CSD - Day 5

Don't have much time, but today had been good!

I got up a little earlier so that I would have more time to focus on positive thoughts this morning.  It felt good to focus on being positive and I visualized my day going well and me doing everything "right".

I got to be in my garden for 3 hours today and be in the sun, which was very relaxing and nice!

Then I got a big salad at the co op which was delicious!  I also found some good local fruits and veggies for the weekend and this next week. Yum!

As I go to bed, I feel good and happy.  I did yoga, meditated, had a relaxing day with no agenda and no expectations, I worked on being more positive, ate well, didn't eat very much tonight and am ready for bed!

We are at the coast this weekend visiting the in-laws with a beach, pirate, 6-year old birthday party on the agenda for tomorrow afternoon.  Before that though, I plan on being up early (even though it is the weekend) and then heading to yoga with my mother-in-law!  A real treat!  I love yoga classes and really enjoy being in a room of people doing the same thing as me with a real teacher.  Plus the room is very relaxing and "yoga-like"  I am also planning on having my morning green drink, but we will see how it goes because I am with out my Vita Mix.  Just a standard blender.  We'll see how it handles my romaine leaves and cucumber!

Good night, good health, and positive and happy thoughts!!

CSD - day 4

Day 3 got a little better.  I played volleyball for a bout an hour and half, and I was tired by the end and I ended up eating my dinner when I got home and ate well into the evening :(  I really need to get better at the not eating anything after 7 or 8 in the evening (three hours before bed).  This is the hardest part for me.  I am an emotional evening eater.  I can do well all day and then it hits about 7 or so and I just want to stand in the kitchen and snack.  I feel hungry and emotional hungry at the same time.  I zone out and just eat whatever tastes good, but sometimes nothing really hits the spot.

Now, day 4.  It was interesting.  It was filled with work and birthday celebrations, so I was busy and didn't have time to prepare all my food like I wanted, but I made due.  Then it came to the evening time and I ate. I also had some negative thoughts issues.  I started my period, which I have discovered delivers me at least one day of depression where all my thoughts are filled with why I fall short in all areas of my life.  I gave in for a while, but then I tried to turn it around.  It was hard, and I still had lots of bad thoughts, but I tried and it helped a bit.  I know that this habit will take a while to break because it is something that I have had all my 23 years of life to create it and prefect to a T.  I am so good at "knowing all the bad thinks that others are thinking about me": I'm fat, I'm stupid, I'm dumb, I look awful, I'm too quite, I don't work hard enough.....etc......All the things that I think I need to improve on in my life, I project into all these other peoples thoughts too and then it just reinforces my own thoughts....and the cycle continues.  When I'm in the middle of the downward spiral I really want to change it because I feel like a low life, but it sounds like so much work.  Then when I feel better, well I feel better and don't feel like there is anything to change.  Sigh, I have to pick up big girl pants and take steps to fix it.  It runs my life more that I think I would like to admit.  I thought about going to a councilor now for about five years, but I can never bring myself to do it because I know that it will be a lot of work, and really painful--lots of tears and heartache.  But, I know I'm going to need help to do it, and it will have to come eventually.

I went to bed less than satisfied, but I also reminded myself that I can start fresh in the morning and do better tomorrow.  Kris reminds people in the book to not just give up when something goes wrong, just get back up and try again.  I am such a perfectionist that this concept is sometimes hard for me to follow because I want to do it all right all the time, the first time.  Then I equated it trying to run 3 miles outright after not running for a period of time.  You can't just go out and do it.  You have to work up to it and keep trying.  I think I am doing pretty good for trying to make several changes at once and am feeling pretty good how I feel making those changes.

CSD - Day 3

Well after an interesting and hot night, I was up and at'em at 7:15 with my water, yoga and meditation.  All I wanted to do was curl up and go back to sleep, but I forged on.  Mediation was difficult this morning.  My mind was not having it.  I could focus on my breath for a few inhales and exhales, but then the planning would creep in....volleyball drills, what I'm having for dinner tonight, etc.  At one point I reminded myself that Kris mentioned that even though your mind may not cooperate, it's still important that you show up.  So I fought, I mean gently tired to reign my mind back in, for 15 minutes.  I am feeling very tired and foggy today.  I feel like I need to eat more because I am so tired, but nothing really sounds that great.  It was hard today to drink my green juice for breakfast.  It was rather large and tasted like celery and green.  Not that it was bad, just not really what I was wanting this morning.  I drank away at it as I got ready and finished almost all of it.  I had to pack a bigger cooler and a second water bottle today to fit all my goodies in.  The second water bottle was for my aloe water and the cooler was filled with snacks and lunch.  I was planning on going on a run after I finished up at work, but I don't know that I will have the energy to put one foot in front of the other.  I don't necessarily feel tied, but like my body needs to rest.  My head feels like it is swimming in a cloud.  Toady is hump day, I hope tomorrow is a little easier.  I also feel like my thoughts here are very fragmented, but it is hard to put into words how I feel.  It is kind of strange and almost alien.  I think I will head home and take a nap before heading to Albany to coach some VB.  They have conditioning today so I think that will be my workout for today.  I will give cycling a try again tomorrow.  If I have time tonight to give an update on how I am feeling, I will check back in.

One last note before I head out, I was looking around the CrazySexyLife website and found a smoothie recipe that sounds good: avocado, mint, cucumber, a bit of kale, and a sprinkle of stevia.  Sounds creamy and refreshing.  I think I will try that as my afternoon pick me up before I head to Albany.

Peace, love and health!

Crazy Sexy Diet - Day 2

Day 2 was a bit harder than day 1.  Day one I was at home cooking all day.  I got in all my meals, snacks, water and the like.  I even completed my hour long track repeat workout and felt strong.  Day 2 I felt a little drained and it was harder to live off just my smoothie until noon.  It could be from the detox, or it could have been that I ran between 8:30 and 9:30 at night, burned 700 calories, and then ate only a snack and went to bed, or possibly a little of both :)  Nonetheless, I woke up early,drank my lemon and cayenne water and did my yoga and mediation.  Yoga always feels good in the morning, and I felt like my mediation was pretty good too.  Only a few wandering thoughts here and there, but my body is still ready to be done after 15 minutes (or actually more like 10) as my back starts to cramp and my knees start to ache.  Then it was off to my garden on my bike where I water in the sun for about a half hour.  I brought along a homemade energy bar which I hungrly ate before heading over to my 45 minute cycling class.  I thought that I would need more, but I wanted to stick with the "green juice only until noon" recommendation.  The cycling teacher made up a workout that was too hard, but I also hit a wall about 20 minutes in and struggled to even try to keep up for the rest of the time, but I pushed through and finished!  The bike ride home was a slow and tired one, but my body was happy to get food once I got in the door.  I then decided I cannot do a noon work out running only on a green smoothie. I was pretty tired the rest of the day, but able to do what I need to.  However, I think I was starting to feel the effects of the detox: a little nauseated, weak muscles, foggy brain, and a headache.  I slept hard and was quite out of it when I woke up in the middle of the night.  My husband said he woke up to me being wide awake and staring, which I don't remember. He kept asking me if I was alright, and I remember thinking "why does he keep asking me that?  Am I acting weird?"  I don't remember what I was doing, but he said it was weird.  Detox? Exhaustion? not sure?

Crazy Sexy Diet - Day 1

So I finally got my books last week and I started up the Crazy Sexy Diet today!  I have to get to bed soon so I can make sure that I get my 8 hours of beauty rest, but here is a quick run down of my day....

I had a glass of water with lemon juice and a dash of cayenne to start my day.  I then followed that up with a 20 minute yoga session and 15 minute meditation session complete with prayer, affirmations and blessings.  Following that was a cup of green jasmine tea and I sipped on a liter of water with 2 oz of aloe vera juice until noonish.  I had my first green juice/smoothie (I don't have a juicer, just a vita mix) this morning and it wasn't bad!

Lunch was tofu "egg" salad on GF bread (salad was good, bread was interesting) and veggies.  My snack was an orange karma juice from Jamba Juice and some GF edimame crackers.

Dinner was steamed veggies with quinoa and a thi "peanut" sauce, which was delicious!

I even got a good run workout in following the "run less, run faster" plan and felt good.

I did a lot a food prep today and feel good about being prepared for a busy week!

The netti pot is going well and is really helping me breath better, especially during my workouts!

I was continuous of my thoughts today reminding myself to be positive and take time to live in the moment.

More on my experiences tomorrow!

Good night and good health!

Alright, lets do this!

Okay, so maybe updating my blog every day is not possible...I'm a little too busy to get that in with everything else.  That said there is some things I wanted to finish up about last week.....

Last Saturday I started off playing some sand VB with a guy that played a city league game with my team in the winter.  Because of the less than ideal weather (it wasn't raining, but cloudy and threatening to), we were the only two at the courts.  We peppered for a while, then took turns hitting.  We just chatted about life and got to know each other a bit and it was nice to make another connection and to get some sand practice in before taking on a game!  I think I may have even had a breakthrough on my hitting!  I figured out how to push off the sand and actually jump up, rather than out.  His wife and two kids were there for a while and they were really nice.  I think I would like to get to know them :)  Then I headed to the farmers market to get some starts from my garden!!!!  Latter that day, we headed over to my mom's so she could help me plan out where to plant everything.  Then we finished getting the other plants and seeds I needed and headed out to plant.  We were out until dark but it was really fun and I am so excited to grow my own produce!  It is going to taste sooooo good!

Sunday, we went to see "Forks Over Knives" with my mom which was interesting.  I already knew most of the information, but it was still fun to watch.  I think every person should watch that movie!  It is also nice to have reminders about why I choose to live the way I do when sometimes I feel like it would just be easier to go along with the norm.  Then my mom and I headed back to my garden to put up some shade bags for my plants so they didn't get sunburned.  Below are some pics before the bags were put up. (My garden looks the best by the way!)

Corn, cantaloupe, watermelon, lettuce, carrots, beans, basil, peppers, tomatoes, kale, rainbow chard, eggplant, pumpkin, cucumber, butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower, ground cherry (a new thing I have never tried) and some pretty flowers!

 

Me and my mama!

Then, this week my biggest accomplishment is that I worked out hard and ate really well and I am feeling great!  I went to two cycling classes that kicked my but and went on a long ride today that felt easy even though my legs felt tired!  I have also gotten two good run workouts in and plan on doing a long, slow run this weekend.  Again, though my legs felt tired, I felt like I was running strong! I am really starting to enjoy my workouts becasue they don't feel like they take as much work to work hard....if that even makes any sense.  I also got in four days of strength training after my cardio and they are kicking my butt too!  I can't wait until all this starts feeling easier so I can remember where I came from :)  I also got in a few morning yoga sessions which really helped with my sore, stiff muscles.  My eating has been good.  Lots of veggies, less snacks and not a lot of late night munching!  I have even dropped a few pounds this week and I want to keep it going :)

I have continued with the Netti Pot and am starting to get the hang of it.  Not only that, but it is really helping!  I can breath fully through my nose which is really helping me at night, but when I really notice it is when I am working out and I can breath fully through my nose.  I don't feel like I breath as hard and I can push myself harder.

Speaking of the Netti Pot, that brings me to my books!  They were supposed to be here on Tuesday, and they were, I just couldn't get them.  They were supposed to be dropped off a the office, but the office was closed, so then they got lost for a couple days, and now I think they are really in the office, but I can't them until Monday when someone is in the office...BUT I'm still excited.  I just wish I had them to read over this weekend.  I am really excited to start my Crazy, Sexy Diet and read about running and cycling and for summer and my garden and volleyball, and, and, and :)  I am having a good summer so far and it's only been two weeks!  Yay!

Good night and good health!

Week re-cap

So, I have been busy and it's been late by the time I have time to write, so I haven't had time to catch up, and well tonight isn't that much different, but I want to at least write a little bit.

First off, I have used my Netti Pot a few times, and I think it is helping.  My face doesn't hurt as bad a night and I feel like I can breath better when I sleep.  Now it's not the prettiest process, and you have to have your head in the correct position so that the salt solution doesn't run out your mouth.  I have also found that my sinuses drain differently.  When my left nostril is down, and the water is running out that side, it runs in a stream.  When my right nostril is down, it barely drips, then starts to drip more, then finally starts into a thin stream.  I'm not sure why the difference or if it is bad, but it is interesting.

Lets see...now the week in a nut shell....
Wednesday, First I helped a friend move, which made me very aware of my soar muscles from the workout the day before.  Then, I worked and had a project to work on.  Sorting through old files.  Though it sounds kind of dull, it was nice having something to do, and it is organizing so I don't mind it :)  However, I got sidetracked working on a brochure for volleyball private lessons becasue I am so excited to start them up!  I still haven't finished, but I want to get it done this week.  Right after work it was off to the volleyball academy for four hours.  I had fun as always, and got to play some a the end too!  Oh, and I found out my community garden plot was ready!

Thursday was a bit frustrating.  I got up early to meet people at the garden I am volunteering at, and no one showed!  On top of that, the people in charge weren't even there so I didn't know what to do!  And because I rode my bike, I didn't want to turn around and go home, so I hand watered for two hours and only covered about 1/3 of the garden.  Then a guy in charge showed up and told me that I didn't have to hand water becasue they have soak er hoses...ugghhh!  When I got home I was in no mood to work out, but I made myself go on a run anyway.  It was a long slow process and I had "just keep swimming, swimming, swimming" from Finding Nemo stuck in my head which eventually turned into "just keep going, going, going....you're almost done, done done!"  For lunch I met my husband, mother-in-law, niece and nephew in the park.  It was fun, but I was still in a bad mood.  Then it was off to my mom's to help my sister work on her invitations for her wedding.  But it turned out that she didn't have all the stuff we needed, so I made 6 invitations and that was it. *Sigh*  I stopped at the store on the way home to get stuff to make pesto and had a veggie pesto pasta with gluten free rice pasta that was really yummy!  Feeling better with some good food in my tummy, I headed off to little kid volleyball camp which also helped cheer me up, so I came home in a good mood :)

Friday I had some room to breath.  I used it to do some fun things for me!  I made mini cupcakes for Dave at DSK for his birthday and decorated them with frosting and they were super cute and tasty (see pics below)!  And I got to eat my lunch in the sunshine :)  Volleyball academy was a little slow.  Not many girls, hot day and first day off from school.  However, Dave let me run B academy by myself!  So cool.  Unfortunately because of the lack of girls and hot weather, I came home with a lot of cupcakes.  I gave some away, but some are still sitting in the kitchen.  My sister even liked them, and I am having visions of bridal shower cupcakes dancing through my head!

                                                             Before frosting them

                                                                      and after :)

That's all for tonight, time for some beauty rest!  More on the weekend tomorrow!

Good night and good health!