Motivating Mojo

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's been awhile. How many times do I say that when I post? I need to get more frequent with posts, but life gets in the way.  While the guys have "No Shave November," I am doing my own version: "No Soda November." Corny, yes but it is necessary. I am addicted to diet soda, namely Diet Mountain Dew. While on vacation, I only drank water and didn't have a single headache. (If you know me at all,  you know what a huge achievement this is.) So why did I start drinking them when I returned? Habit, I suppose. Soon after, my headaches returned with a vengeance, as did my muscle pain. Well, last week was the wake-up call I needed. My father-in-law had a massive heart attack and has been in ICU. As part of his heart healthy program, he is required to give up Coke. He assumed it was because of the caffeine, but the cardiologist pointed out to him that it is really because of the sodium in Coke. Intrigued, I asked him about Diet Mountain Dew. ...

After weeks of not working out and traveling, I stepped on the scale Monday to my highest weight ever. Granted a lot of it is indeed fluid, but still, it was a sign that I needed to get back to focusing on my health. After busting my head wide open and battling the concussion, I was lazy. I was lazy in not just my weight loss battle, but all aspects of my life. The doctor warned me that I might have some slight depression/mind fog from the concussion, but I just shrugged it off. Well, Monday it dawned on me that he was right and it was time to crack down on my mind crack. Yesterday, I was getting ready to head to the gym and sign up with my new trainer. (Yeah I dropped the other one. We just weren't clicking and he was way too focused on the scale. Being a recovered anorexic, I just couldn't deal with that.) I was walking out the door, realizing I had a huge sense of dread and anxiety inside me, just waiting to bust out. In the past, I would have ignored those feelings and...

Today marks the end of my 1st week with my trainer! ::happy dance:: Today also marks a big moment for me. (Seems as if I am having more of those lately, huh?) After getting a hot stone massage yesterday, I took a looooong nap, which interfered with my nightly sleep routine. The result? I woke up at 4:45 this morning, sore and cranky. I debated texting Eli with the old "my foot hurts" excuse. Granted, my foot/achilles does hurt, but I knew from earlier triumphs that it would feel better after working out. I also reminded myself that backing off now would set the tone for more absences.  When I got to the gym, I told Eli I almost skipped. He asked me why and I was completely honest: I hate cardio. He said, "Even on your bike?" I explained that if I was outside, I was fine but the machines drive me batshit crazy. He said, "I got ya. We'll fix this." We then did 5 min on the bike, the elliptical and the rowing machine. I must say, I felt a bit like a ...

Today involved my favorite four letter word. No, not that one...well ok, it was used too, several times I'm sure. BUT the word to which I'm referring here is REST!  My plans were to get up at 5 a.m. like I do on training days and hit the gym or ride my bike outside. I figured it  would help me get in a routine. When I woke up at 5 though, my body said otherwise. I was extremely stiff and just felt exhausted this a.m. so I slept in and decided to make today a rest day. My body is sore from yesterday's workout, so I figured it was in my best interest to not push it too hard. The last thing I need is to get injured again. Tomorrow starts my stay-cation. I'm unplugging from the emails, the cellphones, Twitter and Facebook for 8 days. There will be NO contact with the outside world, unless initiated by me. My mind needs this break. Real estate, while successful, has exhausted me. It's time to renew my spirit. So how do I start it? At the gym with my trainer! Ins...

I survived my first weekend on this new plan. I spent Saturday stocking up on healthy fruits & veggies. I even managed to find some nut free protein bars! Talk about a modern day miracle... Sunday was a crazy busy day, thanks to my open houses and writing an offer afterwards. In the past, I'd have eaten breakfast, grabbed some M&Ms around 4 and then had pizza ordered to pickup on the way home. Now, knowing my trainer Eli can see my food journal on  www.myfitnesspal.com  kept me from spiraling out of control. Instead, I had a protein bar and ended up w/a spinach salad for dinner. #NSV for sure. Today was my first "official" workout with Eli. Neither of us was sure how my achilles would do, so he decided to do more assessing of my strength. We started with squat & press using 10 lb weight. 10 lbs?! What? I only use 5 at home and I'm exhausted. Nope, I did 10 lbs easily. So much so that on my second set, he increased it to 15. I struggled towards the...