Stop Selling Yourself Short!

Exactly!  Stop selling yourself short.  Have you told yourself you can’t be healthy and in shape?  That you just don’t have the time?  Have you told yourself you will do it next week, next month, or next year?  Well…. Stop it! Stop putting yourself off.

Everyone should remember that the only person standing in their way of reaching their fitness goals is themselves!  You are the only person that tells you “No, I can’t do that, or look like that.”  You are the only one that can sabotage yourself, so… STOP IT!

Aren’t you worth taking care of?  Don’t you want to feel good, and have more energy?  If you are a parent, don’t you want to be a good example for your child(ren)?

If you answered yes to any of the questions I just asked above, then here is the next step.  Make a goal, write it down, and accomplish it.  It can be as simple as 1) Stop drinking pop & 2) walk for 30 minutes a day.  Once you reach those goals, write down some more.  Set short-term goals to reach along with a longer term goal.  It is proven that when you actually write down your goals and have them around to remind you of what you set out to do, that you will be more successful at doing so.  It is hard to reach a goal, if you can’t remember it, right?

I have goals that I set each day, week, month, and so on.  I keep challenging myself and guess what?  I am reaching my goals!  It feels great, and I want everyone around me to know how great they can feel by accomplishing their fitness goals.

So from now on, Stop telling yourself, “I can’t or what if I fail?”  Why not try, “Yes I can, and what if I succeed?”

Have a great week everyone!

Karly~

Help!! Need a Dress ASAP!

Dear Friends –

I need to find a formal dress ASAP.  I will be attending the WSUF Gala, and need a dressy that is classy, formal, and doesn’t look like I am headed to prom.  See the ones below I have found thus far – any favorites??

Dress Two Front and Back

Thoughts in Andrea’s Head – It’s a Scary Place Folks.

It has sure been one heck of a week, but I am back home and ready to attempt to do some hard-core training.  I use the word attempt because I really enjoy sabotaging myself, but I plan to give it the ole college try.

Anyhow, I kept a little log of all my random thoughts throughout Montana, and I thought I would begin my journey with levity.  I have a feeling that the posts to follow won’t be as zen.

1.  Hmmm, I wonder why you would part your hair right on your bald spot.  Weird.

2.  Do I really know all the words to “Here I go Again” – yay Whitesnake.

3.  I wonder what songs Mr. Snappy Fingers in listening to whilst be-bopping all over kingdom come.

4.  I *heart* The Montana Club

5.  What exactly am I going to do with 15 golf balls?  Maybe an obstacle course?

6.  WHERE IS COLDSTONE!!!!

7. Whoa…. Either that man lost part of his toe or is missing an entire toenail – thanks TSA for that mental picture.

8.  Wait… did he just said he has BBs in his foot??

9. Keep on swimming, keep on swimming

10.  All these open chairs in the airport and you want to sit RIGHT next to me??

11.  A lady just asked me if I was going to Alaska – I said no… but that is the airline I was flying on.  Her response, “Oh, thank the lord – I didn’t know how I was gonna git to Salt Lake from Alaska.”

12. I really hope it is chips and salsa day on the plane!!

13.  OH!!  Is that Rob Pattinson??  Nope.. false alarm.  Phew.

14.  Ew.  Faux Rob needs a bath and needs to lay off the V.O.D.K.A.

15.  Home. Sweet. Home. (and Shiloh vacuumed)

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Cheers,

Andrea

I Love Chobani Greek Yogurt!!

Hi Everyone!  Thought I would share one of my favorite finds this summer.  Chobani Greek Yogurt is an excellent source of protein, low on the carbs and sodium and zero fat!!  My favorite is the plain flavor which packs 18 grams of protein in 1 serving and only 7 grams of carbs!!  Yummy!  You can find this yogurt currently at the Safeway in Pullman on sale for $1.69.  I know that seems like a lot for yogurt, but it is worth it when you need the protein with low carbs! 

Me & my mid-morning snack (aka- meal #2)

 

Below is the link to the Chobani website which includes not only their products, but also great ideas for recipes.  Check it out!!! 

http://www.chobani.com/

Choices & Challenges

No matter who we are, we all are faced with choices and challenges in our lives. It is inevitable. It has to happen. But what about the choices and challenges we make with ourselves and our bodies? Do we ever really stop and think about what choices we make are truly affecting how we feel physically and mentally?

I have done this many times, made choices that I hate myself for later on. It happens, it is part of life, but, I made those choices. Now the important thing is whether I learned from the choices I made. I can’t complain to others about the choices I make because I made them and if I continue to make the bad choices that I beat myself up for, I am the only one to blame. No one else did these things to me, I did.

Choices are huge in the way people eat. I might choose not to eat sweets or eat at fast food restaurants, but that doesn’t mean that someone else can’t choose to eat these things when they want. The key is moderation.

When it comes to being healthy and happy, you have to make choices and challenge yourself at the same time. It is never easy and probably never will be. Eating clean, exercising, getting rest, drinking plenty of water, going to the doctor and so on are all choices that we make (whether we choose to do them or not.)

The unfortunate thing about the choice in a healthy life style is many forget why they started in the first place. Most people, women especially, decide to get on an exercise and diet plan to lose those extra pesky pounds that they hate so much and that is just fine. However, they choose crash diets that work in the short-term, but not in the long-term. You can do the Slim Fast Diet, Atkins, HCG, Master Cleanse and so on, but is it a lifestyle that you can continue for the rest of your life? Honestly? Probably not and neither can your body.

Another thing to remember is being healthy or loosing weight and toning muscles isn’t a quick fix. It takes time and effort. People have become so lazy these days that they don’t want to do the work it takes to eat well and exercise. You have to really make the choice and change your habits and life style for the long-term or you are never going to succeed. You also need to be consistent and stick to a plan. You are not going to see the results you want if you don’t do all the necessary steps each and every day of every week, of every month and so on. One week on and 2 weeks off is going to get you no where.

The important thing about being healthy is obvious enough… exercise, rest, eat a well-balanced diet, drink lots of water. Is your health really worth risking a diet that leaves your body malnourished? This happens quickly when you deprive your body of certain foods (remember the food pyramid?) Often times when a person diets and they lose the weight (which ends up mostly being muscle if they only do the food part of the plan), they then go back to eating the way they did before and they gain back all the weight they lost and more. Your body is naturally programmed to store fat as a survival mechanism. It is going to save extra for the next time you decide to starve your body again.

I know some of you might be wondering why I am saying this since I am watching what I eat right now (but I still get in all my carbs,fats and protein daily) and working out like crazy but this is for a short-term goal. I am competing. Once I am done and I am in the off-season, I go back to my long term goal of eating a well balance of carbs, fats and protein. This life style that I have chosen is not for everyone and it is a challenge that I have given to myself.

If you are going to do an exercise and diet plan, and you are truly serious about it, do your research. Meet with a dietician/nutritionist who can help you find a well-balanced diet that will keep you at a healthy weight and keep you well nourished and work with a personal trainer who is specialized in designing an exercise program specifically for your body and your long-term goals and needs. Being healthy is also about being smart. If you learn how food is used in your body and why it is beneficial to exercise, the journey, though still challenging, will make more sense to you.

Lastly, I challenge all of you to learn to love who you are. Each person is special and unique. No one on the planet is exactly like you. Having confidence in yourself, no matter what you look like or what size of pants you wear is most crucial in a balanced healthy lifestyle. I am more likely to envy someone who carries themselves with grace and confidence and who likes who they are than a woman who is just thin. You can’t hate yourself if you take care of the body you were given, even if you aren’t as small as some other person next to you who has a totally different gene set than you. Let’s face it, if you don’t learn to love yourself, you will never be happy with who you are no matter what size and shape you are in.

So, try to make good choices from this day forward, live and learn from the choices you make, and challenge yourself to be the best YOU can be and do it for yourself and no one else. Love who you are and live gracefully through each day.

Karly~

Ode to the lady in the polka dot dress.

It was early, but I was in a super duper mood.  I might even describe it as chipper.

The call came to board the plane – all MVP and MVP Golds (oh, that’s me).  We line up awaiting our turn, when polka dot dress lady (and her cankles) struts herself past all of us to the front and proceeds to cut the line…  Really?!?  You know that you aren’t actually going to take off before the rest of us get on the plane right???  All the while she is on her phone, and I am miffed.

I go to board the plane – 4b is my seat.  I round the corner and guess who is sitting in 4a? PDD lady, well and now she is partially sitting in 4b too.  So, I grab the arm rest to put it down, and she looks at me and asks, “are you sitting here?”  No, lady – I just happen to like to put down all the armrests.  I have OCD reeeal bad!!  I respond, “uh, yeah!”

This lady is probably 43, she has ugly shoes, and is on her phone yet not talking – at all – for like 20 minutes.  Here’s the kicker – she was smacking her gum, and popping her gum, and snapping her gum like she was a 5th grader.  What I wanted to do was stick out my hand, and say, “spit it out.”  What I did, after 25 mins of this crap, was find my own gum – and went to town.  I tried to channel my inner valley girl.  Chewed as loud as possible… until she was staring at me.  She stopped the smacking.  I was smiling inside.

But seriously – the purpose of this post is to remind us all that we shouldn’t lose our sense of common courtesy while flying.  There is something about airports that make people act like cave persons and 5 year olds.  We are all (for the most part) normal grown people, and if you choose to act like an ass – just hope you don’t sit next to me!

Until next time,

Andrea

A Lesson Learned About Neon Pink-Post-It-Notes

It was leg day and cardio last night at the gym.  Manuel (my husband and trainer) wrote out my routine on a neon pink post-it-note so I would remember what to do.  I made it through the exercises and then it was time to do cardio.  Problem…  I didn’t have any pockets… so I stuck my pink post-it-note in my sports bra and went on my merry way.  15 minutes later of intense, heart pounding, sweating cardio, I was done. 

I went home and went to change my clothes and remembered that I had stuck my post-it-note in my sports bra.  I had to peel the dang thing off my skin… when I looked down after removing the post-it-note I had a perfect neon pink square on my chest.  It has yet to come off and I have showered twice since!

 Lesson learned…. Never stick a neon pink post it note in your sports bra when exercising!  It stains the skin!

Karly

Would the voice in my head kindly… shut up!!!

I think Jen Lancaster says it best, “I’ve become obsessed with my size, and in doing so I’ve inadvertently allowed my inner critic to have a voice.  And you know what? She’s a bitch.  Like now when I see my underpants in the laundry, I no longer think Soft! Cotton! Sensible! Instead I hear her say Damn, girl, these panties be huge.”

The “voice in the head” can be a huge hurdle to overcome – with anything.  That is, if you don’t shut it up.  I was recently at a camp – when the leader pointed out – what would you do if you had a friend that said to you everything that voice in the head said.  Well I, for one, would karate chop them in the neck!  Along with a verbal lashing that would scar them for life. (because to be very honest… all bark, no bite – but don’t test my shunning ability, I will win)

I haven’t done much the last two, alright three, weeks due to an injury with my foot. (except for that little hiking venture, and my foot was the least of my worries).  And because of this my little voice says, “you’re fat, you look like hell, have you seen yourself lately, you shouldn’t have eaten that, wow – ice cream twice in one week – tisk, tisk, your pants are too tight, ew that shirt looks gross on you, is that a double chin I see,” and on and on and on and on.  Yeah, yeah – I know she is a raging asshat.  Finally, I give up – I admit defeat, and just go to bed. (After sneaking a couple bites of caramel sauce – but don’t tell Shiloh… he doesn’t know we have any.  So, zip it!)

So, while my confidence is shaken – it isn’t broken, and I am about to get it back.  Don’t worry, I won’t go all “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me,” on ya.  But I need to do something to get my swagga back.

My foot has healed – so I think once I get back into the swing of things all will be well.

Until then voice…  well, don’t make me release the flying monkeys.

Andrea

Egg Recall Notice

I wanted to pass this information along because if you eat a diet like I do, you have a lot of eggs.  Check out the link below for all the details on the specific eggs that were recently recalled.

http://www.eggsafety.org/mediacenter/alerts/39-egg-alert-1

Karly

I Ate Steak & Almonds for Breakfast

Yes, you read the title right.  I ate steak and almonds for breakfast this morning.  Yes, it was truly bizarre.  I got up just a little earlier than usual just so I could cook the steak on the bbq.  Yep, I am sure my neighbors are thinking that I am loosing it.  “Look honey, that strange woman is standing in the back yard in her bathrobe cooking steak at 6:00 a.m.”

The whole reason why I am doing this, well, click on the link below and read all about it.  This is an article that my husband found and passed on to me.  We are of course trying this out and I am not sure how long we will do this, but like all things, you have to try them to see what works.  Enjoy!

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=270

Karly~