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Doing it All? (Guest Post)

By on March 24, 2011 in consistency/commitment, guest post, health, P90X, working out

Let me begin with an introduction.  I am:

A wife
A mommy of three little boys (ages 6, 3, & 1)
A full-time prosecuting attorney (felony domestic violence and child abuse cases)
A Jesus lover
A facilitator of an online classroom (internet teacher)
A Children’s Pastor
A daughter
A friend
An aunt

AND a person who REALLY wants to make being healthy a priority.

I recently told my husband that I’m AWESOME at juggling the balls when they’re all up in the air; it’s when one falls that it becomes difficult to keep the others going.  This is the truth of my busy life!

A lot of times when I first meet people, or I am chatting with someone I don’t know very well and I’m sharing about myself, many people ask:  how do you do it all?  The answer is simple:  I don’t.  The truth is, if I’m honest with myself, the challenges for me are the same as for others:  what’s important is recognizing my challenges and being inspired by them INSTEAD of being frustrated.

I am a very driven person!  I love to set goals, accomplish things, be busy, get lots of things done, finish to-do lists, etc.  Nothing excites me more than seeing my calendar FULL at the beginning of the day and shutting my computer down after a full day of work and getting everything done that I had in mind for the day.

Okay, enough with the self-promotion, right?  So after my third son was born, I was determined to “get my body back!”  I decided to make nutrition, weight loss, exercise, and general health a major priority in my life; just what I needed, right, one more thing “to do.”

For me, getting healthy included a few goals:  cutting out all sodas (I could write a whole OTHER blog about how much I love Coke.  It sounds ridiculous, but it’s true); getting to a weight that put me in a “healthy” BMI category; making working out/being active a daily part of my life; cutting out all artificial sweeteners; cutting out high fructose corn syrup; making daily choices that included foods that give me energy, not just satisfaction; and doing this all with the support/companionship of my husband.

I wanted to make the food changes because I want to have a healthy relationship with food:  no more emotional eating.  I wanted to make the active lifestyle changes because I have three small boys and nothing gives me more pleasure than the idea of being an “active” family together (swimming, biking, playing, hiking, whatever) for as long as we can.

I know my “journey” into becoming healthier is only beginning, but the biggest struggle for me at this point is fitting it in.  Right now, because of the ages of my kids, my work schedule, and the program I’m doing (I too am a P90X do-er), the time that works best is 5 a.m.  Gag. Me. With. A. Spoon.  I am NOT a morning person.  Keeping the motivation to “be healthy” is REALLY hard when it comes at five in the morning.

That being said, when I start my day with a workout, things are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better for me.  I feel strong.  I feel good that I got my workout in.  I feel ready for my day.  The endorphin dump while I drive to work is a great plus in traffic!  Just like everything else I’m learning in this journey, so much of my struggle comes down to my ability to make the best choice for myself at that moment.  When my kids are sick and not sleeping, hitting snooze and fitting my workout in after their bedtime that night might be the best choice.  And if it’s NOT the best choice (I guarantee that when I’m working out at 9:30 p.m., I WILL wish I had just gotten up early), I can try again another day.

So from a full time working mama + [insert any other title above here], there is an answer to the eternal question:  “how do you do it all?”  The answer is that you can’t do it all, but you CAN DO what you CAN do for today to make the most of your life, your body, and your choices.  And if you struggle today, there’s always tomorrow!

Blessings to you all…

Comments { 4 }

Unexpected Life

By on March 16, 2011 in P90X, pregnancy, work, working out

Hi friends!  Well, I think Murphy has struck again.  After last week’s announcement (thank you all again for your wonderful support and encouragement!), I really thought I’d be back to posting more.  What with the news being out and work slowing down (you know where this is going, right?), I’d have the ability and the time to post more, right?

Wrong.

Well, not wrong, exactly.  It’s just that some unexpected and potentially exciting opportunities have cropped up at the firm.  And it’s super fun to be involved with evaluating and making decisions about those opportunities.  But dang if it doesn’t take a lot of time!  So those 40-hour work-weeks?  Shorter days where, because of Daylight Savings Time, I’d be going home during daylight hours?  Not here yet.

So here’s what I’ve got for you: I’m hanging in there eating-wise.  Not perfect, but not off the rails.  I got 5 workouts in last week, but none so far this week.  I can still get in 4-5 if I make it happen.  I’m working a lot, but I’m glad to do it now because of the circumstances.  But big decisions lie ahead and I would love your prayers for wisdom and clarity as we make those decisions.

Oh, and one more thing?  Being pregnant?  It’s weird.  Sometimes it’s weird because I’m nauseous all day long for “no reason.”  Other times it’s weird because I know there’s a baby inside me but I feel TOTALLY normal (normal = not pregnant, right?).  It feels strange to have experienced so many body changes when I’m not even showing yet.  I have lots more to share on that, and will definitely do it in the future.

Okay, so two more things (sue me) – P90X is pretty great.  I was a skeptic at first but I think, after a week, I might be a convert.  More to come on that, too.

Comments { 5 }

P90X – Day One

By on March 7, 2011 in P90X, working out

As you know, I bit the bullet and bought P90X recently.  There are a lot of reasons, but the main one is that I am looking to make it as easy as possible for me to get my workouts in.  Being able to roll out of bed in the morning, throw on some clothes, and push “play” to start my workout is very attractive to me.

There is a lot more that appeals to me about this program.  I like that it emphasizes strength and strength/weight training.  It mixes in cardio (in the form of Plyometrics, Kenpo, and their “Cardio” workout), stretching, and yoga, too.  So it’s a well-rounded workout.  All of which you can do at home.

I was also attracted by the fact that, although you can certainly go out and buy a whole “home gym” setup and use it for these workouts, you don’t have to do so.  I started Day One of P90X with a set of adjustable weights that go up to 24 pounds each; a set of resistance bands; and a yoga mat.  I didn’t buy any of this recently or just for P90X.  However, I will probably buy a chin-up/pull-up bar and push-up stands like these to make this workout more effective and easier on my wrists.  Eventually I’ll also need to add the 25-50 pound adjustable dumbbell set.

On their FAQ page, Beach Body (the company that makes P90X) answers the question, “what equipment do I need?” like this: “Just a set of dumbbells or lightweight resistance bands, and a chin-up bar that fits in any doorway. You may also want to have optional equipment, such as push-up stands, a yoga mat, and a heart-rate monitor.”

So, full disclosure: I’m only one day in.  I was a little nervous/scared about the level of intensity of this program because my workouts haven’t been the best lately (more on that later).  But I was also excited to try something new.  Even fuller disclosure?  I’m terrible at following through on at-home workouts.  I have workout DVDs that have never seen the inside of my DVD player (which we only got hooked up last weekend. after a year of a netflix subscription.).

The Day One workout is Chest and Back plus Ab Ribber X.  (No I didn’t make that up.  Yes, that’s really what the ab workout is called.  And yes, that scares the tar out of me!)  This morning I just did the Chest and Back DVD since I was short on time (still training my body to get up earlier for this); I’ll do the Ab Ripper X tonight before bed.

If I could only use one phrase to describe today’s workout, it would be “push ups” – I’ve never done so many in my life!  The basic idea is this; they start you with a warm up.  Then they alternate between chest and back exercises, with all of the chest exercises being push ups.  Regular push ups.  Military push ups.  Wide push ups.  Diamond push ups.  Decline (holy hell heck who knew that would be so hard?!) push ups.  Most of the back exercises are variations on chin ups or pull ups, with a few exercises using the dumbbells mixed in.  Then you cool down and you’re done.

It was hard.  Looking at the four people on the DVD doing 20+ reps of everything, I wondered if I would ever get to their level.  But I quickly realized reminded myself that it doesn’t really matter if I do – what matters is me being my best.  And even though I had to start small (10-15 reps on most things, less as the hour wore on and my chest couldn’t take many more push ups!), I liked that I could pace myself given my current fitness level, but also look forward to how much progress I can make if I stay committed.  As good a workout as this was for me today, I can see it being an excellent workout when I’m ___ pounds lighter or ___ times stronger than I am now.

So there you have it – my comments on P90X after one day.  I am committed to doing this for 90 days, although I know life happens and may interfere with me getting every single workout in.  That’s okay.  As I shared with a friend today, this is not about perfection for me.  I am treating this like an experiment and an adventure, which makes everything in life a heck of a lot more fun!  And I’ll keep you all posted on how it goes.  If you have any questions about P90X, I’d be happy to answer them to the best of my (admittedly limited) ability.

Oh, and FTC?  Y’all are such a pain.  I bought the P90X with my own hard-earned cash.  But even if I hadn’t?  This review would be, and is, 100% honest, since my opinions are not for sale.

Comments { 9 }