My reaction after conquering the final obstacle Mudderella threw at me!
I spent Saturday morning running a 5-mile obstacle course in the mud. Mudderella came to town and it was time to do my first mud run. My Healthy Bucket List includes a mud race like a Spartan or Tough Mudder. Although Mudderella doesn’t let me cross it off my list, it was a great way to gauge if it really is doable. It is!
Mudderella isn’t a race. You are not timed. No trophies are handed out. Created by women for women, this 5-miler is more about proving we’re physically and mentally tougher than we realize. Read More
Holding steady after last week’s dramatic 5 lbs. loss.
After last week’s big 5 lbs. loss, my weight held steady. And that’s just fine with me. Why? I focused on something much more exciting than a number on a scale — PARKOUR!
Yep, after weighing in, I headed to my first parkour class…and it was a doozy.
My hubby took some action shots of me learning how to jump, land, roll and vault. I’ll post those later.
I won’t go into too much detail here but I will say it was the most fun and greatest challenge I’ve experienced in a gym. Truth is it didn’t feel like exercise. It was pure fun with a touch of fear. I felt like I was learning how to be a kid again. Awesome! Read More
Join me for the FitFluential 100 Challenge — 1 new exercise everyday, 100 times. Woo hoo!
I’ve settled on my new monthly workout challenge. I’m doing the FitFluential July Challenge — #FF100. It’s a new exercise everyday, done 100 times. Yesterday was squats (so thankful I’m sitting on an exercise ball as I write this!). Today crunches, tomorrow the dreaded push-up.
Nutty? Maybe, but I’m doing it smart. I’m breaking the 100 into doable bites: 20 reps every few hours.
I have to give my hubby credit. Lately he’s done a great job avoiding all those tasty treats folks bring into the office. The irony? I’m sure his office has a “wellness program.”
Fresh off my disillusionment with personal training, I’ve decided to give parkour training a try. Why? Check out this video and you’ll see why. Yes, I posted this video before, but it is so cool!
Nothing happening with the scale at the moment, but I’m losing around my waist.
No change in my weight from last week, but I noticed that I’m down another notch on my belt. So the scale maybe stubborn, but my waist is shrinking…and that is always a good thing.
It’s also another reason you can’t rely on the scale for success. Little things like how loose your clothes fit or being able to cross your legs are far more important.
New Month, New Challenges
My trainer wants me to build up my upper body strength. I can’t argue with her. It seems like any upper body workout is a struggle since my month off in April.
In fact, it seems like my whole workout routine isn’t as routine as I’d like. Consistency is so important. Not only to build muscle and improve cardio, but it’s a great reminder to eat better. Read More
I’m up about 2 pounds thanks to a mental break on my part over the last 2-3 weeks.
As of Saturday I’m up 2 lbs. It could have been worse, but thanks to lots of course corrections this week, I think I cut off a potential disaster.
Since I started my 21-Day Primal Challenge (more on that in a later post), I enjoyed a few items I rarely eat with greater frequency. I’m not sure why, as the challenge cautions against doing such things. I think I simply had a mental break.
Being diligent 24/7 ain’t easy folks!
Guilty Pleasures
So what are my guilty pleasures? Dark chocolate, sweet potatoes and fruit…oh my!
Dark chocolate. The higher the cacao percent, the better. I ended up buying Ghiradelli Intense Dark (86%) Midnight Reverie squares. They were on sale at the grocery store and in individual serving sizes. Perfect! My thought was the bag would last a couple of months. WRONG! Try less than a week. Clearly I have issues. Read More
One startling stat that Foster mentioned: if you sleep 5 hours or less a night, you have a 50% chance of being obese. Yikes!
In the 1950s, the average person slept 8 hours a night. Nowadays we sleep 2-½ hours less. A common result: we do stupid things to stay awake, eating being a big one. I’ve written before about the lack of sleep and our body releasing the hormone ghrelin in large quantities. As Foster puts it, once ghrelin hits the brain, “…the brain says, ‘I need carbohydrates,’ and what it does is seek out [carbs] and particularly sugars.”
Lack of sleep also causes sustained stress, which in turn causes our bodies to release more glucose into circulation. Over time, we become glucose intolerant, causing our bodies to produce even more glucose. This increases the chances of contracting Type 2 Diabetes.
Peekabu isn’t sleep deprived. Are you?
Are You Sleep Deprived?
Do you need an alarm clock to wake up in the morning?
Are you taking a long time to get up (think snooze button)?
Do you need lots of caffeine in the morning to get going?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above then you’re deprived.
How To Get Your 8 Hours
Foster’s solution to getting a good night’s sleep is something we’ve all heard, yet I still have a hard time doing.
Keep your bedroom dark and slightly cool
Reduce light exposure 30 minutes before bed
Turn off mobile phones, TV, tables, and computers
No caffeine after lunch
My bedroom isn’t too bad. I just need the animals to stay off the bed, as they seem to prefer snuggling on top of me.
As for no caffeine after lunch, that starts tomorrow (I’m currently brewing some now and can’t waste it).
However, I’m still a slave to turning on the bathroom light to brush my teeth right before bed. Bad move! Our bright bathroom light stimulates the brain. I guess it’s time to start flossing and brushing 2 hours before bed. Another incentive not to eat late!
Blue vs. Red Light
My habit of playing with my iPad before bed is messing with my sleep-wake cycle.
Visible light is made up of wavelengths which our eyes see as color. Our biological clocks evolved to wake us up during the day and make us sleepy when light starts to fade.
Electronic screens emit light that fall into the blue (bright sunny day) spectrum. Evening exposure to blue light via smart devices prohibits melatonin (the sleep hormone) production, delaying sleep for at least an hour or more. In the evening, the red spectrum is best for winding down.
So does that mean I need to disconnect completely?
F.lux is freeware that alters the color spectrum of smart devices. As the day goes on, your screen mimics sunlight based on your time zone. So your screen moves through the color spectrum — from blue (day) to red (night)– matching the light in your natural environment (i.e., the position of the sun).
While I’m experimenting with f.lux this week, I still need to limit my tablet use in the evenings. A challenge for sure, but one I’m up for.
“Sleep Is God. Go Worship”
I’m on Day 12 of my Primal Challenge and the sleep portion still alludes me. But after this TED Talks, I’m determined to not treat sleep like the enemy.
As author Jim Butcher wrote, “Sleep is God. Go worship.” I intend to do so.
21-Day Challenge – Day 4
So far my the challenge is going very well. Like I mentioned before, I have the food down (although it’s always good to reinforce good habits!). This weekend I got in some moderate exercise with long walks. But I’m returning to my spin classes this week, so we’ll see if I can moderate my intensity.
As for the Challenge’s 8-hours of sleep, I’m not doing so bad there. I’m getting in 6-7 hours so far. I do need to stop drinking coffee after lunch so I can get to bed earlier.
It’s the setting aside play time that is alluding me. This weekend the plan was to use our hiking day reseeding our backyard. Yes, I consider working in the yard as play time. You got a problem with that!?!
But after loading and unloading a lot of bags of top soil, my husband pulled a muscle in his back. So my planned play time in the yard didn’t happen.
So now I’m doubling up on play time. Saturday is yard day. Sunday we hit Raven Rocks trail.
What Can I Eat?
Since I already eat low carb, I’ve got the food part nailed down…for the most part. I’m already eating real food (when it’s on sale!) and avoiding sugar, grains, bad fats, legumes and processed foods.
The Primal Food Pyramid is much different (and healthier!) than the junk pushed by the USDA. Source: MarksDailyApple.com.
I’m starting to menu plan. My normal meals and snacks are pretty much on target. But Mark’s site has plenty of tasty-looking, low carb recipes I plan to try out during the challenge. Read More
