRAZY there!! This was the 20th Anniversary of the Watermelon 5K here in Central Florida. I guess everyone wanted to come out & be part of it. There were over 3,000 people there!! It was pretty difficult to run it because there were lots of people running & walking so they were stopping right in front of the runners. Thankfully I didn't have any crashes with anyone.

Running through this area was neat. It was mostly residential. Unfortunately with it being so crowded there wasn't much watching the scenery as there was watching for people in front of me. I have decided to up my level a bit and start training more for a 10K. I think many people out there want to complete a 5K & they are going to start getting pretty crazy crowded. Since I know I can do them I need to see what else can challenge me. I told my husband when I started running I would LOVE to be able to do a 1/2 marathon. Now THAT would be cool.

The "Set Back" part of my title is this. I believe I have Plantar Fasciitis.

It's my left heel and to be honest I am completely self-diagnosing here. It always hurts worse after running. I have been training more for barefoot running lately and when I put my sneakers back on I find it gets worse. I think eventually I will need to get this checked out. It didn't slow me down today though!

I am VERY happy to say though that my friend that just completed the Couch to 5K program completed her FIRST 5K today!! I am so proud of her. Her husband is in his 3-4th week of the program & was able to join us today too. We now have another friend over at The Not So Perfect Housewife that is taking on this challenge too. I'm so proud of my friends. It is the best feeling to be exercising & making your body healthy. God has given us this miracle of a body. It's our job to keep it healthy so we can continue to do His will!!

What about you? Ever feel like just getting out there and running? It's another great way to fellowship with others!!

Thank you for your good wishes on the 5K!! I hope you got to enjoy this 4th with family & friends!!

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Preparing for a 5K




One of my goals when I started running was to be able to run a 5K. There is something very rewarding when I run across the finish line & see my time and have all those people cheering me on. Well I have been on a little hiatus from my running. I had surgery & had to take some time off and when my time was up the heat was on here in Florida. You can't keep me down though. The feeling I get while I'm running is just too much to hold me back.

Tomorrow I will be running in the 1st 5K since my surgery. A good friend of mine (who I blogged about in "Healthy Eating") was just finishing her Couch to 5K program & wanted to complete it with a 5K. What better day to do that then on Independence Day!! We are registered to run tomorrow morning at 7:30.

I'm really looking forward to it. I have to say there is still that nervousness that I may not be prepared. I try not to go full out right before a race so I know I am not going to fatigue my body before the race. Yesterday I ran 2-1/4 miles & it felt great. Today I am taking it easy and will get a good nights rest to be ready in the morning. Remembering to stay hydrated tonight & tomorrow as well. This Florida heat will do a person in that is just standing still!!

Happy Independence Day Everyone!!
Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Ultimate Blog Challenge Day 1 (and 2) About Me

Yesterday I happened across the Ultimate Blog Challenge when I visited my friend over at Confessions of a Daydream Believer. I have been trying to figure out more ways to get my blog out there and this is a great idea!

Today's blog I just want to share a little about myself. I'm a stay at home, homeschooling mom of 3 children. 2 boys almost 16 & 12 and a little girl 5-1/2. I am married to an awesome, Christ loving man and I wouldn't trade my life for anything.

About 5 years ago I decided I needed to make some healthier changes in my life. My diet was the first to change. I eventually became a vegetarian and I love it. I can honestly tell you I don't miss meat. There are so many other options to choose from. I also found out through an elimiation diet that I am gluten intolerant & am allergic to dairy. After cutting those 2 out of my diet I saw some great changes with my body. One of the great things was I don't feel so bloated & gross after eating. Another thing I did was my best to eliminate refined sugar from my diet as well. It's amazing to me how my tastes have changed when I took out the bad stuff.

In doing this I found that my middle son also has a gluten intolerance & my little girl is now gluten & dairy free. We are mostly stomach ache free too!!!

Once I got my eating & diet under control I realized I needed to be a little more active (other than driving my kids around and running after them :) ). I started easy with some Leslie Sansone dvd's & Denise Austin. I got to the point that they weren't challenging me anymore and I changed to some bigger things like Beachbody's P90X and now TurboFire.
Another thing I do is run. It's so freeing to get out there and just run. I started off with walking of course but ended up slow jogging with a good friend & now I'm running. (If you are interested in how to start running & just don't know how visit the Coach to 5K site. I hear it's a great way to train!)

Some would say I'm addicted and I would have to tell them that it's an addiction I'm ok with :) I feel so much better than I have before. I have been a sufferer of depression & while I'm certainly not completely better I see a big difference when I work out. It releases the chemicals in your brain that help with depression. My hope is some day I can be a certified personal trainer to help others in this way too.

Another thing about me and is the best of all. I'm a God following, Jesus loving Christian & when I made the clear decision to be that it changed my life completely. I hope I show people every day my love for Christ.

If you have any questions about any of this I would love to hear from you! Thanks for visiting/following my blog. Let me know about yours. I would love to follow you too!!