Holy Cow! It's been awhile!

I had forgotten about this blog and then I got a comment today and thought I should probably update. I have had one injury after another since the half marathon I completed in 2009.

Being a new marathoner, I didn't know that you should stay off your feet after you finish a race. I also didn't know that you should keep good shoes on for a couple weeks while your feet heal from the abuse of the race.

Subsequently, I cracked my heal walking barefoot on my hardwood floor a few days after the race. Total bummer! Had some trouble with my foot, my knee, and my hip on and off. Then I was just getting ready to start training for another half marathon when I got tangled up with the dog on her leash and took a fall, badly twisting my leg.

For now, I don't know how bad I messed up my leg. I'll go back to the doctor in a couple weeks and get an MRI to see if I tore the cartilage. What a pain! It's pretty tricky playing mom when you can't really walk.

So even though my exercise has been compromised quite a bit in the last couple years, at least my diet is good. The down side.... turning 40 and being pre-menopausal makes it almost impossible to keep your weight down. I think the only way it works is if you can exercise. So while I might eat really well, I still have some extra weight on me. But at least it's not a lot.

I found I have some food allergies - gluten, dairy, and egg - so I eat mostly fresh stuff. It's just easier. Processed foods and prepackaged foods tend to have stuff in them that I can't eat, so I just cook fresh.

I gotta be honest, though... sometimes I just don't feel like cooking a meal. Okay... really honest? I often don't feel like cooking a meal. But if I want to eat, I have to do something, so I try to keep salad stuff on hand and tortilla chips. Cuz let's face it.... sometimes we just have to have some snack food.

Phew! That was a whole lot of blah, blah, blah while I summed up the last couple years. I'm going to try to be better with this blog, since I am constantly working on eating healthy and finding good recipes and sometimes even making some up. Maybe I'll post my risotto recipe. I have a great one that I threw together. Love, love, LOVE it!

When my leg is feeling better, I just might have to make it... :)

A Half Marathon

I know it's been a long time since I blogged. Work is still crazy, but I hope to get more blogs in over the next several months. I am going to enter a half marathon in December. As soon as I get my training plan organized, I'll post it. Training doesn't start in earnest until June, but I'll be working on getting in the habit of an early morning workout until then.

I'm not a runner, so I'll be walking it, but I have 4 hours to complete the half marathon and 7 hours to complete the full marathon if I think I'm ready by that time.

I'll keep you all posted and hope to find time to post more!

Are You There For Yourself?

Here's another great post on Charlie Mike. It was a great encouragement to me and I hope you'll appreciate it as much as I did. Check it out:

Charlie Mike

I'm not disappearing!

Although, I wish I could say that about my body fat. LOL!

I just wanted to post that I've been really busy with work lately and I'm still a stay-at-home-mom, too, so I haven't had as much time to blog recently. But I promise to blog as often as I can so please keep checking back!

Thought for the day - since I'm feeling the need - STRETCH! Have you stretched today? I love to stretch and we should all take the time to stretch, but don't overdo it. You can overstretch and then cause problems for yourself, so make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard when you stretch. (How many times can I say STRETCH in a sentence???)

I usually take about 10-15 minutes to stretch, before and after I workout. It seems like a long time, but it seriously makes me feel so much better! You don't have to stretch just when you're working out - you can stretch any time.

Another stretching tip - warm up before you stretch. I usually get on the elliptical or recumbent bike for 10-15 minutes before I stretch. Then my body stretches a whole lot easier. Try it! It really does make a difference!

The Anti-Diet

I know - it's been awhile. Busy-mom syndrome has hit again.... As well as a cold.

I thought I'd blog about the Anti-Diet --- diet soda. I was thinking about it the other day because I really love Diet Pepsi. I could drink it all day long. But I know how bad it is for me. Carbonated drinks inhibit our body's ability to absorb vitamins. When we're deficient in our vitamin intake, we don't have as much energy and don't feel as good. Everyone knows that the sodium makes us retain water. And not only that, but our bones can be effected as well.

One thing I have noticed, when I'm really strict with my nutrition, is that when I drink diet soda, I hold 2-3 pounds. I say "hold" because it comes right off the second I stop drinking the soda. Well, maybe not THE SECOND I stop drinking it, but soon after.

I've been sick and I love to drink ginger ale when I'm sick. So I've been drinking soda lately and I'm thinking a good way to start dropping the 5 pounds I put on over the holidays would be to just stop the soda intake.

It made me think of back when I was a teenager and I was skiing with my family. My brother wanted to ski the Cornice, so we went up the gondola and got off and as I stopped at the top of the hill, I was suddenly scared to death. It wasn't just a smooth hill you ski over to and start going down. This was a ledge. With a drop. And then you ski.

And it was steep.

So what I ended up doing was just going for it, with the expectation of falling halfway down the mountain.

But once I got over that cornice, it was much easier to ski. I really enjoyed it and ended up skiing that run over and over. So I think, in regards to my soda, if I stop drinking it and drop the few pounds it makes me hold onto, I'm jumping that cornice on my weightloss plan.

I think it's a great challenge to any of us who are drinking soda. Give up the Devil Juice, the Anti-Diet, the 2-3 Pounds that just want to hang around.

My alternative suggestion - Crystal Light mix-ins for bottled water. You can get a box of packets for $2.50 at Walmart. They're $6.50 at the grocery, so it's worth the trip to Walmart. And they make water WAAAAAAY more appetizing.

Happy drinking!!!

Holy cow!!! Where'd the time go????

This is exactly the reason I started this blog. Because as moms, we get so busy, it's hard to do everything. I have been extremely busy lately - like we all are. So I think I'll post a blog that I wrote for Charlie Mike as a guest blogger. I wrote it to be published in December, but I'm not guest blogging for Charlie Mike until February, so I figured I'd write another blog post for Charlie Mike and post this on my own blog.

What Charlie Mike Means to This Stay-At-Home Mom….

My workout plan was great. I had a schedule. I had a routine. And then….. the holidays happened. To all of us. But I’ll start with what happened to me. And it wasn’t just the holidays. It was EXCUSES. My daughter got sick, then I got a sinus infection, then I was out of town, then the dog got sick, then we had family visiting, then it was Thanksgiving, and then the kids were back in school and my schedule was crazy again. Sound familiar? And before I knew it, it had been A MONTH…..yes, you heard me right……a MONTH before I hit the gym again. I only gained two pounds, but I’m pretty sure if my clothes were fitting right, I’ve gained a pant size.

The hardest part about having a health and fitness plan in your life when you’re a stay-at-home mom is coordinating time for yourself when your whole life is your family. Kids keep us so incredibly busy.

When I hit the gym for the first time after such a long break, I was sweating away on the elliptical when good ole Alden Mills walked across the TV screen, talking about his PerfectPushup. And I thought of his blog, Charlie Mike. And then, as often happens when I’m working out, I wrote the PERFECT blog in my mind. It’s easy to do. And when some brilliant scientist comes up with a mechanism that can record our thoughts, I’m SOOOOO making millions!!!!! (Yeah, this post isn’t it. The one in my head was MUCH BETTER!)

So, what does Charlie Mike mean to this stay-at-home mom? As you know, Charlie Mike means CONTINUE MISSION. And that’s exactly what was going through my head. We do it all the time as moms. Our kids are puking – we “CONTINUE MISSION” and take care of them and their mess. The house is a COMPLETE wreck – we “CONTINUE MISSION” and get it all cleaned up. Everyone is grouchy and the music in our home is just a harmony of whines and complaints – we “CONTINUE MISSION” and try to solve problems and comfort hurt feelings.

CONTINUE MISSION – it’s WHAT WE DO. So why aren’t we doing it when it comes to taking care of ourselves? Why did I listen to a WHOLE MONTH of excuses?

Well, the first part of Charlie Mike is not dwelling on the excuses or our failings, but changing things and moving forward. The VERY FIRST thing we need to do when we start slipping up on our fitness plan is to just get back in the saddle. I was really worried that I would have trouble with my workout since I’d taken such a long break. And that worry held me back a little. But once I was moving, it really wasn’t bad at all. I’ve found that about 20 minutes into a workout is when my body loosens up and I get into my groove. I knew I had to get past the first 20 minutes. And it worked like a charm. It was comfortable once I passed that point. Then I felt foolish for letting all those excuses keep me away from my health and fitness plan. But thanks to Alden Mills walking across my TV screen, I didn’t dwell on that and instead my thoughts led to Charlie Mike: “CONTINUE MISSION”.

So, as you gear up for the New Year, or if you already let the holidays get in YOUR way, remember to CONTINUE MISSION. Set a few new goals or modify your old ones. Get yourself to the gym. Get out and walk. If you really need to get some after-Christmas shopping done, put on your running shoes and take a brisk walk around the mall before you start your shopping. (Don’t run. They might think you’ve just stolen something.)

Re-engage and remember that without “MOM”, your family isn’t going to function as well. So take the time to take care of yourself. It helps with stress, too. And as moms, we’re very familiar with stress. So get in those workouts!!!

Check Out This Blog: CHARLIE MIKE

I love this blog!!! CHARLIE MIKE was started by Alden Mills, the creator of the Perfect Pushup and a former Navy SEAL. I like CHARLIE MIKE because it's all about health and fitness and getting and staying motivated. (Wow! I used WAY more and's in that last sentence than is grammatically acceptable!)

Alden's attitude is infectious and makes me want to try harder at anything I want to do. And with all his experience, he has a wealth of knowledge that seems to flow like a fresh well.

Alden often has guest bloggers, and often they are former Navy SEALs that he worked with in the Teams. Tom Rancich is currently answering questions on CHARLIE MIKE: Rally Call for Questions for LCDR Tom Rancich. I've known Tom for about 4 years now and he is a great guy. Another one with a wealth of knowledge, just like Alden. Tom and Alden worked together in the Teams as Navy SEALs. So if you have any questions, about motivation, about health and fitness, about Navy SEALs, dealing with life changes, or anything else, head on over to CHARLIE MIKE and ask away. Not only is Tom very knowledgeable, he also cares about people. Same with Alden. It's why they did what they did, and why they do what they do.