Inspiration

It freaks me out to see muppets' feet. I mean, it is just weird.

Hey friends! Today, I would like to talk a bit about inspiration. (Doesn't this seem like a segment on Sesame Street? Teaching children what inspiration means and using the word in various scenarios as examples? In fact, just pretend I am Grover for this whole entry. He is my favorite, mostly because he never uses contractions when speaking.)

ANYWAY- I fancy myself to be a creative person and have generally associated inspiration with creative projects. A little bit of inspiration can go a long way when we are talking about projects around the house, etc.

A simple Google search gave me the actual definition of inspiration:

Noun The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative: "flashes of inspiration". The quality of having been so stimulated, esp. when evident in something: "a moment of inspiration in an otherwise dull display".

Synonyms afflatus - inhalation

Ohhh-- see that? "Esp. to do something creative." Just call me Noah Webster, folks. Look at the first part of the definition though: The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something. Mental stimulation is HARD, y'all. I struggle with getting out of bed to work out early... I actually DON'T get out of bed every day because I love sleep SO much. But I want to be a morning workout person! I also struggle to workout everyday after work. Really, I want to go home, watch House Hunters and eat chips while wearing something with a durable elastic waistband. I have to force myself to change out of work clothes into yoga pants and a sports bra and work out. By the time I get into the workout, I feel awesome, but getting started is the worst. Woody Allen said, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." So true, Woody. So true.

You may be thinking, "Grover, what you need is motivation! Not inspiration!" Motivation is a little different; here's the definition of motivation.

Motivation:

Noun The reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. The general desire or willingness of someone to do something.

Synonyms motive - incentive - stimulus - impulse Having motivation to work out is one thing and people DO need it, but I think a person with my specific brand of laziness need that extra push of INSPIRATION. Once inspired, I am motivated to not only work out, but prepare a healthy dinner and clean my house a little. I go to bed feeling accomplished with a well-deserved sleepiness. But what inspires me?! Let me tell you, I can find more inspirational memes online faster than you can say Pinterest search. Yes. I would like thighs that do not touch and a stomach so flat that one could eat a 3 course meal off of it. But, many of the photos in the memes are so far away from where I am now that it is almost discouraging to look at. The message is always good, but the visual ruins it for me. So, I focus on tangible things that I have witnessed to inspire me!  First, my husband. You guys, this man loves me so much that he believes I can do anything! He not only encourages me but gently forces me too (see aforementioned laziness).  He urges me to be the best I can be. For me. Not because he wants me to look a certain way or because a friend is thinner than me and I compare myself, but because I want to. It's not worth doing if it's for another person, right? The man makes me a healthy protein-packed breakfast nearly every day and makes sure we have healthy snacks in the house. I am blessed to have him in my life.   My sister, Meghan, is a military wife, which means that she does a lot of the day-to-day duties of having a family on her own, since her husband is in schools or trainings, etc. She also has two gorgeous kiddos, and is a wonderful mother. She makes time nearly every day to work out AND has time to plan meals and be healthy. In comparison, I have zero children and the only things I have to keep alive are five plants on my porch (which is a challenge most days), so Meghan's level of commitment is inspirational to me. Plus she is my sister so, ya know, she rocks. Christina- Christina is a former co-worker and has ALWAYS been one of the most positive and upbeat people I have ever encountered. I'm not even exagerrating... she goes into schools for work and the girls say, "ROCK ON SISTA!!!" which is her amazing catchphrase. She brings such happiness to those around her wherever she goes. This is an inspiration in itself, but you guys, she started a whole new lifestyle change in February and with a change in eating and regular exercise has lost 104 pounds. She also LOVES working out... this woman is just wonderful. So, I urge you to find what motivates you. If it is a size nothing girl in a meme online, I am not judging because you have to find what works for you. For me, it's my family and friends that have done wonderful things. This has been brought to you by the letter L and the number 8 and Viewers Like You.

Kale experiment and Adele

Happy Thursday, everyone! I don't know about you, but Thursday tends to be my busiest day at work. People at work lazily bumble through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then Thursday arrives and all of a sudden they realize the week is almost over. Let's face it, no one stays in my office for a full day on Fridays, so really, they get one solid day of work done per week. For this reason, I believe 3 day weekends and 4 day weeks are totally worth it, but I digress. It's a topic for another day.

Anyway, I mentioned yesterday that I was going to experiment with kale for the first time last night. Randy was at work so it was a solo project, which is kind of good so I could test it out before I made him try it.

I started off with some flatbread. The recipe called for dough, but I prefer flatbread or wraps because it gives you the illusion of lots of carbs without making you feel like crap after.


Kale Flatbreads
2-4 servings
Toss thinly sliced stemmed kale leaves with
olive oil and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stretch 1 purchased pizza dough (about one 9" round) into a thin crust and brush with olive oil; sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Scatter kale over, followed by a layer of crumbled feta and shredded mozzarella; bake in a 400° oven until crust is golden, about 10 minutes.

I  made a side of steamed zucchini. Not only is this a delicious meatless meal, it's also super filling and really yummy. <<< Obviously I'm using my best adjectives today.

Randy was getting off work at 11pm so I preheated the oven for him and assembled his pizza before I went to bed. Randy is not a veggie lover, although he will eat them. Instead of a side of zucchini, I made peas for him. He made his pizza and loved it! I'm so excited we are venturing into healthy meals together... we are both kind of surprised about how much we like.

I found tons of kale recipes on pinterest, so pretty much anything you are craving can be found there and can be made with kale. Pizza? Salad? Chips? Smoothie? Bacon and Eggs? Done and done. Kale kind of rocks.

In other news, I believe that MSN is out to get me. Yesterday, one of their feature stories was "guess these gams..." Guess which bird-like legs belong to which celebrity. Gorgeous, toned, tanned legs... ridiculous. Today, a feature story was "How much do these stars weigh?" Hesitantly and mostly because I'm pretty bored at work in the morning, I clicked on it. Singer Adele was the first celebrity. I love her. I think she's outrageously talented and stunningly beautiful. But, I have always thought of her as curvy and overweight.

She weighs 166 pounds. Let's discuss this. I weigh 170 pounds and I'm 5'6". She's 5'9" so there goes the "she's probably really short" argument. This girl has to pick it up in the gym because while I love Adele, I know my Happiest will not be found at her size.

So, while I broke my rule of comparison, I DID find my motivation for today!  

Fruits of the Spirit

In Galatians chapter 5, the Bible discusses the Fruits of the Spirit. They are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. I do pretty well with most of them, but I struggle with two of them in particular...especially when it comes to dieting and exercise.

Patience: Y'all, this is difficult. You see so many "quick fixes" to weight loss; miracle pills, slim down smoothies, etc. It's hard when you are trying to lose weight the right way to be patient. Results will come if you keep on keepin' on. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

Self-control: This one is the worst. I have a wicked sweet tooth and carb craving. To combat this, we don't keep pop in the house or a lot of sweets. We have one pint of ice cream in our freezer (Ben and Jerry's Americone Dream is seriously the best ice cream I have ever eaten) and it's not even open! It's been there two weeks.

Work is a different story. I have candy all around me and pop at my disposal any time I want it. It's a challenge every day to keep on the straight and narrow.

Any motivation is helpful, readers!

Confessions of my biggest problems: Motivation and Consistency

Confession: I haven't really, consistently worked out since the wedding. By that, I mean I've worked out maybe 10 times TOTAL.

Last night, as we often do, the hubs and I sat on our deck enjoying the (hot) gorgeous night, the view of a cornfield, and of the neighbor's big screen tv (we live in an apartment) indulging in a glass of our favorite adult beverage. I chose white wine... cold and delicious.

Yeah... this is us. :)

Randy and I both want and need to lose weight, live a healthy lifestyle and be one of "those" active couples. You know what I'm talking about... the kind that ride bikes (see photo) and go on runs together. Since we've been married, we've been on one run together, and it was great-- but consistency isn't our strong suit.

On the deck, we were talking about healthy recipes, ways we can be more active and where we can find motivation. Randy posed the question, "why does everything have to be about how our bodies look?" I have to admit, he has a point... we tend to be a little obsessive about it.

The thing is, I don't want to constantly think about it. I don't want to mentally count calories every time I eat or drink something. I want to be healthy and gorgeous effortlessly, is that too much to ask?

Conversely though, to get to a happy place, I NEED to think about it constantly until I get to a place where I don't absolutely hate my body. I never used to have to think about it-- I have always been thin. In the past few years though, I've pack on the pounds and people no longer compliment my slim figure. Unfortunately, I have a desire to look the way that society deems sexy. Yep. I said it. I want to be stunningly hot. I want to wear a swimsuit (even just a one piece) without being self conscious. I want to wear a sleeveless shirt. A dress above my knees. Somehow, in the last few years, I've become a master at covering myself.

Is it right for a 27 year old to be so effected my what the world tells us is attractive? No. But it doesn't change the fact that it does, at least for me. Mostly, I want to safeguard myself as much as possible for any and all medical issues that are obesity related-- diabetes, heart conditions, poor joint function....I want to be healthy.

SO. What are my major obstacles getting there? Motivation and Consistency. I don't have them and I want them. So many memes on facebook or pinterest get me a punch of motivation, but only for a moment. It's also in the middle of the day when I'm at work and not able to go out and go for a 5 mile run or whatever.

Consistency is key to any good routine. With the wedding done and my scheduled pretty much set, I have no excuse for myself. But, I can always justify pretty much anything else over working out.

So, here is what I pledge to do for the next week:
Motivation:
   - Look at Pinterest, etc. for motivation just before I leave for work and head to the gym.
   - Talk to Randy, my sister and others for encouragement.
   - Don't compare myself to others.

Consistency:
   - Start my new Beachbody routine this week, T25. It's only 25 minutes long, so I need to commit to waking up at 6 am to make this happen.
   - Make time for breakfast.
   - Plan ahead and go to the gym right after work. I will not go home because I will just want to eat carbs and lay down. Ha.

Keep me accountable folks, because I'm struggling here. Help a sister out!

I'm totally "that girl" right now

I just want to take a moment and gush about how wonderful my husband is. I know. It's annoying and I hate girls that do this all the time because really... it's just irritating. Gush to each other about each other... sheesh.

But, I'm swooning over him on a blog that I share with the world because:
a. it has to do with working out and my long-term goal of fitness and health.
b. because of budget cuts, our Town Crier has been fired, so this is my version of shouting it from the rooftops.
c. to emphasize that every girl needs an Encourager and Motivator in their lives.

Let me begin by saying I have fallen off the wagon. Not in the I'll-be-the-girl-in-the-back-corner-of-the-bar-alcolohism kind of way, but in the foodie way. I love food and so does America on the 4th of July. I didn't do too badly, but ever since the wedding, I've been like a fish out of water... out of Shakeology shakes and grabbing at straws to stay healthy.... it's difficult.

On top of that, I've been trying to get our apartment organized and feeling like a home. I'm the type of person that needs to have order. I am happiest when my personal bubble is tidy and neat...it seems to lower stress. You can imagine my unrest when I can't find anything in my house because it's in a box, or still at my Mom's or whatever.

I will also be the first to admit that I'm not easy to live with (my sister, brother and mother and probably some former post-college roommates can attest to this). I'm the most emotional person I know and also a little paranoid. I also think I have the latest virus or whatever is going around. SARS wasn't bad, but the Swine Flu, Bird Flu, etc... mess. I can't read anything about cancer. I'm that girl. I maintain that that is exactly why I'm not in the medical field. I can't handle it.

Anyway.. I'm emotional and paranoid and mad because I'm back to chubby and my poor husband is still adjusting to life with a wife. He wants to hang out and watch movies and cook dinner together, etc. I want to do those things too, but if I can't function with a mess, it ain't happenin'. Saturday night, after a day of organizing and still feeling like nothing is in it's place, I had a breakdown. My husband was at a loss.

The next day, he mentioned he's going on a run later in the day. I told him I'd go with him. The man is in the military and can run pretty darn fast. In my best shape I'm not a fast runner. I reminded him of this as we began. He assured me it was fine.

After about 3/4 mile in the humid July afternoon, Randy acted like he could comfortably run faster, so I told him, breathlessly, to run ahead if he wanted to. He said, "I will when I run alone... we're a team and we are doing this together." And then he fist-bumped me. The man stuck with me through the whole thing... including a few times when I had to walk (it was about 2 miles total). I'm pretty sure he could have walked faster than we were running, but he didn't mock me by doing so. Afterwards, he told me he was proud of me.

I guess the point of this entry is to tell you all that you NEED to have someone that's 100% on your team and that wants you to succeed for YOU and not for them or anything else. In my case, my team captain is my husband, but for you it could be a friend or neighbor or whomever. It's not about looking a certain way or comparing yourself to someone else. It's about being the best you can be!

sidenote: I have a lot of people on my team, so I don't want to offend any of you out there that are stewing right now. Randy is the one that lives with me, sees me at my worst and most vulnerable and encourages me and believes in me anyway. He's wonderful!