When Jenny Met Running

You know you need to exercise.  Everyone is telling you.  Your neighbor.  Your doctor.  Your friends.  The crazy lady at Chic-Fil-A.  Maybe that last one is just me, but you get my point.  It's not brain surgery or rocket science.  It's a given.  The knowing is easy.  The starting can be just the teensiest bit difficult, and the sticking-with-it even harder (something akin to a root canal sans novacaine comes to mind).  BUT...I believe that if you have that much dislike for your workout, you're just doing the WRONG WORKOUT. 

I've done 'em all. I like most of 'em.  But I looooooove TurboFire and I downright LUST after running.  It just took me about twenty years to discover the first and appreciate the other.

Think of it like dating.  We learn as we grow...

 As a teen, I loved the big hair and bright colors on Buns of Steel.  I gritted my way through each agonizing minute, but my buns never reached the approximation of any sort of metal.  Because I only gritted my way for about a week.  Then in college, I experimented with jazzercise type videos (everyone experiments in college!) and even had a brief fling with running and lifting (my roommate did it and promised it would make me feel good).  After college, I got a job as a step aerobics instructor and personal trainer (I was inching closer, but the fit still wasn't quite right). 

About a year ago, I saw a TurboFire informercial during a middle-of-the-night newborn feeding.  I watched in awe as they shook booties, kicked high, and punched hard.  And those abs! I felt my own midsection and noted it was not the same as theirs.  But the announcer promised it COULD BE in just 90 DAYS.  I was desperate.  I handed over my husband's debit card faster than my newborn could fill a diaper.  And guess what? GREAT FREAKIN' PURCHASE! Because it changed my fitness life. 

And with this new level of cardio confidence, I took my own self to Providence, RI and ran a Rock N Roll half marathon just five months later.  BadASS. Now I became a runner.  I have previously described my love of running and all that entails, and I can pretty much promise I will refer to it again in the future.  (You don't just talk about your spouse once and forget 'em, do you?)

Soooo...my point (yes, I still have one) is this: I found the workouts I needed to make me WANT TO DO IT.  I nearly salivate when workout time approaches.  At various points throughout my day, you can catch me mid-chore with a faraway look in my eye, and I'm seriously contemplating my sweat schedule.  It's these dirty little daydreams that keep me revved up for the late-night rendevous with Mr. Horton and my hubby...We get (P90)X-rated six nights a week, baby!

Your workout is out there.  If you've started a program and found it wasn't for you, remember: there are lots of exercises in the gym.  Keep looking, put yourself out there.  A little yoga here, some HipHop Abs there.  Before you know it, you've got google eyes for your very own workout and the two of you are attached at the sneaker.



Economics, Fitness, and Healthy Diets: Why Can't We All Just Get Along???

I honestly enjoy the shopping part of grocery shopping.  I adore Wegmans with my whole healthy heart.  The gorgeous produce, the seemingly endless supply of organic and tastey options, the calm shoppers (there are certain superstores I am frightened to venture into).  I get excited to choose healthy meals and snacks for my family...and I cringe every time I come face to face with our total bill.  I've gotta admit, sometimes the produce does not look so gorgeous when I see its price tag.

But - I am also aware that eating this way will curb other costs.  We are happier when we eat well; we feel better when we eat well.  Less doctor's visits, less OTC medications, less restaurant tabs (and that is a biggie for a family of six).  I nearly choked when I first saw the price of Shakeology.  Then I realized, that's a meal a day for 30 days.  Four bucks a day.  Cut out Starbucks, cut out snacks filled with preservatives and unpronouncable ingredients...there's your four bucks.  Now, add in the value of increased energy, improved bodily function, and controlled cravings...I don't feel sticker shock now.  I feel like I made a wise and healthful choice for my body.  (And tastey!!! Refer to my earlier post...)

So, once my spending is vindicated, I need menus! I need recipes! I need children to eat what I make! The first two are easy...

I consider myself a hunter and gatherer of recipes, pulling from Making The Cut by Jillian Michaels, magazines (Fitness, Shape, and Runner's World are great resources), Push by Chalene Johnson, and Thin Kitchen Beachbody.  Sometimes, I'll just take an entire week's menu straight from a diet plan; sometimes I mix and match.  Starting tomorrow, I am following Shaun T's six-day slimdown in order to get myself geared up for his class next Saturday.  I will modify meals somewhat for the rest of the family...but they're still getting mostly organic and fully fit meals, whether they like it or not.

Which brings me to my third "need."  Kids learn from us, whether we like it or not.  The choices we provide them now are the habits they'll use later.  So while they would love for me to shove platefuls of processed chicken parts in front of them every night, they are also learning to get excited about fish, fresh veggies, and seasonal fruits.  Everyone must try at least one bite of everything, every meal, every day.  I was surprised to find that even our finickiest eater can appreciate most of what we serve.

And for those in-between times, we keep a "snack basket" as a go-to in the kitchen.  As soon as I get home from shopping, I separate all snacks into single-serving bags.  The same goes for anything I make (I actually MAKE STUFF now! In an oven and everything! Who knew?!) When they require a little nosh, they can grab whatever they like from the basket, and I know they're getting something nourishing for their little bodies.  I've also started (finally!) keeping a bowl of fresh fruit on the kitchen table.  Right where we can see it.  And guess what? No more rotten fruit in drawers in the fridge.  It all gets eaten.


What are your sneaky tricks? SHARE! And if you've found a great farmer's market or cheaper brand that tastes just like a brand name, SHARE! Our M&M Clan has come a long way in the food department, but I like knowing that things are just getting started...

"Before" Photos - Because without them, you can't have the "After" photos...

There is a good reason you've decided to start working out, and chances are that reason is something you want to keep hidden, perhaps with baggy sweatpants and long butt-covering tops. So who in their right mind would take a "before" photo and actually share it with other people? Well, I have...and I swear, despite what you may have heard, I am reasonably sane.
Those "befores" can be great motivation. When shared, they are a commitment statement, an advertisement to your world that you are starting a new lifestyle. As for myself, I shudder at the thought that those would be the last anyone would see of my midriff. So I keep on pressing play, crunching and jumping six nights a week. I drink my Shakeology every day and monitor what goes into my body. And I know that soon (hopefully within the next few weeks), I will have the "afters" I'm proud to share (and I'll be busting out the belly-baring tops packed away since 1998. To hell with fashion when I've got actual abdominal muscles to showcase!).

And really, how can you brag about your progress if you don't have the proof? I want to point at my befores and say, "Can you believe that was me? I have come so far, it's incredible."
I also find more inspiration from seeing others' transformations, be it from P90X, TurboFire, or HipHop Abs. It pumps me up for my workouts and gives me fuel to keep pushing as hard as I must to get the results I lust after. So maybe, if I keep going, I can inspire someone else to start living a Fit Life and find the energy, passion, and exhiliration I have discovered in the last year.

So, suck it up, not in, and take disturbingly honest "befores." You'll be on your way to your awesome "afters" in no time!

Romance and P90X

Let me set the scene: the kids are in bed (hopefully dreaming), the dogs have been taken out (hopefully for the last time), and it's just me and the hubby, alone at last. Within ten minutes, we're both drenched in sweat and breathing heavily...with Tony Horton.

Get your mind out of the gutter! P90X is the new date night, six nights a week. Fitness is a priority in our house, and rather than make it one more block of time away from each other, we have decided to let it bring us closer together. When we're both eeking out one more diamond pushup or sweating through one more set of heavy pants, we share a common goal and experience. And, even better, it has changed our goals as a couple. This summer, we will be competing in our very first mud race together, showcasing our ripped biceps/triceps/deltoids/etc. Making the commitment together makes sticking to the commitment that much easier. One of us will always push the other to get started, and really, that's all it takes. Because if you can motivate yourself to start a workout session, you can certainly make it through to the end.

So yes...date night is different. Movies and cocktails have morphed to P90X and water breaks. But now we get six date nights a weeks as opposed to one a month, and we're also seeing much more gorgeous people...

Holy Shakeology, Batman!

Oh, the deliciousness! I honestly did not have high expectations for the taste of yet another protein drink mix...but it was like drinking cake batter! And beyond the taste - I have stayed full and craving-free for an entire day! How crazy is that? Me, Queen of Noshing! Needless to say, I am SO hooked on Shakeology now!
And the protein bars! Yum! I tried the chocolate fudge today and had to remind myself not to feel guilty.  It tastes like a candy bar.  No lie! Had I known it was this tastey, I would have started with these products when I first started using the fitness programs. 
AND - today was also my first day using the E&E Formula, with the same results! As a runner,  I often use Gu to rev my energy, but gag at the consistency.  E&E was tastey and easy to drink, and I felt increased energy all day long.  Not sure if it was E&E or Shakeology, but I believe I will keep using both. 
Now, to spread the word...
And figure out how NOT to sound like an infomercial...;p

Adding Injury to Injury

I consider myself "in training." Right now, for my first marathon and Spartan Race.  So being able to actually complete my workouts every day seems pretty integral in the process.  Not so easy when my right knee swells up like grapefruit (or maybe more like a clementine, but still...) and my right foot yelps each time I put weight on it.  What to do???
Oh right...REST.  Lest I injure myself further and be forced to take weeks away from training, I choose to take an unscheduled rest day and placate my aching bones.  And remind myself, over and over and over again, that it is PERFECTLY OKAY to take a break.  Especially when your body is screaming for you to do so. 
So, yesterday, I rested.  My two-hour run the previous day in old running shoes left me feeling...well...not good.  As in, can't-walk-down-the-steps-without-grimacing-hobbling-like-Quasimoto not good.  I needed a break.  No bouncing, no lifting, not even a stretch.  I did bowl a game, but I swear, I did not exert myself in any way.  I had a cheesesteak to get back to...(because my taste buds also wanted a break from training).
I think we can get so caught up in the end game, overly focused on the results and goals we're reaching for, and forget that our bodies need a little TLC every now and then.  I am determined that I will not wait for the screams of pain next time.  I will schedule in a rest day...maybe even two...after my more extreme runs.  After all, knees need love, too...

Self Motivation

Motivation used to sound like a curse to me, just with more than the usual four letters.  It was the missing ingredient, the missing link, the missing puzzle piece in any program that I engaged in.  I would see an infomercial, read an article or book and become hellbent on getting in shape...for about a week.  Then I would get tired, or busy, or bored...and quit.  And feel like a failure.
So...how do I stay motivated now? There are three main ways and then lots of smaller ones.  The "small" ones aren't small, really.  They just don't push me quite as hard when I'm really not feeling the urge to sweat.  I want to be fit for my family, my health, my quality of life.  And those are big reasons.  But they don't always get LazyMe moving. 
LazyMe is silenced more by knowing how I will feel when I'm done.  When I feel like I just went from Peter Parker to Spiderman, muscles inflated and abs defined.  When I just ran 10 miles instead of watching 10 hours of television.  When I know I DID SOMETHING with my day instead of wasting moments of my life.  There's one way.
The second way is newer and grounded in my new business as a Beachbody Coach.  Who's gonna buy in to the fabulous changes these programs can bring if I don't show them what it did for me?  I need to be a product of the product, which has the outstanding side effects of feeling and looking incredible. (You see how everything starts cycyling here? It's a lifestyle, not just an hour out of your day.)
The third and biggest way I stay motivated is TRAINING FOR AN EVENT.  This year is a big event year for me.  I am running three marathons, competing in my first Spartan race, and signing up for various 5k's when timing and finances permit.  My pride will not allow me to enter into an event and not complete it.  I am not gonna lie; I want BRAGGING RIGHTS.  I want to wear my free tshirts, post sweaty/muddy/action shots up on Facebook and have people say, "Congrats! You rock!" It feels pretty good.  After all, we don't get gold stars or Student of the Month awards anymore.  But we CAN get MEDALS.  I like prizes.  I like shiny things.  Events have SO MANY THINGS I WANT! 
So, when motivation seems MIA, I remind myself that Run For the Red is only four months away.  Spartan is only six months away.  And I cannot fail.