All Checked Off

It's AMAZING how good you can feel when you accomplish something!  How reaching a goal or completing a task can just bring a smile to your face.  Well I'm for sure a competitive person, even if it's just with myself and now with running on the back burner I have had to find other ways to experience that feeling of accomplishment and achievement.  As I said in my last post, I was creating a goal list daily to try and organize myself and get more done in those 24 hours.  Yesterday was day one and man did I accomplish quite a bit!

I woke up yesterday morning and decided to take a 30 minute walk outside just to get myself into the mode of work for the day.  Nothing really beats the sunshine and the fresh air first thing in the morning.  Throughout the day I was able to fit in a 30 minute bike ride, a bicep/tricep strength training session, two sets of the exercises the PT gave me (along with a little core work) and complete over 15,000 steps (my daily goal) on the FitBit.  I kicked butt at work, truly following up on everything I needed to do.  I was able to get some housework done, a small tan at the pool, grocery shopping, and even remembered to take my vitamins!  By 6pm I couldn't believe how much I had done and how great it felt!

After all of that I was able to join a friend for a walk at Wash Park with his three furry friends.  Now walking around Wash Park is fun all in of itself as there are SO many people to people watch.  It's a breeding ground for the "outside of the box" kind of people.  From rollerbladers, to volleyball players, to a string quartet and runners it is filled with so many different people from so many different walks of life.

But in true Heather fashion nothing is ever quite simple or as relaxing as it should be.  So these "three furry friends" are labrador retrievers...all of which are pretty strong and fast moving and fully grown.  Now imagine me, holding these three dogs by myself with a gigantic mastiff walking down the path towards us.  Now if you don't know how big a mastiff is, I suggest you google it.  This dog was AT LEAST 150lbs and would stand taller than me on his back legs.  As my friend had walked away momentarily and left me with the 3 labs, I'm now seeing this mastiff get closer and closer.  I don't know if I was more afraid the mastiff was going to snap at us, if the three labs were going to take off after him and leave me on my back with my feet in the air or if it was going to be an all out brawl.  But in that moment, I had all 3 labs sitting, their leashes clenched tightly in my hands and a sheer look of panic in my eyes.  The whole event ended up being very anti-climatic as the mastiff was super sweet, the owner completely friendly and the 3 labs so UNBELIEVABLY well behaved!  But for everyone else that could see my face, I'm sure it was quite the hysterical moment.  :)

So my point in all of this, because I become so easily distracted is that I found such happiness and accomplishment in creating that list yesterday.  I was able to get so much done that come the end of the day I was able to truly enjoy myself and not worry about what else I needed to get done.  So much so in fact that I was able to take in this fantastic sunset just as we were leaving the park!

Time Or Lack Thereof

It's amazing how fast 24 hours can go by.  How fast a week, a month, or even a year can slip past us.  Lately I find myself wondering where the hell the time has gone?!  How is it that I wake up at 4:30 in the mornings and yet still can't find enough time in the day to get done the things that I need and want to?!  It's crazy, simply crazy!

The past few weeks seem to be a whirlwind for me.  Professionally, I'm in the process of winding down one job and starting another.  I couldn't be more excited as it's a great step for me in my career and I'm eager for a new beginning and a company that I feel I can dive right into.  Physically, it's been a tough few weeks as I'm still actively seeing the Physical Therapist and working on this issue with my back and legs...all which seems to be stemming from a sciatic nerve issue.  But when you take two big milestones and mix them with social obligations, personal workout schedules, and just everyday life, you realize that you find yourself wondering when you get to eat or sleep.  So begins the OCD style of me again...

I have decided that every morning when I wake up, I'm making a goal list.  These are things that I hope to get done that day.  I have two pages to this list.  One is professional and the other is personal.  It doesn't matter when or in what I order I accomplish these tasks/goals, but that I complete them by the end of the day.  Hopefully this will help me to keep everything in order professionally, kick my friends butts on the FitBit steps :), increase my strength and endurance for upcoming adventures, and be able to maintain a good work/life balance with everyone.  So tomorrow it is...tomorrow is the day that starts this new OCD process of organization...maybe then I will get back on track with posting workouts/recipes and overall fun stuff on this blog!  :)

Temptation - Sweets & Snacks Show

I'm fortunate to be working in an industry I love.  I'm a VP of Sales & Marketing for a brokerage company that works primarily with Costco.  I get to be innovative, creative, and work with companies from all over the world each and every day to try and both design and sell their products into the club channel.  Honestly, I eat for a living!  Now with that kind of job comes a level of temptation that is not always easy to resist.  Case and point...today's trade show.

620+ exhibiting companies with more than 3 acres worth of products...15,000 qualified professionals and participation from over 90 countries.  This is what makes up the 2014 Sweets & Snacks Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL!  What I want to know is how the hell ANYONE has the will power to walk a show like this and not give into temptation?!!  I'm no different than anyone else and I definitely have my weaknesses...chocolate being one of them!

I'd be lying to myself and everyone else if I told you that there wasn't at least a 5lb bag of trade show samples sitting on the desk in my hotel room right now.  Everything from fudge, to chocolate covered almonds, from jerky to popcorn...it's all there in my room in little sample sized portions!  Not only was I faced with temptation all day long, but now it's staring back at me from across the room!

There's a level of guilt that comes from sampling your way through at least one meal of the day, eating nothing but sugar and not having a chance to exercise because you have the earliest flight of the morning and a client dinner in the evening.  It's an awful feeling BUT I declared today my "rest" day in regards to my workouts.  Now, even with that being said, all the crazy walking between airports and the trade show floor accounted for approximately 4.25 miles according to my FitBit.  I guess it wasn't too bad overall.

I pride myself on living a healthy lifestyle...working out, eating right, practicing yoga/meditation, etc...but I am human and I definitely give into temptation every now and then.  But...even when I give into temptation, I still do it at a very moderate level compared to most.  For all of you who have ever attended a food based trade show, you know how crazy it is and how many hundreds of samples you are expected to try.  My trick?!  One bite (out of respect) and then toss it in the trash can.  Once it's in the garbage you obviously aren't going to have a second bite but you've given yourself the ability to taste the product and give the client your ample feedback.

Tomorrow is day #2 of a sugar high tradeshow and I'm sure it's going to be as equally tempting as it was today.  As with anything in life, I'm a huge believer in "everything in moderation."  I won't give up trying products again tomorrow but I will not overindulge and I will definitely make sure to be up bright and early and running the streets of Chicago first!!

#TeamDiscoverYourself - Michell J.

One of the biggest things in life that people look for is a sense of belonging...something that makes them feel that they are not alone.  In speaking with some close friends, I thought it was important for you to not only hear my words but the words of others that read this blog and allow them to share their struggles and triumphs.

Michell and I have known each other since 2004 when I moved to Virginia.  We worked together and we enjoyed life together.  Her family welcomed me into their home for my first Thanksgiving away from my own family and in fact, I was the Maid of Honor in Michell's wedding.  Now married, with two children, Michell has an amazing life and one that she is now finding more able to balance.  Here's Michell's story (and thank you Michell for being willing to share this)...

Motivation: the general desire or willingness of someone to do something. 

Back in early 2008, I was motivated to look and feel healthy.  I ate healthy and I worked out almost daily.  For a good eight months, I worked so hard to do "boy" push ups, to go through my Abs/Core class without feeling like I was going to faint and to be sexy again.  It took a few months but I got to that point and it felt great...AWESOME in fact.  Then in August 2008, my husband and I wanted to start trying for kids.  After two miss carriages, we were pregnant again and we had a healthy baby boy the following Fall.  Once I became pregnant, I was more focused on being pregnant and not losing him than I stopped working out.  Once I had my son, my motivation was now...my son.  My thoughts and mind were consumed with being a mommy that I didn't start to think of losing that baby weight until two months before he turned one.  So, after almost two years away from the gym and eating healthy, I started again.  I started working out at the gym and lost some weight.  Then, about two months after my son turned one, I found out I was pregnant again.  What??!!!  I finally just started to get back into my routine!  I felt discouraged and not happy.  It didn't help that I had a medical condition that I was not allowed to work out or stand on my feet for a long period of time for the first trimester.  Of course I was concerned for my new baby inside me but that just made me feel more unhappy that I wasn't able to "get my body back".   My daughter was born healthy that following July.  Throughout the last six years my body went through a lot.  Between trying to get pregnant, two early miss carriages, two full term somewhat healthy pregnancies and nursing both for each thirteen months.  It felt as if my body wasn't really mine anymore.  I was always so tired and became out of breath easily that I didn't really play with my kids a lot.  Fast forward almost THREE years later after having my beautiful daughter, I finally...FINALLY got my motivation back!  My motivation at first came from my friends.  Three in particular.  One that has been by my side for the past nine years and who is a married mom of active crazy kids like me and I consider her one of my best friends.  The second is a woman that has a boyfriend but no children, that I just recently became friends with that runs marathons like every week (or at least it seems like it)!   Lastly, is a woman that is single with no children, that I have known for nine years and has moved here and there and seems like everywhere and has recently started a health & wellness blog!  These three women are so different but yet so alike.  Their main common goal is to be healthy.  All three love to run or be active.  At first, I would say to myself, "Eh, I'll get there".  I was just so busy with working full time, teaching dance part time, being a mommy to two rambunctious children and a wife.  For me, I didn't have time to do "that".  I would try at times but then end up making excuses.  My best friend that is married and has children, kept telling me to do things for myself.  She knew that I always felt my best when I looked my best.  Then, my friend that runs marathons, kept hanging up motivational pictures in my cube at work.  Geared towards running and being healthy.  I felt as if it was a leaky faucet (in a good way).  Kept dripping (or reminding me) that I can do this...I can be healthy and especially happy again.  Then, my other friend started this health and wellness blog.  That was the kicker.  Reading her words and thoughts was like a light bulb that just finally came back on and STAYED ON!   My second motivation came from reading one of her recent blogs about a Fitbit and how she just got one and loved it.  I started researching it and had some other friends that had one and I got their advice.  After a great informative and encouraging conversation with my step mom, I wanted one.  It was just my luck that my  birthday was right around the corner and that's what I asked for.  I was blessed to have gotten one and I haven't been the same since.  It has been a week now since I got it and I am completely obsessed with it.  I love seeing those dots light up and when I reach five dots (or 10,000 steps) I get so tickled and excited.  I did it!  I am also a competitive person in general.  So having friendly competition with friends and family is perfect for me.   Just like that, I am finally back on track to being healthy and happy again.  I can now jog more during my power walks, I now run up or downstairs and no longer out of breath, I have more energy with my kids and husband and honestly I feel happier.   My family and I go for nightly walks now and I take them on a longer route than we used to because I gotta light those dots up!  I want and need to be healthy for myself, my husband and most important my children.  I want to be able to run around with them and play until the lighting bugs come out.  I want to be around for when my children get married and have children of their own.  I want to be a grandparent that takes my grand kids on walks, plays with them and rolls around the floor with (like my father and step mom).  I want to be...happy and happy is what I now am. 

Happy: feeling or showing pleasure or contentment

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the moms out there.  Please remember that YOU are Amazing and YOU are beautiful and YOU can do this!  God Bless you!  XOXO

A Little Friendly Competition

"To be number one, you have to train like you're number two."  - Maurice Green

I'm not one to fall for gimmicks or quick fixes that promise to make me lose weight or make me run faster.  I'm a firm believer in the basics of fitness training and the understanding of science when it comes to weight loss and weight gain.  I believe in working hard and eating right to reap the benefits of a healthy mind and body both inside and out.

While I was in Virginia this past week, many of my friends mentioned how much this blog is helping to motivate them.  How they love reading about the different things that I do to stay active and how it helps to get them outside and moving.  Many of them mentioned getting a FitBit and tracking their progress on there.  While I normally wouldn't have made that purchase, I decided to do it and track my own activity to help motivate them and also myself.  By the way, a simple trip to your local Costco will save you about $20 vs the everyday retailer of this item.  :)

My personal goal for the FitBit is to walk/run at least 15,000 steps per day.  It doesn't sound like a lot, but when you work a desk job, it's not always the easiest to get this in.  Now, my friend Jennie and I are as competitive as they come with each other, so we decided to create a challenge amongst ourselves to further push each other and get moving.  Our goal is to run/walk the 1,640 miles that separate us.  The prize?!!  The loser has to fly out and visit the other after the challenge is completed!  

We came up with a few rules for our challenge...

• Steps are only calculated when "living" everyday life and running outside and/or on a treadmill
• If doing the elliptical or bike, you must take the FitBit off
• We screenshot our progress at the end of each day and send it to each other to keep ourselves honest

I will be recording our weekly accomplishments on the "Workout Goals" page of the blog so you will be able to see where we both stand!  :)

Today was day one.  Not an easy start to the day for me after arriving home at 2am after missing my connection back to Colorado from the East Coast, but in any event I was able to get a quick 1.5 mile run in this morning along with a 30 minute elliptical workout.  By the end of the business day, I realized that I still had quite a few steps to complete so I decided to take a walk on a local trail.  Even though we started the day off with snow, this evening was absolutely gorgeous!

I've played sports my entire life so I'm a competitive person by nature, but the truth is that your competition shouldn't be amongst other people, but by the person you were yesterday.  If you are constantly trying to "beat" who you were yesterday, you will see great results and be happy with your progress!  So get up, get outside and get moving!