Look what I got in the mail yesterday!  Prescription for Dietary Wellness. Yippe! This was my first piece of mail at our new house…only fitting that it was a book I am super excited to read.  Cindy told me I HAD to get this book, so like a good little girl, I obeyed and ordered it right away!  I can't wait to get started. When I finish this post its scriptures and then dietary wellness time! I'm sure this book with be referenced in many posts to come!!

I STILL have not gone shopping, but am planning a run to the store this afternoon! I also have a few other thing up my sleeve for later today. Last night I declared to Dave that I WAS SICK OF NOT WORKING OUT…and I needed to get exercise, busy or not!  My plan is to head to the gym after work each day.  Since my foot is still bothering me I will do the ellipticalor the bike and then add on 15-20 minutes of strength.  I'm feeling super out of shape. I'm even noticing a difference in the way I look….boo hoo! I must admit my exercise has been MIA since my foot and getting ready to move. That combined with eating out WAY TOO MUCH is making me feel blah!!.  I may just be feeling this way because I've been less active (exercise wise), but whatever it is, I don't like the way I feel…so I'm going to change it. Simple as that.

When I used to feel like this in the past, I would make myself feel even worse by dwelling on the negative and all of my mistakes. I would end up eatting worse and avoid exercise all together. Makes no sense right? I know..but its just how I did it.

I CAN NOT TELL YOU how thankful I am that that has changed. Yesterday when I had a moment to breath and stop and think about how I have been feeling the past few days, it made me motivated to make myself feel better and get back on track. I want to feel stronger, healthier and in better shape, which also motivates me to eat better (no more fast food) and MAKE TIME for exercise. Now that we are moved in the BIG STRESS is behind us, so making time to exercise seems a lot more feasible and desirable!

So, today I brought my gym clothes with me and plan on hitting up the gym before I head home. 

Here is my plan:
45 min Elliptical
15 min upper body
6-10 min Widdle my middle

Yay!  I can't wait to sweat it out! I have totally missed sweating.  Of course moving was a lot of work and caused me to have sweat pits (ha), but that is not the kind of sweating I'm talking about. I'm talking about full on sweat dripping all over, wipe it off your face with your arm kind of sweat. The gross kind! I'm craving it big time! At 9:00pm last night I almost popped in a workout DVD because I was wanting to do something so bad. I realized that it was not the best time since we were getting ready for bed. I practiced "MODERATION" by realizing that it would be ok if I waited until tomorrow. FLASHBACK: (I remember times where I layed in my bed anticipating the next days workout and feeling guilty about something I did or didn't do that day. I would actually get out of bed and go down stairs and workout…at crazy hours)….I look back on that and think…oh you poor little thing. I also think… YOU WERE CRAZY! lol. But really MODERATION is important. I had already done my Whiddle My Middle exercises and since it was time for bed I declined my urge to workout at such a late hour!
(9pm…yes that is late for us who get up in the 4am hour)

Speaking of Moderation…dave said something to me a while back when we were doing Crossfit that I have to keep reminding myself of.  We had decided to take a day off and I was stressed about it because I had committed to 30 days and was planning on blogging about it that day and was also planning on the exercise.  He looked and me and said Nat, this is our life, this is not a fitness competition, nor your blog, it is ok if we take a day off.  Geeze Louise, I thought to myself!! He was so right. How silly it was that I was worried about taking the day off! It is not a competition, no one is judging, no one actually really cares what I do or don't do! I was so glad he reminded me that this is my life and living it in moderation is KEY to my happiness! I refer back to that statement often!

This post is pretty random. I'm just letting out some thoughts. Thanks for listening! Here is to moderation and a really sweaty workout!!

(Check out my fitness page…I am going to TRY and log my daily fitness!!)

Widdle My Middle Workout
Nov 17
Plank: 1:30
Side Plank: 1 min each side
Ball Roll Out: 20 Reps
Jack Knife Roll Out: 20 Reps
Side to Side Plank: 1:30
Total Min: 6 Min 30 Sec

Yesterday I mentioned I had a exciting Idea that I was brewing up….well I DO…BUT I'm not quite ready to let the cat out of the bag just yet. 

 BUT GUESS WHAT?

I do have some other really great  news!!  Remember my post a few weeks ago about "Counting Calories". If you didn't get a chance to read it, go back and read before you continue.

I thought a lot about that post and hoped that someone would give me some sort of great idea that would help me kick this annoying unhealthy(for me) habit. At the end of the day, I took a moment to re-read the comments and read what you had to say to me.

Emily from "Home Cooked Em" wrote:

" Try mentally counting for awhile and get away from putting it down on paper. You don't want to live writing down everything for the rest of your life."

Kelly form "Every Gyms Nightmare" left a  comment saying:

"ooo that totally used to be me. What i did was start by just counting at the end of the day- don't keep track during and then try and recall everything. Usually what would happen was i couldn't remember everything i had so i knew it wasn't accurate and eventually didn't see the point anymore. I also started focusing on the quality of my food as opposed to the quantity. start trying to hit all your food groups- it will give you something a little less obsessive to pay attention to, and you know you are eating healthy so you wont get so nervous about the calorie part."

There were a few others but these ones really stuck out to me. It's true, I don't want to be counting calories and tallying everything up on paper (or in my head) for the rest of my life. I had to try somthing different.  To be honest, before I wrote that post, I really didn't know what to do and I was kinda of afraid to try. I worried I would eat too much and gain weight or not be able to listen to my body. I was a bit weary to try what Kelly and Emily had suggested, but I decided to suck it up and give it a try.

The first day I thought about adding up my calories more times than I can count, but right before I'd do the addition in my head, I remembered their suggestions and told myself NO!  It was CRAZY how many times I wanted to add and re-add stuff during the day, but my goal to make it one day gave me motivation.  At the end of the first night I was a little scared to add it all up and see what my choices would equal.  To my HUGE SURPRISE I was exactly where I wanted to be. EXACTLY. I can't tell you how good it felt. I committed to continue to do this the next day.  And so I did, and the next, and the next.  It has now been 1 weeks since I have not tallied up my calories after each time I eat them. Not in my head, and not on paper! Halle freaking lujah!!  I've decided to tallying them at the end of the day, because I want to make sure I'm on track with where I want to be. I know that with enough practice I will be confident without ever tallying them at all!! Last night I after I mentally added up my daily total I couldn't help but get really EXCITED!! I have gone one week without obsessing over calories. I have eaten the foods I love, eaten when I've wanted to eat, and have been completely satisfied. 

One other AWESOME thing I've found is when I'm  hungry I eat, and when I'm not hungry I don't eat. ha ha Sounds simple right? Not for me…I could never grasp the idea of intuitive eating. I honestly didn't know how to recognize when I was or wasn't hungry. I was so used to eating at the time I planned to eat or when I had calories left to eat. I didn't know how to listen to my body and realize when it was hungry. There were so many times in my past where I would set a daily calorie allotment and at the end of the day if I still hadn't eating all of the calories I alloted, I would go ahead and eat them right up, whether I was hungry or not. I ate them just because I had them left to eat.  There has been more than one occasions in the past week where I have been done eating and counted up my daily total only to realize that I am so much lower than I I thought….and I'm full, no more food necessary. It didn't matter that I ate less that day because I chose healthy foods and I felt great.  If I would have been counting calories after each of those meal on those days, I would have eaten more….just because I hadn't reached my limit yet!

I can't tell you how excited I am right now. I don't ever in all my life remember feeling this in control of food and eating. It's like someone fixed the connection between my mind and body that has been broken for 10 years!!
I know I'm not an expert and 1 week of success does not equate to a lifetime, but I'm finally on the right track.  A track I don't ever remember being on!

I wish I could write some inspirational post about how you or people you know with an "ED" can do the same thing. I wish I could give you step by step instructions on how not to obssess over calories. But the truth is I don't know how to explain everything that led up to today. Last night I thought a lot about when I used to limit myself to a crazy low amount of calories, or when I used to binge eat, or when I made myself sick from exercising, and all the other unhealthy things I did. …….If I could go back in time, could I have helped me? Would I have listened? I bet fifty bucks the answer is no.  I wouldn't have listened, I couldn't have changed, I wouldn't have taken any action.  BUT WHY? 

Answer: I didn't love myself. I did not love myself and I did not believe in myself, and the worst part is I didn't even know it.

-blos·som: A period or condition of maximum development-

 If we don't already, we must develop a deep, love for ourselves. Inside and out.  I believe that when we treat ourselves with love and respect a seed in our soul begins to grow. If we continue to love, nourish and respect ourselves our souls will eventually blossom.

I'm sorry to talk about this same subject over and over, but its true and I have such a strong belief in it. Strength and power lies within us. We all have it, every single one of us.
I am so thankful for YOU and everyone in my life that has helped and continues to help my soul blossom.

EEEKKKKK!!!! CrossFit day 5. Yesterdays work out was brutal! It was harder than any of the days by far! I know I keep saying this but its true, we were dying.

When we got home we both felt like we could curl up in bed and go to sleep forever. We were so tired! I felt like i'd worked out for hours on end.  I made us a protein packed dinner (Spaghetti with grillers meat and garlic toast over 40 grams protein) we ate it faster than you can imagine. It was like my body was a vacuum, I inhaled that pasta. My body must have really needed some nourishment!  We crashed and watched some TV and I fell asleep on the couch.  Ok, so here's what we cranked out:

• 25 Sumo Dead Lifts High Pulls
  (Nat: 35lbs set 1 20lbs 2 & 3 /Dave: 70lbs)
• 30 Second Sprint
  (Nat: 8.5/ Dave: 12)
• 25 Kettle Bell Swings
• 25 Fast Jump Ropes
• 25 Renegade Rows
  (Nat: 7.5 /Dave: 17.5)
• 25 Broad JumpsRepeat 3 times

Does that sound hard? I didn't sound like it was going to be too tough, but it surprised really me! Guess what? I know its only been six days since we started this Crossfit challenge, but I am already noticing a difference in my body. Seriously!? Its only been 6 days!

PS: I still have not gotten any good advice on how to strengthen my core for running. Can't anyone help?? PRETTY PLEASE!!

QA:
Are you hungry after a hard workout?
What is your go to fuel food?

 Ever heard of them? I'm sure anyone who reads health/fitness or food blogs has heard all about them.  5 months ago when I started really reading these types of blogs I had no idea what these disgusting looking drinks were all about.  One of my favorite blogs "oh she glows", introduced me to the "green monster".  She was always talking about these drinks and posting pictures. She actually started a blog dedicated to green monsters. It's called "the green monster movement" . After reading all about these babies and viewing hundreds of pictures, I decided it was time to try one. I decided to make my first green monster. I waited until a weekend when I had plenty of time to make it just right. I planned ahead and bought all the ingredients I needed and then I went to town. 

Nat's Fav GM Recipe (very basic)
2 cups organic spinach
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1 scoop ESA vanilla protein powder
5 ice cubes
1/2 banana

Preparation

Finished Product

(this one is not as dark green as usual because I wanted to make sure I had enough spinach for this mornings GM)

Yum in my tum

What can I say? I LOVE THEM.  The first time I tried it, I was blown away by how delicious it was. I wouldn't believe me either if I hadn't tried one for myself, but its so true! Ever since the morning of my first green monster I have had a green monster almost every day since. Not only are they DELCIOUS but they are so good for you.  Even Dave the vegetable hater of America loves them.  I told my sister about the green monsters a few weekends ago and how Dave loves them and she said…I thought Dave doesn't eat spinach, to which my reply was…HE DOESN'T!! Unless it is in a green monster of course!  If you are looking for different recipes, check out The Green Monster Movement where Angela and her readers have posted a ton of great recipes! If you haven't already make your first Green Monster and let me know what you think, or if you are already a green monster fan, what is your favorite recipe?