Abs Aren't Important

One day, a few months ago, after training to run 6 miles for the Pittsburgh Marathon Relay, I exclaimed to Nick "I can't wait to be done with these running workouts- I'm really enjoying them, but running just doesn't make my body look the way I want it to!"

"Overrated!" He said back to me- "It is overrated to work out strictly for body image. There are so many more important benefits."

It was such a short interaction, but ever since then, my mindset has been slowly changing. The slow progression has been saturated with backsteps and bad days, but it is still forward-moving. 

Pushing Away Conviction vs. Taking Action | A Discussion on Food, Health, and Discouragement

It happens to all of us. When we are convicted in some way to make a change, the battle immediately sets in. Most likely, if we are going to make a change to better ourselves or better those around us, there will be challenging parts of this change. It is almost automatic that the voices in our heads start whispering "forget it, it won't make a difference, you will fail at this, it is just too hard, it probably isn't worth it, better off to just stay the same." These voices cause us to push away the convictions that we once felt so strongly about. The challenge of the change and the voices that tell us we can't make a difference are too often the reasons we don't take action.

Today, I am building myself up mentally. I am praying often, seeking God on the change that I want to make and the actions that I want to take. The specific conviction that I have has only been around for about 12 hours or so, but the idea of the change has been one that has pulled at my heart for a while. I cannot let myself push away the conviction this time. 

Last night, Nick and I watched Fed Up, a documentary that has been getting a lot of attention, and rightly so. I suggest watching it (you can find it on Netflix), but in a nutshell, it is about the epidemic of obesity, the unrealistic resolution that our culture shoves on people (calories in vs. calories out/ eat less, exercise more), and how, truly, the food industry is the problem. Sugar is the major culprit to the diseases that are so prevalent in our country, and sugar has been added to  nearly everything we eat. Food industries target children, addicting them to sugar at such a young age. THIS is the reason that today's parents will have a longer average life span than their children's generation- a terrifying realization that just shouldn't be true.

I don't have children, but as I watched Fed Up, I realized that I grew up eating a lot of the foods that families often go to because they seem to be "healthy" choices. They are packaged and advertised this way, allowing anyone without a nutrition degree to believe that they are the best choices your family can make. However, these foods are filled with added sugars, and they are detrimental to our health. They are bound to keep a person in the vicious cycle of "eating healthy" while not seeing any actual results- a discouraging cycle that causes most people to give up on a lifestyle change.

Monday is for Motivation

It has been quite the refreshing weekend with my wonderful husband! Although it was quite chilly, we still thoroughly enjoyed our lazy time at Virginia Beach! 

It is such a true blessing to be able to take small getaways like this...retreat into some true quality time together, and just some true relaxation time from the busy life of teaching for both of us. I got to spend time focusing on loving my husband better, and he deserves it. I certainly took some time to really be thankful- thankful for the love that God has given us and thankful where God is leading us. Slow days like these help me remember that we are far more blessed than we could ever begin to thank God enough for, and a life of thankfulness is the fullest life.

On another note, we indulged a bit this weekend (but not too much), and I am totally ready to jump start myself back to the healthy lifestyle that I love.

Two years ago I started my fitness journey- my senior year of college, especially around this exact time. Last year, I got so serious before my wedding and I truly felt happy with the place that I was at. Not only did I feel confident, but I felt healthy and balanced. 

And that is where I want to get back to, where I need to be, because I believe God wants us to honor him by taking care of ourselves. Recently I took on a part time job as a health and fitness coach through Beachbody, and I am so happy I did! Anyone who knows me well knows that I really can't stop talking about the health and fitness world when the subject comes up. I am just passionate about it, and I am so happy to be doing something that I am passionate about, and even more importantly, I get to help others find a passion in health and fitness as well!

I officially started the 21 Day Fix today. So many people have had great results with it, and I cannot wait to see how this program re-teaches me healthy eating and gives me the ability to work out every day with awesome at home workouts that are provided! I know it will take a lot of dedication, but I am willing! I'll be tracking my progress on here, or at least trying to, in hopes that it will keep me more accountable and possibly even inspire others!

Intention: Move more and make healthier choices- totally winning this one!

One last note: I love this quote because it is exactly what we tend to forget and what often discourages us from choosing a healthier lifestyle. The health and fitness world is often focused so much on physical results, but is that a sustainable mindset? Too often that leads to even less happiness with ourselves; focusing on our flaws and just hoping that, through our strained efforts, our flaws will go away. Remember, we are loved and accepted as we are, and committing to being healthier is really all about the inner and outer strength and feeling better. Feeling more confident with how we look is just a side effect, a pretty great side effect, but not the reason! My goal is to make my reason for living a healthy lifestyle of deeper importance than outer appearance. 

Anyone wanting to set health and fitness goals for 2015 and find the best ways to actually follow through with them? I'd love to help you along your journey! 

P.S Don't miss a post! Follow me on bloglovin or get my posts sent to your e-mail!

Thinking about Goals | Be Intentional

For me, January usually comes unwelcome. I love the holidays, I'm basically a Christmas baby, and I even enjoy NYE. Nick and I have a fantastic tradition of spending it at this hometown bar with my family and a bunch of old people (we aren't the partying type). Just kidding any of those "old people" that might be reading this: You're not old...you are way more fun than most of the people I know! 

This year may have been my holiday season because I got to spend it married to my best friend, and I got to spend time with my family which takes on a whole new meaning now that I live far, far away.

But then January came without knocking, and Nick and I quickly rushed home to get back to "real life." I was sadder than usual to say hello to January...but with a new year always comes the hopes for new, good things as well! Being the completely unorganized person that I am, January usually comes with setting new goals to become a better me! I like to set a ton of goals, typically, and then fall through with most of them (I don't like the second part, it just happens). Each year feels like a brand new opportunity to become the absolute perfect version of myself...the very thing that I completely failed at the year before (and the year before that, and so on). At this point, I'm really sick of putting super high expectations on myself and then nearly always falling through. I want to be more organized, I want to be a better teacher, I want to write more, I want to find a way to be more involved in the world of health and fitness, one of my passions, and I want to, most of all, be a better wife, sister, daughter that seeks God first. And I want it to happen all at once. Honestly, though, sometimes I want these things selfishly. I want my life to be an interesting and adventure packed book that others couldn't help but read. But the message I want them to get by reading it, that's where I usually go wrong. Sometimes, I selfishly set goals and deep down I hope I will look better and impress others. My intentions go awry, really, when I set goals for myself.  So this year, instead, I decided I want to be intentional. As I wrote down my goals this year, I decided I wouldn't set goals at all, but rather intentions. And the biggest intention of all, is through following these goals, or intentions, and keeping myself accountable, I want to be what God made me to be. I want to write a book with my life, but I want the message to be all love.  It has been most important that the intentions I set for myself and the story I am writing has the direction that God is leading me in mind. And can I just tell you, these intentions have been so much easier to follow than any new years resolution or stringent SMART goal. These intentions have wiggle room. They don't put me down when I get them wrong. They include a little bit of grace within them. Because I am continually keeping in mind that I can't achieve them on my own. And if I don't prayerfully rely on God, I can expect to fail, but I can also expect a million second chances.  So here is my list of personal, full-of-heart intentions. I know we're about halfway through January, but just remember that the start of the year is honestly just another day. It feels symbolic for a clean slate, and I love symbolism, but you can start at any time. You can have a clean slate on any day, at any hour.  My 2015 Intentions: 1. Seek God. Listen. Read about Him. 2. Serve and love my husband better. 3. Move more and make healthier choices. 4. Be a better organized teacher- but do it because it means you are loving your students better, not because you feel like people around you are watching/ judging. 5. Enjoy and cherish time with family. 6. Make a new friend. Or two or three. 7. Enjoy my new (and most likely temporary) home while it lasts. And there you have it. I can pretty much say that I've been consciously taking steps toward each of these intentions from the beginning of the year. I have been slowly falling into them, though, because going full force ahead usually means falling full force off of a cliff. And really, I like where I am, I like the grace I'm giving myself, and falling off a cliff usually does some damage.  Just a little note: Of course there is a time for measurable goals. I make measurable goals basically every day. I just don't want to measure out a whole year in ceaseless striving. I want to measure it in love and grace.

A picture of some family cuddle time...definitely a great way to follow a few of my intentions!
How do you set your goals or resolutions or intentions for the year? What is most important to you in 2015? P.S Don't miss a post! Follow me on bloglovin or get my posts sent to your e-mail!

8 ways to establish healthy habits (again) | Keeping my health and fitness goals

Well hello there, strangers!
I haven't posted in a whole week, and that isn't that bad, really, but I was really hoping to post every day this month. That, clearly, was an unrealistic goal because I've been focusing on a lot of other things this month, too. Like trying to enjoy life in a new place, keeping in touch with family, exploring, and making healthy habits again. Today, I am going to talk about how I've been reestablishing health and fitness back into my life. 
I mentioned before that I am making it a goal to "lose my newlywed weight." Is it normal to gain weight post wedding? I think it might be, because you just slump into this level of comfort and happiness and dinner dates with ice cream on top. Before the wedding, I was more in an oatmeal and egg whites for breakfast mode, where I lifted weights 5-6 times a week and added some cardio in there, determined to be in my best shape for my wedding (and honeymoon). 

Although I didn't have abs of steel at the alter, my method worked enough for me. I was in the best shape that I had ever been in...but that quickly changed to gaining more weight than I had for years about a month after the wedding. I really don't know how I gained 10 pounds so fast. I do have thyroid issues, and I'd like to blame it entirely on that (because I really do think there is something going on there), but my weight hasn't fluctuated more than a few pounds in over five years, and let's be honest, the unhealthy meals and the break in working out were big contributing factors. 

Catching Up via Instagram

Currently, I have butternut squash and rosemary chicken cooking in the slow cooker. I am sitting, relaxing, with the windows open (thanks to cooler air) and I want to write about some things that have been going on in this mind of mine lately.These pictures will be my illustration, and although they are in the order of when they were taken, they are not in order of how I will be talking about them!

Getting Creative with Fitness.

Through a little bit of searching I have quickly found that the gyms around here aren't very affordable. I have never actually joined a gym in my life- other than Slippery Rock's ARC, though that wasn't by choice. I always was able to have access to my Dad's awesome home gym in my parents' basement. Anyways, I was pretty excited about joining a gym once we got here, so needless to say I was a bit bummed when I heard some of the prices.

I guess the idea isn't out completely- we still are going to tour a gym tomorrow and find out the pricing and if its affordable we might go for it. But the more I thought about it, it would probably be a great money saver to just let go of the idea. Nick can work out at the school where he is coaching, so that is not a big deal. For me, I started thinking about how my motivation to work out pretty much leaves me when I have to actually go somewhere to do it. During the beginning of my fitness journey (my senior year of college), I had access to an awesome gym yet I stuck with youtube workouts that worked my butt of each day. 

As of right now, I would say I'm going to be sticking with at home workouts. I know sometimes it can seem hard to find the good ones, so I probably will continually post the ones that I love to share them with you!