UNSTOPPABLE

I'm participating in this year's A-Z challenge, and so will be posting daily about a subject focusing on a letter of the alphabet.




                                                                             

This is the year I will be unstoppable. After a rocky start with my sprained ankle, I've slacked off and have not been as dedicated as I was last year. I set so many amazing goals for 2013, and if I keep this pace, I will never reach them.

I KNOW this path leads to disappointment in myself. So:

Enough is enough. 

I am going to recommit, push myself harder, eat better, lose weight that has been creeping back on, look for more ways to get outside my comfort zone....in short, I'm going to be stronger, braver, kinder and unstoppable. This is the year I will be fierce.

GAME.

ON.

FAINT-HEARTED

I'm participating in this year's A-Z challenge, and so will be posting daily about a subject focusing on a letter of the alphabet.

Getting healthy and fit is not for sissies.

If you're like me, you'll have to change your ENTIRE lifestyle. Think that's easy? Think again.

I began running at the age of 52. I had never exercised before -- I'm not exaggerating. I wasn't familiar with push ups, except for bras; didn't know what planks were, other than boards my kids used to build a tree house; had no idea that a fartlek wasn't a bodily noise. I was the consummate couch potato, except with four kids, I never had time to sit.  "Athlete," however, was not the first word that would have come to mind to describe me.

Most of my life I was underweight. I drank milkshakes every night to try to gain weight (Ohhhhh,   [insert anguished face here]  why  did I not enjoy those days more??) I ate junk food and sugar like it was the end times. I was simply uneducated about the harm those foods were wreaking on my body. 

Fortunately for me, I'd inherited amazing metabolism, so until I had my fourth child and then shortly after became perimenopausal, I never gained weight from my poor diet. But after a hysterectomy, I packed on the pounds and the day finally came when I knew that I MUST make a change.

Altering years of bad habits was a slow process, and I had much to learn along the way. After I started  running, I realized I needed to better fuel my body. Thus began the research into what I should be eating.  

I took baby steps...The first thing I did was cut out soda, and that was brutal because I drank liters of it. I didn't like water, so I began using Crystal Light Pure packets. (I've never liked artificial sweeteners.) Once I had completely substituted those for soda, I began using half packets. I slowly weaned myself off the flavorings and switched to plain water. It was amazing to me how after I stopped guzzling soda, water tasted wonderful!! I now drink at least 68 ounces a day for good hydration.

In addition to cutting out the sugary drinks, I began adding in more vegetables and whole foods, with the goal of moving us toward a more plant-based diet. We started eating fewer processed, packaged goods. I began to be more adventurous and tried new things, like quinoa, kale chips and nori, and expanded our diet to include them. I switched to almond milk, real butter and almond butter. I started educating myself about GMOs.

Today, I run half marathons. In the fall, I'll begin training for my first marathon. It's been an interesting journey, but I feel better than I have in years. 

Nope, this healthy stuff ain't for the faint of heart.