Food, fitness & festivities

Howdy y'all.

No I haven't turned southern I'm just workin' on a more interesting way to greet all of you lovely blog-o-rific readers!


On to a topic that is weighing heavy on my head...the three F's - food, fitness and festivities.

Ahhhh the delicate balance that is these things. A balance that I am wrestling with this month. Although I had declared this was to be my "enjoy the holiday season guilt-free" month, turns out, eh, not so much. After being sick and letting myself rest, no - actually FORCING myself to rest - I can feel the itch to get back at it. To push myself hard and make up for any excesses I might have "allowed" myself to enjoy. Plus, I miss seeing my abs and doing my weighted squats to the point of nauseousness. I miss the gym and I miss running 3-4 times a week. I MISS these things...but I also missed just letting myself live a little.

And I have. Oh I have.

Half bag of peanut M&M's and chicken parm two nights in a row. Yup...for me that is livin' it UP! These are habits from an old life. A life that really knew no moderation (believe it or not, consuming a full box of Hot Tamale candies and pasta consumption was a common occurance for me). The "new" life developed new habits, new cravings - resulting in a healthier and happier version of myself.

But as Christmas approached, and I, for the first time in a loooonnnggg time actually felt the spirit of the holidays charging me up - I decided to just let myself be. Let myself enjoy all that the festivities of the holiday bring. And for that first week that I finally started feeling better after the sinus infection/med relapse from hell, I had NO guilt. None. Lots of relaxing, eating treats, enjoying foods I hadn't enjoyed in a very long time.

However, the end result of that is a startling reflection in the mirror. It doesn't take much for my once visible abs to start to descend into smooshy skin hell - not too mention how I end up feeling. Its that feeling of not the best me I can be, or that my body can be.

And so...I am in the midst of this raging, internal battle. One way of dealing with it in as practical a way as I can is to declare some dietary changes in January 2014. I am deciding to go vegetarian for January. Also, with the news we are getting a kick ass juicer for Christmas, I plan on getting back in to the ever delightful world of organic juicing. There is so much I envision for myself in 2014 including registering for my second half marathon that I feel excitement building.

But, again, yes another but - what am I waiting for??? the fit chick in me yells and stomps her feet. No 2014 resolutions. Only NOW. Doing it NOW. Not tomorrow, not next month...but here in the present. And then the festive me chimes in with a resounding "RELAX already".

Me and Marissa DID get outside on Saturday though!

If I'm sounding a little "Sybil" to you right now, its because it feels that way in my head too! So, the only way to quiet the opposing forces is to compromise. And that compromise is to start to adopt/reignite some of the healthy behaviors NOW, while still understanding that when Christmas Eve and Christmas Day come...I am eating and enjoying every bit of it GUILT FREE. The running has also taken a back seat since I got sick, but now the excuse piling up is due to the cold. A cold I ran in LAST YEAR with no problem or issue. Yeah, THAT is an excuse. Neon lights flashing on THAT one!

This is all forcing me to take a look at what happens internally when things like this happen and where is the "guilt" part really, REALLY coming from? I wasn't raised to feel guilty about food choices or not running miles every day, so i'm intrigued that it has become a large obstacle in the way of my food and fitness needed lifestyle.

Anywho...I know what needs to be done and thanks to over a year of personal experience, I know exactly HOW to get back to where I so so SO loved being. It is a matter of weighing the value and expectation of it all and understand when its legit (making excuses) vs self-imposed food exhile (guilt! guilt! guilt!).

In the meantime, I'm drinking loads of water, upping the fruit and veggie intake again and performing random exercises at any given moment in any given location (ie
today I did 12 ballet squats and 12 deep knee squats in the ladies room at work. TRUE STORY). I'm also doing 20 push-ups every night on the bathroom rug before bed. Because in the end, it makes me happy to know I'm practicing atleast some of what I'm preaching :)

stay strong!
Rachel