100 posts, holy crap.
I wish I could be more articulate then that but that pretty much sums up how I feel. Its been over a year since I started this journey towards a healthier, happier me. I have learned a lot about myself, pushed my body farther than I ever thought it would go and definitely made progress towards the Lauren I hope to one day be.
Hell, I ran 20 miles last week and not just through out the week. I ran 20 miles in a row! That's 4 hours of running...in a row! I know I keep saying that but I am not the kind of person that you look at and think "she must be a runner." I am the kind of person that you look at and think "she must really love pizza" and I do, I really do love pizza.
So here are a few things I have learned along the way
1. First off, whoever decided to spread the nasty rumor that nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels is a lying bastard. Cupcakes are delicious and as much as I love wearing smaller jeans, denim does not taste as good as cream cheese frosting. Cheat meals keep me sane and if I say no all the time then I will binge and when I binge it is not pretty... please see example below
2. Your body can do more that you give it credit for. In the last 12 months I have run countless miles, been electrocuted (voluntarily), and pushed myself to new limits. My body said screw you, I am going to sit here and drink a margarita and I my mind said no! screw you, we are going for a run and then we went for a run. I have iced almost every part of my body, found new muscles I didn't even know could be sore, bought stock in ibuprofen and enjoyed the hell out of myself.
3. I can eat a lot... like a lot a lot. Add in a good calorie burning workout or 2 and get out of the way. I have learned that it is best for the general public if you do not stand between me and my food. What I eat is usually pretty limited to a few things and if you try and barricade me from the few things I am allowed to have then I will cut you. I will go all sorts of east mesa gangsta on you and do whatever it takes to get to my food. It may be a battle for carrot sticks but dammit if I run a good chunk of miles then I deserve my carrot sticks.
4: Along those same lines... I eat fast. Really, really fast. It makes my sister in law and partner in crime laugh most of the time, sometimes it terrifies her (she doesn't say this out loud but I can see it in her eyes when we go to eat and I finish before she has time to get her silverware out) This is a bad thing and I really do try to slow down but patience is not one of my virtues.
5: Preparation is key. I am probably the last person you should take advice from when it comes to preparing. I can barely pack my own suitcase... But my boy scout hubby is always there to make sure I have what I need. Like a tooth brush or underwear, simple things really but I almost always forget them.... wait... Where was I? Shit. ummmmm
Oh, right! Preparation! Make your foods ahead of time, grill your chicken, scramble your egg whites, chop your salad. I do this on Sundays that way during the week it is all ready and pre-packaged so all I have to do is grab what I want and throw it in my nifty kids lunch Subway bag. I am waaaay less likely to cheat or go out to eat at lunch if I have it all with me.
6: Find what works for you. Everyone is different, if you don't like tiliapia or white fish, don't eat it! I sure as hell don't. I have a pretty core set of meals that I interchange and that works for me. When I get tired of one thing I change it up. This is my current meal plan:
Breakfast: 3/4 cup scrambled egg whites with taco seasoned ground turkey, and cheese. Side of fruit and 7 or 8 cups of coffee.
Lunch: Big salad, 2 chicken breasts (don't judge) and some kind of dressing
*this is the meal I have to change the most, you can only eat so much grilled chicken and salad. Blah Blah Blah!
Dinner changes every night but I rotate between 5 or 6 meals. Its just me and the hubbs so I don't have to appeal to any picky eaters. Here are a few examples...
Chicken salad (chopped chicken, red bell peppers, onion, celery, mashed avocado, feta cheese)
Baked chicken fajita lettuce wraps
Turkey taco lettuce wraps (I wrap everything in romaine boats, then I close my eyes and imagine its a tortilla)
Turkey burgers
BBQ Chicken with steamed veggies
7: Screw everyone who says you can't. I take every negative piece of criticism and imagine cramming right back into the gaping hole it came out of, then I giggle. I can only act like an adult for so many hours of the day...
8: Take the time and enjoy it. There may come a time when I won't be able to run, or lift, or swim or be active and until that day I am going to enjoy the hell out of myself. Some days I just don't want to go to the gym, I don't want to run, and I don't want to have to do any of it. Those are the days that I sweet talk Scott into loading up the truck, corralling the dogs and heading the lake. I spend a couple hours swimming, kayaking, playing with the dogs and enjoying life. It may not be the same calorie burn as a 10 mile run but it keeps me sane.
9: Involve your family, if you don't have a family then hijack a few friends, if you don't have any friends then grab the homeless dude on the corner. He's not doing anything and could probably use the exercise...
This awesome group of people are your support, they listen when you are bitching about shin splints, they come to your races and hold signs that say "high five station." If you are as lucky as I am then then run the races with you and drink beer with you afterwards...
10: Do it for yourself. If you try to make this lifestyle change for someone else it will lead to bitterness and resentment. You deserve to be the best you, you can be. I hate to get all sappy and heartfelt but seriously... If you want this to be a decision you are going to stick with then you have to find a reason to fight for it.
My reason changes everyday but make sure that I have a reason.
Here are a few of my reasons....
-My family has a history of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and strokes. This is my best defense
-I want to be there for my future kids and I want to be able to keep up with them
-I like pizza and beer
-I want to rock a bikini
-I want to finish a triathalon
-I want my family to be proud
-I want to prove everyone who says I can't, wrong.
-I want to put up some kind of fight when I my 150 lb rottie decides she wants to sleep on the bed
-I want to be happy with myself, I want to be proud of what I see in the mirror. I am tired of sucking it in, wearing spanx, and limiting what kind of clothes I can wear.
I hope I have helped a 1 or 2 people along the way, I hope I have made people laugh and ya'll enjoy reading this.
Here is to 100 more posts, laughs, and stupid ideas (this is where we cheers our imaginary drinks)
one more picture...
promise! (kinda)
Hell, I ran 20 miles last week and not just through out the week. I ran 20 miles in a row! That's 4 hours of running...in a row! I know I keep saying that but I am not the kind of person that you look at and think "she must be a runner." I am the kind of person that you look at and think "she must really love pizza" and I do, I really do love pizza.
So here are a few things I have learned along the way
1. First off, whoever decided to spread the nasty rumor that nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels is a lying bastard. Cupcakes are delicious and as much as I love wearing smaller jeans, denim does not taste as good as cream cheese frosting. Cheat meals keep me sane and if I say no all the time then I will binge and when I binge it is not pretty... please see example below
2. Your body can do more that you give it credit for. In the last 12 months I have run countless miles, been electrocuted (voluntarily), and pushed myself to new limits. My body said screw you, I am going to sit here and drink a margarita and I my mind said no! screw you, we are going for a run and then we went for a run. I have iced almost every part of my body, found new muscles I didn't even know could be sore, bought stock in ibuprofen and enjoyed the hell out of myself.
3. I can eat a lot... like a lot a lot. Add in a good calorie burning workout or 2 and get out of the way. I have learned that it is best for the general public if you do not stand between me and my food. What I eat is usually pretty limited to a few things and if you try and barricade me from the few things I am allowed to have then I will cut you. I will go all sorts of east mesa gangsta on you and do whatever it takes to get to my food. It may be a battle for carrot sticks but dammit if I run a good chunk of miles then I deserve my carrot sticks.
4: Along those same lines... I eat fast. Really, really fast. It makes my sister in law and partner in crime laugh most of the time, sometimes it terrifies her (she doesn't say this out loud but I can see it in her eyes when we go to eat and I finish before she has time to get her silverware out) This is a bad thing and I really do try to slow down but patience is not one of my virtues.
5: Preparation is key. I am probably the last person you should take advice from when it comes to preparing. I can barely pack my own suitcase... But my boy scout hubby is always there to make sure I have what I need. Like a tooth brush or underwear, simple things really but I almost always forget them.... wait... Where was I? Shit. ummmmm
Oh, right! Preparation! Make your foods ahead of time, grill your chicken, scramble your egg whites, chop your salad. I do this on Sundays that way during the week it is all ready and pre-packaged so all I have to do is grab what I want and throw it in my nifty kids lunch Subway bag. I am waaaay less likely to cheat or go out to eat at lunch if I have it all with me.
6: Find what works for you. Everyone is different, if you don't like tiliapia or white fish, don't eat it! I sure as hell don't. I have a pretty core set of meals that I interchange and that works for me. When I get tired of one thing I change it up. This is my current meal plan:
Breakfast: 3/4 cup scrambled egg whites with taco seasoned ground turkey, and cheese. Side of fruit and 7 or 8 cups of coffee.
Lunch: Big salad, 2 chicken breasts (don't judge) and some kind of dressing
*this is the meal I have to change the most, you can only eat so much grilled chicken and salad. Blah Blah Blah!
Dinner changes every night but I rotate between 5 or 6 meals. Its just me and the hubbs so I don't have to appeal to any picky eaters. Here are a few examples...
Chicken salad (chopped chicken, red bell peppers, onion, celery, mashed avocado, feta cheese)
Baked chicken fajita lettuce wraps
Turkey taco lettuce wraps (I wrap everything in romaine boats, then I close my eyes and imagine its a tortilla)
Turkey burgers
BBQ Chicken with steamed veggies
7: Screw everyone who says you can't. I take every negative piece of criticism and imagine cramming right back into the gaping hole it came out of, then I giggle. I can only act like an adult for so many hours of the day...
8: Take the time and enjoy it. There may come a time when I won't be able to run, or lift, or swim or be active and until that day I am going to enjoy the hell out of myself. Some days I just don't want to go to the gym, I don't want to run, and I don't want to have to do any of it. Those are the days that I sweet talk Scott into loading up the truck, corralling the dogs and heading the lake. I spend a couple hours swimming, kayaking, playing with the dogs and enjoying life. It may not be the same calorie burn as a 10 mile run but it keeps me sane.
9: Involve your family, if you don't have a family then hijack a few friends, if you don't have any friends then grab the homeless dude on the corner. He's not doing anything and could probably use the exercise...
This awesome group of people are your support, they listen when you are bitching about shin splints, they come to your races and hold signs that say "high five station." If you are as lucky as I am then then run the races with you and drink beer with you afterwards...
10: Do it for yourself. If you try to make this lifestyle change for someone else it will lead to bitterness and resentment. You deserve to be the best you, you can be. I hate to get all sappy and heartfelt but seriously... If you want this to be a decision you are going to stick with then you have to find a reason to fight for it.
My reason changes everyday but make sure that I have a reason.
Here are a few of my reasons....
-My family has a history of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and strokes. This is my best defense
-I want to be there for my future kids and I want to be able to keep up with them
-I like pizza and beer
-I want to rock a bikini
-I want to finish a triathalon
-I want my family to be proud
-I want to prove everyone who says I can't, wrong.
-I want to put up some kind of fight when I my 150 lb rottie decides she wants to sleep on the bed
-I want to be happy with myself, I want to be proud of what I see in the mirror. I am tired of sucking it in, wearing spanx, and limiting what kind of clothes I can wear.
I hope I have helped a 1 or 2 people along the way, I hope I have made people laugh and ya'll enjoy reading this.
Here is to 100 more posts, laughs, and stupid ideas (this is where we cheers our imaginary drinks)
one more picture...
promise! (kinda)
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