I Can't Stop Eating!!

This slump is starting to completely freak me out!  The Half-Marathon was a month and a half ago and I still haven't gotten myself moving.  Now, I feel as if I am eating everything in sight!  I can't stop eating!!  As I type, I have that I-ate-so-much-I feel-sick-to-my-stomach feeling from chowing on pizza.  The good news is that I feel this way after eating only three slices - I used to eat four before cutting myself back to two. 

It is time to put together a game plan:

1) I registered for Pittsburgh's Great Race - the 10K.  That's a little over 6 miles in less than three months.  I better get moving! I will run two miles three times in the next week.

2) I'm going to get back to drinking lots of water.  Remember my pink cup from last summer? 

 

I went out tonight and got myself a new one!  Starting tomorrow, I will fill my cup up before my daily morning meeting at work and then continue to fill it throughout the day.  I love that our Employee Fridge has an automatic ice and water dispenser in the door.

 

3) I'm going to eat at least two pieces of fruit a day for the next week.  Somehow I got back on a salty potato chip/pretzel kick.  I've been to the vending machine twice this week!  I know that I feel better when I eat healthier natural foods such as fruit so why aren't I doing that?  Tomorrow, I'm going to clear all of the change out of my desk so that there is less temptation and stop at the grocery store to fill up my fruit bowl.

 

Game plan in place - three simple goals that I can easily accomplish in the next seven days.  The first step in getting myself back on track.  It is so important that I take the time and energy to focus on me - I know that for a fact.  I will NOT grow weary!  I will NOT give up! 

 



 



I Want to be Contagious!

I stood in the long check-out line of Bottom Dollar (one of our local grocery stores).
My cart was literally overflowing.  In front of me were two ladies - a middle-aged daughter taking her elderly mom to the grocery - both carrying a small armload of goods.  In front of them was a third lady - older than the other two - pushing a cart containinging a few items.  I observed the three ladies strike up a conversation and the lady with the cart offered to have the other two cut in front of her in line.  As the ladies shifted their positions, I made eye contact with the leader of this line dance.

"Me, too?"  I asked with a smile waving my arms across the top of my full cart.

She broke into a high pitched giggle, "Now that may be considered taking advantage of a little old lady!"  

The entire checkout line joined in her laughter.

For the next 30 minutes I enjoyed an amazing conversation with this 86 year-old stranger while we went through the checkout line, boxed up my groceries (She grabbed a box and started organizing my groceries before I could stop her!), and walked to our cars which just so happened to be parked side by side.  We talked about cooking, raising children, God, health and TV comedies. 

As I was driving home I realized that I was sitting there with the most ridiculous grin on my face.  Then I started to laugh.  How weird was this?  I never saw this lady before in my life, our paths cross for 30 minutes and now I'm sitting here with a crazy grin on my face.  I just felt so happy!  This complete stranger left me with such a sense of joy.  What was it about her? 

She was CONSIDERATE - after all, not too many people let others cut in front of them in the checkout line or help a complete stranger box up her groceries.  She was a great CONVERSATIONALIST.  I am a social worker, so you know I love a good conversation filled with active listening and lots of questions.  She had a CONTAGIOUS positive attitude that left me with this sense of joy.  That was it.  Her attitude.  It was contagious!

I started to think about myself.  Do I leave people with a sense of joy?  Lately I have been struggling with my attitude.  I have always considered myself to be a very positive person, but I have felt as if I've been letting life's stresses leave a lingering dark haze over me.  I'm quicker to point out the bad in the situation.  It's harder to get myself out of bed in the morning rather than anticipating a good day.  I catch myself complaining more.  This isn't me . . . at least it's not the me I want to be!  I want to exude happiness and positivity and JOY!  I want to be CONTAGIOUS!

Living a healthy life involves all aspects of health - physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and attitudinal.  Am I living my life with a healthy attitude?  I have to admit that I don't think I am right now. That's something I know I need to work on.

As this stranger (We didn't even exchange names!) and I parted ways she shared this with me, "As I was having my time with God this morning He impressed upon my heart that I would touch someone's life today - give them a smile and some happiness.  I've been sitting in my house all day expecting someone to stop over, but as the day got later I thought maybe I'm supposed to go find that person so I decided to come to the grocery store." 

At the time I told her that I was pretty sure she had found her person.  She sure had made me smile and brightened my day!  The more I reflect on our interaction, I'd say she gave me a lot more than a smile! 

HUMOROUS SIDE NOTE: God did a great job of pointing her out to me.  She was hard to miss!  My stranger was dressed from head to toe in bright purple with purple eye shadow, purple bangle bracelets, a large purple flower ring and purple nail polish.  I LOVE purple!  That will SO be me when I'm 86!

I told you IT'S working, but exactly what is IT?

I know that we are only one week into summer vacation, but I am so incredibly proud of my kids and all that they accomplished over the past seven days.  Ellie completed her first 5k, conquered her fear of the pool slide AND roller coasters, started tennis lessons and joined the Westmoreland Youth Strings Summer Symphony without knowing another member of the group.  JJ started tennis lessons, joined a weight lifting class, helped my dad with the lawn and installing a new mailbox without complaining (Watching your 14 year-old son handle power tools is pretty scary!) and stayed within his food/game budget during two trips to Kennywood.  This would have never happened a year ago!

I wrote a couple months ago about being excited that "It's working," but I never gave you the answer as to WHAT is working.  So what is WHAT?  WHAT has changed in the past year that has made such a difference for my kids?  A year ago I made the decision that it was time to change my family's sedentary frozen food focused electronic device driven lifestyle.  I chose four areas of our everyday lives to make simple yet specific changes and dove right in.  Those four areas are physical activity, food portion, trying new things and ME!

1) Physical Activity. I used to consider sitting in front of the TV spending quality time with JJ and Ellie.  Then I thought about all of the activities we had equipment for that we rarely used: cornhole, Wii, Frisbee golf, Bocce, paddle ball, YMCA membership . . . the list could on.  It was time to play!  I didn't ASK my family if they wanted to play.  I TOLD them that we were all heading out after dinner to play.  They complained about this at first.  I expected that - they are tweenagers!  But fun is contagious.  The more fun we had, the more they wanted to play.  Eventually THEY started asking ME if I wanted to go outside!

2) Food Portion.  I simply started serving less food to my family.  I used to fill large serving platters and bowls with food and place them in the center of the table for dinner.  Now when I cook dinner, I make enough for each of us to have one serving (plus one more portion for me to take for lunch the next day) and plate the food directly from the stove.  When I order pizza, I only order one pizza instead of two.  When I grill hamburgers, I only make enough for one per person.  That way when the question comes up of wanting more to eat the available options are something healthy like fruit or simply a NO.  While I am trying new healthier recipes more often than before, for the most part we eat the same foods -- just less!  By eliminating the I'm-so-stuffed-I can't-move- post-meal-stupor, we're all ready to get up and get moving in the evening rather than collapsing on the couch.  (Don't worry - my kids are far from starved!  They still get plenty to eat.)

3) Trying New Things.  I'm making a conscious effort to introduce new things more often.  Whether it is trying a new food, a new game or a new trail at the park, I want my children to see that it is fun to try something new.  I want them to learn that you won't know if you like something unless you try it and that it is ok to try something and not like it.  Throughout the year I have gotten a LOT of complaining about this, but the fact that my kids have both been willing to try new activities this summer (granted with a little prodding - ok begging - on my part) proves to me that it's working.

4) ME!  Over the past several years I have made many changes in my life.  I expected for it to be enough for my family to observe those changes in me and want to follow along.  That wasn't working.  I had to be more intentional in pointing out the changes and including them in what I was doing.  I also had to embrace what worked best for them.  Just as I had kept trying fit my lifestyle into an exercise routine rather than fitting an exercise routine into my life, I had to figure out what activities worked best for my kids rather than always wanting them to do what I was doing.  I also had to make their exercise a priority.  So if that meant going on a walk or playing ball with them after dinner instead of doing the dishes right away or getting my full run in - so be it!  What's more important?  I learned that the more excited I got about what they were interested in doing, the more excited they got about doing it.

For example, JJ loves basketball.  So I began making a point of taking him to the Y so he could play basketball.  Eventually JJ and I started going to the Y or outside to play basketball around 9PM.  Often my gut reaction would be that it was too late or I was too tired.  I literally had to teach myself to pause when he asked me to play because my initial reaction was to sigh before saying yes.  That turned him off completely.  I learned that by being intentionally enthusiastic in my response I felt more energetic and excited to play.  Besides getting a workout in, we created great memories playing HORSE under a full moon, during a snowstorm and in a deep freeze.  Plus, we've had some pretty meaningful conversations under that hoop! 

Ellie, on the other hand, has fallen in love with riding her bike.  So I dusted off my bike, bought a new helmet (Ellie found the bright white round one we got for free at a health fair to be WAY to embarressing!) and hopped on!  I was beyond thrilled when she asked me if they had 5k's for bike riders.  You know I was on the computer in seconds and found one for her!

I'm aware that we are only seven days into the summer.  Is it too early to tell if the changes we've made over the past year have had a lasting impact on my family?  Some might say yes.  But you know what . . . I don't care!  Today I am celebrating the GREAT summer kick-off we've had and am gearing up to maintain this momentum.  I am determined that my family's sedentary frozen food focused electronic device driven lifestyle will be no more.  Will it be smooth sailing - absolutely not.  Life doesn't work that way.  But I'm ready.  Bring on the challenges, the struggles, the complaining . . . this is another mission I WILL accomplish!

This first week has obviously exhausted my children.  They are still sleeping!  So I'm lacing up my sneakers and hitting the road.  I'll be sure to leave them a note for when they wake up to remind them that . . . Mom Went Running!

Victory! Mission Accomplished!

You know you are a runner when with five miles left in a half-marathon you think, 'I am never doing this again' and then five minutes after you finish you ask yourself, 'When can I run my next one?'

I saw this quote on an e-card on Facebook last night.  It describes me exactly!  I spent months training for Pittsburgh's Half-Marathon in celebration of my 40th Birthday.  On the morning of the event I was SO excited to get started.  I made a mental note that I wanted to be sure to pay attention to the crowds and the entertainment and the funny signs and the Pittsburgh scenery.  While I did soak everything in (What an AMAZING experience!), I think that I paid a little too much attention to everything around me and not enough attention to following the running routine I had focused on during my training.  By the time I hit mile ten I was way off on my projected times and hit a wall (By the way - my favorite sign along the route said - 'Humpty Dumpty had wall issues, too!).  I was tired, sore and couldn't imagine why I thought completing a half-marathon was a good idea.  After seeing my family at mile eleven, I rebounded and finished strong.  Well - I thought I finished strong . . .

I had given much thought to how I wanted to cross the finish line because I knew they would be taking pictures and I thought it would be cool to have that memory captured on film.  I decided to raise both arms over my head pumping my fists in celebration.  As I crossed the finish line I did just that - huge smile on my face, arms lifted high, VICTORY!  When the professionals pictures showed up in my e-mail and I opened them up I cracked up.  My arms are barely lifted above my waist and my face has a look of pure agony!  How hysterical is that?!?  My mental picture of myself was obviously much better than reality! 

The afternoon after the Half-Marathon I was more sore and tired than I think I ever have been in my life.  During the weeks that followed I felt a bit of a let-down.  I compare it to how you feel after the holidays or after a great vacation.  You spend months planning and preparing and dreaming . . . and then the moment is over.  I was happy to catch an article online (I'm disappointed that I didn't write down the source!) that talked about the post-race blues.  I definitely experienced those! 

But here I am today - three weeks post-race - feeling excited again.  I am SO proud of myself for setting that goal and accomplishing it.  I am extremely excited about the 5k's I have lined up for this summer.  Last night I finally went to my first Zumba class since before the Half-Marathon and it felt SO good!  My kids are getting more and more excited about being physically active and have some fun things planned for this summer.  And I am looking forward to the fall and asking myself, "When are you going to run your next Half-Marathon, Lisa?"

The Marathon Expo

Finding my name on the wall of runners

 

Pre-Race Pasta!

I read several articles about what and when to eat the days before

the event.  Nutrition is an area of health that I'm eager to learn more about.

 

We made it!  I'm so happy that I had my sister to encourage me

along this journey.

 

I love the 13.1 mile charm I wear on my Runner Girl necklace.

It reminds me of this great goal I accomplished and that I can reach for more.

 

Remember my Goal Bracelet?  It helped me many times in the months leading up to

the main event to stay focused.

It's Working! It's Working!

"Ellie, I still only count eleven pictures," I told a frustrated Ellie.

Heavy sigh.  "Mo-om, I'm telling you, there are twelve pictures of me in the yearbook."

My daughter had brought her yearbook home from school and was excited to show me all of the pictures of her in the book.  No matter how many times I looked through it, I only found her pretty smiling face eleven times. 

"Why don't you come look at it with me.  I'm obviously missing one."

Heavier sigh.  "Fine," she huffed as she ripped the book from my hands.  "My class picture - one.  Chorus shots - two, three.  Crazy Sock Day - Four . . ."

"Wait.  Stop on that page," I said reaching for the book. 

Ellie's picture wasn't on the Crazy Sock Day page.  I bent forward and peered closer at the picture she had pointed to.  Was that Ellie?  I looked over at my daughter who was looking at me with her best "Are-You-Really-This-Stupid-Mom?" face and then back at the girl with the round cheeks smiling up at me from the yearbook page.  I squinted a bit and held the book closer to my eyes.  WAS that Ellie?  That's not Ellie.  Wait, is it her?  Is that what she looked like several month ago?  That WAS Ellie!

"Woo-Hoo!" I exclaimed throwing my arms around her.  "Look at YOU!  GO Ellie!"   

Ellie tried to pull away from me.  Her eyebrows arched high as her facial expression turned to one of "Why-Is-My-Mother-SO-Incredibly-Strange?" 

This was the first time that I realized all of the hard work was paying off!  All of the begging and pleading and arguments and frustration was worth it!  The girl glaring at me in my family room had cheeks that weren't as round as the girl in the picture.  The girl glaring at me in my family room was a little slimmer around the waist than the girl in the picture.  I truly hadn't recognized the girl in the yearbook picture.  Amazing!

As I continued to do my Happy Dance, Ellie grabbed her water bottle and gave me one more horrified glance before heading out the door saying, "I'm going out to ride my bike."

Yeah Baby!  We're on a roll now!  That's something that girl on the Crazy Sock Day page would have never done without some major prodding.  GO Ellie!  My Happy Dance got a little crazier as I continued my celebration.

A year ago I began to seriously focus on changing my family's sedentary, frozen-food focused, electronic device driven lifestyle.  I chose FOUR areas of our everyday lives to make simple yet specific changes and dove in.  Things did not always go well, especially at first.  While I made it a point to purposefully celebrate every victory, it felt as if the challenges and bad moments far out numbered the good times. 

I'm eager to share the four changes that I made, but first get up and join me in celebrating this moment.  My fellow Moms know that it is important to cherish these moments of celebration even when you are dancing around by yourself while your daughter gives you one of her "looks" through the front window.

Check back tomorrow to hear the rest of the story!

Either I Can or I Can't

One week from right now, I should be a little over halfway through the course of the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon.  WOW!  I am so incredibly excited.  I cannot wait, yet at the same time I hope this week drags a little bit because I want to savor this feeling of eager anticipation. 

Yesterday morning I caught a few minutes of a news segment about people who have had near-death experiences.  One woman who survived malfunctioning equipment during a deep sea diving expedition shared a favorite saying of her husband:

Believe that you can or believe that you can't.

Either way, you're right.

 

There is so much truth in that saying.  As I have trained for next week's adventure, I have found that around miles 3 and 8 I have a little bit of a mental crisis - "You're crazy!  What were you thinking?  You can't do this.  Seriously Lisa?  You're going to make it 13.1 miles?  I don't think so."  It's during those moments that I consider stopping.  That brings me back to that moment of choice when I have to dig deep and push myself to keep going or walk off the course.  That moment of choice when I have to believe that I can or believe that I can't.

 

For me setting the goal of completing this Half-Marathon and training to accomplish that goal has meant so much more than simply lacing up my running shoes and striving to cross the finish line.  Pushing myself through those personal battles at miles 3 and 8 has made me more aware of those times in my everyday life - EVERYDAY life - when I must choose to push through a tough moment.  That has helped me to continue to BELIEVE THAT I CAN, even on the days that I want to lean towards I CAN'T.

 

Of course, I also aim to not lose sight of the One who initially got me started on this running journey three years ago and will carry me through the course to the finish line:

 

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if

WE DO NOT GIVE UP." 

Galatians 6:9

 





A Different Kind of Exercise for My Heart

I did something tonight that I have not done in a LONG time.  I made dinner for another family.  I even made them dessert!  Most nights I can barely get dinner on the table for my family - I served them half-frozen french fries last week when I made a quick stop at home to prepare dinner between picking Ellie up from her after-school running program and heading off to exercise. 

Today was a bad day.  Work was stressful.  Home was super stressful.  As a result I'm incredibly tired and feel like my legs weigh a hundred pounds each.  After getting home from my daughter's music lessons and making an easy dinner, I realized that I would never make it my Zumba class on time (I'm constantly walking in in the middle of the first song, but I would have been REALLY late tonight!).  The thought of going for a quick run briefly crossed my mind, but the rain made it too easy to not take action on that idea.  Instead I put my pj's on, crawled into bed, pulled the covers up to my nose and closed my eyes.  At 7:15PM I was tucked in bed ready to fall asleep. 

I dozed off for a few minutes and then woke with the memory that I had told my friend that I would bring her dinner tomorrow. 

"I'll just swing through KFC and pick-up a family meal,"  I thought.

"Better yet, I'll just give her the money so that she can swing through KFC and pick-up a family meal," was my next thought.  After all, my purpose in providing dinner was to give her a night off from cooking.  The drive-thru is considered a night off, right?

Then I pictured myself sitting on the curb this afternoon listening and crying with my friend as she shared with me what was going in her life.  I've said in the past that my stress is my stress - what stresses me out may not stress you out which is OK.  But I have to say that just listening to her story increased my stress level. 

Another friend who was sitting with us said, "What has happened to our society.  It used to be that when someone was struggling like this everyone would rally around and help."  After a long pause she continued, "I guess that's church.  This is work."

Her last statement really impacted me.  Should it matter if it's work versus church?  If I was in church I'd be offering to take the family a meal.  Organizing others to do the same.  Collecting helpful items.  I'd be jumping into action.  So why, in this moment, was I just sitting on the curb doing nothing? 

I turned to my friend and told her I would be providing dinner for her family tomorrow night.

Fast forward a few hours to me tucked comfortably in bed at 7:15PM.  Money for KFC would not work.  I was going to make them a meal. 

I dragged myself out of bed and into the kitchen to begin rummaging through the cupboards and freezer.  As I took stock of what I had on hand I began to get excited as different meal ideas came to mind.  Knowing there are young kids in the house, I decided on a Mac-n-Cheese Pizza Casserole.  Once that was prepared, my mind went to dessert.  Of course they would need dessert! 

As I type my kitchen is filled with the sweet scent of Devil's Food Cake Cookies . . . YUM!  I feel energized.  I'm looking forward to sharing these dishes with my friend's family tomorrow.  There is a smile on my face.  The stress from my bad day has disappeared.

So I'm not going to feel guilty about not getting any exercise in today.  While I didn't do any cardio, I definitely exercised my heart.