Good morning, girls!
This message comes from Dale Smith Thomas, though she admits she has no idea who wrote it or where it's from unfortunately. I thought of you all when I read it! I highlighted my favorite parts that I thought really are focused just towards us and what we're trying to do in this challenge- fight those excuses! I'd love to hear what you all think of it. Please share a challenge that you've faced either during this 10 in 6 or in your "old" life that you thought at the time was all-consuming but that you've since figured out a way around it that made you able to thrive and hit your goals:
Embracing The Unexpected
"The weather is the weather. The traffic is the traffic. The more we embrace and allow the "unexpected" to be the norm, the less we're thrown off when things don't meet our expectations. Of course weather and traffic are simply two of the minor irritations and unpredictability’s we face in a given day. But if you're going to shift your attitude to embrace the unexpected, they're just as good as anything to help you do that.
Try an experiment this week. When you find yourself fighting a situation (start small with things like the weather and traffic), simply allow yourself to welcome the unexpected. Find a way to be at peace in the situation, whether the wind is blowing in May, you're stuck in traffic or you're in the slow lane at the bank or grocery store. Take a deep breath, open your eyes, and give up expecting the situation to be as you think it should be. Instead, allow it to be as it is.
Done consistently, this welcoming of the unexpected, allowing things to be as they are, transforms the relationship between you and the present moment. Coming from this more relaxed and peaceful perspective, you suddenly begin to enjoy the late spring windstorm. Being stuck in traffic and not fighting it, you're now present enough to notice the beauty of the mountains or the flowers blooming in someone's yard. And amazingly the "emotional plaque" that builds up from angsting over things that are out of your control begins to melt away
Challenges and facing the unexpected truly are opportunities. Opportunities to grow and learn, to strengthen ourselves, to test ourselves and our faith. They reveal how badly we want to create the dreams in our hearts, and how hard we're willing to work for them. This is such a blessing. It may not seem that way at first, but with a tiny shift in attitude, we can see that we have been handed an incredible opportunity.
The next time life hands you a challenge, stop and consider for a moment what it means. Is the universe saying "no," or "I want you to try harder?" Don't look at challenges as an end, look at them as a door leading to your heart's desires. That door might be locked, but you have the key. Maybe you forgot where you put the key, or you forgot that you even had it to begin with. It might take some effort and patience to find it again -- or you might even have to create a new one, but believe that you will, even if you're not sure how yet.
We should all learn it's not important to have all the answers right now. When challenges rise up before us, we may not know how to get around them, or through them. It might seem hopeless at first. Challenges can seem so overwhelming when we don't have a solution. However, life itself is very much like this too. Sometimes life is akin to bumping around in a dark room, trying to find the light switch. It is possible to get through the room without finding the light switch immediately; we just need to step slowly and carefully. Moment to moment, we find our way.
Rather than giving up when obstacles appear in your path, look at them as welcome challenges. The biggest challenge is choosing your own attitude. Will you get flustered and angry, or will you get excited and determined? Will you lay down and cry, or will you roll up your sleeves and get to work? Some of us take on a victim mentality when obstacles arise, and I can see why this happens. It does feel like the universe is picking on us, doesn't it? :-) I think we've all been there!
Why not change your mindset and think of obstacles as a personal challenge? Rather than feeling like the universe is picking on you, challenge yourself to figure out a solution. Say to yourself, "Okay, such and such has happened, now what am I going to do about it?" Put your problem-solving skills to work.
Once we begin to change our attitude about obstacles and challenges, they can actually become fun. Our competitive human nature rises up and gets ready to win, no matter what. We develop a steely determination to NOT be beaten."
2/4/10
Feel the Burn Thursday
Good morning, sweating sweethearts!
I hope you're all doing great- trying your hardest! Be sure to check out & respond to the questions posed by your fellow Ten in Sixers in the comments of yesterday's post :)
Women's Health posted this cool new Lose 10 lbs in 6 Weeks w/ Running page. What a cool weight goal and time frame, dontcha think? :) http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/running-for-weightloss They have running playlists, tips & tricks, a running schedule w/ 2 strength training days a week interspersed in it, an alternate run/walk schedule to get you to build up to running 30 minutes straight, a meal plan, etc. I think it's pretty cool.
What workouts have you been doing? Let us know how you've been busting a move and breaking a sweat this week :) Keep on trucking, ladies! It's a hard and long journey, but you'll love yourself along the way!
I hope you're all doing great- trying your hardest! Be sure to check out & respond to the questions posed by your fellow Ten in Sixers in the comments of yesterday's post :)
What workouts have you been doing? Let us know how you've been busting a move and breaking a sweat this week :) Keep on trucking, ladies! It's a hard and long journey, but you'll love yourself along the way!
2/3/10
Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday
Hey, chicas!
It’s everyone’s favorite day- Wednesday- the swapping of recipes and snack ideas! Horray! What have you been eating?
I liked this article about keeping on hand at home some quick, easy, and healthy high-energy snacks. http://triathlon.competitor.com/2010/01/nutrition/eat-healthy-at-home-even-with-a-hectic-schedule_6755
Therefore, you’re eliminating your excuse that you don’t have time to eat healthy, or that you don’t have “anything” to eat in your fridge. And although none of our names are as cool as Pip :) and although the article might seem like Dummy 101, there are still some good takeaways. I like the caution that just because something says it’s “all natural” does not mean it’s healthy or low-fat. And I like the tip to cook extras on the weekends and save individual portions in the fridge or freezer for the following week’s meals. Most of all, I like that she acknowledges that coming up with meal plans is just not her style and is just not going to happen, although she respects those whose style that is, but she just accepts herself and doesn’t beat herself up b/c she’s not that kind of person.
Everybody post your quickest, simplest recipes and snack ideas!!!
I discovered a weird and unusual snack yesterday that I loved, so I’ll share. I mixed in a little Tupperware container half an avocado and one cup of Bush’s seasoned black beans. That’s it. Weird, but I ate it with a spoon and it was yummy! The carbs in the beans and the fat in the avocado really helped me stay full longer. At 381 calories, it was a perfectly-sized mini-meal for me, with lots of energy. I’m sure adding tomatoes would make it more salsa-y and yummy, too.
Saturday night I made some shrimp skewers- super quick & simple. Just took a lb of frozen but pre-cooked, de-tailed, de-veined shrimp, thawed out, skewered about 8 on each wooden kebob skewer, brushed on a mixture of 2 T of bottled teriyaki sauce and 1 T of sesame oil. Broiled in the oven, top rack, 3 mins per side. Had steamed broccoli in the steamer going, too. For each serving of roughly 2 cups shrimp, 2 cups broccoli, and the tiny bit of sauce brushed on, about 275 calories. Again, a great mini-meal.
Sometime last week we had simple BBQ chicken- again very quick. Just took thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts, brushed honey BBQ sauce on each side, put on baking stone in oven, top rack to broil 10 mins, flip chicken, 10 more mins. Super juicy b/c it’s broiled (my fav way to cook chicken) and it’s cooked quickly. Served w/ steamed sugar snap peas. For each serving of roughly one chicken breast, 1 T of sauce, and 2 cups of steamed sugar snap peas, it’s about 500 calories.
Last night we had baked salmon- again, easy-peasy. Took some No Name original seasoned frozen salmon filets (built-in pop-up timer so you know when it’s cooked) and tossed in a covered pyrex dish in oven, 400 degrees for about 35 minutes. Served w/ steamed fresh asparagus. For each filet and 1.5 cups of asparagus, it’s about 300 calories.
Which you might be wondering w/ all the steamed veggies, I do like the microwaveable steam-in-the-bag type, but I adore my electric Black & Decker steamer that we got as an inexpensive little Target wedding registry gift, like $19 I think. It’s worked like a champ for 7 yrs strong! I recommend it :) We can cook rice in it, fresh veggies, frozen veggies, and I’m sure other stuff I haven’t tried in it. I really don’t like overcooked veggies, and this just cooks them perfectly- slightly crispy and beautifully steamed. There are instructions imprinted on the back of the steamer for lots of types of foods & veggies, telling you which water level to fill the steamer to, what herbs would go well with it, and how many minutes to set the steamer timer to.
Tonight we’re making chicken burritos- no rice, just lots of shredded iceberg, diced tomatoes, half a smashed avocado, lime juice, chicken w/ spices on it, and a whole wheat tortilla. Should be good!
It’s everyone’s favorite day- Wednesday- the swapping of recipes and snack ideas! Horray! What have you been eating?
I liked this article about keeping on hand at home some quick, easy, and healthy high-energy snacks. http://triathlon.competitor.com/2010/01/nutrition/eat-healthy-at-home-even-with-a-hectic-schedule_6755
Therefore, you’re eliminating your excuse that you don’t have time to eat healthy, or that you don’t have “anything” to eat in your fridge. And although none of our names are as cool as Pip :) and although the article might seem like Dummy 101, there are still some good takeaways. I like the caution that just because something says it’s “all natural” does not mean it’s healthy or low-fat. And I like the tip to cook extras on the weekends and save individual portions in the fridge or freezer for the following week’s meals. Most of all, I like that she acknowledges that coming up with meal plans is just not her style and is just not going to happen, although she respects those whose style that is, but she just accepts herself and doesn’t beat herself up b/c she’s not that kind of person.
Everybody post your quickest, simplest recipes and snack ideas!!!
I discovered a weird and unusual snack yesterday that I loved, so I’ll share. I mixed in a little Tupperware container half an avocado and one cup of Bush’s seasoned black beans. That’s it. Weird, but I ate it with a spoon and it was yummy! The carbs in the beans and the fat in the avocado really helped me stay full longer. At 381 calories, it was a perfectly-sized mini-meal for me, with lots of energy. I’m sure adding tomatoes would make it more salsa-y and yummy, too.
Saturday night I made some shrimp skewers- super quick & simple. Just took a lb of frozen but pre-cooked, de-tailed, de-veined shrimp, thawed out, skewered about 8 on each wooden kebob skewer, brushed on a mixture of 2 T of bottled teriyaki sauce and 1 T of sesame oil. Broiled in the oven, top rack, 3 mins per side. Had steamed broccoli in the steamer going, too. For each serving of roughly 2 cups shrimp, 2 cups broccoli, and the tiny bit of sauce brushed on, about 275 calories. Again, a great mini-meal.
Sometime last week we had simple BBQ chicken- again very quick. Just took thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts, brushed honey BBQ sauce on each side, put on baking stone in oven, top rack to broil 10 mins, flip chicken, 10 more mins. Super juicy b/c it’s broiled (my fav way to cook chicken) and it’s cooked quickly. Served w/ steamed sugar snap peas. For each serving of roughly one chicken breast, 1 T of sauce, and 2 cups of steamed sugar snap peas, it’s about 500 calories.
Last night we had baked salmon- again, easy-peasy. Took some No Name original seasoned frozen salmon filets (built-in pop-up timer so you know when it’s cooked) and tossed in a covered pyrex dish in oven, 400 degrees for about 35 minutes. Served w/ steamed fresh asparagus. For each filet and 1.5 cups of asparagus, it’s about 300 calories.
Which you might be wondering w/ all the steamed veggies, I do like the microwaveable steam-in-the-bag type, but I adore my electric Black & Decker steamer that we got as an inexpensive little Target wedding registry gift, like $19 I think. It’s worked like a champ for 7 yrs strong! I recommend it :) We can cook rice in it, fresh veggies, frozen veggies, and I’m sure other stuff I haven’t tried in it. I really don’t like overcooked veggies, and this just cooks them perfectly- slightly crispy and beautifully steamed. There are instructions imprinted on the back of the steamer for lots of types of foods & veggies, telling you which water level to fill the steamer to, what herbs would go well with it, and how many minutes to set the steamer timer to.
Tonight we’re making chicken burritos- no rice, just lots of shredded iceberg, diced tomatoes, half a smashed avocado, lime juice, chicken w/ spices on it, and a whole wheat tortilla. Should be good!
2/2/10
Tuesday's Motivation
Good....er....afternoon, forgiving friends! :)
SLEEP CHECK:
First, a sleep check. Have you ladies all been improving the # of hours of sleep you get each night since our last convo about sleep last week? I'm stealing this sleep blurb from my amazing sis-in-law, Erianne:
"Everyone needs 7 to 10 hours sleep. Children (ages 1 – 10) require at least 10 hours, Adolescents (ages 11 – 22) need an average of 9.25 hours, and adults (23+ years) require 8.25 hours of sleep, on average, each night. Athletes in each age group have been shown to have a greater need for sleep than the nonathletes. For anyone, a sleep deficit is defined as the sum of all night s in which you sleep less than your sleep needs (» 8-10 hrs). The average American adolescent is operating at about a 25 hour deficit. At a 19 hour sleep deficit, athletes perform on cognitive and coordination tests, worst than someone with a .08 blood alcohol level. In the United States, a .08 blood alcohol level is considered legally drunk in 42 states. Some of the reported effects of a sleep deficit are: impaired motor skills, impaired cognition, impaired memory, inhibited creativity, higher stress levels, increased body fat, depressed immune system, anxiety, impeded growth, irritability, depression, mood swings, decreased life expectancy, and difficulty maintaining interpersonal relationships. Athletes who want to perform at their peak must outline and follow a proper sleep regime. Another study just performed at Stanford on their swim team demonstrated that extra sleep (1 hour beyond normal sleep patterns), significantly enhanced the swimmers performance! Kind of cool.
Here is a link to a good article with some helpful hints and facts about sleep and athletic performance: topspeedschool.com/uploads/TopSpeed-Sleep.pdf "
So that's you! You're an athlete I'd say if you workout daily or try to. So you need MORE sleep than others! Can you put a high priority on sleep? You're drunk if you don't! :) That's a fun light to put the issue in. So, after that cool sleep check from Erianne, on to today's info.
DECIDING ON A GOAL WEIGHT:
Leslie, to answer your question posed yesterday about the proper goal weight, there are oodles of BMI calculators and what not online. I do agree that a given BMI number IS a huge weight range, though. I've never asked a physician what my healthy weight was, or used a calculator other than my Wii Fit to tell me what my goal BMI was, but I'm sure those would all be good ideas. I took the weight I was when I graduated high school and subtracted 10 lbs. I figured that'd be a good goal weight, but that I'd probably adjust to see how it was when I got there. It just so happens that right around that goal weight was my arbitrarily set 50 lb total weight loss goal. I wanted to get to a round # (dumb, I know, totally not scientific or biologically genius). And then the biggest thing for determining my goal weight was a weight loss success story I read last summer in a magazine where the woman was 2 inches taller than me and at that goal weight, and I liked the body type (not all muscular and ripped, just trim and athletic) and the body type corresponded with my own (pretty straight up & down, I've never been hourglass-shaped). So I've determined, though, that my goal weight is a "decade" range on the scale. Just in a range of 10 lbs. If I stay between x lbs and x lbs I'll be happy. It seems I can't really lose more unless I want to lose muscle and I am not about to do that and sacrifice my athletic ability, so I'm happy where I am, which is about 5 lbs more than what I had originally thought would be my goal weight, but my body seems happy where it's at, stable. Like I said yesterday, I'm just working on being a little less gooey in a few areas and a little more solid now :) What tips do you guys have? How did you decide on your goal weight?
BEATING THE WEEKEND BINGES:
Leah & Jeanie, we all have a hard time on the weekends because it's just not in our routine. What's helped me is my hubby getting in on the healthy-eating bandwagon. If he wasn't, I know for sure I'd be a big sucker for whatever decadent or greasy foods he wanted to splurge on. So Shanda, I definitely say get Mara on the bandwagon! Have her join our group! She's such a sweetheart- I know she'd love it. Then problem solved with the healthy grocery shopping. If she doesn't want to hop on, then I'd suggest flip flopping your arrangement. Have her do the utilities and you do the groceries. Or if not that, then put your heads together and plan a meal plan for the week that works for you both, and have her go shopping for it. Or do separate meal plans and give her your healthy meal-plan-for-one (lots of little snacks you can have separate from everyone) to go shopping for. So back to the weekends in particular, one thing you can do to counteract the heavy eating is to put in a heavy workout. Usually we have an extra chunk of time to workout on a weekend than we do during the work week. For instance, I like to do my longer runs on Saturdays, because it's the only day of the week I have enough daylight to go do that. So my Saturday calorie burns are higher than any other day of the week, so if I eat more, it's ok. Another idea is to try your hardest to maintain your routine throughout the weekend, like getting up at the same time, eating at the same time, working out at the same time, going to bed at the same time, etc. If it's a matter of an extra 8 hours spent at home wearing a trail in the carpeting from the couch to the fridge because you're bored, plan a typical work-day long excursion from the house, either shopping or running errands, working out, or some other adventure. This will help keep your body on schedule for what it's used to being away from the house at work during the week. This article from Shape on the subject of avoiding binge eating says to keep up on your food diary (counting what you eat in MFP), explore food-free ways of socializing (like our active non-restaurant date night side challenge), bring your own low-cal healthy treat to a get together so you know you can eat at least one thing instead of being victim to whatever everyone else provided. What tips do you have? How do you keep from falling off the healthy-eating and working out bandwagon on the weekends?
Share, share, share :) Let's all help each other!
SLEEP CHECK:
First, a sleep check. Have you ladies all been improving the # of hours of sleep you get each night since our last convo about sleep last week? I'm stealing this sleep blurb from my amazing sis-in-law, Erianne:
"Everyone needs 7 to 10 hours sleep. Children (ages 1 – 10) require at least 10 hours, Adolescents (ages 11 – 22) need an average of 9.25 hours, and adults (23+ years) require 8.25 hours of sleep, on average, each night. Athletes in each age group have been shown to have a greater need for sleep than the nonathletes. For anyone, a sleep deficit is defined as the sum of all night s in which you sleep less than your sleep needs (» 8-10 hrs). The average American adolescent is operating at about a 25 hour deficit. At a 19 hour sleep deficit, athletes perform on cognitive and coordination tests, worst than someone with a .08 blood alcohol level. In the United States, a .08 blood alcohol level is considered legally drunk in 42 states. Some of the reported effects of a sleep deficit are: impaired motor skills, impaired cognition, impaired memory, inhibited creativity, higher stress levels, increased body fat, depressed immune system, anxiety, impeded growth, irritability, depression, mood swings, decreased life expectancy, and difficulty maintaining interpersonal relationships. Athletes who want to perform at their peak must outline and follow a proper sleep regime. Another study just performed at Stanford on their swim team demonstrated that extra sleep (1 hour beyond normal sleep patterns), significantly enhanced the swimmers performance! Kind of cool.
Here is a link to a good article with some helpful hints and facts about sleep and athletic performance: topspeedschool.com/uploads/TopSpeed-Sleep.pdf "
So that's you! You're an athlete I'd say if you workout daily or try to. So you need MORE sleep than others! Can you put a high priority on sleep? You're drunk if you don't! :) That's a fun light to put the issue in. So, after that cool sleep check from Erianne, on to today's info.
DECIDING ON A GOAL WEIGHT:
Leslie, to answer your question posed yesterday about the proper goal weight, there are oodles of BMI calculators and what not online. I do agree that a given BMI number IS a huge weight range, though. I've never asked a physician what my healthy weight was, or used a calculator other than my Wii Fit to tell me what my goal BMI was, but I'm sure those would all be good ideas. I took the weight I was when I graduated high school and subtracted 10 lbs. I figured that'd be a good goal weight, but that I'd probably adjust to see how it was when I got there. It just so happens that right around that goal weight was my arbitrarily set 50 lb total weight loss goal. I wanted to get to a round # (dumb, I know, totally not scientific or biologically genius). And then the biggest thing for determining my goal weight was a weight loss success story I read last summer in a magazine where the woman was 2 inches taller than me and at that goal weight, and I liked the body type (not all muscular and ripped, just trim and athletic) and the body type corresponded with my own (pretty straight up & down, I've never been hourglass-shaped). So I've determined, though, that my goal weight is a "decade" range on the scale. Just in a range of 10 lbs. If I stay between x lbs and x lbs I'll be happy. It seems I can't really lose more unless I want to lose muscle and I am not about to do that and sacrifice my athletic ability, so I'm happy where I am, which is about 5 lbs more than what I had originally thought would be my goal weight, but my body seems happy where it's at, stable. Like I said yesterday, I'm just working on being a little less gooey in a few areas and a little more solid now :) What tips do you guys have? How did you decide on your goal weight?
BEATING THE WEEKEND BINGES:
Leah & Jeanie, we all have a hard time on the weekends because it's just not in our routine. What's helped me is my hubby getting in on the healthy-eating bandwagon. If he wasn't, I know for sure I'd be a big sucker for whatever decadent or greasy foods he wanted to splurge on. So Shanda, I definitely say get Mara on the bandwagon! Have her join our group! She's such a sweetheart- I know she'd love it. Then problem solved with the healthy grocery shopping. If she doesn't want to hop on, then I'd suggest flip flopping your arrangement. Have her do the utilities and you do the groceries. Or if not that, then put your heads together and plan a meal plan for the week that works for you both, and have her go shopping for it. Or do separate meal plans and give her your healthy meal-plan-for-one (lots of little snacks you can have separate from everyone) to go shopping for. So back to the weekends in particular, one thing you can do to counteract the heavy eating is to put in a heavy workout. Usually we have an extra chunk of time to workout on a weekend than we do during the work week. For instance, I like to do my longer runs on Saturdays, because it's the only day of the week I have enough daylight to go do that. So my Saturday calorie burns are higher than any other day of the week, so if I eat more, it's ok. Another idea is to try your hardest to maintain your routine throughout the weekend, like getting up at the same time, eating at the same time, working out at the same time, going to bed at the same time, etc. If it's a matter of an extra 8 hours spent at home wearing a trail in the carpeting from the couch to the fridge because you're bored, plan a typical work-day long excursion from the house, either shopping or running errands, working out, or some other adventure. This will help keep your body on schedule for what it's used to being away from the house at work during the week. This article from Shape on the subject of avoiding binge eating says to keep up on your food diary (counting what you eat in MFP), explore food-free ways of socializing (like our active non-restaurant date night side challenge), bring your own low-cal healthy treat to a get together so you know you can eat at least one thing instead of being victim to whatever everyone else provided. What tips do you have? How do you keep from falling off the healthy-eating and working out bandwagon on the weekends?
Share, share, share :) Let's all help each other!
2/1/10
Monday Morning Check-in
Happy halfway point, hotties!
Hope you all had a great weekend! Tell us how much you're up or down
in weight AND measurements! I can't wait to hear :) Your measurements
are a more accurate gauge of the awesome changes happening in you!
What's your game plan for this week?
Hope you all had a great weekend! Tell us how much you're up or down
in weight AND measurements! I can't wait to hear :) Your measurements
are a more accurate gauge of the awesome changes happening in you!
What's your game plan for this week?
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