Listening To Your Body

Do you listen to what your body is telling you?  Do you think that certain things are just part of the normal day to day and something that you are just think you are going to have to get use to?

I think we are all guilty of that at some point.  I know I have been.  Some days I wake up in the morning in a bad mood.  I think it means nothing other than the start of what will likely be a bad day.  Or maybe you wake up with a sore back, and figure its time to pop another pill.  Or maybe its something that is happening to you throughout the day.  Your leg hurts, your head aches, your insides are constantly talking to you.

   RED FLAG!!!!  

Your body is telling you something....but usually we are just to blind, ignorant, or busy to see it.  You need to seriously look at what is going on in your body.  What can you do differently in your day to day that would make your body better.  We shouldn't always be reliant on pills and the quick fix to make us feel better.  Will they help you feel better-probably.  Will it be lasting?  Not likely.  So here comes the work!

1.  Sit down with paper and pen/pencil.

2.  What are the symptoms you are having? (Make this as extensive as you need to)

3.  What do think is causing them? (Again, make this as long as necessary)

4.  Is this something that you need to talk to you doctor about? 

5.  Get on the computer and start your research?

6.  What are the possible remedies?

7.  Get started to heal yourself!!!!!

For the longest time I had chosen to ignore what my body was telling me....but you have to remember, you body is a finely built machine.  This is what were given and where we will live for the rest of our lives.  We need to take care of it.  

Think about it this way-you wouldn't just pour water in the gas tank of your car because it would ruin it, and it won't run.  On that note, you shouldn't pour junk in to your body and expect it to operate in tip top performance.  Ever notice how you feel after a big lunch?   Probably ready to take a nap, right....should have stopped before when your body told you.

Over the last couple of years I have taken the opportunity to listen to my body.  I have ready up on what it needs, and should have.  I also know just by the packaging of certain things, what it doesn't need. (Doritos, Ranch Pretzels, butter loaded popcorn-you get the idea!)

Over probably the last year, I started noticing different things going on in my body.  I just wasn't feeling right.  I had been working out, but the energy was hardly there.  Getting out of bed was a struggle.  Digestion issues  were commonplace and something I embarrassingly thought I would have to live with.  Until I did just what I stated up above.  I started to notice that certain days were better than others.  I took those symptoms I was dealing with and started looking into the research I could find online, and have come to the conclusion that my body just can't handle the gluten like it had before.  Earlier this year I had tried a somewhat gluten free diet, but then I let the gluten back in, and low and behold, the symptoms returned.  I can't say that I will be perfect with this new lifestyle, but knowing how I feel today versus how I felt two days ago, I can say there is a vast difference.  Can't wait to see how  I feel in a couple more days.  

Luckily in today's world going gluten free doesn't mean no enjoyment from that which I used to eat.  It's a matter of adjustment.  If I know i am going to feel better, isn't it worth it instead of suffering through it?  Aren't I at least worth that?

The Guilt

I did try to keep up daily with my blog.  I swear I did.  And now I feel guilty because I didn't follow through.

 It's hard trying to work 2 jobs, work to push forward with my Beachbody business, raise a kid, fit in my workouts, and all the other good stuff that goes along with life.

I have been doing ChaLEAN Extreme-with some Turbo Fire, and some running to keep up the cardio aspect.  I hit the gym for the elliptical if I can't do anything else.  In the 4 weeks or so that I have been doing it, I have gotten sick, which took me out of commission for a couple of weeks.  And now, do I move on to the next phase, or stick with the Burn phase one more week.   Some times my work & sleep schedule don't give me a ton of time to get some things done.  I still manage to do them, just not at the schedule I would like.

Here we are at the 3rd of April.  Am I where I want to be physically?  No.  Am I working on that?  Yup.  Could I be working harder, most definitely.  But lets face it, I have to sleep sometime-and wouldn't you know I feel guilty about that.  Stupid I know....but I do.  There are plenty of other things that could make me feel guilty, and to tell you the truth, they do. But, I am learning that sometimes what makes me feel guilty sometimes is what makes me a stronger person.  Give me something to think about.  Do I always make the right decision based on guilt.  Absolutely not.  At least not all of the time.  But it always does give me food for thought.  Something to build on to help me make a better decision.

It's like when you eat that cookie you know you shouldn't have eaten.  It makes you feel guilty. Right?  You worked so hard to push through that workout this morning, and poof-if you are me-you feel like it was all for nothing.  But I learn from that mistake, that guilty pleasure, and try to move past that, and remember that feeling for next time.  Is it really worth it?

Some of those things that make you feel guilty you have to remember are what help to keep you sane...that extra hour of sleep or that alone time (when you feel like you should be doing something else.)    Will I try to do a better job and keep this up....I am certainly going to try (and likely feel guilty when I get lax.)

The key is REMEMBER how you feel.  Was it worth it?

Do You Have the Power?

Thursday:  ChaLEAN Extreme Burn Circuit 3 (oh yah-I felt it)
                 Jogging-5 MPH: 30 minutes

Friday:  Turbo Fire 30

Bet you thought I forgot.

I didn't.  Put the kid to bed last night and "POOF"-fell asleep myself, for a much needed nights sleep, on the couch.  Not the best place to lay at night...to close to the kitchen on my way to bed. And its always for the sweets! So here in lies my next question.....how much will power do you have?

Some days-I'm all about the will power.  Unfortunately, some days, I am not.  The mornings/early afternoon are the best for me.  I can power past the donuts and all the sweets that they may have sitting around the office.   Once I hit about 3:00-4:00 in the afternoon, it starts to dwindle.  Certainly don't like it....but it is something I really do need to learn to come to terms with, otherwise, all the hard work I put in to my work outs and the beginning of the day are truly for nothing.

The concept of weight loss is simple:  What you take in needs to be less than what you put out.

I hear time and time again that people who sleep more weigh less.  And while that statistic may be true, I live in the real world, where time is a precious thing.  I work 2 jobs, I am an online coach with Beachbody, (something I truly believe in by the way) and I am a full time single mom.  If I tried to get the recommended 8 hours, there is a lot that won't get done in my life and in my home.

So, back to the initial problem, how do you fight the late night cravings?

Here are things I am willing to give a try (and I need to throw thanks to my friends that have helped with these-you know who you are.)
1.  A bowl of oatmeal
2.  Lots of Water
3.  Bowl of Multigrain Cheerios (the Peanut Butter are my new fave)
4.  Greek Yogurt-with some honey or agave and cinnamon
5.  A small dish of fruit
6.  Small portion of pretzels and Nutella (oh yum!!)
7.  Hot tea (Love a good peppermint or chamomile)
8. Frozen Bananas Slices (you'd be surprised how good that can be-and you can use them in a smoothie)
9.  A smoothie (low cal of course)

I also keep telling myself that perhaps a little late night yoga would be helpful in curbing those thoughts of snacking.  It's always high on the list until I get home and finally have that quiet time to relax and do nothing for a few minutes.

So-to all of you out there with the same problem, I would love to hear what you do.  And in the mean time-thanks for keeping me accountable.   This is something I am sure that  I get back on when I can finally win that will power battle.

What's Your Excuse?

Blah Blah Blah.

We all have our excuses as to why we don't follow through.  The one I like to use the most is that "I don't have the time."  I can legitimize that one in so many ways.  I have 2 jobs.  I work long hours.  I am a single mother.  I have to much other stuff going on.

While those are all true, the things that I have chosen to let consume my life, and give me the excuses that I use, are all about other people or things.  Granted, as a single mom, my family is and should be my number one priority.  The others, however, shouldn't be what I put before myself.  When did I stop becoming so important to me.  If I fall apart, everything I work so hard to do everyday will fall apart to.  Plain and simple, right?  But most of us fail to follow through with what we want to do.  It truly is a sad thing.

When did we stop being important to ourselves?

I saw something posted on Facebook yesterday.  A one hour workout is 4% of our day.  What is so hard about taking that little bit of time in order to become a healthier person?  Puts it into perspective.  I know that I have started on a change in my life-but I still am working to hurdle over the excuses stage, primarily in the morning when I can't drag my tired butt out of bed.

So-here I put forth this afternoon-

1.  I will  get up and work out every morning.  I won't be the one to use the excuse-I was to tired.

2.  I will blog about it to keep myself accountable.

This is the start to my accountability. Now, whats yours?

Week 1 My Beachbody Challenge

Well, here we are at the end of week 1.  And it's been a hectic week.  I did start it Tuesday morning as promised.  I have chosen to incoporate the ChaLEAN Extreme with the Turbo Fire.  This body can feel it for sure.  I have also started drinking Shakeology every day.  I love it.  I love the fact that it tastes great, how can you beat chocolate.  I also love the fact that I don't have to take my daily vitamin, and with all the minerals and extra goodies in it, it really is the best thing you could put in your body all day.

I chose to be part of the company because I want to be able to help end the trend of obesity in this world.  I fought with my weight since I was a child.  It was tough growing up that.  The older I got, the more weight I would put on.  I moved out and lived on my own, and it got worse.  I remember as a child being criticized about my weight by family members.  As a kid, it doesn't help you.  I was never taught how to eat healthy.  Not that it was intentional, but I was never taught to eat more veggies, go easy on the butter, and all the other good stuff.  When I was about 15-16 my parents had me join one of those diet places where all the food is prepackaged and you go in every week for a weigh in and some one talks to you.  Their heart was in the right place, and I actually did lose some weight, but as soon as I was off of it, I gained the weight back, and then some.  A diet like that, while convenient, does not teach you how to eat.

After that, my weight kept going up and up and up.  I know I topped somewhere around 240.  Could have been more, I wasn't to fond of the scale at the time, so not really sure where I started.  That has since changed and I took control.  I have lost 100 pounds on my own, and recently just found Beachbody and fell in love with the concept.  They want to help people lose weight and keep it off.  And they want to pass it on and on and on.

I am proud to be part of that now.  If I can pass it on to someone and they can be successful like I was, and will continue to be as I lose the last 30 pounds I have been struggling with, then I have done my part.  I want to give this to everyone.  So, if you think its time and you are ready to make that change, please, check out my Beachbody site, take me up on a challenge, and take control of your life.

beachbodycoach.com/kimlesperance

Here's to being fit for the rest of ouri lives!!

Time for A Change

We are over a month and a half into the new year.  I made it through the birthdays and the holidays.  I made it through the PF Changs Half Marathon with a time of 2:50.  I was pleased considering it was my first.  I trained.  I ran.  It was great an looking forward to doing it again next year.

Once all that training was over and said and done, my weight has remained at a constant.  I'm not sure if that was a good or bad thing.  The unfortunate thing that I have been dealing with is a major lack of energy.  Not sure if its a nutritional thing, but I have been learning that most of the issues that I have usually are associated to a bit of everything.  I have been struggling to get out of bed in the morning.  At first I was anxious to get up at 5:00 in the morning and get in my workout, looked forward to them.  Now, its like a battle just to get past the snooze alarm.  Some nights I struggle to get past putting my daughter to bed.  My housework some days seems not to get done because I fall asleep before I can get to it, and waking up to just barely get the little one and myself ready to head out for the day.

  I had been doing the TurboFire workout and was really enjoying it. I still do....just not sure why I let myself fall out of that.  I think part of my problem was that I haven't been seeing the results I wanted to see.  The workouts were great-but when it came down to it, the weight didn't go down like I wanted to see.  Another part of the equation I believe was that my eating habits could have been a bit better.  You can't under eat, and think that making it up with a binge of bad foods on another day are going to garner you any loss on the scale.

Here we are at today.  I have decided to take control of my life in different ways.  I have decided to take on the strength training workout Chalene Extreme.  It will be at my door on Monday, along with Shakeology.  On that note, I have also decided to join the Beachbody team as a coach, starting with one of their challenges.  So, starting Tuesday, please ride along with me on this journey.  I would love to have all of you follow me as I start this positive change to my life.  And if you would like to do more than follow by joining along side of me with a challenge, I would love to help you along on that road too.

Here's to the new me and perhaps, maybe, a new you!!!

What have I done?

Really need to get better about checking in on this blog.  I was hoping to make myself a tad bit more accountable by doing this....uh...not so much.

The holidays are fast approaching.  Motherhood is always there.  Mix the two, with two jobs, makes for a busy Kim.  Run, Run, Run.  Last week I actually logged in a 9 mile run.  Tomorrow, I plan on doing it again.  The dark sky, the cold air, me and my music.....it makes for a peaceful morning.  Let's just hope I get more than the 2 hours of sleep that I got last week before my run.

I haven't been to good about my training this week.  I have approximately 6 weeks left before the half marathon, which I know that I can do, but I just don't feel like my mind and my body are on the same page.  My eating habits over the last week could use a drastic improvement-but maybe I needed to just get that out of my system.  I want to be a healthy eater, and I want my daughter to also.  I have the control over what goes in our cabinets and fridge, so why do I get upset when I am the one that put them there.  I can't keep everything from my daughter, nor myself, and I get this stuff as an occasional treat.  That's the thing, it needs to be a treat, not an every day thing.

When I started this blog, I was hoping to learn some things about myself.  And I suppose in the last couple of weeks I have.  I have been talking to a good friend lately.  He asked me "What have you done for yourself?" And it's true.  What have I done?  I constantly work and do that for others.  In my day job, I work for an attorney and I am constantly assisting the clients when they can't understand what is going on. I am running the errands in the office-down to the courthouse, over to the bank, then to the post office.  Then when I  go to work at the bar, I am waiting on others.  I am attending to their needs and wants.  With just my job at the bar I am trying to make things easier for my co-workers.  I am always trying to make things better for everybody that I come in contact with-that's just my nature I guess.  Its good in one way, bad on another.  It certainly hasn't gotten me anywhere in way of a relationship...but I suppose that is another story for another time.  So-really, back to the question "What have I done for myself?"

We talked about my running.  I do it for myself.  It is time when I am by myself.  I get so much out of it.  I enjoy the solitude of the dark mornings.  The cold air in my face wakes me up in the morning.  Last week I only had 2 hours of sleep and went out for my run with my friend, and I have to say, that afterward I was so awake and it was the best feeling ever.  I love seeing the sun rise over the Arizona mountains on my return trip.  But, is there anything else I do for myself?  And I think the honest answer, besides the running, is "No."

My daughter is so much a part of my everyday life and my focus is on her-as it should be.  But on the flip side, I get lost in the world going on around me.  It would be nice to spend some time out with a friend when I don't have to worry about bed or bath time.

I suppose I should look at my work out time as time to myself, and it is.  I'm thinking its time to reward myself for my hard work and determination, and not by plopping on the couch with some ice cream.  They say don't reward yourself with food.  It's a hard thing not to do when that was all I had ever done.

I am learning a lot about myself these last couple of months.  I need to realize that I need to take the time for me-and only me-and reward that work that I have done.  I am worth the few minutes, if that's all I can get. Hopefully that will keep my mind in the game and not so far away from it.  It will likely make me a better person, and a better mom.  So from now on, a goal of mine will be to make that time for myself-to enjoy a cup of coffee, a warm bath, or maybe if I am lucky enough, something like a pedicure.    Anyone care to join me?