You Are What You Eat! Thank Goodness We Have Choices

I went to a party this past Saturday and I gave it some thought before hand about how I would eat there. Typically party food is not the best food for you, so planning ahead is always a good idea. I decided to eat a meal before going and pack a snack just in case there were no healthy options there and I got a little hungry. I made some Mahi Mahi and steamed broccoli which filled me up pretty good. I packed up my usual night time snack of fat free cottage cheese, strawberries, and walnuts, and off I went. My friends there haven't seen me in a while so it was nice when I arrived how they were commenting on my leaner figure. One of my friends showed me where to get some food and a drink and I wasn't feeling hungry so I declined the food, but had some crystal light to drink. Here's the funny part, as she showed me what was available to eat, she followed certain items up by "oh, you can't eat that... you can't eat that... and there's _______, but you can't eat that." So finally I stopped her, I looked at her and said "I can eat anything I want!" And so this brings me to the title of this post. The fact is we can all eat anything we want and in the past I have done that and paid the price for it. I feel so much more empowered now that I actually plan out what I'm going to eat, instead of just winging it. I stock up on good foods in my home, and when I go out, I plan ahead. I went out to dinner last week but before even deciding where to go, I jumped on line and looked up the menus of some of the local restaurants and went to the place that had the most healthy options. I planned ahead. Some people think this may be such a hassle, and frankly I used to have the same mind set, but the benefits of planning ahead offset any such hassle. When I look in the mirror I am reminded of my "why." There are reminders everywhere I look and when I am tempted to blow a few hundred calories on something with little to no nutritional value I ask myself, is this going to taste better than how it feels to be lean?? The answer is usually NO, and my decision is made. We are what we eat! So, eat to fuel and feel good that the choice is yours.

In The Fridge: I didn't plan on posting this picture of my refrigerator, but after thinking about what picture would go along with this post I could think of nothing better. Here's what you see:

-Salsa

-Natural Peanut Butter (ingredients: peanuts)

-Non-Fat Cottage Cheese

-Fat Free Sour Cream

-Chobani Yogurt 0% fat

-Light salad dressing

-Bison meat (leaner than chicken, but tastes like beef)

-Chicken (going to cook that up today)

-Brown rice (leftover)

-Eggs & egg substitute

-Strawberries

-Whole grain wraps

-Fat Free Shredded cheeses

-And an abundance of GREENS!!- 2 big bowls of salad, mixed salad greens, spinach, lettuce, Brussels sprouts, peppers, broccoli, celery, green onions.

It's Time to Dig Deeper!

I woke up this morning and weighed in 40 lbs. less than what I weighed just 6 months ago. That feels fabulous, but I'm not done. The number on that scale was just the fuel I needed to decide to dig deep into my gut and find out what's really inside of me. What can I really accomplish? Yesterday, I ran 5 miles outside and it felt great to be off of the treadmill running on solid ground. Running outside is good because you can really see how well you can do without a belt moving beneath your feet. It took 1 hour to run that 5 miles, and I think I did pretty good... but, I can do better, and I will. Honestly, that run took a lot out of me, and I did a hell of a lot of self talk through it, but I will be back, and I will be better. My goal over the next 2 weeks is to hit everything harder than I have been. I'm going to lift heavier, run faster, and longer. I'm going to push my body like I haven't pushed before. And you know what? I'm damn excited about it!

"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." ~ Margaret Thatcher

OK, so here is the workout I attempted last night:

Jog/Walk Treadmill Hill Ladder

Warm up walk on flat for 5 mins then:

Incline 1 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 2 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 3 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 4 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 5 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 6 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 7 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 8 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 9 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 10 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 11 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline1 2 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 13 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 14 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 15 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 14 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 13 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 12 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 11 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 10 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 9 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 8 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 7 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 6 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 5 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 4 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 3 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 2 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 1 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

Incline 0 1 Min 4.0, 1 Min 5.0

And here is how I did:

I followed the workout until the first incline at 10, I did 1 min. at 4.0, and 1 min. at 4.5. Then, I brought the incline back down from 10 (instead of going to 15) at speeds of 3.5 for 1 min., then 4.5 for 1 min., until incline 7. From incline 6 back down to 0, I brought the speed back up to 4.0 for 1 min., and 5.0 for 1 min. After finishing that, I did a 1 minute sprint at a speed of 9.0, then went into my cool down.

Not bad for my 1st attempt. I'll definitely keep at this one, I'm determined to complete it. Thursday night is a night I look forward to because I take 3 classes back to back from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. First it's CORE, then Kickboxing, and last but probably most intense is Boot Camp. Can't wait to feel the burn!!

High Speed, Low Drag

That's the only way to explain it. I'm on high speed and loving it. My body is changing every day and it feels phenomenal. I'm working out 6 days a week, and my intensity level is up, up, up. I love pushing myself to see how far I can go, because usually I surprise myself. Like last night, I surprised myself when I shoulder pressed 20 lb. dumbbells. And, last week, the awesome leg workout, I definitely surprised myself then. I wanted to quit so bad, but on the other had, I knew I could push through the pain, and I did! And boy did that feel great!

PAIN IS FEAR LEAVING THE BODY!!

When I was in the police academy several years ago I first heard this phrase. I love letting that fear go. For me, working out this intensely requires some self talk. I talk to myself throughout most of my workouts, most of the time internally, but sometimes I just have to blurt something out. Like "that rocked" or "holy shit," whatever I'm feeling at the moment. Or I engage in an internal conversation consisting of "it's only 30 more seconds, I can do 30 more seconds, this is going to feel so good when I'm done, and then I can say I did it, and my body is gonna rock from doing this"... you get the picture. Anything to keep me going when my body doesn't want to. Does anyone else do this? I'm sure I couldn't be the only one out there.

I'm going now to hit the gym and do the treadmill hill ladder that Jenn posted a few weeks ago. Gonna be a lot of self talk going on there, I'll post the workout and how I did, later.

This is Where I Want To Be

I had an awesome leg workout last night which left my hamstrings and glutes on fire. As it became later in the day today, my soreness really set in. So, I hit the treadmill for a 45 minute interval workout and it felt good to get the blood flowing through my sore muscles. My body is going through some pretty cool changes. I love feeling new curves in my arms and legs, or muscles I hadn't noticed before. It's exciting, and it keeps me anxious for more. I am enjoying the learning process of doing exercises properly and maintaining proper nutrition. Last week I began my certification course from ISSA to become a certified fitness trainer, and I am intrigued by all the information I'm absorbing. It's one thing to loose weight and get fit, but learning about how it all happens is pretty cool. I look forward to getting to a point where I have the knowledge and can share both that, and my experience with others. That will really rock! And so will my butt when it looks like this.

Spandex Time!!

OK, so I wore spandex to class tonight. Yeah, big deal, but for me it is. Anyone that knows what it's like to be overweight knows that usually you get very self conscious about how your body looks to other people. Well, that's me. Even though I am smaller than I was, I still have a ways to go. And, frankly, I've come to a point where comfort comes first to me when I'm working out, and it really helps when your not focusing on your sweatpants being too hot, or your t-shirt sticking to you. I think I've earned my right to spandex. The important thing is, I'm comfortable in my spandex, like it or not!

My Family is Expanding (and not in a good way)

I wanted to share a great "in progress" picture. The first is me in April 2008 and the second picture is me in April 2009. Six months ago I made the decision to change my lifestyle, and now I am about 40 lbs. lighter and a whole lot leaner, and I just feel so much better inside and out. I'm still working on loosing more fat, so I don't like to call this a before and after. Anyway, Sunday was the viewing for my Grandpa who passed away last week from cancer, and I saw some family members that I haven't seen in a while. I almost hate to say it but I must because it stood out to me like a sore thumb. My family is getting big! If any of them are reading this, I apologize, but it is true, and never so obvious to me as it was on Sunday. I could not believe that of my siblings, I was the most in shape, and I don't think that has ever been the case. Or at least it hasn't been in a long time. I told my fiance Justin today that I feel like a reformed smoker, but about health and fitness (even though I am a reformed smoker). You know the one that gets on all the smokers for doing what was once a personal habit. Lecturing everyone about the dangers of smoking. I'm not lecturing (yet), but I am so much more aware of the dangers of overeating, and lack of exercise. Justin quickly pointed out though that the "reformed smoker" is the best person to be lecturing the smokers. Telling them they can quit, and that it's not as hard as they think. So I forgo the guilt of being the reformed over eater, and embrace it. And so hopefully I can show them, by example, that taking control of your eating, and exercising is not as hard as you think, and they can make healthy living a habit. You just have to make the decision.

A Day Off for Rest and Recovery

Last night I set my alarm to wake up this morning in time to get in a healthy breakfast and then off to Kickboxing class. So when the alarm did go off this morning, my body said NO!! I snoozed it, and when it went off again I just shut it off and woke up naturally about an hour and a half later. It felt good to stay in bed and I felt well rested when I did get up. As the day continued I actually started to feel guilty that I hadn't made it to class this morning. I decided that I would just go for a run since I was feeling a bit sore. I had a very intense lower body workout on Thursday and worked my upper body last night, so I'm feeling it today. Then, as it got later I decided I'm going to take the day off, and I'm going to be OK with that. I worked my butt off this week. I trained every day, and stayed within my nutrition guidelines, hell, I deserve a day off. So, today was for rest and recovery, and tomorrow will be mommy and me yoga with my little girl. Come Monday, I should be ready to torture my muscles again.

The Begining...

Well, not so much the beginning but close enough. Today is May 1st and it is my mother's birthday. My mom would have turned 59 today had she not died March 22, 2008. I dedicate this blog to my mother Linda, because through her illness and death I was able to begin a new journey for myself that has lead me on a path of true self discovery and growth. Watching her suffer the effects of cancer and cancer treatments, and all the other nastiness that go along with that, I made a promise to myself that I would do everything in my power to live healthy. The term "living healthy" may mean different things to different people but to me, living healthy doesn't just mean eating healthy and exercising it means loving myself, and working on becoming a better human being. Living healthy means mentally, physically, spiritually. It starts in the mind, and even though it will take time to manifest into every aspect of my life, as long as I am patient with myself and keep my mind open, I'm doing what I promised. This is a tough picture for me to share, but I look at it from time to time to remember what she went through. This picture is of my mother during her final weeks of life on one of her many trips to the ER of Jersey Shore University Medical Center. I remember sitting next to her when I took this picture wondering how much longer her body could possibly hang on, and wishing her suffering would go away. The best way for me to honor her life and her fight is to live my life the best way I can, and take care of my body, my mind and my soul. So all that being said, I've begun...

In Loving Memory of my mother,

Linda Ann Porawski

May 1, 1950 - March 22, 2008