An hour is just too long!

I can go for a LONG run. I did a half - marathon and was on my feet running (Galloway style - run/walk intervals) for 3.5 hours. But I just can't do other cardio for that long. I get bored, I make excuses, I just never get it done.

And I am not alone!

Enter Beachbody - they now have 2 (almost 3) workouts that are about 30 minutes a day! No wonder I love this company. :) I am a mom, a wife, a teacher and carving out 60 minutes to workout just doesn't happen for me. But I can find 30 minutes. I can find 30 minutes every day!

P90X3 (watching the informercial now) is P90X accelerated! I did P90X and had great results but couldn't keep it up. The time just killed me, and I quit 6 days before the end of the program. I tried INSANITY and did 1 week, but again, the long workouts, while awesome just didn't fit my schedule.

P90X3 is 30 minutes a day. FocusT25 is 25 minutes a day (5 days a week!) 21 Day Fix is about 30 minutes a day WITH a revolutionary portion control clean eating program to help you dial in the most difficult part of anyone's fitness journey - nutrition!

I am starting the 21 Day Fix as soon as it comes out - February 17th or earlier! Come and join me on my journey and see how much you can change your life in a short amount of time.

I am changing lives and chasing awesome this year. Come join me.

www.beachbodycoach.com/coachbeckycooper

Failure

I am a failure. Ever have those days? When the negative thoughts in your head are so loud you can't concentrate on the fact that you are actually spectacular and awesome and feel like the biggest loser out there (please tell me it is not just me!).

My weight has stalled and stagnated again, and it is all my fault. Easter candy and jelly beans (man I love jelly beans) ripped into my mind and grabbed hold and I found myself buying and eating loads of candy. I did not run three days last week, or yesterday, or Monday... so my goal of 4 miles a day is falling flat. I am already not sure I will be able to get 4 miles in today. I have a speech presentation due tomorrow, a paper due tomorrow, an assignment that was due yesterday still to complete, plus classes the rest of the day today.

Plus, it is snowing, and with the cold my motivation is practically non existent. And I do not like my daycare anymore and do not want to take my boys down there. I have 2 hours until class and enough to do to fill 10 hours more. I just want to hide and avoid it all. I need the sun and the warm weather to come back. Maybe then I can find my happy thoughts again.

All I want for Christmas...

... is a treadmill. Seriously. Any treadmill companies out there that want to set me up with a treadmill to review and use for the next few months or the year or whatever, I will be grateful! I need a treadmill because I have not been able to get out for a decent run in about 2 weeks. seriously, my last good run was on the treadmills at school, and that was 2 weeks ago. The weather around here has not been awful, but it has been too cold/damp most of the time to take 2 squirmy boys that have been sick out in the jogging stroller for a decent run, and the hubby has been more less out of town for 2 weeks. The days he has been home, the schedule has not been conducive to getting out to run - but if I had had a treadmill those days, I could totally have gotten a super awesome run in anyway.

I of course have DVDs I can workout to at home, but the thought of using them has left me so depressed I cannot even put on my workout clothes. Getting back into strength training is also taking far more effort than I would like. It seems to me like everything is taking too much effort these days...

I am still working on the Paleo eating, and most days it is going pretty well. I am not stressing myself on trying to be perfect through the holiday season, but I am striving to do well every day indulge only in things I really love. No eating something junky just because it is there. And through some wonderful forums and websites and blogs devoted to the Paleo lifestyle, I am getting some fantastic ideas of things to eat, ways to cook them, and so on. So many great ideas that I think I will be able to shop very well for the coming month when I head to the store next week.

As the year comes to a close (and another "fat" birthday has passed) I am feeling a bit better than I have in a while. I am not where I want to be, but I finally feel like I am on the path to get there.

I am not the best

It never really occurred to me before, but I am extremely competitive. I want to be the best - at everything. And if I can't be the best, I don't want to do it. I want to be the best mom, the best students, the best teacher, the best wife, the best friend, I want to be A#1 perfect.

And I am not. I am not perfect - far from it my family will be happy to tell you. And recently the monkey has decided I am not the best mommy, but I think that is just to mess with me :) 4yr olds, go figure.

I am good - in some cases very good. But I am not the best. And I need to let go of the mentality that I need to be the best. Have a good day running is better than not running - and sometimes better than be the perfect best runner. Have a good day eating is better than bingeing on cookies all day long. Getting a 97% on my test is better than the rest of the class did, and should be good enough for me (it's totally not though!)

Image from Pintrest

Getting out on the road or in the gym and doing my workout is good. Cooking and eating health foods with my family is good. Studying and doing all my homework is good. Taking the time to appreciate my life, my family, my friends, and the good fortune I do have is good. 

I don't need to be perfect. I just need to be. 

Weight loss is simple

... but it isn't easy! I was listening to a podcast today (by the way, anyone with a smaryphone - stitcher.com podcast app AWESOME!) called logical weight loss and I was struck by the profound-ness of that statement. Weight loss is simple, eat less, move more (for most of the population) but if it was easy there would be no weight loss bloggers, or industries devoted to losing weight or a new fad diet every day-week-month-year. I know what I need to do to lose weight and get fit. Don't eat junk, don't eat more than I need, don't procrastinate. Do move more, do workout, do eat clean and healthy. And yet... last night, when I wanted to go to bed, I was tired and falling asleep, and instead of going to bed like I needed to I stayed up another 3 hours munching on half a bag of potato chips. I binged half the night and couldn't sem to get full. I sabotaged myself - and I knew I was doing it.

I need to concentrate on me, on doing the things I need to do to be healthy and be a help to my family, and I need to figure out why I do things to sabotage myself.

Weight loss is simple, but it isn't easy.

Veggie-girl

Vegetarian-vegan. The idea has seriously scared me in the past. My best friend in high school went veg almost 20 years ago - I flirted briefly for about a week to be cool but never made the switch.

Until now! 3 weeks so far meat free. I am having trouble giving up cheese though. The creamy melty-ness of cheese is hard to resist - and hard to replace. And almost nothing compares to the comfort-food factor of cheese. But there is almost nothing that triggers a desire to overeat in me more than cheese does. So I am making a switch and cutting it completely out of my life.

In my new quest to live an animal-product free life ( at least for me I am not forcing anyone to make the switch with me) I am researching and discovering a variety of ethnic dishes and figuring out how to make them at home. Yesterday was hummus (OMG! on the yummy scale) today is falafel (baked), fresh pitas, and my own creation of a veggie filled Thai inspired satay stew. Tomatoes, zucchini, onions, mango chunks, peanut butter, garlic, a dash of brown sugar, and a tasty hit of Sirrachi. Mmm, yummy!

So I am going to spend the summer making tasty vegan and vegetarian treats from around the world and inside my head and post the results here. I will also get back to updating my fitness progress and programs. Happy eating and exercising to us all!

2 weeks down, 18 to go!

18 more weeks of my Turbo Fire schedule. I am proud to be 2 weeks in, but when I think about the 18 weeks I have left it is with excitement, not angst at how much more is left. I am dedicated and making a commitment to my health and my life and my family.

Tonight was the first one where I had some dread getting to my workout. It's late, I would much rather be in bed or just sitting being lazy watching TV. at about 9:15 I started the DVD and almost as soon as the warm up started the moose started crying upstairs. Changed his diaper, brought downstairs, got him some Motrin, snuggled on the couch and kissed his moosey head. Shortly thereafter the monkey started crying too (sick boys, what are you going to do?) one of the kittens snuck into the room  and was trying to cuddle with him. He would be fine with that except they always want to sleep on his head. I put the moose back in bed, grabbed the kitten and tossed him back out of the room and came back downstairs. I had even less desire to do my workout at that point. But giving myself the excuse not to workout at that point is one of the many things that led me here. So I restarted the DVD (from the beginning) and restarted my workout, promising myself I could stop after about 20 minutes.

45 minutes later the workout finished, and I did the whole thing. Now I am debating a little popcorn and a piece of cheese or some celery and peanut butter while I wait to set my yogurt and go to bed.