Have my burger & eat it too...

So I went to the doctor today for my annual check up. The good news is I'm relatively healthy & relatively uncrazy. :) I'll be weaning off the anti-depressants after about a year and a half or so of being on them for anxiety. It seems that life has put itself back into a more tolerable state & with exercise and yoga and a less stressful job, I'm in a much better emotional state than last summer. So for 2 months I wean off, then I'm done. So we'll see how that goes...

The less great news is that when I told him what my cholesterol numbers were, he seemed slightly alarmed. That means for SURE I have to do something about it. I have to get it officially tested for his office, rather than the life insurance testing done in July. But I dont imagine it will be much lower. Both issues sort of go back to one major character flaw: I have to learn a lesson in self control.

YUCK.

Self control?! Disapline?! Ewww. Look - I can't even properly SPELL discipline!

I love working out - as anyone can tell. I enjoy the gym and actually have been thinking more and more about increasing the intensity of my work out routine. I find P90X, in all my pain and swearing at the TV, FUN of all things. I enjoy the challenge and the time alone, and I have some lofty goals of marathons and races and tryouts (of which are in the back of my head at this time...). But here's the truth: it's a matter of health. With a history of heart issues in my family, high cholesterol at the age of not-30 scares me. It's why I joined a gym in the first place! But working out in all it's fun and ease isn't enough. So now I have to actually put some effort into it.


I'll never understand why those things that are so bad for us - whether it's people or food or work or whatever - are so appealing? I dont want to be on the "if it taste good, spit it out" diet, but at the same time I dont want to feel like I"m missing out or being deprived. I quite literally want to have my cake and eat it too! I just need someone to teach me how to do it. I'm semi-seriously considering Weight Watchers because I need to learn how to eat. I need to learn healthy alternatives to the foods that I love that don't love me back. I need to learn how to shop - and not just for me, but for my kids too.

I've been reading more and more about the gulten free, casen free diets and their impact on autism & general health. More and more it seems like something to try. I'm not, however, met with such enthusiasm from Drew. I dont think AJ would care one way or another - especially with all of the GF foods out there including chicken nuggets & other kid-diet staples. But the thought of the major life overhaul that goes with it...UGH. And it's no doubt about habits - changing what I blindly grab out of habit at the grocery store or what I order at the take out line (which is always the same thing, no matter how long I stare at the menu - as Drew points out every time...).

Why is it so hard to buck habits you KNOW are bad?

Workout shift

So it's been entirely too long since I've written - I actually forgot how to find my own blog! Which means it's been WAY too long since I worked out. Life, as it tends to do, gets in the way sometimes. Getting to the gym & running went to the back burner as I dealt with the stresses of getting through poker dealing school (which I'm still working on!) and work and babysitter drama. But I'm back on track - for the moment - enough that I'm hitting the gym & hitting the DVD player!

I was introduced to P90x a few months ago, but just now got started with it. It's nice because I dont have to leave the house to get a killer work out, and it's nice to get some suggestion on effective exercises that I can do later at the gym. The downfalls however are 1. lack of privacy (I should post the video of Olivia doing yoga with me, which entails her crawling through my warrior poses & using my downward dog as a slide for playground balls - when she isnt throwing them at my booty...) 2. Required self motivation 3. extra focus - working around dogs & kids & phones ringing & hubbys wanting dinner. But I think it's a good thing in combination with the gym.

Day 1 wasnt so bad - Back & Chest and Ab Ripper X (which is about as much fun as it sounds). Back & Chest poses a problem because I dont have the proper equipment to do pull ups in my house and I hate push ups almost as bad as I hate pull ups. So it was an hour of me going "I hate this...I hate this...this isnt working...i hate this...Who in God's name came up with this idea?!...I hate this". But, I got through it. Some of them were pretty lame, but I made sure to do something! And then came Ab Ripper. At first I thought "oh - it's only 15 minutes! that's not bad". HAHAHAHAHA. That's not how that story went. AT ALL.

And so for now, I start on an ADDITIONAL phase of exercise & hope it works! I hope anyone who might be reading will share their experiences with their workouts & offer any advice or suggestions! I did find a website of great...I cant think of the word...supporting documents? I dont know. Anyway, visit http://teambeachbody.com/get-fit/fitness-tools/workout-sheets to download the tracking sheets to monitor your progress! Remembering where you came from is important in getting you to where you want to go!

Now get out there & bust a move!

WTF are we thinking?!

I'm a novice runner (at best). I always tell people that I use the term "Runner" loosely and I still feel the need to use finger quotes when I refer to myself as a runner. But I like to run. I suck at it - but I really enjoy it. I love everything about it - I enjoy being outside (whenever I got the chance to, which isnt as much now); I like the quick slimming results; I love the music; I love the way I feel when I'm done. I really enjoy running. I also appreciate the irony of the history of the marathon.

I picked up a Women's Running Book (by Runners World), which I really enjoyed, and was reading about the history of the marathon. Turns out the marathon is run to commerate the run from a soldier from Marathon, Greece to Athens to announce the end of a battle - approximately 26.2 miles - and then promptly dropped dead. DROPPED DEAD!!! And yet, for thousands of years, we're all like - dude, that guy died. I want to do it too!!! Nothing could appeal more to my sense of homor, love of irony & drive to kinda be better than other people than that.

So next time you're training and you think to yourself "OMG I'm pretty sure I might die" - dont fret. You wouldnt be the first.

We all gotta start somewhere...

And so it begins.

I have to admit - I was slightly inspired by the movie "Julie & Julia" to start a blog. But I really thinks it's a great way to track progress & be held accountable when you're working toward a goal. And my goal is very specific: Finish the Disney Princess Marthon in March 2011.

The problem: I cant even run a 5k.

But here it starts. I'll track my progress here and inclue what are sure to be hilarious & HOPEFULLY insightful takes on what's going on. I seriously doubt that anyone will ever read this - well, besides BaJean, that is! But if anyone out there does, I hope you'll join me and BUST A MOVE!!!