Saturday, May 18, 2013

A Confession

  We are finally settling in a bit out here in Colorado. I have started getting the family "plugged in" a little more around the area, the house is finally in order and it seems that daily I tackle a new pile of "the-government-says-you-need-to-fill-this-out-because-you-moved" forms. Amidst all of this, our oldest son is looking for a job and has applied to CSU and our daughter is planning a trip to Africa (wimper). My youngest sons school plans are finally starting to come together and he starts drivers ed on Monday (gulp). My husband has been working out here since last year, so we have had his co workers and friends over for dinner quite a bit...... and we JUST got a dining room table last week! Of course, I am still working as a personal trainer to my wonderful clients. And we have actually managed to get out and see a little of this gorgeous state.
This is a picture taken from the top of Manitou Springs Incline. Holy Cow is THAT a leg work-out! Can't wait to try it again!

  Now, I know what your thinking. I can hear the trepidation in your voices as you cry, "But Melissa! What have YOU been doing about exercise? How have you been able to keep your healthy eating habits up with all of this chaos around you?" And do you know what my answer is? "I HAVEN'T." That's right. Little by little, life has been creeping in on my once-awesome routine and schedule and it has slowly eaten away at my healthy lifestyle, little by little, without me even being aware of it. Now, I don't want you to think I have been eating at fast food dives or suddenly buying cheetos and coke or anything. I hadn't given up, I had just let my healthy habits slip and slide away as I tried to bring some order to all the craziness around me.I wasn't sleeping well, I am having trouble drinking this filtered, county water (we have always had delicious well-water!), I had begun eating more quick-carbs and bread and fewer vegetables because they take longer to prepare. I was getting my work outs in, but my regular cardio had been anything but regular.

 My thought process over the past few months has gone something like this: "If I can just get things together for _________ and ___________, and if I can just get this whole _____________ organized, THEN things will run more smoothly and I can devote the time I need to my own health again." Sound familiar? It might.

 It all sounded perfectly rational. And then I got sick. <sound of car screeching> I am rarely EVER sick (see healthy eating habits referred to above). Now, I have no way of knowing if my illness was directly tied to my slacking off in looking after my health, but I will tell you this, as I laid on my back in the bed, sipping herbal tea like it was the elixer of life for a few days, it gave me some time to really THINK about the things that I had let go and I began to jot them down. If you flip past all of the "to-do" pages in my cute little notebook, you will find this little list: drinking water, taking vitamins, REGULAR cardio, food journal, more vegetables, sleep,Bible reading, yoga.......HOLY SMOKES! I had made it a point to do all of these things on a habitual and regular basis for years, and now I wasn't doing any of them with great consistency. No WONDER I had been feeling like crap!

   My point is that life is like that. You get thrown into the whirlwind and you busy yourself trying to find "order" again, when really, you should look after YOURSELF first, so that you are able to take care of those around you. When I am doing all of those things in the above list, I feel great. I handle things better. I am not "crazy-stressed-lady-whom-everyone-avoids", I am "calm-I-can-handle-this-with-grace-and-balance-lady-whom everyone-is-happy-to-see".

  So, this week I am back to a strict schedule until I can find my routine again. I work well with lists and  routines, so that is how I get back to it. I have ordered all of my vitamins and supplements and I am planning out my work outs AND cardio for the week. I have a food journal ready to write out my food intake each day to be sure that I am getting enough calories and it helps me to stay on track with good, whole foods.AND I am doing food PLANNING tomorrow, for the week ahead. Winging it-is for the birds!

 The blessing, to me, is that I have felt really great for a long enough time to realize that I am feeling lousy right now! So many people truly don't know how great they COULD feel. And once you've experienced it, you certainly don't want to go back!

 Can you relate to this? Has the chaos of life caused you to put your own health on the back burner while you "get things organized"? You may not work well with strict lists like I do, but I am sure that there is SOMETHING that you have used int the past to keep yourself accountable in some area of your life. Go back and use what works for YOU. I would encourage you to make your own health and well being a priority. It doesn't mean that you have to throw the fam to the curb, drag them with you! It's good for them too! Whatever you have to do, squeeze in time for yourself to MOVE and sweat every day. Just 20 minutes a day can be life-changing. Be mindful of the food that you eat, is it helping you or hurting you? Enjoy your treats here and there, but  CHOOSE to enjoy them and be mindful of what goes into YOUR body. It will help you handle all the other chaos of life around you and it will keep you from being "crazy-stressed-lady-whom-everyone-avoids", like I was. :-)

 Now, I have some new Crossfit rings to install in our basement and a brand new Again Faster jump rope to try out this week!( I really suck at both of these things, so this should be interesting. Preparing for super-soreness!) I am soooooo looking forward to the comfort of my routine. :-) Let me know what works for you, and be sure to check out my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, or just share this blog! As always, I will be posting more recipes, as well as my trials, successes and failures as I go along. We're all in this thing together!
~Just Keep Going
Melissa

2 comments:

  1. That picture is amazing! If we lived closer I would come and do that hill with you!

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    1. Tamara, I wish that you could! If you are ever in CO, let us know and we will do that thing!! Manitou Springs is a great place to kick back and relax afterward as well! My husband has decided that we should try it each week! ACK! I tell you, it is the same hurt each time. :-) But what a beautiful place to get an awesome cardio day!

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