Sporadically Sandra

I started Rush Fit last Wednesday. The basic premise was do a dvd one day and cardio the next.

The cardio during the week was clogging, C25K W4D1, Touch Football and Zumba. The DVDs were Strength & Endurance, Abdominal & Core, *Bonus* Stretch and Fight Conditioning. Everything was accomplished except for Fight Conditioning. It was planned for Easter and, well, after two Easter Dinner's and some Touch Football, it just didn't seem that important to do a DVD.

The plan was to do the DVD tonight, but that didn't happen. I appear to be in super witchy, total brat mode and I just want to veg out on the couch and watch Eclipse (who else thinks Edward is creepy, possessive and controlling?) and eat way too many mini Reese Eggs (Working out tomorrow is NOT an option)

All in all, I'm very proud of my working out over the past week. I was active 6 out of 7 days. That's phenomenal for me.

Tomorrow starts Week 2 of GSP Rush Fit. I'm really looking forward to it.

I obviously did not get to the body I did, because I enjoyed working out. In fact, working out used to be the BIGGEST chore possible. I hated cardio, I hated weights and I really hated overly happy workout coaches. I would try and get into an activity only to have it last two times and then I'd stop because I didn't enjoy it.

So, how did I become the working out lover that I did? Simple:

1. Find an activity you love
I discovered Zumba! I love dancing. I have done some sort of dancing since I was 6 or 7, so I really love dancing. Any sort of dance moves with music, especially in a group setting is just a fun time for me. I can't wait to go to my Zumba class because I truly enjoy it.

2. Start out slow
Too often, people give up on an activity because they start out doing it full blast, they can't finish it and give up because it is too hard. I want to love running, but if I go out there and try to run a mile I am only going to get discouraged. So, instead I am working on Couch to 5K which slowly moves me from running 1 minute at a time to a whole 5k. Each time I do a harder run I feel so powerful and proud of myself that I don't want to give up.

3. Don't workout alone
I do Zumba with my best friend, I walk 3 days a week with a friend at work and I do GSP with my husband. Zumba is one time a week when I know I get to see and hang out with my best friend, therefore, not only do I look forward to seeing my best friend, but I look forward to doing Zumba with her. I enjoy walking with my coworker because not only is she an awesome person but I inspire her (how awesome is THAT?!). And, when do I not love getting more fit with my husband. I've made working out into hanging out time and that really makes it so much easier to start working out.

4. Track your workouts
There is something ridiculously enjoyable about seeing how much more working out I do from week to week. Weight Watchers keep track of "Activity Points". I've gone from earning 0 to earning 40+ a week. That's crazy. Each week, I want to do the same as the last week if not more. It is like a challenge to myself and I don't like letting myself down.

Eventually you wll become crazy and actually start to love working out like I did.

I love church, and I love how every once in a while, when I least expect it, something just speaks to me. The above video is of "Revelation Song". The words give me chills especially the chorus:

Holy Holy Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is
And is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore you

As a Christian, Easter is a pretty big deal. It's the day when Jesus delivered on his prediction to rise from the dead after dying on the cross for our sins. His sacrifice speaks not just of his love for us, but of God's love for us.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever should believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
-John 3:16

As if that wasn't enough, God continues to show us his love everyday in many ways. If he had fingerprints they would be all over my life, marks of how he not only effects everything he touches, but he is in supreme control.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

I realize I am taking this grossly out of context, but I think that this verse stands alone as a promise that God continues to fulfill if you believe and trust in him. I don't believe it promises that I might always see everything in my life as charmed or perfect. Instead, to me, it seems more like, no matter how bad a situation might get, although I don't know the outcome, God is in control and whatever I go through, is to help me be a better and stronger person.

There is a lot to the Easter story; murder, betrayal and politics. The important thing to know though, is that God gave up his son, to die a painful death for our sins and three days later, Jesus did something no one else can claim: He defeated death, fulfilling the prophecy and proving once more that he was the one and only son of God. That is why I believe and trust in Jesus, and that is why I can live a happy, positive life. I know God is in control.

Happy Easter. He is Risen.

When I first told Joseph in November that I wanted to join Weight Watchers (again) he was supportive but he was reluctant having seen me do the same weight loss tango over and over again. However, their Points + Plan is seriously the easiest thing ever and quickly jumped on board.

Joseph, although not the happiest with himself, didn't want to change anything. He didn't want to really start working out, he wasn't really interested in watching what he ate, he was happy with being complacent. But, when the primary food preparer starts caring about what they eat, it just so happens that the other people who eat the food are going to have some rather "trim" side effects.

It was only a month later when Joe jumped on the being healthy boat and really got concerned with what he ate and his workouts. We have become partners in being healthy. We do some sort of activity together 5 out of the 7 days of the week, encourage healthy eating and are great will power support when one of us wants to totally pig out on sweets.

I have to say that Joseph has totally slimmed down. He looks amazing but, even better is how him slimming down and being healthy has made him a more confident and happy person.

I fully believe that if you care about your health, then doing what you can to be healthier will make you a more complete person and I think Joseph has become the perfect example of that. I am so fully proud of him, his weight loss, his exercise habits and his continuing support of me.

As with most people who have struggled with losing weight, I've tried quite a few eating plans and diets. I've enjoyed trying out a variety of "lifestyles" but what I don't enjoy is the snobbery that comes with it.

I understand being excited about a new "lifestyle". I understand wanting to share this newfound "lifestyle" with everyone. What I don't understand is the belittling of people who don't agree with the lifestyle or follow it. There is a blog I've read since I dipped my toe into the Primal Lifestyle (highly enjoyed but not livable for me), and it has slowly evolved from a place where you can go to learn new information and support to a blog that only spouts how Primal is the only way to go and if you don't do it, you are an obvious idiot.

Nothing aggervates me more then this sort of holier than thou, I have all the answers, attitude. Because as great as the science is behind the Primal lifestyle, if you can't fit it into your life, it isn't the way to go. And that goes for any sort of diet or healthy living lifestyle. I absolutely loved when I went Primal, but it was too hard to go out to eat, it was too hard to have carbs and sugar cut out of my diet. It wasn't a "cut back on it", but absolutely not supposed to eat it. My sister does the Primal thing and it works for her and that is great, but she doesn't try to shove down my throat how it is the only way.

I, personally, right now am enjoying Weight Watcher's Point Plus Program. It is super easy, allows me to eat whatever I want and is truly helping me become a healthier person, but I don't look down upon my coworker who does Nutrisystem, not if it works for them and makes them happy. Because the real point to a healthy lifestyle is to BE ABLE to make it your lifestyle.

And I do want to stress, this is *not* a rant against the Primal lifestyle, it was just my best example. There is a Vegan blog that I love because she shares her lifestyle in an open way and not in a close minded way Peasandthankyou.com. There is another Vegeterian blog that I read because she shares awesome recipes that don't contain meat, but she doesn't make it seem like a crime to eat meat veggiebyseason.com. These are two great examples of eating lifestyle blogs that share without preaching.

Georges and I had our first date today.

I did GSP Rush Fit Strength & Endurance today. The warm up was awesome. It incorporated a lot of hard moves but in a way that made them seem doable. Georges was really concerned with making sure that I wasn't pushing myself too hard and having a great time. He was truly being a great date.

And then he made me do pushups.
And burpees.
And side planks.
And I told him we needed to "talk".

That sort of behavior was unacceptable, clearly. He wasn't concerned at all about my feelings or how I feel or what *I* wanted.

Then before we had a chance to talk, he wised up. And we did some standing up moves; lunges, squats twists. It was then that I thought, he might really love me.

And then, we took it back to the ground for a core workout. But, once again he redeemed himself just in time with some nice stretches and a cool down.

So, I think we are going to keep this up and see how it turns out. Perhaps we will make a great couple after all.

So, Georges St. Pierre, one of the best fighters in the UFC and some would say (as in Me) most handsome has his own exercise dvd workout.

When you lose weight, it's hard to see yourself objectively. No matter how much the scale goes down, or clothes get too big, or how many activities get easier to do, sometimes all a person wants is to see results. And honestly, when you change little by little every day, it is hard to notice. I look in the mirror and I see the same thing every day, the same flaws, the same scars, the same shape. And as much as I'm doing this because I want to be a healthier person, and I want to be healthy when I have kids and I want to share with other people how being a healthier person cannot only be fun but tasty, sometimes I just want to *see* the change in myself.

Sometimes, I want to be able to look in the mirror and see that I'm slimmer or more toned but I can't. I mean, occasionally I feel slimmer but I don't see it, I literally can't see a change. I still just look like me. In a weird way, as I've lost weight, I've become more vain about how I look and I've put more effort into my look because the better I feel about how I look, the more I work at it.

In the past two days, I've gotten separate compliments from people who hadn't seen me for a good while. "Wow, you look great, like a whole other person." It makes me wish I could see some of my friends less, because it is such a motivator to know that the changes I continue to make in my life are resulting in a noticeable change, even if I don't see it and it is a great push to keep me going until I *can* see the change in myself.

After a week of eating a little crazy; fried foods, ice cream, sugary drinks, and desserts, my body was ready to get back to "normal" eating. In the past 4 months my "normal" eating has become fresh veggies and fruits, lean meats, water, water and more water. It has been healthier, more whole and natural foods with a real emphasis to try and stay away from fried foods, high calorie foods and high processed foods.

It's amazing how satisfying a salad with grilled chicken can be when your body is craving greens. Spring and summer are the ultimate in light veggie dishes and Joseph proved it last night when he made me Skinny Taste Pasta Shells w/ Asparagus and Marinara. And let me tell you, to hear him say "We don't need chicken with this, it is going to be great on its own" is a miracle. If this were a year earlier and I suggested a meatless meal he would have looked at me like I was crazy.

There is just something about the warmer months that has me wanting to indulge in fruits and veggies, meals that don't involve a lot of cooking or a lot of work. Salads have become my best friend, especially since I've been experimenting with making my own salad dressings. That helped me discover my love of Red Wine Vinegar. I've been hunting around for a herb growing kit because I really want fresh herbs. I'm craving fresh and natural foods and at this point, I would rather choose a nice fresh salad over a delicious cheeseburger.

And with that said, tomorrow night we are having hot dogs for dinner. The things I do for my awesome husband.

So, some highlights (and pictures) of the weekend:

Besides having dessert every night, eating at Cow Licks a few times, having fried cajun shark at Aunt Catfish's and eating at Bubba Gumps, we did actually have time to visit the beach.

As well as visit the beach, Joseph and I climbed the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. This lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Florida. We climbed it just over a year ago and it was hard. I thought I would die, I wanted to drop dead from exhaustion *and* I was sore for days. This time around, I felt like I could have climbed it more than once, I had plenty of energy to walk around and explore the historical buildings and nature trail *and* I was barely even sore the next day. It is amazing how much I've changed physically to where climbing the tallest lighthouse in Florida was a peace of cake.


Joseph and I also jogged on the beach together. So much more fun then jogging on the streets of Georgia. I mean, I ran in the water, testing out the Vibrams. It was nice and breezy and beautiful. Besides that, my grand plans to work out while on vacation didn't quite come to frutition, but, I did exercise twice. I also did a lot of walking on the beach, crab hunting and sitting on the beach covered in sun screen.

Yesterday, Joseph and I woke up early enough to see the sun rise over the water before making a Krispy Kreme run (hot sign, what!). Then, later that day, he did something truly crazy.

"We have some free time, want to go buy yourself an iPhone?"
What kind of question is that? Why, yes, I do want an iPhone!

This morning, before leaving, I made sure to snap a picture of the sun rising. So, this was my last vision of the gorgeous beach:

Sadly, that is the only beach picture I have since taking my camera to the beach didn't seem like a great idea. But, I think my brother in law got some pics. So, I migth have to steal some of his pictures.

Now, I'm back home. Meals for the week planned, groceries bought. I'm about to throw a load in the wash as I avoid life going back to normal.

But, I got a ton of reading done, some additional writing. My whole mindset has been refreshed and in a whole new good place.

And, as sad as I was to leave, I'm a little happy to be home.

I thought you could only catch crabs at the Jersey shore... and I'm sure if you've seen the show, you can agree....

As much as I've always loved going to sleep, I've always loved waking up in the morning of a good nights rest. I was never the kind of girl who could sleep in, which made slumber parties a special form of torture. Perhaps that is where my love of reading really came from. You can wake up and read quietly until others wake up, which is more fun then just laying their bored.

But, being awake in the morning, by myself, is now a special treat. It doesn't happen so much with Joe and more because we usually get up at the same time which I'm fine with. I think it makes my private vacation mornings all the more special. I've spent the last hour or so, on the balcony, wrapped in a blanket and sitting on a lounge chair, reading a book and enjoying the sound of the waves. The sun is slowly making its way around the building and a strip of me is bathed in light. Slowly more and more people are venturing to the beach.

At first it was only the hardcore runners, which slowly turned to couples walking and enjoying the morning breeze. Now, people are lugging their beach bags and umbrellas, setting up their chairs and applying their sunscreen. Preparing for a relaxed day where the water kisses their toes and the sun warms their face.

I get in my own head when I'm alone in the morning. There is nothing to interrupt my thoughts or pull me from myself. I sit in my thoughts and I bathe in them, roll them around in my brain and just enjoy them. With everything there is to interrupt a train of thought; tv, computers, radio, people; it is truly nice to be lost in my own head. Most of the time I'm thinking of the next thing I'm going to write, or that scene that just won't happen correctly, but sometimes I reflect on my life and what is happening in it. The things I never expected to happen, the words I never expected to hear or the ways in which changing myself effects other people, for the good or the bad.

Reading in the morning takes on a whole new speed. Instead of rushing to finish the next page/chapter/book before I run out of time; I savor the words and take a minute to think of the words so carefully typed on the page. I can take twenty minutes to finish two pages because I stop so much to just mull over the book, the people, the ideas.

And then, when I've done enough thinking... I've mulled over enough ideas.... I've lived in my head long enough. I have to write. I have to get something out. I have to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys) and I have to put all my thoughts into words because if it doesn't come out I might just burst.

It's still quiet in the condo. Kids/babies/adults are all still asleep and a part of me wonders how anyone could sleep away the morning. The concept had eluded me as a child and it still constantly eludes me as an adult. But, good for them sleeping, because otherwise, I couldn't quietly commune with the beach.

As I write this, I can hear waves as the roll onto shore, I can see pristine sand and blue ocean, and my skin is sticky from salty air and sand. Up until a few years ago, I didn't think I cared about the beach. Then, we got invited to a beach wedding and for the first time in a number of years, I visited the beach. This is my third time back since that wedding. I love the beach.

Joseph and I, along with his brother's family have ventured down to Daytona Beach for the week. (Saturday to next Sunday to be exact) My porcelain pale skin is already freckling up and trying to take on a pink hue, which is why I'm up in the condo, taking a break from the sun and the beach.

There is something instantly calming about coming to the beach. I'm not sure if it is just the vacation itself or if the endless blue ocean rolling in and out has something to do with it, but I do know, I could be perfectly happy "toes in the water, ass in the sand". Zac Brown may not be my favorite band, but they got that part right.

For the most part our vacation is totally unplanned, but there are a few things we must do while we are here. One day for lunch this week we will be eating at Aunt Catfish on the River with their great lemonade and awesome cinnamon rolls. A trip to Crabby Joes is necessary so we can eat a delicious meal on the pier while we watch the tide roll in. Then it is a short drive from the condo to the lighthouse to climb it. That will be fun. And, I know Joe really wants to visit the Daytona Beach pier, so if it is open (It was closed for rennovations last time), we will be going for a visit.