I’m a LIAR!!

Guess what I am usually doing when I am typing up inspiring fitness posts?  I am OFTEN shoving crap food down my throat and thus completely defeating the entire point of this blog.  (sigh)

Yes, I am a fraud. 

After reading Jen’s “honesty” post,  I realized that I needed that big ole SMACK in the face.

I’m not being honest with myself.   How can I continue to eat garbage food and still expect to lose the lingering baby weight?!
I can’t.

I need to own up once and for all and MAKE CHANGES!

So the next time I go to reach for some junk food…..or I decide to slack during a workout…..I’m going to stay OUT LOUD  (no matter where I am!)  —

“HOW BAD DO YOU WANT THIS?!”

(Yes, I’m going to channel my inner-Dorothy.   Go read her stuff….she is AWESOME!)

and that my friends, is how I am going to reach my goal.

Onward……one step at a time……

Thank YOU for reading!

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Confession

Meet my Door Gym.   It hangs in the entry way to my house so I CANNOT ignore it.   My goal this spring is to do at least ONE unassisted pullup.

How am I going to get there?   By attempting to do one (or more)  every single day.   (and some specific strength training)

It’s really hard to ignore a goal when it stares you in the face all day long.

It also makes for great fun for my kids!  (and yes, I’m a little jealous of their six packs and strength!)

How about you gang?
What goal do you have and how are you going to get there?

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I want to be able to do pullups!

I am in a FUNK.
again.
Is it seasonal?
or related to having babies?
who knows…..I just know that it’s a struggle to get up and going on  most many mornings.

So I’ve come up with a de-FUNK list for me and maybe it will help you too?

1. Smile! Yes, even if I have to fake it. I found this quote over on I can Teach my child and it is so very true!

“Your day will go the way the corners of your mouth turn.”

It also isn’t fair to my kids if I am frowning and upset all the time.    So I will slap a big ole fat smile on my face and  hopefully after a little while it won’t be fake anymore? 

2. Exercise:  as much as I love to exercise and KNOW that it will make me feel better,  I’ve found myself saying “what’s the point?” a lot lately.  I’m not losing weight, I’m not getting faster with my running, so why should I bother?   Simply because it makes me feel good!  So I need to just get up and move, even if it’s for only 10-15 minutes.   (while smiling!)

3. Eat better: chocolate chip cookies and brownies are not going to make things better.  This I need to put on a sticker on my forehead.  (or my mouth?)  I need to clean up my eating and CUT OUT SUGAR.  Anyone out there want to be my sugar sponsor?  (because I definitely need an intervention and rehab!)

4. Sleep. This is something I desperately need.  (Can someone send my baby a memo that he is no longer a newborn and needs to sleep longer than 3 hours at a time?   Thanks!) Chronic sleep deprivation has serious consequences and it has taken it’s toll on me both mentally and physically.  I am beyond tired and need to focus on getting more quality sleep to help improve my mood and life!

5.  Unplug. Put down the phone, iPad, and laptop and spend some time actually living my life.   Lately when I jump on Twitter or Facebook (or Pinterest, or Google+….seriously I cannot keep up!)  I do not feel a sense of “community”, instead I get overwhelmed with feelings of comparison and jealousy.   It seems everyone else has kids that listen, a clean and super organized house, they went for a 15 mile run before dawn andthey are going on an awesome vacation, or blog sponsored trip, while grandma watches the kids.

Long story short, social media is bringing me down.   I need to step away from the computer (a lot) and just breathe in the 4 little beings that make up my REAL world.   The internet will go on without me and that is ok.

So I am hopeful that if I focus on these 5 things I can rise out of my funk and breathe again.

How do you pull yourself out of a funk?

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5 things you can do to improve your mood

I’ve run three marathons and would love to do a few more but right now with my kids being so little (and sleepless!) and my foot issue, I’m not sure another one is in my future.

Here are the ones I have run:

1. Marine Corps: my first and no one forgets their first, right?

Pros: crowd support is awesome and you get to run with a bunch of attractive marines.
Cons: I can’t really think of any!

2. New York City: everyone should run this one, it was amazing!  (and I passed P. Diddy!)

Pros: crowd support again is awesome. You get to see most of NYC by foot, which I thought was pretty awesome.
Cons: getting bussed to the starting line and waiting around forever. It is also very crowded, do NOT expect to PR in this one!

3. Richmond, VA: a very small town race

Pros: flat and fast course. Good potential for a BQ.
Cons: very boring! Not much for crowd support at all.

My marathon wish list includes Boston (of course!), Big Sur, and DisneyWorld.

How about you?
Which marathons have you run or do you hope to run someday?

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Have you run marathons?

Back in my days before kids I owned a personal training business and ran a morning boot camp program.  I trained about 35 ladies at 5:30 in the morning 3x per week.

To say I was a little unsympathetic to what at the time I considered a lack of commitment is putting it nicely.  I made them do extra lunges if they were late to class and if they yawned during class, EVERYONE had to drop and do 10 push ups.  If they didn’t show up, I called or emailed to remind them of their goals and how they need to get up and come to class, no excuses!

Most of these women were moms and many times they told me their babies or kids were up all night and they were just too tired.  I listened but inside I was screaming  “NO EXCUSES!  How hard can it be to get up and exercise just 3 times per week?! “  I actually told one mom that she could just nap during the day!

Yeah.
Funny how karma comes back to get you.
I am now “blessed” with FOUR children who do not sleep through the night.
On any given night I am woken up at least 4 times and rarely do I get more than 3 hours of consecutive sleep.   The idea of getting up at 5am to exercise is laughable at this point in my life.

If I could go back in time, I would punch my personal training self in the face.

So now that I’m that busy mom, I want a personal trainer who GETS me.   Who understands that I am stressed out, sleep deprived, and usually unshowered.   I want another mom who can tell me they understand why I dive into a bag of chocolate late at night.  (hey, it’s either that or a bottle of vodka!)
I’ve had some great male trainers who offer great workouts but let’s be honest…..they don’t get IT.
Until you live in the trenches, you cannot possibly understand.

Right now I don’t have a personal trainer but if I go looking for one in the future, it’s going to have to be a fellow mom.

What do you think?  Have you had a trainer who didn’t get IT?
Do you prefer a man or a woman trainer/instructor?

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Picking a personal trainer that is right for you

My boys are in constant motion.  Seriously, they never.stop.moving.

This is why we still have a trampoline in our family room.  Friends come over and laugh at it but it honestly gets more use more than our couch!  (with the exception of the husband who really enjoys said couch)

Anyway, I decided to ask the boys what exercise means to them.  (click through your reader to see the video)
And then had them add a shameless plug at the end. 

Kids think exercise is FUN.  They love to bounce on this trampoline or run around or jump rope or dance or run around….you get the point.  It’s never boring to them and it’s just PART OF THEIR DAY.

So my question to you is –-how do you get the FUN back into your fitness and make it just part of YOUR day?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCEA0p0wiLk

Never underestimate the power of a workout gang!

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What does exercise mean to you?

Hello 2012!

A new year.

a fresh start.

a clean slate,  yes?

I normally don’t do resolutions (because I usually break them before noon) but this year I have just one and it is to LIVE.

LIVE life.
I’m going to take it by the balls horns this year and squeeze every last drop of LIFE out of it that I can.

So I am logging off right now and going to find/create/enjoy my awesome!

How about you?

How are you going to make your year AWESOME?

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Welcome to YOUR awesome!

Back in my life before kids, I would workout at the crack of dawn and then take a nice long HOT shower.  It was awesome.

These days, I’m lucky if I am getting the chance to take a shower before midnight. I’m always dressed in workout clothes hoping (praying!) for the chance to sneak away for a workout.

I jump on the treadmill when the babies are napping or I swing some kettlebells while my 2 year old is somewhat distracted.

Since I’ve become a mom it seems like my personal hygiene has been put on the back burner.  There just is not enough time in the day to take a shower!?   How did that happen?

and please…. please tell me it happens to others too?
Never underestimate the power of a workout—even if you stink!

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Bathing is optional

In my opinion and personal experience, absolutely!

I was overweight in my 20s and while it was tough to do, I managed to take the weight off with a lot (too much?) exercise and watching my diet.

Now,  four kids and many years later,  I find myself in the same oversized boat again.   This time however I am unable to exercise those pounds away.  I’ve been running, working out, and watching my diet but those extra pounds sitting on my rear end right now don’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Long story short….I haven’t lost a SINGLE pound since coming home from the hospital with baby #4.
I am beyond frustrated.
Losing weight after age 30 (almost 40)  just plain sucks.

So what can I do?
I’ve started reading The Primal Blueprint and have decided to give that a whirl.   It makes a lot of scientific sense and I love reading all the success stories on Mark’s website.

The downside for me is that not only do I LOVE bread but I don’t really like meat at all.
Oh this should be so much fun!

Now your turn gang, have you found that it’s harder (or maybe easier?) to lose weight as you have gotten older?   Tell me your secrets, ideas, thoughts or just overall “I hear ya!” in the comments below.

I’m off to stare longingly at a loaf of bread…….

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Is it harder to lose weight as you get older?

This past weekend I ran my first (non pregnant) road race in almost 2 years.  While in the past I never did 5ks,  I figured this was a safe start for me.

I was very nervous at the starting line but as soon as I fell into my groove I felt great again.   I love running races!  There is just something about the energy of the crowd and spectators that makes me feel like a superstar!

I didn’t win, nor did I even have a finishing time anywhere CLOSE to where I used to finish,  but I did it!  I crossed that finish line with a smile on my face and a renewed sense of ME.    I’m ready to get back to longer distances and possibly (hopefully?) a marathon next fall.

After the race I stuck around to cheer for the other finishers and was really annoyed when the announcer began to tell the walkers they should be running.  He announced over the speaker  “You know this is a running race, right?”   It was said in a joking way but it didn’t go over well with me.

Yes, there are people that choose to walk a 5k race and that is perfectly fine.  They are out there getting some exercise, having fun, and usually supporting a great cause.   (this race benefited a local cancer foundation)

I felt the announcer should have apologized to the walkers, although I’m not quite sure he was even aware of the fact that he was offending people.

What do you think gang?   Should walkers be allowed in running races?

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Walking a 5K?