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!

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Hello, my name is Jessi and I'm a Trader Joe's addict.

It's a problem and I'm addicted. 

You'd think that a girl with very little "free" time would like to be more efficient about her grocery shopping. The truth is that I intentionally self-sabotage when I go to Trader Joes. Instead of going there and buying groceries for the entire week, I'll "oops" and forget one thing.... on purpose! Just so that I have an excuse to go back another night during the work week.

It's sick. It's twisted. I know.

No it's not because I want their sample snack and sample coffee - because the snack is never paleo and the coffee is usually too hot.

No I don't have a crush on any guy that works there or any missed connections (that I'm aware of).

No I don't get a thrill out of swiping my credit card and staying under the signing limit.

No I don't bring my re-usable bag (I'm a bad Portlander!)

It's just the feeling I get when I walk into these stores that has me smitten. Everyone's in a good mood, there's bright colors all around, the displays are beautiful and I feel like I always see something new, even as a 3-4 time per week shopper.

My bill averages around $14 and I'm happy about that. Even the trip I made last night - I didn't need these groceries urgently. I didn't need them today for a lunch. I just went and bought. They won't go wasted, but they could have waited if I wasn't an addict. 

Also confessing that the looks I got as a single female shopper buying that cucumber made me uncomfortable. Snapchat friends, you know why(!)

Does anyone else have this addiction?

One more confession for the road: It's also mayyyybe partially due to my fantasy that I'm going to meet the man of my dreams there in the wine aisle. A girl can stalk dream.

Linking up with Kathy!

Weekend Challenge - Clean out the Junk

Alright, the same rules from Easter weekend apply - I want you to have a few mimosas this weekend with your family for mother's day (or while you're skyping with mom from afar).

Onto business...and your weekend challenge!

When I talk to people about what their goals are and what they're doing to help clean up their act, many people refer to three main things getting in their way:

- Grazing, snacking, boredom/emotional eating

- Not having a grip on portion control

- Not LOVING their workout (aka you haven't yet found your soulmate)

This weekend I'm going to give you an assignment that won't CURE #1, but will really help out with the way that you handle grazing, snacking, boredom and emotional eating. 

You and/or your roommate, significant other, alter ego will hate me for this but my challenge to you is to TOSS OUT all of the crap that's in your pantry. 

You know what the junk is. 

The wheat thins, the potato chips, the tortilla chips, the sugar, the ice cream, the oreo's, the nonsense. 

I did this activity when I started paleo. While it wasn't easy to dump out all of my comfort snacks, it really helped when feeding time came along because I didn't have the same usual suspects lying around begging to be eaten. You know, the treats that know how to immediately stick to your hips and thighs while simultaneously making you regret the binge and lower your self worth. Bite by bite. 

When you do your big clean this weekend, tag me on instagram (@Jessifitpdx) with all the junk you're tossing out! 

There'll be a surprise in it for you! 

(okay since you're just starting out you can keep the Trader Joe's PB cups, but put them in the freezer!)

Best of luck! 

Water Drinking Tips from the Pros

Two weeks ago I asked for your help on how to drink more water throughout the day and you had suggestions!

Here are your tips and tricks that I've been sampling to see what works for me:

:: Use self-challenges. For example, "finish this bottle before my coworker comes back from a meeting" or "Have 3 bottles before lunch". Also - I hate cold water, give me all the tap water. - Kristen

:: For me, drinking out of a bottle makes a huge difference. I have one of those Contigo Waterbottles with the straw and now I finish three of those bottles before I leave work! - Jen

:: I try to swap Cold and Hot water choices. I'll have 16 oz of Ice cold Water.. then next is Decaf Green Tea.... It makes me want to drink the next 16 ounces of Cold water. So, usually 10 ounces of Green tea.. I do this 2 or 3 times a day.... It works for me. - Kateri

:: Put aminos in your water every other time you fill up. Healthy delicious juice basically. Makes drinking water way easier. - Sarah

:: Fruit in yo water! Lemon slices all day! Apple slices! Orange slices! Grapefruit! - Marisa

:: What helps me is I have a bubba 32oz mug that has a straw. You can change the straw out to fun color. - Amy

:: I bring a fun tumbler cup from home and keep that thing full of water. I try to make it a point to get up once an hour or hour and a half and use the restroom and refill my water. By doing that, I get my recommended daily amount in basically at work. - Nadine

:: I aim for half a gallon by noon-1PM and then I have the rest of the afternoon/evening to get in the other half. I've found it's easier if I knock out the first half earlier in the day. I feel less pressured in the evening. - Jordan

:: Get an ulcer (she didn't really say this, but kind of.) - Amanda

THE single most helpful thing that came out of this post was finding a community full of awesome bloggers / instagrammers and snapchatters who keep me accountable daily on my 80-100 ounces goal.

Every single day I have ladies who are telling me how they're doing on their water that day, racing me and being honest that they're slacking. I've noticed being more mindful of my water intake and really owe it all to you guys. Comment below if you want in on the fun!

Although, if you've seen my sweaty selfies you know that I should probably add another 20oz. to my day because I drip sweat.

My face sweats, my arms sweat, my shins sweat. My eyeballs sweat.

It's beautiful.

Paleo Meatloaf

If you were here yesterday for humpday you now know that I claim I'm a horrible cook. 

In efforts to redeem myself in the kitchen and maybe get married someday I feel the need to share one of my paleo staples.

In honor of Earth day this week, I'm going to recycle a post I originally published on December 4th 2013 on my lifestyle blog before any of you wonderful people were here!

Enjoy! 

It's clean, it's mean and it's Paleo! 

This recipe is directly from mom and I've been using it for glorious meatloaf meals in between chicken, turkey and other great protein sources.  If you follow me on instagram, you've seen the spaghetti squash + meatloaf work lunches and you may have drooled. Well here's your chance to make it for yourself! 

All you need are 5 easy ingredients (seriously only 5!) and hardly 15 minutes of prep time. Important note about these 15 minutes is that you'll need (and want) to get your hands dirty! Nothing like being wrist-deep in raw meat and eggs. 

Good luck! 

How amazing does that look? 

Here's an easy way to eat it - with spaghetti squash! 

Make your own and tag me on instagram! Email me with questions using the comments below! 

Phew - that was easy!

Fitness Journey Confessions

Happy Wednesday, my fitness friends!

Something I love doing on my other blog is Wednesday "Humpday Confessions". It's an opportunity to wash myself of all the dirty little secrets I keep in my sweaty 3rd day hair and present it in a humorous manner. Some days it's a gif party, others it's a list load - some days you're going to get one long and lean post about just one topic.

If we're clear on the rules, how about we jump right in?

+ This Jolly Rancher Lollipop (from Valentine's Day) is not Paleo.

+ Some days I don't want to work out either, but I often find the motivation in my "Why" to do it.

+ I'm one of the worst at drinking my daily quota of water. Tips on how to, please?

+ Sometimes I can come across as fitness obsessed - I'm really just life obsessed!

+ I realize now how much time I wasted in four prime years of my life focusing on only running.

+ I'm tempted by office sweets, too.

+ I think dance class is my soul-mate workout. However, I couldn't do it in heels.

+ I can't do all of the push-ups in my workout DVD's but I'm getting there (little by little, day by day)

+ I'm the annoying co-worker who takes a section of the fridge with my prepped lunches.

+ I like to sweat. Oh wait, you knew that already.

Want to play along next week?

Linking up with my fitness inspiration, Kathy

So You Want to Learn More about Paleo?

So you're here because you want to learn a little more about Paleo, right?

When people ask me where I learned what I know about paleo, my confident reply is that I learned it all from my beautiful mother who has adopted the lifestyle and changed her health picture over the past year. It was silly of me to be late to the party but I'm thankful to have her support and her expert cooking every time I go home. 

For those of you who don't have that resource in your life, how are you supposed to learn?

Sure you could read all the best philosophy books, then when you get bored with those you'll just buy a cook book. When you realize there's no more pasta or rice in your house you get desperate and resort to pinning paleo desserts non-stop and wondering if they actually taste good while you opt for a scoop of ice cream instead. It's happened. I've been there. 

The world of paleo is big, scary and confusing to some - so today I'm letting you read my absolute favorite "explanation" that really clicked for me when I first started out. Why's it so great? 

Paleo lego characters of course!

Just click that friendly image below for the answer to your questions like:

"So are all carbs bad?" - Nope

"How come I won't get fat?" - Because you're eating good food in moderation

"Is it Paleo?" - depends - check the link yourself!

The Beginner's Guide to the Paleo Diet

Have fun learning!

My "Why"

Since we're still getting acquainted here I have to admit that I feel a little silly wanting to tell you my life story. You know I'm 20-something, you know I dig working out and you know that I'm a fan of sweaty selfies. While those things are great, entertaining and blog-worthy - there's much more to the girl behind the blog and her "why". 

If you don't know what I mean, the 'why' is the driving factor behind why one does anything. The reason you are who you are, why certain parts of your life are priorities over others and the difference between goal setting and blowing your own damn mind over and over.

There's three main points of focus to this blog - Fitness, Nutrition and Personal Balance, all of which are my top priorities in my life right now and I'd like to tell you why.

Why Fitness?

As an athlete* (if you have a body, you are an athlete according to Nike), competition and sport have always been critical pieces of my life. From idolizing strong female role models as a child to trying to become a strong female role model in my adulthood - there's been so much value in the opportunities I've earned through sport. 

Sport has given me confidence, sport has given me a voice, sport has made me outgoing and sport has allowed me to form my own identity. It's given me the tools of organization, goal setting, time-management, focus, determination and tenacity. It's formed me, shaped me, given me countless opportunities to improve and grow - both personally and professionally. 

And while I don't consider my fitness in today's world to be "sport" anymore, the principals and foundation are the same. I still gain discipline, organization, confidence, focus and triumph. I still challenge the boundaries that I (and only I) have put up for myself. 

I've seen what sport has done for me and I want to see it change your life too. 

Why Nutrition?

It saddens me to admit that I've never had a comfortable relationship with food - that is until the past six months. Food has always meant calories and calories always meant weight and weight always meant having to find a way to hide myself behind my clothes. I've always loved winter, because to me layers meant a shield that I could hide behind. You have no idea how thrilled I was to see maxi dresses/skirts become a trend because I finally had something to wear to summer bbq's and on 4th of July. It was difficult to come up with a new excuse for why I was wearing pants and a cardigan when it was 90 degrees out and I was clearly sweating. 

I think it's safe to admit here that I am not once, not twice - but a three time recovering anorexic. 

The first time I was the new girl at a preppy high school trying to fit in. The second time I was coping with a softball career-altering injury and struggled with the idea of not being able to work out. The third time was me trying to cope with debilitating insecurity and loss of my personal identity my Junior year of college.

There will be no fourth time. 

I've always known since coming out of the third time that I wouldn't go back to starvation. What really changed the maybe-never into absolutely-never was seeing the way that Paleo has changed my life. I put more food on my plate than ever before in my life and I'm losing weight. Why? Because I'm eating good food, healthy food, the right food that my body has been craving all of my life. 

If I had the chance, I'd go smack 15, 17 and 20 year old me in the face three times over just to get her to understand that her relationship with food doesn't have to be a bad one. If she would have understood this earlier in her life, I think that her world would have been so much different. The beautiful thing is that the world she could have had is still out there. It's a bright world and there's so much more.

Did you notice how the body image piece is addressed in the nutrition section rather than the fitness section? Yeah - that's because that's where it belongs. Eat well and your body will thank you. 

Why Balance?

This last one is easy. I've never been very patient, I've never been good at handling all of the pressure (that only I have put on myself) and I'm always out 'chasing' after something. Whether it was trying to be the smartest student, the best pitcher, the most clever or the wittiest & prettiest - I've never found satisfaction in the things that I've already accomplished. 

I've never found great ways to build success on top of success because each new goal I try to pursue I feel like I'm starting over. 

The word 'balance' means many things to me. It means being able to fall asleep at night in the dark silence and be beaming with peace and happiness. It means having a 'someday' vision of being present for my children and my family to be the best mother I could ever hope to be. It means setting myself up with attainable and realistic goals - goals that push me closer to my passions, not just what society's goals are for me.

Balance is bliss.

Thanks for letting me share, it's important that you know the girl behind the blog if you're going to take this journey with me. 

Wait, What Do I Eat?

Hello and welcome to Not the Average Bear if this is your first visit!

If this isn't your first visit, it means you're savvy and you won the game this week by paying close attention to my power moves in the beautiful world of the internet.

Once again, I have to assume there's only a few reasons you came to this sparkly, shiny and new (read: baby blog) corner of the internet. 

1. You're my dad (hi dad!)

2. You like fitness.

3. You like eating clean.

4. You like eating Paleo.

5. You want to learn more about fitness.

6. You want to learn how to eat clean or what the heck paleo is (?!?!).

7. You hopped over after the official reveal from my Lifestyle blog (thanks!)

Yesterday we discussed the foundation of what I'm going to be bringing you when it comes to fitness.

Today, we're going to cover the basics of #3 and #4.

My approach to nutrition has changed significantly in the past year and it always leaves people asking me "so, what do you eat?". It also has them saying, "wow! What is that, it looks so fresh, healthy and wonderful!" I like that question better.

Starting weight lifting made me want to give my body the best shot possible to grow those healthy lean muscles. To me, that meant cutting the dairy, cutting the grains and cutting the sugars that only boosted my cravings in my past-life. It meant sticking to clean vegetables, healthy meats and the biggest secret of all:

All the water I can drink.

Simply, I try to follow paleo in all areas possible - with the occasional let-loose-and-live cheese + alcohol allowances.

Why paleo? Because I've seen results in myself and others!

Since starting Paleo:

+ I've lost 15 pounds
+ Dropped a pant size
+ Can show off my arms for the first time in years
+ Am confident beyond belief
+ Don't miss bread, pasta, pizza or milk for a minute.

Expect to see beautiful creations like this and more on this page, with recipes, how-to's and substitutions for some of your favorite foods that you're not ready to give up on.

You should read my absolute favorite explanation of the paleolithic diet to understand what it is that "we" eat.

From there you can follow along and ask me all the questions you want!

Until next time!