Mischief Managed

If I could sum up the last 3 weeks in one photo for how I've been with my diet and fitness choices, this would be it. 

Okay maybe actually this one...

Come on, this huge plate of nachos is only $5!!!

Either photo you look at, there's a hint of a girl who's been "enjoying life" we'll call it and she's ready to be serious about that motivation she said she wanted to redefine. 

Little did I know it wouldn't be as easy as I thought to bounce back after vacation! You guys were so right for all the right reasons!

So how about you come back tomorrow for Tough it Out Tuesday for the full tale of how my mischief was managed.

Sneaky Workouts: Walking

I love the summer weather because it makes me want to walk everywhere. 

I'm less worried about time from A to B and I'm more likely to suggest walking to places (like dinner, the grocery store, after-dinner strolls in the park). 

It sounds like more work to walk, I know. But it's pretty amazing what you'll see, hear and smell when you're walking that you wouldn't have otherwise seen if you were stuck inside of your car.

Here's some of the amazing things I discovered (and ate!) while walking this past weekend:

Top Left / Bottom Right :: Tumalo Falls
Top Right :: Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden
Bottom Left :: Saburo Sushi

Stand Up For Yourself

You read that right. Stand up for yourself. 

I’m not talking about picking a fight with a bully. I’m talking about getting out of your chair and not living the daily sedentary office lifestyle many of us have been forced into.

There’s serious research behind how sitting for long durations each day is slowly killing us. 

Isn’t it obvious? 

Full infographic (Worth a look!) here

I'm forced to sit up to two hours already at a minimum just from my cross-city car commute, the last thing I need is to get to my desk and continue to flatten my ass on the chair leather. 

Long ago at work I requested an elevated desk and an elevated chair so that I can commit to standing half of the day at my desk at a minimum! This has led to improved flexibility. I also try to take a walk around our beautiful campus with co-workers every opportunity I get - which sometimes even just means tagging along for a walk to the cafeteria even though I've packed my lunch. 

Recently I’ve been having more meetings at work which for me has meant more sitting. In the four walls of the conference room there’s no other option than to sit at the table and take notes while nodding your head in agreement (and trying to ignore the snapchat notifications that keep rolling in). You bet I'm also taking notes on the time that I'm sitting and combatting it every way I can. 

Are you still sitting?

Vacation Confessions

Happy Hump Day!

You learned on Monday that I did my vacation right and didn’t force any workouts into my week in paradise. 

Want to know something else?

I didn’t obsess over being 100% Paleo either. 

I ate airplane peanuts. 

I ate beans (black and refried).

I ate rice.

I ate fried bread. 

I ate focaccia bread.

I ate Doritos. Handfuls of Doritos. (have you tried the Spicy Sweet Chili ones?)

I ate cheese.

I ate m&m’s.  

I ate tortilla chips. 

I ate the taco shell of a taco salad (and loved every crunchy bite I took)

I ate airplane cookies. 

I drank juice.

I drank too much rum.

Detox week in order? Yes!

Stress over what I ate? Never!

Huge implications on my weight and my body? Not at all! 

There was no sense in worrying over what I couldn’t eat in a group of people - so decided to live bravely, cheat moderately and confess openly. 

I live to tell the tale and I still fit my skinny jeans.

Cheers to indulging!

Redefining My Motivation

Hi fitness friends!

Most of my fitness and health goals over the past few months were driven by a serious desire to confidently wear a swim suit on a tropical vacation with my family. This was kept secret from my blog considering the vacation was a surprise, so I’m sorry that I never mentioned that in my goals. Actually I’ve also been training for my flex pose for Instagram sweaty selfies. 

Judge me, I do. 

Both of these goals were purely aesthetic, but approached with patience and done with my sustainable health in mind. 

In my opinion, I far exceeded my expectations for myself and am proud of my attitude toward toning and firming the healthy way. 

For me, the “healthy way” meant ditching the scale, lifting weights, staying hydrated and fueling my body with the good whole foods that it could use for good and not store for bad. 

This is what that approach got me, along with a huge sense of accomplishment and confidence.

This foundation I built was different than crash diets I’ve tried in the past. 

This was the game-changer and a huge positive because ‘quick fixes’ don’t exist usually mean exhaustion, fatigue and quicker re-gain because the body wants to store and secure anything and everything to prepare for hibernation. Sorry body, I’ve been an asshole to you in the past. Never again. 

Now that I have this foundation down, I have my sights on much more than ‘looking good’ in a bikini. 

I have my focus on strength. 

I have my focus on push-ups.

I have my focus on testing my boundaries. 

I have my focus on inspiring others. 

I have my focus on fitting workouts into a busier work schedule. 

I have my focus on broadening my paleo food horizons.

I have my focus on maintaining and improving the work I’ve done. 

I have my focus on being kind to my body. 

I don’t need a race to train for, or a third Tough Mudder under my belt. 

I just want to keep health, fitness and balance at the forefront of my life because I’ve found that doing so brings me great happiness. 

Happiness from the stress-relief I gain, happiness from the way I inspire others, happiness from the way I feel - inside and out. 

What’s your motivation?

Linking up for Tough it Out Tuesday with the rest of my fit-fam ladies!

Back to Reality

Hey fitness blog, it’s been a while!

As some of you readers may know, I was soaking up the sun in Belize all last week and didn’t prepare for any guest bloggers to fill the air. The week prior to that, I was scrambling at work trying to prepare for a week off. And yep you guessed it, this week will be equally busy trying to catch up for the five days that I missed. Lucky me!

Here’s what I expected my fitness activities to look like in Belize:

:: Circuit workouts in the sand

:: Jogging on the beach

:: Taking walks along the island

:: Dock-side yoga

:: Bedroom pilates (not an innuendo)

:: Stair sprints outside of our 2nd story condo

:: Ocean freestyle swim / shark avoidance

:: Poolside planking

This may come as a shock but I did none of these things. 

My only form of exercise was swimming back and forth in our 30ft leisure pool, intermittently stopping to change the music on my spotify playlist.

And I’m not a single bit upset or worried that the week off put me any steps behind in my fitness. The relaxed vibe and less laundry situation was good for me - plus I was already sweating enough just from the humidity!

The first thing I did when I got home and set down my luggage was lifted my 10lb dumbbells and gave them a big warm embrace and a kiss.

I sure missed my babies and I know you missed my sweaty selfies!

Time to get back to work!

Weekend Challenge

Okay guys, for this weekend's challenge I need you to go to your favorite grocery store and buy 5 fruits and vegetables.

Then, with whatever you buy - go on Pinterest and search for something amazing to make with that vegetable and share it with me either via email or instagram.

It can be exciting like this broccoli pizza crust from my friend Marisa!

Can't wait to see what you make for me!

Failed to Plan

So you guys know how I am always telling you "plan or plan to fail", right?

Usually at work I've always got some emergency snacks - carrots, meat, protein powder. It all counts.  

Yesterday was no exception! I packed a lunch, I had my snacks and I was all set for another healthy day. 

All of a sudden time slipped away from me and I was off to a 5 hour back-to-back meeting schedule without an opportunity to grab my foods. 

I was doing well until 3pm rolled around and there was a snack table from catering that had coffee, fruit, m&m's, pretzels and a nut mix. 

Now the "good" me would have politely grabbed a banana and coffee, but the "treat yo'self" me said screw you, Paleo and opted for the m&m/nuts mix. It was also really salty. Hate me. 

The "treat yo'self" me was very satisfied with this decision until I immediately felt lethargic and in dire need of a sweaty circuit workout. I got home and got it out of my system, but know that I shouldn't feel the pull for my workout because I've made poor food decisions. 

I feel like I've been a poor example to you ladies recently with my cinnabon delights yesterday and now this - plus my lack of water lately! I'm not falling off the wagon but I'm definitely letting some obstacles get in my way. 

This is the part where I confess, get over it and become a better role model for you again. 

Wish me luck!

Happy confessions with Kathy!

Meat Tornado

I had such a fun time last month with the May favorite workouts link-up and I almost didn't know what to write about today for Tough it Out Tuesday.

You know I like lifting, you know I like squatting, you know I like sweating.

But did you also know that I LOVE eating? Like, really love. 

I've never got to the point here where I share my grocery list because I fear you'd all say I was pretty boring. Paleo can be very diverse for some people, but I'm perfectly happy with eating the same thing over and over if I love it enough. 

My first line of defense for hunger pangs and snack-time?

Meat. 

Get it in my mouth. 

Chicken, beef, turkey, sausage, bacon - I don't discriminate. I love it all. 

Meat tornado. 

I always have to have some type of meat prepped in my house because it makes snack time a no brainer. It also makes meal time a no brainer. 

Meat is my lifeblood because it's protein and there's endless ways to flavor, spice and dress it up. Plus it makes me feel good and it helps my muscles grow.

Meat is my first line of defense because as long as I have meat and a skillet - I can make a pretty great meal (for my single-self, not for a dinner party).  I have meat for most every meal and if you're a guy you'd be pretty upset that you'd have to compete with me for the beef. I keep flirting with the idea of buying half of a cow, but might need to share it. Brooke, you guys need a re-stock?

Oh hey, I know it's not Wednesday yet but sometimes you also have to treat yo'self.

#NotPaleo #TacoBell

You Never Know Until You Try

This weekend while I was sitting outside reading a book I got the sudden urge to see IF I could do a pull-up. It’s always something I’ve said that I can’t do (yet), but never really allowed myself the chance to see if I could. I threw my running shoes on and headed to the park to see what I didn’t know yet about myself.

This post is a little misleading because now you’re probably thinking I grabbed the bar and knocked out ten reps in a row. Well you’re wrong.

I got to the park and shamelessly worked for about five minutes on holding myself up and trying to see what the “kipping” motion is all about.

At the end of it all, I was able to jump up, pull-up, lower down a few inches, then pull my chin back up over the bar before my arms gave out. I am only going to count that as one rep because the jump-up shouldn’t count - but it made me proud to try.

It was a challenge, but I decided to not be ashamed of being such a beginner even though there were several spectators who could see my weakness right through my tough-girl attitude.

This trial and somewhat-success really makes me want to get better. To be able to do one confidently. To be able to do two. Hell to be able to do five! I’m a seeker of constant improvement and can see this being one of my new adventures to tackle as I introduce myself to new workouts and different ways to challenge my body.

And no, the workout didn’t stop there - I stayed and did a circuit with squats, lunges, burpees, planks and sprints that got me sweaty and satisfied on a beautiful Portland summer afternoon.