Mic Check...Is This Thing On?

Wow! It has certainly been awhile, huh? (I won't tell you that it took me 10 minutes to figure out how to log into my Blogger account. SMDH)

Let me take a minute to wipe off some of the dust that gathered on this ole bloggy blog and then we can get started.

The last we saw each other I was celebrating my five year blogiversary by apparently never blogging again. LOL! I have not written a new post in over a year, and yes the last post was my 5 year post. Kind of weird, right?

Maybe from the outside, yes. But something big happened just a few weeks after my 5 year post that changed my life completely. In early March 2016 I signed up to become a consultant with LuLaRoe (super amazing clothes that helped me to feel comfortable in my skin and find my self-confidence) which on the surface seems like maybe not too big of a deal, right? It’s just direct sales- no big deal, right? Nope, it is a huge undertaking that I have spent 40+ hours a week on top of my full time job and still working on my doctorate running this new business.

I was (and still am) ridiculously busy. It’s a lot. At least, a lot for me.

We (Erick and I- he is pretty much my business partner in LuLaRoe) live our life with no margins. (See post here: http://carlabirnberg.com/2017/04/10/the-importance-of-living-with-margins/) We have said no to so many life events, passed up on spending time with friends, no vacations, just work, work, work 95% of the time. *We do try to take 12 hours to ourselves on the weekend when we can although I am still always connected and never really ‘off’. I am not complaining, I love my business, but I can say with certainty that I did not know exactly how time consuming this would be when I signed up.

And of course, you can probably guess what else has been sacrificed over the past year- our eating and exercise habits. Long gone were the days where I would make every meal from scratch and in its place is junk food/ convenience foods I can make super quick before I need to get back to work. Our gym routine went out the window early on as working every night made it impossible to get up early to hit the gym. Sleep has been complete crap too.

And then, late last August/early September I hurt my hip and back and that made that whole terrible lifestyle situation even worse. A tear in my superior labrum and bursitis in my hip, coupled with degenerative disc disease and bugling discs which created a mess with my sciatica, I got to the point where I could barely even move my right leg.

Doctors, steroids, Orthopedist, Chiropractor, physical therapy, more steroids and after months and months of pain, extremely limited activity and terrible side effects from the steroids I am FINALLY finished with PT and meds (well, only as needed) and am cleared for light activity. Yay!!!

So why am I telling you all this? Because this past year has really changed my life to the point where I don’t even recognize myself. And I don’t just mean that because I have gained weight (which I have, a whopping 50 lbs in one year!) I mean that the person I was, and worked so hard to become, the one that loves to be active, eat well to fuel her body, and focuses on taking care of her mental well being- seems to be gone. Or maybe just buried.

After a rough start in March where I found myself on antibiotics and feeling like a hot mess, I finally started to take some action and control back in my life. Right now, for April, I am focusing on daily, weekly, and monthly goals that are slightly challenging yet still doable. I am using the Goal Digger tracking sheet from Brooke’s blog (Link: http://brookenotonadiet.com/2014/07/11/goal-digger-free-printable/).  I tack my steps and sleep on my Garmin, my water intake on the Plant Nanny app and am even trying to move back to food tracking using My Fitness Pal.

Week one for April was pretty good and I am hoping week two will be even better. I have also started meditating at night. I am trying to work my way up to making that a daily habit. My exercise right now is mainly walking but I am hoping to start a 3 week yoga program in the next couple weeks. I also bought a fitness trampoline for some low impact exercise. AND once I close up my LuLaRoe shop (more on that some other time) I want to get back into weekly bike rides like we used to go on every weekend. I am trying to slowly re-introduce things and not try to take it too fast because I really, really, really don’t want to reinjure myself. So I am definitely baby stepping back into fitness.

Meal planning has been going really well and I love having time again to cook every day. I am really looking forward to summer and grilling out a lot. We tend to eat more lighter foods in the hotter temps and it is really helpful when I am trying to not overindulge too much.

Oh, and I am also doing a self-care challenge in my LuLaRoe group for the month of April and taking time each day to focus on me...it is such an amazing feeling. A daily self-care routine was very much needed! 

I have so much I want to talk about right now but I don’t want to make this post any longer than it already is. But I really hope to get back into a blogging routine. I need the accountability. It was so amazingly helpful the first time around. And right now I am trying so hard to fall back on the good habits that got me to a 130 lb weight loss. I know it’s not starting over, but honestly some days it does feel that way. I just keep telling myself- it’s not a new book, just a new chapter.

xoxox

Dacia 

Finding My Edge

I had an epiphany at the gym this morning.

Ok, maybe the use of the word epiphany is a bit dramatic.  More like a realization. And actually it is an ongoing realization, a thought I have been having for some time now that keeps creeping back into my head. Today, I proved it right.

When it comes to most fitness related activities we really need to find our edge and walk that fine line between pushing ourselves just past it (leading to growth) and pushing ourselves too far past it (leading to injury).  Yes, you know that idiom the magic happens outside of your comfort zone? It’s popular for a reason.

Well anyway, I often think about how I am not really that person that does anything on (or just past) my edge. I play it safe. I push but I don’t push too hard. Not saying I am not trying to improve or grow in whatever fitness endeavor I am on but I do recognize the times when I let fear (fear of injury, embarrassment, disappointment) hold me back. 

It’s easy in the comfort zone. It’s safe. I mean the name itself says it- COMFORT zone. It sounds so cozy. I just want to snuggle up with a good book and chill in my comfort zone.

However, as awesome as my comfort zone is, I have finally decided that I really need to be better at finding and moving past my edge. I do want to grow. I do want to rise to the challenge, even if that means failure. Because from that failure comes growth and really, that is all I am after. 

I was at the gym this morning with Anna, we were doing our normal mix of cardio and strength training. We had warmed up on the treadmill, where I maxed out at a sad (because I wasn’t even pushing myself) 6.0 mph – very easy walking/jogging/light running warm up, then we did 5 minutes on the rowing machine (I barely passed the 1000m mark when my time was up) and then 5 minutes of jump rope. We did some ab work – which in my defense it may seem like I am not trying my best but I am, my core is still pretty weak so I did push it out the best I could. Then we moved on to weights and this is where my epiphany happened.

I sat down on the leg press machine which was set to 240 lbs. Ha! I laughed to myself, 240 lbs is crazy and I immediately moved it down to 120 lbs and began my first set. 120 lbs seemed a bit easy and so I bumped it up to 140 lbs for the next set and the 160 lbs for the last. Then something inside clicked and I realized 160 lbs was not my edge. So I decided to test out 200 lbs, just until failure. I would be happy with 1 rep if that was all I could do. But it wasn’t. I completed 10 reps at 200 lbs and thought that 200 probably wasn’t even my edge. Sadly, it was time to move on to other exercises so I didn’t find my edge. BUT I did find the push I need to get there. To not be so damn afraid.

Next week, I am finding my edge on that leg press machine….and I promise to keep trying to find my edge in everything I do. How else will I ever know what I can do if I spend my time worried about what I can’t?

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxoxo

I Don't Run Enough...

I don’t run enough to outrun a bad diet.

Here is an example of what I mean by that.

I run 4, sometimes 5 days, a week while training for half marathons. That’s approximately 20-25 miles per week. I also meet with a trainer twice a week for strength training-two one-hour sessions.

An approximation of my calories burned through activity would look something like this:

25 miles x 100 calories burned per mile = 2500 calories burned

2 trainer sessions x 500 calories burned per session = 1000 calories burned

Total calories burned through exercise = 3,500  

As far as my diet go I stick to mainly a whole foods, plant-based diet but I do allow myself what some would consider indulgences. I follow the 80/20 rule.  I drink beer once or twice a week, eat a cupcake now and again, and go out for dinner- sometimes it’s pizza, sometimes it’s burgers, and sometimes it’s something wholesome.

My nutritionist tells me to aim for a caloric intake of 1600-1800 calories a day regardless of my activity levels. This looks like about 350 calories for breakfast, 400-500 calories for lunch, and 400-500 calories for dinner plus another 400 calories in snacks (3) spread throughout the day.

But that is not what my day looks like most days. When I run I fuel before and after and for long runs, during too. For my strength training sessions I fuel before and after as well. This is a necessity for me/my body. I need energy to run and sustain my workouts and I need protein and other nutrients after to help with recovery, muscle growth, etc. Plus there are weekends and we all know life is different on the weekend than during the week.

So on average I would say I take in anywhere from 300-500 additional calories for fueling my workouts. And on the weekend I would say I intake maybe 500 calories additional due to beer and eating out.

Seven days a week x 500 calories consumed = 3,500 additional calories consumed

As you can see my calories burned just barely negates those additional calories consumed. Yes, I know this is all an approximation. And yes, I know you burn calories in other ways. But this is an easy way to show that at this point I am maintaining, not losing.

And for me that’s ok.

I think.

I haven’t weighed myself in forever. I don’t see a reason why. My clothes fit, actually my pants are getting looser and my tops are getting tighter in the sleeves because I actually have arm muscles for the first time. But I feel great. My body recovers quickly. I don’t feel deprived. I am happy.

BUT….if I wanted to lose weight I would have to do so through my diet. I have no additional free time in my life to workout more than I already do. I have a FT job, I am a grad student, I am a girlfriend and furbaby mama and I have a life. I don’t want to spend more time, more than I already do, in the gym.So, to lose weight I would need to eat less. I would need to cut out beer. And pizza. And burgers. I would have to stick to making every meal and start re-evaluating each ingredient. I wouldn't cut out the calories consumed to help fuel my workouts but I would have to rethink what I eat. It would suck. I would feel deprived and possibly feel hungry most of the time.

OR I would have to be ok with making teeny tiny almost unnoticeable changes that will help me to lose, but at a very slow rate. Maybe this time just one beer instead of two. Maybe a salad with my burger instead of fries. Maybe find a balance that allows me to tweak my diet and not feel deprived. If I wanted to lose weight, this is the way I would do it.

I don’t ever want to be the girl that denies herself a cupcake. But I can definitely be the girl that only allows it once in a while, not every week.

Because I know that no matter what I do, there is not enough free time in my day to allow me to try and outrun a bad diet. 

Well That was Tough

Well folks, I did it.

I survived week one of T25.  Woo hoo!

It may not seem like much to most but for me it was a huge accomplishment.  

And along the way here is what I found…

Pride- This is the most intense workout I have done since surgery. I still am very limited when it comes to cardio endurance and core strength so to get in 6 pretty freaking intense workouts over 5 days was beyond amazing

Strength- Not only did I feel accomplished by completing the workouts I also realized how much strength I had started to gain back when I did burpees for the very first time since surgery. Burpees are the worst. I hated them before the surgery and after I was unable to do them. Until now. This is a good indication that I am ready to resume boot camp classes in the fall, if my schedule allows it

Determination- And not only was the workout tough, it wasn’t always easy fitting it in to my schedule either. Sunday morning I couldn’t work out because E’s BIL was sleeping in the living room (AKA my fitness room) and so I had to move my workout until the evening- AFTER I spent the day moving. I was exhausted and still pushed myself to get up and do it. That was both surprising and rewarding.

I love this program so far. It is intense, for sure. It is no joke. But it is short and I can fit it in most mornings before I get ready for work.

 

Super sweaty after my 'double down' (back to back workouts) this morning!

But what I really love is having weekly and daily goals again. I was starting to feel a bit aimless, a bit lost. I think that’s to be expected though. I spent like 18 months super focused on weight loss goals, then I spent almost a year focused on half marathons and that training schedule, then there was the triathlon, and then after that…nothing.

It wasn’t long after the triathlon that I was separated, then divorced, and then had surgery and wasn’t able to do anything. And after I was cleared to work out again I slowly got back into it only to have another surgery and further residual fitness setbacks. Since I was cleared a second time to work out again, 6 weeks ago, I have been traveling and traveling and packing and moving. Just all over the place. So I am beyond ready for some structure and focus again.

This week, and then again in two weeks, I will be traveling. But this time I am planning on setting myself up for success and bringing both my laptop and T25 DVDs and will try to stick to the training plan, as best I can, as outlined. Not necessarily because I feel that I need to but more so because I want to. I do better with a bit of structure, some goals, and time to focus on my fitness and strength.  

Just like everything else in my life, it is all about balance.

Don’t think for a single minute that this re-established focus means no more beers…that will never happen.

I shudder at the idea ;)

Have you tried T25 or any of the Beach Body programs? What are/were you thoughts?

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxo

Go Big or Go Home

When I made the decision to train for a half marathon, just mere months after running my very first mile, I was completely stepping outside of my comfort zone. Growing up I was not a runner and even after losing over 100 lbs. (at that point) I still wasn’t super comfortable running. Training for a half marathon was a HUGE undertaking.

So was steeping into a boxing studio when I weighed 260 pounds, having never boxed a day in my life, and having the physical endurance of a ground slug. It challenged me more than anything ever had before. It pushed me to the point where I thought I would collapse and die right there from sheer exhaustion.

And when I started taking Nia, Pilates, bikram yoga, qi gong, tai chi classes while I was still 100 pounds overweight having never tried any of those activities before, I knew that something had changed inside me. I had become a person who loved trying new things, loved being challenged, and loved feeling accomplished.

All of those things brought me to where I am today. Cycling, hiking, swimming, running, yoga’ing, boot camping, and dancing through life healthy and fit. All because somewhere inside I found the courage to take a chance, to not let my fear or shame talk me out of not trying something new.

I found a moment where I stopped giving a fudge and just did it.

And what I learned about myself is that I love, love, love group fitness classes and also that I do really well when I have a set training plan –like when I trained for half marathons or when I had a personal trainer guiding me.

But now, here I am almost six months post-surgery and I just feel a bit aimless. I am not training for anything, there are no group fitness classes during the summer at the university that fit around my work schedule, and my personal trainer has moved away.

I am doing the best I can, for the most part, just doing gym stuff on my own but it’s not really cutting it. I need more. I need to be pushed. I need a plan. I need to set some goals and start working to get myself back to where I was before the surgery fitness-wise.

So this weekend, after talking with a friend of mine from high school (thanks, Amy) and then conferring with E, I decided to do something radical and completely outside my comfort zone. Something that might possibly kill me. Ok, it probably won't kill me. I have a feeling though that there will be alot of swearing and acting like I’m about to die.

Over the weekend I decided to buy the Focus T25 program from Beachbody. I know their fitness programs work. I have tons of friends that swear by them. I know that this program will totally help get me back into fighting shape as long as I stick with it, following along as faithfully as I can. I am a bit nervous as I will be traveling to Philadelphia (6 days) and then not even a week later Orlando/Tampa (6 days) then a couple weeks later Savannah (also six days) – basically I will be away from home for 18 of the 42 days after the program is delivered. It’s going to be tough.

My goal is going to be to stick to the routine of T25 5 times a week, which is what the plan dictates, or every day that I am home on travel weeks. I am not sure I will be able to get through the first session in five weeks, because of all the travel, but I am going to do my best.

I also plan on running more, hopefully short runs in the morning after I do T25, and still getting in some gym time after work for weights, start yoga back up 1-2 times a week, and hopefully riding again on the weekends I am home. We’ll see. It probably seems like a lofty goal but I think now is the time to set some lofty goals.

I am definitely in need for some serious ass-kicking.

Bring it on, T25!

Have you ever tried Focus T25 or any other Beachbody programs? What are your thoughts?

Love and hugs-

Dacia
xoxoxoo

Square One...Again

I was finally able to meet with my personal trainer to do my fitness assessment yesterday. Huzzah!

We had our original appointment scheduled for last Tuesday but the Pensacola ice storm of 2014 prevented that. As well as our rescheduled appointment for Thursday that was canceled as well. Since I was in lock down mode last week I kept active by playing the Xbox Kinect at E’s house and building the world’s smallest snowman. We also took a short walk but the icy roads and sub-freezing temps were a bit too much for us so we hurried back home and proceeded to go back into hibernation mode.

Thankfully, we live in Florida so after three days of crazy, cold (to us) weather we were back to the 60's and 70's and everything felt right with the world.

Anywho…back to the assessment.

The fitness center here at the university offers personal training sessions which is awesome, especially since they are very affordable. Lita, who ran the boot camp class I took last semester, is a personal trainer in addition to being a group fitness instructor. Once I found out I would be out of commission for a substantial amount of time post surgery I knew I would need some help getting back into shape and asked her if she would be willing to work with me. I wanted a way to build back my strength and cardio endurance and jumping directly back into boot camp would not be an option for me.  Thankfully, Lita was able to work around my schedule and agreed to meet with me every Monday for the next few months or so, as long as it takes.

Before we can start with our training sessions I first had to undergo a personal fitness assessment. This assessment consisted of six components; body fat percentage, push-ups, back flexibility, blood pressure (which is actually broken down to systolic and diastolic, resting heart rate and aerobic fitness. I was tested in each of these six categories and from these results an overall fitness score was calculated.

These were my results:

 

Overall, I was definitely surprised. Some areas I felt I would have performed better in (aerobic fitness and back flexibility) and some I expected to perform worse in (push-ups, body fat). It was clear to me that I didn’t have a very good gauge of where I was physically, heading into this evaluation, but truth be told- I thought overall my results would have been far worse.

My body fat percentage is 25.8% which is at the high end of the fair (average) range. The report given to me that explains each criterion in depth said that the loss of only two pounds of fat would get  me into the fit range. Wow! That makes me super happy. I would love to get to 22% body fat but I will be super happy if at the end of my training sessions I am anywhere in the fit range, 22-25%.

My 18 push-ups (from my knees) put me in the fit range. I think this is probably skewed because they were assisted push-ups but I am ok with this. This was the first time I did push-ups since the surgery so I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to do one. 18 felt like a huge victory to me!

I think my back flexibility was severely diminished due to the surgery and a slight lingering back pain that’s been hanging around since Saturday. This test is a seated forward fold. 45, the point I reached, was about a half of a hand’s length past the bottom of my shoes. I know once my flexibility returns I will be able to for sure get this one into the fit range. I may not be very strong but I am flexible, for sure.

Both of my blood pressure measurements were deemed excellent- 112/72 and my resting heart rate of 77 was deemed fit. My blood pressure was right around my normal readings but my resting HR was much higher. Usually I am in the 60s. I think even surgery day mine was in the 60s, dipping down into the 50s. I attribute this change to my lack of physical activity for the last 2 months. I plan on this being much lower the next go around.

The final criteria is the aerobic fitness which was my worst score by far. This test was a bike test. I rode a standard stationary bike while wearing a heart rate monitor with the resistance increasing throughout the test. I thought I was doing pretty well. I was talking with Lita the entire time. It was a little tough towards the end when the resistance was at the max but I was able to maintain a set speed, start to finish. Apparently my heart rate gets too high compared with how low my resting heart rate is and therefore I fell down into the ‘needs work’ range for this one. Not great but hey, it’s a really good starting point- nowhere but up to go from here.

My overall score was 56 which put me in the fair range. The fit range runs from 60 to 80. I am happy that I was still pretty close to the fit range, overall, and hope to be well into the fit range when we conduct the final assessment.

Next Monday will be our first real training session. Knowing Lita, it will probably be a fun mix of strength and cardio. My main goals while working with her are to build strength/muscle, reduce my body fat percentage, and to get back to where I was pre-surgery and build from there.

I also want to get back into running so I am going to start couch to 5K again. I want to make running part of my weekly activity but I want to ease back into it. I loved this program the first go around so I thought why not do it again?

Warm weather is (somewhat) right around the corner and I plan on making weekend bike rides a regular activity again. I am so looking forward to everything this spring has to offer. I feel very optimistic especially since I have a trainer to work with and friends to run with. And who knows, maybe E will buy a bike and we can ride around the beach together.

A girl can dream ;)

Love and hugs,

 “fair-almost-fit” Dacia

My "Rules"…Part One

Author Michael Pollan is pretty awesome. I have read a bunch of his books (In Defense of Food, the Omnivore’s Dilemma) and one of my favorites is his super quick and easy read, Food Rules An Eater’s Manual.  Pollan has a list of pretty simple and straightforward rules for food, both for choosing what to buy and what to eat/not eat, that he lives by and if you read through this book you would probably agree with most, if not all, of them. They are pretty dang logical, if you ask me. Here are a few of them (sorry for not including the explanation but I think you can understand these ones without one) so you can get an idea of where Pollan is coming from;

•        Avoid foods you see advertised on television
•         If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t
•         Do all your eating at a table
•     Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored

I love Michael Pollan’s food rules and have adopted most of them (because they worked for me and what I believe in) as my own. But after a few years on this adventure I have created a bunch of rules of my own, too. Today I thought I would share because when people ask me how I did it, I never have a good answer. I just say I changed how I ate and became more active, which is 100% the truth, but man that does not really even begin to explain how I got here.

Eat real food. I say this to anyone who will listen…I don’t care if you are a vegan or paleo or if you do Weight Watchers or track on MyFitnessPal…if you asked me what you could do to start focusing on your health one of the first things I would say is eat real food. Cut back, as much as you can, on the processed foods and swap in some real, whole foods. In place of boxed mac n’ cheese try a sweet potato, instead of some cocoa puffs try some steel cut oats (not the processed instant, sugar loaded ones the real whole steel cut oats) or maybe instead of some ice cream have some fruit. There are so many cheap and readily available whole foods options out there nowadays (frozen fruit and veggies, no salt added canned veggies and beans, dry beans, bulk grains) that make it so we can more easily incorporate real, whole foods into our diet. BUT if you have to eat processed foods (which most everyone does, myself included, in some form or another) go for the best version of it you can find; sprouted grain bread instead of white, whole grain pasta (or for me, I like quinoa pasta or just plain quinoa) instead of traditional semolina pasta.

Eat raw foods, as much as possible. I love cooked foods a bit too much to ever move to a 100% raw diet but I do think that a lot of the foods I eat, mostly fruits, veggies and nuts, are better for me if I consume them raw. Now, that statement isn’t 100% true, some veggies (like cabbage) are better for you cooked but for the most part eating fruits and veggies in their raw, natural state is the best way to get all of their nutrients. Cooking not only diminishes the nutritional values of the food it also kind of throws your body for a loop when you eat it. 

80/20- my whole life is pretty much based around this ideal. 80% of the time I make my own meals and snacks, drink tons of water, keep active, and overall just focus on what I need to do in order to live a healthy lifestyle. The other 20% is allotted to beer, cheeseburgers (even if they’re vegan they are still junk food), TV, dessert, and more beer. I like this mix. A couple meals out, a couple beers one or two nights a week, an occasional cupcake or a Saturday afternoon spent catching up on SOA balanced out with boot camp classes, bringing my lunches to work, making breakfast every day, afternoon walks at work and meal planning has led me to not only lose and subsequently maintain my weight loss but it also has allowed me to keep my sanity and have a pretty well-rounded and happy life.

You know that saying ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’? Well that cliché is popular for a reason. You didn’t gain all your weight overnight nor will you lose it all overnight. And for me, where I am now is far different from when I started but I didn’t just make a bunch of huge changes overnight. I got here one small change at a time. I started to drink more water and less soda and then one day I was ready to cut out soda completely. Months later I started to change up my diet and even though I became a vegan like 26 months ago I have changed (and still continue to change) how I eat as a vegan. I started out walking and built up, over almost 2 years, to running a half marathon but between walking and running a half there was couch to 5K, running 5Ks, 4 milers, 5 milers/8Ks, 10Ks, 15Ks and 10 milers. It was a slow progression, small mileage increases. For me, and I kind of think this is true for most, big changes are overwhelming and can be really hard to sustain- especially if you make them all at once. Which brings me to my next rule…

Only make changes that are sustainable for YOU! Don’t try to build new habits that you don’t want to keep for life. Some changes are going to be difficult to make and may take time for you to adjust but there is a big difference between making changes you want to make versus changes you feel you need to make but have no desire to sustain. For me, no matter what I was trying to accomplish (lose weight, eat healthier, become more active) I got there and continue to meet these goals by making small, sustainable changes. I am one hundred thousand percent ok with knowing that the life I live today will need to be the life I live thirty years from now in order to keep doing what I want to do. If you are looking to do the same, think of the end result you want and think about little changes you can make to get there. Don’t make any changes you wouldn’t mind doing regularly for a very long time.

Be active and by be active I do not mean go run a marathon. I simply mean stop sitting all day long. That’s what my old life was; 9+ hours at a desk job followed by an evening spent on the couch watching  TV. I started off doing the only thing I could, walking, and progressed from there. Now I am back (well, temporarily) to where the only thing I can do is walk and I am ok with that. Our body doesn’t care how we move, it just needs to move so find what you can do and enjoy doing and go do it. And maybe also watch less TV too. It’s a good habit to break, in my opinion.

Variety is the spice of life, why yes, I do love me some clichés. But it’s true- variety is the spice of life. It’s good to try new things (foods, activities, hobbies) and break out of barriers created by fear.  It’s good mentally and physically and the reality is you never know what you may fall in love with when you do. When I lived in San Antonio I attended classes at a studio that offered so many different types of activities (almost all of which I tried there for the first time); Nia, Tai Chi, QiGong, Journey Dance, Zumba, Pilates, a whole lot of different types of yoga, and guess what? I loved them all. At 260 pounds I started taking classes there and if I let my fear hold me back I would have missed out on so many life changing experiences. So, try new things, whenever you can. Don’t let fear or that negative monkey mind hold you back.

Ok, so I have 9 more ‘rules’ (ugh, that sounds so serious) left and this post is already super long so I am going to break into two parts. Guess you will have to wait until tomorrow to read the rest.

Until then, take care of you. You are the only you we have!

Love and really warm bear hugs,

Dacia

P.S. Apparently I like this topic…I wrote a very similar post back in May called The Rules. Feel free to check that one out too. My rules then are still my rules now and between this post and tomorrow's you will have seen all of the one's mentioned in that one so your call. You can totally skip it. 

P.P.S. So far I have pulled two items from my 2014 action jar; 'cut your hair' and 'buy something just for me'. 

Here's proof of the first one. The dress I ordered, just for me, should be here tomorrow or Thursday (my BIRTHDAY!!!, what a funny coincidence!) 

Challenge NOT Accepted...

I’ve come to the recent realization that I can’t do fitness challenges anymore…

Ok, I mean I am sure that physically I can but mentally, spiritually, whatever, I just can’t commit.

And now, when the interwebs are all a glow with piles of miles and skinny snowmen (which are awesome challenges); I am just over here in my corner hoping to make it to tonight’s boot camp class. There’s no run streak, 30 day shred (well at least not 30 days continuously, lol!) or any of that end of year push through the holidays with some sort of daily challenge for me.

I just can’t (yeah, yeah I get it…won’t) do it.

Why? Well that’s a good question.

I think what has happened is that working with a nutritionist who has told me to do less and eat more and somehow I weigh less now than I have all year in over a decade (even with gaining back 2 pounds from what I lost during the super stressful parts of the divorce) and I am having fun living a ‘normal’ life has made me not want to do anything extreme. Not if I don’t have to.

I’ll be honest with you…I still love being active (that is something that is very important to me)...and I try to get in two boot camp classes plus some additional cardio (running or cycling) every week…BUT I am really enjoying not waking up at 430a-5a every day. Not working out before AND after work. Not planning my life around a training plan.  That life caused me to be too focused, too committed. I had tunnel vision. All I could see was that one path, with only one option.

Now…

I love my classes and runs on the track after work.

I love being able to stay out late on a Friday or Saturday without worry of how it will mess up my training schedule.

I love not having to stress about not doing enough or not eating everything just right or worrying I will gain 500 pounds if I have one little beer.

I was so focused for so long on losing and training and I was so scared that if I slowed down even the slightest I would immediately revert to a 286 pound couch potato that I stopped living my life and just lived the life I thought I needed to in order to stay on the ‘right path’.

Ok, so maybe that is a bit of an extreme recap of what parts of my journey were like but those of you who know me from the very beginning you may recall I was a bit uptight about everything.

Luckily, that behavior did get better over time as I realized I needed balance in my life. My focus started to shift to include all of the fun stuff I wanted to do as well. Dinners out, beers with friends, hockey games, movies, girl’s night at the skating rink, etc., all the social things I had been skipping out on -in addition to being active.

But even more recently, just a few months ago, I was still being a little bit extreme with the activity levels. Somewhere in my subconscious I must be very afraid of gaining back weight. Either that or I became so used to working out all the time that it became second nature…not sure. But either way, my behavior needed to change.

And change it did.

My nutritionist told me less cardio (meaning fewer workouts per week at a shorter duration than I had been- no more 5-6+ hours a week of straight cardio) and work towards a balance of strength training (1-2 times a week) with a little bit of cardio thrown into the mix (like 1-2, 30 min sessions of intervals) and to up my calorie intake to 1800/day regardless of if I work out or not.  Plus we switched up the foods I was eating as well and voila- that was the magic mix.

At first I felt scared to move less and eat more…it went against everything that helped me lose weight in the first place. But I listened to the expert and was able to comfortably and happily lose weight AND I didn’t stress about it either which made/makes life a whole lot easier. AND for the first time I am officially at what I would call my goal weight…156 lbs. That’s where my nutritionist wanted me and that is where I have been at or below for almost all of November. Yay!

But I digress…

My point, and there is one I swear, is this…

Over the last couple years I had needed the focus and drive and push from these type of challenges (or training plans) and they helped keep me going on this journey even when it got hard. And for that I am eternally grateful.

But this year….well, this year I am opting for something a bit different.

Something less stressful.

Something less involved.

Something less intense.

For me, for the next month or so, I am just committing myself to being happy, taking care of myself, having fun, celebrating life and making sure I don’t take any of it for granted.  Yes, I will still be active. Yes, I will still plan and grocery shop and bring my meals to work. Yes, I will still put my health first.

Of course I will.

But I will do so while drinking a beer, or spending the afternoon at the movies, or going out with friends to dinner, or even curled up on the couch with a cup of hot tea and some dark chocolate (watching movie previews) and I will make sure to say to myself…damn, this life is good!

Because damn, this life really is good!

Love and kisses-

Dacia

Oh and since I forgot to say it yesterday with my Thanksgiving wishes…Happy Hanukkah!

September Recap and October Goals..

September has come and gone.

Already!

I know, right? Can you believe it is October 1^st? I certainly can’t.

Today Paul and I were discussing Christmas savings and shopping.

Unreal!

Anywho, I had set some goals for September so I thought I should put together a recap of the results as well as set some goals for October. I am sure you are all curious how this past month went for me (I could tell you were waiting with bated breath for the results J ) and let me just tell you – I killed it. September was a month full of tracking (every single day!), activity, and lots of really great adventures. This past month, everything just kind of fell into place and it was awesome. Yeah, of course there were some rough spots and not every day was easy but I felt more in control and on track than I have in a while and that was a really good thing.

My September goals were as follows:

·         Get down to (or at least work towards) 165 lbs.

·         Average 10,000 steps a day/ 300,000 steps for the month

·         Feel comfortable in my size 6 work pants

·         Create a weekly workout/activity plan and stick to it

·         Try out one new recipe a week

On September 1^st, I weighed 171.0 pounds. Today (and yesterday too) I weighed 162.2 pounds. Yeah, I thought 165 lbs. was pretty much a stretch goal so I was beyond floored when I spent the last two weeks of September under 165. Even better than the number itself was getting back to a weight where I feel comfortable in my skin and in my clothes. Big yay there!

My fitbit stats for the month were 436,678 steps (approximately 192 miles, in case you were curious) and an average of 14,556 steps a day. I am super excited that I exceeded this goal by almost 50%. This daily/monthly step goal keeps me moving and I love it. I feel so much better when I can get in more walking throughout the day.

Not only did I lose pounds this month I lost inches as well. 1.5” off my waist (31” to 29.5”), 1” off my hips (41” to 40”) and 1” off my thighs (24” to 23”) so yes- my work pants fit great. Actually, they are back to being too big. Last week I even wore size 6 jeans (which have been too tight on my thighs) and was pretty floored by how much my body changed over the month.

Each Sunday I created a workout/activity plan for the week. For the most part, I stuck to it. Yeah, I moved things around and there were a few times where I opted to be social instead of being active but for the most part I stuck to the plan. I would say 85% of the time. And you know what, that’s good enough for me.

I definitely did a good job with the new recipe goal. I tried out all sorts of new recipes; chickpea sloppy joes, quinoa chili, quinoa and steel cut oats, quinoa and black bean burgers (yeah, I eat a lot of quinoa…lol) and baked tempeh to name a few. This month was filled with good eats.

So for October I am going to try and keep with the same theme for goals:

·         Get down to (or at least actively work towards) 158 pounds. No real reason for this number other than it is about a 1 pound loss per week which seems like a reasonable goal.

·         Track every day! I think I am an old pro when it comes to meal plans so this month I am focusing on tracking every day- the good, the bad and the ugly :)

·         Hit 10,000 steps a day, every day and total 200 miles for the month!

·         Don’t drink more than twice a week. I love craft beer and couldn’t imagine a life without it but beer is just empty calories so I would like to try and limit my drinking to twice a week which for the most part I do. BUT I am going to NOLA next week…that will be my test :)

·         Yoga/Pilates Barre/Boot Camp – 15 classes in total. These are my three favorite things right now so my goal is to get in 15 classes throughout the month. Especially the Barre classes. I have been out of practice for the past month and on Saturday I went back in for a class. It was nice. Felt like home.

What do you think? These seem like realistic goals, right? Do you have any goals for October?

Five Things Friday...

1)      Got some great news yesterday- Mom does not have the BRCA genetic mutation which means no more surgeries for her and no ‘tough talk’ between me and my doctor about me getting tested and what to do if I had the same mutation. Huzzah!

 

2)      I also got some news today from my doctor. My blood work results came in and my results were awesome…my cholesterol is 142, my LDL (the bad cholesterol) is 60, and my triglycerides are 76. To give you some perspective of healthy numbers; total cholesterol should be below 200, LDL should be below 70 if you are high risk for heart disease (given my family history I would say I am) or below 100 if you are just at risk for heart disease, HDL (which mine is 82) should be above 60, and triglycerides should be below 150. BOOM! My numbers are awesome! I don’t remember exactly where my blood pressure was when I went in for the appointment but I think it was 110/73 (the tech said that was excellent) and my resting heart rate was 58 bpm. Seeing numbers like this always makes me happy- especially since I am still overweight. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely want to get to a healthy weight range but it is good to know that I can carry a few extra pounds and still post great numbers.

 

 

3)      I downloaded a printable wellness calendar for September from Cassie at Back to Her Roots. I think this calendar is fantastic and I plan to print it and post it on my bathroom mirror. I am very excited for September. My FB group is going to be weighing in and helping to keep each other focused and accountable, I am going to be participating in a back to basics challenge through Colleen the Fit Bee (she is awesome, one of my biggest inspirations) and using a custom workout and meal plan she created for me, I will hopefully meet with a nutritionist later this month (still haven’t received a call from them) and I have my follow up appointment with my primary care doc where I will hopefully be able to get the ball rolling with paperwork for the abdominoplasty so I can try to get it scheduled for the end of this year/early next. I am pretty sure September is going to kick ass!

 

4)      It’s official- I am breaking up with Crossfit…again. I told Paul that when I decide next year I want to give it another shot that he needs to remind how miserable I was and how badly my body reacted to it. After days of icing, wearing compression pants, deep tissue massage (with the moji and having Paul help), stretching, walking, resting, you name it- my legs still hate me. My ass is doing better but my IT bands and the area around my kneecaps still are just really pissed. So that’s it. I’m throwing in the towel. On to something new. Boot camp next week. Oh, and on the 7^th I am trying out aerial yoga…how cool is that? I’m also thinking about signing up for a 5K on the 14^th. And like I said in my previous post, I may even try out a personal trainer session. Who knows?

 

 

5)      I love long weekends but I am guessing that goes without saying. Who doesn’t love them? I told Paul that we could do whatever he wants at night as long as each day this weekend is filled with some sort of fun activity. Our agenda now is to take a long bike ride down at Pensacola Beach tomorrow, go hiking and swimming at the state park on Sunday, and go kayaking on Monday. Fingers crossed that the rain doesn’t ruin our plans. Tonight Paul is making me a surprise homemade dinner and then we are going out for the tapping of one of the only 2 kegs in the entire state of Florida of Beard Beer from Rogue. Since I had this beer in Portland and failed to bring any back I was super excited that it made its way down to Pensacola. I think it’s kind of random that only 2 kegs made it to Florida and both are in Pensacola. I’m not complaining, I’m thrilled. I love my funky, beer-loving mini-metropolis!

Walking around campus on my lunch break...took this at my new favorite spot. Great start to my weekend :)

 

How are you spending this holiday weekend? Are you excited or terrified that September 1^st is this Sunday?