Daily challenge June 26th Be yourself

We’re almost to Portland!!!. I stopped about 4 hours away so my kids could see the Columbian river in the daylight.
The kids are so excited about this.
And of course our dog is excited about anything they’re excited about.
Two things brought on the challenge today.
I woke up at midnight to Sasha (our dog) growling at our window. I kept telling her to shoosh but she kept growling. She didn’t bark. She was just warning something to stay away. Now, I know what you’re thinking… A GHOST!!! No, my life is not that awesome. She was growling at someone literally a foot from our hotel window. I wouldn’t have noticed he was there if she hasn’t warned me. He was just smoking, not a pervo or anything. But he could have been a threat without me even knowing he was there if she would have just given in to me telling her to stop her instinct to be protective.
By now I was awake enough that I checked on my kids in the other hotel bed. One of them was on his tummy with his head tucked into his brothers shoulder. The other one had an arm around the others back and his head tucked into the top of his brothers head. I had wanted to take a picture and show all of my friends how sweet twins can be with each other. But I didn’t because I thought they would be too embarrassed about me showing that to people. So to not have to deal with the urge to make a billboard out of it, I didn’t take the picture at all. Now that they’ve already moved, I’m wishing I would have taken the picture. They shouldn’t have to feel embarrassed about a sibling love that comes natural to them. Twins have this instinct to be close and they should be able to sleep hugged together without fear of people making it into something horrible.
So long story short, I think we should be proud of our instinctual behavior.

Instead of a food or exercise challenge today, you guys are getting a self esteem exercise. If you are naturally a goober or a nerd, be that. Don’t worry about the perfect workout clothes our getting your hair awesome. Walk out how you want to walk out. Forget what others think. If you want to give treadmill dancing a try, DO IT!! Who cares if the jealous people laugh?. I dare you to follow through with making a face at someone even though your brain is screaming at you that they’ll think you’re weird. You’re not weird, you’re being you. I like you so you have at least one person that will laugh with you instead of at you. 

Vitamin D Diet

I’m normally not a Dr. Oz fan. I personally think he’s easily paid off. But then again I have to admit I think not so nice thoughts about most people that have become famous in the medical industry. Ok I’m not a fan of most people in the medical industry. I’m even skeptical about my own doctor.

But after reading his ideas on the sugar detox I had to give the guy some credit.

While folding laundry I turned on the tv and started skimming through shows. In the details box I saw “Dr. Oz, sugar detox.” I figured it’s funny that I’ve been posting about this, I’ll watch it.

But the detail box lied! The show had something about vitamid D, though, so I stayed on it.

My last blood work showed that everything is in a very healthy range, but my vitamin D, as usual, is low. For me that’s normal. I work nights. The best sun hours of the day I spend sleeping in a room with blackout curtains(which really doesn’t matter because the ultraviolet ray benefits can’t penetrate glass, GO OUTSIDE!) .

Why is D so important? Read.
 There’s a ton to D. Like an uber ton. But today I’m going to focus on the weight loss benefits of it.

• Vitamin D affects your insulin levels which affects people who are diabetic or borderline diabetic. It is very important that they keep their vitamin D levels at a healthy range.
• Vitamin D activates your fat cells to help you burn calories (raises your metabolism) which in turn helps make them smaller, especially fat cells around your stomach and hips because of their link to the liver.
• Vitamin D helps your body stimulate and release Leptin which is protein hormone that tells your brain you’re full.
• Vitamin D (mostly taken from sunlight) reduces side effects of depression, resulting in more activity, more want to exercise, and better eating habits.
• Vitamin D stimulates the immune system which means less sluggish days and less days where you’re too sick to be active.

Just in case you’re confused, much of your vitamin D comes from absorbing sun rays. But before you head outside and start worshiping the “sun god” for hours at a time, remember you only really need 10-20 minutes of sun exposure WITHOUT sunscreen. After that, put the sunscreen on. If you are petite and fair skinned, keep it closer to 10 minutes. The larger you are or the darker you are, the more you need to get closer to 20 minutes.

But with it only taking about 10-20 minutes outside to get a decent amount of vitamin D each day, why are so many people still deficient in vitamin D? Because we don’t go outside anymore. Most of our waking hours are spent in the car, in the house, in the shade, in the not where the sun is. Add to that the lack of inner health that we face. Our bodies aren’t processing and using vitamin D like they should. So how do we get more Vitamin D without too much exposure to the sun?

Well, you still need to go out in the sun. You just have to. BUT you can add a little extra D to your diet. That’s right, food. MMMMMMMMM. We all know cow milk is a great source of vitamin D.

Here’s some of them that this book they showed on Dr. Oz goes over.

If you haven’t read product labels lately, you’re missing out. Many foods (eggs, breads, cereals, ect) now have a big “fortified with vitamin D” picture on the front of them. While I’m not a fan of modifying natural foods, this is an option. (Yes, I know, I’m an organic nerd, but it works for me.) I’m a fan of Simply Orange Juice with extra C and D but that’s not on my sugar detox diet right now so it’s a hush hush thing for me right now.

Milk… of course is full of Vitamin D. Now add to it, fish. Yep, the nasty smelling slimy water lovers are an amazing source of Vitamin D. Go for the fatty versions of the animals. I know that sounds horrible but they produce the most vitamin D.

But lets say you’re a vegetarian and you don’t eat things that moo or bawk or things with hearts (personally I’m a fan of bawk and moo, sorry. I just pretend they don’t have hearts), and you don’t want to take in a ton of carbs? Mushrooms. They soak up the sun just like we do. In fact, they are the only freggie (fruit or vegetable) that contain vitamin D.

Mushrooms aren’t enough to get that extra D? Daily vitamins. YOU KNOW IT’S COMING- organic daily vitamins. But most of them only contain 15-40% of your D so you can’t fully rely on those.

Now look me in the eyes and tell me you’re going to start taking care of your D. DO IT! I know you can’t see me, but I’m doing the concerned mom look, so you do the “Ok Mommy” look back at your screen and nod your head. K? K.

The book they were talking about is called the Vitamin D diet. It’s a 5 week diet where they say you can lose 15 lbs. Screams crash diet to me. But since I used her info from the show for a lot of this info, I will give her credit by putting a link to her book. If anything it will at least shed some light on Vitamin D (pun intended, ha, get it? get it? light-vitamin D… ok I’m done) Link here

Note because I’m a turd like that: A healthy diet is a lifestyle change, not a 5, 6, 7, 90 day plan for fast weight loss. If you are going to do a specific diet (soup diet, vitamin D diet, whatever diet) it needs to be something you can maintain. As soon as you go back to your old ways, you WILL gain the weight back. So learn from these diets. Incorporate them into your daily if you feel like doing them. And remember that most of the weight you lose in the first few weeks is waste. YAY POOP!

Doing a sugar detox

Ever have a day that you’re half tempted to rob a candy store? Ever find yourself going to mcdonalds for 2 pies for a dollar or 3 cookies for a dollar and forgetting they have burgers? Actually… ever find yourself thinking about Mcdonalds without gagging? You’re experiencing a sugar addiction.

Sugar does this fun little circus thing in your body. It raises your serotonin level first off. That’s your Peter Pan happy thought hormone. It temporarily increases our heart rate which makes us feel like SUPER AWESOME POWER RANGERS! Energy? You have TONS now. And it makes children psychotic. That’s all the good stuff. The bad stuff is- rotten teeth, increased risk of diabetes, and addiction (causes migraines, weight gain, kidney issues, stomach issues, depression, and a ton more).

But not all sugars are created evil equals. Natural sugars like ones you would find in fruits, whole grains, and raw cane sugar are easily processed by the body leaving you with energy, serotonin, and psychotic HEALTHY children. I’m not saying you can eat a mountain worth of fruit and not gain any weight. I am saying you can eat a lot more of the natural sugars than the processed ones before you see the negative side effects.

So put down the donut. It’s that simple…

Or is it?

HELL NO IT’S NOT. Don’t be stupid.

We build ourselves up on these sugars so much that addiction is a pretty regular thing. Telling a sugar addict to put down that donut is like telling a crack addict to not sell their neighbors chihuahua for a fast fix. They NEEEEEEEED it. Mentally… not physically. Physically their organs are actually screaming for a new home. And the more you have sugar the less results you get from it so the more you feel you need. Then you find yourself eating the last bag of gummy bears out of the stash that was for your kids lunch and they end up having an apple that day for their “dessert”.

So we just check into a rehab right?

There’s no free rehab for sugar addictions. Is it deadly? Yes. But its a long term deadly and the government is too busy rehabbing people that need the serious help right now. A sugar detox is harder than it sounds but a lot easier than your body is going to say it is.

Here’s what you do.

1. Become aware of the sugars you are taking in. Have a craving? Read the label of that food first. If in the first 5 ingredients is sucrose, fructose, glucose, (basically anything ending in ose or ol) syrup, sugar, maple, or juice- its high in sugar. For a better list go here. But those ones are the most common and no one wants to carry around a list of sugar names.
2. Eat fruits to get a natural sugar fix. If the craving for sugar is absolutely out of this world grab grapes or an orange. Forget the calories, your body will digest and expel most fruits before your body has a chance to store it and you still get the energy increase from it.
3. Get better sleep. Most sugar cravings come from your body feeling like it’s on it’s last leg. Ever watch the snickers commercials where someone is being a butt and they eat a snickers bar and go back to normal? Same thing. You’re tired, you’re cranky, your body needs energy. Do it the healthy way though. Or add a little agave nectar to some water.
4. If you have to have something to kill a sugar craving in your purse and cant peel an orange or keep grapes, bring some almonds. 10 almonds will get you by for a few hours. I won’t tell your boss. No one has to know.
5. Use natural sugars like Stevia, agave nectar, or my favorite- truvia. Stay away from the artificial ones. They’re horrible for your organs and can actually INCREASE the sugar cravings. Sugar free on a label may sound like a good thing in a sugar detox but it’s actually the kiss of death. Gum and flavored powder drinks are the worst culprits in this.
6. Tell your friends and family you’re doing this. Nothing kills a sugar detox like hubby bringing you home chocolates because he loves you.
7. Drink tons and tons of water. If you can leech out the sugars already inside of you the less time it takes for the cravings to go away. STAY AWAY FROM flavored waters unless they use stevia, truvia, or another form of naturally sugar free flavoring. Melaleuca has sustain and crystal light has Pure. I prefer Melaleuca’s Rasberry Lemonade and Crystal light’s grape Pure.
8. TAKE YOUR DAILY VITAMIN- Make sure it’s organic. If it’s a non organic meal replacement, throw it away, you’re killing yourself. If it’s a womans one a day or something like that that’s all synthetic you’re getting about 25-50% of what the label actually says you’re getting. Stop wasting your money and your healthy and actually invest in something organic. That’s why I take my shakeology. Raw vitamins are also a good choice if you prefer the pill form.

It takes about 4 weeks for this to really pull you through. And it takes 6 weeks to break a bad habit. Do not kill yourself if you screw up. Just get back on the boat and keep on truckin… in your boat.

Why am I doing this blog right now? Because yesterday was day 1 of my sugar detox.

And I did pretty good. Since my shakeology is natural sugars I was allowed to have it. So I got my chocolate fix for the day. I did screw up and have a slice of leftover pizza this morning. I was going to kick myself over it but I was half asleep while eating it and fell asleep before my shoes were even off (remember I work nights). Pizza contains extra sugar in the sauce and the breading. (A better fix for that is make your own pizza on a whole grain crust with hummus instead of sauce and cheese.)

For some extra ideas check out

http://www.doctoroz.com/challenge/sugar-detox

and

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1663

There are also a ton of nutritionist articles that are worthy reads that you can google under “Nutritionist advice, sugar detox” but I’m not posting any right now because I have not really checked into their backgrounds and I only like to give credit to more holistic thinkers. They’re less likely to b.s. you into taking medication when it’s not needed.

Keep moving foreward!- including pics

If you haven’t seen “Meet the Robinsons” stop reading and go watch it. It’s a feel good movie that takes you from feeling like a failure to feeling like every bad move you’ve made you’ve done on purpose. No more squashed confidence! It’s kind of like “winning” with Charlie Sheen. What you see as a failure now is just a step towards where you’re supposed to be… or great advertising for a future reality show where you’re the butt of every joke.

I told you guys a few blogs back that my Hustle instructor had let me lead the warmup in class.

The first time I had that tooth infection and the Childcare line made me late… but I still did it.

Then she let me do it again. I had a tooth infection from the tooth extraction and was on medication, BUT I WAS STILL GOING! This time I had practiced cuing (letting people know the next move coming up a second before we do it, not a pool move). I was ready. I was excited!… no one could hear me over the music. BUT that time I had actually made eye contact with everyone, stayed with the moves, people watched my hand signals and knew what to do. It was great.

Yesterday was our last Hustle together. My instructor is going on maternity leave. I didn’t even ask her about the warmup because I figured she’d want to do it or someone else would want a turn at it. Nope. She let me do it again. I WAS PUMPED! Like my adrenaline was literally swelling up my head. The last time had gone so well, this one would be EPIC. It was like the whole room had given me their energy…. and then I bombed it. Yah I did. I did the walk up and forgot the walk out so when I tried to make up for it the next time everyone didn’t know there would be a walk out. I stayed with the tempo and it was ok but my adrenaline had turned to “oops, I screwed up.” Ughhhhh. But then, THEN, my shirt got caught on my bracelet on one move and my tummy was exposed. That threw me off again and I forgot the single double hops (just pretend you know what I’m talking about). But I didn’t give up. We still kept moving, we still kept dancing, I still stayed with the pace, and we picked up from where we were supposed to be. If you were watching the class you wouldn’t know anything wrong happened, but when you go to that class all the time, you know when the instructor screws up.

Here’s the difference between my flub this time and from the first time- confidence. I had it. I knew they would forgive me for it. So I screwed up. Laugh about it and move on. Crap, I screwed up again. They’re still smiling so am I. And how did I know they were smiling? I didn’t have to force myself to look at them this time. I wasn’t shy about it. These were my friends. They were here to have fun. As an instructor, that’s what they would be to me also.

When I finished I was getting high fives and smiles and congrats. It was great. But after the class is when the comments came. People were telling me they had more fun with me that time than the last two times because you could tell I had loosened up and just had fun with it.

So how does this all tie in together with the Robinsons? NO I’M NOT JUST BABBLING ABOUT RANDOM CRAP. Haters.

Keep moving foreward. Be willing to make mistakes and learn from them. Accept them like a piece of pie. Bake it, eat it, then work it off.

Now I know what it’s like to do a major mistake as an instructor and just keep going on with the class. Now I know that if I can keep positive, so will the class. Honestly, I have no fear about auditioning now. IF I screw up, I know I won’t run crying from the classroom or loose all the info I had pounded into my head. It would be ok. I know I need to find a Hustle that I really feel comfortable auditioning with and make it like my new child. But I feel like I just climbed over a horizontal ledge in climbing the life mountain (apparently that’s a really hard edge.)

AND NOW!!!!! FOR THE PICTURE MONTAGE!!!!!!

Danyelle and I. She is a fellow instructor. I really got to know her at my instructor training. She had to move a little further from our regular gym so I don’t get to see her much but when we do get to catch up it’s like we just saw eacho ther the day before.

Becca!!!! Yes, another instructor. When you first see her she looks like a school teacher/mom/quiet bystander. But when you put her on the dance floor she’s like the queen of the dance crew. She’s amaaaaazing! I’ve really enjoyed Hustle with her.

Elisabeth is pretty much my connection to everything Hustle. I met her in my first class and she and I talked for at least an hour afterwards. We really quickly became great friends. Then she introduced me to everyone else and I became part of the family. There’s no way you can’t smile around her.

AJ!!!! My partner in crime. He laughs about life just as much as I do. He’s the king of the one liners. And he’s insanely smart to be one of the only guys in a class full of girls. I swear he’s never going to get past the age of 25. You can’t be normal around him. He brings out the goofy in everyone.

Delia is my sister. Not biological but blood really doesn’t mean a lot when it comes to who your family is. When I feel down about my dancing, she’s the first to tell me I need to grow up and accept that I’m doing what I love. It’s tough love but in a very “I love you enough to not ever let you give up” way. She’s also one of the best dancers I’ve ever seen. She would fit better with a dance crew than a dance class. I may have to cry for days after saying goodbye to her.

And last but not least

THE CREW! (minus a few) The hottie in the middle with the black shirt over a pink shirt is our instructor Amanda. We don’t talk very often, outside of class, but she’s definitely a leader to me. She finds confidence in people that they never knew they had. We may look like a regular groupX class but we’re a family. We know each others kids. We know each others battles. They are a never ending fill of self importance. You can’t be down around them.

When I’m an instructor, I’m going to have a class like this. They’re going to be so excited to see each other each week that they miss the beginning of class to catch up. They’re going to show up on busy days just because it’s something they look forward to every day. They’re going to be excited all class to tell me they lost a few pounds at the end. It will be important to them that I meet their friends so and so. I will take a person who thought they were just coming to a dance class and turn her into a front row diva. And someday someone will come up to me and say thank you for helping me get my life back. Why? Because that’s what God put me here for. He will let people know my struggle so that they know they have someone to turn to. That’s my light. Yesterday just proved it to me.

Thank you Sunday Hustle! I will never forget any of you. Even in Oregon, my heart will be in a groupX room in Keller, TX every Sunday. I love you all! God bless you on your future adventures. AND KEEP DANCING!

Dealing with plantar fasciitis

ITS BAAAAAAAAAAAACK. My plantar fasciitis went away for a while after that lady at the salon showed me a trick with it. But I didn’t keep up with the massage exercise she told me to do and I was working out without icing it so now it’s back… with a vengeance.

What is it?

There’s a muscle that connects the heel of your foot to the front pad of your foot. When it gets over inflamed it hurts like absolute hell. Your heel will feel like one huge bruise, while it’s inflamed or once it’s settled after a workout it will do these painful spasms like someone is shocking it, and when you wake up you’ll have so much pain in it on the initial step that you’ll learn to put stuff in your room to lean on so you can tip toe through your house until the pain starts to go away.

When is it the worst?

You would think during a workout, but not really. The more you work the muscle, the more it loosens up, and the pain starts to go away. When you rest it is when it gets all cranky and hurts. That’s why it hurts so much when you first wake up. And if you have to stand for a while without really walking a lot it will do these painful spasm things because it’s tight and full of blood (from circulation, no you’re not hemorrhaging).

Here’s the good part.

How do you make it not hurt?

• The sucky part of this is that you actually should see a doctor for this. Plantar fasciitis can cause heel spurs. That’s where calcium builds up in the middle bottom of your heel to make a new pad so your foot can heel. But if you’re not helping this calcium pad, it can make the situation worse. So your doctor needs to know if you have a heel spur which requires xrays. If you have one, plan on getting a cortisone shot. They tend to give them out like candy because they would rather give you an anti inflammatory than a pain killer. I’m so anti-meds my doctor had to continuously push me towards the shot. AND THEN MY BODY REJECTED IT. Yah. Sucks to be me.
• The anti inflammatory will be your best friend. The pain from this comes from the muscle being swollen. This will loosen it up AND will help it heal faster.
• Ice (roll your foot over a frozen water bottle) after standing for more than 30-40 minutes. Especially if you’ve been running and jumping in a workout.
• Wear a heel brace when you sleep. This keeps the muscle completely flexed. It will really help with healing AND will keep you from feeling the stabbing pain of death when you try to walk on your foot after you wake up. It’s great for married women too. Extremely sexy. Just kidding. Tell your wife you love her anyways.
• Cut back on the workouts for a little while.  Try doing things where you don’t have to run and jump and can put most of your weight on the front of your foot (so no free weights). This needs time to heel or you’re going to have the issue of it being a constant problem like I have it.
• KT tape or sports tape. They have videos online for how to put the KT tape (kttape.com) on but I have yet to find a good way to wrap it with sports tape so if I have to use it, I do it the same way I would with the kt tape. And don’t listen to them when they say it will stay on for days. So if money is an issue with you, use the sports tape.
• Heel stretches- Watch this doctor. He’s smart.
• Pick up things with your toes. Like marbles. Think of it as a party trick. Moving your foot around like this is an easy way to stretch out the muscle while watching tv or doing homework or reading my blogs.
• Shoes- Get a heel insert and put an arch and heel support in over it. Wear high heels when you can. I don’t do this. Me and gravity have issues with each other. BUT its a good excuse for you to get a new pair of shoes. Toss out the sandals for a while. Flip flops don’t give you enough support or padding. Yah, made me want to cry too.
• AND THE MOST IMPORTANT- Do this at least once a day. Enjoy the guys accent. You’re welcome. This is what got mine to go away for a few weeks. It’s not fully the same as what the lady at the salon did to my foot but it’s the closest I can find to it.

There you go. There’s my rules for plantar fasciitis. But I have one thing to add. You’re injured, act like it. If you need to take time off work, time away from the gym, time away from your friends, whatever you need to do, do it. This is your body. It is the greatest gift ever given to you. Take care of it. If you don’t take care of these things right away they get worse and you increase your chances of it being a continuous issue with your body. Pain when walking isn’t something you should just have to get used to.

Yes, you have an eating disorder

When you think of eating disorder, do you think thin?

People who go without food or eat then throw up are put into this horrific category of having an eating disorder. Wouldn’t you think the opposite would be true also?

“But we don’t have a disorder… we just have an addiction.”

WRONG!

If you binge (compulsive overeating) how is that any better than anorexia? You’re still killing your organs with potential permanent damage.

If you binge purge (eat until you throw up) how is that any better than bulemia? Throat destruction, organ damage, even higher on the mental damage.

I pulled that from here.

Just like bulemia and anorexia, this is a mental disorder. That doesn’t mean you’re crazy. It means your brain triggers are set to food. Their’s is set to skinny. An alcoholics is set to alcohol. Drug addicts go for the high. We all have one thing in common- ease the pain.

It doesn’t matter what the pain is, we think we can fix it by actually harming our body.

That thought is what helps me with my eating disorder. I finally realized the extra pain was making things worse.

Before I go on, I would like to note that now that we realize this, our first order of business is mentally apologize to any people with disorders that we’ve looked down on.

And on the same note, if you share this with someone and they treat it like it’s nothing, remind them this can kill you if you don’t start to fix it. High cholesterol, depression, organ failure, heart failure, diabetes, and sleep apnea aren’t things to just blow off.

Let me take you back to over a year ago.

I have Wednesday night and Thurs night off of work. To let my husband sleep in I take the kids to school Weds, Thurs, Friday.

Wednesday morning I figure I’m up, I have the whole day, I should enjoy some breakfast. I get a breakfast burrito from OC Burger (its a two person burrito), head home with it. When I finish it, I go to bed for a few hours. Wake up, have cereal. Find a few snacks. Get the kids from school. Sit down and play WoW. Eat while playing. Take the kids out for our “date night”. Go to Ted-E’s and get their burger combo (double patty huge burger, fries, large soda) and a family size fire bites (deep fried jalapenos, chips, and queso). Play WoW till my husband says its time to go to bed.

Thurs. get the kids to school, come home and eat and play WoW, wait for Josh to leave for work, head to McDonalds or some place with a dollar menu, spend 10-20$ on the dollar menu, eat the food until I throw up, wait a while, eat the rest of the food before I pick the kids up from school. Go to my room and cry. Take a nap. Take the kids out for dinner.

Friday, same thing as Thurs except we go to the grocery store for groceries we never use because we always eat fast food, have a donut while shopping, grab a candy bar on the way out.

In that whole thing do you ever see me write “feel better about myself”? No! Why? Because what I was doing made me feel like crap. I felt like a freak. It was embarrassing to have no control over my food because for some reason my brain always rationalized it for me. I could literally feel the problems with my body. Everything took more effort than it should have, I was having daily headaches and migraines, I was always angry, I had frequent chest pains. Life just sucked.

I sound pretty gross too right? Like I should be all greasy and rolly and horrible, using a scooter at the grocery store because I’m lazy…?

Ask my family what I looked like. I looked like everyone else… I didn’t even look like I weighed the 305 lbs that I did. I didn’t look sad. I didn’t look like someone who had no control over her health. It was hard to, but I kept up with the work around me.

I decided to go to OA (overeaters anonymous). I ended up going to the worst run OA ever. You know what I found? A group of women sitting around a table rationalizing their own eating habits and acting like a victim. It wasn’t their fault they were overeaters. It wasn’t their fault they pulled food from the trash (most compulsive eaters have been known to do it), it wasn’t their fault they had to hide it. They were victims.

You know what “victims” don’t do? They don’t fix things. They let everyone else try to fix it for them.

You know what a victim is in the middle of trying to fix it? A “warrior”

You know what a victim is called when they fix things? A “survivor”.

I’m really not trying to make anyone feel like crap here. I’m putting this out here because I want to help you fix it. I can’t do it for you but I can at least walk with you.

I’m a warrior. I haven’t fully fixed it but believe me I’m showing the gym I’m the Chuck Norris of fixing my own body. I’m letting McDonalds know I can get full off of bananas and they can put their dollar menu up their — and light it on fire. Do I have a set back every now and then? Yup. A lot recently to be honest (injuries have really gotten to my head and a lot is going on in our lives right now  I’ve gone back to excuses temporarily). Remember, this is mental. I’m basically fighting myself. But I can do this. And so can you. You can teach yourself how to rethink.

You can start by reminding yourself that hurting yourself is not going to make anything better. It’s not going to fix your financial or health crisis. It’s not going to make someone love you or notice you. It’s not going to make your job better. Life happens. Why not let health happen to? I promise you that you will be so much happier with a clean diet than a binge diet. I promise you will enjoy the high of getting your heart rate up past 140 and staying there for at least 40 minutes. You will enjoy people walking up to you and saying you look amazing.

You will enjoy owning your own body again.

Admit that you’re a binger. It’s ok. You’re not a freak. And now you know you at least have one person on your team. I bet if you admit the problem to your family and friends, they will do their best to help you also.

Noise is optional- Hushing the weights area

Here goes my second time of writing this. Bad wordpress! You said you saved my draft and didn’t 😦

Anyways, TO THE BLOGCAVE, ROBIN!

Raise your hand if you’re part of a gym. No, I take that back. Put your hand down and just imitate a noise you hear from the weights area.

Those of us who are lucky enough to be part of a gym have a certain noise we associate with the weights area.

Examples: Ughhhhhh, Mmmmmmffffmmmmm, Oooooooohhgrrrrrrrrrr, Ffffffuuuuuuuuuggg uh uh uh, Kahh!

No matter how you do it, they all sound wrong. And it’s mostly from the guys. Don’t get me wrong, I hear it from the girls too. But I blame it on their raised testosterone levels so we’ll just say its the guys.

Doing a crossfit section and your brain trying to escape out of your nose is one thing, but other than that, they really don’t have an excuse.

Every time I go to the weights area- cable weights or free weights- I’m like a kitten following a laser light… the noises come from every direction and I don’t know who to roll my eyes at first.

Admit it guys, you think the louder you are, the more people think you’re lifting. It’s like a war cry or something. Didn’t know the gym was such a scary place that we needed one.

True story, lifting weights is like farting: Only make a noise if you absolutely have to.

Honestly, I think the weights area is just a special breed on their own.

I’ve even given them names.

• The bench warmer- the guy who thinks the bench you need to be using isn’t warm enough yet. Neither do his buddies. He’s going to sit on it till it’s nice and toasty and possibly on fire for you. And as soon as he gets up, one of his buddies will sit and pick up a weight once and stay in that same spot till it’s the next guys shift. Is there an egg under there?  Is that where baby weight lifters come from?
• The skitzo guard dog- he won’t stop glaring at himself in the mirror. Should we tell him it’s not a real person in there, that it’s just his reflection? Or should we tell him he’s a good doggie for protecting us from the mean evil mirror monster and give him some beggin strips? ITS BACON!!!!!!
• 911 on speed dial- you’ve watched him for the last 15 minutes. Not because he’s cute. Just because he has no clue what he’s doing but he’s trying to show off anyways. You have your cell phone in your hand with 911 already dialed in. You just have to press the green button on it as soon as he gives signal that he can’t actually get the bar back off his neck.
• The public pervert- it sounds more like he’s having sex than lifting weights. Unnghhh mmmfffff unnggghhhh gahhhhh *weight is finally in air* ungh ungh ungh *drop weight, put hands on hips and pant heavily* *fist pump*… Did he just… Already?… That was fast.
• The green mushroom- just like the green mushroom in Mario, he’s 1up’in everyone. He stalks the weaker gazelle in weights area, waits patiently for them to get off a cable weight, makes it obvious he’s gone one weight heavier, and then immediately gives the “like a boss” face He then proceeds to do 20 reps instead of 10-12 and lets the weights slam together so everyone can hear the clink. Obviously he HAS to give another “boss” face, puffs up his chest, and saunters back to the mens locker room… possibly to cry because he may have just torn something.
• The lava lifter- forget the floor, THE WEIGHTS ARE LAVAAAAA! This badass just lifted the “lava weight”. Now he has to throw it down because it burrrrrns. If it doesn’t hit the floor hard enough to get noticed, it didn’t burn enough. Don’t worry, the next “lava weight” will be hotter.
• The bachelor- you jinxed yourself by letting him see you look in his general direction. Now he’s gotta lift those weights while he gives you that smoldering come hither look. He doesn’t care if you’re not his type or if he’s not your type. He doesn’t care if you’re married. He doesn’t care if you’re twice his age. He probably doesn’t even care if you’re a not a woman. Barry White is already playing in his head and he’s liftin weights for YOU, BABY!

Got more weight area names? Share them! I’ll add them to the list.

Running is love/ tips for running a 5k

I talked a little about 5ks and how much I love them yesterday but I didn’t fully get into why I love them.

First off, I only do 5ks with a charity or good cause behind them. Actually, I shouldn’t say that, my second one was for the 4th of July. But the company that ran it was really big on donating to local gyms to help build them without charging the customers more for their monthly dues.

Second, it’s more of an achievement rather than “oh, I ran 3.1 miles.” There’s a reason there’s a .1 in there. It’s not just to make it an even 5k. It’s so you can say “Uhhh no, scuse me, it wasn’t just 3 miles, it was 3.1. GET IT RIGHT!” It’s something to be proud of. We keep the tshirts they give us at the event to show it off. It’s ok to feel amazing for running that much when that’s not a daily thing for you or even when it IS a daily thing for you. Most people don’t run that much.

Third, it’s a pure adrenaline rush. There’s no way you can be surrounded by that many people all pumped up and jumping around ready to run without feeding off that energy. It gives you that extra push before and during the run. It makes you become friends with random strangers. I don’t know how many sweaty backs of people I’ve patted as I ran by them saying “You’re doing an awesome job. Don’t give up.” It’s that feeling of seeing the finish line right in front of you and the person next to you and giving them that nod of “lets finish this together!”  You’re now involved in a group. You all have this run in common now. It’s like a free puppy. Take it, keep it, they love you because you ran together. And you rarely have to feed them afterwards.

Fourth, it’s a great way to do something fun and full of exercise with your friends. We all get together over food wayyyy too much. Want to go out? Sure, dinner and a movie. Lets go buy some clothes and we can get lunch afterwards. I’m having a bad day, lets get some pizza and talk about it. We’re social eaters. The more depressed we get, the more we eat in groups. How about fighting that depression with friends and exercise? How about running and then shopping for non-sweaty clothes afterwards? And if you do go out for lunch, it’s ok, BECAUSE YOU ALREADY BURNED IT OFF!

And lastly (awesome word), it’s a new experience for you. I already said its an achievement, but now you have a story to share. It’s something to talk to your friends about at work to get them motivated to move. It’s even a reason to get the day off work. How awesome are reasons to not go to work? VERY. And you come back and everyone goes “hey, how was your run?” and you get to feel amazazing. This is a very fun part of a very fun chapter in your uber awesome all about you book.

My favorite was the Firefly run. They donate to the Children’s Hospital which in turn donates to March of Dimes. I have twin boys that were born early. Even though they were born healthy, they developed a really nasty staph infection that could have killed them. Because of the march of dimes, we had the technology to not only coach me through my pregnancy with twins that I was warned would come early, but to tend to their health issues after in a way that premies could handle. Because I’m a mom of twins, I also know the horror stories that could have ended bad, but didn’t because of the March of Dimes. I will continue to run in their honor. And it’s fun to run that one because it’s at night, we all wear glow sticks, people wear costumes, and it’s fun just to go watch.

Another one I loved was my most recent. I ran the zoo run with my kids and a few of their friends from their school. While only a very small portion of it was actually through the zoo, it was still fun to run past the animals. And the greatest part was that my kids ran without me. Yes you read that right. They both ran at their own pace, knew where to meet me at the end, and no one felt like someone held them back or that they held someone back. It was a great feeling to meet up with them at the end and hear their out of breath voices non-stop talking about how many people they passed. I will regularly sign my kids up for runs with me from now on.

So how do you find these runs?

• Luke’s Locker (U.S. residents) is the best way that I know of. Most organized runs will post there at least 3 months in advance. Just click events in the upper right corner and put in your location.
• Join a run club. You can google this in your area and it should come up with some groups. You will meet with them weekly to run and they’re constantly given advertisements on local 5ks.
• Call your favorite charity and ask if they have events planned in your area that year.
• Go to a running shoe store. They should have fliers up. And on weekends they’ll have tables with local runs trying to get people to sign up and explain their charity.
• Show up at a park on the weekend and start your own.

Some quick advice

• Most 5k sign ups are closed 3 days before the event. Especially if it’s a big charity. They do this because most likely they will have shirt orders, they need to print up your number, they can only have a certain amount of runners, they need to know how many volunteers they need to sign up, they’re going to try to offer water and/or granola bars at the end so people don’t pass out, and they have to let the police department know about how many people will be attending. I’ve only seen a few that have same day registration.
• Bring your own water and it doesn’t have to be fancy. The most important part is that you stay hydrated. Just because there’s a water post in the middle of the run doesn’t mean you can get through the crowd to get some or that you’re even going to see it. Bring a water bottle. If you’re that worried about electrolytes, keep a gatorade in your car or something, but try to keep the water bottle as thin as you can. That way it’s easier to grip. The fatter the bottle (most gatorade or powerade bottles are fat) the more likely you are to drink it just to get rid of it. Then you sweat more at the beginning of the run and don’t have anything for after.
• Let the fanny pack come out of the closet. The less you have in your hands the better. You will need chapstick, your car keys, and an emergency number in there. I would advise putting your license in it as well. You may need it for getting your packet before the race and just in case you’re hurt, they know who you are. I have one that’s a little longer and very elasticky for the bag so it sits next to my hip and you really can’t see it.
• If you are bringing a phone or ipod or something with music on it and earphones, run the cord under your shirt. The way I do it is plug my earbuds into my phone, let my phone slide under my shirt and catch it at the bottom, and tuck my phone into my fannypack (most running pants don’t have pockets). If I don’t have my fannypack or pockets I run the cord under my collar and through the sleeve of the hand I’m going to hold the phone in. Earbud chords are ANNOYING when you’re running. They get tangled up and they’re just not good news. Not to mention someone else can get hit or tangled in your cords also.
• Don’t be the jerk who throws your water cup way far away from the water stations. The people who work these runs are volunteers. They don’t get paid to be your overworked mom. Try to get it as close to the garbage boxes as you can. And the people handing out the water are volunteers also. Say thank you. In fact, say thank you to all of the volunteers. They didn’t have to be there that day. Without them, you wouldn’t have a run.
• Don’t buy running shoes the day before. It would be better for you to run in your dance shoes or skate shoes or even your work shoes (not heels) than to run in a new pair of shoes. By the first mile, your feet will hate you.
• See if there is a website to keep up with when they post chip times or pictures of the event. Most runs will have a facebook page now. Or you can keep up with it on their main website where you signed up.
• If you are running with your kids, give them firm details on where to meet up if you get separated. Chances are you WILL get separated. If they’re not old enough to understand, they should be in a stroller. It’s easier to see a stroller than a young child when you’re running and wanting to pass out. Another choice is to go to the back of the crowd before the race and stay to the far right during the race. But even if you think you have a tight grip on your kid, you could still get separated, so make a meeting point. A road sign, an advertisement tent, somewhere they won’t get run over. Point out the places they can find an officer, even introduce them to a staff member that you know will be there during the run. If you can walk the course before the run, do it. That way they know where to go.
• Watch out for little kids.
• Walk if you need to. No one is there to judge you. There will always be a person who comes over the line last. Unless you’re over 80, in a wheelchair, in a costume, or dead, that last place person probably won’t be you. And even if it was you, who cares? There are people at the event not even running so you already know you beat them.
• Don’t assume you’re going to get your best time just because you’ve been practicing. Not all 5ks are sent out in heats (groups that go in order of a projected finish time). And even if you do get sent out in heats, you never know if you will get stuck in a clump. Walkers who walk in the middle or walk in groups slow EVERYONE down and you never know when they’re going to start walking. It’s also like watching pack animals. You never know when someone is going to jump to the right or left. It could be right in front of you. There’s too many things out there that may slow you down. Get over it, there’s nothing you can do about it. But you can do something for others: If you’re going to walk, move to the outside of the pack, either far left or far right, mostly to the right.
• Dress according to the weather plus or minus 10 degrees. You’re exercising, duh. It gets hot inside your body. You’ll get sweaty. If it’s warm outside you’re going to be hotter than you’d thought you would get. If it’s cold outside, your sweat will be like ice. In the event of cold weather, wear long sleeves, long windproof pants, socks to your knees, gloves, and a jacket that you can take off if you start to get warm. But on your face, be prepared to keep it warm. Sweat can ruin any run if it gets cold.
• Smile for the camera. People look really funny when they look like they’re about to die. Try your best at a smile. The cameras that post the best pictures are big and very easy to see.
• Double knot your laces. It’s a tripping hazard and you will be annoyed by people who constantly repeat that you need to tie your laces. I’ve even tripped on other peoples laces. For my safety, tie your laces twice. PLEASE.
• Don’t bring your dog if it says no animals or if your dog is not trained to run in groups. If your dog sniffs everyone, he will trip someone up. And people who run aren’t always the nicest if you trip them. It kind of hurts them. So don’t be the jerk who brought his dog and put the run on the news as the biggest 5k pile up ever where 34 people, 2 strollers, 5 squirrels, and one dog was hurt in the process. You may end up getting fed to rabid squirrels.
• Have fun. Have lots of fun. Don’t forget how awesome you are.

5 Things I wish I had done/known before losing a ton of weight.

1. TAKE PICTURES!! Take lots of them. Im not saying you have to take one butt ass naked. I’m just saying take them. Full body, not just the face.

Why do I say this? I stopped taking pictures or letting people take pictures of me for a few years. I hated them. So the only real pictures I have of me aren’t even at my heaviest. I wish I would have had more recent ones because it would be a better picture of how much I’ve changed. I would love more than anything to see something like that on my low days to remind myself how much I’ve changed. And it would also be cool to show people so I could see the look of shock on their face. Take pictures and take them probably every 5-10 lbs you lose. Also, make sure you get random pics of you exercising, 5ks, play time with the kids, eating healthy: anything that will encourage you to keep going and be proud of yourself.

2. You WILL PROBABLY lose friends. Especially if you’re losing a drastic amount of weight. But it will be ok. I promise.

You know that phrase “Misery loves company.” Guess what. It holds true to some of your friends. It makes me really sad to say that. But I say it because it sucks and I know it sucks because it’s happening to me… a lot. People were so used to being “better” than me. A few of them let that feeling run our friendship, almost building the whole friend thing around it. The first 20 lbs I lost, they cheered me on. Second 20 lbs I got a thumbs up. After 60 lbs they started telling me I was doing things wrong or that I needed to slow down (there’s nothing wrong with 10 lbs a month), by 80 lbs they were pretty much talking behind my back on a daily basis. Take into account this was only three friends from work and one friend outside of work. The sad part was 1 of them was someone I had considered a brother. It still hurts and it’s been months since we stopped talking.

You will also lose a few friends due to just living different. If your focus on hanging out used to be drinking and pizza and now you want a healthy option, it will affect you friendships. If you used to hang out to play games and now you want to go for walks, it will affect friendships. If you make friends who are in the fitness routine you are, chances are your friends may not accept them like you do or you will have less time with old friends. It just happens.

But the awesome thing about this is you will get more friends. I’ve probably gained 3 friends for every friend I’ve lost. And they’re healthy friendships. Plus I also know, out of the old friends, who my true friends really are. A real friend sticks by you, no matter how you change.

3. People who go organic are not uptight losers who need a life and a better way to waste their money.

Yah, came as a shock to me too. But as I got into eating better, I started looking into foods and why we really eat. Turns out, that daily vitamin is more important than we think. Aaaaaaand it turns out those preservatives are killing us just like our doctor keeps telling us. What does eating organic have to do with that? Organic fruits and veggies double to triple the amount of vitamins and minerals that you would get from regular fertilized fruit. They’re grown on healthier soil which supplies them with more minerals and nutrients to pull out of that soil. So what happens when you get the organic version in your mouth? You eat less! Really, you do. If you go organic and eat when your body says you’re hungry and not just eat to eat, I promise you will eat less. Because you’re getting the amount of that certain vitamin and mineral that you need, not just the bare minimum. Your brain will talk less about food and more about being happy. Your body will get sick less often which means less exercise skipped. The amount of calories you take in (because you’re eating less) will amaze you. I’m sorry, organic freaks, I love you now.

4. Give a new exercise at least 4 attempts.

I gave up on running the first time. I really did. And to be honest, I still hate it. But you know what IS awesome about running… 5ks. They’re the best. I LOVE them. The adrenaline rush, the exercise, the people, I love it all. But if I would have just given up on running, I wouldn’t have found that out.

I almost walked out on the hip hop class that I look forward to every week. It was hard. I felt behind. But I promised to give it another chance, and the second week I loved it.

We have tons of women that walk out on Hustle because its very fast paced. I feel bad for them.  They didn’t give it a chance. And in the end, they really didn’t give themselves a chance.

All I’m saying is you can’t judge something just because you didn’t like it the first time. Maybe it’s something you need to work your way into. If you don’t like it by the 4th try, let it go…. unless it’s Hustle. If you don’t like Hustle, you’re just crazy.

5. Just because it happened to someone else doesn’t mean it will happen to you.

Here I am giving you a blog based on what I’ve learned through weight loss and telling you not to listen to me. It’s unprofessional. I get it. Good thing this isn’t a professional blog.

I heard for a long time that my boobs would be the first thing to go. While they have gotten smaller, they’re not gone. In fact they’re better than ever. They’re more defined now. I don’t have a bunch of chest fat hiding my cup size. I started as a 42C (barely C). It’s pretty scary when you already feel small and everyone tells you that you’re going to lose what you do have. Now after losing 103lbs I’m a 36C (definite C). It’s my band size that went down, not cup size. And that’s awesome!

Enough about my boobs, lets talk about skin. I worry about my extra skin. Especially since your skin can take up to a year to reform itself to keep up with your weight loss. Everyone told me I’m young, I have porcelain skin (didn’t sun a ton in my teens) and I’m healthier so even though I was overweight most of my life, my skin should shrink. Why did they say that? Because that’s considered the normal. Is my skin tightening up? Yep… except in my arms and upper thighs. That’s just how it is.

Now lets talk about exercise. I was told I would lose more weight doing kickboxing than dance. Here’s the point I really wanted to get to. That’s not true for me. Why? Because I hate kickboxing and I love dance. If I’m not in it, like IN IT in it, how much effort do you think I’m going to put in it?  Not a ton. So where am I losing the most weight and actually putting my all into class? Dancing. Think about it.

I limited this blog to 5 because there are a ton of things I wish I could go back and redo or change in my head. I’m going to share more with you over time. But I’m leaving the list short this time so you’ll actually take the time to read them. Disagree with any of it? Leave me a comment and then I’ll meet you outside for a little fist love. ;p

Photoshop is cheating, yo!

14 year olds are a lot smarter than we think. They’re also ready to take the world and rub its insanity in its own face. Julia Bluhm is a teen who set up a protest outside of Seventeen Magazine today. No, she didn’t want her money back. She wanted the magazine to be one of the first teen magazines to stop airbrushing and photoshopping their article models. Article is here… Petition is here…

Admit up to it, how many times have you opened a yahoo article named “Blah blah blah overrated actress seen without makeup. Oh noes!!!” You know you’ve done it. I’ve done it and I’m a tomboy. Why are we so interested in this stuff? Because we want to know they’re just as imperfected as we are. I’m completely ok with this. I know that sounds wrong, but I am. It makes me feel good to know they had to be photoshopped and slathered in makeup to look that good. And some of them don’t even look good. That lady on the Trinity whatever channel is… not ugly… I’m not going to go there… Interesting? Is that that right word? I’d bake someone a cake if they showed me a picture of what she really looked like. It’s natural curiosity on that one though.

Part of it is because I hate putting on makeup. I do. I like how it makes me look, I hate applying it and keeping up with it. I’m not a make up hater. No worries. I think it serves it’s purpose. But just like food, MODERATION PEOPLE!

Most of the women reading this, who just said “Hell yah!” to the moderation bit, probably grew up just as insecure as I did. I had a flawless sister, a GQ brother, and I was a duck. If I didn’t put on the makeup, no one knew how little it would actually help. That’s at least how I felt at the time. Now, looking back at my childhood pictures, I’m realizing I wasn’t that bad looking of a kid. The poof bangs and the floral bibbed dresses were a bad choice, but there was nothing wrong with my face. And I was of course overweight, but not as bad as I remembered it.

So all grown up now, realizing my insecurities were unjustified, why would I be ok with media shoving unattainable perfection down my throat? Because I’m at a point in my life where looks are what they are. I know photoshop is fake. I know celebrities don’t really look like that and have to pay someone to make them look good. I know plastic surgery can turn a woman into a man and probably a penguin into a horse. I’ve grown up. I’ve gotten wise. I’m cocky for no reason now.

I still grew up insecure. And that’s what our youth is facing at a higher level than we ever did. Photoshop was not big when I was growing up. I don’t even know when it was made. Kelly Kapowski was a hottie just because she wore makeup and had long hair. That’s all it took back then. Now they have photoshop, parents paying for plastic surgeries for their kids, perfect cup bras advertised more for the youth, and it’s shoved down their throat constantly. It’s all over twitter, facebook, Degrassi, tumblr, and I’m pretty sure there’s a phone app for “Here, let me give you a quote to make you feel ugly. Do you have an eating or mental disorder yet? You don’t fit in unless your body is perfect and you have a disorder.”

And who’s in charge of all of that? US ADULTS! We make the websites, the magazines, and invented the disorders. So why are we not stopping it? And why are we even ok with it at our level of media?

Media is a bitch. I know my sister is going to read this and say “Boo, stop cussing.” It’s still a bitch. It barks and barks and barks until it makes you crazy, eats up your belongings, sleeps with your neighbors dog leaving you with puppies to take care of, and then pees all over your living room. It’s purpose is not to inform anymore, it’s to conform. It’s turning us into mindless idiots who work a billion hours a week to spend our money on trying to be perfect for people who are so busy trying to be perfect themselves that they don’t care about you. The rich are getting richer off of our moronic tendencies and loving it.

Our youth has done something wonderful. They’ve gotten a voice. They’re telling us they feel heavy and hurt. They’ve started petitions. They’ve started support groups. THEY’RE getting the message out that they don’t want to lead these fake lives. And they need our help. I say we help them. I say we get life back to natural. Let people start being who they want to be and not what a magazine told them to be. Let people who are who they are feel like part of the group again.

WHY ARE YOU STILL READING AND NOT SIGNING HER PETITION?

  Seriously, I’ll bake you cake if you show me what she really looks like.