Stressed? Then WORK OUT! Not rocket science ;o)

Getting ready to jog

So I've had a stressful...well, it's been stressful for a while. Emily, my 12 year old had her knee surgery yesterday. I was a bundle of nerves. My stomach didn't settle down for a while....After we got her all settled, I went for a run. And it felt great. I mean, thankyou endorphins! I have decided that the next time I'm having one of those days, where I can't get out of my head, or life is throwing me a whole whack of curve balls, I'm going to go and run. Sure, I'm not the best runner with the best form, and I think I may even be doing the breathing wrong...but I'm out there and I'm doing it. I can go farther and longer before I need my walking/recovery moments....and I LOVE the challenge of running up the hills...kind of a weirdo when it comes to that. And I even braved the black flies. And if you knew me and black flies....you'd understand why that is a big thing for me. Bottom line, stress needs to be relieved and sometimes you just have to get the endorphins flowing.

Eating::::: well, the eating has been....well it could be better. For some reason I'm having a hard time hitting it. Today, I finished the left over pizza. Well, can't have it going to waste, right? WRONG! Who needs it on their hips? I certainly don't. And my body hurts. I know my body will perform much better if I get the eating back on the gluten-free/sugar-free band wagon. Seriously. I feel so much better. So, tomorrow for sure. If I start out first thing doing the right thing, it's easier for me to continue.
Tomorrow will start my gluten-free/sugar-free streak.
Today, I didn't get much sleep, so I'm going to forgo the exercising...and I WILL do something tomorrow. But come Monday, I WILL do P90X! I need it. I need to stop wasting time. Life is moving on and I can move along with it, or get left behind. I chose to participate and enjoy life...and the only way I can do that is if I'm healthy and fit and that will contribute to my over all sense of joy and happiness.

Decided enough was enough...

I cannot lose weight if I don't DO something about it. Wednesday night I went for a jog over to the Provincial Park by my house. It did jog/walk intervals...jogging til my lungs were going to burst, walking til I recovered, repeat. I jogged down the beach and back...that was interesting. Felt it in my booty and legs for sure. I crossed the hwy, and headed onto the trail. There are 2 steep hills that are freshly graveled...and since I like a challenge, I ran up them. That was tough, but loved it. I walked down them tho...knowing me, I would break an ankle or fall on my face, ha...When all was said and done, (and I ran up my driveway) I was toast, but I felt great. 55 minutes of something I did just for myself, by myself. And I enjoyed every minute of it. It was exhilarating. I decided that it is something that I'm going to do for myself a few times a week, and I will find more ways to do solo exercise excursions the other days. It's exactly what I needed.

Yesterday was a write off. I ran around town all day and then had company over for dinner last night. I had a funny little thing, I felt sort of like I was heading for a pass out ...little waves sort of came over me. And my back flared up, felt like it does if you have pneumonia. I had to go to bed. By body shouted at me, and I listened. So at 8:30, I went to bed. Greg puts the kids to bed at night so he can spend a little more time with them, and I appreciate it, especially last night.

Today, I WILL do something. It's been a bit stressful and I've been extra tired because of it. I think I need to just let my body recouperate. My goal is to get my eating back to gluten-free/sugar-free. I think I will start that this weekend. Make a new beginning of it. May 1st sounds like a good day to start an eating streak. Yep, it's formulated, and will be put into practise.

Looking forward to watching the rest of my weight go. oooh baby!

Okay, that just won't do!

It's been over 2 weeks since I posted. Can you believe that? I certainly can't! And it dawned on me just now that I guess I am no longer eligible for the competition. Oh well, not like I was going to win money anyway.
So, now what? Well, getting my booty back in gear, that's what. I cannot afford to take any more time nursing wounds and getting lost in lifes shuffle. I have goals to meet, dammit. And that isn't going to happen by sitting around waiting for....what exactly? There is NO TIME like the present, and you know what, my head could use the endorphins anyway. And my body could use the detox, and the clean eating. No more of this nonsense. No more wasting time. After all, I'm not getting any younger am I? :oD

Lots of Whacking...

I sort of felt like the Sopranos this afternoon. I went out there and chopped the heck out of a huge stumpy hunk of wood, using the splitting axe to help unstick my axe and crack the wood too...LOTS OF WHACKING! I did only about 30 minutes total, but let me tell you, I felt a certain amount of pleasure out of conquering that hunk of wood.
Life can sometimes resemble a huge stumpy hunk of wood...spongey and the axe sticks...and you can whack and wail on that thing and not budge it an inch. Sometimes that's life. Sometimes you try your hardest and don't get a whole hellova lot out of it.
On the upside...keep whacking away, and eventually you can bend the wood to your will, or in this case, crack it and get the axe unstuck.

Don't Mess With An Axe Wheeling Momma!

How's THIS for a Primal Picture?

Another great day outdoors! Today I spent 2 hours splitting wood, and another 30 minutes wheeling huge hunks of wood that need to be split into 4's from the front of the house to the back where my pile is. Yes, I said "MY" pile because I took on that job as my own personal challenge/project. My hubby called me "He-woman" and I said "don'tcha mean 'She-ra!'" LOL. That was a huge job, wheeling that wood...I felt every muscle I had already worked by splitting the wood earlier. I wheeled over a dozen huge hunks which really works the whole body. Wheel barrows suck! Just sayin'.
Anyway, I am a whole different person this year than I was last year. I love the hard work, and am amazed at what my body can even accomplish. I've always been a hard worker, but right now, my body is keeping up with my brain...and that's a scary proposition. haha. I've always taken on more than I could chew which usually would end in my being put out of commission for a while...but not any more. I love being outside where the wind is reminding me how wonderful a nice little breeze can be after working up a huge sweat and using my whole body splitting wood. My little kids were out there piling wood, and loving it. We have spent the majority of the last 3 days outside, and we're all better for it.
This is exactly the push I needed, and I'm so happy I found it. April WILL see me losing 20 pounds bringing me to Onederland.

UGH! GUH!..."Primal Is Good"...

I say as I beat my chest in triumph! KIDDING...but seriously tho, I am loving this so much. The idea that I can DO real hard work instead of a typical 'workout' of some type is awesome. Sure I knew it was beneficial before, but now, I'm thinking more in terms of what actual 'benefit' I am getting, and that's largely due to the Primal Blueprint, by Mark Sisson which has inspired many other blogs especially one of my favorites run by my friend Jeff, called Primal Chat.
I love the whole back to basics premise of the Primal life...I believe in the evolution of man, in the sense of how much we have progressed as people, or evolved, and also in the 'devolution' of man, from how far we've fallen with regards to health and fitness. I totally agree with the logic of everything I've read thus far. It just makes plain sense. Logical!

What it's done for me, is it's made me more aware of my movements, of being purposeful with everything I do. The awareness is freeing. Yes, I have weight to lose, but right now I am actually enjoying myself. I can almost not believe it. It's such a far departure from last year, you have no idea. Today, I split wood. At first it was laughable. Seriously. I actually laughed at myself. It was soooo funny. I raised that ax and well, missed the wood. Then I nicked the wood. Pathetic. You know what it was? Fear. I have power, I am powerful and I was afraid of that power, of using my abilities, and also of looking stupid. Well, stupid looking I was. But I laughed at it, and then because I'm a competitive person, I had a challenge now before me. I was going to split that wood or die trying...not literally, since I was holding an ax, and as much as that was a real possibility if I didn't trust my power, I obviously mean I wasn't giving up. And I didn't. You know what? I got into the swing of things, and I split that wood. I got a real good rhythm going. I got a good swing. I used my power. At first I realised that I was holding my breath when the ax met the wood. And then it dawned on me...in working out, when you're strength training, you exhale on the exertion. So, as the ax met the wood, I exhaled, and I had more power. Now instead of taking a few whacks at one piece of wood, I was able to split the wood in one swing. Of course some wood pieces are spongey and require more attempts. But for the most part, this primal girl killed that wood. And I couldn't feel more proud. I even got a little foot trick going...kind of like hackey sack. Once the wood was split, I held it with one hand, tipped it up, put my foot under it, and tossed it with my foot to the pile. I am woman, baby, hear my primal roar!

AAAAAND...The Primal Blueprint talks about playing....I bounced on the trampoline today...even doing a couple flips (for which I was rewarded by giving myself rug burn on my elbows) It was so much fun. Ha!

I might pay for it tomorrow, my body might be sore, but I tell you, I had a great day today. And I felt so...back to nature, back to basics, simple enjoyment. Even the breeze gave me a thrill.

One happy girl tonight.
:o)

Can't Get More Primal Than This...

Today the weather is insanely gorgeous! All the windows are open, ceiling fans are on, kids are outside in shorts, and occasionally bare feet! My hubby and father-in-law just spent 2 hours chopping wood and loading it into the back of pickup trucks. Then they came here, and I hopped in the back and unloaded it with my hubby. The hunks of wood were between 25-40 lbs of poplar wood, which will be split this afternoon. Two birds with one stone. I get an awesome PRIMAL workout in, AND get some work done at the same time. Love the feeling of muscles (thankyou P90X) being pumped....but dirt down the cleavage, yeah, that I can do without. Ha! ;o)