Cardio is Fun?

A week ago I finished my 3 Week Yoga Retreat. I loved those exercises, even though they were hard.  I could feel my body getting stronger. I lost over 10 pounds and 9 inches with that 3 week retreat (don't let the name fool you. I have Fibromyalgia, and that 3 weeks was more like 4 1/2 weeks...) but I finished it. I reported it on Team BeachBody, and then I decided to try a new exercise session. . . and I wanted the t-shirt and the bragging rights that went with it! So I decided to go with "21-Day Fix". 21 days. Another 3-weeker. (4 1/2 weeker wink wink). The promise of a free t-shirt reward. I found my next exercise.

I started with Day 1- Total Body Cardio. Not bad. A little sore, but not bad! 

Day 2 - Still Sore. Oh Good. Upper Body. I can handle this.

Day 3 -  Someone who shall remain nameless forgot to take their meds and now can't walk. No Exercises today!

Day 4 -  Can't walk. No exercises for me today!

Day 5 -  Still can't walk well, but am tired from just sitting around. My BRAIN isn't sick. just my BODY hates me. Oh Good. Pilates.

And then Today...

Day 6 - Cardio Fix. . . NOOOOOOO!!!!!!

And So It Begins...

C - Cats. Because cats are way better than cardio. They smell better and they are all cuddly. No one wants to cuddle after you do cardio! Because you stink! Cats don't mind if you stink though. . . in fact, I think they like it...maybe it's just the salty after-taste.

A- Arms. Have you ever noticed that cardio can't be done without waving your arms all over kingdom come?? It's like your heart won't beat if you don't flag down the passing train! My heart beats hard enough just getting out of bed in the morning! 

R- Rosy Cheeks are a must when one does cardio. I think it comes from holding your breath while trying to keep up with the modifier! 

D- Death Wish. Does this one really need explaining?

I- I want this session to end please . . . and then you hear "Push Yourself!". Uhh.... nope!

O- Oh My Gosh, I'm going to die! I really meant it when I said, "I want this session to end please!" It is also the shape my lips make while trying to breathe!

I- I am wondering if I made the right choice of exercises, because I am dying here! I have to modify the modifier, and I'm still having a hard time. Man this Fibro has totally turned my life upside down! . . . I really want that Free t-shirt! If nothing else gets me through these sessions, this awesome t-shirt promise will!

S- Sucker! Autumn Calabrese and her *BONUS* exercises. Today she was saying how we know she likes to throw a bonus exercise in there! "It's not optional. It's a bonus. Get off your booty and get to work!" I showed her though. I sat on my booty and waved down the passing train!

F- Fetal Position. It's the position I want to take when instructed to take "child's pose" for that 3 second rest I've earned! I don't though. I take a 5-second rest instead. Pretending that I have to "watch" the modifier to see the whole move. 

U- Underwear. Either pick them out or don't wear them. I'll let you decide. 

N- Not your Richard Simmons Cardio! Beach Body Cardio on the 21 day Fix is not Richard Simmons sweatin'-to-the-oldies. It's New Age kick your butt cardio with a swim-suit competitor as the drill sergeant! Richard Simmons was kind to old ladies. Autumn Calabrese doesn't care what your age is. She put a modifier in there for a reason. Get off your booty and MOVE!

And so I finished the whole 30 minutes with not one swear! It's probably because I couldn't breathe. but I finished it! I found that it wasn't as bad as the first Total Body Cardio - who has two thumbs and remembered to take their medicine! 

I even did the dishes when I was done! That's all the energy I had for the day, but I did them. 

I am finding that even though I am in a flare right now, the shakeology is helping with a little added energy. It's also helping me feel a little bit better than I normally do. 

And...

It's getting me one step closer to that sweet free t-shirt! If that isn't a reason to kick my butt .... I mean move my booty every morning, I don't know what is!

Just Kidding!

. . . But I really do want that t-shirt. 

Caterpillar . . . Chrysalis . . .and Painted Lady Butterflies

I taught my four youngest children at home instead of sending them to a public school. We homeschooled for 11 years, and I have taught everything from pre-K through trigonometry. I LOVED having my kids home, and I loved teaching them, spending the days watching them learn and have their A-HA moments. They showed me the world through new eyes over and over again! It was a blessing in my life and one of the best and most awesome things that I have ever done! 

And it was HARD!

And it required a sacrifice on my part, but I wouldn't trade those days for anything!

One of the things we (I say "we" because the teacher always learns more than the students!) learned about was the life cycle of the butterfly. Its an awesome thing to teach kids about the life cycle because the butterfly cycle can be observed in a fairly short amount of time. 

We ordered a butterfly kit from Carolina Biological and while we waited for our caterpillars to arrive, we went on nature walks to observe caterpillars in the wild, and identify those little critters that lived in our area. We drew the different species in our nature notebooks, we discussed life cycles of different animals and we did the rest of our studies.

Our butterfly kit FINALLY arrived and we excitedly opened up the big box! Inside was a caterpillar habitat, food, instructions and some cute little caterpillars just waiting to eat and be played with! My kids were thrilled as they let those caterpillars walk on their fingers and get to know them.

After a couple of weeks our little caterpillars were big fat caterpillars! one morning we came down to our school room to find a few crysalis' hanging from the branches. Now the anticipation would begin!

We watched . . . we waited . . . we looked up how long it would take for those baby butterflies to emerge. . .  we waited . . .  patiently . . .  

And then the morning arrived! As we entered the school room, and the kids inspected the habitat, there were these precious butterflies sitting on the branches drying their little wings. The butterflies were very patient as they inspected their world through new eyes.

We observed them for quite awhile, and then the time came to release them out into this big wonderful world we live in. There were four butterflies and four kids, so each of my children were able to release a butterfly.

When we got outside we opened the habitat but the little butterflies just perched on their little branch with no movement. So each child carefully put their hand in the habitat and let a butterfly climb onto their finger. We expected the butterflies to fly away when they got out of their habitat . . But. They. Didn't! 

This behavior surprised me. Nowhere in our studies or the instructions told of this butterfly behavior. We ended up staying outside for over an hour as the butterflies got used to their new world. 

First the butterflies sat on the kids fingers, and then they would take little short flights around the kids, landing on their shirts or on their heads. The butterflies seemed in no hurry to leave. After they were used to flitting. they would go inspect the flowers and then come back to the kids. It was amazing to watch this process. After an hour the butterflies gained the experience and confidence they needed to leave the kids and fly off into the world. . . and then we went back to our studies.    

As I sat here this morning with this sweet memory of my children, I reflected on how those butterflies are like people as we come upon any new experience. 

For me, it's becoming healthy again. For you, it might be a new move with different people, or going to college, or even moving to a new country, job, or family! It might be that you have survived a natural disaster like the sweet people of Texas and their current struggles with Hurricane Harvey. These things can leave us with trepidation and anxiety. Change can be hard! Especially when it moves us out of our comfort zones - our habitat.

When we choose to stay in our situations, we stay stuck!  

Those butterflies, as cute as they were, would not have survived in their habitat for long.

We had caterpillar food. 

They needed nectar! 

We had an enclosed space of about 1x1x1 square feet! 

They had wings and needed to fly! 

We had hands that loved to play with the critters 

and they had wings, that if touched, would become damaged and not allow them to fly and find food. 

It was necessary, even CRITICAL, that those butterflies take the leap, learn to fly, and leave the safety of their habitat.

And so it is with us also!

Our safe spaces provide us with "food" ie; sustenance that might not be the best for our bodies - in my case it would be gluten, sugar and caffeine. When in reality my body really needs NO gluten, natural sugars and vitamins. When I eat this way I feel better, I don't hurt as much, and oddly enough, my mood is better and I'm a much nicer person to be around! But I find that when I am stressed I crave chocolate and diet coke. BUT if I eat that stuff I feel horrible, am not nice and crave the crappy food even more!

What kind of safe space have you made for yourself? Does it keep you away from experiencing something better that the world has to offer you? Is there a better alternative to the choices you are making now? Do you crave things because it eases your stress and is "easier" than doing the healthy alternative?

My habitat, if not clean and organized causes me stress which affects my health. While I don't have the energy to "scrub" my house like I like it, I CAN keep it organized and the garbage cans emptied and the dishes done . . . and the laundry. (pooh. I hate laundry!) But if I do these few things, it reduces my stress which helps my health! So even though it exhausts me at times to do these things, I do them because its worth it! When I choose these activities, I am changing my confined habitat to one that is better for my life!

I REALLY do not like laundry. >:(

What is your habitat? What choices do you make in it so that you can move forward and have peace and happiness? Is it critical for you that you change the condition of YOUR habitat?

Like my children's hands that could damage the wings of their precious butterflies, do we have damaging influences around us that will/can/are holding us back from attaining our freedom or a better life?

I found that I was doing just that! I was allowing - did you see that word? I ALLOWED others to  determine my happiness. Like those cute butterflies I  was hanging around influences that could damage my wings. Some of those influences were  my own thoughts and expectations, actions of others, indecision and being afraid to open a new door to  a new life!

Do you do that?

Do you hang around damaging influences, and refuse to fly?

I hope not. I hope you have the courage to fly!

I have found that as I continue on my journey it becomes necessary that I change. If I don't make the changes then I may just as well not start my journey at all. If I want change to happen, I need to be the change.

While I haven't arrived at my butterfly stage yet, I HAVE moved past the fat caterpillar stage! 

Like that nice scar on my stomach? THAT is from one of my invisible illnesses. After 25 years of suffering from Ulcerative Colitis, I had my large intestine removed and now am the happy owner of a j-pouch after 3 months on an ostomy bag. I love my scar. To me, it means LIFE! . . . my scar is 13 1/2 inches!

I have done Beach Body workouts for a month now and just completed my first round of Yoga! That might not sound like a big deal to most people, but it was a huge hurdle for me to overcome! I've had to start over a few sessions which put me behind about 10 days. But I didn't quit! And I came off the victor! I came in on my own time and slower than most, but I finished none-the-less! When the session was done I put my hands up in "touch-down" formation and cheered for myself! You would cheer too after losing 9.6 pounds and 7 inches in ONE month!!!! SCORE!!!!

Yes, it WAS that big of a deal! Yes, I am learning it's ok to be happy for ME! And yes, I am learning it's ok to be successful!

I am also drinking Shakeology every day and it's helping. I am eating clean - as much as I can - (I was totally stressed today after going to the grocery store AGAIN to get salad fixins for the hubster which he ended up not eating because he got mad that I wasn't doing exactly what he wanted when he wanted it! - after shopping with my 93 year old mom - that's exhausting and a recipe for a migraine every week) that I confess to buying milk chocolate peanut clusters and eating them the whole way home when I really just needed good food and some rest! 

I hope that with my journey I can learn to forgive myself as easily as I can forgive others. I hope as I am developing in my chrysalis that I can emerge as beautiful as those butterflies! That I can love the people around me as much as those little critters appeared to love my children. And I hope that I will have the courage to embrace my new self and all the world has to offer. The awesome thing is that like those little butterflies, I get to bring my little awesome butterfly friends along with me when I emerge. . . 

because they are the ones that have been supporting me through my journey.

Thank you sweetie hubster for putting up with me on all my bad days! And having fun with me on the good ones! 

. . . and one day I will emerge like those beautiful Painted Lady Butterflies!

No Harvest if You Don't Plant the Seeds!

I have spent the last week travelling through North Dakota and the rolling hills and beautiful farms. It has been so pleasant and lovely! I love it up here!

I have the opportunity to come up here every once in awhile because the hubster works with the oil fields. While he works, I get to read, paint, sleep, rest, this time - workout, and enjoy the bounty of nature and history while we transverse this beautiful country. 

As I was eating breakfast this morning preparing to fly home, I was reading my scriptures and found these verses that talk about planting seeds, and what you can expect from the harvest from the seeds you plant.

If they are good seeds, then you can expect good things. If they are bad seeds, they won't grow and therefore you won't get anything for all your work. These scriptures also talked about US and how we have to plant our seeds with faith.

When you plant seeds, you have to wait to see if they will sprout. That waiting and patience takes faith. Because right now all you have is a dirt field or plot. . . and a lot of sweat! (And you know how I feel about sweat!)

After the seeds sprout, is the work done? NO! Now the real work starts! Weeding.

If you don't weed that garden and nourish and water those baby plants, they get overcome and they die. Again, if you don't take care of them, no harvest!

Does it end there? Nope!

More water, more weeding, and now you get the little critters that will be so happy that you planted a buffet for them! At least that's how it is at my house on the mountain! I tried a garden the first season we were there. The deer were thrilled. I was pretty pissed off. Now I grow weeds, and I'm very good at it! . . . who are we kidding. I used to tell my boys to go "mow the garden" when they were younger. A green thumb was not in my package of gifts I received at birth!

But I digress...

With enough faith to plant those seeds, care when the seedlings are tender, water and feeding of the plants and fruit of the vine, we finally get to the HARVEST!

Now that we have grown our garden the vegetables and fruits are so happy that you have given them life that they will pluck themselves right from the mother plant and march into your kitchen and preserve themselves! Right????

What? No? What the....

Dang! After all that work you have harvested MORE WORK?

That seems so unfair!

...until winter comes...

Then all that work seems legit. It's worth the sweat and care and time and sacrifice. It is the gift that sustains you, and gives you a better and healthier life. Right?

It gives you options when others might not have as many.

And it brings peace of mind.

Of course, it will bring more work as you use that harvest to make future meals. You might even use it to bless others. But the work is worth it.

Those were my thoughts this morning as I read that story, and reflected on my travels through the farms, and the beautiful fields of sunflowers. 

But what does it have to do with my journey to get healthy?

Well . . . pretty much everything if you think about it.

Don't we all start with a hope (seed) that we can do something to better our health and our lives? We do.

And then we act in faith when we decide to follow on that hope! We WANT something to happen, and we have taken action to make it happen. We have planted the garden, or started the journey, to better our health and our life!

So lets stop. We have taken the actions and we can just hang back now and watch, right? Heck NO! Just like in the garden, our work has just started! I do NOT have a green thumb like my dad did. I know it has to do with weeding! I really don't like weeding. If I could do it once, it wouldn't bother me, but man! Those suckers come up every. single. day. If you don't stay on them, they just ruin the whole garden!

Like weeds, workouts need to be every. single. day. 

I mean....

YAY! WE'RE GOING TO EXERCISE!

Weeds can be anything that derails you from your goals. Failure to plan, fear of success (like me), negative thoughts, feeling like you aren't worth the bother, don't want to commit that much time or patience to see results... These are all weeds. Pull them. Stop making excuses and start making results. Be positive and get rid of the weeds! 

Workouts, when one starts, can also be viewed as a weed! 

Weeds with deep roots and are hard to pull out! Exercising our bodies when we first start - especially after being dormant - is HARD WORK! But guess what happens when you pull out those hard weeds? You get stronger. And stronger. And you get stronger than that weed. Your body gets stronger and you can endure the exercises. You might have to take a rest and wipe the sweat off, but you finish that weeding and that workout. And for some reason, just like in the garden, we feel accomplished! There is a FEELING that comes with working out. And with practice that weeding ceases to be a chore, and it becomes a motivation for a great harvest!

So you've started your journey, planted, planned for critters that might derail you and steal your harvest, weeded out negative thoughts, started your workout, and now it's time to feed and water!

FEED YOURSELF HEALTHY, CLEAN, FOOD! 

Without the right kind of fuel, plants won't grow. Without the right kind of fuel, your body won't be healthy. Period.

• Stop with the sodas! They are chemicals.

• Stop with the unnatural sugars! They are addicting, and also chemicals!

• If you can put it under hot water, and then eat it after, it should be ok to eat! So cake? um... no.

• Gluten Free Ginger Cookies Erlyn? um.... no. (but they are so good! dang it!)

• I try to only eat natural sugars. ie; pure maple syrup, raw sugar, raw honey, agave, etc. I know I feel better and not as sluggish when I do this, and my body likes it too. Am I perfect? no. Do I try every day / hour / minute? yes.

• Eat things in as natural a state as you can get them and afford them. The last time I checked, McDonald's wasn't on that list. Just sayin'

• I drink Shakeology every day. It is dense nutrition, and is proving to be something that my body can absorb nutrition from! I am seeing it in the energy I have and the ability to do activities for a longer period than I was just a month ago. It is proving to be a great fuel!

AND

Remember to water the garden.

YOUR BODY NEEDS WATER!

Right now I drink 96 ounces of water a day.

• I don't include the water I drink during the night because the amount varies depending on if I can sleep. or if I celebrate insomnia once again. (who can get up to pee 100 times per night if you don't drink after every bathroom visit?)

• Nor do I include the water I add to my dense nutrition shake, the wonderful Shakeology that is making a huge difference in my health! Who knew! Oh wait. My patient coach did. lol. Thanks Cindee!

• I don't include any other liquid. I only count my water! That is a lot of water! But I do it. And I do it because it's one of my goals. BOOM!

• Water flushes toxins, makes your skin glow, makes you poop easier, 

• and I read somewhere that you can be 20 years younger if you drink more water. I plomise! ;o)

• Drink half your body weight in ounces of water! (yes, you should be drinking that much water EVERY. DAY.

Here's how to find out how much water to drink:

Body Weight divided by 2 = how many ounces you should drink.

150 pounds / 2 = 75 ounces of water or 4 1/2 water bottles

(Oh if I only weighed 150!....)

I can only do plain water so much. I do love to put in natural flavors, and these are some ideas to get you started! My personal favorite is orange, lemon and strawberries. I just put them in a PLASTIC or GLASS container, preferably one that has an infuser included. DO NOT add citrus to metal water bottles. The weak acid will dissolve some of the metal into the water. It tastes nasty and your water bottle will retain that flavor for awhile. . . Don't ask me how I know this information so thoroughly! Just trust me on this one!

So! We now have:

Got the Plan (seeds). Check!

Got the Workouts (Faith = action!). Check!

Weeded negative thoughts. Check!

Got the Food. Check!

Got the Water. Check!

Keeping the critters out???

Here's where getting healthy gets hard. The critters up by me are sneaky little things. You plant something that is supposed to be critter proof . . . which it is . . . but they have to "taste" it. Just to make sure that they don't like it.

Which would be fine if they were the only ones that would take a nibble. But they aren't. EVERYONE has to take a nibble. and they nibble it right down to the roots! The fact that the poor plant has been pecked to the ground caused it to fail and die. Sadly, we are the same way if our personal critters get the best of us!

What are some of the critters in your life that stop you from harvesting and reaching your goals?

 I know some of mine are PEOPLE who want me to spend my time doing things for them or with them when I should be working out or taking the time to eat healthy, or get my rest. Or they don't support my goals, or heaven forbid try to SABOTAGE my efforts. Sometimes that's me, and sometimes that's other people!

Another critter of mine is TIME. I don't take the time to plan ahead. Fibromyalgia has been a curse in this area and has taught me some bad habits! Seems like when I make plans my body laughs and laughs and then I wind up in bed without the energy to make healthy food or exercise. I just lay there and watch my personal critters favorite movies. If I took the time to plan ahead I would be able to eat healthy because the meal prep would be done. That is on the goal-to-do list! I just need to find out what all this "meal-prep-Monday" is about!

So be wary of the critters trying to harm the harvest, or your goals. Sometimes we have to "exterminate" them! Be they thoughts or others - put a little space between harmful behaviors and your goals.

And Finally, the Harvest!

As we traveled, the farmers had mowed the alfalfa and were harvesting it. Beautiful stripes of ocher and burnt sienna flowed over the harvested landscape. Sunflower heads hung heavy with seeds that are almost ready. It was beautiful!

 .... Like the sunflowers, I'm still in my growing season. I'm figuring out what I need to do to achieve my harvest. I am working for the day when I can take my measurements, and weigh myself and look in the mirror at a healthier me. That will be my harvest. After a very long, frustrating, and sometimes lonely growing season! (the last 5 years!)

A few verses that struck me the most on my journey today, are these:

"If ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, 

which are true."

and...

"Now, as I said concerning faith - that it was not a perfect knowledge - even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, anymore than faith is a perfect knowledge.

"But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than DESIRE TO BELIEVE, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."

and finally - 

"... ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you."

And that, my friends is the harvest. Seeing yourself come off victorious! Seeing the results of your labors! And enjoying the accomplishments of the time, workouts, and sacrifices you have made. 

Enjoy the fruits of your labors in your successes!

Plan for maintaining that success by planning for the future and continuing to do the things that brought you that success in the first place! 

Farming isn't a one season thing. It's a lifestyle.

So is living a healthy life!

And just so you know... You ARE worth it!

Have a great day everyone! I hope you enjoyed the Solar Eclipse today! I watched it from the airport while I drank my shakeology and waited for a delayed plane! lol

Shakeology Recipe of the Day:

In a blender bottle:

go to the cafe in the airport and get 8-12 oz cold water and some ice! :)

1 pre-measured scoop chocolate Shakeology with

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Put the lid on and shake, shake, shake while you smile at people walking by because you have delicious Shakeology and they do not! ;)

Smile at the hubster because you have delicious shakeology and he spent $7. on a dry sandwich. Yeah baby!

Drink to your health!

-Erlyn

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