Can you feel the beat?

Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without. ~Confucius

I've said it before, but the right music can really move you to certain feelings. Or rythyms. So I give you...... my elliptical playlist. It's just enough to get you moving and keep you there for a while!

As you can see, I like all sorts of music... and this isn't my entire playlist, but I thought I'd share a few of my favorites for you to burn. If I new how to make an iMix I would, but I don't. So sorry. :-)

Results?

Hi Guys! I thought it was time to post some results of my "health quest" efforts. I must admit... I've been a bit disappointed in the scale these days. Which is Reason #1 that I'm SO glad I took my measurements when I first started. I can still see visible changes, even if the scale isn't going down as quickly as I want it to. We have all heard the stupid notion that muscle weighs more than fat. Doesn't mean I don't revel in the loss! Which, from the beginning of the year is 15 lbs. lost.

So now the big drumroll please... I've gone down 5 1/2 inches in my waistline! WOO HOO!!! That made me feel awesome... until I measured around my ass. I swear. WHAT does a girl gotta do around here to loose some of the junk in her trunk! Only rap stars like big booties!!! I've always been a bit of a pear-shape though...That number is a measly 1/2 inch lower than when I started... I'm loosing weight from the top down... which also means that "tha sistas" aren't as full as they were in the beginning either. I've got to be honest here though... The size of the rack never really bothered me much... except when I was breastfeeding and they were bigger than my head. I'm sure dear husband is a bit disappointed though... :-/

I will be trudging along and focusing more of my efforts on strength training and stretching. I've become quite addicted to the elliptical these days. *gasp* Can you believe I just wrote that??? Seriously though, it doesn't feel like I've started my day until I've had my oatmeal and put in 30 minutes of sweat inducing cardio. Then I can shower up, put my face on, and wear some of the new clothes I've had to buy!

Well?

As in... "Are you well?" Does it seem like everyone is sick these days??? At the beginning of the week, I had a stomach bug, then I caught Strep from my 2 kids! UGH!!! I hate being sick, and it seems like we've been constantly sick since we moved to Texas... I seriously think we should quarantine their schools for 2 weeks and let everyone get well before putting them all back together... And the bugs are getting stronger... the Strep this time was vicious! Several of our little friends had it all at the same time... I seriously thought they might all be sharing a drink at recess together...

Anywho! I'm doing a Wellness posting a bit early this week. Just in case any of you are sick and need some blog lovin to make you feel better. I worked out 1 day this past week - during the one 12 hour span of time that I felt well. It was a good run, but boy did I pay for it later that night. I just pushed myself too hard. After the fever had really kicked in and made me really achy and sore, I learned a few tricks to make me feel better.

First - Take a warm bath. Not so hot that your legs go weak and you can't get out of the tub without help. Just warm. And don't soak too long for the whole weakness reason. It helps to take some of the ache out of your muscles. I also put some Epsom salt into the bath water... just because I was REALLY sore and achy.

Second - After your warm bath, s-t-r-e-t-c-h. I was feeling all sorry for myself when I couldn't work-out so I decided to at least do some stretches and a bit of yoga. Nothing big, just around 15-20 minutes. My neck was sooo sore and my back was sooo stiff and tight. After the warm bath and a few minutes of stretching, I really started to feel better. Toss in a few poses for good measure, and I felt like I had still done something good for my body.

Third - Reflexology. I have an app on my iPhone where you can scroll down different parts of your body and then choose to see the appropriate pressure points on your hands or your feet. I KNOW this sounds hoaky in a New Age sort of way. But seriously people. My neck was very stiff and achy and my sinuses have been bothering me. I grabbed some hand cream and got to work on the parts of my fingers that it showed me. It works. I don't know the how's or why's. I just know that it made me feel better. If you don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch, check this site out for more information.

More on massage...My mom gives the best foot and hand massages ever. (She has ridiculous hand strength) I remember when I was pregnant and swollen with Abby, she worked on my feet and ankles after a shopping trip. Ahhh.... The power of massage. I've seen loads of articles on the positive benefits of massage in hospital patients and I am a FIRM believer. Have you ever gone to a nursing home and just held someone's hand? Have you ever rubbed some hand cream into someone's hands? Have you ever had a manicure? There's something to be said for touch.

Maybe it's the whole reflexology thing, maybe it's just the soothing touch of someone who cares. Whatever it is, I know it works. I also know that after 2 days of working on my hands twice a day, I was feeling much better. I didn't need antibiotics or anything stronger than a few cups of hot tea.

And now that I'm better, I'm back up and running... literally. Off to sweat it out girls. Have a good week, and keep moving!

Wellness Wednesday

Hey Hey! Lookie at me, it's ACTUALLY Wednesday!

This week has been interesting... the journaling for my workouts has helped me see that when I loose focus, all hell can break loose... or all cake can end up in my mouth... whatever. I caved and went with a friend to Chilis for a drink (or 2)... we had that Triple Play appetizer with the Southwestern Eggrolls and double boneless buffalo wings... Keep in mind that this is the first serious sort of crap that I've had in over a month and a half... Not pretty. My stomach hurt so much that I couldn't eat dinner that night, and then I swear I had food poisoning from it... I spent the entire night Sunday either on or in front of the toilet. Like I said... Not. Pretty.

Then last night while watching The Biggest Loser, I ate cake. Come on people. Who the heck eats cake while watching THAT???? Well, I did... and even though I swear I've caught the strep that both of the girls have, I got up and put my cake eatin behind on the elliptical for 6 miles this morning... I feel sooo much better now.

Which leads me back to the journaling. Because I've been writing down most everything, I have been able to figure out certain patterns for my insane inability to control myself. This is what I've learned...

PMS is 2 weeks long for me... Seriously, all I want right now is a vat of chocolate and salty potato chips. The week before and the week of, well, it's killing me! Talk about a serious test of willpower... And I SO don't feel like cooking. But by realizing what is going on, I've found a way to force myself out of the cycle of crazy and just know that I will have to make things easier on myself... Large batches of whatever, just for the leftovers, makes it easier for me to resist Chick Fil A.

I also learned that when I am sick, it's OK to take a break. I don't think I could have moved on Monday if I wanted to, and Tuesday I was still trying to recoup on the loss of sleep. But this morning, I hopped right back on. I even did most of the 6 miles on a higher level than I've gone before. So I wont berate myself for Monday and Tuesday. And I also wont let myself think that this week is a lost cause because of it.

And on a funny note, I'm having a wonderful morning because super fit Tweedle Dum (you know, my party pooper older sister) who has always been the ubre fit jock one? She told me about taking a mile long walk and trying to jog a bit... and she had a hard time. WHAT? Trust me folks... I've NEVER been able to outrun her skinny a$s... In some small petty middle child syndrome way, that made me feel sooo good! ;-)

Keep it up girls! Our hard work will pay off and we'll be soooo ready for that cruise!!!

Goal oriented?

LOL... I'm so tickled at my friend Amy's comment on yesterday's post... She suggested that I train for a 1/2 marathon or something... you know, as a goal...Well, I don't know if this TECHNICALLY counts, but Amy, I am training for something...

A MOMMY Cruise! I officially declared to all of my girlfriends who would listen that I would be on a cruise ship in June, with or without friends to chat with... so if you want to come, meet me in Galveston! Come one, come all! I'll be sitting by the pool in a *gasp* swimsuit! LOL... TRUST me Amy... This might just be harder for me to achieve than any 1/2 marathon could ever be!!! I'm calling it practice for when I have to park my behind between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in Hawaii for Tweedle Dee's graduation trip next June!!! LOL.... (you know who I'm talking about...)

With that all in mind, I did the whole interval training and strength training today... Oh My Goodness....First of all, squats on the elliptical - insane. I'm sincerely hoping that I will be able to move tomorrow... I also did arms and abs using my big giant ball... I put iPump Swiss Ball on my iPhone, so I figured I might as well use it, right? Yes it was tough. and Yes, it feels good!!! So maybe by June, I wont have to worry about "cafeteria lady" arms (no offense to cafeteria ladies) and maybe by June, I wont be competely embarrased to be hangin by the pool with my peeps.

And maybe I'll be tempted to run in the fall 1/2 marathon in town... ;-)

Wellness Wednesday

Hmm... Ok, maybe I should rethink that title... Sorry, I just ran out of daylight yesterday... If this is the rate that I'm aging, I'm in serious trouble!

OK, Focus Holly... What did I learn this week...

Oh yeah, this STILL isn't easy. Every day I think about curling back up into bed and sleeping more... I think about it for about 1/2 a second. Then I tell myself that it's not a choice. I HAVE to work out. Period. Paragraph.

I think that if I allow myself to say " I'll do it later today" then it just isn't going to get done. And then I would have cheated myself and let myself down in my commitment to finding health. Not acceptable. Not at all. I'm sure a lot of you are moms like me. This is the ONE thing that I am going to selfishly take for myself every day. I may be running around like a crazy girl doing things for others for the rest of the day until I crash into bed at night for sleep, but I WILL have done this one thing for ME. My legs might not be freshly shaved, my face may not be made-up, my pedicure may be in SERIOUS need of a touch up, but I WILL have done this for myself. And honestly, that feels good.

It's not easy. I don't think it's supposed to be. If it was, it would be too easy to give up on. Don't make excuses. Just do it.


Oh, and FYI- the Challenge posting on the left totally makes me feel like Forest Gump when I look at those totals... ;-)

Tooting my own horn

Can you believe it??? check out the challenge info over there on the left...

I've had a 30+ mile week!!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

Wellness Wednesday

Hi Yall! I hope you guys have gotten the itch to move it, shake it, squeeze it, well, you get the picture. Posting about my daily progress (over on the left) has really helped me see what I've done, how I can improve, and keeps me accountable to myself!!! That being said... the big announcement for the week...
I've ran for just over 25 1/2 miles!!!! And I have one more day to go for the week!!! I may just be able to sweat out a 30 mile week! W-O-W!!!!!

All of this being said, this is what I've learned this week.

1. WRITE IT DOWN!!! I've been carrying this cute little notebook from McMaster and Storm and I write down everything... what day it is (because I can hardly keep up), what I eat, how long I run and how far I go, and what I drink. Doing this has helped me see what I am doing well with and what I need to change. For instance, I went an entire day without drinking one glass of water. Not. Good. I don't worry about calories, or points or anything, I just write what I ate down.

Yesterday, when my Blackberry went to the land of the dead (and dismembered-I was pissed) I upgraded to the 16G iPhone. I found an app that lets me jot all of this info into a calendar. Yeah! It also lets you put in a goal weight and date... which is sort of cool, except that each time you put in your current weight and you haven't reached your goal, it puts a little red line underneath... and I want the green line!!!

2. Sometimes, variety is NOT the spice of life. Here ye! Here ye! Let it be known that in my ADD world, I tend to get distracted! No Kidding, huh? I've simplified my morning routine, lunch, and snack so that I don't have to think about it! Every morning, I eat a packet of high-fiber oatmeal with added steel cut oats and either blackberries, strawberries, or an apple with a cup of 1% milk. (Have I ever mentioned that I hate milk? I'm trying) For lunch I have a p.b. and apple sandwich (two slices of high fiber whole grain bread with a bit of peanut butter spread on it with sliced apples.) And for a snack around 2:30 or 3 I have a chocolate flavored FiberOne bar. (Those are my "treat"... just enough chocolate to be gooooood) I know what I'm having most days and it's much easier to stick to the routine if I don't start giving myself options. Sometimes, I'll have a salad for lunch... yesterday I had another bowl of oatmeal... It may sound boring, but it keeps me from digging around or going for fast food.

3. Fiber and Protein!!!! I have ALWAYS had ongoing problems "going"... Gross, I know, but still. It was a problem. There have been times when I would go for 4 or 5 days without "going". By focusing on packing as much punch into my meals as possible, I'm doing sooo much better! (no pun intended...) Aside from all of the extra veggies I'm eating... I scour labels in the store until I find the highest fiber, lowest sugar, lowest in sat. fat, and whole grain bread, tortillas, rice, etc. If it's a carb, it better be extremly high in fiber!!! Fiber has another added bonus... it keeps you full. I'm not snacking - which should be a total SHOCKER if you know me. I'm also not able to finish dinner... I blame it on all of the dense nutrition in the food I'm eating. And as for protein, it keeps you fuller for longer too! hense the reason I'm eating peanut butter when the news tells me not to. ;-)

In closing, I'll leave you with a funny...

I used to have a Jazzercise instructor who would yell
"Come on Ladies! If you don't squeeze it, no one else will either!"

Wellness Wednesdays

In the spirit of The Challenge, here's this week's Wellness Wednesday update.

This week I logged 6 out of 7 days on the dreaded elliptical or following Jillian to the park (where she rides her bike like Evil Knievel and I have to keep up). I've gone 19 1/2 miles. W-O-W. Now THAT's a pretty cool number... And seems like a pretty good number to push myself with... So next weeks update will be more miles than that.

After my "Help me Jesus" moment and getting up off my tush to move, I saw an interview on Fox News that really hit home...in one of those weird voo-doo cosmic sort of ways. Enter Chantel Hobbs and her book Never Say Diet. From the interview I gathered that we had both turned to God to help us finish this problem once and for all. And in the process she went from 350 to 150 pounds over the course of her enlightenment (pun intended). I immediately went online to Barnes and Noble and found her book and journal... and another Phillipa Gregory book... and FINALLY they came in yesterday. (That's the problem with free shipping... you seem to have to wait longer...)

Last night I read through chapter 3 and realized that I'm not the only kook who was living out of control (in the best sense of the phrase) and I wont be the last. However, I hope that with the support of God, Faith and Friends, it'll be the last time for me. It's exhausting being disappointed in yourself on a regular basis. You know how when you read a really difficult problem and you read and read and read and you just can't figure it out, but then you take some deep breaths, and look at it again, it just "clicks"... That's how this feels.

So here's a few things that I learned about this journey this week.

A. I am not alone. I've always been able to spot the exact people in a crowd who have no problems, no worries, no faults. (that's sarcasm people... ) And then compare my poor pitiful self to them... Well guess what? Those people DON'T EXIST! We all have our issues, quirks, problems, faults... It's what we choose to do with them that sets us all apart. We can choose to wallow in our misery or we can choose to not let it define who we are. Period.

B. Move. It's a 4 letter word. For now. I might not like to exercise right now. I might feel like the first 5 minutes on the elliptical are the hardest... but I have stopped letting my lazy inner voice take control. I do not allow myself to get off before I've gone for 30 minutes. Pretty soon, I've gone 15 minutes, then I notice that I'm almost to the 3 mile marker, and then all of the sudden, I'm at minute 28 and I'm having to make myself go back down to the cool down pace and I've finished. Giving up is the easy thing to do. Giving up has given me fat girl arms. Giving up means failure, and people, that's just not an option. I know that in a few weeks, my body will start to wonder what's gotten into me. I know that in a few more weeks, I will be pleasantly addicted to the endorphins and the good nights sleep. All I've got to do is MOVE.

C. After 2 weeks of cutting out most of the crap (processed and junk food) in my diet, I'm starting to feel pretty good! I think that by not buying Slimfast, Lean Cuisine, or diet pills, and focusing on health and not weight, this is really surprising me. I am ... he-hem... "regular" which is a HUGE joke amongst the family. I'm MAKING myself have an afternoon snack (Fiber One bar and a cup of 1 % milk) and I'm doing alright by the time dinner rolls around. I've also realized that just because I think I'm hungry, I'm usually not. I'm usually bored. Take yesterday... Jillian had her first full day of school. I came home, worked out, blogged, ate lunch, cleaned the kitchen, ... then I still had 2 hours before I had to go to car line. Even though I had just eaten, I felt like I was starving! So I drank a glass of water and changed the laundry loads around and folded the clothes. Then I checked the mail, then I did the next load of clothes... I totally talked myself out of the "hunger" and I know it's because it wasn't real. I've even named it Hoax Hunger... just to keep tabs on it and recognize it for what it is. A Hoax.

D. It's ok to have a break... just don't undo all the work you've done! OK, so I probably had too much wine at this past Friday's Happy Hour... but besides that, I had guacamole, salsa, brownies, chips, hummus, and all sorts of SUPER YUMMY stuff in front of me and I had a decent amount of self control! Yep, I had the guacamole. but just a little. No seriously it was a very small bit. and yep, I had the brownie (it was one of those made in the mini-muffin pan). and it was goooood. SUPER YUMMY good. As is all chocolate in my book. But I didn't kill myself on it, and it didn't become my dinner. Well, there's a first time for everything, right???? And in the spirit of the break, I didn't work out on Saturday. Remember the wine? yeah... Note to self... learn more self-control when in the presence of a good Pinot Noir.

So that's been my path to wellness this week. I told Katie that I wouldn't post this, but why the heck not pat myself on the back... I lost 6 pounds since the 1st. It feels good to feel good!

Bean Soup

Here's the recipe (sort of) for the Bean Soup that we've all become addicted to. We love Mexican food around this house, so the Cumin in it really makes the girls excited. And it's CHEAP to make!

Bean Soup

1 lb. dried pinto beans (soaked overnight and rinsed)
1/4 md. vidalia onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 box low sodium chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. kosher salt
fresh grated black pepper

Break out your schmancy Le Cruset pot for this one ladies... it likes to sit around at a rolling simmer for hours...

In your heavy stock pot, saute onion in olive oil until softened. Add garlic and cook through for a minute more. (garlic gets really nasty if you burn it, so don't let it get too brown). Add the soaked pintos to the pot with the remaining ingredients. I wing the spices... sometimes I add red pepper, sometimes I add more garlic. Taste your food people, and you'll figure out what you like. Cook on your lowest flame for several hours.... I like to make this one an all day dish. The pintos will start to break down and thicken the soup just a bit. Add water or more stock as needed to keep the liquid level about an inch above the beans.

You could cheat and use a slow cooker, but I like looking at my pretty red pot. ;-)

Side note, someone told my mother that if you soak the beans overnight, it removes the "gas"... don't know if that's true or not, but funny enough to mention.

Wellness Wednesdays

Hi guys! To hold myself more accountable to "The Challenge" (see left) I am going to post some things I've learned over the past week on Wednesdays.

Not that I hold much love for Oprah (who the hell has time to sit and watch tv? honestly?) but, I actually did see bits and pieces of the past two days of the show... She's been lamenting over all the weight she's put back on. Honestly, sometimes her self-rightousness turns my stomach. But I saw enough of the show while passing through the living room to hop online to look at her website.

All of this self-reflection started after the move, but I didn't really have one of those serious kind of reality checks until I went home for Christmas... My mom has a photo of me and Levi from a year and a half ago when we went on the cruise in Italy...



Yep, that's a picture of a picture... but you get the idea... Anyway, my sister-in-law Holly (LOVE her) said, "WOW Holly, you were really skinny." (HATE her!) - just kidding I totally agreed with her. 1 1/2 years ago, I was 40 pounds lighter. Yep, you read that right... 4-0. INSANE.

Enter excuses... A: Sewing business took off (meaning more time spent on my rear), B: Selling the house and moving, C: 2 hurricanes worth of junk food, room service, and stress ... you get the point.

So, since we had a $3000 elliptical sitting in our game room collecting dust, I decided it was time to get off my ass and do something about it. And after much searching online for some help on getting healthy, I have discovered the following 3 things this week.

1. Taking time to say "No" to the kids, husband, school, email, phone, etc. for 30 minutes a day is more difficult than I remembered... and now I'm wondering how I EVER found the time to Jazzercise (laugh all you want, but it's fun for a closet dancer) for 2 hours a day.

This is the gist of "O's" new year... take more "Me" time. I've always said 'If momma aint happy, aint nobody happy' but it ended up meaning 'momma is going shopping and having a grande mocha latte' or some such stupidness.

2. D sized "Sistas" need more support while interval training... Unless I can convince myself into getting one of those "Full body lift and tucks"... The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

As soon as I think they can't get bigger, YIKES.... If only they were pretty... sigh.... breastfeed two children and see how pretty yours are.

3. It feels really good to have a plain sweet potato with cinnamon, a grilled chicken tenderloin with Mrs. Dash garlic and herb, and carrot sticks... and actually feel full enough to pass on the homemade beer bread I made. Feels REALLY good. Even that one shocked me!

I LOVE to cook. Esp. bake. And I love me some "Semi-homemade" cookin where most of it comes from a box... that box however is the source of most of the crap in my family's diet, so we're digging out some real recipes and trudging along. I will be posting the Bean Soup recipe that I came up with... as soon as I figure out actual measurements... (I usually just "wing it" when I'm seasoning things, so it may take me a while to write it down. )

So in an "Ode to Oprah" sort of way, I had an "a-ha" moment. The power of prayer can help us through all kinds of struggles. I've always sort of focused mine on being a better wife/mother, setting a Christian example to those I meet, praying for peace and our country, etc. I've even said stupid things like "God, please help me not totally flip out over this hurricane..." But I've never really asked (begged) for help focusing on "me" through each day. And only that day. And I've never really thought I should. It just always seemed pretty selfish... until now. Because I know that if anyone can help me figure out this mess, it's Him and only Him.

So until the next Wellness Wednesday, here's to water, sweat, and the power of prayer.

MMMmmmm....

OK, so here's a hit to my diet.... a HUGE hit to my diet.... But, it I DID load it with extra organic oatmeal, and flax seeds... So in REALITY, it's Health Food, Right?... Ok, shut it.... I just wont share with you! In my world, chocolate oatmeal cookie bars are the LEAST of my worries! Cheers!