Hello November!

October was a bust in regards to being productive and staying on track health and fitness wise. Between traveling and being sick, I only worked a few days a week. This past week and a half I feel like I have been in a fog or slump at work...trying to figure out what to do, what to prioritize etc.

This first week of November has been alright. I have been slowly getting back onto my exercise routine, and started making healthier eating choices. This weekend is all about starting over...again. Yes....I know. It seems like I am always starting over, but I think part of this has to do with the fact that I don't feel in control or organized all the time and then I just fall completely off continue in a downwards spiral.

Here's to kicking the last two months of 2015 in the rear!

Fall is Upon Us....

And so is the Flu! Sadly, it caught me before I could get away. This is not one to mess around with either. I have not gotten the flu for a number of years, but due to a family vacation in Florida, I believe I contracted it from there. So let me just lay out how it went and how to avoid it.

It started with the usual achy-ness, but it was only around my neck and head. The rest of my body felt fine other than having a fever and feeling freezing cold, but burning hot. We all know how that goes. Then came the fun part- the migraine. Now I am not one to get these, and to think of it, I don't think I have ever had one (I think I would remember such pain), but this one I will remember. A migraine that lasted for almost 3 days straight! Laying down was an absolutely out of the question so for a day and a half I had to sit up in a chair and try to sleep. Not easy and not fun.

Of course, with the flu there is the occasional throwing up. I did that (5 times), but I may have brought that on myself by accident. I was trying to eat some soup just to get some food into my stomach. Bad idea. Tried to eat some unsweetened applesauce. Bad idea. We can see where this is going. By Day 3 I was starting to recover....Finally!!! This was the longest I have been sick for awhile and it felt like an eternity especially since reading or even watching tv was out of the question (the migraines were so bad that light and even moving my eyes hurt).

Couple of things that can help with this flu:
- Tylenol (acetaminophen). This won't upset your stomach if you don't have anything in it
- Hot showers or baths. This actually helps reduce the head throbbing. Sadly, it returns once you are out of the tub, but some relief is better than none
- Sitting up in a chair. Helps relieve some head throbbing as well. At least you can try to sleep (if you can find a comfortable position)
- Saltine crackers. I think I ate 2-3 sleeves of these. Never has saltines failed me.
- As always, drink liquids!!!! Try to stay away from acidic stuff. I drank OJ and that threw me over. If you are drinking Sierra Mist, 7Up etc. make sure all the bubbles are gone before you drink. It can upset your stomach

OR

Just don't get the Flu. Stay healthy out there! Get your flu shot or take whatever precautions you have in the past. This is one strand you don't want to get!

RESET and REFOCUS

I've slacked. I've done it before and I have done it again. I was on a roll with eating healthy and working out and then one day I stopped and it just snowballed into two weeks. Now I ask myself 'why do I let this happen?'

Sadly, I have come to realize this is a habit. Start something and don't finish.

- registered for half marathons: always started training, but never finished the training program (I think the furthest I have gotten is halfway)

- started a sewing project, but have not completed any of them

- started working out for a 21 day workout and only get through one week

- started reading a book and still haven't finished it

And don't get me started on things at work.


These are just more of the recent examples within the past year or so that I can think of right now. I realize with the half marathons that I was going to injure myself if I continued to race like I did and not properly train. For my sewing projects, I used to love working on these. I am not sure what has happened to that feeling. Working out...oh this is the one that bothers me the most. You would think I can work out for just the 30 minutes a day I needed to, but I always find the excuse-

            I'm tired - I'm sore - I'm not feeling well - I have other more important things I need to do

The list goes on.

Now comes time to figure out why and make the change.

1) I feel guilty
            For whatever reason, I feel guilty when I do something that is enjoyable. Why? Well because I can think of a ton of things that I should be doing instead such as laundry, cleaning dishes, cleaning the house, take the dog for a walk, run errands etc.
           
2) I don't have the motivation
            I tend to find reasons why not to do something, and the biggest one that comes to mind is that it is a 'waste of time.' It really goes hand in hand with #1.

These are my two biggest hurdles to overcome. I don't even know how I got into this mindset, but over the past 10 or so years (maybe longer) this is where I have landed.

Starting today, I am going to do something for myself and truly for myself.

It's time to RESET my mind and body and REFOCUS on what is important to me and not everyone else. It's time for my PLOT TWIST!

Changing Habits

This past week I started to change up a few things, and it is really amazing how it has affected me.

Monday was moving day...that is moving day at work where I moved cubicles. My previous spot was at the end of our row in the corner. It was a sweet spot because it felt like I had a bit more privacy etc., but I made a deal with my co-worker and the time had come for me to re-locate. My re-location was close- just to the other end of our row (three cubes down). However, the end of the row is where the main aisle is so there are lots of people that walk by. Most people I think hate this spot because the desk is angled to where your back is to the main aisle, but people can see your computer screens. Let’s be honest, there are times when you just want to check something out or do something that may not be job related. Well in this spot, you really can’t do that due to people walking by. I never really had an issue with not doing work, but I did notice that I would be distracted by my phone. So being in this new location has really started making me even more aware of what I can do.

Another change I made was my workouts. I would normally come home from work, make dinner, and then eventually get to my workout. This would usually be around 9 or 9:30. It was so easy in the past to talk myself out of doing the workout and just do it in the morning. Of course, morning would come and lo and behold I wouldn’t get up. Well this week, I decided to try it. Tuesday morning I woke up at 5:30am (still a bit later than I wanted) and did my 30 minute workout. Needless to say, the rest of the day was awesome. I felt wide awake when I arrived to work at 8am. I had energy for the entire day, AND I was super productive! I felt amazing. With this new schedule, I am now asleep by 9 or 9:30pm.

I always knew doing some sort of personal development would help, but I finally started plugging it in more into my life. In the mornings, I drop my husband off at the Metro and then continue with my 45 minute drive. Prior to last week, I would just have the radio on to the station I liked the most and drove. Last week, I started listening to podcasts. I never used/listened to podcasts prior to this so it is still new to me. Most of these last about 30-40 minutes so it is perfect for my commute. After two days of listening to podcasts that would help improve my life, I started to crave it. On the third morning, I turned the radio on and within 30 seconds, my mind was like “what is this?” I realized I didn’t want to listen to stuff that doesn’t mean anything...my mind was craving something with substance. I immediately went to my podcast list and picked one for the morning commute. 

The podcasts I have been listening to, at least right now, is from Chalene Johnson. Granted, I will have to re-listen to some of them since I was driving and couldn’t write anything down, but many things I have been able to implement already. The biggest one was making a list.

I love to make lists. I make them for everything it feels like, but then I don’t do anything with them. At work, I would feel so scatter brained because I was doing 10 things at once. I started taking sticky notes and writing 3 things I absolutely had to complete that day. As I crossed them off my list (great feeling!) I would add another. Needless to say, last week was probably the most productive week I have had in a long time!

I am really looking forward to week 2 and seeing how I can continue to improve myself.

And we start again?

Isn't it great how you can plan out everything and feel like you have a really good grasp on your upcoming week? Day 1 starts and all of it goes in the crapper. Last week was exactly that. I felt like I had everything together- lunches and snacks were all prepped and ready to grab as we go out the door, I thought I had my workouts all planned along with everything else and one thing goes wrong and everything just falls apart.

I feel like I am in a vicious cycle with this stuff sometimes. I am trying to hope this week will be better, but this is also the week I am going away on a little vacation with my husband and another couple!

My husband has been working out...harder than I currently have been, and he looks great!!! Our goal is to enjoy our vacation, but to still continue to be healthy and active. It would be pretty nice if we won a chunk of money too :)

My Workouts this Past Week:
- Day 1 (Sunday)
- Day 2 (Monday)
- Day 3 and 4 (Wednesday)
- Day 5 (Today)
- Day 6 (Tonight)

It was a brutal week to say the least. I ran myself down. Monday I worked until 9 so I had a late workout. Tuesday I passed out early because I was already so exhausted. Tried to get back on track Wednesday only to fall off again the rest of the week. I guess the glass half full thought is at least I am still working out and not giving up! It is going to take more from me. I will say that the results I have seen have been great so I am really excited to be moving forward and not backward.

Trying for a better week 2...

Finding New Motivation

Every few months I seem to fall into a rut. It feels like a normal cycle...get into a rut, figure out why I are in the rut, figure out how to get out of the rut, out of the rut and then back in. The cycle happens every few months, but after awhile being in ruts kind of sucks. I am tired of it. Perhaps I fall back in due to habit....maybe I secretly like being a rut? Don't think so.

Lately, I have been refocusing on what is important. There are way too many times where I make work or some chore seem really important, when in reality, it is no big deal. I tend to make a mountain out of a mole hill, which can really suck the life out of you. So I have been taking a step back to re-evaluate.

There are a few things I have started doing to help me get out and stay out of my rut. First, I started working out again. Normally, this is a typical cycle, but this round is going to be different. I started a new workout program called 21 Day Fix Extreme. Thirty minutes a day is all it takes, and the best part is I feel great after as I know I did something good for myself. I have also been trying to eat better. Last weekend at the grocery store, my husband and I spent about $90 for food that would last 1-2 weeks and it was all healthy items- strawberries, blueberries, cherries, quinoa, spinach and kale mix, tomatoes, apples...the list goes one. I have been also trying to drink more water. I did not realize how dehydrated I was. I think I was barely drinking 3 or 4 glasses a day.

This is just the beginning. I am on my own personal journey to being healthier and happier. I am using this to hold myself accountable. I will be posting every week of my journey. So join the ride or sit on the side. Only you can make that decision. Are you motivated and ready to start?