Labor Day Weekend Hurrah :)

Do you ladies have fun plans for this weekend? We're headed out of town for a 6.5 hour car trip each direction to Ohio & so my mind is whirling with all the "to-do" list things. One of them is packing a little soft-sided cooler w/ plenty of water and healthy snacks for the trip so I'm not a gas station monger. I will probably over-pack the cooler so that I will always have healthy options on hand while we're visiting family all weekend. I am also going to be doing my longest run ever (gulp!)this Saturday on a neat railroad-to-trail trail I found that's right by their town. Here are my goodies I'll be packing: Water, Powerade Zero, Clif Mini Bars (100 cal each), kosher dill pickles (5-10 cal each), whole wheat pita chips (130 cal for 13 chips), Laughing Cow babybel bonbel cheese rounds (60 cal each), Orbitz Bubblemint Sugarfree gum, & Emerald cocoa roast almonds (100 cal per ounce divided up in little snack-size Ziploc bags), & fresh cut pineapple (74 cal per 1 cup).

I found this neat, particularly the recommendation to pack your workout gear and what fast food meals are decent: How to Take Your Diet on Vacation

What are your tricks & tips for keeping up your diet and workout routine while out of your element and on vacation? What about even if that trip is just an hour away to visit your parents in Milwaukee? (SPOTLIGHT! hehehe....)

Feel the Burn Thursday!

Only 4 more days until the half-way point of our challenge! Are you where you want to be? You beautiful ladies are doing such a great job keeping up the energy and positivity. I appreciate it and you've helped me so much :)

So, Feel the Burn Thursday! What workouts have you done this week? What workouts do you have planned for the rest of the week?

I want to hear what your "internal dialogue" is when you're about to work out or while you're working out. Is there something that you tell yourself to get you motivated to exercises? To get your booty out the door? Is there something you tell yourself or think about while you're exercising to push it to just a little bit harder or just a little bit further?



I was talking to a friend about this last night, someone who's a treadmill newswatcher at 5 am:) When she's running and feels like she's ready to call it quits, she looks at the timer on the treadmill and tells herself, "ok, just two more minutes, you can do it." Then when two more minutes hit, she knows that because she just hit two minutes when she didn't feel like it, she knows that she can push it for two more minutes. Then bit by bit she gets through the end of her workout and is proud. Horray :)

For me, I'm so OCD about organization in life that I workout regularly and best when I schedule it in. I know....da da da da da....looney....but it helps me and my routine development. I'm training for my first ever marathon (Oct 10th Whistlestop Marathon) and I have this marathon training schedule on my fridge. I get a joy out of checking off a day's run. I am so proud that in the last 6 weeks or so, I've only missed one workout! I do a short run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, a medium run on Thursdays, rest on Fridays, a long run on Saturdays, casually walk on Sundays w/ the fam to recover, and rest on Mondays. When I'm not feeling like getting my run in, I tell myself, "Look, you can't break the rhythm you've got going on!" Ha, and I have to say, seeing calories blasted away on My Fitness Pal is pretty sweet feeling! When I'm running, I let my mind wander and I relax. I think about my day, things going on in my life, meditate a little about whatever. Then I glance down at my GPS and am shocked b/c it didn't feel like I had been running that long or that far. By thinking about other things, the time flies I can thus go further and push myself more than I could if I was laser-focused on the timer on a treadmill. So I guess being OCD & a space cadet is working for me :)

What's working for you? What do you tell yourself to get your sweat on? Or are you a git-er-done-no-questions-asked kinda person?

Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

What have you ladies been eating the last week? Have you discovered anything new & fun? I'm really interested today in hearing about your healthy snacks. We've all heard it's better on your metabolism and weight-loss plan to have mini meals or snack lightly all day instead of huge meals.

Snacks: How they fit into your weight-loss plan

The Healthy Snacks Blog

List of One Point Snacks

Snacks to Eat for Weight Loss

Weight Loss Snacks

Best Snacks for Weight Loss

When I'm at work, I usually don't sit down to a big lunch, but I just snack a few times throughout the day and it keeps the hunger beast at bay :) My favorite snack this week has been whole kosher dill pickles I picked up at the Farmer's Market. Yum! And only 5 calories for a whole one :) For you local madison folks, I got them from the Land of Oos Farm tent downtown- check 'em out :)



What are your favorite snacks?

Tuesday Motivation

Today the concept for thought and discussion is more mental than physical, but I think it can have a big impact on your physical goals. Play along with me here. Here's an excerpt from The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon all about surrounding yourself with positive people. This development book is written in story format instead of lecture format, which makes it an easy read. As you read the excerpt below, imagine the "success" the author is talking about is your success in losing weight and/or living a healthier lifestyle.



"It's not easy to deal with the negativity in the world but it's something that's got to be done. Your success and life are so important that you must surround yourself with a positive support team. No one creates success in a vacuum and the people we surround ourselves with have a big influence on the life and success we create. If you want to be successful you have to be very careful about who is on your bus. After all there are people who can increase your energy and there are people who can drain your energy. I call the people who drain your energy Energy Vampires and they will suck the life out of you and your goals and vision if you let them. They will cause an engine leak, make your ride miserable, or even worse slash your tires. But remember, George, don't take it personal. They are just part of the negativity that exists in the world. Your job is to do your best to eliminate any negativity on your bus and this includes negative people, no matter who they are. You got to be strong enough to tell people that you will not allow any negativity on your bus. You got to say this is where we are going and to get there we need a positive and supportive team and whoever is negative will be kicked off the bus or left at the station...Your positive energy and vision must be greater than anyone's and everyone's negativity. Your certainty must be greater than everyone's doubt. After all, George, there will always be people who don't share your vision. There will always be the doubters who doubt, doubt, doubt, and doubt and tell you you can't do this and you won't be able to accomplish that. They think that dreams were meant for others but not for people like you and them. And there will even be people who don't want you to succeed because it makes them see their own weaknesses and failures. Rather than driving their own bus they are trying to ruin everyone else's ride...It's got to be a habit. Positive energy is like a muscle. The more you use it the stronger it gets. The stronger it gets the more powerful you become. Repetition is the key and the more you focus on positive energy the more it becomes your natural state. So when someone comes at you with negativity you will be able to respond with strength and positive energy. The more you do it the more natural it becomes."

"A man goes to the village to visit the wise man and says to the wise man, 'I feel like there are two dogs inside me. One dog is this positive, loving, kind, and gentle dog and then I have this angry, mean-spiriited, and negative dog and they fight all the time. I don't know which is going to win.' The wise man thinks for a moment and he says, 'I know which is going to win. The one you feed the most, so feed the positive dog.'"

Ok, so here comes the challenge: Grab a piece of paper and write out the 20 people you interact with the most, including family. Then decide if they are people who build you up with positive energy or if they are Energy Vampires. Then resolve to limit the time you spend in the presence of the Energy Vampires. We can't get rid of them or ignore them indefinitely, especially if they're in our families, but we can consiously choose to be around those friends the most who are positive and help us to believe in our dreams. I think every one of you on this blog falls in the positive people category for me! Doesn't it feel great?!?!?!

Bonus challenge, if you're feeling extra introspective today: Write out the 20 activities you do the most, ie. watch tv, read books, go for walk, exercise, browse online, shop, play with the kids, clean, etc. Decide which things really just seem to suck the positivity and energy out of you like an Energy Vampire. Is there a way that you can turn that activity into something more positive? Enlist the help of a friend or loved one to turn it into a fun thing? Or limit your time doing it?

There are just some things and some people that suck the energy out of us, or fill us with self-doubt. Become aware of which things those are and focus your energy today on those things which build you up and make you feel like you can accomplish your goals! Remember, you drive your own bus in life and you can say who's on it and who's not.

Monday Morning Check-In

How did the second week go? Let us know how much you're up or down, what changes you've noticed, etc. We'll check-in with how our measurements have changed at our halfway point next Monday :) Are you ladies loving My Fitness Pal or not big fans? Are you revved up and excited to start this third week? What plans do you have for avoiding previous pitfalls?