Weekend Survival!

It is really hard sometimes when you hit the weekend to NOT go into those old habits of eating too much or not exercising. BUT then you add a camping trip into the mix and you have just given yourself a self-control problem by 100 fold! That was my weekend this last week. It was Memorial day weekend and my family and I went camping up to Red Creek here in Utah. HOLY COW!! First of all, it rained off and on all weekend, that was not the problem by itself, what the problem was that we ended up spending MUCH more time in camp then normal so I was tempted to eat that many more BAD things!

Actually, I wasn't too bad! I won't lie, I did indulge in some of my yummy Dutch oven potatoes bacon, cheese and all! YUMMY!! BUT…I didn't eat as many as I usually did! I also made sure that I brought myself good snacks, like yogurt and string cheese! For breakfast (most mornings) I had whole wheat pancakes which helped to keep me filled up so that I wouldn't want to snack as much AND (drum roll please!!!) I HAD NO SODA ALL WEEKEND!!! YEAH!! Yes, I did have LOTS of water and I did have some juice, which is killer for sugar, but I did stay away from my Diet Coke!

I did have the intentions of going running but the clay mud was NASTY and I just got new running shoes which I have no qualms getting dirty but not caked in mud! So I didn't run. I did however just spend the last 4 hours out in my yard weeding 2 of my flower beds and getting the front of house ready to put in another flower bed. (Man, my back is killing me now!) So I did get some good work in that way!

I have a full week so I will not keep you but just an FYI…I am also working on slide shows for the photo contest as well! By tonight, I should be posting the first of several! YEAH!!!

Michelle 5-27-2009

Cough, Cough, GAG!

SO…I just got back from running with my sister Kristin right! First off I have to say I want to punch in her in the nose cuz she is always saying how fat she is and how she is blubber and yada, yada, yada! GAG ME! IF I HAD THE MONEY I WOULD PAY A DOCTOR GOOD MONEY TO GIVE ME A BODY LIKE HERS! SO HUSH UP KRISTIN! J!! (So I wouldn't really punch in her in the nose! But I have told her that before, just ask her! LOL!!)

We have decided to run the 5K marathon here in Neola where we live! ACTUALLY…It was Shallin Squires idea! THANKS SHALLIN!!! We are going to do it is as a Healthy Edge type thing. If you want to join us, then just ask! We all figure that this is a GREAT way to incorporate another type of goal into our exercise that we are all doing. So once again, THANKS SHALLIN FOR THE AWESOME IDEA!!

With that being said, I think I should tell people some facts about running…

Are you ready for my very profound insights?

Here we go…

IT IS FREAKING HARD AND IT KINDA BITES! J Also, if you are getting yourself in shape by running, YOU CAN NOT QUIT FOR MORE THAN A COUPLE OF DAYS OR YOU LOSE YOUR CONDITIONING!!!

I do speak of this from past experience. I used to run Cross Country in High School and there was a reason we practiced 5 days a week! Also, IT IS A LOT HARDER RUNNING OUTSIDE ON THE ROAD THAN INSIDE ON MY TREADMILL!! I am sure you are all laughing right now and it is ok! Just don't pee in your pants ok! So I am running with Kristin this morning and I am just dying because I haven't been doing the normal cardio of 2.5 miles on the treadmill. Ok, OK, I will admit, I have slacked off a little bit the last couple of weeks, BUT I have been doing other stuff like the arc trainer or the recumbent bike, BUT nothing takes the place of good old fashioned running and I felt it this morning. Also I think I am getting a bladder infection so every jiggly, wiggly, bouncy step I took KILLED MY BACK! Honestly. OH Well, I went, didn't I?

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!!! Get up and get out AND STEP AWAY FROM THE ICE CREAM!!! J You will thank me later!

oh, quote of the day:
It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, "Always do what you are afraid to do."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Michelle 5-15-2009

Times Up

TIMES UP!

Thanks to all who submitted their photos! We will be picking out our winners during the next few days so keep on checking back to see if we drop any hints! J

A New Day

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense."
–– Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

I love this quote! Actually, I just love reading Ralph Waldo Emerson! I know that for some he might be too "heavy" or "deep", but that is the reason why I love to read him so much. He has a way of putting it out there and in your face and telling you to deal with it and get over it! Just like this quote! He tells us to not be cumbered by our old nonsense! WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES!! Me, probably much more than most! But that is just how it is, isn't it. I woke up this morning just crying cuz I am so depressed over how fat I am! I really struggle when I look at the lifestyle I lead which is very active and yet I am still overweight and I look like I am about 5 months pregnant. lovely! I really hate looking like this and feeling like this! I also hate the thought that if I want to be thin that I am never allowed to eat again! It is all because my body is so screwed up from those damn birth control pills I took 13 years ago. They messed up my hormones and I have struggled ever since then! So I just take it one day at time and try to leave my nonsense of yesterday behind me!

 

Michelle 5-11-2009

Friday Activities

So today is Friday May 8th and here is what I am going to do today!

AVIOD CANDY! LOL! So you may be asking me WHY? Well, because I am premenstrual right now and there are about 3 weeks out of the month that I am controlled by those nasty hormones! I am sure you are laughing, which is fine, you can laugh, BUT it is true. Here is where my doc thinks part of my thyroid problem is coming into play. SO here is what I am going to do today!

BREAKFAST: Yogurt and 2 liters of water

at 9:30 AM I will be working out with Shilo down at Kody's for about an hour (AND DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!). I will then come home and round up my horse and take her down to the arena and work with her. ANOTHER GREAT WORKOUT! Then Seth and I will have lunch.

LUNCH: I am thinking a salad with grilled chicken that I am making here at the house. (just pulled the chicken from the freezer to thaw!) I will drink a lot more water to try to curb that desire for sweets!! AAHHH!!! I hate these cravings!

I will then go and get some work done with the magazine by doing follow-up sales appts. After I am done with that, I plan on going out to my garden spot and planting my vegetable starts (before they die!) which will be nice because it will be MORE exercise!

DINNER: I think that I will grill MORE chicken for me and the fam because it is a great healthy dinner. My kids are asking for asparagus so I am probably going to pick some of that up at the store when I am in town working out because if they are wanting it, than who am I to deny them! J

After dinner, We might go watch either the new Star Trek, or the new X-Men movie, OR depending if I can get rid of ALL my kids, MAYBE BOTH!!! I am so wild and crazy! Seth and I may even make out in the back row of the movie theater, so if you see us, JUST WALK ON BY! (he-he, I TOTALLY crack myself up!)

So here is my motivational quote of the day:

"Fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round – remembering that the man who always fights one more round is never whipped."
James Corbett

HIT MY GOAL!

YEAH!! I am so excited because I just had to brag on myself for a sec! I HIT MY FIRST GOAL OF 220 LBS!

YEE HAW!!! I know, I know, I am sure you think I am a goof ball, but this has been very difficult for me especially since my husband has been home due to an injury and subsequent surgery due to his job. It was not so much that he was home, it was the fact that his employer was more than willing to allow us to suffer financially even though this was an on the job injury.

It has really given me A HUGE amount of anxiety and stress. I guess the biggest reason of all was because Seth's Lt was the one who refused to stand up for him and make sure that he was taken care of. Here was a man for whom I had, at one time, a great deal of respect for now telling me, that "this is just policy". Even though he couldn't actually say what policy it was that he supposedly enforcing! It was just some policy that one time, "a long time ago" (yes he actually said that to me!) some Col with the Highway Patrol agreed to and so now we have to follow it! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?

I became a little irate to say the least! It is very difficult for me to see the amount of loyalty that my husband gives to this state agency. Loyalty to the point that it has nearly cost us our marriage, and the man who he looks up to as his "supervisor" and who also lives and works here in the Basin with my husband, was more then willing to hang him out to dry over nothing more than Seth performing his duties and sustaining an injury! I understand policy and procedure and I understand the importance of rules for us as a society to live by so that we may function properly. However!!!! What I do not understand is when my husband is asked to sacrifice everything! Including his life if need be, BUT his Lt is not willing to stick his neck out on the line, even slightly, for my husband and ask for something as simple, as not causing my family an even greater financial hardship due to an on the job injury.

So that is the stress I have been dealing with. When I stress, I eat! I am not claiming either that the stress I experience is any worse than anyone else's hardships in their lives. On the contrary, I know for a fact that there are families and individuals out there who would be grateful to have my problems instead of theirs! I can only attest to the hardships that I experience and how it directly affects my goals and attitudes.

It is just like I wrote in my previous blog about mental attitude.

"YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IT TO ACHIEVE IT!!"

But there is also another great saying that I learned while in Mary Kay that I feel might apply even more so to my current situation.

"SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO FAKE IT, UNTIL YOU MAKE IT!"

Have any of you ever heard that one before? If not, then think about it hard! This quote is not saying that you need to be a fake or false person! This quote is saying that there will be many times in your life that you are not feeling up to it or so sure of yourself and this is when you have to believe that you are the person who you want to be! In the line of work I am in, I get really insecure sometimes talking to people, so I have to simply tell myself that of course they want to be a part of this AMAZING magazine, because really, WHO WOULDN'T?!?!?!?

I have to use this same thought process to pull myself through when I am dealing with my own personal struggles (like my husband's ignorant supervisor or my own self-doubt about losing this weight!).

This is the whole reason we do not call this a weight loss contest, but a LIFESTYLE CHANGE! I will continue to grow and to learn and to adapt into a better person. Yes, I am sure this better person will have greater patience! Until then, I will simply "fake it" by continually visualizing myself as the woman that I am striving to become and until I "make it!"

Michelle 5-5-2009