Nature Walk

Last night my mom stopped by my place for a little to help me pick out some outfits, catch up on my online dating stories (that's a post for a whole other day), and just fun girl talk. I love our time together, It was so much fun! While we were talking about eating and working out she asked me why I stopped walking. I looked at her confused and told her that I am on the treadmill every morning at 5:30. She said that's great, but what about your outdoor weekend walks and walking in the park. I thought about it for a second, why had I stopped walking outside around town or in the park. I didn't even find other parks to walk in like I had hoped to do this summer. Okay sure the summer was a little humid, but not terrible and the bugs were annoying, but not the worst. Even after she left I couldn't stop thinking about my outside walks. I love those walks. I always felt so refreshed and rejuvenated after one of those walks.

Nice way to start the weekend and my workout! 

This morning when I got up and went to get into my normal workout clothes and hop on my now normal treadmill routine, I stopped myself, time to go back outside. It was around 6:30 and pretty chilly...I loved it!! I had on long sleeves and my headphones and loved every second of my walk. I watched the sun finish rising, the squirrels start running around for the day, the air was calm and pretty quiet with not too many people up and out yet. I did about 3.5 miles, it wasn't my fastest time, but I really enjoyed taking everything in and being in the moment. You can bet this will be back on my weekend routines!! I'm so glad my mom said something to me and reminded me how much I love my outdoor walks.

My squirrel friend
Stayed in front of me for at least a 1/2 mile before
finding just the right tree to hop in

Hope everyone has a great weekend and if it's nice out, go outside and enjoy it!!

Love the fall weather.
I'm definitely looking forward to more weekend walks

My after walk low carb breakfast
Eggs over messy with some cheese, a little salad
and a big cup of coffee

Wake Up and Workout

A few months back I mentioned that I joined a gym and I love going. I never thought I would say I love the gym, but I do. I loved learning how to use the different pieces of equipment, the atmosphere, and the mental escape for the time I am in there. But then summer happened, and along with summer came more daylight, beautiful warm weather, and after work outdoor fun! I think I made it to the gym after work about once all summer. Sure I was usually swimming in the pool with my family or going to backyard BBQs, but I missed my workouts.

The girls enjoying ice cream from the ice cream truck
Dad and me lounging in the pool...
(moments before this picture I tried to jump on the raft and lost my bathing suit bottom,
not sure who turned redder me or the life guard!)

One morning I woke up early, I had too much on my mind. It was 5:30 a.m., not enough time before the alarm clock going off to even try and go back to sleep, so instead I got up and decided to go for a jog on my treadmill. After about a minute I felt wide awake. By 5 minutes my mind, which had been running in circles with too much to think about, was now open and clear. After that I didn't check the time, it was full speed ahead and felt amazing!! 

Yup, I took an early morning workout selfie

I enjoyed that workout so much I now set my alarm clock to get up at 5:30 every morning. My morning and days no longer feel as awake and complete without that workout. I also get to watch the sunrise, hear the birds chirp (when I turn the headphones off), and enjoy the quiet that comes with mornings. I also love knowing that no matter how the rest of the day unfolds and no matter how busy I get I at least got my minimum 2 mile jog done for the day.

My morning treadmill view
L: When I first hop on the treadmill
M: During my jog..don't worry I slowed down to take this picture
R: When I am finished and ready to start the day

I still love the gym and get there whenever I can, in fact, I am going to try some Zumba and yoga classes this month with a friend. I can't always control the evening, but now I know the morning is all mine and totally worth getting up early. If you can get up and get moving I highly recommend, and the best part is, once you do it a few times I bet you will be hooked! 

Running For Great Finds

For so many years my go to exercise/stress release was walking on the treadmill.  I'm fortunate to have a treadmill in my condo and I also have the gym. The beginning of this year as the weather got a little nicer, I realized I was tired of being cooped up from winter and needed to get out. One morning I was getting ready to venture out around town and thought...hmm where am I supposed to put my things. I carry my house key, a little wallet with my ID, and cell phone. Since it was still chilly out I was wearing my vest so I had pockets, but I was on a mission to figure out what everyone else out there was using, because they definitely weren't wearing their purses.

I love how free I feel walking this trail

I found a walking belt on amazon.com that seemed pretty neat, the SPIbelt. It claimed to be big enough to hold all my stuff and small enough not to drag me down and it wasn't expensive. I got it in the mail and all I could think was no way this will hold all my stuff, but surprisingly it did as it claimed. I have been using it for the past 4 months. Lately I have been adding in a mix of jogging and running and noticed it bounces around a lot and gets a little annoying, plus when I want to take pictures along the way, getting my camera out and back in wasn't the easiest

SPIbelt. Small but surprisingly fits plenty for you to hit the trails.
(I'm still working on my selfies)

I told my dad what was happening and we took a trip to Sports Authority, where he found me a belt called Nathan's 5k. I tried it out around the store and knew my dad was on to something. Yesterday morning I got up to walk the park and was so excited to try out my belt. I put everything in there, including extra keys since I had to drive to the park. It was so light and comfortable I forgot I was wearing it. I was able to stop along the way and take out my phone easily to grab some pictures of the park. Jogging, it didn't even budge. I absolutely love this belt and highly recommend it!

Nathans 5K belt. Lightweight, plenty of room, stays put while jogging and running

Ups and Downs

Usually when I talk about ups and downs in the weight loss world I am referring to the numbers I see on the scale; however, this time it's about the daily journey. Over the last few months I have dedicated a lot of time to learning about food, exercise, and being healthier. Only over the last few weeks have I felt like I was finally on the right path. I had a better understanding of what different carbs and sugar could do to my body. I learned what happens when I cut out all carbs and workout, not a pretty picture. I learned to make going to the gym a fun habit and walking around my town something to look forward to on weekends. I was feeling pretty good about it all and then....

A few weeks ago was Memorial Day. I woke up and went for a long walk since I had the day off. It was a refreshing and invigorating walk. I reflected on the past weekend and how for the first time in months, and I mean months, I stayed within a good calorie range. I didn't over eat, I didn't over indulge, but I was satisfied and did enjoy myself. I did all that on holiday weekend, yeah I was feeling pretty darn proud.  

Early morning lake view from my walk

My family and I went to the parade in town and I shared a delicious ice cream with my sister, who also recently lost a bunch of weight and looks amazing.  So where is the down part you ask?  Well, on our way back to the car my adorable 3, almost 4 year old, niece looks up at me with her big brown eyes and tells me her legs are tired from walking. So I pick her up and walk with her on my hip. My mom and sister both told me not to since I have suffered from back problems in the past, but nope,  her legs were tired and she knows her Aunt is a big sucker for her, so onward we went.  Later that evening I knew I had made a big mistake. My back was screaming in pain and as the night went on it just got worse and I found myself crying to my mom why didn't I just listen to them. 

Getting ready for the parade

Here I was, I had been so good with the gym loving it, I was up and about and enjoying every moment and now I was down on the couch hoping to walk straight the next day. I woke up and decided I could crawl to work or be smart and take the day off. Thankfully I have an amazing boss and I was able to take the day to recover. As I sat on the couch, I felt bad for myself. What about all my hard work at the gym, what about how good I was doing? Then it hit me. Sure I might be down and out for this week, but I will be back in the gym in no time. And even more motivated to strengthen my muscles and tone myself so things like this don't happen again. I must stay strong and fight on. Let my body heal up and then make it better than ever before.

Sharing some ice cream 

So sure I miss the gym and wish I was going, but this has taught me once again how incredible the human body is and how important it is to take care of it. And also how important it is to remain positive. It's hard, but it's better than being negative and making yourself more upset and probably doing more bad than good.  I saw this online and thought it was appropriate for my post today. I'm not sure who said it, but I agree with them 100%

Cindy