At The Corner of Inn and Sane: 2011

Week 7 Of Holiday Avoid-The-Poundage Blowout

Seasons Greetings from my nephew's laptop!!

During week 7, I got in four amazing workouts on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I incorporated additional cardio and ab ripper during the week. On Friday, we packed everyone up and headed out of town. We spent Saturday laying low and taking the day off recovering and then I had a hardcore workout on Sunday with additional cardio and abs. I avoided the "road food" on Friday by getting sick to my stomach when I smelled the McDonalds grease. I decided on an extra-large cup of coffee, and luckily I had packed a half loaf of whole wheat and natural peanut butter to sustain me.

I am very much enjoying this week and being near loved ones. We are catching up on conversations, going for walks, enjoying the change of scenery, and spending lots of time together while we're away from our studies and our normal environment.

Week 6 Of Holiday Avoid-The-Poundage Blowout

And, it's done. Another semester is in the books...exhale.

This week, I had two finals and got in 4 workouts. I have to say that every one of my workouts this week was a struggle. I knew that I wouldn't get them all in, so I did the three strength training workouts and my Thursday Yoga-X. My cardio this week was lacking, but that's okay. Cardio is my favorite part, so I chose the workouts that are a little tougher for me to accomplish.

This weekend came, and I didn't want to do anything. I felt absolutely out of motivation....like a tire half flat. Saturday, we went to a cookout with some friends and today we attended a baby shower. Otherwise, I had all of my long-awaited chores that I had been putting off until after finals. Laundry. Filing paperwork. Getting the car fixed after I got rear-ended (which included the whole rental hassle which is never the same once you've got car seats to anchor-in). And, finally figuring out what I've got to get done between now and the time we leave for the holidays.

I hit a few milestones this week...I was awarded my very first academic scholarship...tears of joy!! I had my blood pressure taken as part of a physical, and it was 109/69, my pulse was 65....this is a normal reading for someone with a good fitness level and an efficient heart. That's how I know I'm getting old...when I get ecstatic about my vital signs. But, it's a HUGE accomplishment that I've worked very hard towards considering I was well over 120/80 when I began this journey 3 years ago. And, some unexpected money hit our account at the end of the week. Yeah!!

Next week, I'm planning on doing a couple of extra-long workouts in the gym where I double up a little cardio after I finish my weight workouts. I now have the time to invest, and I'm going to be spending half of next weekend driving. I feel I need to get it in while I can.

I wanted to share a Christmas Idea with you inspired by my sweet cousin. I took a gander on Craig's List and was surprised to see all of the workout gear, weights, and treadmills for sale at unbelievably low prices. Most of that stuff is just as useful if it is bought used, and it's a at a fraction of the cost of going to a store to purchase it. If you are considering New Year's Resolutions, why not ask for workout gear as a Christmas gift?

Allowing Ourselves The Journey

So often, we look at Before & After Shots of people who have lost magnitudes of weight as they smile from the cover of People Magazine while we're in the checkout line. "Without surgery....I lost 110 pounds in a year and a half!!"

That's AWESOME, but what we don't see is the journey. Snap on "The Biggest Loser", and you'll know what I'm talking about.

In the beginning, there's shame. There's addiction. There is using food to cope with feelings of insecurity or loss. There is heavy, labored breathing when we climb a flight of stairs, acid reflux, and poor sleep. There's heart palpations, a feeling of anxiety in the pit of our stomach when it's time to shop for clothes, and refusal to wear a swimsuit.

As difficult as the beginning is, the middle is harder.

The middle is LONG. We have emotional moments on the treadmill. All of the reasons why we should finish the workout go to war with all the desires about why we shouldn't. We can get lost, forgetting why we're making a commitment to our health. We can get sidestepped when we see doughnuts or get in a fight with someone and search out a brownie. The middle is where we go awry.

As you probably guessed, there is no end. There is never a day that we stop investing in health. If we do, we go right back to where we started. If we have emotional issues with food, we should consider seeing a counselor to address those underlying problems of our food addiction. We learn to make the gym part of our daily self-care regimen, like brushing our teeth. We learn to make different nutritional choices, educating ourselves properly. And, we don't stop. The key to health is consistency.

Our journey is never alone. We have fitness professionals who invest time, energy, and soul into us. They often understand us because they once stood in our shoes. Our journey is never easy, it is never cheap, it is never quick. Losing the weight properly often takes years, going for a quick fix never works because we didn't fix what was broken to begin with. Eating healthy is expensive. It requires reprogramming our relationship with food, and that takes time and confronting our demons. It requires that we change our environment, choosing no longer to belong to a food culture and instead to find a new healthy community, the same way that an addict has to change their previous environment when they get out of rehab.

Exercise is not easy. I was a collegiate scholarship swimmer and I've done some of the most difficult exercise programs known, yet I always get sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and a tingling sensation all over when I walk into the gym or jump into a swimming pool....fear combined with excitement. We know what we're about to do to ourselves, and it's normal to get a little scared. We're about to put stress on our bodies and push them to the point where they cannot be pushed any more.

I want to share with you my journey, and I encourage you to share yours. Know that although the middle is long, we're in it together. Allow yourself the journey. Know that some things really do get better with time.

September 2008

December 2008

March 2009 (left), April 2009 (rt)

October 2009 on a hike.

I started learning that I could go on a walk with a

friend or as a date instead of out to eat. I had already

begun to change the way I view

exercise and togetherness.

October 2009 (left), Christmas Eve 2009 (right)

Not only did my body change, but my hair and skin both

began undergoing serious rejuvenation. My eyes brightened,

my smile widened.

Christmas Morning 2009 - I was elated when I was given this

pair of running shoes that were expensive. They were the best gift.

Christmas 2010 - I had just finished my first round of P90X.

Thank you, Tony Horton.

March 2011 on a hike with our children, my husband, and my mother in law.

November 2011

Week 5 of Holiday Avoid-The-Poundage Blowout

Week 5 went well. It was the start of a new 30-day program that changes up the weight lifting portion on Mondays & Wednesdays. The other days remain the same: Tuesdays is plyometrics, Thursdays is yoga, Fridays is Legs & Back, and Saturdays is Kenpo (although I have been known to substitute Kenpo for another cardio activity of my choosing including a 3-4 mile run, 45 minutes of stadiums, or a Tracy Anderson or Insanity cardio workout.

I got in 6 workouts last week. I had my first final exam on Thursday, and so it was good to get out all of the exam gitters in the gym. My other two finals are this week.

I was asked some questions about breakfasts this week. Because I'm a student, I take my breakfast on the go about 2-3 times per week. Here is an awesome spinach shake recipe that I love. I change up this recipe almost every time I make it. I often use 1/2 a frozen banana & a handful of spinach. The Jackie Warner mix is great, but I'm not sure if she's still selling it. Other options include Shakeology or regular Whey or Soy Protein from GNC. I used to always use an egg, now I rarely do. Also, I use regular milk or almond milk depending on what mood I'm in. If I could afford it, my first choice would be Shakeology. I love to take my multi-vitamin with my shake for an extra bang.

Other breakfast options that I use often include oatmeal (no sugars, add raw almonds and raisins) to give the right amount of carbs, fat, and protein. Oats are a form of soluble fiber which contributes to lowering cholesterol. Another option I love is an egg white scramble (I buy egg white packages in the egg section of the store) with lots of veggies and either whole beans or a whole-wheat tortilla, or both. It's perfect with salsa....Sadie's is a fav.

Just a note on those breakfasts...we should always eat them. Failure to eat breakfast slows our basal metabolic rate and causes us to be unable to think clearly. If we're a bright-and-shiny worker-outer, we can do our workout early on an empty stomach, as long as we make sure we eat when we're done. Breakfasts should be about 400 calories, and a mid-morning healthy snack about 100-150 calories. Here, you can find info on nutrition. Remember, the less-processed, the better...and always read labels.

Week 4 Of Holiday Avoid-The-Poundage Blowout

All in all, this week went okay. I really can't complain...but I will just for a moment.

I got in workouts on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Between class assignments and exams (finals begin this Thursday, December 1st), and family time, I decided that even though I wanted more than 4 good workouts this past week, I'm satisfied.

Because I'm doing a condensed version of P90X, weeks 1-4 are the 'First 30 days' workout and weeks 5-8 are the 'Second 30 Days'...which means that today I started a new routine. So, so, so sore.

I wanted to share my favorite healthy dessert. Grapes, raw almonds, and 1 banana satisfy the sweet tooth and give the right amount of protein, carbs, and good fat.

Thanksloving And The Chick

Kimber came home from school one day and said, "On Thanksloving, we get to eat the chick." We liked it so much that it stuck. This Thanksloving, we went to the Ronald McDonald house during the morning to volunteer our time and sanitize the play area & toys for the children who live there while receiving treatment.

All....all...all I could think of all morning long was sweet Mackenzie Rye Webster. I kept thinking that if somehow MRW was to have lived long enough, the Ronald McDonald house might have been a place where she and her parents might have stayed. We left her mark there while we dedicated our time. She passed away between Thanksgiving & Christmas 2 years ago, and she's in our prayers. I wish I could have met her.

My dad was in charge of the traditional meal this year, and I was on clean-up committee. It was a night full of family and relaxation.

I am so thankful for our health. The days events and people we met reminded us that not everyone has their health. I'm thankful for family, for tender moments, and for our time together.

From this chick to you, Happy Thanksloving.

Week 3 of Holiday Avoid-The-Poundage Blowout

If week 2 was awesome, then week 3 was magical.

We had Thanksgiving lunches with each of our children at their schools during the week. On Friday evening, Kimber had her holiday performance - her class was a band of roosters.

Then, on Saturday morning I was inducted into the Alpha Chi Collegiate Honors Scholarship Society. I was humbled to be a part of such an amazing group of people. The president of our university, Dr. Natalicio, gave the address and we each were pinned and then asked to talk about our plans following graduation. The deans over the different colleges represented did the pinning ceremony.

On the left, I'm getting pinned & on the right I'm speaking to the group.

On the left is Dr. Natalicio, the president of the university. On the right is

Dr. Castaneda, an esteemed behavioral neuroscientist, and my mentor.

Saturday night topped everything off with date night. Sushi filled our bellies.

I felt extremely strong in the gym, and I stuck to my nutrition plan. I didn't work out Saturday due to the events, and on Sunday we spent a family day together. So, I didn't get my weekend workout in...but I'm not too upset. I got in five great workouts, enjoyed the events, and felt balanced and healthy.

This week is gonna be a tough week as far as scheduling everything. The kiddos are out of school all week, but we still have class...so I've had to lean on family for assistance. It is a week crammed full of tests, projects, and quizzes all week for the both of us, so we're trading off studying. I will be super-happy if I get in 4-5 rigorous workouts this week.

This week, I'm so very THANKFUL for:

Professors that dance with passion when they speak about their areas of expertise. They inspire!!
Date Nights. I don't think that men understand the magic in them. To guys, it's sushi out and money gone. To us, its getting ready and putting on perfume...an opportunity to feel young and beautiful while we're out with the one we love. I look forward to date night for weeks.
My sister, who spent her Saturday morning with both of our children so that we could attend this event and they could play and have fun. They adore their Tannymal.

The Medicated Child

I am absolutely fascinated with the human brain....how we learn, how we perceive, our emotions, addictions, retrieval of information from infancy to adulthood. I've done numerous posts on this ranging from depression to addiction to how exercise is linked to increased test scores. I believe that nothing changes in our environment until it first changes in our brain. I'm also a mom, and I believe that growing children into healthy, responsible members of society is probably both the best and the most difficult job ever.

I want to thank PBS for bringing these two together for one of the most provocative, disturbing shows. The Medicated Child provides anecdotal evidence as it follows a few children on their medicated journey.

There is no question that children can be born with congenital diseases. Type I Diabetes didn't just spring up from nowhere, so it makes sense that a child can also be born with problems that could affect learning and development. However, I also believe that in this society we often choose medication over modifications to our environment. Controversial as it is to say, some of us choose pills over parenting.

We choose to feed our kids a diet of corndogs and ketchup washed down with soda day after day and then wonder why they cannot concentrate. We often call that ADD when it's not. We have moved them from the outdoors to the indoors and then medicate when they cannot control their temper or their energy. We often refer to that as ADHD when it isn't. Now, we're medicating young children for bipolar disorder.

I am not going to attempt to tell people how to parent...I've already made that mistake. I cannot imagine the heartache, frustration, and numerous questions any parent considering psychiatric medication for their child asks themselves. Instead, I beg anyone considering these meds for their child to first do the following:

- Watch this show

-Look at their child's environment and ask themselves....really ask themselves...if they've given their child every tool they need for success that day. This includes their nutrition, their sleep, their rigorous exercise time, and their parent's attention.

-Think about behavior modification options, visiting a child-psychologist before seeing a child-psychiatrist to see if there are non-medicated ways to change the child's behavior and focus. Is medication the only way out, or is it the easy way out?

- Ask about unbiased studies. These are not studies done by pharmaceutical companies, but by the National Institute of Health (NIH). They are funded with grant money, researched by the best and brightest neuroscientists, and their results do not sell books, pills, or generate profits.

May your children be fed and watered well so that they can grow into beautiful adults who accomplish amazing things.

Week 2 of Holiday-Avoid-The-Poundage Blowout

This week was a GREAT week!! The soreness from last week was gone, and the highlight was when I was doing my P90X Plyometric workout on Tuesday, some random guy came up to me and stopped me to tell me how impressed he was. Thanks, random guy...you made my week!! Of course, I could hardly breathe & was foaming at the mouth to try and tell him thank you.

Since I decided to do this 8-week round of P90X at the gym, I wanted to share why I chose to do it this way. My school opened up a new state-of-the-art fitness center at the beginning of the semester. All students pay approximately $70.00 per semester for fees to use this facility (whether we choose to use it or not), and I felt that I'm already paying for this awesome gym, I might as well use it. Looks snazzy, huh?! I'm a lucky girl.

Here's My Little Corner Of The Gym Every Thursday For Yoga

This week, I'm so very THANKFUL for:

Proactiv - My acne started at age 22, and hasn't stopped since. Great product.
My wonderful children - who told me today that..."You're beauuuful..."
My extraordinary locker. For an additional $15 per semester, I get this lucky sucker. It is so large that it houses my yoga mat, my backpack, shampoo, conditioner, a toothbrush & toothpaste, my ibuprofen, facial and body cleanser, moisturizer, an extra pair of running shoes, AND my P90X workout booklet.

Jay's Birthday Weekend

The Four of Us As Meerkats

Fighting Giraffes....They Were Really Getting After It

Kinds Of Poop

Made & Decorated With Love

The Birthday Boy

Week 1 Of Holiday Avoid-The-Poundage Blowout

I'm always amazed at the immediate results I see with this program every time I do it (this is my third round, although both rounds 2 and 3 were only 8 weeks instead of the full 90 days). Within just a few days, I see definition.

I'm also always amazed at how sore I get. Even though I'm a consistent worker-outer, this program just seems to kick things up to a different level for me. On Friday, I felt so hypoglycemic after the legs/back workout that I was unable to finish the Ab Ripper, and had to get some Gatorade in me along with a shower and a nap before I could do anything for anyone. That hasn't happened to me in a long, long time.

This week started off the event-full holiday season. On Friday, my husband was inducted into the Collegiate Honor Society. The thermostat went out, so we replaced that on Saturday. Today, Sunday, is my husband's birthday (and a cheat meal day...I'm baking a cake here shortly), and then tomorrow I've got an exam that I've been studying for incessantly. I didn't do Kenpo yesterday, and I'm thinking instead of replacing that workout with one of Tracy Anderson's today. They're both cardio and work the same muscle groups, I just don't know if I'm ready yet for the Kenpo. It's one of my least favorite workouts, and I cannot stand the warmup. I'll tack on the Ab Ripper from Friday to today's cardio so that I get it all in.

During this season of thanksgiving, I'm thankful for:

My husband. We've never hid our ups and downs, and we've made a great family together. I'm so very proud that he was honored for his accomplishments. He works diligently at school, and God granted us another year.I hope for many more.
Gatorade - the old fashioned, powder kind. A scoop of that into my empty water bottle allows me to mix it at the gym for a post-workout recovery drink.
Ibuprofen. I keep it in my locker at the gym and also in my book bag. An old lady needs her ibuprofen every now and then.
Tony Horton...who put down onto DVD what most collegiate programs were doing for strength and conditioning and marketing it for the average consumer.
ACDC, Kid Rock, Metallica, P!nk, Alanis Morissette, and every other artist that produced angry music that hits the lower two, most visceral chakras. They keep energy flowing during the really tough exercises. When it's time to hit the pull-up bar, I punch in one of their songs.

About This Time

Monday was Halloween.

Twenty four days later is Thanksgiving, and then after that it's Christmas & finally New Year's Eve. It's already started...first the Halloween candy-eating, then the pie baking, the stuffing recipes, Christmas Cookie baking, and it all gets topped off with champagne at the end....

...and a New Year's Resolution.

Every year about this time, I find it really tough to stay motivated. Why eat well when all of these once-a-year traditions are out and about? Candy corn won't be around for a whole year, so why not take advantage of it now? I cannot stand the taste of pumpkin pie, but heck....it's not Thanksgiving without one, right?

This year, I've decided to repeat some things that I know work well for me through this really tough part of the year.

1. Motivation
I started an 8-week round of P90X on Monday, October 31st. Every time I begin a new fitness regimen, I find that my motivation skyrockets. This is one of the reasons why I try to change things up every few months and do something new...it stays interesting. This year, instead of doing P90X at home, I'll be doing it at the gym.

2. Structure
I calendered my 60 day routine. Day 1 was Monday. Eight weeks later is Saturday, December 24th - Christmas Eve. I feel confident when I plan. I'm able to look ahead at the next week, plan my weeks out around responsibilities including schoolwork, the kids holiday school events, and finals. This season brings about so many events that I know flexibility is key along with structure, and that's where accountability comes in.

I also calendered my cheat meals between now and the New Year. I'm a big believer in cheat meals because without them, we feel deprived. Deprivation leads to binge eating, and that leads to shame. My cheat meals between now and the New Year include: Halloween night, my husband's birthday dinner in November, November Date Night, Thanksgiving Dinner, December Date Night, Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas (all day), and dinner on New Year's Eve. As we'll be heading out of town for the Christmas holiday, I know that last week of P90X is going to be tough so I'm planning ahead and making workout arrangements in advance. In keeping with P90X structure, I'll not be drinking alcohol during the 60 days with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. This is how alcohol sabotages weight loss.

3. Accountability
The person who has 3 sources of accountability is much more likely to be successful than the person who has none. So, I'm choosing once again to blog weekly regarding this end-of-year avoid-the-holiday-poundage blowout that I'm doing.

4. Reward
There's nothing like the pot-o-gold at the end of the rainbow, but neither food nor days off should ever be used as a reward. Food is fuel, it's to be used as such. Days off are for rest and repair for the body and mind. One of my favorite health-promoting rewards is a good, deep tissue massage. So, that week between Christmas and the New Year, I'm planning on going and getting me some rubbing.

Won't you join me and we can do this together?

Fall 2011 Photos

If I could have one wish, it would be that our two children remain close as they grow together. We've had an amazing fall with a new semester, Jet's 7th birthday, and beautiful cool weather.