All Play, No Work!

This was my first week of freedom! So I made a goal this week, but I didn't tell anyone. Well, I probably mentioned it to my Honey, and maybe my fab new gym buddy.

I'd gotten really out of the habit of exercising, so I'm trying to get back into a routine! It seems if I can get into the gym Monday, I'm set the rest of the week.

Monday- Hour of pilates class with Whitney at the gym. This lady doesn't mess around and I love ever minute of it! Even if I feel like I'm going to die 15 minutes in. :)

Tuesday- Went for a 1.5 mile run on the track with my doggie, Hunter. Not super long, but I did a faster pace since I wasn't doing a long run. My Nike+ said I set a new record for myself for the fastest km yet! Alright!

Wednesday- Let me make this clear: I am. Not. In ANY way. A morning person. That said, I got up SUPER early at 5:30 (AM) and went to a weight training class called Body Pump with Laura my new gym buddy. It was great! I was glad I got myself up and to had my workout done for the day. And I'm pretty sure that my biceps are bigger. Almost positive!

Thursday- Allergy attack!! Ugh. I stayed on the couch blowing my nose all day. No fun.

Friday- Still a little sniffly. Took a nice long walk with Hunter.

Saturday- I planned to go to the gym for a nice sweat session, but then I got a call to go ride my dirt bike! For the record, riding a dirt bike is a LOT more exercise than it looks. Those bikes are HEAVY. It's physically and mentally EXHAUSTING. There's so much to think about it, and when I get into a rough patch, I have to talk myself through it and remain calm, even if I'm freaked about wrecking. It was still a short ride, and I didn't have any major spills like the last time I rode. I thought that I was going to have a big crash, but I managed to slow down, hang on, and make it through some rough terrain! :D

After biking, I looked out my back window to see that my lawn was growing taller by the hour. Two hours of weeding, picking up doggie poo and mowing later, I had definitely gotten my exercise for the day.

Sunday- Since for me, Sunday is a day of rest, I don't do any workouts, but walking is perfectly acceptable! So I took a nice little walk just under 2 miles.

So I'm super proud of myself for having a great week!

What fitness goals will you set for yourself this week/month? What's your alternate form of exercise (a.ka. mowing the lawn, yardwork, etc.)?

Greatest Weaknesses = Greatest Strengths

I was reading Elle Magazine's body issue and noticed that a few other bloggers have recently written about acceptance of our bodies. So here comes my two cents on the subject! :)

I was thinking about the things I don't like about my body. You know, those tiny things that no one else really notices, but they seem so obvious to me. Then, I thought one step further about how those things I didn't like could be turned positive.

1. My teeth- I never had braces, and though I have a bit of an overbite, they're fairly straight, but a few of them could be a little straighter.

Here's me at my birthday at Joe's Crab Shack this past February.

The upside? I have amazing teeth. Seriously, my dentist says those exact words every 6 months. I've never, ever had a cavity and rarely use any type of whitening product (besides toothpaste). Pretty lucky.

2. I'm pear shaped, which means my hips are wider than my chest. Which also means J-Lo and I have a booty in common.

This is me last summer in Mexico. I'd done a good job of really toning up. To post this is to say I accept my hips, not airbrushed or photoshopped.

People who gain weight in their hips instead of their stomach are less likely to develop diabetes or heart disease. Ok, I'll take it! Here's also an article from Women's Health for Workout for Pear Shaped Bodies.

3. Lips- I used to get made fun of for my lips. They didn't seem to fit my face. Now, no worries about drawing them on with lipstick or applying plumping gloss. These babies are au natural!

Seeing how small my insecurities really are helps me to "get over myself" and worry about bigger things in life!

How did you turn your insecurities into something positive?

Finding My Own Confidence

Body image, body image, body image! Some people blame the media, the modeling industry, fast food, soda, boredom, working too hard, working too little. There's always an excuse, and always 5 pounds to lose.

People say that women dress for eachother. How true. I know I am not alone when observing other women's bodies, clothes, hair, shoes (OH SHOES!!), pants sizes.... The list goes on and on and on. We are constantly comparing ourselves to other women, strangers and friends alike.

In a recent Newsweek article titled Is That Fat Girl Me? this constant comparison between women is discussed. A study done by a neuroscientist shows 9 men and 10 women pictures of overwight people in swimsuits. The women showed a change in the part of their brain involved in self-reflection. This is same change common in brains of bullimics. What calls to some to extreme action scientists think might be an abnormal development of the brain which controls impulive behavior. It truly is an interesting combination of nature vs. nurture and I highly recommend reading the entire article

In today's media messages, a healthy hefty man is acceptable, while the female standard seems only achieveable through airbrushing, or plastic surgery. "The result is a culture in which women are afraid of even a little fat" so it's no wonder that from a young age, we learn to hate our bodies.

For me, I have always been at a healthy weight. When I gained a few pounds, it would depress me. I would work out really hard one day, and then be tired for a week, and be dissappointed when I saw no results. I simply gave up before I ever gave myself a fair chance. I would feel hopeless, like I would never lose it (even though it was never hard), people didn't like me as much. Can you believe that? All that over 5-10 pounds?

I have to say that watching The Biggest Loser was kind of an eye opener. While I think the rigarous exercise may not be the healthiest way for the contestants, I realized how good I have it. Just listening to the contestants psychological problems, thinking they could never do it then seeing them transform really was inspiring. Each day is an opportunity to take care of your body, and the better you take care of it, the better you feel.

It also made me realize that I needed to relax about my own issues and fears, to just work every day to be healthy, and not worry so much about a number on a scale. My mom always taught me how to eat healthy, so I wasn't worrying about breaking an addiction to fast food or anything really unhealthy. My weakness is that I have an enormous sweet tooth, which is where I know I have to be careful, but learning that all bites taste the same has helped me realize that I can have my cake, and I don't need a huge piece to be satisfied.

Each year I do the M'lis Detox under the supervision of my friend who is a trained distributor of the product. I know that there are a lot of dangerous detoxes out there, so when doing a detox, you definitely need to know what you are getting into. They may not be for everyone, but the reason I do it, is it feels good to kind of recharge and get in tune with my body. I re-learn to pay attention to my body signals, when I'm hungry, when I'm bored, when I'm thirsty, as well as being more conscious about eating healthy whole foods. The more that you cut out excess sodium and sugar, the less you miss and crave it. That is a great place to be.

All my life I've been fairly active, my favorites being dance and pilates.
My favorite at-home workouts are the 10 Minute Solution Pilates Series, and both of the Jackie Warner (from Workout! on Bravo) weight training DVD's.

When I married my husband, he taught me the importance of weight training. Oh yes, he is a drill sergant when it comes to weight training me! No mercy! But he has taught me to believe in myself, and push a little more to gain that strength.

I have always kind of been into running, but having short legs I never could run very fast. Last year, I trained for my first 5k which was the Women's Fitness Celebration. After running a whole 3.1 miles I realized... I CAN do this! I went on to running most of a 10k that October. I'm getting ready to run the Race for the Cure 5k this Saturday. Thanks to my faithful Pearl Izumi running shoes, I'll be shin splint free!

More than ever, I am learning that my worth or success can't be based on what anyone else may be doing. As long as I'm progressing on my own path, that is what makes me happy.

No matter what, there will always be someone taller, skinnier, bustier, prettier, whatever. No one is perfect, no matter how they may seem.