Fitness – Enlightened Nourishment

Woot! I Made It!!

Well folks, I made it to the end of my March Challenge! At the beginning of the month, it definitely felt like a huge undertaking. For those of you that are just tuning in, I challenged myself to exercise in some way every day for the entire month of March. I started off with a very regimented schedule that pretty much flew out the window after the first week. Even though the schedule didn’t stick, the exercise did. For that I am very proud. As I stated at the beginning of the month, I have never been a physically fit person. I eat better than the majority of people I know, but move much less. So, I decided that if I was going to be an effective health coach and expect my clients to get their bodies moving daily, I needed to walk the talk.

After 31 days of making a conscious effort to be active everyday, I feel pretty great. The chronic back pain that I have dealt with for the past 5 years only bothered me twice this month. That’s a record. I feel much more in tune with my body now, since I made a point to think about what my body needed every day. There were of course days that I just did not want to get off the couch, but I did it anyway. Sometimes it kind of sucked, but mostly it made me feel better afterward. One of the coolest outcomes of this challenge is that I no longer ask my husband to carry the clothes hamper up and down the stairs for me in fear that if I do it myself, I’ll throw my back out. Yay for me!! Yay for him too, I guess. Oh yeah, I’ve got myself a pretty buff husband now too. He was my partner in this challenge and so he has been fine tuning his upper body and midsection this month.

So, mission accomplished. Today is the last day of the challenge and I got my exercise in for the day with a walk this morning. I think I’ll probably do some strength training tonight as well. But, I’m not ready to just hang up the resistance bands after tonight. I’m in this for the long haul now and couldn’t be prouder or happier about it. I know things will only get easier as the weather gets warmer and I can do more outside. I feel like this is going to be a great challenge to give my clients too, as it has had such a positive impact on my life. Hey, If I can do it, anyone can!

End in Sight

My March Challenge will soon be finished. It hasn’t all been easy, or even fun. There have been days when I have been excited to workout and there have been others when I’ve just wanted to veg out in front of the TV. I suppose that’s how it goes with exercise. I can say, that even on the days where I’ve had no ambition at all to move, I did anyway. When I am challenged to do something, I can pretty much guarantee that I will accomplish my goal. So, with only 3 days left in the month, I know without a doubt that I can do this. I hope that in some way, I inspired even 1 person to attempt this challenge with me and that they too have pushed through to this point.

In case you were wondering, I stopped with the Facebook selfies a while back due to the fact that life happens. I got too busy to remember to take the photo, post the photo and change the photo daily. Plus, I decided to concentrate more on the actual activity rather than how I looked preforming that activity. It kept me honest for the first few days, but after a while, I didn’t need the photos to get me moving.

This weekend is going to be jam packed with crazy, so I have no doubt that I will get my exercise in with ease. I will check in on the 31st to wrap things up and take some physical inventory. See you soon!!

2 Weeks of Awesome!

First off, I need to wish everyone a very happy Pi Day! One of my favorite days of the year. I am not a great lover of math, but is does give us all a fantastic reason to bake or patronize our favorite local bakery. Being a health coach in training has taught me that life is about being good to yourself and not expecting perfection. So, if on occasion we are tempted by some fine pastries or other baked goodies, I say enjoy! Just make sure that the treats are well made and well worth the splurge.

Secondly, I am very proud to say that I have enjoyed 2 full weeks of daily exercise in one form or another. Yes, I said enjoyed! I didn’t think it was possible for me to look forward to physical activity, but I now find myself wondering how I’ll get my body moving each day and it’s not stressful. It’s… fun. I know, I’m just as shocked as you are. Dancing, light saber fights, weight training while doing homework and watching TV. Also, I’ve come to think of fast walking at the mall as “speed dating” for shopaholics. So far there is nothing I don’t like about my March Challenge! I spend time with my husband and kids as we exercise together and I can see us getting stronger and healthier every day.

*If you are a fan of my facebook page, you can keep up with my daily exercise photos.*

Rising to the Challenge.

It has been over a week now since I started my March Challenge and I have to say, I’m so glad that I decided to do this. It has been much easier than I thought it would be to move my body every day. It feels good to know that I am doing something very positive for myself and my family. My body is getting stronger and I’m able to do more. Furthermore, my kids are going to have a positive roll model in more than just how to have a healthy diet. My husband is strong, but since we’ve had kids and “settled down”, he gets very little exercise. As I exercise more, it encourages him to be more active too. It’s an all around YAY!

The one thing about this challenge that isn’t happening the way I thought or hoped it would, is that I haven’t been following my schedule. It started out great, but within a few days, when and where flew out the window. I’ve still exercised in some way every day, just not how I planned. Maybe that just doesn’t work for me. Maybe as long as I have an arsenal of fitness possibilities in my closet, it doesn’t matter which one I pull out each day. Maybe flexibility is key for my continued progress. I know, that’s a lot of maybes. So what if this weekend, instead of the Saturday dance party and Sunday yoga, I took walks around town each day with my family? Exercise happened and I spent quality time with my men. Sounds good to me.

Do you keep a tight schedule or just let exercise happen the way it needs to? What works for you?

Switchin’ it up!

My March Challenge is only 5 days in and I am already seeing the huge difference it is making in my life. I have more patience for my kids, feel proud of myself for making the effort and making me more aware of what my body wants and needs. Somehow I was not really listening to that little voice up until now. Yes, I have been feeding my body the foods it needs to stay healthy, but not moving it the way it needed. Today, it was screaming, “Rest your legs!!”. I listened and decided to do some work on the weakest parts of my body, my arms and back.

So instead of fast walking at the mall, I decided to unearth my resistance bands form the downstairs closet. I’m so glad I did. My back was tight and my arms started to shake after just a few tricep curls, but that’s how I know the muscles needed the attention. Thanks, body for speaking up. A big shout out to my brain for paying attention!!

What is your body trying to tell you today?

An Amazing Start!

Wow, what an incredible weekend. I spent the last two days in NYC surrounded by fellow classmates and some of the leading experts in nutrition, business, marketing, relationships and fitness. The IIN live event was packed with information as well as possibilities. It’s too much to process right at the moment. What I can say is that I feel inspired and radically motivated to make even more positive shifts in my life. I am so very thankful that I allowed this experience into my life and therefor into the lives of those around me. I truly believe that this education that I am receiving, will be the catalyst for so many people that I know and those I haven’t met yet, to find their best personal health. This isn’t just afterglow from the conference either. It’s already happening, little by little. Clients, family, and friends are already looking to me for guidance and support. It can only get better from here.

So, for the first 2 days of my March Challenge, I was able to get way more exercise than I thought would be possible this weekend. I figured with all the sitting and listening, I’d have very little chance for activity. Not so. Yesterday morning during the conference, we did about 10 or 15 minutes of yoga and stretching. In the afternoon, we had a full on dance party complete with strobe lights and blasting music. Amazingly energizing. At the end of the day, I basically ran (OK, walked really really fast) to Port Authority Bus Terminal to catch my bus back to NJ. It was a little over a mile and I was a sweaty mess by the time I got to my bus. I’d say that filled my exercise requirement for the day. Today, we had an amazingly energizing session with Serena Jain doing Masala Dance. It was only 15 minutes, but it woke us all up and got everyone’s heart pumping. I could feel the excitement and joy going through the auditorium as we all got into it. There was a feeling of mutual pride at seeing how well our bodies moved together. Again, after the conference today I needed to rush off to the bus terminal to catch a certain bus back home. This time there really was some running happening. Luckily I made it just in time to get a seat and start reviewing all of my notes from the weekend. And wow, looking back over the last two days I am astounded by this education I am receiving.

All in all, I am pretty darn proud of myself for getting an amazing start on this personal challenge. Dancing, yoga, stretching, walking and even a little running. Not bad, Theresa. Not bad at all.

How was your weekend? What did you do to start your March Challenge?

Hey, I’m a guest blogger!

Today I had the privilege of being a guest blogger on a lovely blog by a very inspirational woman. Fitpixiemama is letting us follow along on her journey to better health and vitality through better food choices and fitness. She doesn’t consider herself an athlete or health guru, but she is very determined to create a healthier, pain-free life for herself. When I don’t feel like exercising or like I just don’t have the energy to cook one more well thought out meal for my family, I think WWFD (What Would Fitpixiemama Do)? Then I push myself to get off my butt and just do it, because I’ll feel better that I did once it’s done. I am encouraged my her resolve on a daily basis.

So, thank you Fitpixiemama for letting me be a part of your project and for being a hero of mine.

https://fitpixiemama.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/what-works-for-me-may-not-work-for-you-so-how-do-you-figure-out-what-will-work/