Tag: MLselfcare

I saw this picture a few days on tumblr and LOVED it. I’ve been waiting for the right time to post it and today is the day. I want to give @EnoughFluff  a shout out for all of her hard work. I actually was just on your blog yesterday looking at your amazing stats and to see you being sad in my dash today made me hurt for you.

I wish all the hard work we put in made stretch marks go away, or rid us of jiggly skin and cellulite,  or magically give us self-confidence, but on our journey we should all hope to become the best versions of ourselves. All of our battle scars make us authentic, they make us, us.

I dedicate this song to all of you: Beautiful

REST DAY

Today is my first official “rest” day in a week – I had a mini rest day earlier this week after my toes wanted to kill me at the gym. I need this gym/exercise free day especially after 6 miles yesterday followed by a yoga/pilates class. However I do have a work event this evening – so I really won’t be able to crash on the couch until much later. Then back to the grind this weekend. I got a 4 miler and a 10(!!!) miler scheduled and then a rest day on Monday.

Dear Freshmen…

…and all other college students that are taking control of you health and weight. I am so envious of you. I wish I got a better grip on my health in college. I’ve been working professionally in a university setting for  3+ years and the start of a new school year is just as exciting as ever. I’d like to use my sage wisdom to impart some advice (feel free to take or leave as much of it as you would like):

  • You have nothing to prove in terms of drinking if that is your choice – but if you don’t want to funnel beer don’t, if you don’t want 5 shots don’t take 5.
  • I’m not telling you not to drink (because I sure as hell did), but realize how it can easily derail you – not only the empty calories. 
  • Beware of the food you’ll eat after you’ve been drinking or the next morning. 
  • Avoid take out – I NEVER eat take out anymore and I don’t remember the last time I got food delivered, but I did it ALL THE TIME in college.
  • There are good options in the cafeteria and if there are not, demand healthier options (approach the director of dining or other administrators or get student government behind you). When I was in college they added tons of vegetarian options because people wanted them. ASK and you shall receive – students hold the most power on a college campus TRUST ME.
  • Use the campus fitness center and take the classes. Don’t let school work get in the way. Clearing your head at the gym will make you more focused to do work.
  • Sleep – it’s important or learn the art of napping (I’m not a napper now, but I was in college).
  • Try not to obsess about the bodies of your roommates and friends. When living in close quarters you generally get to see how truly fit and toned people may be.
  • Don’t  overly reassure skinny girls that they are skinny, they are just looking for attention. I had a roommate that always referred to herself as a  "cow" and would even mooo. She was freakin BEAUTIFUL and had an amazing body – she just wanted people to fuss over her. When you are around skinny/fit people with negative attitudes it can make you feel even worse about yourself. Avoid negativity at all cost.
  • Be fearless and have fun because college should be some of the best years of your life.

I love college. It has the potential to be the most exciting time in your life. The people, the events, the knowledge, the fun. I love getting to relive college through my students. I look back at things I could have changed. The middle of my soph year and through the summer before junior year I was in the best shape of my life because I GOT CONTROL and did those things I mentioned above. However I got lazy and lax and before I knew it I was worse of than when I started. Also beware of 21st birthdays – be it yours or your friends. I don’t think I ever drank more in my life than from when my first good friend turned 21 until the summer after college. That was a solid year and a half of drinking ALL THE TIME. Now I wouldn’t change my college experience for the world because I am who I am because of it, but don’t lose fact that “every passing minute is a chance to learn it all around.”

Stay focus. Stay commited. You deserve it and I believe in you!

Listen to Your Body

Due to my half marathon training my “weeks” run Mon-Sun. This weekend I ended up running/working out Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon and planned on running today with tomorrow and Friday as rest days. I was so focused on WIW tomorrow that I knew I should have made today a rest day, but pushed it to tomorrow.

Well at the gym I felt “off.” I went to stretch first because I felt tight and I was so sleepy. I pushed through and got on the tredmill I was STRUGGLING. I got through a mile barely and then had to walk another mile. Between my toes and my body I knew it was a bad combo. After 2 miles I headed home and pretty much collapsed on the couch for 20 minutes (I NEVER sleep on my couch). I went and laid in my bed and was out for a little over a hour. I’m literally only up to eat (and watch White Collar). 

I’m so glad I didn’t push through the rest of my workout – I knew I would have regretted it or really hurt myself. But I am excited for WIW tomorrow since I didn put in so much work this week and if I see the 180s I will break out the new sneakers (but not the Nike+ sensor until I hit 35 lbs)

Toe Woes

I had to perform some surgery on myself last night. My “pointer??” toenails – the ones right next to my big toe have been MAD at me. Yesterday I straight up thought my right toenail ripped off while running on the tredmill (it didn’t). I had been running through the toenail pain long enough and I needed to fix the problem.

 After numbing my toes with Orajel (which is for teeth, but I swear to God for any toenail issue I’ve had it’s helped numb the pain – I lost toe nails on the regular during basketball season). After close examination of my toes (thankfully I’m pretty flexible) I realized I had blood blisters – YUCK. So I sterelized a pin and SWEET relief I popped them. I put some bacitracin on them with socks and woke up today feeling like a new woman.

I am to blame for the blood blisters. The sneakers I was running in for ALL of June and July were a size 10.5 – work ordered them and they only had sample sizes up to size 10 which were snug and stupidly opted for a 10.5 instead of an 11. I much later realized that all the other sneakers in my closet were 11s. When I was home I got fitted for sneakers at the Nike store and I grabbed 11s, but when the Nike peeps were fitting me they told me I should be wearing an 11.5 (so I would have a thumbnail worth of space between my toes and the front of the shoe). Crazy considering in regular shoes I wear a 10, but I need to remind myself that sneakers are not regular shoes. It’s weird how even with my feet I hate being on the large end of the scale. I actually couldnt even find any 11.5s at the store that I remotely liked. Yes I know you shouldn’t buy sneakers because they are pretty, but I’m not gonna buy sneakers that are FUGLY. I ended up having to get mens 9.5 that are decent looking (pictures to come at a later date).

So yes I’m glad I got new sneakers (that my mom paid for as a birthday present along with compression shorts and an awesome dress). HOWEVER – I have not worn my new sneakers yet because I was a fat fuck while I was home and I decided that I’m not going to wear them or use my nike+ sensor until I hit my 35 lb goal, which the shoes and sensor are the reward for….I’m CLOSE, but not there yet.

Now that my blisters are popped I’m gonna see how my toes fair in my 11s, but if they start to act up then I will switch into the new sneakers becfore I hit 35lbs just because I don’t want to do further damage to my toenails.

If you have some toenail issues check out some of these links: http://walking.about.com/od/blisterfoot/a/blacktoenail.htm

http://www.time-to-run.com/women/footcare.htm

Control

This morning I woke up feeling lighter and overall my body just has felt different/stronger lately…I was SOOOOO tempted to jump on the scale and take a peek. I peeked this weekend, but for my mental heath I know it’s better if I stick to WIW. Well this morning I was thisclose to stepping on the scale when all of a sudden my brain screamed at me GET CONTROL.

And it made me think of my manta from Radiohead’s Creep:

I don’t care if it hurts

I want to have control

I want a perfect body

I want a perfect soul

Control is SO much more than what I eat and pushing myself when exercising, which was my initial thought. Control is not letting yourself get on the scale when you told yourself you will wait until Wednesday. Control is making a decision and sticking to it no matter what.

I can’t wait to hit my GW and get those lyrics tattooed on my ribs…

I love playing with my hair and hair color.

March was the first time I put blue and purple in my hair and I LOVED IT.

This time around I decided to amp up the purple a bit more.

I’m gonna be sweating purple for a month when I run!!

Drained

Just got back into town a little while ago.

I planned on doing 5 miles today, but after 8 straight days of working loooooooooong (12-18 hour) days I know I can’t do 5. I was actually going to skip running today all together.

I started writing a post saying that after a month of running all my scheduled runs today I failed, but I couldn’t bring myself to “publish it.” So I went upstairs and put on some work out clothes and am going outside for a 3 mile run (which I planned to do tomorrow, but instead I’ll do 3 today and 5 tomorrow).

This run will not be pretty, but it’s happening. 

Thank you tumblr…see you on the flipside.