Holiday Challenge Tip of the Day: Eat Your Vegetables!

Okay, since nobody shared their weigh-in results, I'm taking that to mean you weren't happy with the numbers. So let's move forward here and not throw in the towel. Remember, every treat you don't eat leaves you better off than if you did eat it. So give yourself a pat on the back every time you pass one up, and resolve to do better every time you don't. Also, think about how many fruits and vegetables you eat on a daily basis. If you are anything like me a few years ago, I could easily get through an entire day without eating even one!

Let me just say, even though you already know this, that fruits and vegetables are sooooooo good for you! What's more, vegetables are typically very low-calorie, high-fiber foods. That means you can eat as many as you want and not worry about getting too many calories. And the bonus is that they will help fill you up so you don't eat as much of the not-so-good stuff. So my challenge for you is to add at least one more vegetable into your day than what you typically get. If you don't usually eat any, try putting at least one in. If you eat one at dinner, try adding one to breakfast (in an omelette, for example) or lunch (slice up a cucumber to eat with your sandwich). Your body will thank you for it.

Remember to love yourself and be kind to yourself! That's the best Christmas gift you can give yourself this year! And you deserve it!

Weigh-in Time!

Alright, here goes. I weighed myself this morning and did measurements, and the result is--actually, before I tell you, I just want to remind you that it's okay if you aren't at the point you wanted to be by now. The point is to love yourself! Do you have any idea how amazing and fantastic you are??? And that includes your amazing body that does so much for you! Loving yourself is the first step to better health, so let go of the stress and the frustration and do something nice for yourself, like eat come carrots. :)

Now, back to the weigh-in: I am exactly where I was before Thanksgiving! That's not to say I haven't indulged now and then, but I have really tried hard to eat well this week, and I've been keeping up the exercise almost every day, so the net result is I broke even. And I am so happy with that! I made it through Thanksgiving and my birthday with no weight gain, and now I'm really motivated to keep going strong. I hope you are too! Christmas and New Year's will be a piece of cake--er, celery. (-;

The Holiday Challenge Continues: Every Little Bit Helps

Okay, this is where I apologize for disappearing for 2 entire weeks! It's been a busy couple of weeks. But that doesn't mean I have let myself get lazy with my eating and exercise. I've come to the realization that exercising is a really important part of my day. I feel SO much better if I get up and exercise in the morning, even if I only have time for a really quick run or a little bit of yoga. It does wonders for my mood. So today's tip is do what you can, even if it's just a walk around the block. Eventually your body will thank you for it!

Now, for weigh-ins! I haven't done this before, but if we want to succeed in our goal to keep the weight off during the holidays, it's really helpful for most people to have some accountability. So on Saturday, I highly recommend that you get on here and share how you've been doing: how much weight gained/lost, successes, things you've struggled with, anything you've found that helps, etc. I will do a new post Saturday morning with my own results, and I invite you to share yours in a comment to that post. Or if you don't feel comfortable sharing that with everybody but still want the accountability, you can send me a private message.

Keep up the great work, and don't forget to love yourself!

Happy Birthday to Me (and a holiday challenge tip)

I have had such a fun birthday today and, surprisingly, I have done it without food being a major part of it. That is a really big deal for me, and it has caused me to reflect back on all the years when every celebration has revolved around food, especially junk food. It has been a long journey to get to the point I'm at today, when a friend offered to take me out for ice cream and I actually declined because I don't eat like that anymore. And I said it without the slightest feeling of deprivation! Two things occur to me as I think about this: 1) Everybody's journey to better health is a process that happens one step at a time; so even if you're not where you want to be yet, don't give up. Just pay attention to how far you've come, not how far you have to go. 2) Don't let eating be the center of your life. Of course we all have to eat several times a day to remain healthy (and alive), but we don't have to have our entire lives revolve around it. Try putting your focus on other things, and don't stress about what you can or can't, should or shouldn't eat. Just live life! We're meant to have joy, so let's rejoice in our lives and our health and our bodies. That's my tip today: Relax and enjoy life, putting your focus on your health and your happiness and your blessings rather than on food. You'll feel so much better if you do!

I'm so glad to be alive!

Holiday Challenge Tip 2: Water Is Your Secret Weapon!

How is everybody doing this lovely day? I hope you are all loving your bodies and being kind to yourselves! Here's your tip for the day: Drink water! Your body does best with AT LEAST 64 ounces of water a day (about 8 glasses of water). A lot of times when you are craving something, including sweets, it's just because you are thirsty. So drink lots of water, and when you are craving a treat, try drinking a glass of water first before diving into the ice cream (with the rationalization that your body must need dairy). Often it is just H20 that your body really wants. Also, if you drink a full glass of water 30 minutes before you sit down to a meal, you will be much less likely to overeat. I'm telling you, it works!

Onward, holiday challengees! You're awesome! And remember, water is your secret weapon!

The Holiday Challenge Begins!

Alright, here we are, several days into our Holiday Challenge! I'm going to be posting a "tip of the day" as often as possible to keep us all motivated and focused on our goal, which of course is better health! Don't you always feel so blah by the end of the holiday season when you've gained a ton of weight thanks to all of the holiday goodies that are constantly surrounding you? Yeah, me too! So this year is going to be different! Now I'm not suggesting that you try to cut out the goodies altogether because that's just a recipe for failure (no pun intended). What I am suggesting is MODERATION! Instead of eating that entire plate of peppermint caramel brownies, why not just have one? And don't be afraid to throw things away if there gets to be too much stuff around. Your sweet neighbor who brought it over will never know, so don't feel obligated to eat it all.

Okay, now for today's tip: Be nice to yourself! You do not have to be perfect (in fact we couldn't be even if we tried), so don't be yourself up just because you slipped up. If you ate a little too much pie over Thanksgiving, forgive yourself and let it go. Keep your focus on the now, and just work on doing better today, or even this moment, rather than beating yourself up for yesterday. If there's one thing I want you to learn through this challenge, it's to love yourself. So be nice, and tell your body how much you love it and how grateful you are for it!

P90x Week 4

Today marks the end of my 4th week doing P90x, which also means weigh-in and measure day as well as fit test update. Before I get to all that, though, I want to review the past 2 weeks since my last post.

Week 3 went relatively well for the first part of the week, but by the end of the week I started feeling really discouraged because I didn't feel like I was seeing any results. But I also realized that I had missed reading my scriptures for the past few days. For those of you who are not religious, this may seem odd and totally unrelated to exercise and fitness. But for me, my relationship with God is central to everything I do in life. The more I am able to enlist God's help in even things that might seem unimportant to Him (although I believe that if it's important to me, it's important to Him because He loves me so much) and the more I have faith that He will help me succeed, the more successful I am. So as I study the scriptures and pray, I receive insight and inspiration, for example, about how I can organize my time more efficiently to fit in all that I need and want to do during the day, such as exercising as well as spending quality time with my children. Anyway, I hadn't been reading my scriptures, so I wasn't feeling as close to Heavenly Father or feeling the help of His Spirit, and I just felt down. So I recommitted to making that a priority every single day, and I've been feeling much better as a result.

I also started to lose motivation to keep going with my exercise and fitness because I didn't feel like I was seeing the results I wanted to see by this time. But I immediately stopped myself from thinking that way and took the time to realize that even if I I'm not seeing results yet, that doesn't mean that improvement isn't occurring. I know that my body is becoming stronger and more fit every single day that I exercise and eat well and that eventually I WILL see big results. I recognized also that I have often given up by this point in any program I commit to because I get sick or injure myself and have to stop working out. But this time I am at a level both physically and emotionally to handle the strenuous exercise schedule I am following without burning out or getting hurt. These realizations have renewed my motivation and kept me going.

Another big help is my commitment to doing EFT every single day. I have tapped about my weight concerns, about my concerns that I'll get injured, about eating right, about cravings, and about so many other things, and I've done it just about every day since starting the P90x program. I have never been this consistent with EFT before, and I am noticing a huge difference. Whenever some big emotional issue looms up and threatens to sabotage everything I'm trying to accomplish, I have managed to weather it fairly well and not let it overwhelm me thanks to tapping about it. That's not to say I don't get down and discouraged some days, but those feelings last for a few hours rather than days or weeks, and I am able to pull myself up and forge ahead really quickly. I can't wait until I am trained to help other people deal with their emotional blocks this way. I know it is a powerful tool, and I really love the idea of helping others transform their lives both physically and emotionally.

It didn't hurt also that this was a lighter week in my training due to periodization (changing up routines from time to time to keep your body from getting too used to any routine), so I was able to give my body a little bit of a break.

So now to the results at the end of week 4: I'm down 2 more pounds today, and I've lost several inches over my entire body, including a half inch from my waist! I was able to do 4 pull-ups (that's right: FOUR!) up from 1.5 a month ago, and I was improved on every other part of the fit test as well (except for the heart rate maximizer, but I attribute that to a dying hr monitor battery the first time I did the test). Hooray! I feel like getting through that big wall of resistance I hit last weekend was like a test. Once I passed it by not giving in and giving up, my body let go of a bunch of fat and basically took a big step forward in its level of health. I feel so excited that I am seeing results, especially when I've been working so hard. I'm proud of myself and excited to see how much more I can achieve!

I have improved so much and felt so good through it all for the most part that I'm actually going to move up to the classic P90x, which is a little more intense than P90x lean, the program I've been following so far. I will start with month 2 of that program and follow that for the rest of the 90 days since I started. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

P90x Day 13

As of this morning, I've made it through the first 2 weeks of P90x workouts combined with healthier eating (Sundays are my day off). Overall things have been going well, and I'm excited to move forward. I have had a few ups and downs this week, though.
First of all, at the end of last week, at weigh-in time I had lost 3 pounds! I was feeling really good about how much better I was looking even after just one week. I imagine what I was experiencing was no more water retention thanks to the healthier foods I was eating. I was fine with that, though. You have to start somewhere after all.
This week has been a little tougher. I've struggled with more cravings and more hunger, something I didn't experience at all last week. I think part of it may be my body adjusting to a higher activity level as well as just my regular hormone cycle highs and lows. Part of it too, though, I believe has to do with how much I've been focusing on that and stressing about it. I did so well the first week and dropped that weight so easily that this week I started feeling all of this anxiety about every single thing I put into my mouth: "Is this going to make me gain weight?" "Are my portion sizes too big?" "Am I not eating enough and slowing down my metabolism?" "Is this really the best thing for me to be eating right now?" etc. I think I stressed so much about it and focused so much negative energy on it that it was constantly on my mind, causing me to think about food more and thus feel more hungry more often. By the weekend I had added back two of those pounds that I dropped last week.
On another note, this week I had a colonoscopy done on me. Six years ago I went in for one, and the doctor found polyps in my colon, something unusual in someone as young as I was at the time. As a result, I now have to go back every 5 years or so to get another colonoscopy. So this was my return appointment. On the upside, I have improved my eating habits and overall lifestyle choices so much that I knew he wouldn't find any polyps this time, and I was right! Everything looked great.
On the downside, the nasty, vomit-tasting stuff I had to drink to clean out my system in preparation for the colonoscopy combined with the anesthesia given to me during the procedure did a number on my system. Now, even though almost 3 whole days have passed since the colonscopy, I still don't feel quite right. I've been so tired, and I seem to now be fighting off some bug. Plus my body doesn't seem to be handling any food I give it very well. Every single time I eat now, I feel bloated and stuffed, only to feel quite hungry again within a couple hours. I think this weird reaction probably contributed to gaining back those 2 pounds this week.
Despite that, I am still glad I had the colonoscopy done. It was a testament to me that the way I'm eating now, i.e. a plant-strong diet, very little animal-based protein, no refined sugars, and very few processed foods truly are helping to create health and longevity in me. It really has been a long road of trial and error to finally find the right eating lifestyle for me, but I am grateful for how much I've learned along the way, and I'm excited to be doing something to share that knowledge with other people! (Did I mention that I signed up to be a Beachbody coach? I am so excited about it! Check out my website at http://beachbodycoach.com/coachdkmom. Beachbody is a great company with some really fantastic products!)
So, moving forward into week 3, I intend to really focus my energy on what I'm doing right and the success I've already had (like making it through 2 whole weeks!) rather than stressing about what I might be doing wrong. To help with this I will focus a lot of my EFT exercises on having confidence in and love for my body no matter what.
I'm also going to continue using a new nutrition product that I've recently discovered called Shakeology. I am really excited to see the results this new protein/nutrition drink will bring me. So far I've only been using it for about a week, but I really like the taste of it, so it helps me stay away from the sweets because I know I will be getting some Shakeology later in the day.
Third, I am going to focus on getting 8 hours of sleep a night whenever possible so I don't end up in overtraining mode. I am confident that as I continue to exercise, get enough sleep, and eat right, my body will be back to 100% very soon.
Week 3, here I come!

P90x Day 3

Tuesdays are the day I have another commitment first thing in the morning, so I don't work out that day. However, I ate really well all day. I'm realizing more and more how essential eating every 2 to 3 hours is for me. When I eat that often, the sweet cravings don't get nearly as intense, and I am able to feel satisfied with much smaller portion sizes. I really believe this is going to be key to my success or lack of it by the end of the 90 days.
Yesterday afternoon I had a bit of a breakdown. 3 of my 4 kids have been sick for several days now, and I just hit a saturation point yesterday afternoon where I couldn't take the constant whining and crying anymore. Thankfully my husband left work early so I could get a small break. I went to my sister's house and vented and cried for a while as she sat quietly and listened. It was just what I needed. I feel so much better today even though I was up all night with two vomiting children.
I'm so glad I can be there for my children, even if I sometimes need a little break. And that was part of my stress yesterday. I worry so much that all of these other things I pursue will take me away from my children or at least take my focus off of them, and I don't want that to happen. I care more about my family than anything else in this world other than my relationship with God, so if any other hobby or endeavor starts to have an ill effect on them, I'm not interested in continuing with it. That's why I typically get up so early in the morning to exercise, for example. But many of the things I am pursuing outside of my family I believe are positively affecting them. For instance, not only am I setting a good example for them by having a healthy lifestyle but I also have more patience and joy and energy as I interact with them thanks to my improved health and higher emotional state. So anyway, as I am resolving these and other demons still lingering inside that threaten to sabotage my efforts and cause me to fall short of my goal again, I know I will come out stronger at the end of this experience, not just physically but emotionally as well.
And by the way, despite my lack of sleep last night, I did get my P90x workout in today as well as a 15-minute run. It was really tough, and I felt GREAT when I was done. What's more, even though I've been running all over the place today, I have still managed to eat pretty well and to not go more than 3 hours without eating something. I feel so excited about that because with every successful day that passes, I know it will become easier and easier to stick to this healthier way of eating and living.

P90x Day 1

Today I had a great start to my program! I felt great throughout my workout and did great with nutrition for the day. In fact, at one point in the evening I started looking around for a little treat, the kind that I always convince myself aren't a big deal but that end up always halting any progress because I indulge too often. Anyway, I realized what I was doing, realized that it was an emotional response to a disagreement I had had with my husband at that moment, and easily switched to having a smoothie instead. Afterward I felt both satisfied and very proud of myself for how far I've come. I already feel thinner!

False Starts

Here I am, at the brink of another lofty plan to achieve the fitness I've been striving for all year--all my life, really. I always get so excited when I start out with whatever new scheme I have come up with (usually in combination with my twin); but then after a few weeks or a month, or sometimes just a few days, I fizzle and lose motivation and give up. I hate to call it that, but if I'm going to be completely honest with myself, that's what I'm really doing. And the reason for my giving up so soon is usually that I'm not seeing results, or at least not the results I want to see. You know, I always see those before-and-after pics of the 0.1 percent of the population that, for whatever reason--maybe good genes or a complete overhaul of their diet or both--achieved miraculous results with their exercise program; and I of course expect to see results like that in myself. So when a few days or weeks pass and I've seen little if any improvement--or worse, I've actually gained weight--I get so discouraged because I know there is no way I'm going to be the next miracle story. So I give up.
Tomorrow I am going to again start doing the P90x workouts. I've started 2 or 3 times but have never seen it through to the end. So I have to ask myself if this time is going to end up like the other times, or if I've built up enough motivation and determination and whatever else it takes to actually stick it out until the end. I do feel more optimistic about this start, but I would be lying if I didn't admit to having at least a little bit of fear of everything ending up the same way. I feel like I have several things that offer me extra help this time, though.
1. Several weeks ago I had an epiphany in which I realized that I was meant for far greater things than merely becoming a professional triathlete. Mainly I feel that my time will be better spent loving and serving others. Since this goes right along with the business my twin sis and I are starting that will include coaching and counseling people who are struggling with their health and/or fitness, I feel so much more inspired than I ever did before to stay strong so I can more effectively help other people.
2. My husband has suddenly and unexpectedly gotten on board with me nutrition-wise. We watched Forks Over Knives together last night, which is a fantastic documentary about research done that shows how much better eating plant-based foods is for you than eating animal-based foods, and he responded very positively to it, to the point that I feel confident that I will no longer have to prepare myself a separate meal from whatever I prepare for my family every night. That will be huge because I am certain that nutrition is even more important than exercise is when it comes to slimming down and achieving overall health and fitness.
3. I am going to be adding a new nutrition product created by Beach Body called Shakeology that I think will really benefit my training. Shakeology is basically a protein drink, but it has an extremely impressive list of ingredients that you never find in a protein drink, and if they are even half as careful as they say they are about verifying the source and quality of the ingredients going into the Shakeology, I really feel confident and excited that this will serve me well. I feel so optimistic about it, in fact, that I've signed up to be a Beach Body coach and will be offering their product to others after I have had some time to try it out myself and be sure it is what it claims to be.
4. I have been praying and fasting that I will be able to finally understand my self-worth, that I will be able to see myself the way God sees me--that is, to see all the wonderful things about myself and to feel the love that God has for me. While I still have a ways to go, my self-confidence and ability to accept that I am valued, valuable, and worthy of love are growing every single day. And with that new self-assurance comes greater confidence and faith that I CAN stick with this, even through the hard days, that God WILL help me, and that I WILL see results by the end of the 90 days.
5. I am not putting unrealistic expectations on myself this time. I'm not expecting to win any contests with my progress by the end, and I'm not expecting to release some huge amount of weight or body fat. I'm just loving my body and helping it to be its best self.
So, am I excited and optimistic about this new journey? Yes I am! Do I feel 100% confident that I will succeed rather than dropping out part way through? Well, no, but I feel about 90% confident that I will, and my faith is growing every day. Before long I will absolutely be able to say with 100% certainty, I can do this! I WILL do this! Bring it, Tony!

Mood Journal-Days 11 and 12

I was in a good mood yesterday and today. I went to the temple yesterday morning and felt like I had a lot of inspiration flowing to me while I was there. I spent the day pondering that and trying to make changes to my thoughts and actions as a result of the impressions that had come to me. I did some tapping as well. Today I went to the funeral of my sister-in-law's mother, and it was a very inspiring experience. She was a great lady, and I feel very inspired to make some changes to my life thanks to her example.
As a result of the funeral, I didn't study the scriptures until this afternoon, but I'm happy to say that I did get that in despite the busy day.
Sleep: Only about 6 hours Monday night because of going to the temple early Tuesday. Last night I got about 7.5.
Exercise: None yesterday, 50 minute run today.
Spiritual/Emotional: Spent a lot of time on this.
Food: Not great either day. Yesterday I went to Cracker Barrel for dinner late in the evening. I didn't eat a ton, but it was not a great dinner. Today I tried to eat healthy, but the funeral in the middle of the day threw things off, and I ended up way over my calorie goal and way under my protein goal.

Mood Journal-Day 10

One of these days I will actually post something other than my mood journal. But at least for now I'm getting into the habit of posting daily.
Today I was in a bad mood for a good portion of the day, even though I got a decent night's sleep, exercised, studied the scriptures, and ate well. This is where I think hormones come into play. Things like time and not feeling like I was getting anything done were what really got to me today, as usual. And money. Always money. I need to change my relationship with money. Instead of stressing about money or the lack thereof, I need to love it and be grateful for it in my life instead of always wishing there were more of it. We are so blessed financially! My husband makes more money than I dreamed he would make at this point in our lives. The reason we have money troubles is not for a lack of it.
Sleep: Went to bed at 8:30, got up at 4:20.
Exercise: Ran for 50 minutes this morning averaging about a 10:20 pace; then did 10 minutes of pilates and 20 minutes of yoga.
Spiritual/Emotional: Studied a couple of conference talks today, prayed, and did 2 rounds of tapping, both of which brought up a significant emotional response. But I'm wondering if part of the emotion came from my hormones being weird, like they seem to do about this time every month.
Food: Did great today on food. If anything, had a little too much protein.