Monday, January 31, 2011

Monday, January 31st

Good Morning, Blog Readers!


Let me just say this about my fast yesterday.  It was easier said than done.  I ended up feeling the hunger right around 3:30pm.  I kept eyeing the clock at 6 minute intervals.  I started to lose my edge.  Then I thought, "You're only supposed to do this whole fasting thing for 18 hours.  When can I eat?  My last meal was at 11pm last night, so that means 5pm is meal time."  That's exactly what I did.  I had an open-faced turkey sandwich on homemade sourdough bread, a banana, and peppers with hummus.  It was a "clean" meal, I think, and it was quite enjoyable.  I was offered some goupy dessert by my loving husband, but I was able to decline.  Maybe it's because I had OVER OVER indulged the night before.  I went to bed around 8pm last night, exhausted.  I had made the decision to fast after I had burned 500 calories in the gym that morning.  Next time, I'll skip the workout for the fast; can't do both.  When I woke up this morning, I felt just fine.  I got ready to do my Biggest Loser workout and was only able to do the warmup. I'm so sorry Bob.  I decided that it was a combination of working out too much on a day when I was going to fast, then eating a small amount the night before and trying to workout the next morning. The bottom line is that I decided really and truly to do the fast because I had been such a horrible dieter the day before.  You can't fix yesterday's mistakes today.  So here is my plan for this week:



Monday - Day of Rest
Calories: 1200

Tuesday: Biggest Loser Boot Camp - Level 1/Elliptical (10 minutes) @ School
Calories 1350

Wednesday: Elliptical (40 minutes)@ School
Calories: 1350

Thursday: Biggest Loser Boot Camp - Level 1/Elliptical (10 minutes) @ School
Calories: 1350

Friday: Elliptical (40 minutes) @ School
Calories: 1350

Saturday: Biggest Loser Boot Camp - Level 1/Elliptical (10 minutes) @ School
Calories: 1350

Sunday: Biggest Loser Boot Camp - Level 1/Elliptical (10 minutes) @ School
Calories: 1350


Dear God,

I have felt a gap growing in my heart, Lord.  I have put my focus on other things in my life instead of on You.  I have felt myself become less satisfied in life recently and I think it's in direct relation to the amount of time I have spent close to you.  I have forgotten, or more appropriately over looked our prayer time in the mornings, and I have ignored your love during the times that I need it the most.  I am sorry for turning away from you, and the love that you offer me unconditionally.  You are the source of all the goodness in my life and yet I have stopped giving you the credit.  I ask for your help when I need it, but don't include you on the rest of my life the way that I should.  It is my goal to embrace you more, the way that you have always embraced me.  

You are the source of all that is good in my life and I wish to thank you for my amazing husband, my wonderful parents, my family and friends who support me and inspire me, my job, my home, my co-workers, my students.  These are all gifts that you have given me.  I thank you with everything that I am.

I want to praise and honor the other gift that you have given me: my body.  I have not done this lately.  I have poured unhealthy amounts of food into my body to satisfy an unknown.  When I needed to reach out to you most to save me, I turned to more food.  Please God, help me to stay mindful and present of the things that I need to do to honor the body that you have given me.  I ask you to save me from doing damage to your gift.

Please make today one filled with love and miracles.  I ask you to help make me the most effective in the lives of my students.  Many of them are feeling the emotional drain from the results of the trial.  Help me to best serve them.

Today is the day you have made.  Please help me to make the most of it.
Amen

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Sunday, January 30th

Dear Blog Reader,

Today I have decided to research and implement a safe and healthy one-day fast.  I think that it would be a healthy thing for me to do mentally and physically.  I have found myself back in a binging/boredom rut and  want to try something new to change my behavior.  I keep repeating the same behavior over and over, expecting a new result.  It'll drive me crazy before the tightness of my jeans do!

Here are some reasons why I've decided to do this:
1.  It will help me to get mentally tough.  I need to learn some old fashioned discapline.  I've been workout out to the Biggest Loser's Boot Camp, but then come home and eat like I'm on death row.

2.  Give my system a break from all the garbage I seem to want to jam down my own throat.  STOP EATING $%*!@ PLEASE!

3.  There are many types of fasts.  Two that sound promising, as in my ability to carry them out, are the one-day (18 hour) liquid fast or the raw foods fast.  I am going to start with the liquid fast and if I cannot hold out for those 18 hours without sustenance, I will hit up some carrots and apple.

Here is a really webpage that has some testimonials of people who have fasted, far longer than I plan to and also the 1 to 2 days:  Testimonials

I'll keep you updated.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Day Three: Oh Dear

Oh boy.  Don't even look at me.  I'm so embarrassed.  That's a lie.  I'm not embarrassed as much as I'm a little bit disappointed in myself.  I made some bad decisions last night.  I take full ownership of my decisions; I made them on my own free will.  Nobody forced me to eat two bowls of cereal AFTER dinner.  And certainly nobody jammed the extra five tootsie rolls down my throat with a Sweet and Salty Nature Valley bar chaser.  I did it.  I own it.  I accept it.  I refuse to bring my past into my present and thus creating a pattern for my future.  Today is a new day, even if it is filled with a massive case of the "B.G.s" or Bubble Guts.  See, told you I was embarrassed.

Anyways, today is another day.  I plan on rolling with the punches and attracting positive energy into my life.  I attract positivity into my life.  I am a positivity magnet!

I am co-planning a fund raiser with my Student Council members and the High School basketball team.  It's been a lot of fun getting to work with these students on a different level.  They're all good kids and I appreciate all the efforts that they put into these projects.  Last night I asked them to attend a Community Meeting.  There was a lot of good information, but took a lot longer than I had anticipated.  Not all of the topics were things that the kids found interesting, nor should they have.  Budgets for the radio station is not high on their list of priorities.  But they were troopers none the less.  I feel as though the few slices of pizza and cans of Coke I bribed them with were not sufficient for their time, but there's always next time.

 

Dear God,

Thank you for this day.  There are so many things to be thankful for: my loving husband, my home, my job, my supportive family, and wonderful friends.  Today I would like to thank you for my students.  Despite times of struggle to understand them, to have them understand me, they are a good group of kids.  They like to be challenged even if they don't know that they do.  They challenge me to be a better person.  They challenge me to look at this in a different way.  For the things they teach me, I am truly grateful.

Today I ask for you to make me better than yesterday.  Give me the gifts to be able to be more compassionate, more loving, more empathetic to others.  Please help me to forgive those who are difficult to forgive.  What I find difficult to forgive in them, I find difficult to forgive in myself.

Amen

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Day Three: Choice


Life is all about choices the choices we make.  That's what the buy in the diabetes commercial said.  But he's right, even if his body doesn't know how to regulate sugar.  We may not be able to dictate everything in our life, but we do get to choose how we respond to the situations we face.

Another bright and sunshiny morning!  Who am I kidding?  I get up so early, and the sun sleeps in so late that there is barely enough time allowed for a sunny morning up here.  But we go with it don't, we?  What else can you do but turn that frown upside down?  I choose to love the idea that my morning is longer because that's my favorite time of the day.  Choice made.

I was able to get up early and workout this morning.  I actually made the decision to stay at home and do my Biggest Loser workout instead of going out to use the elliptical at the school.  It had more to do with wanting the extra 10 minutes to relax afterwards than the workout itself.  But!  The point is that I worked out; I did levels one and two of the Biggest Loser Cardio DVD.

I think I enjoyed it more because I made the CHOICE to workout with it instead of feeling as though that was my only option.  The truth of the matter is everyday I get to make a choice about my workout.  I can choose to get my behind up and moving early and head down to the gym.  I have the choice to workout in my living room to amazingly effective DVDs.  I also have the choice to sleep in for another hour and half.  I think that option A or B are the only ones that would leave me feeling fulfilled at the end of the day.  Choice made.

I wanted to try and do something new each week.  This week I challenged myself to drink only water, tea, or coffee.  I should let you know that I don't drink pop anyways, so it's not that big of an accomplishment.  The big issue is that I like to drink either apple or orange juice - from Walmart, powdered mix.  I really wanted to try and kick that habit.  Well that's a lie.  I didn't really want to kick it, just reduce it.  I went all day without drinking any, until the last 20 minutes of my day.  I NEEDED my apple juice.  My rationalization was that I drank approximately 60 ounces of fluids LESS than if I got to drink my apple juice and it' was ok.  So maybe I need to make a different choice for my change of the week.  I'll keep you posted.

Daily Prayer:

Dear God,
Thank you for another day.  Thank you for my home that keeps me warm, my body that keeps me going, my job that fulfills me, my family that supports me, my friends that encourage me, and my husband who helps me enjoy it all.
I ask for your love and guidance today to make it the best day.  Help keep me strong and mindful to help guide the lives of the students I work with, if only to let them know that they are valued in my eyes.  Keep my heart full of love and void of judgement or darkness.
Please bless our meetings today to make them productive and build community amongst the members.  Keeps us safe on our journeys to and from school.  Keep my friends and family safe today, and send your angels to protect them.
I ask a special request for all my friends on SparkPeople who are traveling along the journey of improved health.  Help us all to make the best decisions to make us our best.
Amen

Monday, January 24, 2011

Day Two: Back to the Basics

And good day to you!  So today has started out very nicely.  Last night, we were given the good news that because of the continuation of a blizzard warning, we would have a delayed start to the school day.  SLEEP IN!

I typically, on a good-weather day, will drive into town and workout at the school, utilizing their fabulous elliptical machine and free weights.  The other thing that makes me love working out at this time of day is that nobody else is there, and I'm allowed to do whatever I want, whenever I want, and say whatever I want.  I have a hard time not talking to myself in order to keep my attention span going.  When the other teachers are working out, I find it hard to concentrate on the book that I'm reading on my iPad.  I also do my daily prayer, out loud, in the morning while on the elliptical.  So as you can see, I've got myself quite the personalized nook going on down there.

Well when then weather doesn't allow me to get out there before they plow, I must dust off my old Biggest Loser DVDs and get my body moving in ways that I usually don't.  Last week I worked out to the Biggest Loser Cardio workout and couldn't walk without a constant reminder that I didn't stretch enough.  Well I just finished that same workout today and then some.  I hope that spending a little more time working the ol' hamstrings and stretching them out that I'll have less pain this week.  I keep forgetting that I'm not 20 anymore.  Sheesh.

I have decided to set weekly goals for myself.  I will establish my workout schedule this week for both good and poor weather, and then add one new challenge for the week.  So here we go:


Monday: Biggest Loser Cardio: 1, 2, and Cool Down
Tuesday: Biggest Loser Cardio: 1, 2, and Cool Down/Elliptical 30 mins
Wednesday Biggest Loser Sculpt: 1, 2, and Cool Down/Elliptical 30 mins
Thursday Biggest Loser Cardio: 1, 2, and Cool Down/Elliptical 30 mins
Friday Biggest Loser Cardio: 1, 2, and Cool Down/Elliptical 30 mins
Saturday Biggest Loser Sculpt: 1,2, and Cool Down Elliptical 30 mins
Sunday Elliptical Biggest Loser Cardio: 1, 2, and Cool Down 30 mins

My goal this week is to drink only pure water, green tea, or coffee.  WISH ME LUCK!

Daily Prayer:

Dear God,

I thank you for today and the blessings that you have already given to us.  Thank you for a warm home to wait out the hazardous weather.  I thank you for this body that I am putting through the workout ringer; I ask so much of it every day.  Please help me to think of it as the gift you have given me to carry out your work.  I am thankful for a restful weekend.  You have given me so many gifts; I ask that you help me to utilize them fully.
Today I ask you to please guide me so that I keep love in my heart, I am slow to judge because you never know what someone has gone through.    Please keep us safe as we go through our daily tasks and extend your love to all our friends and family.

Amen

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Day One: Setting My Purpose

What is my purpose?  Isn't that the question that we ask ourselves whenever we're unsure of ourselves.  But who are we supposed to ask?  Surely there is someone in charge that can provide some guidance.

I've attempted to seek the answer to this question in many different places, but haven't found myself any closer to satisfied than if I hadn't bothered at all.  So today, I declare myself adequate enough to answer this for myself.

My purpose is to be the best version of myself that I was created to be.  In a nutshell.

In an effort to help myself be the best version of myself that I was created to be, I have decided to start this blog.  The purpose of this blog is to document my efforts and their results.


TODAY'S EFFORTS
  1. It may not seem like it's an "effort," but because it's something that will help me/challenge me to be a better version of myself, today I have decided to hunker down for the day.  I usually go into town and workout at the school, burning an adequate amount of calories.  I have decided not to do this today for two reasons:
    1. It will challenge me to focus on my healthy eating habits.  I have noticed that I have been eating more than what my body needs, simply because it's there or I'm bored.  A whole day at home will let me enjoy the quiet.
    2. The wind has been blowing like crazy all night and I'm frankly not looking forward to going out in that.
  2. I have planned out my meals and feel really confident in my abilities to keep true to the menu.  
  3. Emailing my MIL.  I made a New Year's Resolution to email her more.  I feel that it's important for my husband to call her so that relationship is maintained, but a few emails a week from her DIL is just what our relationship needs.
  4. Setting up this blog.
  5. Investigating the new Windsor Pilate's program - I miss my pilates, I have to admit.  


Daily Prayer:

Dear God,
Thank you for today and the possibilities that it will bring.  I thank you for a warm house to shelter me from this blustery weather.  I ask for you to help make me a stronger, more loving, and healthier person today than I was yesterday.  You have given me the tools to improve myself, this blog and friends to inspire me.  Today is a day focused on rejuvenation and reflection to make ourselves prepared for the new week.  I ask for you to guide me so that I can take full advantage of this opportunity.  I also ask you to help keep me focused on my goal of healthy eating.  You are what I need to nurture, comfort, and sustain me; not empty calories.

Please fill me with light and love; cast out the darkness.  I put my troubles on your altar to be forever altered.

Amen.