Starting my Juice Detox :)

Today is Day 1 of my juice fast. After watching Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, I decided that I didn't have anything to lose (except nasty toxins). When I get stressed out towards the end of my school year, just before vacation, I eat...a lot. The things I eat are usually sugar and fat laden caloric whoppers (not the burger...but, well, you get the idea). It's like I programmed my body to require these unhealthy choices, almost like an automated response. That's why I figured I needed a Reboot. I bought a bargain model juicer, loaded up on greens and some fruit, and started drinking to my health. Funny, I've been in the mindset that I wouldn't drink my calories, but I haven't been too discriminating on which calories I eat. So, my initial goal was three days. However, after some research, I am noticing that I should really opt for a 10 day detox to see noticeable results, and to get past the "fog.". It's mid afternoon right now, and I don't feel bad. I drank all my water throughout the day, but that was only 32oz. I had a 16oz morning juice of lemon and ginger, and a 16oz mean green juice for lunch...which I will also have for dinner in about an hour. I don't feel starved; but I can definitely tell that I haven't eaten anything in a little while. This is the first time today though, that I have felt at least bit hungry. Looking forward to positive results over the next 10 days.

Unstuff Your Life: Kitchen First

I have recently embarked on a new quest: unstuffing my life, and getting rid of clutter that is ultimately weighing me down.  My initial project was the kitchen.  It took more than a week to par down and organize the "stuff." in my kitchen.  This mini-project of mine reminded me just how obsessive compulsive I really am.  I remember back in my college days taking pictures of my cupboards and taping them inside the doors so my roommates could see how the items should be stored.  Frankly, if I had listened to Andrew Mellen's book back then, I may not have acquired so much stuff that required a road map to putting things away in the first place.

Mellen's book, Unstuff Your Life, is a simple, yet straightforward way to harness the chaos that encroaches on your life.  He breaks the book down into manageable tasks that allow you to set things in order one space at a time in your home.  The guiding principals are "everything has a home," and "like with like" help simplicity remain in the forefront of the process.  Once I was able to see the most logical place for things, it became apparent what needed to stay, and what needed to go.  After all, "I was not my stuff." 

Keeping up with my new system has been a lot easier than maintaining "clean" anytime before...mainly because everything has a definite home...not just an approximate space.  Last night, I was able to prepare, cook, and clean up dinner all before 6pm.  This is monumental because I would normally not cook or clean because the kitchen was such a disaster.  Cleaning is now becoming more of a habit rather than a chore that is done (if I was lucky) once a week.

It's 100% One Hundred Percent of the Time

Just recently, I agreed to join a personal/professional development group online via Beachbody from an invitation from my coach.  I have been seriously thinking about applying myself with the business end of my Beachbody Coach status, but I have been a little stuck.  I mean, I love my friends and family because they never (usually) push their agendas on me...so I have been a little nervous to sell my pitch to them...long story short, I felt this invitation was a great way to get me going in the right direction.

I couldn't have been more right.

One of the group's first requirements was to obtain and begin reading The Compound Effect.

  I downloaded it last night on my Kindle.  It's not a hard read, but makes some great points that force you to stop and evaluate where you are.  One of those points I had just read through a Simple Truths video.  The 100/0 principle for relationships...which can apply to any relationship you have: significant other, child, parents, friends, and yes...even business.  "You have to be willing to give 100 percent with zero expectation of receiving anything in return," he said. "Only when you're willing to take 100 percent responsibility for making the relationship work will it work. Otherwise, a relationship left to chance will always be vulnerable to disaster."

I can see how true this is...in my personal life, I can always find excuses for my behavior as an easy way out from solving my own problems...and as a professional I make excuses why my students don't seem to achieve at the level I'd like them instead of actively seeking out different ways to engage them.  This rings true for exercise and being healthy, and for being the best mom I can be for my children.  There is always someone to blame, but the only person I should be blaming is the only one I can truly hold accountable: myself.  The good news is, I only have to give 100% in the relationships that I want to work...the ones that matter most to me...like my family, health, friends, and finances.

What relationships do you want to work?

Rewards feel so good!

I told myself (and my challenge group) that in the month of March, I would break through a plateau I have been stuck in since before the holidays. Nothing feels better than self victory! This past Sunday, I finally weighed in under 200. It may not seem that big of deal to some, but I have struggled with my weight, since...well...forever. This time, after having my son, the weight did not just melt off like it did with my daughter. I have had to work. Hard. So, when that scale read 198 pounds, I did myself a little victory dance, and booked an appointment for a pedicure with all the fixings. I am not anywhere near my "ultimate" goal in fitness yet...but I am closer than I was yesterday.

New Year...New Me!

This year is bringing about a list of brand new things for me...
 1. I moved from being an 8th grade teacher to teaching high-school
2. I have actually kept my resolution to become healthier by sticking with my 90 day Les Mills Pump Challenge
3. I have introduced healthy clean eating back into my diet
 4. I have decided to pay it forward by becoming a Team Beachbody Coach! I am looking forward to making the rest of this year just as exciting as the first quarter has been. Here's to healthy living...one day at a time :-)
Be fit...Be happy!

Beachbody Challenge Groups

My Team Beachbody Coach helped me by keeping me accountable with both my workouts and healthy eating goals!  Joining a Facebook Challenge Group is a fun, non-threatening way to fit exercise into my busy schedule.  Ask me how you can do it too!

10 Reasons to Try Shakeology

I have been using Shakeology® since the beginning of this year. I have noticed that I have not been craving sugary, fatty, or otherwise unhealthy foods. I stay full longer, and I have more energy to get through the day. That energy has helped me stick with my Beachbody Challenge group as I complete my 90 day Les Mills Pump Challenge at home, work a full time job, and take care of my family. As a result, I have lost over 15 inches off my body, and nearly 10 pounds in just over two months!  I can't wait to see my final results in a month at the conclusion of my challenge.

Check out the facts for yourself! 10 Reasons to Try Vegan Shakeology®

1. It's like your own personal cheat sheet. Get the benefits of a vegan diet without fully going vegan or even trying! The health benefits of a plant-based diet are well documented, from lower cholesterol and lower risk for heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, to easier weight management and fewer digestive issues. But you don't have to follow a 100% vegan diet to enjoy some of these health benefits. One vegan meal a day will put you well on your way to a healthier you!

2. No animals allowed. Chocolate Vegan is a completely plant-based formula with NO animal products. Give your system a break from heavy animal proteins by replacing one meal a day with Chocolate Vegan Shakeology®.

 3. Superfoods to the rescue! Chocolate Vegan includes 5 new superfoods: moringa, coconut flower nectar, luo han guo, Himalayan salt, and konjac root. All of the key nutrients come from natural whole foods. There are no added vitamin or mineral isolates and no fortification.

 4. Try all-natural chocolate for the first time. Ever wonder what cacao tastes like right out of the pod from the cacao tree? This shake is the way nature intended chocolate to taste. It's rich, earthy chocolate taste is derived solely from whole-food ingredients with no additional flavoring agents.

 5. It's FREE . . . lactose free and dairy free that is! If you're lactose intolerant or have trouble digesting whey protein, then this is the shake for you. Most people have trouble digesting dairy, whey protein, or animal proteins and don't even know it, until they try a plant-based protein meal and they just feel the difference!

 6. Fructose is a thing of the past. It takes all kinds of sugars to make the sweet world go round, but there are a lot of fructose haters out there. Chocolate Vegan is made with coconut flower nectar and luo han guo, two whole-food superfoods that are so naturally sweet, there's no need to add fructose! We won't get into the pros and cons of fructose, but suffice it to say that if you're anti-fructose, then Chocolate Vegan or Tropical Strawberry are for you!

 7. Protein PACKED. One of the first questions vegans get is "Where do you get your protein from?" Well, plants have protein in them too! And so does vegan Shakeology. 16 grams in fact. Chocolate Vegan and Tropical Strawberry are crafted from an easy-to-assimilate blend of whole, plant-based proteins including sprouted brown rice, pea, sacha inchi, chia, flax, quinoa, amaranth, and spirulina. Not only do they offer 9 essential amino acids, but together they are a complete protein source with sufficiently high levels of lysine and methionine, two important amino acids that are often a limiting factor in plant-based diets.

8. Kiss cravings goodbye. The new ingredient konjac root, in both Chocolate Vegan and Tropical Strawberry Shakeology, will help your cravings disappear! The fiber in this new wonder-food absorbs up to 200 times its weight in water, making you feel fuller, longer. No wonder places like Japan and China have been using it for centuries! Other perks include: help with regularity and healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

 9. Take a bite out of the "Tree of Life." Chocolate Vegan's new ingredient moringa is called the "Tree of Life," because it is one of nature's most nutritious foods. This superfood contains 90 nutrients and 46 antioxidants along with ALL of the essential amino acids. Plus, according to some studies, moringa can help boost energy, lead to faster recovery, and balance out blood sugar levels.

 10. It's got the stamp of approval. Chocolate Vegan Shakeology is another addition to the Beachbody Ultimate™ line, a collection of the highest-quality products Beachbody has to offer. We are committed to putting the most perfect whole-food ingredients at your fingertips so you can operate at your highest level of nutrition, health, and well-being! Posted in Heather MacDonald, Shakeology® Product News. "10 Reasons to Try Vegan Shakeology®"

Spring Cleaning

Every year I make a feeble attempt to "spring clean" my house. It usually lasts for a few days until other priorities take precedence (like watching my little bean play outside, or taking time to enjoy her "tea"). However, in the midst of my cleaning, I often neglect to do some online cleaning. So, this spring, that's what I've done.

First, I started with my Facebook account. A new year's resolution of mine was to spend less time on the site. Like most resolutions, after a few weeks it was hard to keep. Reason being, I was so dang distracted by all the updates in my "friends'" lives. Then, after a egregious misunderstanding via Facebook with a supposed friend, I realized the need to detach myself from the "social networking" scene (so, here I am blogging...so it goes). I deleted all of my "friends" and use facebook to keep up to date with my favorite stores and info websites. It saves me hours a week. Plus, I have been able to reacquaint myself with friends I haven't spent real face time with. Personal face to face interactions are the basis for relationships, not narcissistic voyeurs in cyberspace.

Next, I cleaned out my inbox. Since I started using myspace, then ultimately facebook, I have not really kept up with all the spam. I had over 5000 messages in my inbox. It took three days to finally get rid of them all, but now, I can actually check my e-mail without having to sift through all the junk.

Decluttering helps not only organize aspects of your life; it helps clear the mind and relieve stress too.

Being nice to yourself is not selfish

What is the point for our existence? Is it to suffer through life and just “suck things up” until we are lucky enough to have happiness? I am reading Jillian Michaels’ book Unlimited. In the book, she point blank tells the readers to get up and seek out their own happiness by making the choices to make life happen for them, not to them. As a result, I have put her words to work in my own life. Small changes of course, because you can only move forward one step at a time. We are here to enjoy our lives, not suffer through them.

First, I ditched the excuse that I was just “too sore” to work out. True, my joints have been a little sore. However, they do not impede me from exercising. In fact, all the reading up on any potential joint malady I may have can only be improved by regular exercise. Second, I reflected on things I used to do back when I “had time.” I remember practicing yoga, and loving it. Well, why can’t I do that now? I don’t have time? Right. I didn’t have time for it because it was not important enough for me. I changed that thought. I found two classes I can attend each week that are part of my gym membership. We make time for the things that matter to us. For me, the peace of mind and relaxation I feel from yoga is important enough for me to fit in a class at 8:00pm on a Tuesday night. It feels good to take care of me.

Taking care of me also means taking care of what I put in my body. For years now, I have wanted to become vegetarian. I tried it in college, but had the wrong focus: it was a diet, not a lifestyle. I feel strongly about the treatment of animals for our food supply. I am sickened by the abuse these creatures endure by both the handlers and the chemicals/ hormones they must ingest to make them plump and fit for eating. I worry that the chemicals and bacteria found in our food supply is not healthy for our consumption. I do not believe that the FDA is altruistic with their labeling. They are lobbied just as much as any other political office. Artificial food, additives, and processing strips food of its nourishment and negates the very reason for consuming it. I also believe that our mind/ emotions can be affected by what we eat. If we focus on a pure and natural diet, we will be more emotionally balanced. Being vegetarian is a lifestyle, not a diet, not a fad. I plan to embrace the lifestyle, one step at a time.

Coming to these few revelations has already lifted a burden off my shoulders. Being true to yourself and the needs you have can remove unnecessary stress from your life. After all, it is your life you have to live…no one else can do it for you. Move, then, towards your own happiness one step at a time.

A brief list of things worth living for..

The things that make me happy to be alive...
1. Hearing that little voice say "mama."
2. Listening to the laugh of my child (it totally melts away any risidual stress from the day).
3. Breathing. Especially when going up that hill on Green Valley pushing a jogging stroller.
4. Smelling...flowers in bloom, homemade cookies, apples, and shitty diapers. Yeah, you read that right.
5. Stretching...in bed in the morning, or after an intense 20 min. workout.
6. Hot showers with Zum soap and Burt Bees bath oil.
7. Running. You appreciate your body so much more when you push it beyond that comfy zone. Running does that for me.
8. Desperate Housewives...sometimes you need some trash to totally unwind.
9. Homemade cheesecake. With Strawberries. Enough said.
10. Seeing my little one grow before my eyes. Heaven forbid if I should blink now.
11. Old bookstores. I always have to buy at least one book when I visit. Makes me feel like I'm holding history in my hands...where has the book been...whose hands have held the cover and whose eyes have skimmed these pages? Where will it go from here?
12. Teaching...even on the darkest days a student can say something, or do something, that just makes you feel like you actually do matter...even if it's just for a moment.
13. Writing--sometimes the written word is the most powerful.
14. Dancing (when no one is watching) is liberating (and who cares really if they do watch...maybe they're just wishing they were as comfortable in their skin as you are in yours).
15. Donuts. Fresh at nine o'clock at night, after a 2 mile walk to get one...but just one...at a time.
16. Rollercoasters, Amusement Parks, and Carnivals...we all love being a kid...
17. Family. The starting point in life. We all know no one has the perfect one, but we have a story to tell...and that makes life interesting.
18. Memories...knowing that some will fade with time makes them even more precious.

The Shape of a Mother

What is the shape of a mother?
History has not been so kind to me,
So I don't think I can answer fairly.
Mother, to me, has never been real--
An elusive shape shifter that calls on the phone
or an emotionally distant shadow
that dangles out of reach, just barely
Just enough--to keep me begging for more...
What is the shape of a mother?
Is she the one with the needle in her arm?
The straw up her nose...living that hedonistic life?
Willing to drop all...forget all...for a moment's worth of pleasure?
Is she the one who takes in the lost sheep
Because her own she couldn't keep?
Fill us with hopes, dreams, and lies
then bash them to pieces before our very own eyes?
What is the shape of a mother?
Is she but seventeen
confused, a kid, a girl with innocence lost?
Or is she forty-five
gearing up for round two or three?
Did they even really want me
afterall?
What is the Shape of a Mother?
Is she thin, model thin, with wispy black hair
Mysterious blue-green eyes and that cigarette
balancing between her fingers
like a painted butterfly without wings?
Or is she not?
Perhaps a little jealousy for things of vain
lost over youth foolishly spent.
What is the Shape of a Mother?
Bruised, bended, broken
by life's unfortunate toils
leaves but an emotional heap
on the burden of my shoulders
Leaving me to ask
"What is the shape of a mother
supposed to be?"
A woman.
A woman who loves unselfishly.
A woman who cares unconditionally.
A woman who knows what it's like to feel pain.
A woman who'd do it all again
without blinking an eye.
What is the Shape of a Mother?
A woman with stretch marks
to prove her courage.
The courage to say
"I'm more beautiful now than I ever was--
all because of this little life that grew from me"
A woman who's not afraid
of nursing her child
from her breast,
from her heart,
knowing that it's best
What is the Shape of a Mother?
A woman who yearns for a healthy body
not for vanity
or wishful thinking
but because she knows
she's got to around to see hear
grandbabies cry,
to see them walk,
and say
"I love you."
What is the Shape of a Mother?
A woman with an open mind
enough to see the differences
in the world without
closing them out.
But not a naive mind--
The world can be a dangerous place
and someone
needs to be there to
pick up the pieces
because there will be pieces.
What is the Shape of a Mother?
A woman that wants to be...
That woman could be you...
That woman is me.

Jillian Michaels, You Are Evil.

So, Let's just do a quick re-cap here...I've been yo-yoing with my weight ...well...since as long as I can remember. It was easy in high-school to stay fit because I ran cross-country. In college, I lost 15 pounds my freshmen year because I ran cross-country. Then...I stopped running regularily...and the weight crept on...slowly at first...until I reached what I thought would be my all time ever high...187. I panicked. I tried every weight loss gimmick I could find. Then, I joined Weight Watchers. In 8 months, I lost nearly 60 pounds. I was running again...I finally qualified for the Boston Marathon (a high point in my life, even today). Then, I got injured. This time the weight didn't creep on...it, well, seemed to stick over night. In one month I gained 20 pounds. I stutter started Weight Watchers too many times to count. Each year, I got progressively heavier. I stepped on the blasted scale, and cried...a new all time high...194. Something had to be done. With resolve this time, I joined Weight Watchers again. It seemed to be working for me. I lost 20 pounds in three months. I was on a roll...a healthy lifestyle seemed to have found its groove with me. Then, I got pregnant. That healthy lifestyle decided to fly south for the next 37 weeks. I know it's not good for your self esteem to weigh yourself while pregnant...I did anyway. Days before I went into labor, I topped the scale at 247 pounds. This is a number I never ever want to see again...pregnant or not. In fact, I believe the complications I had with my delivery (pre-term, LO in the NICU for 5 days) was directly related to my prenatal health. At six weeks post-partum (weighing 209), I joined Weight Watchers...again...but with a sense of changing my lifestyle, not implementing a diet. Four months later, all of my pregnancy weight was GONE! I was back to 175...my weight before I got pregnant. I thank my dedication, breastfeeding, and WW. However, since starting my journey, I have fallen into a rut, seven month rut. I gain a little, I lose a little..but in the end, I am still 175. Something had to change,
Enter in Jillian Michaels, the hardcore trainer from the Biggest Loser. I bought her 30 day Shred DVD, thinking that I could wing a 20 minute workout in the morning, plus do my regular workouts in the evening. Day 1...I felt the burn after Level 1. Didn't think too much of it, and chalked it up to being a good workout. Day 2...I thought my legs (all of them) would explode. I can't raise my arms over my head, and my torso aches when I twist in any direction. Yet, despite this pain, I think I am looking forward to tomorrow's session. Therein lies the evil in Jillian Michaels. She makes you want to feel pain. But, they do say "no pain, no gain." Let's get shredded!